Jamie Condliffe, Author at Gizmodo

A Hiker Stumbled Across This Incredibly Rare 2,000-Year-Old Gold Coin

Finding money on the floor is rarely this exciting. This single gold coin was discovered by a hiker and Israel’s Antiquities Authority has since established that it’s one of only two ever discovered. The coin’s 2,000 years old—and, before you ask, priceless. The coin dates to the year A.D. 107 and shows the Roman ruler…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Report: Google, WhatsApp, and Facebook to Strengthen Encryption Services

The government is still trying to break the encryption on the San Bernadino iPhone. But now a report by The Guardian suggest that Google, WhatsApp, and Facebook are all planning to strengthen their encryption services. The report claims that Whatsapp is about to roll out encryption for its voice calls, Google is investigating “extra uses”…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

These Liquid Metal Spheres Can Solder Without Heat

Soldering is still an incredibly common and useful process for repairing electronics, but it could be about to get a little cooler. Quite literally, because researchers have developed a new way to solder without heat. Researchers from Iowa State University have developed a way to encapsulate liquid droplets of metal in a thin shell so…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Minecraft Is Now a Playground for AI Experiments

Microsoft has announced that it’s starting to use Minecraft as a space in which to build, test and develop new artificial intelligence systems. The new platform, developed by academics, will be made available to everyone over the summer. A team from Microsoft’s UK research lab in Cambridge has developed the new system, which is called…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Why Daylight Saving Time Is Pointless

Ugh. You’re up an hour early, your body hates you for it, and even a gallon of coffee can’t get your day on track. Daylight saving sucks. But you know the worst part? It doesn’t have to be like this. >> This article was first published in March 2013. Daylight saving isn’t as old as…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Watch John Oliver Thoughtfully Explain Why Apple Is Right About Encryption

“The FBI and its supporters can be weirdly dismissive of [the encryption] issue, in ways that indicate they don’t fully understand how technology works—or are pretending not to,” explained Jon Oliver on Last Week Tonight. And so begins his wonderful take on the state of encryption. This 20-minute segment sees Oliver taking on the entire…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Teen Wins Dubai World Drone Prix as Country Announces ‘World Future Sports’ Games

Over the weekend, Dubai hosted the first ever World Drone Prix, the winner of which was a 15-year-old pilot from England. He walked away with a cool $250,000, while Dubai itself took the opportunity to announce that it will host the World Future Sports Games. The World Drone Prix saw four pilots at a time…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Scientists Have Discovered a Bacteria That’s Evolved to Eat Plastic

A team of Japanese scientists has discovered a bacteria that’s evolved to break down and consume PET—one of the world’s most environmentally damaging plastics. The team discovered the bacteria living on plastic items found in wastewater samples it was collecting. Called Ideonella sakaiensis, it appears to consume a diet made up exclusively of PET, which…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

New Material Can Fold From Full 3D to Flat All By Itself

Imagine being able to unfurl a huge tent that immediately pitched itself from a small bag. That’s what this material could provide, according to a a team of researchers from Harvard. The structure is actually built up from a series of extruded cubes, like the one below. With edges extended out from the central cube,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Is the First Ever Image of New Neurons Forming in a Live Brain

You aren’t born with all your brain cells: In some parts of your brain, new ones grow throughout your life. This image, taken from experiments with mice, is the first time we’ve ever seen new neurons growing in live brain. We used to think that our brain was fully formed at birth, but more recently…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Perfect Invisibility Cloaks May Actually Be Physically Impossible

We would all love to own an invisibility cloak. But new research suggests that if they do ever exist they won’t be perfect: They’ll be more like Predator, less like Harry Potter. A pair of researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the University of Otago have carried out theoretical modelling in an…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe

Uber’s Been Testing a (Secret) Emergency Phone Line: 800-353-UBER

Something gone badly wrong with your Uber ride? Well, the ride-hailing company has been testing a new emergency phone line in 22 cities, that you can reach by dialling 800-353-8237 (that’s 800-353-UBER). The existence of the “Critical Safety Response Line” was confirmed by Uber on Wednesday, reports Inc. Apparently it’s been in testing since October,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

