Jack Loftus, Author at Gizmodo

Samson Goes Retro Chrome with Latest USB Mic

Simple. A bit retro. Something I could see a future Conan O’Brien or David Letterman-style talk show host having on their virtual desk as they interview OK Go about the video they just shot on the Moon. The Meteor Mic: Made by the microphone-happy Samson, the Meteor Mic is powered by USB, requires no drivers…

Tech News Jack Loftus

“Outrageous Trick” Results In Largest Synthetic Molecule Created by Man

Some day in the future, the PG5 molecule could save your life. PG5, you see, is a synthetic molecule created by Dieter Schlüter and other scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. With a amass of 200 million hydrogen atoms, it’s also the world’s largest synthetic molecule, and represents an important next…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Samsung BabyView Monitors Still Have Value Even After Junior Grows Up

So Samsung, maker of the multifaceted Galaxy S line of smartphones, makes baby monitors now. Maybe they made them before, I’m not sure and Samsung is an uber huge electronics company, but this is a hyper connected &199 to $299 one for “tech savvy parents” reports Engadget, so, uh, that’s something new and exciting for…

Gadgets Jack Loftus

Oh hey, your delightfully tacky Louis Vuitton Belt Buckle is ringing

Rarely do ostentatiously tacky and expensive rich people things look gaudy and do something useful at the same time. That’s still the case here, as this curious Louis Vuitton belt buckle continues the trend. It’s also a cellphone, you see… I mean, who wouldn’t want a giant gold cellphone belt buckle vibrating at crotch level…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Extravagant iPhone Case Artwork Comes with a Price to Match

iPhone cases from EXOVAULT (whom we’ve fancied before) are striking, but the price—wow! The fragile iPhone 4 by itself should never be dropped, but once you wrap it in this “protective” case from Exovault you’ll have two things to worry about. https://gizmodo.com/exovault-metal-case-bricks-your-iphone-in-a-good-way-5315006 I mean, starting at anywhere between $70 and $195, these Brooklyn, NY-made cases…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Non-lethal Laser Weapon Is the Latest Defense Against Pirates

Pirates! They’re everywhere, huh? On the high seas, in the theaters, on the Internet. The ocean-dwelling ones better watch out though, pun totally intended, because a new non-lethal laser weapon aims to blind them into thinking twice about that booty. The new weapon is very much what it sounds like: An adjustable, low intensity laser…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Researchers Create Pseudo Palladium Alloy Using “Present-Day Alchemy”

Nanotechnology! Wonder science, right? Will solve all of life’s problems, eventually. Yeah…probably not, but it could make palladium easier to come by in the future. One problem, potentially solved! The way nanotech will do this is by a process that nebulizes (combines) rhodium and silver. Usually these two compounds are like oil and water when…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Retro-Looking Analarm Wristwatch Awakens Wearer with Vibration

Hate the buzzer alarm clock, as I do? Radio station alarm mode not up to the task? Maybe vibration will get you out of bed. Since vibrating beds are expensive and a bit tacky, check out this Analarm wristwatch instead. It’s certainly not cheap at $450, but for those of us looking for a trendy,…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Vizio Debuts Via Tablet, Via Phone Devices In Run Up to CES

Well that didn’t take long: One day after a Vizio executive cheekily pawed at a mystery tablet device during the Rose Bowl, the company has confirmed the existence of a Via line of devices featuring a cellphone and a tablet. https://gizmodo.com/unnamed-vizio-tablet-sneaks-into-rose-bowl-coverage-5722783 The big reveal appeared in the Wall Street Journal this evening, coming complete with…

Tech News Jack Loftus

And Here’s a Kitchen Appliance that Plays Call of Duty: Black Ops

Older Xbox 360 consoles often got hot enough to burn toast, this is true, but they never looked that great doing it. Perhaps as a hat tip to that disastrous era, the XToaster360 looks hot, but toasts no longer. The case is in fact a real four slot toaster, but the insides are all Xbox.…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Meet Charles, the Disembodied, Terror-Inducing GPS Navigator Robot

You know what’s not terrifying enough? GPS systems. Thank goodness for Charles. Charles, you see, is a bodiless GPS system that vaguely resembles a man’s head and shoulders. It sits in your passenger seat (as much as a bodiless GPS terrorbot can sit anyway), reads your facial cues, tone of voice and other behavior and…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Verizon Cuts Galaxy Tab to $500, Refunds Inbound

