Michael Hession, Author at Gizmodo

A Melodious Mashup of Nearly Every Chime and Bleep in Tech History

Close your eyes at any given moment, and you’re likely to hear an audio artifact or two—whether the boo-dah-ling of a text message or the clacking of a keyboard. But as this new sound collage reminds us, hundreds of once-familiar audio cues are now doomed to obscurity, thanks to technology’s forward march. The video, put…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 22

FujiFilm Instax Mini 90 Brings Retro Flair to Instant Film Cameras

Did you know that instant film cameras are still being made? Fujifilm’s line of Instax cameras has been trying to weather the digital storm, and it’s now releasing a new Instax camera that has a whole lot more style. FujiFilm Japan has published a site showing off the Instax Mini 90 in all its vintage…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 22

9 Photos In Good Old Classic Monochrome

This shooting challenge was an ode to the time-honored tradition of monochrome photography. Oh, those delicate gray tones and striking shadows. Very artful, you guys. WINNER: Marcus Gesundheit I used my iPhone 5 (Jailbroken), CameraTweak v0.31 and for post processing I used Photogene for iPad to create the custom black and white filter. I thought…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 20

Wacom Cintiq Companion: Windows 8 and Android Tablets For Artists Only

Artists, illustrators, and designers of all kinds rely on Wacom’s line of drawing tablets. Up until now, the devices only worked as peripherals. But Wacom’s new line of fully self-contained tablets are the only devices you need to make art just about anywhere. The Cintiq Companion is Wacom’s attempt to integrate its own powerful stylus…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 19

11 Amazing Historical Snapshots From One of the World’s Best Archives

The J. Paul Getty Museum is home to troves of fascinating historical artifacts. And last week, the museum announced a project to give the public unfettered access to it. The Open Content Program makes 4,600 high-resolution images available for free and for any use whatsoever. Here are 11 gems to help begin your historical journey.…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 19

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Review: The Best Low-Light Zoom Lens By a Mile

Zoom lenses are the quintessential frenemy of photographers everywhere. They provide great versatility, but not without trade-offs such as weight and aperture size. Sigma’s new lens brings zooms where they have rarely ventured before with an unprecedented f/1.8 aperture. The future is bright. https://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-first-f-1-8-constant-aperture-lens-will-stal-5994952 What Is it? An $800 wide-to-medium angle zoom lens for Canon,…

Reviews Michael Hession Aug 16

Shooting Challenge: Monochrome

The world is alive with a myriad of vibrant colors. Let’s forget about that this week and just focus on the simple elegance of just one. Show us what you can do with the timeless techniques of monochrome photography. The Challenge Take the best photo you can using any variation on black and white or…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 14

The Snapshot Game Has Changed, According to Collector of Thousands

No one can say that the snapshot is dead. If judged by sheer quantity, our culture is no doubt taking more photographs than ever before. Robert Jackson collects vintage snapshots, and points out that even though the practice is alive and well, it is not what it once was. There have been entire shows devoted…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 9

Sony RX100 II Review: The Best Compact Camera Gets a Little Bit Better

Sony’s RX100 was an instant classic; a beautiful, pocketable camera that started the welcome trend of large-sensor compacts. The latest iteration keeps everything that worked last year, and adds a few bells more bells and whistles. It’s the next-best thing to a DSLR—and in some ways, it’s better. https://gizmodo.com/sony-rx100-review-this-camera-singlehandedly-makes-poi-5931587 What Is It? A $750 compact…

Reviews Michael Hession Aug 8

Get Rid of Dirt Inside Your iPhone 5 Camera with Some Simple Surgery

Look closely at the camera lens of your iPhone 5. See that build-up of dirt and grime behind the glass? Ew! It might seem like the gunk is going to build up forever, inaccessible and making your photos progressively worse. But there is hope. Performing surgery on your iPhone is a task feared by some.…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 7

The Most Important Book on Color Theory Is Now an iPad App

If you are at all interested in design or art, enlighten yourself with one of the most important books on color ever written. It’s called The Interaction of Color, and now you can experience it on your iPad. The book was created by painter and Bauhaus teacher Josef Albers in 1963. Albers spent his life…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 2

These Adorable GIFs Are Like Tiny Moving Picture Books

Only a handful of individuals have succeeded in making the GIF into something artful. We can definitely add artist and designer Guillaume Kurkdjian to that list, because his collection of lovely, child-like animations are dioramas of whimsical delight. Scrolling through Kurkdjian’s tumblr of GIFs is a lot of fun. Each one is carefully crafted with…

Tech News Michael Hession Aug 2

This 97-Year-Old Makes Amazing Art Exclusively With Microsoft Paint

A great artist can make beauty out of any medium, no matter how limited. 97-year-old Hal Lasko embodies this concept. Instead of painting with dozens of expensive brushes or high-end software suites, Lasko uses a tool most of us have used and abandoned years ago—Microsoft Paint from Windows 95. These paintings are great. They combine…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 23

