Gizmodo: yikes

My Mobile Witness Ensures This Picture Message May Be Used Against You in a Court Of Law

John Mahoney — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:15:00 EDT

"Counsel, may I present Exhibit 112-B—a blurry cellphone picture of my client clearly under verbal harassment, with the caption "Soooo drunkkk xxx :(" attached, clearly sent on the batchelor party evening in question." If you find yourself winning (or losing) a future lawsuit with a similar piece of incriminating evidence, you'll have My Mobile Witness to thank—a new, free service that receives SMS or MMS messages from your phone and stores them in a time-stamped "vault," with the sole purpose of one day using them as official evidence in a future legal matter.

The service was created by two (overly?) careful real estate firm owners in Pittsburg who demanded their agents take pictures of all clients they meet for future legal protection. Once your message is in their hands, it cannot be erased or retrieved, and can only be accessed with a subpoena or a court order. I'm no lawyer, but instead of being a legal safeguard service, isn't what we have here basically a great way to blackmail via text? Video support is coming soon. [My Mobile Witness via AP]

WowWee Femisapien Fembot Gets Thorough, Semi-Naughty Video Shakedown

John Mahoney — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:20:00 EDT

As the folks at Robots Rule show in this video, Femisapien is "smart, funny, can dance up a storm and perform skits with you." What a gal. Here we get a demo of just about every feature imaginable, including Fashion Pose mode, Backup Singer mode, Business Card Handout mode—you get the idea. All fine and dandy. And then, there's this music video, where things get serious...with whips. I kid you not.

As you can see, like a few other WowWee vids the production value is prit-tay high. Yes, Femisapien can wield a whip to discipline Robosapien. Yes, she can shake her ass. Something tells me this is only the beginning of BDSM-tinged Femisapien vids. Guess that's what you get when you bring to market a programmable fembot with a molded plastic rear. Femisapien should be shipping soon to the US for $99. [Robots Rule]

Breathe Air Helmet Makes You One Intimidating Cyclist

Adam Frucci — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:40:00 EDT

Apparently, hay fever sufferers make dangerous cyclists, as if they sneeze they oftentimes send themselves careening into ongoing traffic. Solving that problem and also making cyclists look totally badass is this Breathe Air helmet. It's got a filter over the nose and mouth that's designed to filter out particles that will cause problems for people with allergies and asthma. Oh, and you'll look like you just biked out of a sci-fi movie, but I guess that's just a bonus.

There's no manufacturer as of yet, but when one is found expect for the Breathe Air helmet to retail for around $220. [Lancashire Evening Post via CrunchGear]

Frenchman Fotoshop Fiesta: Well, I Asked For It

Adam Frucci — Thu, 03 May 2007 19:00:00 EDT

Holy crap. I have been given a rare glimpse into the mind of Gizmodo readers, and I didn't know what I was getting into. You people are completely insane.

I asked earlier for you to Photoshop a picture of French Linux Codemeister Michel Xhaard in humorous situations. What I received… well, you'll just need to see for yourself. There are a few that are great and exactly what I was looking for, a few that kind of miss the point, and a few that make me weep for humanity. All entries are below, and since this contest had no prizes or promises of prizes, I think it's safe to declare that there are no winners here today. Only a bunch of twisted minds and one generous Frenchman who has been besmirched for no real reason.

I'm sorry, Michel. Can you find it in your heart to forgive us?

–Adam Frucci