Sam Biddle

How To Make a GIF in Five Easy Steps

If there’s a reason you haven’t killed yourself by now, it’s probably because you recently saw an animated GIF. But where do they come from? Where do they go? Can you make your own? Like Prometheus before us, we’re going to share the divine power. Let’s get this out of the way: You’re going to…

Keep Your Greedy Hands Off My Gear

Hey, friend—or, roommate/party host/relative/girlfriend’s acquaintance—can I play around with your valuable electronic devices? Can I pick them up and start poking at them without asking? No! At least, probably not. Gadgets are all around us, getting casually thrown around and scooped up. Sometimes, the gadgets we’re pawing aren’t ours. But a tablet is not a…

Sony’s Monster 4k TV Costs More than a Car

Do you want the gargantuan, gorgeous 84-inch 4k TV Sony recently tempted us with? So do we. But are you willing to sell an organ for it? Official pricing is out now! https://gizmodo.com/sonys-84-inch-4k-tv-is-mammoth-and-beautiful-and-we-wan-5938854 Sony’s mega-high-res beast will set you back a whopping-but-sadly-expected $25,000 when it hits stores in November—and you can pre-order starting tomorrow. Or…

Al-Jazeera Gets the Crap Hacked Out of It (Updated)

There are hacks, and then there are hacks. After this morning’s apparent Apple UDID dump, Al-Jazeera’s English website has been defaced in about the most conspicuous way possible. But who’s responsible? https://gizmodo.com/antisec-leaks-1-million-apple-device-ids-obtained-durin-5940183 Clearly someone with a bone to pick with Al-Jazeera. But who is this Al-Rashedon? An opponent of Al-Jazeera’s coverage of Syrian civil war?…

So You Want to Watch Porn in Your Dorm Room

Kids are flocking back to college, their noggins aching for facts and ultimate frisbee, or whatever. For some of you, it’ll be the first time living in a small room with another person. So, uh, how are you supposed to watch porn? We’ll start with a basic premise: it’s not okay to openly jerk off…

The Republican Party Has a Reagan Hologram But Is Scared It Would Upstage Romney

After decades of yearning, the GOP has successfully completed one of its dreams: reanimating the spirit of famed American actor Ronald Reagan. The hologram weapon is ready. And it was supposed to appear tonight—then it terrified its makers. Yahoo reports the hologram presence was originally planned for this week’s Republican National Convention, but because it…

I Want This Gorgeous Mega-Widescreen Monitor Right Now

So far, Sony and Samsung have dominated IFA with a torrent of magical TVs and new phones. But quietly, LG is showing off one of the coolest monitors we’ve ever seen. The Verge reports the 2560 x 1080 29-inch EA93 monitor boasts a highly unconventional 21:9 aspect ratio—most wide screens are 16:9. This means more…

Ask Obama Anything on Reddit Right Now

President Barack Obama is literally posting on Reddit, right now. Not sure what this means for democracy. He’s using a Mac, though. TYPICAL FANBOY.[Reddit]

Sony’s 84-Inch 4k TV Is Mammoth and Beautiful and We Want It Now

Sony just dumped one of the most monstrously gorgeous sets we’ve seen in some time—an 84-inch Bravia LCD with four times the resolution of today’s top HDTV. It could be in your living room by the end of the year. The 4k (3840 x 2160) set, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai explains, will be able to…

How To Be a Genius: This Is Apple’s Secret Employee Training Manual

We recently showed you just how badly some of Apple’s retail elite behave when no one’s watching, but surely they were taught better, right? You bet they were: Apple tells its new recruits exactly what what to think and say. How do we know? We read Apple’s secret Genius Training Manual from cover to cover.…

If you get an email saying you’ve been added to a new Facebook album, don’t click it—it could be a virus. [AllFacebook]

If You Need a Gimmicky Gadget Alarm Clock You’re a Horrible Subhuman

Oh, cool, an alarm clock shaped like R2-D2 that will roll around your room and play Star Wars music to pry you out of bed. If you need this, you’re lazy scum who doesn’t deserve the job you’re late for. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-alarm-clock-droid-youre-looking-for-at-a-p-5938133 Techie gimmick alarms are one of our species’ worst indulgences. Humans have been waking…

Read Samsung’s Sad “We Got Our Asses Kicked by Apple” Memo

Last Friday, Samsung got punched in its collective corporate throat by Apple’s legal team and a jury of its peers. Apple chief Tim Cook immediately celebrated… with a memo! Samsung’s memo was less fun. Much less fun. But hopeful! https://gizmodo.com/read-tim-cooks-blisteringly-cheerful-memo-to-apple-empl-5937837 The Samsung memo is pretty much the corporate legal equivalent of Bill Pullman’s presidential speech…

Using Facebook to Find Love

This headline might sound like the subject line of a crass spam email—but wait! You actually can use Facebook and Twitter as tools to get a date. No, really—shut up, we’re serious here! Just play it cool. Think about it this way: almost everyone you actually know, along with everyone you pretend to know, is…

Samsung vs. Apple Verdict: Apple Wins Huge

We’ve been watching Apple and Samsung hammer each other for what feels like eons over who ripped off whom. And now the jury is in (shockingly soon): Samsung just lost almost everything. The case, which has centered over a panoply of patents relating to both hardware and software design, should settle one major argument once…

The New Furby Review: Absolute Horror

The Furby materialized on American shelves in 1998, after a brief warp-trip from some ethereal hell-domain. It drove parents insane. Their children wanted one, insanely badly. They sold out, insanely quickly. Now, the Furby is back, and it is insanity incarnate. General Omar N. Bradley commanded American ground forces in Germany during World War II,…

What Do You Think of Microsoft’s First New Logo in 25 Years?

Logos are usually boring and quite bad, but they’re things we’re forced to look at every single day, so let’s care about them. In particular, let’s care about Microsoft’s—which just got its first makeover since 1987. It definitely hits the visual zeitgeist right in the stomach—minimalism (which evokes Metro!), and soft, plain type. But is…

Sabu Is Still Working for the FBI

It’s been almost half a year since LulzSec mastermind Hector “Sabu” Monsegur turned on his people in one of the most dramatic turns of hacking history. And in order to get another half away from a judge, he’s still snitching. https://gizmodo.com/lulzsec-leader-betrays-all-of-anonymous-5890825 Wired reports Sabu’s getting “a six-month reprieve from being sentenced on 12 counts of…

Audyssey Wireless Speakers: Yes, Bluetooth Can Sound Really Good

Audyssey makes killer speakers—the best AirPlay speaker of them all, in fact. But we don’t usually equate Bluetooth with killer audio, and in fact, usually it’s the opposite. Not this time. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-airplay-speakers-5907025 What Is It? A compact pair of Bluetooth-enabled stereo speakers. Who’s it For? Household DJs—anyone who wants to beam music to quality speakers…

The Next Horrible Virus Outbreak Might Be Our Fault

SARS feels like as much a distant memory of the 2000s as Sean Paul songs, but it’s very much alive. In fact, it’s breeding in labs around the world—and our own research could trigger the next epidemic. According to a recent, chilling report published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, we might be making…