Brendan I. Koerner, Author at Gizmodo

Low End Theory

Polaroid: Still Raging Against the Dying of the Light By Brendan I. Koerner Bidding adios to longtime attachments is always difficult, even when cutting the cord is obviously the smart, rational choice. Whether it be a girlfriend whose poor dental hygiene can be tolerated no longer, or a pet hamster who hasn’t moved in days…

Gadgets Brendan I. Koerner Feb 16 '06

Low End Theory

License to Cheese By Brendan I. Koerner Back when I was yea-high as a grasshopper, I lusted after the Sports Illustrated football phone. All y’all who came of age during the Iran-Contra Affair know what I’m talking about—in exchange for subscribing to America’s favorite sports magazine, the good folks at Time Inc. would send you…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Feb 9 '06

Low End Theory

How Do You Say “Low End” in Dutch? By Brendan I. Koerner Several years back, I visited an American pal who was hunkered down in West Berlin. On a lark, we took a Soviet-era train to the (intermittently) lovely Polish town of Szczecin, to catch some of the sights. (Yes, our travel plans were made…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Feb 2 '06

Low End Theory

From Sharp Minds Come Cheap Products By Brendan I. Koerner Along with “lose five pounds” and “finally overcome a debilitating fear of clowns,” getting organized is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Come on, you know you’ve made the promise more than once—that this is the year you finally start writing down phone…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Jan 26 '06

Hype Sheet

Terrell Owens for Boost Mobile By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch Ad-libbing in an empty gym, eternally controversial Philadelphia Eagles wideout Terrell Owens waxes poetic on his dedication to the game of (American) football. “I’m running routes in my head right now, catching a pass right now,” he informs us, while stealthily flexing his impressive…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Jan 25 '06

Low End Theory

Alas, Poor Yorx! By Brendan I. Koerner In my initial Valentine to the glory that is the clock radio, I namechecked a brand called Yorx, manufacturer of a truly clunky unit for sale on eBay. (Winning bid: One loonie.) Being rather unfamiliar with Yorx, and struck by its funny-sounding name, I made a mental note…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Jan 19 '06

Low End Theory

Still Waiting for that Precious Beep By Brendan I. Koerner To my tremendous chagrin, these friends of my mom bought me a Christmas gift—a hopelessly ugly porcelain plate rimmed with shells and starfish and other nautical tidbits. As if lugging the blasted thing across three time zones weren’t pain enough, I also felt compelled to…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Jan 12 '06

Hype Sheet

The Bose SoundDock By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch A glossy magazine insert (spied in The New Yorker) asks readers to “Insert iPod “—not literally, mind you, but rather by pulling on a small tab marked “open.” Doing so reveals (rather unsurprisingly) a splashy picture of the company’s iPod dock, annotated with praise from Wall…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Jan 11 '06

Low End Theory

ShackWatch Returns: Special Christmas Edition! By Brendan I. Koerner Like all y’all, I ve been noticing a definite uptick in Radio Shack’s ad campaign as of late. You know what I’m talking about—those holiday-themed commercials in which wannabe lotharios, car-crazed burnouts, and emasculated husbands sit in a comfy chair, stare into the camera, and request…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Dec 22 '05

Hype Sheet

Nokia’s “It’s Your Life in There” Campaign: Jill By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch A blond with an upturned nose and childbearing hips sits atop her bed, discussing her cellphone-centric breakup ritual. Upon ending it with some fellow, she exorcises the relationship demons by deleting the man’s information from her handset—his photos, his e-mails, and,…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Dec 21 '05

Low End Theory

Words’ Worth By Brendan I. Koerner There’s a fantastic scene in the criminally underrated John Carpenter flick They Live, in which the character played by “Rowdy” Roddy Piper first dons the Ray-Bans that enable him to see Earth’s alien invaders. The aliens looks just like you and me sans sunglasses, but like horrible freaks when…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Dec 15 '05

Low End Theory

Have Yourself a Coby Little Christmas By Brendan I. Koerner Sorry to bum you right the heck out, but it’s time to start your holiday shopping. Remember how you vowed last year that you’d never, ever wait until the last second again, in order to avoid those ghastly lines at Williams-Sonoma? (A pox upon your…

Gadgets Brendan I. Koerner Dec 2 '05

Hype Sheet

The Moto PEBL By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch A serene-yet-serious man bearing a vague resemblance to a Siamese Dream-era James Iha holds a black PEBL in his outstretched hand. How he manages to look so calm is beyond me; if I were standing on a glacier clad in nothing but a fringed blanket, I’d…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 30 '05

Low End Theory

Tapeheads By Brendan I. Koerner Okay, pop-quiz time: when’s the last time you purchased an pre-recorded audio cassette? Unless you’re a fan of obscure, import-only Afrobeat or Punjabi Bhangra, the answer is probably, “A long-ass time ago.” Okay, so maybe a few of you are audiobook fans. But even those seem to be going digital…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 17 '05

Hype Sheet

The Video iPod By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch Abandoning its iconic dancing silhouette in favor of a more utilitarian approach, Apple touts the video iPod with a stark-yet-powerful print campaign. Six of the players are lined up in a row, their screens ablaze with track info, family photos, the title screen from Lost, and…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 16 '05

Low End Theory

Spread Eagled… for Value! By Brendan I. Koerner Last Friday, my girlfriend and I played hooky and ventured southward to Sunset Park, a polyglot Brooklyn neighborhood. On our way to an excellent Turkish restaurant on 60th Street, we passed by a JCPenney catalogue store—y’know, one of those joints where you can pick up those Sure…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 10 '05

Airtime

Out of Sync By Carlo Longino Syncing contacts is an issue that has affected nearly every mobile phone user, even if they haven’t realized it. A lot of the talk about syncing involves business types trying to move their contact info from Outlook to a Treo, but the average Joe faces considerable syncing woes, too,…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 8 '05

frog Design Mind

Designing Technology Systems: The Evolution of Increasing Complexity By David Hoffer “Complex mechanical devices can go wrong in many ways,” writes Don Norman in his book Emotional Design. “And many a person has fallen in love—or become outraged—over the transgressions of automobiles, shop equipment, or other complex machinery.” Norman is speaking about individual devices. The…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 7 '05

Low End Theory

Insignia: Mark of the Least By Brendan I. Koerner I trust I’m not alone in dreading my semi-regular trips to Best Buy. The haphazard selection of products can be truly maddening, and many of the blue-shirted sales clerks need to get with the program. Don’t get me started on the nightmare that was Christmas 2003,…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 3 '05

Hype Sheet

The Logitech QuickCam By Brendan I. Koerner The Pitch Various real-life folks—as opposed to actors—teleconference with the aid of Logitech’s QuickCam. In one spot, a father and daughter make playful farting noises while mommy, presumably on a business trip, semi-disapprovingly watches on her laptop; in another, an aging frat boy reluctantly takes yoga instruction from…

Tech News Brendan I. Koerner Nov 2 '05

Brendan I. Koerner

Low End Theory

Low End Theory

Low End Theory

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

Low End Theory

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

Low End Theory

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

Low End Theory

Airtime

frog Design Mind

Low End Theory

Hype Sheet

‘Doctor Who’ Monsters Dream of Returning in This In-Universe Folktale (Exclusive)

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This Is What a Leg Ravaged by ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Looks Like

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

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

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

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee