Adrian Covert, Author at Gizmodo

Seven Tools to Make Your Front Porch Terrifying on Halloween

It’s Halloween. Do you have your decorations ready for all the trick-or-treaters? If not, you can still pick up some last-minute accessories to make your house extra-extra-creepy this year. Here are seven creeptastic tools to help. Strobe Light Want a cheap way to catch people off guard? Overload their senses with a strobe light. They’ll…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 31

Scientists Can Make Bomb Detectors with Inkjet Printers

When properly designed, explosives detection sensors are really expensive. But researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a cheap, ammonia-detecting sensor that can be manufactured with an inkjet printer and some paper. According to Gizmag, the key ingredient are silver nanopartibles, which are transformed into carbon nanotubes which attract ammonia (a component of explosives) in trace…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 31

Microsoft Says Their Licensing Agreements Are the Solution to the Patent Wars

In an interview with the SF Chronicle, Microsoft Attorney Horacio Gutiérrez argues against Google’s claims that the software giant is extorting money from companies such as HTC in the form of licensing agreements. He says it’s just a good solution. https://gizmodo.com/like-htc-samsung-now-pays-microsoft-to-put-android-on-5844906 According to Gutiérrez, the influx of smartphone-related patent lawsuits shouldn’t be seen as unusual…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 31

Headphones Deserve Monoblock Tube Amps Too

Monoblock tube amps are favored for their ability to deliver extra power and provide less cross talk (aka interference manifested as noise) when used as a pair. But monoblock amps dont normally support speakers and headphones as this one does. According to Gizmag, Woo Audio’s WA-234 monoblock headphone amp utilizes a single-emitting triode design (preferred…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 28

Google TV 2.0: Android Honeycomb. Apps. Awesome.

When Google TV arrived last year, it possessed promise and potential that was never quite realized. Now Google TV 2.0 is here, armed with apps and a new content discovery system. And the search giant thinks they’ve got it right this time. https://gizmodo.com/google-tv-review-its-kinda-the-future-5672946 Google TV still revolves around the same basic concept. It is not…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 28

What’s Really Killing Your iPhone 4S Battery?

Battery performance on the iPhone 4S isn’t quite as good as it was on the iPhone 4. Some chalk it up to the more power hungry dual-core processor, which makes sense. Kind of. But others are attributing the problems to early bugs related to iOS 5 power management, or the unnecessary use of GPS location…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 28

Now Google+ Has Instagram-Esque Filters

Following the rumor that Facebook plans to offer retro photo filters, Google+ is actually offering them right now, which of course is going to totally ruin photo filters for everyone. https://gizmodo.com/facebook-will-kill-photo-filters-for-everyone-5834133 In addition to a bunch of less nostalgic photo effects, there will be filters that will make your photos look like they were cross…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 28

The Inner Workings of the First SLR Polaroid, Explained

The Lytro might be the new gimmicky camera du jour (and that’s cool, because it looks awesome), but the Polaroid was the original gimmicky camera with its print film that developed into photos instantly. Surely people had trouble wrapping their heads around this in 1972. Thankfully, Polaroid commissioned Charles and Ray Eames’ studio to put…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 27

SoundCloud for iPad: An Amazing Way to Stay Up on the Newest Music

Over the past couple of years, SoundCloud has become a favorite tool of musicians, record labels, and blogs to get the latest sounds out to the masses. Their newly-revamped iOS app, released today, puts all that music front and center. What’s it do? SoundCloud has been available on the iPhone for awhile now, but this…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 27

Were US Satellites Hacked by the Chinese Military?

Much has been made of the cybertensions between the U.S. and China, especially when it comes to military secrets. While any conflict thus far has been minor, the latest allegation of China hacking American satellites validates those concerns at least a little. According to Businessweek, a congressional report revealed the Chinese were caught running interference…

Privacy & Security Adrian Covert Oct 27

Browser Speed Test: Nokia Lumia 800 vs. iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II

How much will the single-core processor of Nokia’s Lumia 800 affect real world speeds? Well judging from these browser speed tests that SlashGear ran against the top Android and iOS phones, it’s noticably slower. https://gizmodo.com/these-are-nokias-hot-new-windows-phones-updated-hands-5853424 The Lumia 800 went up against the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S II in separate face-offs, loading a webpage (in…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 27

YouTube Rumored to Launch Their Professionally-Produced, Original Content ‘Channels’ Next Week

The Wall Street Journal expects the next generation of YouTube to begin next week with Channels, a handful of hubs focused around a particular theme that feature hours of original, studio-produced programming. But more than just shoehorning these channels into the current working design of YouTube, the entire site is expected to be reorganized around…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 27

Nokia 2100 Series: The First Cellphones Made for Actual Human Beings

The Nokia 2110 was somewhat unremarkable on the surface when it first appeared in 1994. It wasn’t impossibly pint-sized, nor did it have an overly complex industrial design. But it had something that no other phone at the time had: software. The software UI was more advanced than any other available cellphone. And with each…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 26

Seven Tools to Get Elected Mayor by the Internet

If you weren’t aware, our own Mat Honan was attempting to go against incumbent San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee as a write-in candidate in next week’s election. With the internet backing him, his campaign was shaping up to be formidable. Then The Man struck. The Department of Elections in SF found a way to negate…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 26

Augmented Reality Navigation Displays in Your Windshield? Absolutely.