The Internet’s Favorite Remix Artist Spills His Secrets

If you haven’t seen any of Pogo’s mesmerizing and melodious film remixes, please please do that now. Once you’ve been entranced, come back here and watch this video about the man behind the magic. Nick Bertke, or Pogo, has created a nice little peek inside his own world of sampling, assembling, and transforming films like…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 23

How Pacific Rim’s Monster-Mashing Amazingness Came Out of Digital Art

Have you seen Pacific Rim yet? We really liked it in all its creature-tastic, city destroying splendor. Watch this short behind-the-scenes video to hear about how it was all put together. The direction of Guillermo Del Toro coupled with the technical mastery of all the artists at ILM definitely produced a wonderful visual experience. Del…

Movies Michael Hession Jul 19

Sony Rumored to be Making Crazy New Camera System for Smartphones

This is one of the crazier camera rumors we’ve heard in a while. According to some “top sources” at Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is developing a unique set of lenses that actually contain their own sensors and batteries. Whoa. The lenses are meant to be attached to a smartphone, with the only actual interfacing being…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 19

Why Cropping Movies to Fit Your Screen Really Sucks

Yesterday, much ado was made about the apparent cropping of movies streamed on Netflix. While some were outraged, others spoke up to say: It’s not that big of a difference, who cares? It is. You should. Here’s why. First off, what exactly is happening when a movie is cropped, or letterboxed, or what-have-you? Every movie…

Movies Michael Hession Jul 18

Here’s the Lumia 1020 Camera Chopped in Half for No Good Reason

If you are intrigued by the Nokia Lumia 1020’s wild camera, you no doubt wonder what lies underneath the circular 41-megapixel bulge. Zeiss, the maker of the Lumia 1020’s lens, did us all the kindness of slicing the teeny camera right down the middle so we could all see inside! The photo was given to…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 16

The iPhone Didn’t Kill Cameras, It Made Us Want Better Ones

The Wall Street Journal pointed out today that while sales of point-and-shoot cameras have declined steadily over the past few years, DSLRs and other interchangeable-lens cameras have been doing great. That’s right. People don’t want to just take more photos than ever, they want to take better photos, with big-kid cameras. And that’s not in…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 15

These Paintings Are Made From the Barf of 200,000 House Flies

Many artists are inspired by nature, but few collaborate with it in quite the same way as John Knuth. When you look at his paintings, you see broad swaths of color that appear to be meticulous impressionistic abstractions. But what you are actually looking at is the vomit of thousands of flies. To make the…

Tech News Michael Hession Jul 15

Michael Hession

A Melodious Mashup of Nearly Every Chime and Bleep in Tech History

FujiFilm Instax Mini 90 Brings Retro Flair to Instant Film Cameras

9 Photos In Good Old Classic Monochrome

Wacom Cintiq Companion: Windows 8 and Android Tablets For Artists Only

11 Amazing Historical Snapshots From One of the World’s Best Archives

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Review: The Best Low-Light Zoom Lens By a Mile

Shooting Challenge: Monochrome

The Snapshot Game Has Changed, According to Collector of Thousands

Sony RX100 II Review: The Best Compact Camera Gets a Little Bit Better

Get Rid of Dirt Inside Your iPhone 5 Camera with Some Simple Surgery

The Most Important Book on Color Theory Is Now an iPad App

These Adorable GIFs Are Like Tiny Moving Picture Books

This 97-Year-Old Makes Amazing Art Exclusively With Microsoft Paint

The Internet’s Favorite Remix Artist Spills His Secrets

How Pacific Rim’s Monster-Mashing Amazingness Came Out of Digital Art

Sony Rumored to be Making Crazy New Camera System for Smartphones

Why Cropping Movies to Fit Your Screen Really Sucks

Here’s the Lumia 1020 Camera Chopped in Half for No Good Reason

The iPhone Didn’t Kill Cameras, It Made Us Want Better Ones

These Paintings Are Made From the Barf of 200,000 House Flies

This 4-in-1 Ergonomic Laptop Sleeve Hits a Record Low With $53 Worth of Free Extras Included

Samsung Clears Out Galaxy SmartTag2 at 42% Off, Now Nearly Half the Price of Apple’s AirTag

‘Daemons of the Shadow Realm’ Has Four Banger Songs For the Price of Two

JBL Boombox 3 Portable Speaker Drops to 40% Off, Though This All-Time Low Price May Not Stick Around for Long

Apple’s M5 13-inch MacBook Air Hits Record Low With Its Biggest Discount Yet Since Launch, Cheaper Than 2025 Model on Amazon

‘Chucky’ Is Finally Returning to the Big Screen

Used Electric Vehicles Are Having A Resurgence

Claude Mythos Preview Has Officially Frightened the British

Apple’s New Wearables Push Will Start with Glasses In 2027, Report Says

Crypto Investor at Center of Trump Corruption Allegations Now Sees Himself as ‘Victim’

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

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

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

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled