Sam Biddle, Author at Gizmodo

Nokia’s Iconic Phone Typeface Sent to the Grave

There’s a good chance you owned a Nokia phone at some point in your past—but even if not, the Nokia Sans typeface has become synonymous with the ubiquitous brand. Not anymore. Hoping to distance itself from itself, Nokia’s got a brand new bag—Nokia Pure, which looks sort of like the old Sans injected with Helvetica…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Richard Simmons Will Terrorize You into Safe Flying

Air New Zealand’s debuted a spiffy in-flight safety video, and it’s exactly what I’d want to watch right before takeoff—because nothing inspires calm and connotes stability like the spastic antics of glittery reanimated dance-corpse Richard Simmons. [via BuzzFeed]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Chinese Blogger Arrested amid Online Revolutionary Suppression

In a country with iron-fisted speech policies like China, when bloggers start calling for a full-blown popular uprising, it’s a pretty dangerous time to be a blogger. That’s exactly what writer Ran Yunfei has found, arrested for his anti-government views. After Middle East revolts sparked some Hey, why not here, too commentary between China’s digital…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Accidental Inventor of Super Glue Dead at 94

Most people don’t live to be 94. Most people don’t receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Most people also don’t invent, by accident, an extremely useful and widespread super-substance. Harry Coover, who died Saturday, did all these things. In what must have been a very messy moment of discovery in 1942, Dr. Harry…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Time Warner Cable Charges Man $16 Million to Watch March Madness

How much do you love basketball? Enough to pay your cable bill? Probably. Enough to pay $16 million dollars? Probably not! So you can imagine the surprise of Ohioan Daniel DeVirgilio when he learned TWC tried to do just that. DeVirgilio learned of what TWC is describing as a “human error” only when he saw…

Television Sam Biddle

Sad Website Will Create Sad Virtual Girlfriend for Your Sad Life

Don’t have a girlfriend, and don’t want to put forth any iota of effort to get one? You’re in luck! Creepy web service Cloud Girlfriend will create a virtual GF who will interact with you over social networks. Ah, love. The site, currently in a closed beta, describes the process thusly: Step 1: Define your…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The iPhone 4 Fits Exactly Inside the MacBook Air’s Lid Dent

A Swedish designer by the name of Mattias Östergren has a very keen eye, noticing that the iPhone 4 locks exactly with the shape of the MacBook air. Coincidence? Feature? Conspiracy? Cool? Hot? Pretty? Neat! [Unvisual Design via mappeal]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Starz Delaying TV and Movies from Netflix Streaming

Oh Netflix, which entertainment industry entity won’t you terrify? Starz has declared a 90-day waiting period on its TV content, with movies following shortly thereafter. What’s this mean? Bad things, if you like Netflix streaming—fewer new releases. Bummer. It’s not a surprising move, but surely a disappointing one. Possible upshot? Netflix is claiming the Starz…

Movies Sam Biddle

NYT for iPhone Gets a Bump to 3.0

The NYT’s quality iPhone app got knocked up to 3.0, adding some handy features. The new version now includes Times blogs, in-article video and photo slideshows, breaking news alerts (via notification) when the app’s closed, and inter-article swiping. [iTunes]

Tech News Sam Biddle

This Watch Is Hideous Enough to Boil the Ocean if You Dropped It In

Look upon my unbelievably ugly watch, ye Mighty, and Despair! We’re not sure what Casio was thinking when they designed this Baby-G Shock watch, other than that you might want to buy it and give it to someone you hate. Oh but hey! The paragon of heinousness is coated in fluorescent ink that glows under…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Geohot: I Didn’t Flee the Country, I’m Just on Spring Break, Brah

Geohot has blog-surfaced from South America! And he’s not hiding from Sony—he’s just chilling the eff out—”Factually, it’s true I’m in South America…I mean, it is Spring break; hacking isn’t my life.” Beer me! [BBC via SlashGear] https://kotaku.com/ps3-hacker-flees-the-long-arm-of-sony-for-south-america-5784965

Tech News Sam Biddle

A N00b’s Guide to Safer Regime Change

Tech-centric human rights group Access has published a handy primer for those looking to participate in a Middle Eastern or North African revolution (and keep their identities private while at it). You know—those secret police are assholes. The guide could be a huge boon for would-be dissidents who might otherwise be too scared for their…

Privacy & Security Sam Biddle

iRig Mic Makes iPhone Audio Recording Not-Horrible (Updated)

Your iPhone is a wonderful point-and-shoot cam, and grabs pretty solid HD video. Not so solid? The audio, unless you’re recording something an inch away from you in a soundproof chamber. iRig’s mic gives you pro-quality sound, mobilized. Plusses It does what you want a microphone to do—you make noises near it, and it records…

Reviews Sam Biddle

Japan Widens Evacuation Zone Around Crippled Nuke Plant

Another sign that the Fukushima crisis is far from over: the Japanese government has widened the danger zone around the facility from 12 to 19 miles. But even more unsettling? The aloofness of the government itself. You see, the extra seven miles of added radius are only part of an encouraged evacuation, not a mandatory…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Facebook Is Reading What You Write to Sell Ads. Live.

