Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Uber Drivers Are ‘Meat-Based Algorithms,’ Says South by Southwest Speaker

According to my Twitter feed, a transportation expert named Reilly Brennan just explained on a panel at South by Southwest that Uber drivers are “meat-based algorithms behind the wheel.” I don’t know Brennan or his work at Stanford and he’s probably a perfectly nice meat-based speaker, but I’d say that his comment is somehow both…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 15

John Kasich Is the Only Candidate Bold Enough to Promise Americans a Flying Car

John Kasich held a town hall meeting in Mansfield, Ohio this weekend where he told a crowd the one thing we’ve been waiting to hear from a presidential candidate: The flying car is on its way. From WKYC: “Since I’ve been governor, we have added more than 60,000 manufacturing jobs in Ohio,” [Kasich said]. He…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 14

Trump’s Autographed Bibles, Guitars, and Boxing Gloves Are on eBay If That’s Your Kind of Thing

Donald Trump rallies almost always devolve into autograph-signing sessions. And many of those signed items are showing up on eBay. A wide variety of Trump-signed items are just a click away, if that’s the kind of kinky shit you’re into. Like this Bible, autographed by Trump, which is going for $3,500: The only bible signed…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 14

This New iPhone Is Fake But It Doesn’t Matter Because This Is Basically What It Will Look Like Anyway

Have you seen this video of the new 4-inch iPhone SE “spotted in the wild” in China? It’s fake. But it doesn’t matter. Because that’s probably what they’re going to look like anyway. Do you think the new iPhones are going to have a satellite dish jutting from the side? Or maybe antlers? Fifty years…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 14

Trump Defends His Tweet of Fake ISIS Video: “All I Know Is What’s On The Internet”

Yesterday Donald Trump tweeted a now-debunked video showing that the protester who jumped a barrier at a recent rally was an ISIS supporter. This morning Chuck Todd asked Trump on Meet the Press about the fake video, to which Trump replied, “I don’t know, all I know is what’s on the internet.” Trump had stated…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 13

What Time Is The End of The Daylight?

What time is the end of the daylight? The sun is expected to die in roughly 5 billion years. But humans—provided we survive any number of ecological, nuclear, or alien-based disasters—are only expected to last about another 1 billion years on Earth. So technically the “daylight” will be over for humanity in 1 billion years,…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 13

The New and Improved Hendo Hoverboard Looks Fun As Hell

I’m a hoverboard skeptic. I don’t think that we’re going to see a “true” hoverboard that can work on any surface anytime soon. With that being said, the new and improved Hendo Hoverboard, made by Arx Pax, looks pretty damn fun. This 2.0 version of the Hendo still only works on a special copper surface,…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 12

This Is the End of House of Cards Improved by That Dumb Dire Straits Song

Last week I watched the last five minutes of the new season of House of Cards. As I explained at the time, I’d grown tired of the show, and didn’t mind having it spoiled in the interest of just seeing the last five minutes out of context. But now I’ve done something even worse. If…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 11

Every Movie Ending Is Improved By That One Stupid Dire Straits Song

Even if you don’t know the Dire Straits song “Walk of Life” by name you’ll recognize it immediately when you hear it. Fun fact: It’s the perfect song to end any movie. At least that’s the contention of the Walk of Life Project, the brainchild of Peter Salomone, a freelance video editor and writer. And…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 11

GM Just Spent a Buttload of Money on a Driverless Car Start-Up

In yet another sign that driverless cars are just over the horizon, General Motors announced today that the company is buying Cruise Automation—a Silicon Valley start-up that’s developing autonomous vehicle technology. According to Fortune, the deal cost GM over $1 billion in cash and stocks. GM hasn’t been shy about dipping its tire iron into…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 11

Tonight’s Republican Debate Is Going to Be Brutal, Here’s How to Watch

Tonight is arguably the most important Republican debate yet. Hosted in Miami, Florida by CNN, it’s the last one before the critical March 15th primaries. We can expect Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and even Kasich to all come out swinging. March 15th is when Republicans in strategically crucial swing states like Florida and Ohio will decide…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 10

Donald Trump Cosplay Is the Future of American Politics

There’s something new happening in this presidential election cycle. Yes, Donald Trump has upended political convention in just about every way imaginable. But as a celebrity-cum-politician he’s allowed a new kind of 21st century populist revelry to take root: Political cosplay. Sure, there are some precedents for people dressing up as their favorite political candidate…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 10

Americans Think the Robot Revolution Is Coming But Not For Their Jobs

Remember travel agents? Or Victrola repairmen? Their jobs disappeared as society became more technologically advanced. And a new study shows that most Americans believe robots will replace many human workers soon. But they overwhelmingly think their own jobs are safe. The new Pew Research Center study found that most Americans strongly believe that the age…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 10

How To Watch Tonight’s Democratic Debate Without Cable Wait Haven’t We Had Like 800 Of These Things Already Dear God When Will This Election Stuff End

There’s another debate tonight. And you can bet I’ll be watching. But sweet Mother Mary, haven’t we had enough of these things yet? If you’re interested in watching Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders slug it out, the details are below. Time: 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific, 5am Leningrad Network: CNN Cordcutter option: CNN.com If you’re not…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 9

Man Who Stole Things From Children in the 1960s Ready to Give Things Back

I love time capsules. But I just had the strangest realization. When teachers have their students contribute items to time capsules, it’s kind of like stealing. I came to this bizarre realization while reading a story in Newsday with this opening paragraph (emphasis mine): In the past few weeks since a story about Richard Siegelman’s…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 9

Lawmakers in West Virginia Celebrate Legalization of Raw Milk By Drinking It and Getting Sick

Lawmakers in West Virginia are excited about new legislation that lifted a ban on raw milk. They’re so excited that they recently celebrated by drinking some raw milk. Now, many of those lawmakers are sick. Representative Pat McGeehan (seen in agony in the photo above) says that he doesn’t think he or his colleagues’ illnesses…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 9

Wired Keeps Calling Trump ‘Someone With Tiny Hands’ Due to a Chrome Extension Error

Wired published an embarrassing correction to a story by Jason Tanz about Donald Trump today. Apparently he or his editors had a Chrome extension turned on that changed every mention of “Donald Trump” to “Someone With Tiny Hands.” But here’s the really funny part: Not only is this not the first time it has happened,…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 9

Bill Clinton’s AMA From 1999 is a Treasure Trove of Reaction GIFs

Last week we looked at President Bill Clinton’s 1999 “internet town hall”—an event that was essentially the very first Presidential AMA. The Clinton Library has kindly released the full video of the event, and even though it’s filled with technical glitches and wonky talking points, it’s amazing, if only for the GIF potential alone. Watching…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 8

You Don’t Own Your Ebooks

You don’t own your ebooks with DRM. You’re merely licensing the privilege to read them. Some readers overseas have learned this the hard way (yet again) now that Nook is going out of business in the United Kingdom. But don’t worry, they’re working to let you maybe possibly transfer all those books you bought. The…

Commerce Matt Novak Mar 7

The Defense Department Got Mad at Darpa For Creating Email

Ray Tomlinson, widely credited as the inventor of email, died this past weekend. He was 74. By all accounts, Tomlinson was a brilliant man. And he’s being mourned around the world as the person who brought us the @ in our inboxes. The format novak@gizmodo didn’t just invent itself. Tomlinson did that. But the fascinating…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 7

Matt Novak

Uber Drivers Are ‘Meat-Based Algorithms,’ Says South by Southwest Speaker

John Kasich Is the Only Candidate Bold Enough to Promise Americans a Flying Car

Trump’s Autographed Bibles, Guitars, and Boxing Gloves Are on eBay If That’s Your Kind of Thing

This New iPhone Is Fake But It Doesn’t Matter Because This Is Basically What It Will Look Like Anyway

Trump Defends His Tweet of Fake ISIS Video: “All I Know Is What’s On The Internet”

What Time Is The End of The Daylight?

The New and Improved Hendo Hoverboard Looks Fun As Hell

This Is the End of House of Cards Improved by That Dumb Dire Straits Song

Every Movie Ending Is Improved By That One Stupid Dire Straits Song

GM Just Spent a Buttload of Money on a Driverless Car Start-Up

Tonight’s Republican Debate Is Going to Be Brutal, Here’s How to Watch

Donald Trump Cosplay Is the Future of American Politics

Americans Think the Robot Revolution Is Coming But Not For Their Jobs

How To Watch Tonight’s Democratic Debate Without Cable Wait Haven’t We Had Like 800 Of These Things Already Dear God When Will This Election Stuff End

Man Who Stole Things From Children in the 1960s Ready to Give Things Back

Lawmakers in West Virginia Celebrate Legalization of Raw Milk By Drinking It and Getting Sick

Wired Keeps Calling Trump ‘Someone With Tiny Hands’ Due to a Chrome Extension Error

Bill Clinton’s AMA From 1999 is a Treasure Trove of Reaction GIFs

You Don’t Own Your Ebooks

The Defense Department Got Mad at Darpa For Creating Email

The West Finally Got Some Snow, but It’s Too Little, Too Late

Elon Musk Scores a Victory Against Free Speech

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

The Canceled ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Filming Likely Won’t Stop It Coming Out Next Year

Berklee College of Music Offers AI Course, Students Are Pissed

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

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