Sam Biddle, Author at Gizmodo

Mapping Your Pals With Nearby Friends: Creepy or Fair Game?

Is Facebook Places not sufficiently immersing you in the mundanity of your friends’ lives? Try Nearby Friends, an app that plots their check-ins—past and present—on Google Maps. Just don’t let any of them catch you using it. In all truth, the app—sure to be a hit among crazed, jealous ex-boyfriends everywhere—is only using information that’s…

Tech News Sam Biddle

How Did This Guy Not Freeze His Hand Off in a Jar of Liquid Nitrogen?

File this under don’t try at home, but there is a safe and painless way to dip your hand into liquid nitrogen. The secret? The Leidenfrost effect, which briefly shields your hand from -320° temps with a layer of bubbles. PopSci’s extremely brave Theodore Gray trusts in science and tests the phenomenon with his own…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Good Luck Enjoying Your PlayStation Move With These Orb-Obstructing Accessories

Hyperkin’s “Sports Victory Set” of PlayStation Move accessories has a couple of problems. First, they are a bit ridiculous looking. (But hey, waving a dagger around could be fun). More importantly, they will mess up the whole damn system. PS Move’s technology hinges upon its ability to spot the LED sphere at the end of…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Samsung Claims Galaxy S Sells 1 Million in US

Samsung says they’ve sold a million Galaxy S phones in the US over a month and a half—not iPhone 4 debut numbers, but strong nonetheless. Verizon and Sprint will soon offer the Galaxy, following AT&T and T-Mobile. [Fortune]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Nintendo Dropping DSi and DSi XL Prices

Nintendo has announced they’re preparing for a little price cutting in advance of the 3DS launch. Starting September 12th, you’ll be able to pick up a DSi for $129 (down from $149), and an XL for $169 (formerly $189). [CrunchGear]

Tech News Sam Biddle

For Now, Most Americans Happy to Be Un-Located

Will most people ever really aspire to be mayor? The buzz surrounding location services is massively disproportionate to their actual use, says the NY Times—only 1% of Americans use them weekly. But will it remain a yuppie novelty? According the National Venture Capital Association, $115 million has been injected into location-based services in the past…

Social Media Sam Biddle

Inside Thomas Edison’s Vertically Integrated MegaLab

Thomas Edison was not an inventor for the love of the game. “I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing,” he said. For a tireless mind like that, a lab had to be far more than a lab. Edison set his eyes on a wide open site in West Orange, New Jersey, for…

Tech News Sam Biddle

My First 3D: The Story of View-Master

No matter your age, there’s a good chance that a View-Master was lying around either your bedroom or a friend’s. The iconic red goggles are the perfect childhood diversion—cheap and briefly amusing. They also have a long history. The principle that makes the View-Master a bit of quasi-3D fun is a fundamental one behind all…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The Long, Unglamorous History of the Toilet

Nobody is entirely sure who first had the privilege of sitting on a toilet. Evidence of advanced plumbing systems in the ancient world abounds, but it’s a strange, meandering path from antiquity to checking your inbox on the can. Ancient cultures were surprisingly adept at moving water around in a way that kept people from…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Does Paul Allen Suing The Entire Internet Prove Our Patent System’s Broken?

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has launched a salvo of litigation over disputed patents, targeting Apple, Google, AOL, and Netflix, among others. None of the patents involve technology Allen was responsible for creating, but were licensed through his Silicon Valley incubator. The high profile legal assault is based on some vague ideas you might be surprised…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Do Different Languages Equal Different Realities?

We usually assume words are just a way of expressing ideas already in our heads. But what if it’s the other way around? Some linguists say the languages we speak fundamentally alter the way we think, and even perceive reality. The New York Times explores the implications of world-altering linguistics, and how we can learn…

Tech News Sam Biddle

NEC’s New Facial Recognition Tech Will Find You No Matter How Old and Fat You Get

NEC’s newest facial recognition tech is able to track changes of substantial age and weight to match faces to their younger, slimmer selves. A recent Homeland Security test within a 1.6 million person criminal database saw 92% accuracy. NEC’s error percentage was only 0.3%, compared to the next best system in the report, which came…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Put Your Feet Up on Vintage Circuit Board Furniture

