Andrew Liszewski, Author at Gizmodo

Homescreen Voyeurs Rejoice, This App Lets You Gawk at Other iPhones

Admit it, whenever you see someone using their iPhone you’re always trying to sneak a peek of what apps they’ve deemed important enough to put on their homescreen, and what kind of wallpaper they’re using. Now thanks to an iOS app called #Homescreen that allows users the world over to share and stare at screenshots…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Dry Ice and LEDs Make Drifting RC Cars Look Even More Realistic

It’s almost impossible to get tired of watching tiny RC cars being skillfully drifted around a scale-model track, but Falken Tires ups the ante with the addition of extensive LED lighting kits on these racers, and some dry ice to help create the illusion there’s actual rubber being burned. And if you’re curious, the cars…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Why the Simple Aluminum Can Is Actually a Brilliant Piece of Engineering

You probably don’t give much thought to the aluminum can holding your sweet, sweet caffeine hit at lunch. But engineerguy Bill Hammack explains why the simple cylindrical can holding your Diet Coke is actually brilliantly designed and engineered for being both easy and cheap to produce, but also strong and durable for shipping. Over the…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Bluetooth Adapter Streams Music Through Your Record Player

If pressured, Jesse England might have a tough time justifying the existence of his unique creation—known as the Universal Record. What looks like an extra-thick piece of vinyl is actually a Bluetooth adapter for record players. But instead of transmitting sound from a turntable through a wireless speaker, it allows sound to be transmitted and…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

This Game of Thrones Toilet Is the Ultimate Iron Throne

The latest episode of Super-Fan Builds just popped up online, and if you were one of the millions of fans who excitedly watched the first episode of Game of Thrones season five last night, prepare to be insanely jealous. Because while other fans have made countless attempts to turn their own bathroom thrones into Westeros’…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Nervous About Presentations? A Stabilized Laser Pointer Will Hide It

If an upcoming PowerPoint presentation has the potential to make or break your career, the last thing you want is to look nervous and unconfident in front of your co-workers. A new Kickstarter project promises to help you hide your nerves with a stabilized laser pointer that projects a steady red dot so you look…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

Would Being Blasted With Rain and Snow Get You Back Into Movie Theaters?

As more and more content becomes available to stream from the comfort of a living room, cinemas are having a harder and harder time luring audiences into theaters. But will turning the movie-going experience into a tame thrill ride—including blasting audiences in the face with water—help boost attendance? A company called CJ 4DPlex believes that…

Movies Andrew Liszewski

Have Your Own Night at the Museum With Fully Posable Dino Skeletons

If you’ve stared in awe and jealousy at your local museum’s collection of dinosaur fossils, a Japanese toy company called Re-Ment wants you to finally be able to have your own. And with its new line of highly-articulated plastic dinosaur skeletons, you can even play museum curator and pose your prehistoric figures however you want.…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Microlenses Can Help Significantly Boost the Brightness of LED Bulbs

A Taiwan-based company called Beampro Technology has come up with a clever way to boost the brightness of LED-based lights without increasing their power consumption, or over-driving the electronics which can reduce the life of the the components. While most lights redirect and focus the glow of an LED using a reflector, Beampro has instead…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

The Army’s Developing a Crash Test Dummy to Measure Explosive Shockwaves

The automotive industry has developed some of the most sophisticated crash test dummies in the world for testing and improving a vehicle’s ability to protect its passengers in the event of an accident. However, when that vehicle is designed to protect its passengers from explosions, the U.S. Military decided it needed a crash test dummy…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

We Definitely Shouldn’t Have Taught Robots How To Sword Fight

Japan’s Namiki Laboratory is known for its robotic arms and high-speed vision systems that can move and react faster than a human being can. That’s the neat part. The scary part is that for some reason the researchers there have decided that teaching their creations to effectively fight with swords was a good idea. Have…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Death Star Soccer Ball Is Now the Ultimate Power On the Playground

Who cares about playing with a regulation or Fifa-approved ball when you can now play soccer with a tiny version of the Death Star? It can’t destroy planets (a minor trade-off) but this Star Wars Celebration-exclusive collectible could be yours if you’re heading to the festivities in Anaheim, California, next week. Just remember that it’s…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

A Sock Monkey Wookiee Will Scare Away Bedtime Monsters Across the Galaxy

The official Star Wars site has posted another collection of the exclusive merchandise that will be available at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California, next week, including a sock monkey that instead looks like a cuddly version of everyone’s favorite Wookiee: Chewbacca. What child could possibly be afraid of the dark—or the Empire—with a…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Sixth-Scale War Machine Will Make You Want Your Own Shoulder Cannon

Iron Man’s got the best one-liners and a shiny red suit, but when it comes to seriously wreaking havoc, everyone secretly wishes they could suit up in War Machine’s armor. And Hot Toys new sixth-scale version of the War Machine Mark II suit, from the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron sequel, is easily the next…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Multi-Headed Flash Drive Charges and Syncs All Your Mobile Devices

