Brent Rose

How To Smoke a Cocktail

Wood smoke evokes all kinds of wonderful things. A campfire as a kid. A pit full of coals at a great barbecue joint. The aroma is intoxicating on its own, but bottled up—and stirred into a drink—it’s indescribable. Expert barman Sother Teague showed us how a smoke infusion can give a cocktail a delicious twist.[jump]…

HTC One X+ Hands-On: Really Good Is Getting Better

We really liked the HTC One X, and from our brief encounter with the One X+ tonight, we’re going to like it even more. On the outside, it looks essentially the same—same gorgeous screen, same solid build—but its insides are nicely ramped up. https://gizmodo.com/htc-one-x-review-the-best-android-phone-right-now-upd-5907529 This will be the first phone hitting the States with Nvidia’s…

LG Optimus G Hands-On: Like Megan Fox Wrapped In Burlap

LG wanted to build a super-phone. Good idea. So LG crammed it with the nastiest specs we’ve seen on a mobile device. We were excited. We got to play with it today… and they covered that beauty in one of the ugliest skins we’ve seen. C’mon, guys! The tale of the tape: It’s an Android…

LG’s Optimus G Is an Android Spec Monster That’s Coming to AT&T [AT&T]

This Year’s Best Halloween Costume Is Cheap, Easy, and Awesome

Last year around this time, a NASA JPL engineer blew us away with a Halloween costume that used two iPads to create the illusion of a gaping hole in his chest. Cool, if you could afford two iPads. For the 99 percent of us that couldn’t, he promised that his 2012 costume would be equally…

19 Gadgets With Happy and Sad Faces

We like to anthropomorphize the objects in our lives, assigning our tools and tech personalities of their own. But some just go ahead and do it for you. The gadgets you are about to see wear their hearts on their sleeves. HAPPY: That wide-eyed innocence. “Everybody is going to want me,” thinks the Sony HDR-TD10e…

Cold Brew Irish Coffee: The Best Part of Waking Up Drunk

Cold brew coffee has recently gained a massive following for its incredible smoothness and delicious flavor. Irish coffee, being caffeinated and alcoholic, has been popular for even longer. Too bad Irish coffee usually tastes like an 80-proof mug of acid. But, with careful experimentation in the Gizmodo laboratory, we’ve discovered a way to produce a…

Why a Brand New, Billion-Dollar Aircraft Carrier Still Needs Old-Timey Wooden Ladders

So there you are, walking around on the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier. Everything around you is a multi-million dollar machine packed with advanced technology. Then something propped in the corner catches your eye. Is that an old wooden ladder? What the hell is that doing here? https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-makes-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-the-best-airc-5944380 When Newport News Shipbuilding builds aircraft carriers…

The World’s Largest Aluminum Smelter Dealt 585,000 Tons of It Last Year

The Qatalum smelter in Qatar is the largest, highest output aluminum smelter in the world. With a mind-boggling 704 individual smelting pots, it produces upwards of 585,000 tons of aluminum each year. That’s a lot of Coke cans. The Qatalum smelter was built in 2009 by the ABB company out of Auburn Hills, Michigan. It’s…

This Team of Quadrocopters Can Throw and Catch Better Than You

Remember the team of autonomous quadrocopters that could work cooperatively? Well they’re back and upgraded with the abilty to thrown and catch objects on the fly. You need to watch it to believe it. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-best-use-of-drones-in-the-history-of-drones-5889460 Using an elastic net spread between the three drones, they can toss a ball to themselves or shoot it through…

Polk Ultrafit 3000 Sports Headphone Review: Sweet Sound, Great Fit

A pair of exercise earbuds has to do more than just muffle the sound of your labored breathing. They need to be durable and sweat-proof, they need to stay in place when jostled, and they need to sound great. Of all the pairs we’ve taken out running, the Polk Audio Ultrafit 3000 might be the…

The 233-Foot Tall, 4600-Ton Crane That Builds Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers are, how to say, big. Building them is a lot easier if you have a really, really big crane. Meet Big Blue. She’s the largest crane in the western hemisphere, and she’s hard at work piecing together the new Ford-class aircraft carriers in Newport News, Virginia. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-makes-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-the-best-airc-5944380 Big Blue is a gantry style…

Cheap Goodies on Google Play for the Next Five Days

Google just crossed the rather staggering 25 billion apps downloaded mark, and to celebrate it’s offering some heavy discounts. For the next five days you can download apps from top developers (Game Loft, EA, Rovio, and others) for just 25 cents a pop. And that’s just the app side. There’s also going to be steep…

Holy Crap, Self-Driving Cars Are Now Legal in California

Just moments ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into effect SB1298, effectively paving the way for driverless cars in California. For a state that relies more heavily on cars than any other, this is hugely significant when it comes to traffic and road congestion. “Today we’re looking at science-fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality,” said the governor.…

This Is What Makes the USS Gerald R. Ford the Best Aircraft Carrier Ever Designed

So, you want to buy an aircraft carrier. Stateside, there’s only one place you can go—Newport News Shipbuilding, the largest dry-dock in the western hemisphere. This crew, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has designed and built every U.S. aircraft carrier since 1961. Since the mid-1970s, the US Navy has relied on Nimitz-class carriers. Now,…

iPhone 5 Network and Wi-Fi Speed Tests: Which One’s Fastest?

The new iPhones are here for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint and at long last, they’ve got 4G LTE. So which iPhone 5 is fastest? And does it make any difference that it supports both 5GHz Wi-Fi in addition to 2.4GHz. There’s pretty definite winner, but more importantly a very clear loser. Disclaimer: Data speeds are…

How To Make the Perfect Ice Cube

Most of the world’s ice cubes are cloudy, soft, and weak. These hazy rocks are less dense, and they melt faster, leaving your drink watered down and terrible. Plus, opaque ice is just ugly. A serious drinker deserves better. Good cocktail bars have dense, hard, consistent ice that’s as clear as moonshine. So should you.…

Samsung Galaxy Note II Hands On: Bigger Got Better

The original Galaxy Note was very not good, but seven months and 10 millions sales later, it’s hard to deny that it’s found a niche. But will its even beefier successor live up to the hype? We just spent the morning fondling the upcoming Galaxy Note II, and you know what? We’re pleasantly surprised. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-galaxy-note-lightning-review-wait-who-ordered-5886054…

Sony Xperia Tablet S Review: Better, But Still Broken

Last year’s Sony Tablet S wasn’t perfect, but it was refreshing. It was a sign that Sony could still innovate, and that it wasn’t afraid to try something different. The new Xperia S tablet is an improvement in every way. But it’s still hung up on those same Sony snags. https://gizmodo.com/sony-tablet-s-review-its-good-to-see-you-again-sony-5836051 What Is It? Sony’s…

Fitbit Zip Review: The Tiny Anti-Flab Motivator

I’ve been walking around with a Fitbit Zip in my pocket for the last week, most of the time forgetting it’s there. Then remembering, looking, and realizing how lazy I’ve been. Is this activity-monitoring gadget the kind of thing that can get you into shape, or is it just more junk in your jeans? What…