What if you’re driving down a dark road in the middle of the night and you have no idea where you are? Navigating twists and turns would suck. But what if your car could display all the relevant info in front of your eyes? According to Gizmag, True3D is a technology that wants to put…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 26

Police Used GPS Tracking to Bust Identity Thief With Over 300,000 Victims

Police use of GPS tracking in investigations is something of a hotbed issue that calls into question how much privacy people are entitled to. But when it’s used successfully, as it was to arrest a California man who committed identity theft against 300,000 people, that argument becomes much more complex. According to Cnet’s Declan McCullagh,…

Privacy & Security Adrian Covert Oct 26

Do Tech Exec Trading Cards Have Business Stats on the Back?

Was Steve Jobs the comeback player of the year in 2001? Was Jeff Bezos rookie of the year? Who won the batting title? What’s the equivalent of winning a Golden Glove award? Who is Ted Leonsis??? The Net Moguls trading card series was put together by the venerable online ‘zine Suck.com, which featured snarky commentary…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 25

There’s a Logitech AirPlay Speaker Hiding Out on Amazon UK

I’ve thought it was a bit odd that Logitech, who has made some of my favorite iPod docks, had yet to produce an AirPlay speaker by now. That seems like it’s gonna change soon if this Amazon UK listing is any indication. Dave Zatz found the Logitech Air Speaker hiding out on the Amazon UK…

Gadgets Adrian Covert Oct 25

Is Daylight Savings Time Amazingly Brilliant or Amazingly Foolish?

Daylight Savings Time. Most of us in the U.S., save for Arizona and Hawaii, have been practicing this semi-annual time change for as long as we can remember. More summer light and theoretically less power consumption. But is it really so great? C.G.P. Grey put together an infographic-y video that breaks down all the benefits…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 25

Six Tools to Carry Out a Successfully Spooky Ghost Hunt

Halloween is just about here, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait a week to go ghost hunting. Those things scare the shit out of people year round. That’s why we’ve picked six essential tools to help you prove they exist. EMF Meter The common belief amongst ghost hunting experts is that ghosts emit…

Tech News Adrian Covert Oct 24

Adrian Covert

Seven Tools to Make Your Front Porch Terrifying on Halloween

Scientists Can Make Bomb Detectors with Inkjet Printers

Microsoft Says Their Licensing Agreements Are the Solution to the Patent Wars

Headphones Deserve Monoblock Tube Amps Too

Google TV 2.0: Android Honeycomb. Apps. Awesome.

What’s Really Killing Your iPhone 4S Battery?

Now Google+ Has Instagram-Esque Filters

The Inner Workings of the First SLR Polaroid, Explained

SoundCloud for iPad: An Amazing Way to Stay Up on the Newest Music

Were US Satellites Hacked by the Chinese Military?

Browser Speed Test: Nokia Lumia 800 vs. iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II

YouTube Rumored to Launch Their Professionally-Produced, Original Content ‘Channels’ Next Week

Nokia 2100 Series: The First Cellphones Made for Actual Human Beings

Seven Tools to Get Elected Mayor by the Internet

Augmented Reality Navigation Displays in Your Windshield? Absolutely.

Police Used GPS Tracking to Bust Identity Thief With Over 300,000 Victims

Do Tech Exec Trading Cards Have Business Stats on the Back?

There’s a Logitech AirPlay Speaker Hiding Out on Amazon UK

Is Daylight Savings Time Amazingly Brilliant or Amazingly Foolish?

Six Tools to Carry Out a Successfully Spooky Ghost Hunt

We’ve Seen the First 18 Minutes of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’

The New ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Trailer Amps Up the Nostalgia

Hollywood’s First Big Budget AI-Generated Movie Is About Bitcoin, of Course

White House Is Reportedly Ready to Drop Its Anthropic Beef and Embrace the Spooky New Model

A Critical Ocean Current System May Be Unraveling Faster Than We Thought

Lana Del Rey Just Released the First Bond Theme We’ll Hear for Years

Tesla Wants a $50,000 Penalty for Anyone Who Tries to Resell Its Signature Model S and X

Google Wants to Put Gucci Smart Glasses on Your Face

Disneyland Makes Up for That Han Solo Situation With a Lovely Leia Look

The Cockroach of Dinosaurs Likely Survived Extinction Because of Its Big Wet Eggs

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026