Andrew Tarantola, Author at Gizmodo

The Navy’s New MAGS System Will Vaporize Marine Corps Trash with Extreme Predjudice

The Mr. Fusion Era is nearly upon us! While our garbage can’t power our time-travelling DeLoreans just yet, the Marine Corps’ forward operating bases—in, say, Iraq or Afghanistan—could soon be powered by the refuse generated by their soldiers. The system, dubbed the Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS), was developed by by Terragon Environmental Technologies Inc…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 16 '11

Canada Introduces Plastic Money to Complement Its Loonie Currency

Canada’s battle against paper money dates back to 1987 with the introduction of the $1 “Loonie” coin. Now, the Canadian government is doing the same to larger denominations—replacing conventional cash with counterfeit-proof polymer bills. The new bills are constructed from a polymer blend that reportedly lasts more than twice as long as cotton-paper currency, as…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 16 '11

Steve Jobs Considered Using Wi-Fi to Crush Carriers

According to wireless guru John Stanton, he and Steve Jobs repeatedly discussed the feasibility of creating a “synthetic carrier” over Wi-Fi connections—thereby squeezing out AT&T—between 2005 and 2007. Stanton didn’t elaborate on why he abandoned the idea, though I’d guess it’s because Jobs figured out how to get Sprint to give him $15.5 billion for…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 16 '11

Mongolia’s Growing Mini-Glaciers to Battle Heat Island Effects

Despite being the coldest national capital in the world, Mongolia’s Ulan Bator is about to undertake a unique climatological experiment—employing artificial glaciers to cool and water the city during its warmer months. The £460,000 experiment involves artificially growing “naleds.” A naled is a thick slab of ice that can grow in excess of one meter—often…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 16 '11

Foursquare’s Now All About Discovery

Foursquare’s undergone something of a Renaissance over the last few weeks—packing on new features like Radar and unlockable badge levels. Now, the social-mobile site is shifting its focus away from check-ins and towards exploration while optimizing the site for tablets. https://gizmodo.com/foursquares-biggest-new-feature-isnt-broken-anymore-5853618 The screen shot above shows the most obvious change to the Foursquare website—a large…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 16 '11

Superman and Young Justice Give Brainiac a Mini-Fig Beat Down

I’m not much of a DC Comics fan—Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern took care of that—but this meticulously-crafted model of an assault on the Daily Planet is just jaw-dropping. Check out the full image after the jump. Assembled over a span of two months by LEGO builder Mr. Xenomurphy, this scene depicts Superman, Superboy and…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

The World’s First Chip-Based CPU Turned 40 Today

Who would have thought the future’d start with an ad in the back of Electronic News? But, on November 15, 1971 Intel announced its new 4004 processor—the first commercially available computer processor manufactured on a chip—and helped to usher in the Digital Age. Federico Faggin, Stanley Mazor, and Ted Hoff share credit for designing the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

Victorinox Presentation Master Multitool: Because Even James Bond Uses PowerPoint Sometimes

They’re called “trade secrets” for a reason. And if the competition gets their hands on your company’s IP because you drunkenly left it in a bar, you’ll need stringent security to keep them from peeping—like the Victorinox Presentation Master’s 256-bit AES encryption. It’s a Swiss Army Knife on loan from MI6. What Is It? The…

Reviews Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

Victorinox Presentation Master Gallery

The Victorinox Presentation Master The USB 2.0 drive is fully removable from the chassis The Class II laser is activated by pressing the Swiss Shield logo The Presentation Master vs. A Quarter The Bluetooth controls—one Up button and one Down button. What more do you want?

Reviews Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

Europe’s New X-Ray Laser Could Explain the Mysteries of Earth’s Magnetic Field

Whether peering towards the center of the Earth or searching for Jupiter’s “warm dense matter,” our understanding of a planet’s core remains largely theoretical. Europe’s newest new laser array, however, can recreate those same intense conditions here on the surface—using diamond anvils and X-ray beams. The center of the Earth is thought to be a…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

Hz0 Nano-Scale Vapor Waterproofs Gadgets from the Inside Out

Ruggedizing your personal electronics, especially waterproofing them, is a pain—typically either requiring you stuff it in a PVC bag or ensconce it in four pounds of silicone rubber. But, one day soon, our precious gadgets may come waterproofed on the molecular level. Instead of trying to seal water out of gadgets, the Hz0 waterproofing system…

Gadgets Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

University Boffins Print Self-Generating Origami

Employing the same physical forces that power Shrinky Dinks, researchers at North Carolina State University may have just created the future of product packaging—2D polymer sheets that bend into 3D forms when exposed to UV light. The process is actually really simple—the researchers first pre-stressed a polymer sheet, then ran it through a inkjet printer.…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 15 '11

Astronomically Expensive Wedding Rings Are Made from Space Gold

Space Gold, as we all know, is the rarest and most-expensive form of precious metal known to ma—wait, whaddya mean it’s just regular gold that’s been shot into space? And they want how much?!?! $17,000 per pair. To be fair, these are ultra-limited edition bands—only fifty pair will be produced. The Space Wedding Rings are…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola Nov 14 '11

Encased iPads Live Through Quarter-Mile Free Falls

The last time I saw something survive a 1300-foot fall, King of the Hill was still on and Peggy was celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary. After protecting an iPad from bowling ball attacks with their Sleeve case, G-Form shows off its Extreme Edge and Extreme Portfolio protective cases—by throwing them out of a plane. The…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 14 '11

Google Music Store Screen Shots Surface Ahead of November 16 Announcement

Rumors that Google may be unveiling its new music service on Wednesday gained a bit of credibility today when Technodroidve reporter Ricardo Romero (somehow) discovered the Music Store on his HTC Inspire 4G. While purchases and downloads weren’t activated, these screeners show that the service may include artist recommendations and a Free Song of the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 14 '11

Wall-E-Like Farming Robots Could Replace Undocumented Workers and Save the US Billions

Despite advancements in mechanization within US agriculture, some menial jobs are still best left to human workers. Problem is, federal crackdowns on undocumented laborers have decimated that workforce. The Harvester automaton could provide a cheap, readily available labor force without the threat of raids by the INS. https://gizmodo.com/king-of-the-cotton-pickers-5822464 The US agriculture industry is worth about…

Artificial Intelligence Andrew Tarantola Nov 14 '11

Philips Builds the First Universal Android Speaker Dock

The Android market is, as we all know, woefully fragmented. Thankfully, Philips has finally figured out how to make a standalone speaker system that can connect to any Android device, regardless of manufacturer. The Philips Fidelio series comprises three tiers of devices, the flagship AS851 model and two smaller versions. The AS851 features 30 Watt…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 12 '11

Buckminster Fuller’s Largest Dome Is Now a National Historic Place

Buckminster Fuller only designed about a dozen of domed structures to begin with, and many have either been torn down in lieu of new construction or simply left to rot. But not the dome at Materials Park in Ohio, it just received a $7 million facelift and is now listed on the National Register of…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 12 '11

Japan’s Most Expensive Single Malt Is a 50-Year-Old Virgin

If you can even find one of these ultra-limited-edition bottles of single malt whiskey from Suntory Holding, consider yourself lucky. Not many people even have the opportunity to glimpse one and even fewer are able to pony up the nearly $13,000 to buy one. The Yamazaki 50-year-old is one of the rarest whiskeys on the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 12 '11

Who Knew Mixing Nature and Fashion Photography Could Make Such Beautiful Art?

Much like a Reeces cup, an unexpected mix can sometimes generate something greater than its individual ingredients. Artist Matt Wisniewski skillfully wields his enviro-fanshionista influences to create these incredible pieces of overlaid art. [Matt Wisniewski via Colossal via Peta Pixel] You can keep up with Andrew Tarantola, the author of this post, on Twitter or…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 12 '11

Andrew Tarantola

The Navy’s New MAGS System Will Vaporize Marine Corps Trash with Extreme Predjudice

Canada Introduces Plastic Money to Complement Its Loonie Currency

Steve Jobs Considered Using Wi-Fi to Crush Carriers

Mongolia’s Growing Mini-Glaciers to Battle Heat Island Effects

Foursquare’s Now All About Discovery

Superman and Young Justice Give Brainiac a Mini-Fig Beat Down

The World’s First Chip-Based CPU Turned 40 Today

Victorinox Presentation Master Multitool: Because Even James Bond Uses PowerPoint Sometimes

Victorinox Presentation Master Gallery

Europe’s New X-Ray Laser Could Explain the Mysteries of Earth’s Magnetic Field

Hz0 Nano-Scale Vapor Waterproofs Gadgets from the Inside Out

University Boffins Print Self-Generating Origami

Astronomically Expensive Wedding Rings Are Made from Space Gold

Encased iPads Live Through Quarter-Mile Free Falls

Google Music Store Screen Shots Surface Ahead of November 16 Announcement

Wall-E-Like Farming Robots Could Replace Undocumented Workers and Save the US Billions

Philips Builds the First Universal Android Speaker Dock

Buckminster Fuller’s Largest Dome Is Now a National Historic Place

Japan’s Most Expensive Single Malt Is a 50-Year-Old Virgin

Who Knew Mixing Nature and Fashion Photography Could Make Such Beautiful Art?

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