Eric Limer, Author at Gizmodo

You Can Now Get Totally Free Talk, Text, and Data on an iPad

Freedompop, the same folks who have been bringing free talk, text, and data plans to Sprint-friendly phones one at a time, now has a new (awesome) offer: You can get the same plan on a Samsung Tab 3, or any Sprint-compatible iPad. Since these tablets aren’t also phones, Freedompop includes the talk and text part…

Tech News Eric Limer

A New Version of Windows Phone 8.1 Is Coming and It’s Bringing Folders

It wasn’t long ago that we got Windows Phone 8.1, which introduced Cortana and all kinds of other features that helped finally make Windows Phone good enough. Now another WP update is on the way, and it comes bearing folders. With the snappily-named Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, users will get the ability to stack…

Tech News Eric Limer

This Kid Took Apart a Microwave to Create an Insane (and Stupid) Weapon

So don’t take a microwave apart. Don’t. Take. A microwave. Apart. Don’t do it. Don’t! But if you were curious about what would happen if you did, these idiots have you covered. It’s as awesome as it is stupid! It is very awesome and very stupid. According to Kreosan, the crazy microwave-stick’s creators (and Darwin…

Tech News Eric Limer

Nvidia Shield Tablet Review: A Gaming Beast, But So Much More

Nvidia’s Shield tablet was made for playing games. That’s what it’s best at. But it’s also much more. In fact, it should probably be your next Android tablet no matter how much button-mashing you do. What Is It? The Shield is Nvidia’s first real tablet, and the first tablet at all to be driven by…

Reviews Eric Limer

Place Your Bets on This Thrilling Roomba Knife Fight

It’s a Roomba-eat-Roomba world out there and these two plucky floor cleaners are playing for keeps. By which I mean their drunk owners taped knives and balloons to them and forced them into combat. It’s adorably dangerous! This almost certainly is not the first time people (drunk or sober) have taped balloons and knives to…

Tech News Eric Limer

Phew! Russians Regain Control of Rogue Lizard-Sex Satellite

According the Russian space agency Roscosmos, control of the Russia’s lust lost lizard-sex satellite was regained on Saturday night, of all times. Surely the love-struck lizards were being of no help. Russian officials estimate that 90 percent of the experiments on the satellite should still be sitting pretty, and that includes the five randy geckos…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer

The Ways Modern Secret Societies Use the Internet to Hide in Plain Sight

Secret societies are as old as humanity, and they sure as hell aren’t going away any time soon. But in an internet age where privacy is harder than ever to come by, secret societies face all kinds of new challenges. And Matt King has seen some of their newest tricks first-hand. Writing in The Atlantic,…

Tech News Eric Limer

A Smart Headband That Keeps Your Kids Safe (and Forever Alone)

No one wants their young kids to fall into an unattended pool. It’s (one of) a parent’s (many) worst nightmare(s). iSwimband is designed to let you know immediately if the worst should happen. And probably also to keep your kids from making any friends. The concept of iSwimband is simple: it’s a water-detecting bluetooth sensor…

Tech News Eric Limer

The World’s Biggest Tiny Domino Setup Must Have Been Maddening to Make

going big means going small, like when you are trying to set the world record for the most mini dominoes (2,000) ever toppled in one sequence. The result is as impressive as it is minute. My god those guys must have a lot of patience. A mini domino is not only smaller than a regular…

Tech News Eric Limer

This ATM That Plays Doom Would Make Trips to the Bank So Much Better

Imagine walking up to the ATMs at your local bank and being able to do more than just cash checks and make withdrawals. What if you could also play Doom? It’s a bizarre alternate universe this pair of Australian hackers is exploring, and it’s kind of awesome. Details on the hack are a little bit…

Tech News Eric Limer

The Amazon Fire Phone’s Headphones Are What All Cheap Earbuds Should Be

Have you ever met a pair of pack-in headphones you liked? Me neither. That is until I got the ones that came with the Fire Phone. They look a lot like Apple’s (bad) EarPods, but are better in almost every way you would want. All cheap headphones should be at least this great. Do the…

Commerce Eric Limer

Amazon Fire Phone Teardown: So Many Cameras in Such a Small Space

The Amazon Fire Phone’s tricks are pretty sophisticated, even if they’re never really put to good use. And its innards are complicated to match, according to a teardown by iFixit. But damned if they aren’t pretty to look at. The four front-facing IR cameras that track your face are pretty deeply buried in phone’s front…

Commerce Eric Limer

Why You Should Never Use Pixelation To Hide Sensitive Text

Pixelation is great for hiding faces and covering up nakedness, but it’s not good for disguising text. It’s so bad, in fact, that it might not even protect you at all. The explanation comes by way of Dheera Venkatraman, who expertly explains the premise in great detail on his blog. The simple version goes a…

