Lily Hay Newman, Author at Gizmodo

See The Glass Half Full In This Underwater Mirror

Joe Doucet’s circular mirror isn’t water-logged for nothing. He designed it as a reminder of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in lower Manhattan (where his studio is) and generally on the east coast. The transition in the mirror from clear to blue is refracted slightly so part of whatever is being reflected repeats, mimicking…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

The NSA Can Afford To Store Data From Years Of Phone Calls

There’s been a lot of talk about the NSA and its data-gathering policies. The news sounds kind of scary. But you might be thinking that the NSA can’t have literally every foreign and domestic call made in the U.S.. That would be a crazy amount of data right? Well, yes it would be, and it…

Privacy & Security Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

These Beautiful Iridescent Clouds Are Actually Foreboding

It used to be that you could only see these shimmering cloud formations, called noctilucent clouds, if you were in the North or South Pole. But lately they’ve been on the move, and though they’re pretty to look at, their presence away from the Poles may be sign of climate change. The clouds are appearing…

Climate Change Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

Which Of Your Gadgets Has The Most Impressive Battery Life?

For 4.5 years I used a 15″ macbook pro from mid-2008. It had changeable batteries so twice I went to Apple and convinced them to give me a new one for free. The three batteries I used in that machine were very different. The first one was a champ. It would last for six hours…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

A GIF Is Being Transmitted Into Space For The First Time

Humans haven’t even been off-planet for a century and we’re already leaving trash everywhere. The moon. Mars. Our atmosphere. It’s gross. And honestly it was only a matter of time before a similar digital barrage began. Lone Signal is a project that will allow people to transmit any message they want into space. METI (Messaging…

Space & Spaceflight Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

Mozilla Wants Scientists To Be More Open

When researchers needed an easier way to share data and resources, and generally collaborate they invented the internet. And then they all went home and let the memes and brunch photos take over. Which is weird. Sure, initiatives like CERN are able to coordinate thousands of scientists toward common goals as a result of the…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

By The Way, The NSA Doesn’t Need A Warrant To Listen To Your Calls (Updated)

Update: CNET has since updated its story to reflect that the government does, in fact, need a warrant to listen to your phone calls. In a “secret briefing” to Congress the NSA confirmed that their analysts can listen to phone calls without a warrant and totally at their individual discretion. So . . . not…

Privacy & Security Lily Hay Newman Jun 16

Real Estate: All The Same

Real Estate is a New Jersey-based band that formed in 2008. Their big thing is cyclical riffs, which you can really hear in “All The Same.” I heard this song almost a year ago and it stuck with me, but I had no idea what it was. It would surface in my head every once…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

An Upbeat Take On Brain Imaging

Your brain is pretty important. If something’s wrong you want a doctor to be able to peer in and see what’s going on. But noninvasive scans are probably preferable to letting the spirits out of a little hole in your skull. Still, those scans usually have negative connotations, and Dutch painter Joris Kuipers is using…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

A Window Into Google’s Governing Design Principles

We all know Google design aesthetic from the products we consume, but it’s rare to get a look at the unifying themes and intentions from Google’s perspective. Usually insight about those things can only come from attempting to reverse engineer the design direction. And that’s probably not something that keeps you up nights. But now…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

There Was Drinkable Water On Mars According To Opportunity

Opportunity, aka The Little Rover That Could, is still making important discoveries 10 years into its Martian jaunt. After the devastating loss of twin rover Spirit in 2011, Opportunity rallied and kept trekking, only to recently discover a fascinating rock near Endurance Crater. https://gizmodo.com/as-spirit-fades-forever-mars-opportunity-rover-reaches-5808540 One of the oldest rocks ever analyzed, the specimen shows that…

Space & Spaceflight Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

Microbreweries and Ferns Have A Lot In Common

Analogies are great because they trick us into learning when we think we’re just talking about beer. Want to know how all those microbreweries survive among the big behemoth brands? Gotta learn about the biodiversity of ferns and trees in the forest to make it happen. The MinutePhysics spinoff MinuteEarth creates a teachable moment in…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

NSA Whistleblower Reveals Identity: “I Do Not Expect to See Home Again”

An NSA employee working through outside contractors is the man behind the NSA leak. A former technical assistant for the CIA and current Booz Allen Hamilton employee, 29-year-old Edward Snowden worked with The Guardian to release his identity today. Though he publicly disclosed numerous confidential documents, Snowden tells The Guardian: I have no intention of…

Privacy & Security Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

What WWDC Announcements Would Warm The Cockles Of Your Heart?

