Show us Some Gadget Uses the Manufacturers Never Intended

Sure, gadgets all have their uses that they were designed for, but that doesn't mean they can't serve other purposes. Once you buy something, you can do whatever the hell you want with it. Maybe you're using your old boom box to keep the tarp on your boat from flying away in the wind. Maybe you're using your old, broken iPhone as an ashtray. Perhaps your PSP is propping up a wobbly table. There are plenty of strange uses for gadgets that aren't in any instruction manual, and we want to see them. More »

Show Us Your Wildest Gadget Dreams in Napkin Sketch Form

It's a classic story: someone comes up with a million dollar idea while sitting at a bar and sketches it out on a napkin to remember it. Later, they profit, and they have a cute story about where they came up with the idea. Well, now's your chance. For this week's photo contest, I'm looking for you to get creative without the aid of Photoshop. Instead, I want to see what kind of fantastical gadget napkin sketches you can come up with. What have you always wanted to see on the shelves of Best Buy? What's the craziest or most futuristic device you can imagine? Sketch it out on a napkin, take a picture or scan it in, and email it to contests@gizmodo.com with "napkin sketch" in the subject line. I'll post the best sketches in our Gallery of Champions next Tuesday. Get sketchin'!

Giz Readers Love Rocking the Old Tech in Our Retro-Fantastic Gallery

Last week, I asked you to send me in photos of the oldest gear you still use on at least a semi-regular basis. It got a great response, and I really loved going through the entries. In the gallery below you'll find everything from 70+ year old radios to still-in-use LaserDisc and BetaMax players, clearly loved for many years by their proud owners. Clearly, not everything here is still in use (you still playing Ghostbusters II on your Tandy all that often?), but the nostalgia value alone makes a lot of these worth including. Walk with me, friends, down memory lane. More »

What's the Oldest Piece of Technology You Still Use Today?

I'm sure many of you have ancient, obsolete gadgets kicking around your home, maybe gathering dust in the back of a closet somewhere. You know, that old Mac Plus you didn't have the heart to throw away or an old cassette Walkman in the back of a junk drawer somewhere. But how many of you still use on a regular basis a gadget that the rest of the world considers to be an antique? Do you still do your taxes on an old Tandy? Will someone have to pry your Diamond Rio from your cold, dead hands? Send us a picture! We want to see your still-in-use devices from yesteryear. Send pictures to contests@gizmodo.com with the subject line of "old tech" and I'll post a gallery of the best and most amusing submissions next week.