Tech News Eric Limer

Report: Google Is Buying Twitch for $1 Billion

We’ve heard rumors that Google was in the market to buy Twitch—the game-streaming behemoth that’s up there with YouTube—for a cool billion dollars, and now VentureBeat is reporting the deal’s gone through. If this is true, Google just took the pretty much the only other streaming service that was even close to being in league…

Tech News Eric Limer

Here’s the Trailer For the First Halo Show

Remember when Microsoft said it was doing a Halo TV series? Nuts, right? Well now, even though Xbox Entertainment has been shuttered, live-action Halo lives on, and this is the first look. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-is-already-quitting-the-movie-and-tv-business-1606728584 This is Nightfall, a series produced by Ridley Scott and not the one with Spielberg and Xbox Entertainment involvement, though that one…

Tech News Eric Limer

Someone At Congress Got Banned From Wikipedia for Trolling

Trolling is fun, until you get caught. And that’s exactly what just happened to someone in Washington, who got a Congressional IP address banned for trolling Wikipedia. It all started when the Twitter account @CongressEdits started tracking (and tweeting) the anonymous edits Congressional IPs were making to Wikipedia. It seems that someone (a staffer no…

Tech News Eric Limer

Google Voice Is One Step Closer To Dying and Becoming Hangouts

Google Voice is going to die and become a part of Hangouts. It’s going to be great. And it might actually be happening soon because you can now make Hangouts calls from the Google Voice homepage. http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/23/google-voice-offers-web-based-calls-through-hangouts-no-g-prof/ This (very minor) change brings Hangouts and Voice closer together than they’ve ever been and cuts Google+ out…

Tech News Eric Limer

Valve’s Crazy Steam Controller Is One Step Closer to Being Normal

When Valve first announced its controller for the Steambox, it was a weird little dude with strange, small buttons and a touchscreen. And for as weird as it was, it was kind of great. Then it lost the touchscreen for standard buttons and a D-pad. And now it’s getting a thumbstick. https://gizmodo.com/steam-is-getting-its-very-own-controller-1411630652 The new design…

Tech News Eric Limer

This Box Can Hold an Entire Netflix

You’ve probably heard about Netflix peering issues recently, the pissing contest between Netflix and ISPs arguing over who should pay who for what, with us poor binge-watchers caught in the crossfire. But at the heart of all the arguments is mundane yet spectacular piece of hardware. An unassuming box that holds approximately one (1) Netflix.…

Tech News Eric Limer

Amazon Fire Phone Review: A Shaky First Step

After years of rumors, Amazon’s first smartphone is finally, finally here. It’s unique, it can be fun, it’s a pretty decent phone. And you can do better. What Is It? The first smartphone from Amazon, and the first running Fire OS, Amazon’s heavily modified version of Google’s ubiquitous Android platform. A phone with a 4.7-inch…

Reviews Eric Limer

Eric Limer

You Can Now Get Totally Free Talk, Text, and Data on an iPad

A New Version of Windows Phone 8.1 Is Coming and It’s Bringing Folders

This Kid Took Apart a Microwave to Create an Insane (and Stupid) Weapon

Nvidia Shield Tablet Review: A Gaming Beast, But So Much More

Place Your Bets on This Thrilling Roomba Knife Fight

Phew! Russians Regain Control of Rogue Lizard-Sex Satellite

The Ways Modern Secret Societies Use the Internet to Hide in Plain Sight

A Smart Headband That Keeps Your Kids Safe (and Forever Alone)

The World’s Biggest Tiny Domino Setup Must Have Been Maddening to Make

This ATM That Plays Doom Would Make Trips to the Bank So Much Better

The Amazon Fire Phone’s Headphones Are What All Cheap Earbuds Should Be

Amazon Fire Phone Teardown: So Many Cameras in Such a Small Space

Why You Should Never Use Pixelation To Hide Sensitive Text

Report: Google Is Buying Twitch for $1 Billion

Here’s the Trailer For the First Halo Show

Someone At Congress Got Banned From Wikipedia for Trolling

Google Voice Is One Step Closer To Dying and Becoming Hangouts

Valve’s Crazy Steam Controller Is One Step Closer to Being Normal

This Box Can Hold an Entire Netflix

Amazon Fire Phone Review: A Shaky First Step

Watch and Follow Live as NASA Launches Its First Crewed Mission to the Moon in 54 Years 🔴

Why the PS6 Handheld Will Matter More Than the PS6

DNA Study Casts Even More Doubt on Shroud of Turin’s True Origin

Sam Witwer Is Ready for Maul’s Moment

Anthropic Can’t Cover Up Its Claude Code Leak Fast Enough

Zach Cregger Recruits Second Zach for His Aunt Gladys Spinoff

Can You Run a Computer Without RAM? Surprisingly, Yes—But You’ll Be Miserable

How Adult Swim Skipped the April Fools’ Nonsense and Dropped a ‘Smiling Friends’ Claymation Horror Short Instead

Oracle Lays Off Thousands to Offset AI Spending

The Films and Shows You Should Be Streaming in April 2026

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?