Andrew Tarantola, Author at Gizmodo

Beats Dumps Monster Over Headphone Spat

Peanut butter and jelly, unicorns and glitter, Beats Electronics and Monster. One of these things just doesn’t belong, one of these things is not like the others. After a five-year collaboration, the two companies have terminated their relationship but do hope to remain friends. According to Businessweek, the breakup came about due to an irreconcilable…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

The Apricorn Aegis Is Fit to Store State Secrets

Sure the Apricorn Aegis looks like a garage door opener. But you wouldn’t get it for its looks, you’d get it for its 256-bit military-grade encryption. The Aegis holds 16GB of data and connects via a USB 2.0 plug. Its tamper-evident aluminum casing is waterproof, the interior electronics defended by a super tough epoxy compound…

Privacy & Security Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

Whaddya Mean Google Can’t Translate Pages into Elvish?

So what if Google Translate knows over 60 languages? Who cares that I can change text from Urdu to Haitian Creole? Where are the languages I need—like Klingon, Orc, or Sindarin? I mean, come on, there’s not even an option for English to Jive! What do you think? Which languages would you want to see…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

IBM Figures Out How Many Atoms It Takes to Hold a Bit (Hint: It’s 12)

Rather than trying to shrink current data storage technologies further, IBM took the opposite approach and designed a new system from the ground up—building it from individual atoms. The new storage could lead to 100-fold increases in chip densities. Take that, Moore’s Law. Researchers at IBM, in conjunction with the German Center for Free-Electron Laser…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

Scientists Find a Planet Similar to Mars Outside Our Solar System

Someone call John Lithgow and pull French Stewart out of storage, a team of astronomers using the Kepler telescope have discovered the smallest exoplanets, in the tiniest solar system, so far. And their existence may show that our solar system isn’t all that unique. The planets orbit a single star, KOI-961, and range between .57…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

For Sale: Slightly Used Military Dark Room, Classified Microfilm Not Included

With the shift to digital cameras, old-fashioned photomats are getting harder and harder to find. But this portable, Army-issue dark room has everything you need to develop your own prints wherever you are. The dark room is actually a 12-foot by 7-foot aluminum box, slightly smaller than a standard shipping container, but large enough to…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 12 '12

Mushkin’s Speedy New SSD Drives Are at the Top of My Post-CES Buy List

My new years resolution—stop putting up with the interminably slow boot times of my desktop’s conventional hard drive. With these new solid state drives from Mushkin, I may actually keep my resolution past January. First up is the Chronos Go. It features 560MB/s sequential write-speeds and 525MB/s read-speeds with up to a 480GB capacity in…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

Say Hello to My Little Friend—the World’s Smallest Vertebrate

This minute fellow—the one being dwarfed by a dime—just earned the distinction for not only being the smallest known frog species but also the smallest known species of vertebrate. The Paedophryne amauensis is native to Papua New Guinea and measures a scant seven millimeters (.27-inch) from nose to tail. It beat out a slightly larger…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

Pakistan Plans to Demolish Bin Laden’s Compound—With RPG’s

Osama Bin Laden may have gone out with a whimper but his secret lair in Abbottabad will soon be going out with a bang. A rocket-propelled bang, that is. Pakistani officials announced today that, in order to prevent the site from becoming a shrine, “We will hit it like an enemy fort,” the New York…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

Google Can Expect a Call from the FTC Over Its New Social Search Feature

Google changed the way its search works yesterday by heavily integrating Google+ social media content into its search engine results. Now, advocacy groups are up in arms about potential invasions of user privacy. What, like you didn’t see this coming. The Electronic Privacy Information Center announced today that it is considering filing a complaint with…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

Who Needs Headphones When You’ve Got Ludacris’ Party in a Box?

With the proliferation of phones and tablets as the primary listen devices for music, some producers go so far as to mix their tracks for tiny mono speakers, *cough*Akon*cough*. Others take the opposite approach, bypassing these tiny tweeters in favor of streaming the tunes to something a bit more robust. Dubbed the Party in a…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

The Dick Tracy Communicator’s Stylish Italian Cousin

We may still not have flying cars or jet packs but my first “living in the future” milestone—wrist-borne communications—has just been made real. An Italian watch-maker firm unveiled the “i’m Watch” today and it is awesome. Though it does offer many of the same functions, the i’m Watch from Buongiorno-DadaEnt is more than just a…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 11 '12

How to Apply a Dust-Free Screen Protector Even if You Don’t Have a Clean Room

Lift and restick. Lift and restick. You’ve been trying to get that screen protector on for over an hour now only to be repeatedly foiled by an errant speck of dust or pernicious air bubble. Bugger that. This new roll-on cover promises to apply it right, the first time. Called the PureTek Roll-On, this ingenious…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

Vizio Causes More HDTV Mayhem with the $100 1080p Stream Player

Don’t think that Vizio is just going to let its HDTV dominance wane now that it’s making PC’s. No, it’s not nearly done kicking the HD hornets nest. Today, Vizio unveiled a $100 streaming box that puts Apple TV and Roku to shame. https://gizmodo.com/vizio-plans-to-beat-pcs-sleepy-giants-at-their-own-ga-5873949 The Vizio VAP430 Stream Player box will feature Ethernet and WiFi…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

