Kate Knibbs, Author at Gizmodo

SureMote Makes Your Android Phone a Remote For Any Wi-Fi Device You Own

Want to throw away your pile of remotes, but don’t want to shell out for a pricy universal remote device? It’s getting easier to just use your smartphone to change the channel. SureMote, a free app that debuted an updated version this weekend, wants you to control every appliance in your house with your phone.…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

This Gross Oculus Rift Game Lets Players Spy Up a Virtual Teen’s Skirt

The Oculus Rift is an amazing virtual reality device and we can use it to pretend to be anywhere. We can simulate soaring through the clouds! The Rift can help you live inside your wildest dreams… and apparently that includes staring at a schoolgirl like a lecherous creep while her skirt lifts up in the…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

The FCC Fined Marriott $600,000 For Blocking Guests’ Wi-Fi

The FCC wants the Marriott hotel chain to pay up for its slimy practice of blocking and disabling conference guests’ personal Wi-Fi connections. Marriott is accused of jamming personal connections at its Gaylord Opryland location in Nashville, Tennessee. In a statement, the FCC said its team had evidence that Marriott employees blocked personal access “while…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

The Quest to Build an Elevator to Space

Forget buying a stairway to heaven. Serious people are trying to build an elevator to space. That’s not a metaphor, and yes, a space elevator sounds like plot point from an Arthur C. Clarke novel. Which makes sense, because it is. It’s a risky but well-considered plan to create a workable transit system between the…

Space & Spaceflight Kate Knibbs

Hackers Are Using Reddit to Connect 17,000 Macs to a Botnet

Bad news for Mac users: You’re at risk for an insidious malware that will connect your computer to a botnet. Hackers have developed a backdoor entry called “Mac.BackDoor.iWorm” that gains access to Macs and uses Reddit to connect the hacked computer with a command server. Once the computer is infected, the iWorm uses Reddit’s search…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

London’s Turning Its Iconic Phone Booths Into Solar Charging Stations

London’s famous telephone booths are more of a tourist attraction than anything else now that mobile phones are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely useless. One booth has already been transformed into solar-powered mobile charging station, and six more are on the way. Solarbox, as the revamped booth is called, lets people top off…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

It Looks Like Roku’s Getting Mirroring Powers Soon (Updated)

Roku has released support notes that strongly suggest the streaming player is about to get a mirroring function. Update: Yep. Rokujust announced that it now supports mirroring in beta for Android and Windows Phone devices. This would let you mirror what’s on your tablet, smartphone, or laptop screen to a Roku-attached TV. Awesome. The feature…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Verizon Is Killing the Throttling Plan Everyone Hated

Verizon was supposed to start data throttling people who used its grandfathered unlimited data plan today, but guess what? It’s not going to do that anymore! The telecom company released a statement explaining its about-face: Verizon is committed to providing its customers with an unparalleled mobile network experience. At a time of ever-increasing mobile broadband…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

The strange case of O’Hare Airport’s vanishing Terminal 4

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is one of the busiest in the world. That scene from Home Alone where they’re running through the airport is no joke. O’Hare’s hectic energy is overwhelming enough to make you forget your own Macaulay Culkin, for sure. And if the McCallisters had followed signs for Terminal 4, they would’ve never even…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Google Is Giving Students and Teachers Unlimited Free Storage

Google just got students and educators a pretty sweet back-to-school gift: “Drive for Education” offers unlimited free cloud storage to the school crowd. Drive for Education is similar to Drive for Work, which launched in June, except Drive for Education is free. And Drive for Education has a tool called Classroom to help teachers organize…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

5 Selfie-Enabling Devices That Deserve a Permanent Ban

Here at Gizmodo dot com we are dedicated to telling you about the best technology and design innovations IN THE WORLD, SON. That means relentlessly following the best new phones , showcasing souped-up vacuums , or highlighting fascinating social networks . And sometimes it means showing you the absolute worst technology and design innovations so…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

A Visual History of the Windows Start Menu

Microsoft debuted Windows 10 today and it has a solid Start Menu. Good job, Windows! But before getting Windows 10 on point, the Start Menu went through more than one reinvention. Some went better than others. Windows 95 This is where it all started. Looking at this I can pretty much hear the “OOOOEEHHHAAAU UUHHHGGGHHEEUURHHH”…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Turn Off Flash to Avoid ‘Malvertising’ Attacks

Financial scammers are infecting ads on Google’s ad network, and people who visit Examiner.com are at risk. These infected ads look legit, but they use Flash-based redirection to install malware and steal financial information. And you don’t even have to click on them to get infected with Zbot, the banking trojan that takes financial data.…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Bioluminescent Octopus Bacteria Makes This Beautiful Lamp Glow

To see the glow from a species of bioluminescent octopus used to require a trip to the deep sea and a fair amount of patience. Not anymore. Ambio, a mobile lamp from Amsterdam-based designer Teresa von Dongen brings the sublime light away from the ocean by creating a “artificial saltwater medium.” Ambio showcases the bioluminescence…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Scenes* From the Upcoming Tetris Movie, Which Is a Totally Real Thing

An “epic sci-fi movie” version of the video game Tetris is in the works, because if Hollywood loves one thing, it’s action blockbusters based on nostalgia-fueled brands with nonsensical plots (see: Transformers, Battleship, TMNT, really the entire Michael Bay oeuvre). Threshold Entertainment is working with the Tetris Company to develop the film, and Threshold CEO…

Movies Kate Knibbs

This Storage Cube Could Be Your Personal Assistant

The last time I used a storage cube it was called a cubby, and I shoved finger-painted cardboard and mittens in it because I was 5. I suspect I’m not alone. If Arthur Shmulevsky has his way, storage cubes will graduate to much broader use than crayon receptacles. His startup, Clean Cube, provides a space…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

John Oliver Wants To Remind You That Drones Are Terrifying

John Oliver took a look at drones on Last Week Tonight and didn’t like what he saw. Oliver’s focus is military drones, not hobbyist quadcopters, and he targeted recent U.S. drone strikes on Pakistan and Yemen. This clip highlights something truly disturbing: Drone attacks have gone from an event to a humdrum military tactic without…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Protesters Are Using FireChat’s Mesh Networks To Organize in Hong Kong

Protesters in Hong Kong have started communicating via FireChat, an app that lets people send messages without cell reception. Tens of thousands of protestors are gathering in Hong Kong’s financial district to protest changes to election policy that would let a mainland Chinese committee vet the city’s political candidates, and many use their phones to…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Ello My Baby

Everyone gets songs lodged in their heads. Sometimes you hear something and it just gets stuck, like when I spent an entire bus ride with “Tubthumping” on mental replay after hearing it in 7-11. Other times you don’t hear anything at all, but the unexpected popularity of a new social network triggers an unavoidable mental…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Why Android Phones Now Come With So Many More Google Apps Than Before

Google’s apps are front-and-center on newer Android phones for a reason: Google wants you to use its services on Android, and it has contracts in place to that end. According to confidential contracts obtained by The Information, phonemakers like Samsung and HTC need to include a whole lot of Google-branded widgets and icons to be…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Kate Knibbs

SureMote Makes Your Android Phone a Remote For Any Wi-Fi Device You Own

This Gross Oculus Rift Game Lets Players Spy Up a Virtual Teen’s Skirt

The FCC Fined Marriott $600,000 For Blocking Guests’ Wi-Fi

The Quest to Build an Elevator to Space

Hackers Are Using Reddit to Connect 17,000 Macs to a Botnet

London’s Turning Its Iconic Phone Booths Into Solar Charging Stations

It Looks Like Roku’s Getting Mirroring Powers Soon (Updated)

Verizon Is Killing the Throttling Plan Everyone Hated

The strange case of O’Hare Airport’s vanishing Terminal 4

Google Is Giving Students and Teachers Unlimited Free Storage

5 Selfie-Enabling Devices That Deserve a Permanent Ban

A Visual History of the Windows Start Menu

Turn Off Flash to Avoid ‘Malvertising’ Attacks

Bioluminescent Octopus Bacteria Makes This Beautiful Lamp Glow

Scenes* From the Upcoming Tetris Movie, Which Is a Totally Real Thing

This Storage Cube Could Be Your Personal Assistant

John Oliver Wants To Remind You That Drones Are Terrifying

Protesters Are Using FireChat’s Mesh Networks To Organize in Hong Kong

Ello My Baby

Why Android Phones Now Come With So Many More Google Apps Than Before

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

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?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets