Andrew Tarantola, Author at Gizmodo

Who Needs Pixels When You Have Six Million LEDs to Light Your Display?

LED televisions until now have generally just used an LED power source to light the LCD display. This differs from the Jumbo-trons you see at sports arenas, where each pixel is an individual LED. Now, Sony’s brought the big-screen technology to your living room with its Crystal LED Display. Instead of an LED source powering…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 9 '12

Sony’s New HDTVs Want to Change Your Mind About 3D

3DTV has earned a bad rap, and for good reason. Fast-moving sequences get blurry, the contrast gets soggy depending on the room’s brightness—and God help you if you try to watch low-resolution video. But Sony’s new Bravia HX 850 series aims to eliminate all these issues in one fell swoop. Sony’s Bravia HX 850-series televisions’…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 9 '12

Vizio Plans to Beat PC’s “Sleepy Giants” at Their Own Game

Not content with dominating the HDTV market, Vizio revealed on Friday plans to turn the PC business on its ear with a series of sleek, Apple-inspired All-in-One and Notebook PC’s. In an interview with Bloomberg, Chief Technology Officer Matt McRae announced that Vizio will unveil two Windows 7 All-in-Ones, with 24-inch and 27-inch displays, and…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 7 '12

If You Don’t Need LTE, Motorola’s Taking Wi-Fi Xyboard Pre-Orders and Shipping in Two Weeks

Which would you rather have, a Xyboard with LTE or an extra $200? If you chose the latter, Motorola’s now taking pre-orders for the Wi-Fi only tablet with plans to ship on January 18th. https://gizmodo.com/motorola-xyboard-review-it-only-looks-like-it-can-fly-5872474 Other than LTE connectivity—and the Droid branding found on Verizon’s iteration—Motorola’s tablet is identical to the one available in Europe…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 7 '12

The $100 OLPC Tablet Is Really Real

Building on its success with laptops designed for developing countries, the One Laptop Per Child project is set to unveil a long-awaited tablet at CES next week. Here’s what you get for $100. The OLPC has been kicking around the idea of a super-affordable tablet for over a year. Originally known as the XO-3, but…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 7 '12

Cook Anywhere You Please on This New Induction Range

Be it gas, electric, or induction, ranges have held onto a vestigial limb—a finite, unmovable set of areas to do the actual cooking. This new induction cooktop from Thermador, however, is smart enough to heat anywhere there’s a pot. The new Freedom cooktop bills itself as the first induction appliance whose entire surface acts as…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

London Muzzles Its Olympic Volunteers Ahead of the Summer Games

London may be setting up Europe’s largest Wi-Fi network ahead of the Summer Olympics but it’ll do a fat lot of good for the Games’ 70,000 volunteers since they’re effectively banned from using social media during the event. Like, at all. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), the organization responsible for mobilizing…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

Microsoft Wants Your Next WP7 Software Update to Be a Surprise

Getting a firmware upgrade notification is like getting an early birthday present—you’re extra excited because it’s so unexpected. Now, Microsoft is ensuring that every new WP7 update gives you that “early present feeling” by killing off its popular Where’s My Phone Update feature. But why? Microsoft announced on Friday that it “won’t be individually detailing…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

This Trailer Can Clean a Ton of Fukushima’s Radioactive Water in an Hour

Cleanup efforts around the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant are expected to require decades—up to fifty years, in fact. However, if a new radiation decontamination technology from Toshiba and IHI pans out, that date will come much, much sooner. The SARRY-Aqua (Simplified Active water Retrieve and Recovery sYstem) is a trailer-mounted machine the size of an…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

The World’s Thinnest Tablet and Ultrabook Are Coming to CES

Toshiba’s no stranger to ultra-thin portable devices (see: the Excite tablet and Protege Z830 ultrabook). Now Toshiba claims to once again have developed the world’s thinnest 10.1-inch tablet and 13.3-inch ultrabook. In addition to these super-slim devices, Toshiba also has announced that it will also have a waterproof, OLED tablet prototype that charges wirelessly. It…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

Surprisingly, Flying Drunk Doesn’t Result in Immediate Fiery Failure Explosions—Just Arrests

I’ve played both Microsoft Flight Simulator and Top Gun for the NES. If nothing else, both games taught me that flying an aircraft is freakin’ tough. So how did this guy do it drunk? The story began on Tuesday afternoon on Highway 37 in Sonoma County, California when two CHP officers spotted a blue and…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

Pioneer’s New External Blu-Ray Burner Is Lighter and Thinner than a Cheeseburger

The Cloud may be a hot topic in storage but it’s not very convenient when you’ve got more than a couple of Gigs of data to backup. Pioneer’s new external Blu-Ray burner can handle up to 128GB with its half inch-tall frame—the World’s thinnest. The BDR-XD04 makes mobile disc-burning feasible again. Sure it only writes…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

Kevin Mitnick Laughs in the Face of Your Puny Handcuffs

Famed (and Federally convicted) hacker Kevin Mitnick knows what it’s like to be clad in irons and he’ll be having no more of it, thank you very much. That’s why he now carries an ingeniously concealed spare on his wrist. As you can see from the image above, the black strap adorning his wrist looks…

Privacy & Security Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

So Is Gorilla Glass 2 Real or Not?

Short answer: yes. Corning announced today that it will be debuting the next iteration of Gorilla Glass at CES next week…though as cryptically as possible. It is reputedly designed with device manufacturers’ move towards thinner, lighter displays in mind. Take that, sharp corners. [Corning via Engadget]

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 6 '12

The Space Shuttle Program Would Have Been 40 Today, Were It Still Around

NASA had been kicking around the idea of a reusable orbiter spacecraft before it even completed the Apollo project. But it took until January 5, 1972—forty years ago today—for President Richard Nixon to announce the full-scale development of this iconic spacecraft. The space shuttle grew out of the earlier X-15 and X-20 design concepts from…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola Jan 5 '12

I Want to Hang My Instagram Wall Art in a Giant Polaroid

The snapshots from my phone can’t be the same quality as the ones from my DSLR but they’re often the ones I like the best. And to show them off properly, these candid shots need a proper display—like an oversized Polaroid picture frame. The Polaboy is an LED-back wooden picture frame shaped like giant Polaroid…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jan 5 '12

Gentlemen, You Can Thank This Robotic Arm for Your New Head of Hair

Conventional hair transplant treatments can last eight hours or more. That causes fatigue in even veteran surgeons, and you don’t want a tired doctor plowing for follicles on the back of your head. Luckily, the new ARTAS system can do the heavy hair-pulling. Modern surgical hair transplant techniques used to treat male pattern baldness, as…

Health Andrew Tarantola Dec 30 '11

The FED Hybrid Humvee Will Save the US Army Millions at the Pump

The US military is serious about reducing its dependence on traditional fuel sources. Case in point: the FED solar and hybrid Humvees that will burn 70 percent less fuel than traditional armored troop transports. https://gizmodo.com/the-navys-new-mags-system-will-vaporize-marine-corps-tr-5860354 The Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED) is currently under development in Warren, MI by the U.S. Army Tank and…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Dec 29 '11

How to Disembowel 30 Salmon in Under a Minute

The world consumes more than 2 million metric tons of Salmon annually—both farmed and wild. That’s a lot of lox. And to get that much fish to market in a timely manner, one can’t gut them by hand. That’s why there’s the Gutmaster8000. To minimize spoilage and avoid the “fishy” smell that comes with it,…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Dec 28 '11

It’s Like a Ginormous Slingshot, But for Planes

How do you get a 45,000 pound plane up to launch speed on a 270-foot aircraft carrier runway? With a giant, steam-powered catapults of course. Jörg Sprave would be so proud. The modern aircraft catapult, part of the CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) system, consists of a towbar, which attaches to the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Dec 27 '11

Andrew Tarantola

Who Needs Pixels When You Have Six Million LEDs to Light Your Display?

Sony’s New HDTVs Want to Change Your Mind About 3D

Vizio Plans to Beat PC’s “Sleepy Giants” at Their Own Game

If You Don’t Need LTE, Motorola’s Taking Wi-Fi Xyboard Pre-Orders and Shipping in Two Weeks

The $100 OLPC Tablet Is Really Real

Cook Anywhere You Please on This New Induction Range

London Muzzles Its Olympic Volunteers Ahead of the Summer Games

Microsoft Wants Your Next WP7 Software Update to Be a Surprise

This Trailer Can Clean a Ton of Fukushima’s Radioactive Water in an Hour

The World’s Thinnest Tablet and Ultrabook Are Coming to CES

Surprisingly, Flying Drunk Doesn’t Result in Immediate Fiery Failure Explosions—Just Arrests

Pioneer’s New External Blu-Ray Burner Is Lighter and Thinner than a Cheeseburger

Kevin Mitnick Laughs in the Face of Your Puny Handcuffs

So Is Gorilla Glass 2 Real or Not?

The Space Shuttle Program Would Have Been 40 Today, Were It Still Around

I Want to Hang My Instagram Wall Art in a Giant Polaroid

Gentlemen, You Can Thank This Robotic Arm for Your New Head of Hair

The FED Hybrid Humvee Will Save the US Army Millions at the Pump

How to Disembowel 30 Salmon in Under a Minute

It’s Like a Ginormous Slingshot, But for Planes

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