Gizmodo: 24

Jack Bauer Really Does Save Us From Terrorists

matt buchanan — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:00:00 EDT

As far fetched as some of the tech the spy community plays with is, you'd think they were getting it from spy movies and stuff. Well, they're definitely watching. The Department of Homeland Security's latest idea to protect airports, a laser equipped drone that'll detect and blind missiles with a low-power laser (rather than a megadoom one) is named for Chloe on 24, because they apparently both track down bad guys. We're assuming project Jack kills them. And if they ever reveal one codenamed Solid Snake, all evildoers worldwide should simultaneously piss their pants and seek a career in handicrafts. [Danger Room]

Apple Store Special Deals Blowout Includes $400-Off Aluminum iMac 24"

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:32:34 EST

Apple is blowing out a whole bunch of Apple-certified refurbished models, from a current generation aluminum iMac 24" (amazing machine that I use daily) for $1,899 with free shipping in 24 hours (that's $400 off the sticker price), to a previous generation $1,499 2.33GHz MacBook Pro 15" ($1,000 off) or a $1,899 17-inch MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo ($900 off the original price). All with free shipping. Check the full list of iMac and MacBooks after the jump.

• 24-inch Aluminum Mac for $1,899 (original price $2,299)
• 20-inch Aluminum Mac for $1,249 ($1,499)
• Previous generation iMac 17-inch for $849 ($1,199)
• Previous generation iMac 20-inch for $1,099 ($1,499)
• Previous generation iMac 24-inch for $1,399 ($1,999)

• MacBook Pro 15 2.2GHz $1,499 ($1,999)
• MacBook Pro 15 2.33GHz $1,499 ($1,649)
• MacBook Pro 15 2.4GHz $1,649 ($2,499)
• MacBook Pro 17 2.33GHz $1,899 ($2,799)
• MacBook Pro 17 (with 1,950 pixels high resolution display) 2.5GHz $2,349 ($3,049)
• MacBook Pro 17 2.6GHz $2,349 ($3,049)

[Apple Store]

Vudu Adds Fox TV Shows to its VOD Lineup, Kicks off HD Downloading

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:17:16 EST

Starting today in beta, Vudu owners can pay $1.99 a piece for episodes of 24, Family Guy, Firefly and other Fox-produced shows in standard-def video. Today also marks the availability of the Bourne Ultimatum for purchase in high-def. Though the $399 Vudu's signature attribute is immediate viewing of movies, we're told HD downloads won't be ready pronto, but will take a buffering period that could be long if your network isn't hot. In other words, if you do plan to buy it—for $25—buy it early. [Crave and Vudu]

24's Unaired 1994 Pilot Sticks Jack Bauer with Dialup, Lycos, Dot Matrix Printers

Adam Frucci — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:40:00 EST

Our friends over at CollegeHumor heard that 24 was delayed due to the writer's strike, so they combed through the archives and found this pilot from way back in 1994. As you can see, Jack Bauer is just as intense when stuck dealing with pagers, 1-800-Collect, and AOL as he is using more modern accoutrements. Damn it! [CollegeHumor]

In Japan, 24 Has a Theme Song, and It's Ridiculous

Adam Frucci — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:55:00 EST

24 ~~is coming back~~may or may not be coming back due to the strike, but there's a teaser freshly available on Xbox Live to whet your palate for yet another highly improbable, explosion-filled day, whenever it's coming. To give you an idea of what the show's like in the Far East, here are a couple of commercials for it from Japan featuring the Japan-only theme music. Yes, there are lyrics, and they include "Ore wa Jack Bauer!" Why oh why is this song not played in the States? Hit the jump for a second ad.

[YouTube]

Jack Bauer Bearbrick Set

Jason Chen — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:00:57 EDT

This is much better than the Apple Bearbricks. It's Jack Bauer. Enough said.

P.S. Please don't make next season suck as bad as this one. – Jason Chen

Product Page [HMV]

Slate Explains How to Make Your Cell Phone Jack Bauer-Worthy

Matt Buchanan — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:13:30 EST

Coming off a story about a Wal-Mart employee intercepting conversations and text messages between Wal-Mart PR and a NYT reporter, Slate takes it upon itself to teach you how to do just that with your own dinky cell phone.