Hollywood’s Digital Movie Locker Finds a Home in Amazon and Samsung’s Hallways

The UltraViolet Initiative hasn’t exactly been the iTunes-killer Hollywood had hoped for. The File-Locker system, designed to simplify the process of owning one piece of content across multiple formats, has floundered in its first few months with poor reviews, unhappy customers and little industry support. But now that Amazon and Samsung have both invited UltraViolet…

Gadgets Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

Motorola’s Releasing Intel-Powered Androids Later This Year

Intel’s about to get its peanut butter all over Motorola’s chocolate. And, in addition to the Reese’s Pieces, we’ll see the first Intel-powered, Android smartphone in the second half of this year. The two companies announced today that they’ve signed on for a multi-year strategic relationship which will span multiple platforms—including tablets and phones. Specifically,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

Google Changes the Way Its Search Engine Works, Privacy Be Damned

Google’s great at finding pretty much anything on the Web—no matter how obscure—but has generally lacked social content thanks to itsongoing standoff with Facebook. But, according to the search giant today, the “most radical transformation ever” has just occurred to its search engine. But maybe not in the good way. Google dubbed this metamorphosis, “Search,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

Watch This Street Artist Put Bob Ross to Shame in Less Than Three Minutes

The Joy of Painting is a wonderful program—assuming you can get past the Afro and not doze off. But, if you don’t have an hour to learn to paint “happy trees,” check out street artist Fabian Gaete Maureira compose scenes like Bob Ross on crank. Maureira works in Santiago, Chile, using primarily his fingers to…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 10 '12

“Board of Awesomeness” Tops 30 MPH with a Wave of Your Hands

Until the scientific community gets off its collective duff and starts researching the important and poorly understood field of Hoverboard technology, we’ll just have to comfort ourselves with the Kinect-commanded, electric-powered, and Windows 8-controlled Board of Awesomeness from Chaotic Moon. The Board of Awesomeness (BoA), employs an as-of-yet unreleased Window’s 8 tablet in conjunction with…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 9 '12

Panasonic’s New Plasmas Are Built for the 99 Percent

Sure, you can spend $6,000 (or more) for a top-of-the-line HDTV with more bells and whistles than you can shake a remote at. But if you’re on a budget, Panasonic’s newest line of plasma HDTV’s offer top-flight features for bargain-bin prices. Panasonic’s ST, VT, and GT-series plasma displays each offer the Infinite Black Pro panel.…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 9 '12

Andrew Tarantola

Beats Dumps Monster Over Headphone Spat

The Apricorn Aegis Is Fit to Store State Secrets

Whaddya Mean Google Can’t Translate Pages into Elvish?

IBM Figures Out How Many Atoms It Takes to Hold a Bit (Hint: It’s 12)

Scientists Find a Planet Similar to Mars Outside Our Solar System

For Sale: Slightly Used Military Dark Room, Classified Microfilm Not Included

Mushkin’s Speedy New SSD Drives Are at the Top of My Post-CES Buy List

Say Hello to My Little Friend—the World’s Smallest Vertebrate

Pakistan Plans to Demolish Bin Laden’s Compound—With RPG’s

Google Can Expect a Call from the FTC Over Its New Social Search Feature

Who Needs Headphones When You’ve Got Ludacris’ Party in a Box?

The Dick Tracy Communicator’s Stylish Italian Cousin

How to Apply a Dust-Free Screen Protector Even if You Don’t Have a Clean Room

Vizio Causes More HDTV Mayhem with the $100 1080p Stream Player

Hollywood’s Digital Movie Locker Finds a Home in Amazon and Samsung’s Hallways

Motorola’s Releasing Intel-Powered Androids Later This Year

Google Changes the Way Its Search Engine Works, Privacy Be Damned

Watch This Street Artist Put Bob Ross to Shame in Less Than Three Minutes

“Board of Awesomeness” Tops 30 MPH with a Wave of Your Hands

Panasonic’s New Plasmas Are Built for the 99 Percent

Before ‘Witch Hat,’ Kamome Shirahama Blessed Us With a Hilarious Romp About Gals Being Pals

Meta Axes Contractors Who Had to Review Explicit Video From Smart Glasses

World’s Slowest Rocket Company Suddenly Wants to Churn Out 60 Rockets a Year

Lego’s May Releases Are Swooshing In

Buying Prescription Smart Glasses Might Not Be Such a Good Idea After All

Spirit Airlines Is Reportedly Moving Forward With Plan to Shut Down

Trump Resurrects Keystone Pipeline Killed Over Climate Concerns

The Old Republic Reigns Supreme in Hasbro’s New ‘Star Wars’ Figures

Everything You Missed From Elon Musk’s Testimony in the OpenAI Trial

New FCC Satellite Rules Could Improve Starlink Capacity to a Surprising Degree

The Best Tech Gifts for Mother’s Day 2026

Asus’ Dual-Display Gaming Laptop Will Ruin Your Single-Screen Lifestyle

Steam Controller Review: Trackpads Change Everything for PC Gaming

Soundcore Space 2 Review: A Shockingly Stellar Value for Budget ANC Wireless Headphones

Anker’s UV Printer Can Handle Almost Anything… If You Know What You’re Doing

HP’s EliteBoard Keyboard-Computer Proves We Can Stick a PC in Anything

Sleep-Tracking Earbuds Didn’t Fix Me, but They Did Open My Eyes

I’ve Tested a Lot of Bad Smart Glasses and These Are the Worst Yet

Roborock’s Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Is the Ultimate Robot Mop—If You Don’t Have Corners or Walls

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