Theo Kamecke sees beauty in the common circuit board, and thinks they deserve a place in homes and galleries. He’s created a series of dazzling boxes and chests made from salvaged circuitry—though they may not be for everyone. “Either you get it or you don’t, either you like it or you don’t,” Kamecke explains. The…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Apple Wants to Remake the Audio Jack

Simply put, Apple wants fewer holes in its devices. Headphone jack—that’s a hole. Microphone—that’s a hole. According to a recent patent filing, Apple is looking to consolidate by combining the functionality of the two into one unified jack. The patent argues that “in addition to using housing real estate, sound input apertures and electrical connectors…

Tech News Sam Biddle

All The Single (Legged) Ladies: If You Like It Then You Should Put a Machine Gun On It

Filmmaker Rob Spence, famed for his camera eyeball implant, is looking for an eligible young woman. Who’s missing a leg. So he can give her a paintball machine gun. That she will attach to her leg. https://gizmodo.com/filmmaker-gets-his-cyborg-like-led-prosthetic-eye-5204545 Spence is working on a documentary about his “Eyeborg” project—turning a disability into a superpower—and wants to give…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Verizon Mocking Abu Ghraib Torture to Sell Droids? (Update: Not Verizon)

This bizarre commercial just started popping up, and frankly, we’re almost too confused to be offended. UPDATED: Verizon says the ad was not produced by or in any way affiliated with them. Swap out the shredded poncho for a red robe, and electrical wires for telephone cords, and you’ve got a spot-on replica of the…

Tech News Sam Biddle

How Kodak Built a FrankenCamera to Take Digital Photos in 1975

During the frigid Rochester winter of 1975, researchers at Kodak pieced together the future a quarter of a century early. Built from scavenged parts, the team had created their first “film-less” camera—an idea far ahead of its time. Kodak’s Steve Sasson recounts the effort with joy. The strange looking device was built with spare parts…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Best Buy Wants to Buy Your Old and Busted Games

Best Buy is rolling out a nationwide games trade-in program, starting this weekend. Customers who sell used games from among “more than 100 popular titles” (not yet disclosed) will receive an instant gift card to use in the store. [Best Buy]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All Time

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits,” Thomas Edison once said. But is hustling all it takes? Is progress always deliberate? Sometimes genius arrives not by choice—but by chance. Below are our ten favorite serendipitous innovations. 1. The Microwave – Percy L. Spencer Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon after his WWI stint…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Now Landing on Your Droid: Flash 10.1

Verizon is now pushing out an update to original Droid owners allowing them to download Flash 10.1, available via the Android Market. [Motorola Droid]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Sam Biddle

Mapping Your Pals With Nearby Friends: Creepy or Fair Game?

How Did This Guy Not Freeze His Hand Off in a Jar of Liquid Nitrogen?

Good Luck Enjoying Your PlayStation Move With These Orb-Obstructing Accessories

Samsung Claims Galaxy S Sells 1 Million in US

Nintendo Dropping DSi and DSi XL Prices

For Now, Most Americans Happy to Be Un-Located

Inside Thomas Edison’s Vertically Integrated MegaLab

My First 3D: The Story of View-Master

The Long, Unglamorous History of the Toilet

Does Paul Allen Suing The Entire Internet Prove Our Patent System’s Broken?

Do Different Languages Equal Different Realities?

NEC’s New Facial Recognition Tech Will Find You No Matter How Old and Fat You Get

Put Your Feet Up on Vintage Circuit Board Furniture

Apple Wants to Remake the Audio Jack

All The Single (Legged) Ladies: If You Like It Then You Should Put a Machine Gun On It

Verizon Mocking Abu Ghraib Torture to Sell Droids? (Update: Not Verizon)

How Kodak Built a FrankenCamera to Take Digital Photos in 1975

Best Buy Wants to Buy Your Old and Busted Games

Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All Time

Now Landing on Your Droid: Flash 10.1

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

The Films and Shows You Should Be Streaming in April 2026

Chinese Startup Debuts Super-Bendy Robotic Arm for Orbital Repairs

Your Devices Are Targets. Bitdefender Shields Them All — For Less Than You Think

Of Course, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Post Credit Scene Is Another Big Cameo

Proton Just Launched Meet, and It Makes Zoom Look Like a Privacy Nightmare

America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

Jackery Power Station With 200W Solar Panel Still $590 Off as Amazon Clears Out Leftover Stock After the Spring Sale

The Best Pop Culture Art Gallery In the World Is No More

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?