Mark Wilson, Author at Gizmodo

Frankenfight: IE7 Vs. Firefox 2

In one corner we have Internet Explorer 7. After 18 months of development and a shiny new set of tabs, he’s in top shape and looking better than his predecessor ever did. That is, before he entered the ring with Firefox 2.0. Now he’s just a cripple with fancy RSS reading. https://lifehacker.com/firefox-2-officially-released-209905 This battle wasn’t…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 25

How To REALLY Get Free Stuff At Trade Shows

As the First Annual Intranational Kotaku Swag-Off Champion, collecting $100s of free products in just half an hour, I’ve burdened all sorts of new responsibilities. We’re talking ribbon cuttings, parade float waving and the occasional swag champ imposter debunking. http://www.kotaku.com/gaming//e306-first-annual-kotaku-swag-off-173545.php Recently, John Chow wrote up a cute little article on how to score free swag…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 24

JR Robotics Gymnastics Robot: Golden

Biped robot? Check. Slick blue paintjob? Check. Lasers? No go. High bar routine? Check. Even though the JR RB-2000 robot is not actually grasping at the bar, this video is still pretty impressive. Hit it at about 40 seconds to watch the Paul Hamm routine begin. Now if they can just make a figure skating…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

Top Ten Computer Flops: Gizmodo Not On List!

Yeah, believe it or not, computer hardware and software developers mess up sometimes. https://gizmodo.com/sony-joins-the-club-of-laptop-companies-recalling-sony-208467 A recent list includes flops from major players like IBM, Apple, Microsoft and Xerox. Take the NeXT supercomputer. It was a UNIX supercomputer that cost $6,000 but didn’t have any software to actually run the thing. Then there’s the Apple 3…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

CAPS LOCK Day: hooray

we realize that we are not using all caps for this post, as would be the predictable joke to have offered our dear readers. the joke would have been funny in the way that a cream pie in the face is funny – not “haha funny”, but “out of obligation to the clown who broke…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

LEGO Flamethrower: Ages 4 and Up

This deathtoy is built complete from Lego bricks, except for a “piece of string” and refill bottle of butane. And you thought Legos were just a choking hazard. When the Gizmodo staff goes postal, this will definitely be our weapon of choice. Hit the jump for 7 seconds of the sweetest video you’ve ever seen…today…unless…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

1080p Gaming Not What it Seems?

There is no doubt that 1080p is the holy grail of high definition, which is exactly why Sony has pursued that benchmark with such enthusiasm. But exactly how hard is 1080p to render for video game consoles? Here are some telling stats straight from senior software design Bruce Dawson: * 2.25x: that’s how many more…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

Excuse Box: No Reason to Tell the Truth

The Excuse Box is a keychain that ends annoying phone conversations with tact. How many times have we all been in this situation: “Hello?” “Hi hon, you missed Sara’s ballet concert, where were you?” “Oh…late night at the factory.” “But you don’t work at the factory…you don’t even have a job.” With the $13 Excuse…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

Chevillotte (Very)Table: Hidden Pool Table

The (Very)Table is such a great invention that we don’t even mind its annoying use of punctuation. Switching from married life to bachelorhood in a matter of moments, the table works as a hostile takeover desk during the day and a client-entertaining pool table/hooker bed at night. Crafted from steel and composite materials, then finished…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

Pumpkin Computer: Just Like Mom Used to Make

Here’s a festive pumpkin computer to scare away the dorks this Halloween. The pumpkin modification started by hollowing out and drying the squash for the night. The next day, fans were stuck into the eyes with the grills screwed directly into the flesh. A Latitude D410 motherboard was then attached to a clipboard and shoved…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

Octava HDMI Cross Switch: Cheap

With the emergence of HDMI as a popular audio/video connection, home theatre buffs will require HDMI switchers, but so will the cheapies who bought stripped down HDTVs with only 1 input. The Octava 3×2 Cross Switch can take 3 HDMI/DVI signals and place them, in any combination, on 2 HD displays by bundled remote. They…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 22

1978 Heuer Ford RS Motorsport: Retro Tech

Why buy new retro when you can buy retro retro? This 1978 watch features dual LCD displays – the second of which solely displays the Ford logo. And those metal boob-thingies in the front? They are the batteries designed to look like spark plug pods. This may be the only one left in the world,…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

More Gadgets = More Robberies

In Britain, or as we say in America, Land of the Funny Talkers, robbery rose by 5% over a period of three months this year. Though the headline read something like, “iPods Alone Are Completely Responsible for Crime,” here is what the chief constable had to say: “[Robbery increases have] a lot to do with…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

LG KB6100: Makes Calls, Records Television

LG just announced their KB6100 mobile phone that not only allows you to watch TV via Korea’s T-DMB network (wireless digital broadcast), and can also record the shows you want to watch later in PVR fashion. These shows can either be played back during boring weddings/funerals or transferred to your computer via USB for later…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 22

Stress-o-Meter: A Necessity

Are you stressed? Are you stressed that you might be stressed? Thank God we have the Stress-o-Meter. How it works: the possibly stressed tentatively places their fingers in the groves. Tentatively we said! You could be really stressed here. Plus, it’s important you don’t stress over the result, lest you get a “false positive”. The…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 21

Glass CD – Sounds Like A**

N & F Label will sell you a glass CD for $830. Touted as completely transparent (unlike plastic), the sound quality can transmit near perfectly because of less cloudy interference for the laser. And glass is also far less likely to bend or warp in heat than its plastic bretheren. But we’re calling bullshit. First,…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 21

Plastic has Wood: Gets Harder

Researchers from Syracuse have found that mixing nanocrystals of cellulose with plastics creates a substance that strengthens plastic “by a factor of 3,000”. And it’s environmentally friendly with the cellulose parts biodegrading within 90 days. Why wood? Aside from the vast possibilities of new sexual innuendo, wood has more cellulose than other plants, so scientists…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 21

I Will Do My Duty To Not Steal Crappy Entertainment

The Boy Scouts of America LA Council have joined with the MPAA, offering 52,000 scouts the opportunity to earn an activity patch for learning the dangers of copyright infringement. This from the AP article: “Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 21

Toyota Human Touch Commercial – Humanizing, Likes to Touch

Here’s a Toyota commercial from Japan that captures the human element behind the small technologies we often take for granted, like headlights and windshield wipers. It’s clever, funny, poignant and most definitely worth its minute or so of runtime. Some people have talked about its homoerotic overtones – I sense more of a zombie influence…

Tech News Mark Wilson Oct 21

New LG PMP – Feels Good

Apple needs to release something big and fast if they want to keep up with the new PMPs that are coming out. This new LG sports a 2.4 inch display, is cased in some serious aluminum, stores 4GB of media, and uses a touch-screen interface. Video playback is only 3 hours on a charge, but…

Gadgets Mark Wilson Oct 21

Mark Wilson

Frankenfight: IE7 Vs. Firefox 2

How To REALLY Get Free Stuff At Trade Shows

JR Robotics Gymnastics Robot: Golden

Top Ten Computer Flops: Gizmodo Not On List!

CAPS LOCK Day: hooray

LEGO Flamethrower: Ages 4 and Up

1080p Gaming Not What it Seems?

Excuse Box: No Reason to Tell the Truth

Chevillotte (Very)Table: Hidden Pool Table

Pumpkin Computer: Just Like Mom Used to Make

Octava HDMI Cross Switch: Cheap

1978 Heuer Ford RS Motorsport: Retro Tech

More Gadgets = More Robberies

LG KB6100: Makes Calls, Records Television

Stress-o-Meter: A Necessity

Glass CD – Sounds Like A**

Plastic has Wood: Gets Harder

I Will Do My Duty To Not Steal Crappy Entertainment

Toyota Human Touch Commercial – Humanizing, Likes to Touch

New LG PMP – Feels Good

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