johnb, Author at Gizmodo | Page 99 of 118

Sharp ND-60RU1 Solar Tiles

Sharp has come out with a line of solar panels that replace standard concrete tiles. It’s designed to work with just about any roof, providing your roof has something called “battens” (TIP: check with your doctor). Essentially, this does away with the huge, unsightly panels that we’ve all seen thus far, replacing them with Battletech-type…

Tech News Johnb Jun 7

Airtrack Passenger GPS Display

Lufthansa-Technik hopes to do away with the Nintendo-era airplane position displays we all know and love. By using real GPS data and satellite photos, Airtrack supplies a realtime view of the ground and surrounding airspace. The roll-out is pretty slow—just Air Berlin and an unnamed Middle Eastern line—but the system can render 2D and 3D…

Tech News Johnb Jun 7

Apple Does Intel Round-Up

I’m going to offer an opinion on this Apple/Intel adventure that is slightly tinged with a zealot’s bias. I’m a Switcher. I bought a Mac Mini and never looked back. A perfectly good Pentium 4 3.2-GHz machine is sitting on my desk, unused for months, and my laptop is running Xandros Linux for that counter-culture-without-the-hard-work…

Tech News Johnb Jun 7

AT iLounge

Reader Larry sent in one of the most dumbfounding pieces of tech I, in all my many years, have seen. I can’t find anything on it through the Interwebs and I’m really confused and bewildered. It appears someone has attached an iPod dock to one of those paper towel rack for very small, contained spills.…

Tech News Johnb Jun 7

Best Buy Not Always Best Buy

Looks like Best Buy is doing the old “two price tango.” It’s not that they’re doing actually offering two prices—they have every right—but that’s the first time I’ve seen it so egregiously in the wild. Reader Todd sends us a missive from the big box heartland after the jump. The web browsers from within the…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Acer Ferrari PDA

Oh wow! A Ferrari PDA! With a stylus with a little red tip! And it’s got WIndows Mobile 2003 SE, 128 MB storage, Bluetooth, WiFi, and SD/CF slots! And it’s just an Acer N50 with a nice paint-job! And, like the Acer Ferrari laptop, it’s aimed at people who… I don’t know? Like red? Like…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Bumper Dumper

Our new Intern, Travis, the one in Kansas, offered up a bit of car-side crappery. The Bumper Dumper is a toilet seat attachment combo that allows you to connect a working toilet to your truck. I know what you’re saying—”That’s what the ashtray is for!”—but hear me out. What better way to spend a long…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Huge Elephant Robot Puppet

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Jules Verne’s death, some cats in Nantes, France staged a jaw-dropping fantasy morning involving wooden space probes, a giant water squirting elephant, and a huge girl on a scooter who visited the mayor at his office and made pee. I think the elephant is absolutely incredible. I apparently…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

PoGo! Radio YourWay LX Reviewed (Verdict: Radio Free Pocket)

The Radio YourWay LX is a time-shifting device for radio broadcasts. This is one of the first digital radio MP3 recorders to support AM radio, which makes this thing make a little more sense but it seems like the whole system is a bit of overkill. However, I will accept that Dittohead out there want…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Zeno Zit Zapper

I admit it. I like to squeeze my zits. I like to get in there with a bottle of peroxide and just drink and squeeze all weekend. I may look like that fat floaty guy in Dune but those are just appearances. However, there is hope for me. The Zeno Zit Zapper not only reduces…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Self-Replicating Replicator

We’ve all heard of these replicators that use cornstarch or plastic or whatever to create solids from a CAD image. However, Dr. Adrian Bowyer at the University of Bath—that’s a city, not a discipline—in the UK, has created an open source replicator, the RepRap that uses glue or heat to bond layers of a solid.…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

AMD, Intel Quad Core in Q1

It seems like only yesterday that Intel and AMD announced their dual-core offerings and they’re already getting all hot and bothered and releasing quad-core chips in Q1. Intel, not to be outdone, is attempting the same feat in the beginning/middle of 2006. With dual-core ramping up from zero to about .9999999% penetration, I wonder how…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Best of Computex 2005

ExtremeTech pulled together a very nice post from Computex 2005 complete with hot photos of hot Asian devices sans lots of scantily clad booth babes (What’s up with that?) Writing about the best products shown at a trade show is an exercise fraught with peril. It’s always difficult to know if a product that appeared…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

WWDC 2005 Round-Up

BOOM – OS X on Intel. Ok. It’s official. They’re offering a developer transition kit for $999. Tool is called Rosetta to turn everything from PowerPC to Intel. Joel was just on his way to the lumber yard when he mentioned the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference and I’m all like “Wha?” and he’s all like…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

United to Offer In-Flight Wireless

Hot news for travelers—we’re getting in-flight WiFi from Verizon! Luckily, it will be their ultra-far wireless group that shoots “data” straight into outer space so we can be disconnected for weeks at a time at 30,000 feet in the air. The FAA has OKed the feature on United’s B757-200 jets and it will only be…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Goodbye, Transmeta – Related: Linus Torvalds Available for Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings

I think the fact that no one picked this up last week is a sure sign that Transmeta is dipping ever lower on our cultural radar. Business 2.0 isn’t actually tolling a death knell for the “other” chip maker and Transmeta hasn’t really announced anything, but I wonder if Via’s entry into this market might…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Olympus C7070 Wide Zoom Reviewed (Verdict: Can’t Be Ignored)

The C7070 is a faux-pro/pro SLR with swivel LCD and a nice f/2.8 – f/4.8 27-110mm lens which offers much better quality than the standard digicam. The SLR-like body is compact and handsome and the 7-megapixel CCD brings down RAW and JPG photos like a fiend. The UI is rough but workable and the review…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Rivet Music Wear for iPod

Not feeling enough like a tool with your Shuffle hanging around your neck? Why not kick it up a notch with Rivet’s Music Wear. Essentially, this is a case that allows you to hang your iPod on anything, from your belt loop to your septum ring. Why do this, you ask? I don’t know. I…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Watch

This quartz TAG Heuer chrono uses gauges instead of round registers to measure minutes and hours. If you’ve ever seen a regular chronograph, you’ll know that the registers—the little dials on the face—are usually circular. Sometimes the really expensive watches have “jump hour” registers that show the hour and then bounce back to zero or…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

Windows Mobile 5.0 to Feature Email Push

Ruh roh, RIM. Better watch out. Steve “Ape Man” Ballmer is ready to eat your lunch. A new Windows Mobile 5.0 feature pack will introduce push email via MS Exchange Server. The only thing that will keep RIM in business at this point is the ubiquity of their charming Booberries and any software deals they…

Tech News Johnb Jun 6

johnb

Sharp ND-60RU1 Solar Tiles

Airtrack Passenger GPS Display

Apple Does Intel Round-Up

AT iLounge

Best Buy Not Always Best Buy

Acer Ferrari PDA

Bumper Dumper

Huge Elephant Robot Puppet

PoGo! Radio YourWay LX Reviewed (Verdict: Radio Free Pocket)

Zeno Zit Zapper

Self-Replicating Replicator

AMD, Intel Quad Core in Q1

Best of Computex 2005

WWDC 2005 Round-Up

United to Offer In-Flight Wireless

Goodbye, Transmeta – Related: Linus Torvalds Available for Bar Mitzvahs, Weddings

Olympus C7070 Wide Zoom Reviewed (Verdict: Can’t Be Ignored)

Rivet Music Wear for iPod

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Watch

Windows Mobile 5.0 to Feature Email Push

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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