Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Tech Nerds Who Predicted an Internet Utopia Are Sorry For Being So Wrong

You probably remember those tantalizing tech predictions from the 1990s. The world wide web was going to become a paradise for access to information and civil discourse. The internet would allow people of different cultures to come together and learn from each other. The information superhighway was supposed to make our lives so much easier.…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 26 '17

Library of Congress Gives Up Collecting All Tweets Because Twitter Is Garbage

In 2010, the Library of Congress started archiving every single public tweet that was published on Twitter. It even retroactively acquired all tweets dating back to 2006. But the Library of Congress will stop archiving every tweet on December 31, 2017. Why is it stopping? Because tweets are trash now. The Library of Congress issued…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 26 '17

The Monster Mash Guy Rushed Out a Christmas Version of the Song in 1962 and It’s Super Weird

Every year around Halloween, you can’t turn on the radio without hearing the novelty song “Monster Mash.” Released by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers in August 1962, it was such an instant hit that Pickett rushed out a Christmas version of the song called “Monsters’ Holiday” by December of that same year. If you…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 22 '17

Racist 1920s Article Worried That ‘Savage’ Styles Were the Wave of the Future

When you comb through old newspaper articles looking for predictions for the future like I do you can start to become numb to the racism of the 19th and 20th centuries. But I just stumbled upon an article from 1927 that was pretty damn racist, even for the time. The article, published in the January…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 21 '17

29 Viral Photos and GIFs From 2017 That Were Totally Fake

It’s that time of year again when we look back at the photos and GIFs that went viral over the past 12 months. We did similar year-end round-ups in 2014, 2015, 2016 and I must say that 2017 was even weirder than usual. How so? There were so many fake images swirling around the internet…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 20 '17

Rich People Have Installed Anti-Bird Spikes in Trees to Keep Bird Poop Away from Cars

Nobody likes it when a bird poops on their car. But the residents of a wealthy neighborhood in Bristol, England seem to have taken this dislike to another level. They’ve installed anti-bird spikes on local trees. Humans really are the worst. Anti-bird spikes aren’t new. The spikes prevent birds from landing and you can see…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 19 '17

Here’s a Sneak Peek of Donald Trump in Disney’s Hall of Presidents

After months of delay, Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents will reopen tomorrow with a controversial addition. Yes, President Donald Trump has been immortalized in robot form and will stand next to other presidents like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. And a Disney superfan, Scott Gustin, just posted a preview. The big question that has…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 18 '17

That Viral Video of a Robot Violently Throwing a Basketball Is Totally Fake

Have you seen this GIF of a humanoid robot in a lab? It shows an inventor gently tossing a basketball at his robot. The inventor excitedly turns to the camera only to have the robot throw the ball back and hit him in the face. The GIF has gone viral recently, but it’s totally fake.…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 18 '17

Police Use Laptop Box as Bait to Catch Christmas Delivery Thief

A man in Minnesota accused of snatching packages from porches chose the wrong house this weekend. Police pulled over 36-year-old Raymond Montel Hester around 4:15am on Saturday and found a stolen laptop package. How did they know it was stolen? Police put a GPS device in the delivery box and tracked down the guy as…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 18 '17

62 Rare Nuclear Test Films Have Been Declassified and Uploaded to YouTube

Nuclear test films from 1945 to 1962 are literally rotting away in US government storage facilities. But those highly classified films are now being restored, declassified, and released on YouTube thanks to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. And 62 more never-before-seen films were just released today. The first batch of these classified US nuclear test…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 14 '17

What Would You Put in a Time Capsule to Explain How Terrible 2017 Was?

The year is almost over and Americans are reflecting on the highs and lows of 2017. Here at Paleofuture we’re obsessed with time capsules, so it got us thinking about what a 2017 time capsule might include. Which objects would you bury to show people of the future what it was like to live through…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 14 '17

The Year 2000 Is Officially Retro

I’m calling it. The year 2000 is officially retro. Fight me. Half of you are probably thinking it’s long overdue. While the other half likely still automatically calculate dates by counting backwards from 2000. How long ago was the year 1970? Just 30 years if you use the shorthand I’ve used for so much of…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 13 '17

Stranger Things Is Ruining Netflix for Me

In theory, one of the best things about living in 2017 is that we have over a century of recorded entertainment that we can enjoy virtually anytime we like. But in practice, we’re still not there. And it’s all because video streaming services like Netflix only care about signing up new customers who just want…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 12 '17

The War on Christmas Travels to the Moon in This 1950s TV Clip About The Future

Back in the early 1950s, a ventriloquist named Paul Winchell had a TV show that featured his dummy named Jerry Mahoney. The program was a hit and is perhaps most notable today for featuring Carol Burnett’s TV debut. But even if you’re not interested in ventriloquism, one episode from December 20th, 1953, will be amusing…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 11 '17

This Goofy Vintage Navy Movie ‘How to Succeed With Brunettes’ Cost a Small Fortune to Produce

