Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

The Future of Energy Is Hidden in the Guts of Insects

This presentation from Berkeley Lab scientist Javier Ceja-Navarro hints at a strange new future for agriculture and energy production. I’m willing to bet it’s like nothing that you ever imagined. Ceja-Navarro is one of many researchers at Berkeley Lab who are trying to use biological systems to create sustainable energy — in this case, biofuels.…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

More Students Refusing to Pay Loan Debts to Fraudulent Online Colleges

They call it a debt revolt. Hundreds of students who got loans to pay for degrees through online schools like Everest, owned by Corinthian Colleges, are refusing to pay them back. They argue that Corinthian lied about how many of their graduates landed jobs, and are asking the U.S. Education Department to forgive their loans.…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

This Is What It Might Be Like to Fly Through a Giant Space Habitat

Want to live in a space city? You can’t move there next week, but artist Micah Ganske has designed an incredible VR experience where you drive a small spacecraft through an O’Neill cylinder, a massive tube-shaped space habitat that spins to create gravity so that people can build cities and farms on its inner surface.…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz

The Information Age Is Over. Welcome to the Infrastructure Age.

Nobody wants to say it outright, but the Apple Watch sucks. So do most smartwatches. Every time I use my beautiful Moto 360, its lack of functionality makes me despair. But the problem isn’t our gadgets. It’s that the future of consumer tech isn’t going to come from information devices. It’s going to come from…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Gizmodo Seeks News Editor

Are you fascinated by technology in all its forms, and obsessed with following the latest news on everything from smartphones and chromebooks, to internet culture and emerging tech? If you’ve got some experience working as a tech editor or journalist, Gizmodo’s news editor gig could be yours! Gizmodo is seeking a full time senior editor…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

It’s Microsoft Build, Day 2: Live, Streaming, Hot

If you can’t get enough of the sizzling hot code popping on the screen at the Microsoft Build conference, today’s keynote will do you right. Watch it here, live, starting at 8:30 AM Pacific time. Yesterday’s keynote brought us news about porting apps to Windows, and what to expect in Windows 10 (as well as…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Watch the Microsoft Build Keynote, Right Now

Microsoft’s developer conference, Build, started early this morning in San Francisco. You know it’s for developers because they’re showing off API code on stage — and you can tune in right now, via livestream. Find out what’s next for Windows! Gizmodo is here in the audience, and will be bringing you updates on all the…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

When Gas Erupts Out of the Sun, It’s Like a Mountain Range Made of Fire

This picture shows a massive solar filament that’s made of burning gas. Astrophotographer Göran Strand took this yesterday with his solar telescope, and added in the scale of the distance between Earth and the Moon to give you an idea of how goddamn enormous this thing was. Strand tells Gizmodo: Here’s a photo I took…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz

Why Was Carl Sagan Blackballed from the National Academy of Sciences?

If you’re ever feeling crappy about not getting recognition for your work, just remember that even Carl Sagan got negs from his scientific colleagues. In fact, he was never allowed into the National Academy of Sciences, despite all he did to popularize the scientific worldview. In an article about Sagan’s life, his former student David…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Google Attempts to Fight Patent Trolls with a Pretty Dubious Strategy

Google’s legal team has just announced that they’ll be buying as many patents as possible in order to “remove friction from the patent market” and defeat patent trolls, companies that buy patents just to sue people on bogus charges of infringement. But there’s a big problem with this strategy. Patent trolls are formally known as…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Why Is It Called “Rebooting”?

You hear the phrase all the time when you’re working with computers, especially on customer service calls: “Please reboot your computer.” Why do we use the word reboot to mean “turn it off and on again”? It all goes back to tech history — and to one of the most revolutionary aspects of these computing…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

New Hookup App Promises Terrifying Dates with Free Travel

I have never seen an ad for a product that so completely sums up all the reasons why you would never, ever want to use it. The MissTravel app helps “attractive females” score free vacations from “generous males” who just want a first date. And this insanely creepy video is supposed to sell you on…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Apple Is to Tech as Star Wars Is to Movies. Just Think About It.

