Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Here’s Everything Jeff Bezos Said to Convince Humanity That Space Colonies Are the Future

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man on the planet, gave an hour-long presentation yesterday about his plans for humanity’s future living on the moon and in space colonies. It was a bit like watching a monologue from a sci-fi movie in a lot of ways. And now you can finally view the entire presentation…

Space & Spaceflight Matt Novak May 10

CIA’s Solution to Killing Too Many Civilians: Knife Bomb

The CIA and the U.S. military have been using a new type of missile during some drone strikes in recent years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. What makes this new missile unique? It doesn’t explode and instead deploys sharp blades, hitting targets “like a speeding anvil” from the sky. The new…

Tech News Matt Novak May 9

U.S. Conducts Missile Test Just 10 Minutes After North Korea’s Latest Missile Launch

North Korea conducted a new weapons test overnight, firing two missiles into the sea between North Korea and Japan, according to reports from the South Korean military. The U.S. military conducted its own missile test just ten minutes later. It was the second weapons test for North Korea in the past week, following the launch…

Tech News Matt Novak May 9

The U.S. Military Doesn’t Know How Many Websites It Operates

The Pentagon has a lot to keep track of these days. But don’t ask the folks over there a difficult question like how many websites they manage. An official at the U.S. Department of Defense recently admitted that they have no idea how many websites the U.S. military bureaucracy oversees. Army Col. Paul Haverstick, acting…

Tech News Matt Novak May 8

Pharma Companies Will Soon Be Required to List Drug Prices in TV Ads

TV ads for prescription drugs are already annoying as hell, but those drug ads are about to get even more absurd. The U.S. government will soon require pharmaceutical companies to display the price of medications during every commercial. Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, announced the proposed requirement to the Associated Press…

Health Matt Novak May 8

Bill Gates Actually Made a Good Point About the Socialism Debate in America

Billionaires Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, and Warren Buffett were interviewed on CNBC this morning, and it wasn’t surprising to hear the three men defend capitalism. But it was surprising to hear Gates make a really good point about socialism. Or, at least a good point about how socialism is defined in the U.S. Gates pointed…

Politics Matt Novak May 6

Facebook Invites Journalists to See New ‘War Room,’ Won’t Let Them Ask Workers Questions

Facebook, the social media giant that helped enable genocide and yet is still allowed to exist for some reason, had a big public relations push this weekend. And if the news stories that came out are giving you a sense of deja vu, you’re not alone. Facebook has a new European “war room” to combat election…

Social Media Matt Novak May 6

Game of Thrones Accidentally Leaves Modern Coffee Cup on Table, Inspires New Meme

If you watched Game of Thrones last night you might have spotted something a little out of place. No, there wasn’t an ewok riding a dragon or anything as cool as that. The HBO show aired a modern coffee cup that was definitely not supposed to be in the shot. The mistaken coffee cup appears…

io9 Matt Novak May 6

This Goofy Apple Computer Video From 1987 Has Futuristic Gadgets That We’re Still Waiting For

Apple Computer was an innovative and nimble company in 1987, so it makes sense that people at the tech giant would imagine a world dominated by Apple ten years into the future. And that’s precisely what it did when it released this goofy video from the perspective of the year 1997. The 1987 video, which…

Tech News Matt Novak May 3

L.A. Museum Opens New Exhibit of Dystopian Vehicles From Movies Like Blade Runner and Mad Max: Fury Road

If you’ve never been to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, you have to go. And there’s no better time than this year, as the museum opens up a new exhibit of vehicles from TV and movies that looks cool as hell. The exhibit is called “Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and…

Tech News Matt Novak May 3

Later, Losers

Facebook announced today that it is banning a number of far-right political figures on its platforms, including InfoWars founder Alex Jones, former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopolous, and InfoWars contributor Paul Joseph Watson, among a host of others. The ban extends to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook and has been getting more attention as a…

Social Media Matt Novak May 2

Julian Assange Declines Voluntary Extradition to the U.S. in Latest Court Appearance

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had his second court date of the week this morning where he formally declined extradition to the U.S. to face charges brought by the Justice Department. The WikiLeaks founder was sentenced in a British court to nearly a year in prison yesterday for jumping bail in 2012. Assange appeared before the…

Tech News Matt Novak May 2

The 13 Most Notorious Deleted Tweets in History

Everyone makes a bad tweet now and then. And sometimes a tweet is so bad, that the user has to delete it forever. But the internet never forgets. On Monday, Chase deleted a tweet that blamed the average person’s financial troubles on buying coffee rather than, say, the inherent inequality of a system where Chase…

Tech News Matt Novak May 1

Homeland Security to Start DNA Testing Asylum Seekers as It Tries to Back Up ‘Fake Families’ Scare Tactic

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will start using Rapid DNA tests on some asylum seekers at the U.S.–Mexico border next week, according to a new report from CNN. The tests are intended to determine whether adults and children who are traveling together are actually family members. The Rapid DNA tests involve a cheek swab…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak May 1

Julian Assange Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison For Jumping Bail in London

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison, just shy of a year, for jumping bail in London back in the summer of 2012. Assange appeared before a UK court this morning and received close to the maximum sentence, but may only serve half of his 50-week sentence after other factors…

Tech News Matt Novak May 1

Backdoors in Huawei Equipment Discovered by Vodafone Italy in 2009

Vodafone Italy discovered backdoors in its Huawei home internet routers and software between 2009 and 2011 according to a new report from Bloomberg News. The backdoors have reportedly been fixed, but the revelations are still bad news for Huawei as the Chinese tech giant tries to secure contracts to build 5G infrastructure around the world.…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak Apr 30

Failed Airlines That Were Too Weird for This World

Today, we’re taking a look at five of those airlines that were simply too odd for this world.

Gadgets Matt Novak Apr 29

Norwegian Fishermen Discover Beluga Whale That Might Be Working with the Russian Navy

Norwegian fishermen discovered a beluga whale wearing a harness off the country’s northern coast last week. The fishermen were fascinated with how tame it was, but there might be a good reason that it was comfortable around humans. Scientists from Norway’s Institute of Marine Research suspect the whale and its harness may be part of…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 29

Some Asshole Tried to Burn Down the National Archives

An unidentified asshole set fire to the U.S. National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. last night around 8:00 pm ET. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the building suffered some damage on an outside wall and the perpetrator hasn’t been captured. The suspect placed a gas container on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 26

Secretive Group of Elite Scientists Saved From Pentagon Budget Cuts at the Last Minute

The Jason Group, an advisory panel of scientists and academics that have conducted studies for the Pentagon since 1960, might not be dissolving after all. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has stepped in to keep the group alive until January 2020. First reported by Defense News, the NNSA posted a contract…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 26

Matt Novak

Here’s Everything Jeff Bezos Said to Convince Humanity That Space Colonies Are the Future

CIA’s Solution to Killing Too Many Civilians: Knife Bomb

U.S. Conducts Missile Test Just 10 Minutes After North Korea’s Latest Missile Launch

The U.S. Military Doesn’t Know How Many Websites It Operates

Pharma Companies Will Soon Be Required to List Drug Prices in TV Ads

Bill Gates Actually Made a Good Point About the Socialism Debate in America

Facebook Invites Journalists to See New ‘War Room,’ Won’t Let Them Ask Workers Questions

Game of Thrones Accidentally Leaves Modern Coffee Cup on Table, Inspires New Meme

This Goofy Apple Computer Video From 1987 Has Futuristic Gadgets That We’re Still Waiting For

L.A. Museum Opens New Exhibit of Dystopian Vehicles From Movies Like Blade Runner and Mad Max: Fury Road

Later, Losers

Julian Assange Declines Voluntary Extradition to the U.S. in Latest Court Appearance

The 13 Most Notorious Deleted Tweets in History

Homeland Security to Start DNA Testing Asylum Seekers as It Tries to Back Up ‘Fake Families’ Scare Tactic

Julian Assange Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison For Jumping Bail in London

Backdoors in Huawei Equipment Discovered by Vodafone Italy in 2009

Failed Airlines That Were Too Weird for This World

Norwegian Fishermen Discover Beluga Whale That Might Be Working with the Russian Navy

Some Asshole Tried to Burn Down the National Archives

Secretive Group of Elite Scientists Saved From Pentagon Budget Cuts at the Last Minute

US Renewable Power Generation Beats Natural Gas for the First Time, Defying Trump

Dan Stevens Cracks Open the Mouth of Madness in ‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’

Disney’s Massive Layoffs Have Seemingly Hit Marvel Hard

Anthropic Is Jacking Up the Price for Power Users Amid Complaints Its Model Is Getting Worse

Bose SoundLink Max Bluetooth Speaker Quietly Drops to Its Lowest Price, Now Cheaper Than Last Week’s Low

The Wicked Stepmother of ‘The Testaments’ Is So Much Fun to Hate

Apple’s Smart Glasses Are Stepping Into a Privacy Minefield

Allbirds Is Getting Out of the Shoe Business and Pivoting to AI Infrastructure

Anker Nebula P1i Portable Projector Debuted at CES 2026 and Now Hits Record Low Just Weeks After Launch

There’s No Saving Windows 11. It’s Time for Windows 12

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

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

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