Michael Hession, Author at Gizmodo

Even Xperia Is Interesting in Wes Anderson’s Hands

It seems that everything Wes Anderson touches turns out sweet adorableness (or saccharine crap, depending on your tolerance). That is certainly true for this Sony Xperia ad, directed by master of twee himself. His new creation follows the release of some Hyundai commercials earlier this month. https://jalopnik.com/how-to-sell-hyundais-with-a-lamborghini-miura-5889561 So, what’s the best way to advertise a…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 22

YouTube Auto Fix Makes Bad Video Suck Less

YouTube is expanding its video manipulation options with a new feature that will automatically fix up your crappy video footage. The edits include color correction and image stabilization. But there’s a catch: Any time video is manipulated digitally, it is degraded to some extent. Automating the manipulations, as opposed to making adjustments as the user’s…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 21

Snooki’s Scary Life as a Mom, Google Chrome Style

We all know Snooki is going to be a mom. But while we were busy repressing visions of the possible sordid outcomes, College Humor faced the task head on, through the sleek, shiny, wholesome lens of Google Chrome. How heartwarming it is to see a virtual “Meatball” navigate through Gmail, YouTube and Picasa as she…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 21

Watch Conan Relentlessly Jab Apple Around the iPad Launch

Conan O’Brien and Apple have a sort of love-hate relationship, which has manifested itself in a long tradition of affectionate taunting during Conan’s monologues and parody videos. When an Apple product launch is imminent, Conan really lets loose. Watch the video for a bit of said mockery from the last couple of weeks. [Conan] https://gizmodo.com/conan-mocks-magical-ipad-retina-display-5892464

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 20

Watch Celebrity Apprentice C-Listers Unsurprisingly Fail at Viral Videos

Viral marketing has become so pervasive, even The Donald is hopping on the gravy train. On last night’s Celebrity Apprentice, the task laid before the competing teams was to create a viral video for a product called the O-Cedar Pro Mist Spray Mop. It went, uh, poorly. Commercially fabricated viral content is almost always a…

Television Michael Hession Mar 19

Here Is Your New iPad Porn

We know you want it, we know you need it. We are bringing you the luscious gravy of New iPad beauty shots. Wipe off those spectacles and come a little closer. Do not speak. Just look. Music: “For the Poor” by Dan Brasco, via Free Music Archive

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 16

Watch Ninjas Flip Out And Kill While Filmed by RED Epic Drone Copter

The internet is becoming ripe with production teams trying to outdo each other with amazing copter-camera rig videos. This one might take the cake. Not only does it feature a RED Epic camera and some skilled piloting, but it features Ninjas going berserk on each other in barren factory apocalypse land. That’s just a recipe…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 15

Jon Stewart Is Not Amused by SXSW Homeless Hotspots

The other day we covered the brouhaha over a New York ad firm converting the homeless into human wireless hotspots. Now it’s time for The Daily Show’s always delightful take! And no, John Stewart does not approve. https://gizmodo.com/homeless-men-turned-into-human-routers-5892443 It’s an ugly situation any way you slice it, but Stewart’s pitches for homeless hotspot passwords are…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 15

Tech Bigwigs Put Their Kids in a School With No Computers

CNN recently reported on a Silicon Valley phenomenon in which parents in the tech industry send their kids to schools designed to avoid technology. At the school featured in the report, the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, there is not a computer to be found. These parents, such as the eBay executive featured in the…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 14

Coffee Nerds With Fancy Grinders Mocked by Twee Girl With Fancy Clothes

Coffee enthusiasts everywhere felt the painful sting of pop-culture mockery last night when The New Girl featured butt-of-all-jokes Schmidt bitching about his conical burr grinder. If you watch the show, you know that Schmidt is a sort of combination douche/hipster/trend-whore, not the kind of person your average home-brewer would want to be compared to. Embarrassing…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 14

Fix Your Busted Lens With a Jar of Peanut Butter

With this imaginative fix, you can watch your camera fall to the earth with slightly less trepidation, secure in the knowledge that a trip to the grocery store and some everyday tools could make everything OK. When Casey Neistat broke the rim on his DSLR lens, he didn’t bitch and moan. He got crafty and…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 13

This Is Why You Can’t Use a Cat as a Quadrotor

We all know the awesomeness of quadrotors knows no bounds. But using your taxidermied cat as the body of said quadrotor? Unfortunately for the world, this grand experiment has not yet reached its full potential. The flying apparatus, dubbed the Orvillecopter, barely lifts off the ground. Apparently cat carcass is not as aerodynamic as one…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 12

