Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Why Facebook Is Evil, According To Mindblowing New Series Mr. Robot

The dark, psychological hacker drama Mr. Robot slayed audiences at South by Southwest, and now it’s become a series on USA. It’s one of those rare shows that actually seems to understand what’s corrupt and rotten at the heart of the tech industry — and wants to burn it all down. We talked to the…

Television Annalee Newitz

How Android Is Becoming the New Windows

It’s more nuanced than you think. Last week at Google I/O, one of the striking themes of the keynote was Sundar Pichai’s focus on Android as the future of Google. Android isn’t just the core of Google’s booming smartphone and tablet business; it’s also core to the company’s next phase, as they move into what…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Obscure FCC Regulation Could Make Local TV Channels More Expensive

Over at Bloomberg, an inside source reports that the FCC has just voted to allow cable companies to override local caps on cable pricing, effectively allowing cable companies to charge whatever they like for all broadcast TV — including when it comes from local channels. In some ways, this new regulation is just cementing a…

Television Annalee Newitz

Android M And Chrome Are Doing Something Great For Users

The most important news about Android M is how it will handle the way apps get permission to access your private data. That sounds like a humble little technical detail until you realize what a revolution it will be when we can set our own permissions on apps, any time we want. And Chrome is…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

The New Moonshots: These Are The Most Futuristic Ideas From Google I/O

The most futuristic projects at Google come out of its advanced technologies and projects group, or ATAP. And today at Google I/O, the ATAP team unveiled their vision of tomorrow, where your body, behavior and clothing will be the new interfaces that control your gadgets — and keep them secure, too. Project Soli: A Radar…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

It’s Google Brillo, the New Operating System for Your Home

This week at Google I/O, we’re likely to learn more about Brillo, Google’s oddly-named new operating system for low-powered devices that are perfect for a smart home or internet of things setup. Google Brillo has nothing to do with Brillo soap pads, nor Andy Warhol, which we find very confusing. Image via the Andy Warhol…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Watch the Google I/O Keynote Here, Live

Google I/O is the annual event all you Droid lovers and Chromies and Moonshooters have been waiting for. Today we’re going to hear what Google has in store for the next year — from Android M to Cardboard and more. Tune in live right here, at 12:00 PM eastern time. We’ll be liveblogging from the…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Making Heroin Could One Day Be As Easy As Brewing Beer

Breakthroughs in synthetic biology have suggested a bizarre and realistic possibility for the future of black market drug trade. Genetically-altered yeast could be used to make opiates for hospitals seeking a source of the painkillers — and then appropriated by drug dealers who want to homebrew heroin. Over at Wired, Lexi Pandell reports on a…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

High School Student Discovers the Best Way to Hide Evidence of Murder

High school sophomore Brynn Myers decided to tackle a forensics topic for her science fair project this year. And in the process, she discovered how to commit murder and hide the evidence thoroughly. Myers, a 16-year-old from Missouri, wanted to find the most effective way to hide blood after splattering it everywhere. So she put…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

We Talked to a Man Who Is Actually Excited About Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook has the distinction of being one of the world’s most widely-used email and calendaring systems — and the one that arouses the most profound indifference in its users. So we found the only person in our office who is non-ironically excited about the updates to Outlook that Microsoft announced this week. First, the…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

“Ya Ever Feel Like Galileo?” Highlights from a U.S. Climate Hearing

This is one of the greatest/saddest highlight reels I’ve ever seen from a U.S. government hearing on climate change. Last week, the Committee on National Resources got experts and politicians together to explore whether climate change and carbon emissions should be considered “environmental impacts” in federal projects. Captured here are about 10 minutes of meandering…

Climate Change Annalee Newitz

Apple Prophet Says New iPhone Is Coming

We are apparently so desperate as a civilization for news of the next iPhone that there are Apple diviners who specialize in predicting when it will come. Now the best of these diviners, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, says he’s convinced the new iPhone is coming in August. Over at Business Insider, they are taking…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Here’s How Space Megastructures Will Look, According to Neal Stephenson

Famed scifi author Neal Stephenson’s new novel Seveneves is out today, and one of the most exciting things about it is that it’s packed with realistic representations of space megastructures where humans live. We talked to Stephenson about his ideas, and have some exclusive art from Weta showing what they look like. Mild spoilers for…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz

This Newly-Discovered Class of Galaxies Shouldn’t Exist

When you spot a galaxy in a telescope, you know it — galaxies are bright, dense collections of millions of stars, often in a spiral or orb shape, held tightly together by gravitational forces. But now scientists have discovered a new kind of galaxy, which they call “fluffy” and “wispy.” No one is sure how…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz

Good Kill Makes A Point About Drone Warfare You Never Considered

Good Kill is the latest high tech parable from director Andrew Niccol, best known for scifi flicks GATTACA and In Time. Set in 201o, it deals with “actual events” in the lives of drone pilots flying assassination missions over Afghanistan. The movie is uneven, but it will give you a look at drone warfare that’s…

Movies Annalee Newitz

This Swimming Robot Can Bring Beer to Thirsty Sailors

OpenROV is an open hardware kit that allows you to build a fully-functioning remotely-operated vehicle that can dive into the water and shoot video. And now some helpful marine biologists have hacked the amazing little robot to bring them beer. Just watch and enjoy. My favorite part is when they identify the OpenROV as having…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Smithsonian Museum Forum About Tech Innovation — Live Right Now!

Today at 10:30 eastern, watch this livestream of a fascinating discussion at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History called “Innovation Echo: Tomorrow’s Brightest Days.” A panel of experts will be talking about how we can encourage more tech innovation in America, using education and community organizing. The question the panel will grapple with is…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Dealing With People Who Want Weird Plastic Surgery

Next month, Vegas hosts the annual Aesthetics Show, an industry conference for the cosmetic surgery community. The topics they’ll be discussing — including the one captured in the headline above — hint at the future of consumer biotech. Or a future dystopia. You decide. So yeah, there’s a special lunchtime talk on the topic of…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Your Sex Life Is an Engineering Project

Everything is hackable — you can jailbreak your phone to get better apps, but you can also mod your own eyeballs to have night vision. Where do we go from there? Your libido, of course. Programmable vibrators are the new frontier in customizable gadgets, and we got a taste of what they’re like. Two very…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Slay Enemies with a Cell Phone Stun Gun and Tactical Defense Pen

If you can’t destroy your opponents with sarcasm or a deftly-executed line of code, you can at least stun them with a million volts of electricity from your cell phone, or stab them with the pen in your pocket. That’s what these actual, real-life products from True Swords promise. Here are the product details on…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz

Why Facebook Is Evil, According To Mindblowing New Series Mr. Robot

How Android Is Becoming the New Windows

Obscure FCC Regulation Could Make Local TV Channels More Expensive

Android M And Chrome Are Doing Something Great For Users

The New Moonshots: These Are The Most Futuristic Ideas From Google I/O

It’s Google Brillo, the New Operating System for Your Home

Watch the Google I/O Keynote Here, Live

Making Heroin Could One Day Be As Easy As Brewing Beer

High School Student Discovers the Best Way to Hide Evidence of Murder

We Talked to a Man Who Is Actually Excited About Microsoft Outlook

“Ya Ever Feel Like Galileo?” Highlights from a U.S. Climate Hearing

Apple Prophet Says New iPhone Is Coming

Here’s How Space Megastructures Will Look, According to Neal Stephenson

This Newly-Discovered Class of Galaxies Shouldn’t Exist

Good Kill Makes A Point About Drone Warfare You Never Considered

This Swimming Robot Can Bring Beer to Thirsty Sailors

Smithsonian Museum Forum About Tech Innovation — Live Right Now!

Dealing With People Who Want Weird Plastic Surgery

Your Sex Life Is an Engineering Project

Slay Enemies with a Cell Phone Stun Gun and Tactical Defense Pen

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

Jackery Power Station With 200W Solar Panel Still $590 Off as Amazon Clears Out Leftover Stock After the Spring Sale

The Best Pop Culture Art Gallery In the World Is No More

Forget Apple’s Magic Keyboard, Logitech MX Keys for Mac Refuses to Go Back to Full Price After Amazon Spring Sale

Google’s Next Fitbit Sounds Exactly Like a Whoop Clone

Amazon eero WiFi 7 Router (3-Pack) Keeps Its Spring Sale Price, Covering Up to 120 Devices Across 6,000 Sq. Ft.

72 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in April

A Cosmic ‘Dead Zone’ for Black Holes Is Real, New Evidence Suggests

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

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?