It’s often the case that when a gadget is over-packed with functionality, usability is sacrificed and it ironically ends up being less useful overall. But the On The Go, which promises to replace your flash drives, portable chargers, and sync cables with a single multi-connector contraption, looks like it’s managed to strike the perfect balance…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

You Can Already Pre-order That Flapping, Flying, RC Pterodactyl

Just over a month after we first stumbled across PaulG Toys’ flying pterodactyl at Toy Fair 2015, the unique remote control toy is available for pre-order via a Kickstarter campaign. And early backers can get the pterodactyl and a wireless controller with a donation of just $250 if they’re confident the crowdfunding campaign will be…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

This Lamp Opens Like a Blossoming Flower to Cast More Light

Mother Nature has had a lot more time to perfect her designs than we have. And since she hasn’t bothered patenting a single one, we’re free to not only use her creations as inspiration—but to straight up steal them. So if you’re trying to create a pendant light with an adjustable beam, there’s no reason…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

It’s BYOK(ernels) With This Re-Usable Microwave Popcorn Bag

Despite the lingering smell it leaves in the break room at work, microwaveable popcorn bags are truly one of humanity’s more ingenious inventions. But if you feel guilty about tossing that paper bag afterwards, or all the mysterious chemicals they use to simulate butter, try this re-useable silicone microwaveable popcorn bag instead. To make ten…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

It’s Hard To Tell These Quadcopter Speeder Bikes From the Movie Props

It’s not quite as thrilling as the original Endor chase sequence from Return of the Jedi, but Adam Woodworth has now created a Luke version of his speeder bike quadcopter allowing him and another pilot to recreate that scene while safely perched behind a pair of controllers. The second version of the RC model provided…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

This Drone’s Brain Is Just a Run-of-the-Mill Smartphone

Like with many technologies, drones and quadcopters are getting cheaper and cheaper as they get smarter and more capable. And as Dr. Vijay Kumar and a group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently demonstrated, the average consumer smartphone is now more than powerful enough to serve as an autonomous drone’s brains. The quadcopter…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Andrew Liszewski

Homescreen Voyeurs Rejoice, This App Lets You Gawk at Other iPhones

Dry Ice and LEDs Make Drifting RC Cars Look Even More Realistic

Why the Simple Aluminum Can Is Actually a Brilliant Piece of Engineering

This Bluetooth Adapter Streams Music Through Your Record Player

This Game of Thrones Toilet Is the Ultimate Iron Throne

Nervous About Presentations? A Stabilized Laser Pointer Will Hide It

Would Being Blasted With Rain and Snow Get You Back Into Movie Theaters?

Have Your Own Night at the Museum With Fully Posable Dino Skeletons

Microlenses Can Help Significantly Boost the Brightness of LED Bulbs

The Army’s Developing a Crash Test Dummy to Measure Explosive Shockwaves

We Definitely Shouldn’t Have Taught Robots How To Sword Fight

This Death Star Soccer Ball Is Now the Ultimate Power On the Playground

A Sock Monkey Wookiee Will Scare Away Bedtime Monsters Across the Galaxy

This Sixth-Scale War Machine Will Make You Want Your Own Shoulder Cannon

This Multi-Headed Flash Drive Charges and Syncs All Your Mobile Devices

You Can Already Pre-order That Flapping, Flying, RC Pterodactyl

This Lamp Opens Like a Blossoming Flower to Cast More Light

It’s BYOK(ernels) With This Re-Usable Microwave Popcorn Bag

It’s Hard To Tell These Quadcopter Speeder Bikes From the Movie Props

This Drone’s Brain Is Just a Run-of-the-Mill Smartphone

This Winter Fly Is Doing Something Scientists Didn’t Think Was Possible

Acer’s Mac Mini M4 Docking Station Drops to an All-Time Low, Supporting Up to 8TB Storage

Sony Is Hiking PS5 Prices for the Second Time in Less Than a Year

This Amazon Smart Plug Deal in the Spring Sale Makes Alexa Smart Home Setup Almost Too Easy and Cheap

Ryan Coogler’s ‘X-Files’ Reboot Has Found Its Other Big Star

Anker’s 100W Power Bank Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year on Amazon, Packing 25,000mAh and 3 Ports

Beats Solo 4 at 40% Off Is Now Apple’s Lowest-Cost Headphone Pick During Amazon’s Spring Sale

Now the Oscars Aren’t Just Moving to YouTube, They’re Moving Out of Hollywood

Fitbit Versa 4 Drops to a Record Low as Google Makes Another Push into Fitness Smartwatches Following the Pixel Watch

JBL Boombox 4 Speaker Didn’t Stay at Full Price for Long as Amazon’s Spring Sale Pushes It Close to Used Pricing

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees