Jamie Condliffe

These One-Handed Condom Wrappers Need to Exist

Technology moves forward in leaps and bounds, but some designs never change. Which is why thousands of men embarrass themselves on a daily basis as they struggle to open condom packaging. That’s why these one-handed wrappers need to exist. A concept by London-based designer Ben Pawle, the newly designed wrapper is engineered so that it…

FCC Testing Mobile Broadband Speeds to ‘Spur Competition’

The FCC is planning to test mobile broadband speeds across the entire US from September 21st, in order to provide consumers with detailed information and “spur competition among service providers.” The initiative follows on from its National Broadband Plan, which continues to gather detailed data on national fixed broadband speeds. The FCC claims that the…

Facebook Limits Publicly Available Stock to Save Its Share Prices

Regardless of whether it made the correct decisions or not, the fact remains that Facebook’s stock isn’t fairing well. Which is why Zuckerberg and co have decided to batten the hatches, ditching a secondary offering and playing it safe when it comes to stock. The Wall Street Journal explains: https://gizmodo.com/facebook-handled-its-ipo-exactly-right-5940311 In a regulatory filing Tuesday,…

Spinal Stem Cell Injections Help Reverse Paralysis

A new medical intervention has allowed doctors to inject neural stem cells into the spines of paralyzed patients, successfully helping them recover feeling in previously unresponsive parts of their bodies. New Scientist reports that a small trial involving three partially paralyzed patients saw injections of 20 million neural stem cells administered directly into their spinal…

Nokia: PureView Is Not a Single Specific Feature

After what Nokia did with its 808’s insane camera, many a consumer was hoping that similar PureView technology would also feature in the impending new Lumia range. Don’t hold your breath, though: as Nokia is keen to point out, PureView isn’t about crazy pixel counts. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-808-pureview-hands-on-a-superb-camera-with-a-ph-5912940 In a bid to perhaps manage expectations, Nokia’s senior…

The Kisai Zone Tells the Time in Hexagons

Tokyo Flash, the Japanese watchmaker which loves to make hard-to-read timepieces, has just launched its latest model: the Zone, which tells the time in hexagons. In fact, this time round it’s actually not too difficult to read the display, which can’t be said for many of its watches. If you’re stuck when it comes to…

Future Supercomputers Will Be Powered By Your Phone

Cluster computing—the concept of stringing together devices to act as a single processing unit—isn’t a new idea. But soon your phone could be acting as a node in just such a device, helping to crack tough computational problems. New Scientist reports that researchers from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany have been stringing together…

Samsung Audit Finds No Underage Workers, But Some Serious Problems

Last month a Chinese labor watchdog fingered Samsung for employing, and abusing, underage workers in its factories. Now a Samsung audit has found no evidence of underage workers—but plenty of other problems to worry about. https://gizmodo.com/report-underage-children-abused-in-samsung-factories-5932504 Investigating the HEG Electronics facility in Huizhou, China, which was the focus of last month’s report, Samsung found no…

AntiSec Leaks 1 Million Apple Device IDs Obtained During FBI Breach (Updated)

Antisec has released 1 million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs), claiming that it obtained them after breaching an FBI computer. It also claims to have over 12 million IDs in total, along with user names, device names, cell phone numbers and addresses to go with them. This is very not good. In a statement Antisec…

Rumor: New Nokia Lumias to Include Wireless Charging?

Last week rumors circulated about Nokia’s new range of Lumia handsets. Now, another leak from evleaks suggests that the Lumia range will feature wireless charging. https://gizmodo.com/are-these-nokias-new-lumia-windows-phones-updated-5939527 The Verge is reporting the rumor in some detail, suggesting that the new phones will support the Qi wireless power standard, making it compatible with other wireless charging systems.…

What Is The Nerdiest Game Ever?

How do you make an already-geeky game even geekier? By making it out of electronic components, of course. MAKE magazine is showing off this super-nerdy game of chess, where resistors become pawns, LEDs stand in as bishops and the king and queen are represented by electrolytic capacitors. But we’ve seen plenty of other geeky games…

Marshall’s First Stab at Home Audio Will Rock Your Apartment Hard

Marshall branding makes anything look instantly cool: from fridges to headphones. Now you can add home audio to that list. Weirdly, in its 50-year history the English amp manufacturer has never made a home audio device—save for a licensed UK-only digital radio—instead sticking to guitar amplification. Now it’s launching the Hanwell, an active loudspeaker designed…

The FCC’s reviewing how it screens purchases and mergers, which could democratize carrier markets. A bit. [The Hill]

How a Fluted Beer Glass Helps You Drink Faster

Today the chances are you’ll enjoy a beer or two to celebrate the break from your toils at work. But depending on the glass you’re drinking from, you may work through your brew faster than you expect. Research carried out at the University of Bristol, UK, shows that the shape of beer glasses has a…

Bruce Willis Planning Legal Battle to Leave iTunes Library in His Will

Action movie legend Bruce Willis is apparently eyeing up a legal battle in order to guarantee that he can pass his massive iTunes library onto his children when he dies. The Daily Mail is reporting that Willis is concerned about the fact that upon his death his entire music collection will revert to Apple ownership.…

iPhone 5 Mockup Shows How Taller Design Stacks Up Against the 4S

An anonymous case manufacturer has been showing off a physical mockup of the iPhone 5 at Europe’s IFA consumer electronics fair this weekend. While it doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know, this video from the Verge does a good job of highlighting the differences we’re expecting to show up between the old and…

How Yelp Scores Make or Break Restaurants

Smart diners rely on restaurant reviews to find good food. But a new study investigates for the first time the complex relationships between online ratings and real-world success—and reveals that losing just half a star can leave a restaurant in ruin. The Guardian reports that a team of economists from the University of California, Berkeley,…

Gizmodo Day Oxford Meet-Up Live Blog (Updating)

To celebrate Gizmodo’s tenth birthday in the UK, we’re partying at The Jame Factory in Oxford. Given that Gizmodo is a US-based website, how will it play out? This is the live blog of how it’s going. 8:00 PM: I am settled in at the bar with a Brooklyn Lager to celebrate the fact that…

Carbonized Li-On Batteries Can Charge 100 Times Quicker

While lithium-ion batteries are the best we have, they often take an awful long time to charge. Now, though, a team of researchers has developed a new battery manufacturing technique which can cut charge time from hours to minutes. The way current li-on batteries are made, they have conductors feeding the charge-holding particles held within…

Would You Want an Illuminated Trackpad?

A new Apple patent shows that the company has at least considered the idea of illuminated trackpads. The patent describes how they’d be able to vary in color and brightness to provide an extra level of feedback to the user. But is that inspired concept or an incredibly dumb idea? And what the hell would…