Elaine Chow, Author at Gizmodo

BodyBeat Metronome Keeps Beat Silently, Forgets Musicians Need Their Fingers

The Peterson BB-1 BodyBeat attaches to your finger/random appendage, sending tiny rhythmic pulses that you can feel on your skin. The non-aural stimulation will give you a silent way to count measures while playing the piano… and since you have to use your fingers to do that, you will have to clamp this to somewhere…

Gadgets Elaine Chow May 3

HTC Diamond Has Ultra-High Density Display

The first “official” photos and specs for the HTC Diamond have been leaked, complete with a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 pixel screen (twice the lines of the iPhone in smaller surface,) Windows Mobile 6.1 and 3G connectivity. Could this be the most important product of the year HTC said it would reveal in London on…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

AT&T/Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Disabled… For Now

AT&T’s free Starbucks Wi-Fi for iPhone usersdeal didn’t last very long. Users on the MacRumors forum say that locations where Wi-Fi worked just days ago now have the free iPhone access removed. Considering AT&T never made an official mention of the service, it’s possible somebody at the Death Star jumped the gun and the mistake…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

Nike PreCool Vest Is Heatsink For Athletes

Beijing Olympians can count on being cool as cucumbers in Nike’s PreCool Vest, a specially designed piece of clothing that lowers the body’s core temperature. Much like computers, muscles perform better when they’re not dedicating most of their resources to cooling down. Used about an hour prior to a competition, it can help an athlete…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

Sony Hybrid Fuel Cell Delivers 14 Hours of Cellphone Video, Will Arrive “Soon”

Sony’s new hybrid fuel cell 1.2 x 2-inch battery prototype has managed to keep the juice flowing to a cellular video broadcast for 14 consecutive hours off of 10mL of methanol. The micro fuel cell system uses methanol as fuel and is complemented with a Li-polymer secondary battery to help it deal with electronic peak…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

Cuba Citizens Can Now Buy Computers, But No Internet Access

Things are looking up for the citizens of Cuba, who—after getting the “right” to buy cellphones, microwaves, and other electronic goods— can now legally own home computers for the first time. Good news for poor Cubans, who are still living under the bloody tyranny of the Castro Bros. and the destructive U.S. blockade. The catch:…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

Intravenous Vitamin Mix Bar Alleviate Stress, Aging

If you’ve ever watched that episode of House where the good doctor nurses his hangover by hooking himself up to an IV drip and said to yourself “I wish I could do that,” you’re in luck. Now in Japan, even people who aren’t wisecracking M.D.s can get an IV drip pick-me-up at Tenteki10. Located in…

Health Elaine Chow May 3

Sidekick Aspen/Gekko Screenshot Leaked

Danger fans Hiptop3.com have managed to get a screenshot of the Sidekick Aspen/Gekko, the company’s replacement for the teen-friendly iD. It seems like the newest addition to the Sidekick family will be a cheaper option to the more upmarket LX, and will feature web browsing, a 2-megapixel camera with video capture mode, and “highly customizable…

Tech News Elaine Chow May 3

Manodo Display Makes You OCD About Your Home Energy Usage

If you enjoy observing and controlling the minutiae of your daily life, down to how much CO2 your last shower emitted, consider moving to Sweden and taking part in the Manodo project. Nordic start-up Manodo has created the ultimate smart home gadget, which tells you everything you’ll ever want to know (and maybe some things…

Gadgets Elaine Chow Apr 27

Europe Kicks Off Saturday Night With A Rocket Launch

Europeans sure know how to celebrate a Saturday night! While I spent the good part of Happy Hour knocking back shots, our cousins from across the ocean shot a satellite up into space. The Giove-B satellite, a demonstrator that will test key technologies needed in satellite navigation systems, ascended to the heavens at 22:16 GMT.…

Space & Spaceflight Elaine Chow Apr 26

Bioplastics: Environmentally Unfriendly, Contributing To The Food Crisis

About those bioplastic bags – you know, the ones you’ve been using to assuage your eco-conscious guilt – turns out not only are they not as green as you think, they could also be partially responsible for the global food crisis. A worldwide effort by bag-heavy industries to replace petroleum-based plastics with plant-based plastics could…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 26

EMOPORT Tries To Make That Time Of The Month Fun, Fails Miserably

You know how us girls have these nasty things called “periods” we need to deal with that turn us into moody, erratic, cramping monsters? The EMOPORT “software/games” device promises to magically make our menstruation nightmare go away — through the healing powers of hand-held video games. According to designer Saikat Biswas, the EMOPORT is a…

Gadgets Elaine Chow Apr 26

Nanomaterial Photos As Modern Art

Sunflowers? Nope. Actually, they’re silicon oxide nanowires grown in gallium and gold catalysts — and they’re only several microns in length. The photo, by Chinese University of Hong Kong professor S.K. Hark, is part of the Materials Research Society’s semi-annual celebration of the most artistic and eye catching images found during the study of nanomaterials.…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 26

Sirius Starmate 5 Coming With XM Support?

Sirius’ update to its Starmate line, the Starmate 5, is currently in front of the FCC for testing, and it looks like it might have a little trick up its sleeve. The gadget includes the standard abilities to pause, rewind, and replay up to 44 minutes of live radio, a memo feature to store up…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 26

Toy Modder Puts Eclectic Spin On All Your Favorite Action Heroes

Action figure customizer Sillof has made everything from steampunk versions of Ironman to Star Wars characters circa World War II. We’ve featured his sets several times on this site, but what we’ve covered are only bits and pieces of an amazing body of work. The master model maker himself gives us the goods on why,…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Elektrobit Introduces Jack-Of-All-Trades Satellite Phone

Elektrobit is bringing satellite phones to the masses with its new Satellite/Terrestrial Reference PDA Phone. Gone is the bulky antenna sported by satellite phones of yore, replaced with a sleek, qwerty-keyboard PDA look that’s just a touch thicker than a Blackberry 8800. The concept product runs Windows Mobile 6.1 professional and contains a packed feature…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Experience the Joys of Constant Lag With Xbox Live on Dial-Up

For you poor, poor souls who own an Xbox 360 but still rely on dial-up for your internet, an intrepid Instructables member has written up a great “How To” on using your phone line to log onto Xbox Live. All you need is a PC running Windows with a working dial-up connection, an ethernet cable…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Sungevity Web App Makes Installing Solar Panels a Piece of Cake

Eco start-up company Sungevity is launching a new web application on Earth Day (three days away, people!) that will take the guess work out of solar panel installations. Enter your address on Sungevity’s website and satellite-imaging software will zoom in on your home, calculate your roof’s dimensions, select the right sized solar arrays and calculate…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Roll Out Of Air France’s In-Flight Cellphone Service Experiences Turbulence

Air France’s in-flight cellphone trial has finally taken off, but with bumpy results. The New York Times hitched a ride on the French carrier recently and found several bugs in the system: https://gizmodo.com/air-france-makes-in-flight-calling-possible-gallic-shr-336602 • The quality is patchy and keeps most in-flight calls short and tinny-sounding. One receiver of an OnAir call complained that it…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Bond With Your Family, Build Your Own Arcade Machine

Want to become the coolest parent ever? Turn off the computers, put down the television remote, and do a little DIY with your kids this weekend by building your own arcade machine. While you assemble the pieces, regale little Tommy or Gina with the tales of your Space Invaders past. And when they look up…

Tech News Elaine Chow Apr 19

Elaine Chow

BodyBeat Metronome Keeps Beat Silently, Forgets Musicians Need Their Fingers

HTC Diamond Has Ultra-High Density Display

AT&T/Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Disabled… For Now

Nike PreCool Vest Is Heatsink For Athletes

Sony Hybrid Fuel Cell Delivers 14 Hours of Cellphone Video, Will Arrive “Soon”

Cuba Citizens Can Now Buy Computers, But No Internet Access

Intravenous Vitamin Mix Bar Alleviate Stress, Aging

Sidekick Aspen/Gekko Screenshot Leaked

Manodo Display Makes You OCD About Your Home Energy Usage

Europe Kicks Off Saturday Night With A Rocket Launch

Bioplastics: Environmentally Unfriendly, Contributing To The Food Crisis

EMOPORT Tries To Make That Time Of The Month Fun, Fails Miserably

Nanomaterial Photos As Modern Art

Sirius Starmate 5 Coming With XM Support?

Toy Modder Puts Eclectic Spin On All Your Favorite Action Heroes

Elektrobit Introduces Jack-Of-All-Trades Satellite Phone

Experience the Joys of Constant Lag With Xbox Live on Dial-Up

Sungevity Web App Makes Installing Solar Panels a Piece of Cake

Roll Out Of Air France’s In-Flight Cellphone Service Experiences Turbulence

Bond With Your Family, Build Your Own Arcade Machine

Southwest Is About to Limit Power Banks on Flights

Damn, the ‘Power Rangers’ Reboot Could’ve Had Four Movies

The Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Team Wants to Go the Distance

‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Will Please Gross Horror Fans

Somehow Paramount’s ‘Avatar’ Movie Has Leaked, Too

The World Is Basically Begging for Another iPod

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

OpenAI Says Elon Musk Is ‘Injecting Chaos’ with Recent Legal Maneuver

Google Displayed Polymarket Bets as News ‘In Error,’ Google Says

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

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

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?

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