Jamie Condliffe

Bloomberg: HTC to Launch Windows RT Tablets in 2013

Bloomberg is reporting that it believes HTC is currently working on a range of new tablets that will run Windows RT. The devices are, apparently, slated for a 2013 launch. The report suggests HTC is working on a “12-inch device and a 7-inch version that can also make phone calls”. Sources “familiar with the matter”…

Why Superconductors Are Insanely Amazing

Everyone always bangs on about superconductors as if they’re some super-amazing scientific miracle, but where’s the proof, eh? Eh? Umm, here it is: check out how they compare to plain old normal conductors, and you’ll be gobsmacked. The picture above, discovered by Redditor revnastyy shows two lengths of electric cabling taken from the LHC. The…

7 Ways the World Really Could End Tomorrow

There’s no shortage of Doomsday naysayers. And sure, it’s easy to ignore the prophecies of ancient Mayans. But you know what? The world could end any time—including tomorrow. https://gizmodo.com/be-afraid-the-government-denies-the-world-is-ending-on-5965909 Here’s a rundown of the seven most likely ways our world could crumble right on schedule. Asteroid impact What did for the dinosaurs could do for…

Here’s the Exact Part of Your Brain That Thinks About Sex (And Cars, And Baseball…)

If you’ve ever wondered which part of your brain thinks about a particular object, activity or concept, worry no longer—this interactive brain is about to answer all your questions. This online app lets your peer into a wealth of fMRI data, which has been organized to show information about how thousands of objects and actions…

The Dark Side of Saturn

Do not adjust your monitors. Saturn hasn’t suddenly changed color; it’s just that Cassini’s latest shot of the ringed planet was taken in such low-light conditions that you’re looking at more than just the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This image was captured by Cassini while the satellite was in Saturn’s shadow. The sun…

Arthur C. Clarke‘s novels are now available as ebooks in the US. Sling ’em to sci-fi fans for Christmas. [NYT]

Tumblr Finally Launches Its iPad App

It’s been a long time coming, but Tumblr has announced an update to its iOS app that finally makes it compatible with iPad and iPad mini. Built for the big screen, the app uses a sidebar for navigation—something you’ll be used to from Facebook—and a new radial menu for selecting post types. There’re other features,…

Foursquare now shows recommendations from Facebook friends: likes and photos will appear on its map, if you want ’em to.

The FTC Is Overhauling Online Child Privacy Law

The FTC has announced that it is broadening—now incredibly outdated—laws surrounding online child privacy. The changes will, in particular, make the regulations applicable to the mobile and social digital world we now inhabit. The changes will be made to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which was originally put together all the way back…

Tim Cook Is the Runner-Up in Time‘s Person of the Year

A surprising number of nerds made it on to the shortlist for this year’s Time person of the year award. More than the others, though, Tim Cook has clearly made a lasting impression outside the tech community—demonstrated by him nabbing second place. https://gizmodo.com/the-tech-nerds-who-are-up-for-time-person-of-the-year-5969377 Time has named Cook runner-up in this year’s award. In fairness, he…

Walmart is currently offering $50 iTunes gift cards for $40. Free money! [Walmart]

This Photographer Knows Exactly What You’re Getting for Christmas

We’ve all seen x-rays as art before, but this Christmas-themed selection is too good to pass up. Captured by Hugh Turvey, these images show what lurks beneath the wrapping paper you can’t wait to tear open. https://gizmodo.com/the-x-rays-of-completely-healthy-game-consoles-5235810 Turvey is actually artist-in-residence at the British Institute of Radiology, and used the facilities at his disposal to…

Math + Animated GIF = Nerdgasm

This could be the most deliciously geeky animated GIF ever created. Just in case you didn’t believe that Pythagoras’ Theorem worked, you now have no reason to doubt it whatsoever. [Chart Porn]

Penguin’s agreed with the DoJ to end pacts stopping it from lowering digital prices. Cheap Penguin ebooks FTW! [Reuters]

Netflix Encodes Every Movie 120 Different Ways

The problem with streaming video to different devices—computers, tablets, phones, and whatever else—is that they all demand subtly different streams if they’re to look their best. If you’re Netflix, which streams to 900 different types of device, that leaves you with some work to do. According to Netflix, it has to encode each and every…

How Rental PCs Loaded With Spyware Snooped on and Photographed Their Users

When you pay to use a computer, you don’t expect it to be tracking your each and every digital move as a result. But that’s exactly what happened to Aaron’s Sale and Leasing customers—who had their rental computers snooped on in incredible detail. Ars Technica has a great, detailed feature about the saga, which originally…

iOS 6 upgrades jumped a massive 29% over the weekend—no doubt because Google Maps became available. [MoPub]

What Is This? (Answer)

The mystery object is, in fact, the asteroid Toutatis. It was snapped last week by China’s Chang’e 2 probe when it flew by the lump of rock. The three-mile-long asteroid was 4.4 million miles from Earth when Chang’e 2 passed it by, missing the tumbling rock by just 2 miles. Chang’e 2 was originally sent…

NVIDIA’s Tegra 4: Six Times as Powerful as Tegra 3, 1080p at 120Hz and 4K Video?

A leaked slide, published by Chip Hell, purports to show the specs of NVIDIA’s next high-power mobile processors—and if the leak’s accurate, it looks like NVIDIA is more than catching up with the competition. The leak details the 4th generation of NVIDIA’s Tegra processor, currently codenamed Wayne. It apparently uses 28 nanometer processing across a…

What Is This?

This thing looks like a potato or a chunk of root ginger—but it’s not. In fact, it’s something far larger, and more exciting, but can you guess what it is? The image was taken just last week by a team of Chinese scientists. The black background and shadow on the object’s surface might give you…