Good news and good news for Verizon Galaxy Tab owners and anyone thinking about picking up this diminutive slate: The price is dropping by $100 to $500, and anyone who bought one at the old price gets a refund. Or, should I say, they will when Verizon institutes the new pricing. The move hasn’t technically…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Hotmail Account Holders Ring in the New Year with Missing Emails

Microsoft Hotmail users have a lot to complain about as the new year kicks off in earnest: Many are reporting today that their emails have gone missing as a result of a new bug plaguing that popular email system. Basically, users report that their emails are being sent to a deleted mail folder instead of…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Verizon Purportedly Snatching Up iPhone Domains

As we prepare for yet another year where the iPhone is coming to Verizon, let us take a look at this most recent rumor-creating development: An entity called “Verizon Trademark Services” is busily buying iPhone domains from across the web. Some of the inconspicuous domains are iphoneforverizon.com and iphoneonverizon.com, which could be another smoking gun…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Unnamed Vizio Tablet Sneaks Into Rose Bowl Coverage

Mere seconds into the chairman’s message at this year’s Rose Bowl a mysterious Vizio tablet appeared. The appearance was rather without warning or details, yet it was certainly there, revealed on national television. More to come at CES, perhaps. While specifics were not something Vizio chief sales officer Randy Waynick was about to give up…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Cosmic Bathroom Reading

Want to fly a Saturn V rocket? Easy! Just pick up one of these bad boys and get learnin’. Having an actual Saturn V rocket, launch pad and government clearance for such things also helps immensely. [Reddit]

Tech News Jack Loftus

Exhaustive Investigation Details Final Moments of the Doomed Deepwater Horizon

Earlier this year one of the worst oil-related disasters ever caused by man started with a deadly explosion. Now, eight months later, questions are answered. Chief among them is how a rig with so many failsafes could fail so spectacularly. Some of those questions were answered this weekend as part of an exhaustive New York…

Tech News Jack Loftus

DIY Third Person Camera Makes You the Center of Your Own Attention

Third person “video game” rigs have been constructed and featured before, but this one’s a wireless DIY version that’s sure to freak out onlookers you pass by on your own personal, hooded 3D adventure across town. The build comes courtesy Instrucables user BigRedRocket. You literally see yourself, walking or running along, probably looking a bit…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Tying the Knot

Marriage, huh? Maybe some day. In the mean time I’ll just sit here and chuckle about the manner in which Chris Trivizas chose to deliver his wedding invitations: “We are going to tie the knot. In the Greek language, there is an expression that uses the word “hang” in order to say “marry”. So, traditionally,…

Tech News Jack Loftus

HRP-2 Robot Turns Obstacles Into Tools

I pity the young children, really I do. We make “movies” about Terminators and smart AI for entertainment purposes, but in the future, with obstacle-dominating robots like HRP-2, it will be their reality. HRP-2, you see, takes obstacles and makes them into tools; uses them to its advantage. Take this video example. In it, HRP-2…

Artificial Intelligence Jack Loftus

Jack Loftus

Samson Goes Retro Chrome with Latest USB Mic

“Outrageous Trick” Results In Largest Synthetic Molecule Created by Man

Samsung BabyView Monitors Still Have Value Even After Junior Grows Up

Oh hey, your delightfully tacky Louis Vuitton Belt Buckle is ringing

Extravagant iPhone Case Artwork Comes with a Price to Match

Non-lethal Laser Weapon Is the Latest Defense Against Pirates

Researchers Create Pseudo Palladium Alloy Using “Present-Day Alchemy”

Retro-Looking Analarm Wristwatch Awakens Wearer with Vibration

Vizio Debuts Via Tablet, Via Phone Devices In Run Up to CES

And Here’s a Kitchen Appliance that Plays Call of Duty: Black Ops

Meet Charles, the Disembodied, Terror-Inducing GPS Navigator Robot

Verizon Cuts Galaxy Tab to $500, Refunds Inbound

Hotmail Account Holders Ring in the New Year with Missing Emails

Verizon Purportedly Snatching Up iPhone Domains

Unnamed Vizio Tablet Sneaks Into Rose Bowl Coverage

Cosmic Bathroom Reading

Exhaustive Investigation Details Final Moments of the Doomed Deepwater Horizon

DIY Third Person Camera Makes You the Center of Your Own Attention

Tying the Knot

HRP-2 Robot Turns Obstacles Into Tools

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Ranking 2016’s Superhero Debuts, 10 Years Later

Fourth Most Populous Country in the World Bans Most Social Media for Kids

How to watch UFC Fight Night Adesanya vs Pyfer live this Saturday

‘Steel Ball Run’ Will Return This Year…Eventually

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, Cut Your Daily Coffee Costs at Home

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?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees