Gizmodo: Horror

Dog's Head Being Kept Alive via Machine

Adam Frucci — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:40:47 EDT

In the unsettling video found after the jump, Soviet scientists in the mid-20th century keep the severed head of a dog alive via an "autojector," a primitive heart and lung machine. The dog reacts to sounds, opens its eyes, eats, licks its lips, and generally looks alive. The video has been debated by experts for years, but now you can be the judge thanks to the wonders/horrors of the internet. So, what say you? Is this poor pooch surviving sans body, or is another Ruskie trick? Either way, I'm sure we can all agree on one thing: holy f'ing shit.

Yikes. To make you feel better, might I suggest revisiting the adorable bionic puppy? [Environmental Graffiti via io9]

Internal Microsoft Vista Video is as Painful as Videos Get

Adam Frucci — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:27:55 EDT

You've gotta wonder how, in a company the size of Microsoft, there's not a single person who has the balls to step up and say "Hey, you know what? This Vista music video we're making for the sales department, complete with a cheesy Bruce Springsteen impersonator and horrible music, damages the dignity of not only everyone involved in its production, but everyone who watches it." Seriously, how did this little slice of cringe-inducing embarrassment ever get made? What year is this? I need to lie down. I'm sorry. Check the video after the jump. UPDATE: The video is an internal spoof, an insider confirms. First: Good for them saving their sense of style and decency and humor. Second: Could they please not spend the money staging fake concerts and really good spoof videos and keep the SP patch works coming? We kid because we love XP!

[NeoWin via CrunchGear]

The Steve Jobs Photoshop Gallery of Good, Evil, and Awkwardness

Adam Frucci — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:15:00 EDT

Yet again, the results of a Gizmodo Photoshop contest prove just how warped and twisted the minds of Giz readers are. The most recent challenge: use your skills to depict Steve Jobs as either good or evil. The results ranged from inspired to unsettling to confusing to borderline-offensive, which is just what any good Photoshop contest should end up with. Now, my friends, onward to the Gallery of Champions! Let's see what your fellow readers created. I apologize in advance to Steve and to all of your brains for what you're about to see.

Now Available: The Ugliest Cellphone Ever Created

Adam Frucci — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:15:00 EST

Not only does this Givori Serendipity phone look like it was designed by some sort of ADD-afflicted, semi-retarded Midwestern housewife at a forced-labor craft fair, but it costs $3,100. Hell, I'd pay that much to make sure I never become friends with anyone who would use this thing.

Luckily, that probably won't be an issue, as there are only going to be 50 of them made, each "meticulously handcrafted to ensure that no two phones are alike." Essentially, they're just normal phones that have been horribly bedazzled, as you can choose between either a Nokia 8800 Arte or a Nokia N76, neither of which are worth anywhere near $3,100 in their much better, uncrapified states (although that 8800 Arte ain't cheap). The sad thing? These things will definitely sell out, because people are dumb. [Khaleej Times via Luxury Launches]

Japanese Robot Cat Provides Companionship, Nightmares

Adam Frucci — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:45:00 EDT

This is a commercial for a horrifying Japanese robotic kitty called Yume Neko Smile. It's just like a real cat, except it won't leave dead birds on your doorstep, won't scratch up your furniture and doesn't have a soul. Buy yours today! [Akihabara News]

Deletemusic Worm Goes After What Really Counts

Adam Frucci — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:15:02 EDT

Call me crazy, but this sounds much worse to me than past viruses in the news: A new worm goes straight after MP3 files, deleting them all from your hard drive before moving on to find more victims. It's spread mostly via external devices, so as long as you don't plug in some random thumb drive you found on the street you should be OK. But seriously, stay away from my MP3s! Make me reinstall my OS, fine, but just don't touch the music. [Symantec via The Register and Uber-Review]

Mary Poppins Turned Into She-Devil: It's All In The Editing

Charlie White — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:08:12 EST

If you ever wondered how important video and film editing is, this trailer will show you exactly how a bin full of innocuous footage can be skillfully turned into a frightening and powerful sequence. Just add talent. – Charlie White

Mary Poppins re-cut into Horror film [The Disney Blog, via boingboing]

Download Free Old Time Horror Radio Shows in MP3

Travis Hudson — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:11:36 EST

If you are still looking for the perfect background music for your Halloween party tonight, or just looking for some music to creep out the trick-or-treaters This may have the perfect solution. The Monster Club has a huge library of oldie horror radio shows available for download in MP3 format. Forget those Halloween noise CDs—just play a couple of these bad boys and show those damned kids what horror was really like, before the Internet. Wait, the world still existed without the Internet? That is a pretty horrific idea itself. – Travis Hudson

Downloads Here [Via Retro Thing]

Why VoIP May Cause Suckage

johnb — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:27:00 EDT

PC World is featuring tales of woe from the VoIP front. Get this: one lady spend 12 hours on the phone with tech support and lost the number (it was 867-5309, we bet) she and her family had had for years.

Essentially, shoddy, fly-by-night VoIP resellers are racking up all sorts of complaints do to poor customer service and general jackassery. How this is any different than any other industry is hard to imagine, but it does clearly deserve its own feature and sense of righteous outrage. – John Biggs

Web Phone Woes [PCWorld]