Siri’s Long Lost Cousins Speak Up

Speech recognition wasn’t a new prospect when Siri was revealed by Apple last year. But with the rapid proliferation of the iPhone 4S, its easy to forget about all the past attempts to bring talking computers into our lives. Take a look back at some of the devices put to market in this video, as…

Tech News Michael Hession Mar 12

Drill-Mounted Camera Makes Your World Spin

This video was posted over a year ago, but it’s too trippy not to share. The concept is simple. Mount a camera to a electric drill and see what happens. What you get is a completely abstracted image of the world. Wait for the night-shooting part, it gets even better. [Vimeo via Reddit]

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 29

30 Rock Takes Down Billionaire Nerd-Kings

Gone are the days when the richest people were handsome and debonaire. Consider it the Zuckerbergization of the business world. On last week’s 30 Rock, Liz and Jenna encountered Thad Wormald. Thad is filthy rich because “he did an internet, and now the computers like him, and Wall Street is Google,” as Jenna emphatically states.…

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 27

No, Nobody Is Going to Use a Projector Phone to Propose

Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Beam, a phone with a projector built right in. Along with this new gadget (which looks pretty cool, btw) comes a feel-good, saccharin-laced ad aiming to entice potential customers with the wonders and possibility of phone-projection. Oh look: a group of young, beatific souls on a camping excursion. As the…

Gadgets Michael Hession Feb 27

The Ultimate Burger Inventor Cooks His Creation on Kimmel

The search for the ultimate hamburger has ended on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Unfortunately, you probably can’t test this one out yourself, and you won’t find it at any restaurant. Last night, Jimmy was paid a visit by former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer and current heavy cookbook author, Nathan Myhrvold. The pair demonstrated how to make…

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 23

Building a Giant Lego Millennium Falcon in Less Than 12 Parsecs*

It apparently took Francisco Prieto three years to complete this animation of a monster Lego Millennium Falcon build. Which sounds about right, given how my much time my 10 year old self spent on the most pathetic of improvised Lego vehicles. * Yes okay I know a parsec is a unit of distance not of…

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 21

Orphaned Photos Find Owners in Tsunami-Ravaged Town

Last year’s earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan left countless individuals separated from their possessions, including family photos. The Japanese town of Ofunato has set up a hub where people can come to search through piles of salvaged pictures with the hope of finding their own. Satako Kinno is a paper conservationist leading the effort.…

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 21

Microsoft Smacks Down Google Apps in Attack Video

Microsoft is continuing its video campaign specifically targeting Google. This time, the target is Google’s continued attempts to move in on Microsoft’s productivity software. Microsoft is eager to point out Google’s set of consumer-level and constantly changing features, lack of flexibility, and privacy issues. They even made a jingle! https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-thinks-gmail-sure-is-hilarious-5825755 These grievances are further articulated…

Tech News Michael Hession Feb 21

Michael Hession

Even Xperia Is Interesting in Wes Anderson’s Hands

YouTube Auto Fix Makes Bad Video Suck Less

Snooki’s Scary Life as a Mom, Google Chrome Style

Watch Conan Relentlessly Jab Apple Around the iPad Launch

Watch Celebrity Apprentice C-Listers Unsurprisingly Fail at Viral Videos

Here Is Your New iPad Porn

Watch Ninjas Flip Out And Kill While Filmed by RED Epic Drone Copter

Jon Stewart Is Not Amused by SXSW Homeless Hotspots

Tech Bigwigs Put Their Kids in a School With No Computers

Coffee Nerds With Fancy Grinders Mocked by Twee Girl With Fancy Clothes

Fix Your Busted Lens With a Jar of Peanut Butter

This Is Why You Can’t Use a Cat as a Quadrotor

Siri’s Long Lost Cousins Speak Up

Drill-Mounted Camera Makes Your World Spin

30 Rock Takes Down Billionaire Nerd-Kings

No, Nobody Is Going to Use a Projector Phone to Propose

The Ultimate Burger Inventor Cooks His Creation on Kimmel

Building a Giant Lego Millennium Falcon in Less Than 12 Parsecs*

Orphaned Photos Find Owners in Tsunami-Ravaged Town

Microsoft Smacks Down Google Apps in Attack Video

Southwest Is About to Limit Power Banks on Flights

Damn, the ‘Power Rangers’ Reboot Could’ve Had Four Movies

The Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Team Wants to Go the Distance

‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Will Please Gross Horror Fans

Somehow Paramount’s ‘Avatar’ Movie Has Leaked, Too

The World Is Basically Begging for Another iPod

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

OpenAI Says Elon Musk Is ‘Injecting Chaos’ with Recent Legal Maneuver

Google Displayed Polymarket Bets as News ‘In Error,’ Google Says

‘Marvel Rivals’ Wants to Start Being More Than Just a Hero Shooter

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?

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AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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