Brian Barrett, Author at Gizmodo

You, Too, Can Own a Bulletproof Luxury Sub

Aspiring Bond villains take note: there’s only one of these Nautilus VAS luxury submersibles on the market today, so if you don’t act fast you risk losing out on a $2.7 million submersible joyride like few others. The VAS’s “military grade” construction (which I’m assuming means “bulletproof,” because life’s more fun that way, but in…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 13

Iron Man USB Jump Drive: 4GB of Tiny Tony Stark Storage

We can’t all have arc reactors or computer butlers—yet. But I may be willing to settle for a tiny Iron Man USB jump drive in the meantime. Adorable? Check. Collectible? Check. Affordable? Er… As much as I want to entrust my valuable files (okay, okay, not so valuable) to Tony Stark, $40 is a pretty…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 13

The 3D Hilarity Lurking Behind Classical Masterpieces

Classical artworks might seem boring, but applying the 3D treatment reveals some highly comical surprises behind the frame. Give it some time—the good stuff starts about 30 seconds in. I know, I know, this is just a viral video from Samsung to push their 3D LED TV technology. So sue me! It’s still funny. And…

Gadgets Brian Barrett Apr 13

Pilotless Navy Helicopter Busts Cocaine Deal During Trial Run

The US Navy’s unmanned “Fire Scout” helicopter was out minding its own business on a trial run, when its home base warship detected a suspicious speedboat on radar. That’s when Robocopter kicked into high pursuit—filming the whole way. The subsequent three-hour chase finally ended when the speedboat rendezvoused with a fishing boat, at which time…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 13

KFC Double Down Sandwich: Destroyer of Touchscreens

KFC’s Double Down will kill you someday. But we wanted to see what eating the greasiest finger-food known to mankind would do to a touchscreen device. The result: A disabled iPad and two ruined stomachs. https://gizmodo.com/dear-god-kfcs-chicken-as-bread-sandwich-is-coming-5508246 The Double Down, for the uninitiated, is a breadless sandwich: two oversized chicken patties between which lie two bacon…

Reviews Brian Barrett and Adam Frucci Apr 12

A Tree Grows In Manga

Manga comics have long breathed life into complex worlds and absorbing characters. Now they’re doing so for radish plants in artist Koshi Kawachi’s collection of elegant Manga planters. The collection of plant-growing comic books are installed at the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya, Japan. They’re as beautiful a sight from afar as they are mystifying…

Books & Comics Brian Barrett Apr 12

Vodka Bottle’s Programmable LED Ticker Is Worth a Shot

Let’s say a vodka bottle’s fancy label doesn’t quite broadcast how awesome you are for drinking it. What then? Why, slap a programmable blue LED ticker on there like Medea did. They also, lord help us, made an instructional video: You can program up to six messages of up to 255 characters, most of which…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 12

Google Docs Gets Major Collaboration Upgrade

Google Docs has gotten a major overhaul, with improvements that beef up collaboration across the board. That means real-time, character-by-character changes for up to 50 collaborators. And it’s not just for the document editor. Spreadsheets have also gotten an upgrade, with a new autofill feature and the ability to drag-and-drop columns. Google’s also introducing a…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 12

Thank God Xbox Achievements Aren’t In Real Life

Click to viewMuch like your video game driving skills are a real-life liability, here’s how your ceaseless quest for Call of Duty-like achievements might go over in an actual war. Spoiler: poorly! Unless, of course, you nail The Trifecta. Special super duper bonus feature surprise: a starring turn by Gizmodo’s own Adam Frucci. In yet…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 12

Intel, Motorola, Samsung and Others Unite Behind WiMax 2

The next release of WiMax is coming, and some industry heavy hitters have lined up to support the backwards-compatible 802.16m standard. The group, calling themselves the WiMAX 2 Collaboration Initiative (WCI), is pushing interoperability in the new protocol, basically hoping to scoot things along a little faster to aid in the 4G arms race against…

Gadgets Brian Barrett Apr 12

A Wearable Brain Analyzer

This awkward-looking contraption can read your mind—sort of. It’s an encephalometer from Hitatchi, and it measures the change in blood flow across your brain. You know what that makes it good for? Neuromarketing, apparently! And an old joke. The device isn’t intended for pharmaceutical usage, according to Nikkei, but rather for research institutes and neuromarketers…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 8

iAd: Apple’s Very Own Mobile Advertising Platform

Apple’s been eying mobile advertising ever since as early as January. Today, as part of their iPhone OS 4.0 announcement, comes iAd: Apple’s plans for in-app ads that are about to get a lot more interactive—possibly even fun. What that means is that we’re going to start seeing a lot more ads inside of apps.…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 8

Mitsubishi WD-82738: 82 Inches of 3D TV For Only $3800

Mitsubishi announced three new lines of (relatively) affordable 3D Home Cinema TVs today, but the one that sticks out? An 82-inch DLP that puts jumbo-sized 3D in your home for under $4,000. The trade-off, of course, is that DLP is going to put a little junk in your TV’s trunk. But it’s a trade-off I’d…