WWDC is tomorrow. Which is great because I think another week of rampant speculation about flat design would kill me (though if you’re still looking for a straightforward explanation of what the heck that is we’ve got it). Especially because the latest rumor from John Gruber at Daring Fireball is that “all the leaks are…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

Your Body Isn’t That Much Smaller Than The Whole World

Scale is kind of important when comparing two things. By some measures, one human body is way smaller than the whole Earth. But by others, like the number of bacteria on the skin’s surface versus the number of people on the planet, a person wins out. BuzzFeed Video did some quick comparisons to show that…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

Facebook’s Data Center Humidity “Challenge” Was Indoor Rain

In 2011 Facebook reported that their first data center in Prineville, OR had a high humidity issue. Probably not the best condition for servers, sure. But it turns out that wonky temperature controls were actually causing condensation in the data center. Like indoor rain. Like it was literally raining in the server room. The cloud…

Social Media Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

“Murmur” Shows Room Noise On The Walls

Make sure you don’t mutter to yourself at Murmur, because your petty grievances will end up visualized on the wall. The project uses Raspberry Pi and openFrameworks to visualize and project LED simulations of the sound waves in a room. The designers, a collaborative team from Chevalvert, 2Roqs, Polygraphik and Splank, call the piece an…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

T-Mobile Has Unlimited Data/Text Plus 100 Minutes For $30

It’s not a lot of gab time and T-Mobile’s data speeds still tend to lag behind other major carriers, but for $30 a month this T-Mobile prepaid plan is cheap. 4G speed isn’t unlimited, but the cap is 5GB, which is pretty generous for a budget plan. The plan is for new activations only so…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 9

What’s With The Sudden Recoiling Mudguard Obsession On Bikes?

We’ve been through a lot with slap bracelets. There were the novel years when everything seemed possible, the painful years when the cruel tide of fashion turned, and the ironic years when it seemed like anything could resurface and claim a place in hipster nostalgia. And now two different groups have Kickstarters for recoiling mudguards.…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 2

Florence and The Machine: Bedroom Hymns

Bedroom Hymns was in an early preview of The Great Gatsby before the real soundtrack was released. It was sort of a reference to the fact that Florence and the Machine would have “Over the Love” on the soundtrack when it eventually came out. But ever since that trailer, “Bedroom Hymns” has been stuck in…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman Jun 2

Lily Hay Newman

See The Glass Half Full In This Underwater Mirror

The NSA Can Afford To Store Data From Years Of Phone Calls

These Beautiful Iridescent Clouds Are Actually Foreboding

Which Of Your Gadgets Has The Most Impressive Battery Life?

A GIF Is Being Transmitted Into Space For The First Time

Mozilla Wants Scientists To Be More Open

By The Way, The NSA Doesn’t Need A Warrant To Listen To Your Calls (Updated)

Real Estate: All The Same

An Upbeat Take On Brain Imaging

A Window Into Google’s Governing Design Principles

There Was Drinkable Water On Mars According To Opportunity

Microbreweries and Ferns Have A Lot In Common

NSA Whistleblower Reveals Identity: “I Do Not Expect to See Home Again”

What WWDC Announcements Would Warm The Cockles Of Your Heart?

Your Body Isn’t That Much Smaller Than The Whole World

Facebook’s Data Center Humidity “Challenge” Was Indoor Rain

“Murmur” Shows Room Noise On The Walls

T-Mobile Has Unlimited Data/Text Plus 100 Minutes For $30

What’s With The Sudden Recoiling Mudguard Obsession On Bikes?

Florence and The Machine: Bedroom Hymns

The First ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Reactions Are Most Solid

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 3 Is Doing What You Hoped

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

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