Sam Biddle

Facebook Is About To Send One Billion Emails

Billion, with a B. An email to every single one of its users—so actually a little over a billion at this point. In other words, one seventh of the entire Earth’s population is getting hit with one message. The blast—the largest email dispatch Facebook has ever sent out in its history, and certainly one of…

Mac Mini Review: Apple’s Tiny Computer Is Finally Worth Your Time

The Mac Mini has always been that runt you might buy if you couldn’t afford any other Apple computer. Which is to say: it was the Apple computer you bought when you should’ve picked up a budget Dell or something. No longer. The 2012 model is a fantastic, affordable, and small. In models past, the…

Here’s the 26-Year-Old Snowboarder Running Israel’s Social Media War

Sacha Dratwa enjoys some very normal things: macchiatos, swimming, vodka, hanging out with friends. You can see it right on his Facebook profile. But unlike most Facebook folks, this guy runs Israel’s Internet propaganda war machine. Tablet brings us the story of Dratwa, who came to Israel from Belgium, and at only 26 years old,…

An American Moral Crisis: Gizmodo Talks Drones with Dennis Kucinich

There’s Foxconn, there’s torrented TV shows, there’s patent bickering. But for the use of right and wrong in technology, there’s one question that supersedes all others: Should our country be killing ordinary people with robotic soldiers in the sky? I sat down with Congressman Dennis Kucinich after a briefing on UAV warfare. He makes an…

Nokia Maps for iOS: Why Is Something So Good So Ugly?

Nokia Maps (officially titled “Here”) is a potential godsend for anyone fed up with Apple’s subpar offering. It’s blazingly fast, routes via public transportation with ease, and doesn’t mix up Manhattan with Siberia. Unfortunately, it’s bogglingly hard on the eyes. Nokia Maps is equal to or better than Apple Maps is virtually every way. It…

Here’s $420 Million of Your Tax Dollars Crashed and Burned

Over the weekend, a gigantically-expensive F-22 stealth fighter crashed. Again. And just like every other time, the Air Force is throwing up its hands and stroking its chin about why the thing crashed. But one fact remains: your money’s burned. https://gizmodo.com/as-if-it-wasnt-broken-enough-a-f-22-raptor-crashed-in-5961076 This is the scene of the crash, next to a highway in Florida. The…

What Is Israel’s Iron Dome?

Israel got itself into a little mini-war in Gaza, and Hamas is firing off an extra dose of rockets into the Holy Land. What’s (maybe) stopping them? Something called the “Iron Dome”—and what exactly is an Iron Dome? https://gizmodo.com/israels-iron-dome-intercepts-incoming-rocket-threats-5914690 The Iron Dome is a web of missile launchers designed to protect Israel from rocket attacks……

Everything You Need to Know About Killer Drones in One Rad Musical Cartoon!

Are you confused by the ethical grey area, constitutional ambiguity, and general scariness of robots that kill people? Don’t sweat it, man. Hang out with these Cool Drones, and watch this Edu-Fun video, right here on Gizmodo. SNL’s video might not address the legality of conducting lethal drone warfare in the airspace of sovereign nations…

The Most Unpopular Apple Employee in the World

I would have loved to have listened in on this job interview. I’m sure Mr. Sung has to take a lot of crap from wiseass Canadian Apple shoppers just because of a patent war between two companies over which he has no control. And I admire him for that. But you have to wonder—why not…

Israeli Drone Crashes in Gaza

It happens to everyone, Israel, don’t worry—one of the IDF’s drones was either shot down or malfunctioned above Gaza. Now Hamas has it. https://gizmodo.com/iran-reveals-captured-american-super-drone-and-its-com-5866347 The video doesn’t tell much (talk to us below if you can understand Arabic!), but we do know that it’s almost certainly an Israeli drone, despite the country’s denial. That tweet…

Anonymous Is Losing Its War Against Israel

While shells and interceptor missiles started flying between Israel and Gaza, Anonymous did what it does best: swore vengeance against a superpower. It had some swagger at first. But as the days go by, we’re seeing a weak, confused Anon, not a group of Internet freedom fighters. https://gizmodo.com/anonymous-targets-israel-by-taking-down-hundreds-of-web-5961399 If you need proof, just look at…

Facebook Gifts Just Became the Easiest Way to Look Good in Front of Everyone

All your friends, flames, and enemies are on Facebook. And now, you can buy all of these people presents—gift cards for coffee, cake pops, champagne, and pencils. It’ll all ship straight to their door. Why would I want to buy things like this? Because it’s a visible public display of generosity, and it’ll make you…

Israel’s Social Media Warfare Reaches Historic Low/High with Instagram Duckface

This was probably inevitable. As rockets fly back and forth between Israel and Gaza, Israeli infantry morale seems… a little too high? BuzzFeed dug up a big batch of artfully-filtered wartime Instagram snaps from the IDF, documenting a generally gung ho, smiling mood among the grunts. The hashtag has never seemed so grotesquely out of…

The Good Steve Jobs Movie Will Only Have Three Scenes

A news shocker for anyone excited about the other Steve Jobs movie—which should be good, because it’s written by Oscar-winning dynamo Aaron Sorkin, doesn’t star Ashton Kutcher, and isn’t called iJobs. The movie will only have three scenes. Three. https://gizmodo.com/the-shitty-steve-jobs-movie-unveils-its-bad-guy-5916584 According to The Daily Beast, Sorkin says his upcoming Jobs biopic—which doesn’t have an actor…

US Air Force Tests Doomsday Nuclear Launch Attack

If Lenin ever leaps out of his coffin and starts singin’ nukes at Rhode Island, this is how America will seek her justice: a nuclear-tipped Minuteman III rocket, aimed straight down Moscow’s throat. Will it work? Watch and see! Just to make sure all the buttons still work and there isn’t too much dust in…

The Mirror Shot, Then and Now

As long as there have been reflections, we’ve liked sticking our faces in them, and preferably, immortalizing them in a photo. The selfie is timeless. But I can’t help but think it’s less dignified today than a century ago. Sometime between when the day he enlisted in 1915 and the day he was killed in…

Israel and Hamas Are Trying to Scare Each Other on Twitter

Things are exploding in Israel and the Gaza Strip, and the two Middle Eastern militaries responsible are shit-talking online. In English. On Twitter. When did the horrors of warfare start resembling angry Selena Gomez fans? https://gizmodo.com/israel-announces-war-campaign-via-twitter-updated-5960528 Brinksmanship and bluster used to take place between world capitals on encrypted channels. Now, the No, you’re gonna die!…

Israel Announces War Campaign via Twitter (Updated)

We’ve seen NATO bicker with the Taliban, and even had Libyan rebels call in airstrikes in under 140 characters, but this has to be a first: Israel’s announced its latest military offensive with a single tweet. https://gizmodo.com/nato-and-taliban-engage-in-harrowing-twitter-pissing-ma-5840595 After blowing up a car carrying Hamas bigwig Ahmed Al-Jabari, Israel told the world the attack is part…

John McAfee Disguises Himself as Murderer

The manic bath-salted odyssey of antivirus magnate John McAfee has taken another sad, strange bend: he’s adopted what sounds like the worst disguise in criminal history. Wired reports that McAfee, wanted for questioning with regards to a jungle murder, “claims to have dyed his hair, eyebrows, beard, and mustache jet black.” How can we turn…

Reuters reports Intel wins, pretty much: AMD wants to sell itself off. But who will buy?