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Nokia Lumia 900 Teardown: Cheap Maybe, But Still Very Cheerful

The new Nokia Lumia 900 is here, and we like it: it’s bigger, faster, and and cheaper than its predecessor. But does taking a look inside reveal anything exciting? https://gizmodo.com/nokia-lumia-900-review-this-might-save-windows-phone-5898783 On the face of things, no. When Tech Republic pried open its polycarbonate shell, it revealed the 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, and 16GB…

This Is How Much Carriers Charge for Cellphone Wiretaps

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that phone tracking was an extremely widespread phenomenon across US police forces. Now, another of their leaked documents reveals how much cell carriers charge for the services. https://gizmodo.com/phone-tracking-isnt-just-for-the-fbi-any-more-5898261 In fact, flicking through the document makes it seem like a rather day-to-day practice. It lists the costs…

The Oldest Embryos Ever Discovered Show That Some Prehistoric Reptiles Were Viviparous

This is the oldest embryo ever discovered on Earth, found in Uruguay and Brazil. It is a baby mesosaur, a group of small aquatic reptiles from the early Permian. According to the researchers, it’s the earliest known case of viviparity. The study—published in the journal Historic Biology by Graciela Piñeiroa, Jorge Ferigolob, Melitta Meneghelc and…

Google Street View Takes a Virtual Tour of the White House

Fresh from a jaunt along the Rio Negro, Google is digitizing the interior of the First Family’s mansion. Now you can leisurely wander around the White House without being detained by the Secret Service. https://gizmodo.com/armchair-adventurers-can-now-take-a-street-view-tour-of-5895391 Google’s employing the same 360-degree HD cameras as it uses to document museums and art galleries for the Google Art…

The Saddest Episode of Being Human Ever

Last night’s Being Human was the saddest episode ever to kick a were-puppy. Get out the clove smokes, kids — things just got emo. But thankfully, for a show campaigning for the award of “most emotionally exhaustive series on TV,” we still enjoyed it. It was definitely a step up from last week. No supernatural…

Take a (Really) Quick Tour of the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser

Yo’ coherent light source is so fat, it takes 37 seconds to trace the electron’s beam path—in fast forward. The Linac Coherent Light Source is no dainty piece of machinery. Its magnet-lined tracks stretch over the course of a half-mile and accelerate electron pulses to 99.9999999 percent of the speed of light. The brightest X-ray…

Slaying Dragons, Cleaning Bongs, and Riding Things You Probably Shouldn’t (NSFW)

Roll that spliff phatly, pack some fresh ice into the binger, and set the Volcano to “toastify.” It’s time for tonight’s Stoner Channel. We’ve collected our best high-times material for the discerning pothead so sit back, relax, and pass that shit on the left, yo. Tonight, we’ve got some smashing Incredible Hulk from reader Simon…

Major Publishing Consortium Ready to Launch “Hulu for Magazines”

It’s been two years since Next Issue Media was first announced but the subscription-swapping, all-you-can-read digital news-stand is set to launch tomorrow. https://gizmodo.com/hulu-for-magazines-coming-early-2011-only-for-android-5687327 Next Issue Media is a digitial subscription service proposed by five of the world’s largest publishers (Conde Nast, Time Inc, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp). Users would receive as many digital magazines as…

This is what a skinless elephant and a shark made out of blood vessels look like

At London’s Natural History Museum, the zoological counterpart to anatomist Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds exhibit opens Friday, April 6. This plastinated menagerie is Animal Inside Out, a collection of one-hundred preserved animals with their skin peeled way back. It is inevitable that some ne’er-do-wells will arrive at this exhibit stoned out of their gourds,…

1970’s Study Predictions Are Still on Target for 2030’s Decline of Humanity

In 1972, The Limits to Growth modeled the effects of unlimited human expansion on the planet’s finite resources. Now, 40 years later, the predicted models are still a near match with reality. The Limits to Growth was written by MIT researchers Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III on…

Nokia Lumia 900 Review: This Might Save Windows Phone (Updated)

The Lumia 800 was one of the most beautiful phones ever built in the long history of phone-building. It is widely acknowledged as the best Windows phone around. The next version, the Lumia 900, is bigger, faster, and—maybe most surprisingly—cheaper. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-lumia-800-lightning-review-the-unattainable-fore-5857409 The Lumia 900 is a phone that every single person should consider owning. Update:…

Lumia 900 Gallery

Picture of the Day: April 3, 2012

BIG FLYING GUN | A “Xin Cannon” takes to the skies, in one piece of concept art from Squeezicks, a game from Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab. See more concept art here. Want to read today’s io9 stories a different way? Check out our blog view. Or visit Observation Deck, our general discussion forum.

Do Crowbars Really Need Hinges?

The Hultafors 209 adjustable wrecking bar features a nine-point articulated claw, a rubberized grip, and claims to optimize the everyman’s nail-pulling experience. But does the crowbar design require improvement? The 209’s curved claw is set on a hinge and locked in place with a screw gear, which reportedly allows it to withstand the same forces…

These ticks shrug off airless vacuums and powerful electron beams like they’re no big deal

These bugs might just be the hardest organisms on the planet. They’re the only creatures observed alive inside an electron microscope that actually survived this airless, high-radiation environment. This discovery could mean big things for life on other worlds. One of the basic tenets of scanning electron microscopes (SEM) is that, if you actually want…

What if Doctor Who were a Super Nintendo roleplaying game?

In the spirit of their 16-bit remixes of Battlestar Galactica and Breaking Bad comes College Humor’s low-tech remake of the Eleventh Doctor’s adventures for the BBCSNES. Witness the Weeping Angels in thrilling real-time strategy! https://gizmodo.com/battlestar-galactica-in-four-minutes-as-a-1990s-rolepl-5873166 https://gizmodo.com/breaking-bad-the-roleplaying-game-is-extremely-depress-5881001 For more pixelated Who, see the time The Doctor invaded a certain classic Super Nintendo RPG and the opening…

These Clothes Turn Transparent When Your Heart Rate Increases

These clothes are perfect for every beautiful person on this planet. Called Intimacy 2.0 and made by Studio Roosegaarde, they’re made of leather and smart e-foils and totally look futuristically stylish. The best part though? The material turns transparent as a person’s heartbeat increases. Oh yes. That means the hotter and heavier you get (figuratively),…

Do you feel more lonely after using your smart phone?

In a recently-posted TED talk, MIT professor and psychologist Sherry Turkle explains why people who are constantly tethered to their smart phones feel so alone. She argues that loneliness in the age of social media has become far more crippling than ever before in history. But is she right that connectivity is driving us apart?…

Building Titanic: Learn How the (Not) Unsinkable Ship Was Born

Jack and Rose aren’t the only ones taking a ride on the Titanic again. National Geographic has hopped aboard the unsinkable ship with the release of its iPad app, Building Titanic. https://jezebel.com/i-re-watched-titanic-so-you-dont-have-to-youre-welcome-5898432 What does it do? The app takes you through the full history of the once-unsinkable ship, starting in 1908, when the design for…

The Worst Science Fiction Movie Ever Made, According to You

After weeks of hot debating, io9’s readers have now officially picked the very worst science fiction movie of all time, in our March Madness bracket. And the winner is… Battlefield Earth. In celebration we will be speaking in John Travolta’s insane Psychlo accent for the rest of the day. Congratulations, rat brains! Beating out Catwoman…