Jack Loftus, Author at Gizmodo

Novague ‘Move Your Energy’ Rocking Chair Powers Its Own Bright Idea

At first glance, the Novague concept is a slick update to the timeless rocking chair. But housed in the base is a kinetic motor that powers an LED light using the chair’s natural rocking motion. Sure, this one doesn’t have a pair of nuts, but it’d be self-sustainable if it ever leaped from the drawing…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Palm Pre Touchstone Could Be Beginning of New Product Line

As hinted at in this short video from CTIA, the nifty Palm Pre Touchstone magnetic induction charger could actually be the first in a long line of Touchstone-branded wireless Palm Pre products. [tnkgrl via PreThinking]

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Amazon Deems LGBT Books Too ‘Adult’ For Search, Best Seller Lists

Hey look! Amazon has a new book sales policy. The policy, instated today, spontaneously transformed many books about LGBT issues into “adult” titles, and therefore no longer includes them in the “Best Sellers” lists/rankings. UPDATED Search functionality is also affected, allegedly, as the banned books will not show up in search even when the exact…

Commerce Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

MSI Wind Battery ‘Mod’ Can Go All Night (and Day) Long

Armed with an MSI Wind U115, 9-cell battery and some time, Johannes from Eee PC.de created what very well may be the Sting of netbooks. Stamina—er, battery life—was an astounding 25 hours. This bests the already respectable 13-hour life of an MSI Wind armed with a 6-cell battery. For his unofficial test, Johannes used Battery…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Coffee Lid Caddy Proves Even Humble Coffee Lids Are Ripe For Innovation

Until today I assumed, wrongly, that plastic coffee lids were not a source of inspiration for anyone. I neglected plastic coffee lid designers like Josh Harris. His Coffee Lid Caddy is actually pretty ingenious. Rather than remember what his coworkers want, he can place the coffee accessories onto the tops of their coffee cups and…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

1918 Artwork Imagines Space Travel at a Blistering Two Miles Per Minute

You can’t fault a 1918 artist for thinking future spacemen would travel the stars at two miles/minute (120 mph). But to think that astronauts would travel open canopy, Wright Brothers style? Cah-rayzee talk. There’s also the matter of the major planets all somehow appearing in the night sky alongside the Moon, but whatever. The pics…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Captured U.S. Freighter Captain Freed During Daring Firefight On the High Seas

The U.S. Navy has reportedly freed captured U.S. sea Capt. Richard Phillips during what can only be described as a daring, technology aided raid on the high seas.Three of the four pirates are dead. [SFGate] https://gizmodo.com/first-american-crewed-container-ship-hijacked-by-somali-5203607 More info at CNN. And as if there was any doubt, when we said Navy before, we meant the…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Flying Microbot Gives Wings to Imminent Doomsday Scenario

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, seemingly oblivious to the fact that technology is exponentially outpacing our ability to keep up with it, have created a new breed of levitating micro-machines. Worse still, these malignant Micro Machines are armed with tiny pincers that open and close when they are heated by, wait for…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

NASA To Reveal ISS Node Name On Colbert’s Show This Tuesday

The mystery and pseudo-controversy surrounding the ISS’s unnamed node ends this Tuesday, when astronaut Sunita Williams will go on The Colbert Report to tell the world what NASA has decided to do. It will probably not end well for the social media savvy Stephen Colbert, whose dedicated fan base was able to trounce the four…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Mammoth Innovizion 65-Inch Outdoor HDTV Is Fun For the Whole Forest

In college, the fellas and I would often drag a TV, couch and beer outside because it was ironic. The practice often led to a busted set. We could have used Innovizion’s gigantic weatherproof TV. Weatherproof TVs are nothing new, of course, but this one pushed the envelope in terms of size with its mammoth…

Television Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Rumor: Swiveling Swiss Army-Style Nokia Phone Due Out From Verizon This Summer

The image mockup is from a person who claims “hands-on time,” but the rumor is all Nokia/Verizon Wireless: A swiveling phone could arrive just in time to get creamed by a new iPhone this summer. BGR claims the rumor and mockup comes from a trusted source, but regardless eat some salt, roll your eyes, and…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Blast Electric Sheep With Deckard’s Gun, Now Just $150,000

Was Deckard really a replicant? Who cares, his blaster’s for sale. Yup, just a mere $100,000 to $150,000 and this one-of-a-kind movie prop could be yours, although we imagine that price tag is going to climb a bit higher before all is said and done at the Auctioneer Profiles in History event beginning April 30.…

Movies Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Conficker Worm Claims High Profile Victim: University of Utah

More than 700 med school computers at the University of Utah have fallen victim to the infamous Conficker worm. Gizmodo, we swear, had absolutely nothing to do with it. [AP via CNET]

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

‘Casetation’ Mod Is Defeated By Me Putting PS2 In Bag, Attaching It to Bigger TV

Recently, I defeated my arch nemesis, the $250 briefcase-bound Casetation 2. It took a $99 PS2 (super power: price cuts), duffel bag, and connecting to any TV, because they’re everywhere. $151 left over. Flawless Victory. Seriously. Why? [Casetation 2 at Flickr – Thanks (?), Akshay]

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

Near Bezel-less KO M-400 PMP Has Nothing to Hide, Lacks Buttons

Most touchscreen devices (yes, even the iPhone, Lauren—dealbreaker!) have a noticeable bezel around their perimeter that bothers many a perfectionist something fierce. But the KO M400, admittedly more concept than anything, offers something different. https://gizmodo.com/someone-found-microsofts-lauren-and-shes-an-actress-5190861 What the KO M400 offers is the full monty of touchscreens. Nearly 100% edge-to-edge 5-inch touchscreen goodness, all in HD.…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 12 '09

T-Mobile Further Blurs Cellphone/Laptop Line With Android-Powered Tablet In 2010

The New York Times is reporting tonight that T-Mobile will release a new tablet and home phone in 2010, and that both devices will be powered by Google’s open source OS, Android. The NYT says “confidential documents” revealed the unnamed home phone would plug into a docking station, and will come complete with a device…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 6 '09

IBM Withdraws $7 Billion Bid For Sun Microsystems

The $7 billion deal between IBM and Sun Microsystems has all but failed, say sources at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Sources say Sun balked at IBM’s latest offer and IBM eventually withdrew sometime today. https://gizmodo.com/nearly-official-7-billion-sun-swallowed-by-ibm-5197473

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 5 '09

NASA Testing Next Generation Firefighting Gear for Fires… In Spaaace!

In space, no one can hear you scream “Fire.” Not that it’d matter, as few people could recognize a microgravity fire anyway. This means space firefighting gear needs to be special. NASA is on it. First, a primer. Fire in microgravity isn’t the flickering kind that happened when you set the house ablaze with your…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Apr 5 '09

Touchscreen MRT800 Is Lenovo’s First Personal Media Player

There’s very little from Lenovo’s laptop side that appears with their splash into the PMP front. The specs for their newly announced China-bound MRT800 are pretty standard, and there’s nary an HD screen in sight. The MRT800 doesn’t have a release date or pricing yet, but if it’s anything like the specs, it could also…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 5 '09

Le Whif Inhaler Stinks of Chocolate, Marketing Ploy

Harvard professor David Edwards wrote a graphic novel envisioning a future world where people ingested their food by smelling, or “whiffing,” it. That vision begot Le Whif, the chocolate inhaler. “Over the centuries we’ve been eating smaller and smaller quantities at shorter and shorter intervals,” Edwards said. “It seemed to us that eating was tending…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 5 '09

Jack Loftus

Novague ‘Move Your Energy’ Rocking Chair Powers Its Own Bright Idea

Palm Pre Touchstone Could Be Beginning of New Product Line

Amazon Deems LGBT Books Too ‘Adult’ For Search, Best Seller Lists

MSI Wind Battery ‘Mod’ Can Go All Night (and Day) Long

Coffee Lid Caddy Proves Even Humble Coffee Lids Are Ripe For Innovation

1918 Artwork Imagines Space Travel at a Blistering Two Miles Per Minute

Captured U.S. Freighter Captain Freed During Daring Firefight On the High Seas

Flying Microbot Gives Wings to Imminent Doomsday Scenario

NASA To Reveal ISS Node Name On Colbert’s Show This Tuesday

Mammoth Innovizion 65-Inch Outdoor HDTV Is Fun For the Whole Forest

Rumor: Swiveling Swiss Army-Style Nokia Phone Due Out From Verizon This Summer

Blast Electric Sheep With Deckard’s Gun, Now Just $150,000

Conficker Worm Claims High Profile Victim: University of Utah

‘Casetation’ Mod Is Defeated By Me Putting PS2 In Bag, Attaching It to Bigger TV

Near Bezel-less KO M-400 PMP Has Nothing to Hide, Lacks Buttons

T-Mobile Further Blurs Cellphone/Laptop Line With Android-Powered Tablet In 2010

IBM Withdraws $7 Billion Bid For Sun Microsystems

NASA Testing Next Generation Firefighting Gear for Fires… In Spaaace!

Touchscreen MRT800 Is Lenovo’s First Personal Media Player

Le Whif Inhaler Stinks of Chocolate, Marketing Ploy

JetBlue Sued for Allegedly Increasing the Price of Tickets Based on Personal Data

The Creator and Director of ‘Widow’s Bay’ on Crafting Their Quirky, Spooky New Series

Americans Are Missing Out on Yet Another New Super-Cheap DJI Drone

Why Buy Sunglasses When You Can Get Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 1) Smart AI Glasses for Less?

Tesla Reveals Mysterious $2 Billion AI Hardware Deal in SEC Filing

Anker’s UV Printer Can Handle Almost Anything… If You Know What You’re Doing

DJI Follows Up Drone Deals With Action Camera Discounts, Osmo Action 5 Pro Hits Its Lowest Price in Months

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

‘Battlestar Galactica’ Is Blasting Back to Streaming

Theoretically, Govee’s New Solar-Powered String Lights Will Never Run Out of Power

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