When I saw the title for this 1967 US Navy film, “How to Succeed With Brunettes,” I expected that it would be silly and pretty sexist. But what I didn’t expect was that such a simple movie would cost about a quarter of a million dollars to produce. According to the National Archives, the 1967…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 5 '17

That Time a Grand Dragon of the KKK Was Forced Out for Marrying a 15-Year-Old

In June of 1957, Alvin Horn, a 45-year-old Grand Dragon of the KKK, married a 15-year-old. It set off a major scandal in Alabama and around the country, causing Horn to resign in disgrace—or at least what counts for disgrace in a hate group. But does the story sound at all familiar? (Except for the…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 4 '17

This Was the Portable Hard Drive of 1985—Clocking In at 20MB

Portable hard drives seem like they’re bound to go way of the dinosaur, thanks to the rise of services like Dropbox and Google Drive. But if you wanted to take a large file home with you back in 1985, you didn’t have quite so many options. Your best bet? Maybe this hard drive from Maynard.…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 4 '17

Where Did the Term ‘Desktop Computer’ Come From?

Everybody knows that computers were huge and unwieldy in the middle of the 20th century. But a lot of the tech terminology that we take for granted today had to be invented at some point. Such is the case with the term “desktop computer,” which emerged long before “personal computers” became commonplace in American homes.…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 29 '17

What’s on the Ground in The Jetsons?

Who lives on the ground in the world of The Jetsons? Homeless people and walking birds. This isn’t a fan theory. This is canon. Fight me. Whenever I see jokes about The Jetsons on Twitter (and there are a lot of good ones) people inevitably float fan theories about the show. Some people believe that…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 28 '17

You Can Finally Buy a Copy of the Voyager Golden Record, Gold Plating Not Included

The Voyager 1 spacecraft might be the most famous time capsule in history, soaring through space as a testament to humanity’s achievements. We don’t know if intelligent life will ever find the craft or its contents, launched in 1977 to explore the planets before sailing indefinitely beyond our solar system. But at least humans here…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 27 '17

Matt Novak

Tech Nerds Who Predicted an Internet Utopia Are Sorry For Being So Wrong

Library of Congress Gives Up Collecting All Tweets Because Twitter Is Garbage

The Monster Mash Guy Rushed Out a Christmas Version of the Song in 1962 and It’s Super Weird

Racist 1920s Article Worried That ‘Savage’ Styles Were the Wave of the Future

29 Viral Photos and GIFs From 2017 That Were Totally Fake

Rich People Have Installed Anti-Bird Spikes in Trees to Keep Bird Poop Away from Cars

Here’s a Sneak Peek of Donald Trump in Disney’s Hall of Presidents

That Viral Video of a Robot Violently Throwing a Basketball Is Totally Fake

Police Use Laptop Box as Bait to Catch Christmas Delivery Thief

62 Rare Nuclear Test Films Have Been Declassified and Uploaded to YouTube

What Would You Put in a Time Capsule to Explain How Terrible 2017 Was?

The Year 2000 Is Officially Retro

Stranger Things Is Ruining Netflix for Me

The War on Christmas Travels to the Moon in This 1950s TV Clip About The Future

This Goofy Vintage Navy Movie ‘How to Succeed With Brunettes’ Cost a Small Fortune to Produce

That Time a Grand Dragon of the KKK Was Forced Out for Marrying a 15-Year-Old

This Was the Portable Hard Drive of 1985—Clocking In at 20MB

Where Did the Term ‘Desktop Computer’ Come From?

What’s on the Ground in The Jetsons?

You Can Finally Buy a Copy of the Voyager Golden Record, Gold Plating Not Included

TCL S55H Soundbar Hits Its Lowest Price in Months, Practically Throwing in a Wireless Subwoofer for Free

The ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Team on Crafting the Sequel’s Human Drama

Jensen Huang Admits to Having an Affair With Suspected Chinese Spy

NASA Is Looking for Astronauts to Live and Work on the Moon

The ‘Dune: Part 3’ Costume Designer Explains Its Gorgeous Clothes

Apple’s New CEO Is Reportedly Pushing to Stuff More AI into iPhones

Open Channel: Tell Us Your ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Thoughts

Microsoft Is Finally Making Windows Sticky Keys Dialogs Less Sticky

‘Spy x Family’ Has a New Mission: Returning for Season 4

Anker Eufy Window Camera E10 Review: A Weirdly Good ‘Outdoor’ Camera

The Best Tech Gifts Over $500

Gizmodo’s Best Tech of 2026 Awards: Our Favorite Phones, Laptops, Smart Home Gear, and More

Marshall Stockwell III Review: Big Sound in a Small Package

Sony MDR-3R Review: Walkman Nostalgia Wins Again

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display Review: Screw Touchscreens, It’s Still the Best Mac

The Best Gaming Gifts Under $100

Arlo Essential Solar Camera Review: Solar Is Great, but Subscription Paywalls Aren’t

iPad mini OLED Review: Apple’s Smallest Tablet Is Also Its Best

HP EliteBook X Flip G2i 14 AI Review: Great for the Office, if Not Your Wallet

The Best Gadgets of October 2026