Jamie Condliffe

Microsoft Solves Windows Phone 8’s Random Rebooting Problem

After users reported that their Windows Phone 8 handsets were randomly rebooting, Microsoft claims to have found the cause of the problem—and is planning to roll out an over-the-air update in December. https://gizmodo.com/is-your-windows-phone-8-handset-randomly-rebooting-5961703 All Things D reports that Microsoft has been working with its partners—presumably HTC and Nokia—and has discovered a cause of the bug…

A team of devs has ported the ill-fated—and newly open source—webOS to an app that can run on Android. [Phoenix]

Super-Tough Antarctic Bacteria Provide Hope For Alien Life

Lake Vida in East Antarctica is seven times saltier than the sea, 13 degrees celsius below freezing and pitch black. It was a place researchers thought life would never exist—but they were wrong. A team of Antarctic scientists have found a new breed of strange bacteria that live in a completely sealed lake, and have…

Best Buy Canada has let slip that a new slimmer Wii—the Wii Mini—will be available from December 7th. Oops. [Best Buy]

This Is What Happens When a Lion Steals Your Camera

We all worry from time to time about having our tech stolen. But when Ed Hetherington travelled to Zimbabwe for a wildlife photography adventure, he probably didn’t expect to have his camera snatched by a lion. That is, however, just what happened. He was using a Canon 5D Mk II remotely, to capture animals from…

Google’s Play Store website now links your reviews to your Google+ account. Careful what you write! [Tech Crunch]

New York City’s CO2 Emissions, Visualized

In 2010, New York City pumped out 54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. That figure’s close to meaningless for most of us, though—so here’s what it would look like if you could actually see it. In this video, made by Carbon Visuals, each blue ball represents one ton of carbon dioxide.…

Verizon Sued By Porn Industry For Protecting Pirates

Verizon is being sued by a group of adult movie companies because it has refused to hand over personal details of alleged BitTorrent pirates. Torrent Freak reports that Verizon is refusing to comply with court-ordered subpoenas—and the porn studios see it as more than simple customer protection. Instead, they believe that the provider is profiting…

Hacked Keycard System Brings String of Hotel Break-Ins

Earlier this year a team of researchers announced that it was possible to hack the keycard systems used in millions of hotel rooms using $50 worth of parts. Now a recent spate of hotel break-ins is being attributed to the attack. https://gizmodo.com/millions-of-hotel-room-locks-have-a-glaring-security-fl-5935808 Forbes reports that a string of hotel room thefts in Houston have been…

Netflix has overhauled the way it hosts content on the cloud. TL;DR: Netflix will work better and hang less. [The WHIR]

Google Is Shutting Down Motorola’s Country-Specific Websites

Earlier this year Google made it clear that it was planning to make dramatic cuts at Motoola Mobility. Well, the first major change to affect consumers is here: Google is axing Moto’s country-specific websites. https://gizmodo.com/google-cutting-motorola-staff-concentrating-on-a-few-g-5934115 The Next Web reports that sites in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have all been…

How to Annoy Generation Y

This Sticky Comics cartoon is so depressingly accurate that it’s hilarious. Who actually uses their cell phone to call people these days anyway? [Sticky Comics]

Samsung Audit: No Child Labor, But So Many Other Problems

After a a Chinese labor watchdog fingered Samsung with child labor allegations, the company set to auditing its entire catalog of factories. Initial results weren’t too great, but now the final results are in—and while there’s no evidence of child labor, there are plenty more problems to worry about. https://gizmodo.com/report-underage-children-abused-in-samsung-factories-5932504 The company has inspected 105…

The next Raspberry Pi mini computer will offer a 5-megapixel camera and run Minecraft, too. Wowzer. [Raspberry Pi]

Are Blood Bricks the Future of Building?

Take the blood of a freshly slaughtered animal. Mix thoroughly with preservatives and sand, pour into square molds, and bake for one hour. Allow to cool—then build your home from the result. No, really. At least, that’s what Jack Munro, an architect with a passion for material research and experimentation, would like us to do.…

Apple Had to Acquire Its “Lightning” Trademark From Harley-Davidson

Apple’s controversial Lightning connector has a name that nicely matches up with the Thunderbolt data connection. But its name caused Apple some trouble—because it had to buy the trademark from Harley-Davidson. https://gizmodo.com/whats-changed-in-apples-new-8-pin-lightning-dock-connec-5942555 The EU Patent & Trademark Office has published trademark applications for Apple’s Lightning connector, reports Patently Apple. But what’s interesting about them is…

US consumers spent over $1 billion online on Black Friday, for the first time ever. Good shopping, guys. [Bloomberg]

This Edible Lamp Is Actually Good Enough to Eat

This lamps looks good enough to eat. No, really: it’s made from a biodegradable plastic derived from vegetable glycerin and agar, which means that when it reaches the end of its natural life you can actually chow down on it. Called Bite Me, it was designed by New York-based Victor Vetterlein. He explains: “When the…

Amazing and Adorable: 4D Scan Shows a Fetus Yawning in the Womb

Medical imaging’s come a long way in the past few decades—but it’s now so good that doctors can use it to tell the difference between a baby opening its mouth and it yawning. A team of researchers from Durham University, UK, has been analyzing data from 4D ultrasound scans which create three dimensional renderings of…

Two Weeks, 3,000 Miles and Three Minutes of Insanely Great Video

When Mike Matas and Sharon Hwang decided to go on an epic road trip from San Francisco to New York City, they thought it would be fun to make a lasting record of it. We’re glad they did, because this time lapse is enough to inspire anyone to hit the road and leave their cares…