360 Video of the LHC Is an Amazing Reminder of How Big the Damn Thing Is

The Large Hadron Collider is impressive for a great many reasons. But forget about all that cutting-edge science for a moment and instead marvel at the scale of the engineering behind the project. This video by the BBC takes you on a 360 tour of the world’s largest scientific experiment. You’ve been able to explore…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Opera Now Has Built-In Ad Blockers, Claimed To Be 45 Percent Faster Than Chrome With AdBlock

Opera has just released the latest developer version of its browser, and it has an interesting new feature: built-in ad blockers that are claimed to make it faster than other browsers with third-party alternatives. The company claims that its built-in blockers allow it to load pages 45 percent faster than Chrome with AdBlock and 21…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Play This Puzzle Game to Help Program a Quantum Computer

Programming a quantum computer is not straightforward. But playing computer games is–and this one will help academics gather information to help them write code for quantum computers in the future. The game, called meQuanics, has been developed by a team from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Saitama, Japan. It’s based on a…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Sonos Is Laying Off Staff, Embracing Streaming and Voice Control

Sonos has announced that it’s making some big changes, laying off staff and shifting the focus of its hardware—to concentrate on streaming music and embrace voice control. In a blog post, Sonos CEO John MacFarlane explains that the company must “make some changes to [its] team” in order to remain innovative and successful. “We’re not…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Military Drones Have Been Used for Non-Military Surveillance Above the US

The Pentagon has admitted that the US military has used its drones for domestic surveillance missions. But, it also points out, the occurrences have been rare and always within the letter of the law. USA Today reports that the news stems from a Freedom of Information Act request. A Pentagon report explains that fewer then…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe

Google’s AI Just Won Its Second Match Against Go World Champion Lee Sedol

In the second of a series of matches, Google’s AI has again beaten the world champion of Go, Lee Sedol. The best-of-five tournament now requires the AI to win just once more to be crowned champion. Despite the first game, played yesterday, being described as “close” by Google, the AI is clearly giving the current…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

The Northern Lights Screw Up Arctic Drilling Operations

The Aurora Borealis are a beautiful sight—but, it turns out, they can be a real pain in the ass too. A new report explains that they can and do mess up drilling operations, especially in areas around the Arctic where they’re most common. Auroras happen when solar winds disturb the Earth’s magnetosphere. As a result,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

New MIT Code Makes Web Pages Load 34 Percent Faster in Any Browser

Internet connections get faster but websites get more complex—and that means we often still have to wait an age for pages to load. Now, a new technique from MIT that helps browsers gather files more efficiently could change that. “As pages increase in complexity, they often require multiple trips that create delays that really add…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Jamie Condliffe

A Hiker Stumbled Across This Incredibly Rare 2,000-Year-Old Gold Coin

Report: Google, WhatsApp, and Facebook to Strengthen Encryption Services

These Liquid Metal Spheres Can Solder Without Heat

Minecraft Is Now a Playground for AI Experiments

Why Daylight Saving Time Is Pointless

Watch John Oliver Thoughtfully Explain Why Apple Is Right About Encryption

Teen Wins Dubai World Drone Prix as Country Announces ‘World Future Sports’ Games

Scientists Have Discovered a Bacteria That’s Evolved to Eat Plastic

New Material Can Fold From Full 3D to Flat All By Itself

This Is the First Ever Image of New Neurons Forming in a Live Brain

Perfect Invisibility Cloaks May Actually Be Physically Impossible

Uber’s Been Testing a (Secret) Emergency Phone Line: 800-353-UBER

360 Video of the LHC Is an Amazing Reminder of How Big the Damn Thing Is

Opera Now Has Built-In Ad Blockers, Claimed To Be 45 Percent Faster Than Chrome With AdBlock

Play This Puzzle Game to Help Program a Quantum Computer

Sonos Is Laying Off Staff, Embracing Streaming and Voice Control

Military Drones Have Been Used for Non-Military Surveillance Above the US

Google’s AI Just Won Its Second Match Against Go World Champion Lee Sedol

The Northern Lights Screw Up Arctic Drilling Operations

New MIT Code Makes Web Pages Load 34 Percent Faster in Any Browser

Sam Witwer Is Ready for Maul’s Moment

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

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

Chinese Startup Debuts Super-Bendy Robotic Arm for Orbital Repairs

Your Devices Are Targets. Bitdefender Shields Them All — For Less Than You Think

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?