We’re right in the middle of simultaneous Apple and Star Wars product orgies, and it’s suddenly become clear to me why Apple and Star Wars are pretty much the same brand, only in different industries. They Were Born in the Geek Grassroots Before the days of Star Wars mania and Apple obsessives, entrepreneurs aimed to…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Homeland Security Secretary Begs Silicon Valley to Stop the Encryption

Today at massive security tech conference RSA in San Francisco, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told a packed audience that DHS would be forging alliances with Silicon Valley. He described plans to build an office here, in order to work directly with tech companies on key issues for the DHS. He said: I…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz

Twitter’s Inexplicable New Settings Highlight Problems with Abuse

So Twitter created a rather obscure new setting in its privacy menu called “Receive Direct Messages from Anyone.” Now, people you don’t follow can send you a direct message, or DM, in private. Here’s why this setting got people’s knickers in a bunch — for some pretty good reasons. First of all, the whole point…

Privacy & Security Annalee Newitz

Girl Scout Cookies, or California’s Most Notorious Strain of Cannabis

I first heard of Girl Scout Cookies a few years ago, shortly after I got my prescription for cannabis in California. I went into my local dispensary and asked for whatever buds they had that smelled the nicest. “Have you tried Girl Scout Cookies?” the woman behind the counter asked. “It’s famous.” Image by Ry…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

This New Series About Hacking Could Actually Be Amazing

Here’s the teaser for the new hacker television series Mr. Robot that took the South by Southwest Film Festival by storm earlier this year. It’s sort of like a darker version of Hackers, with a tormented geek hero named Elliot who is tempted by Anonymous-like forces of chaos. Audiences who saw it at SXSW say…

Television Annalee Newitz

Want the Best App for Your Daily Commute? Take a Public Bus.

I take buses and trains everywhere in the San Francisco area, and I know the city’s bus routes better than I know the UX on my phone. So I had to try Leap, the city’s new private bus service. It was a nice experience in many ways, but I wouldn’t recommend it – and not…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Poll: Which Ports Do You Want on Your Dream Machine?

The new MacBook is out this week, and its most famous attribute — other than its heroin-addicted model skinniness — is its single USB-C port for power and everything else. Yep, you can’t power your machine and use an external monitor or USB drive at the same time. So let’s build a crazy multi-port dream…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Now You Can See How Close to Perfect the SpaceX Landing Was

Yes, it’s true that yesterday SpaceX failed to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone barge in the ocean. But it wasn’t exactly a crash landing, like last year’s attempt. In fact, it was a nearly perfect landing — until the rocket began to tilt and fall over. This video…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz

The Future of Energy Is Hidden in the Guts of Insects

More Students Refusing to Pay Loan Debts to Fraudulent Online Colleges

This Is What It Might Be Like to Fly Through a Giant Space Habitat

The Information Age Is Over. Welcome to the Infrastructure Age.

Gizmodo Seeks News Editor

It’s Microsoft Build, Day 2: Live, Streaming, Hot

Watch the Microsoft Build Keynote, Right Now

When Gas Erupts Out of the Sun, It’s Like a Mountain Range Made of Fire

Why Was Carl Sagan Blackballed from the National Academy of Sciences?

Google Attempts to Fight Patent Trolls with a Pretty Dubious Strategy

Why Is It Called “Rebooting”?

New Hookup App Promises Terrifying Dates with Free Travel

Apple Is to Tech as Star Wars Is to Movies. Just Think About It.

Homeland Security Secretary Begs Silicon Valley to Stop the Encryption

Twitter’s Inexplicable New Settings Highlight Problems with Abuse

Girl Scout Cookies, or California’s Most Notorious Strain of Cannabis

This New Series About Hacking Could Actually Be Amazing

Want the Best App for Your Daily Commute? Take a Public Bus.

Poll: Which Ports Do You Want on Your Dream Machine?

Now You Can See How Close to Perfect the SpaceX Landing Was

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

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

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

Nothing Might Get Into Smart Glasses at the Worst Possible Time

Samsung Slashes $350 Off 49″ Odyssey Curved Gaming Monitor to Clear Out Stock on Amazon

How the Artemis 2 Moon Mission Could Go Dangerously Wrong

Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum Holds Its Lowest Price Even After Amazon’s Spring Sale Ends, Likely a Clearance Move

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?