Television Brian Barrett Apr 8

See Android Market Grow: 9,330 Apps Added Last Month

The Android Market still has a lot of catching up to do, but they’re certainly picking up the pace: in March, over 9,000 applications were added. But more apps could mean more problems. One of the advantages of the Android Market so far is that though smaller, it’s been relatively free of junk and redundancy.…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 8

Pixar Studio Stories: Wherein Steve Jobs Buys John Lasseter a Volvo

We love Pixar around here. Who doesn’t? Which is why this Pixar Studio Stories series is such a delight: animated, behind the scenes goodies from the company’s illustrious history—including when they nearly lost most of Toy Story 2. The shorts are part of the bonus features on the Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 7

Sony Wireless Chip Connections: No More Wires, No More Pins

Connecting devices can take hundreds of pins, which is a lot of real estate. That’s one reason why Sony’s new wireless chip technology is so exciting—a circuit board free of clutter could be here in just three years. Sony’s using millimeter wave technology in the 30 to 300GHz spectrum to to create a short-range link…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 7

Deadly Sound Bullets Spring From Newton’s Cradle

Everyone’s favorite clacking desktop amusement has been weaponized. Well, almost: researchers at CalTech have used Newton’s Cradle as a jumping off point for an acoustic weapon capable of ripping through a submarine with its sonic bullets. The concept is similar: 21 parallel rows of ball bearings, each with weights attached to the end. The drop…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 7

Lenovo C200 All-In-One PC Features Blazing Next-Gen Ion Graphics

The Lenovo C200 all-in-one made a brief appearance at CeBIT a few months ago, but now it’s official: an 18.6-inch 16:9 display with a dual-core Atom D510 processor and optional next-generation Nvidia Ion graphics. You’ll want to take the option. The C200 is one of the first of a wave of products featuring the HD-capable…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 7

Google Removing All Games from South Korea Android Marketplace

There were rumblings last month that South Korea was going to block Android Marketplace because some games hadn’t been reviewed by the Korean Game Rating Board. Oh, yeah, Korea? Well, Google’s gonna just go ahead and exclude all games preemptively. The report, from Yonhap News, quotes a Google Korea spokesperson as saying that the move…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 6

Zero Angle Digital Camera Protects Lens and LCD Alike From Your Clumsy Paws

A nice digital camera‘s an expensive investment, which is why it’s so frustrating that the lens and LCD screen are often left so exposed. This concept—that flips a camera lid 360 degrees—would protect my soul-stealer but nice. What’s so great about the Zero Angle is that when flipped around, the protective cover acts as a…

Tech News Brian Barrett Apr 6

Brian Barrett

You, Too, Can Own a Bulletproof Luxury Sub

Iron Man USB Jump Drive: 4GB of Tiny Tony Stark Storage

The 3D Hilarity Lurking Behind Classical Masterpieces

Pilotless Navy Helicopter Busts Cocaine Deal During Trial Run

KFC Double Down Sandwich: Destroyer of Touchscreens

A Tree Grows In Manga

Vodka Bottle’s Programmable LED Ticker Is Worth a Shot

Google Docs Gets Major Collaboration Upgrade

Thank God Xbox Achievements Aren’t In Real Life

Intel, Motorola, Samsung and Others Unite Behind WiMax 2

A Wearable Brain Analyzer

iAd: Apple’s Very Own Mobile Advertising Platform

Mitsubishi WD-82738: 82 Inches of 3D TV For Only $3800

See Android Market Grow: 9,330 Apps Added Last Month

Pixar Studio Stories: Wherein Steve Jobs Buys John Lasseter a Volvo

Sony Wireless Chip Connections: No More Wires, No More Pins

Deadly Sound Bullets Spring From Newton’s Cradle

Lenovo C200 All-In-One PC Features Blazing Next-Gen Ion Graphics

Google Removing All Games from South Korea Android Marketplace

Zero Angle Digital Camera Protects Lens and LCD Alike From Your Clumsy Paws

‘Marvel Rivals’ Wants to Start Being More Than Just a Hero Shooter

‘How Do We Make Sure That Claude Behaves Itself?’: Anthropic Invited 15 Christians for a Summit

See the Next ‘Hunger Games’ in This Trip Down Memory Lane

Indie Animation Is Having a Moment on YouTube

Trump’s World Liberty Financial Makes FTX-esque Move, Borrows Against Its Own Crypto Token

Steven Soderbergh Wanted to Take ‘Bond’ Back to the ’60s

If You Make Fart Music, ChatGPT Will Be the Most Supportive Girlfriend You Could Ask For

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

VHS-Inspired ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Mod Takes Night City Back to the Future

Our Checkout Code Gives You 5 Years of ChatOn’s All-in-One AI Tools Experience for Less Than Half Price

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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