First on the list, predictably, is copying the interceptee's SIM card, sending all of their phone calls (if you're on the same tower) and texts straight to you. The second method uses a (very illegal) firmware update to turn your phone into a radio, picking up "all the texts broadcast on a given channel," though obviously you'd need to know the network and be close to the base station for it to work. While less precise, it's also cheaper than buying the equipment to clone your mark's phone.

Lastly, you could get ahold of some actual Bond-style toys used by the DHS and other three-lettered agencies, but that sounds like a ticket straight to either the front page of the NYT or the bottom of some classified prison in a country whose name we can't pronounce. Not that the first two methods are any less illegal, so get your Linda Tripp on with caution. – Matt Buchanan

How Do You Intercept a Text Message? [Slate]
Image via Kiefer Sutherland 24

Stuff We Love: CTU The Rookie

Jason Chen — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:29:59 EST

Although this online campaign is sponsored by Degree Men and features none of the regular stars, our love for anything 24 makes us enjoy this all the same. It's a series of webisodes starring some skinny kid as a rookie at CTU. What does a rookie do? Well, fetch coffee, mostly. Well, he does do some other stuff, but we'll leave that for you to find out.

What's this have to do with gadgets? Absolutely nothing. – Jason Chen

CTU Rookie

Jack Bauer vs. Boston's ATHF Scare

Jason Chen — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:20:39 EST

If there's one man that can take down the threat to national security that is the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mooninites, it's Jack Bauer. – Jason Chen

What's in Jack Bauer's Gear Closet?

Travis Hudson — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:30:38 EST

Jack Bauer is definitely a badass. No getting around that fact, but he actually uses a lot of gadgets and gear that can be purchased by any average joe. Everything from a Brunton Echo Pocket Scope Monocular, Motorola i880, military-style messenger bag and special ops watch can all be owned so you can attempt to emulate the greatness of Jack Bauer. Hit the link to get details on everything, including information where to buy it all. –Travis Hudson

Jack Bauer Gear [uncrate]

What Jack Bauer Needs in a Cellphone

Jason Chen — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:23:52 EST

In honor of last night and tonight's four-hour Jack Bauer marathon, we thought it'd be a good idea to examine just how good a cellphone Jack needs on his annual "day of doom".

•Great International Roaming and Reception: Seeing as he spent the last year and a half in a Chinese prison, Jack Bauer needs a world-phone that can work anywhere. Mexico? China? A sewer where he Lost Boys the hell out of some terrorist? He needs it in all those places.

•GPS, Maps, Directions: Jack has this in his own phones, but he definitely needs it on phones he finds in cars or steals from downed terrorists. This guy only has a MOTORAZR? Better go kill some more.

•Remote Detonation: Remember when Jack Bauer detonated some bombs with a Treo 650? Yeah. He does that all the time.

•Tortureproof: If Jack can't figure out how to work a feature, he's either going to have to call Chloe (or the newly returned Milo—yay Milo!) to tell him, or torture it until the cellphone just does what he wants.

•100-megapixel Camera With 200x Optical Zoom: When he needs to identify one man he just killed from another man he just killed, there's no margin for error. Then again, CTU can always just "enhance" the image once it's uploaded.

•5G Data: 3G? 4G? None of these are fast enough to grab schematics and upload the 100-megapixel pictures he takes back to CTU.

•24+ hour talk time: Who knows how long Jack's already been using his phone when he needs to go on a United States-protecting killing spree?

So to sum it up, Jack Bauer needs a phone from the future—one that's definitely NOT the iPhone. When is he going to have time to listen to the iPod, check stocks, or use the touchscreen? Plus, who knows how well the sensors work when there's blood all over it. – Jason Chen

Jack Bauer Kill Count [Re-live every kill with full video and snapshots]

Image courtesy Flickr

WMD Case Mod: Jack Bauer Computing

Jason Chen — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:05:37 EDT

Tell me where the bomb is! The guys at bit-tech tried to create a custom-build case that looked exactly like a bomb on 24. The result? Explosive chrome goodness.

The naughty bits: water cooling, a countdown-style LED, slide out motherboard, a set of vandal-resistant switches, two power supplies, and lots and lots of man-hours.

Check the link for detailed photos of each grueling step of the process.

WMD Part II [Bit-tech]