Ugh, you know, I love Facebook, but sometimes it’s really frustrating how the targeted ads aren’t relevant enough to me and my consumer lifestyle. Like, yeah, I enjoy pizza and videogames, but couldn’t it be more precise and creepy? Yes. Ad Age reports Facebook is currently testing a beta model of info mining on 1%…

Social Media Sam Biddle

Happy Birthday, OS X

Apple’s prized operating system—you may hate it, you may be in awe of its beauty, you may be using it right now—hits a milestone today. Version ten turns ten—and it’s come a long, long way. 10.0 (or “Cheetah,” if we’re going by cat names) was a mess. Despite being built atop allegedly solid Unix-like code,…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Nintendo Distancing Itself from the 3D in 3DS

The 3DS is really neat, and Nintendo’s done a good job so far making sure its nifty display makes great (rather than gimmicky) use of the extra depth. But there’s one problem—not everyone can see the 3D. If you’re designing games that are meant to be enjoyed in 3D, those whose eyes can’t process the…

Tech News Sam Biddle

CRT Monitors Leave Futuristic Beauty Behind When You Shut Them Off

Remember CRTs? Those big boxy things we used to stare at all day, instead of the new screens we stare at all day now? Photographer Stephan Tillmans does—and he’s captured the dazzling colors they blast when switched off. [Stephen Tillmans via Andrew Liszewski. Thanks Mark!]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Yahoo Search Now Autocompletes (Sorta) Like Google

You know how Google will start scouring for your search as you type it? It’s cool! Well, now Yahoo is doing it—calling it “Direct Search”—and it’s… not quite as good. Direct Search apes Google speedily and sturdily enough, but forcing results into a little box is annoying and unnecessary. Packing so many links into a…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The Ohio Supreme Court’s Completely Batshit Insane Attempt to Define the Word Photocopier

Call it a photocopier or a generic xerox. We all know exactly what we’re talking about. Unless you’re Ohio state employee Lawrence Patterson, who last year, in one of the most bizarre legal arguments ever, claimed to have no idea. Or, if he did have an idea, was being an intentionally giant pain in the…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Sam Biddle

Nokia’s Iconic Phone Typeface Sent to the Grave

Richard Simmons Will Terrorize You into Safe Flying

Chinese Blogger Arrested amid Online Revolutionary Suppression

Accidental Inventor of Super Glue Dead at 94

Time Warner Cable Charges Man $16 Million to Watch March Madness

Sad Website Will Create Sad Virtual Girlfriend for Your Sad Life

The iPhone 4 Fits Exactly Inside the MacBook Air’s Lid Dent

Starz Delaying TV and Movies from Netflix Streaming

NYT for iPhone Gets a Bump to 3.0

This Watch Is Hideous Enough to Boil the Ocean if You Dropped It In

Geohot: I Didn’t Flee the Country, I’m Just on Spring Break, Brah

A N00b’s Guide to Safer Regime Change

iRig Mic Makes iPhone Audio Recording Not-Horrible (Updated)

Japan Widens Evacuation Zone Around Crippled Nuke Plant

Facebook Is Reading What You Write to Sell Ads. Live.

Happy Birthday, OS X

Nintendo Distancing Itself from the 3D in 3DS

CRT Monitors Leave Futuristic Beauty Behind When You Shut Them Off

Yahoo Search Now Autocompletes (Sorta) Like Google

The Ohio Supreme Court’s Completely Batshit Insane Attempt to Define the Word Photocopier

The ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Is a Beautifully Executed Dystopian Nightmare

Antibiotics Turned This Woman’s Limbs Into an Unsettling Horrorshow

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 Bundle at 97% Off With Premium Coding Certification Included, a Complete Learn-to-Code Package

Shark PowerPro Reveal Plus Cordless Vacuum Drops to an All-Time Low, Selling Faster Than Dyson at a Fraction of the Price

The First Trailer for ‘Widow’s Bay’ Welcomes You to a Creepy Horror Comedy

What the New Starbucks ‘Widely Recyclable’ Label Really Means

LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 Quietly Hits a Record Low, Expanding Beyond the Millennium Falcon Deals for a Limited Time

Calls to Regulate Smart Glasses Are Officially Deafening

Amazon Clears Out the Chefman Indoor Pizza Oven at 50% Off, Pizza Stone and Peel Included

‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Will Return for Season 2

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

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?