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Froyo Update for Motorola Droid Located and Available for Download

Although not being pushed to users yet, snooping Android fans have located the 2.2 upgrade file for Motorola’s Droid on Google’s servers. As this doesn’t have Google’s green light yet, download at your own risk—but it appears legit. [Android Forums via Engadget]

Watch BP’s Latest Attempt To Plug The Oil Spill

Since a containment cap wasn’t the final solution, BP’s making yet another attempt to plug the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf once and for all using a lot of mud and cement. You can watch the whole thing here. The live stream above shows BP’s attempt to permanently stop the flow of oil by…

BlackBerry Torch Simulator Available for Developers

RIM has just made available a BlackBerry Torch 9800 simulator for developers looking to test their apps on the latest ‘Berry hardware (or anyone interested in tinkering with BlackBerry 6). [BlackBerry via CrackBerry]

Rdio’s Spotify-ish Streaming Service Open for Three-Day Trials

Rdio, the all-you-can-eat music streaming service that we’ve previously showed you in screenshots, no longer requires an invite, or even a credit card, to try out for three days free. After that, it’s $5 per month for desktop and browser access, and $10 per month for streaming and offline access on iPhones, Android, and BlackBerry.…

There was no Big Bang at the start of the universe, says physicist

A new theory explains the accelerating universe without invoking mysterious, unseen dark energy to account for the expansion. But it also gets rid of singularities, an unchanging speed of light…and the most famous astrophysical phenomenon of all, the Big Bang. Image by commons/Shutterstock The observation of certain supernovas in the late 1990s led astronomers to…

Cyglo Tyres Turn Any Bike Into a Light Cycle

Lights and bikes are aren’t an unfamiliar pair. But only Cyglo Tyres, a recently-patented design that embeds LEDs into the tire treads themselves, will turn your wheels into two perfect circles of light. https://gizmodo.com/no-this-is-not-another-slow-shutter-photography-trick-5412076 Cyglo Tyre, a UK company founded by James Tristram, embeds LEDs directly into the tire tread (as opposed to, say, the…

Gen Con: The epic tabletop gaming convention invades the midwest

Gen Con Indy is just two days away, and soon downtown Indianapolis will be swarming with over 28,000 gamers. Here’s why tabletop gamers, LARPers and scifi fans plan all year for this massive event. Just in case it’s been a while since you grabbed your dice bag, Gen Con is the springboard for the RPG…

Did we trade the “It’s Always Sunny” creators’ space comedy for a Reno 911-style show?

It’s been forever since we’ve heard anything about the Always Sunny creators’ pitch for a space opera comedy, Boldly Going Nowhere. Now there’s news that the Reno 911 creators are making their own FX space comedy. So, is Boldly dead? The Wrap is reporting that FX’s president and general manager John Landgraf announced the pickup…

Settlers of Catan on Microsoft Surface: Yes Please

I still prefer the real-deal version of board games like Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne over the Xbox Live/iPhone versions because real board games are social. But the official Microsoft Surface version? It might be the perfect way to play. https://gizmodo.com/calling-all-board-game-nerds-get-carcassonne-for-the-i-5590812 By using the Surface Table, this version of the classic German board game features…

Arcade Fire making a science fiction “B movie” with Spike Jonze

Arcade Fire’s new album’s generating tons of excitement, but we’re more stoked about their collaborations with genre film’s leading lights. Spike Jonze is directing their science fiction short film, and Terry Gilliam’s directing the webcast of their August 5 concert. Arcade Fire’s Win Butler describes the Spike Jonze project in an interview with Pitchfork: It’s…

What Is Microsoft’s Mysterious Black Nub?

Microsoft Hardware has been playing some games on Twitter this week, releasing a pair of images that add up to something flat, black, and thin. Pretty sure it’s not a Microsoft eraser, so what are our next-best guesses? Trackpads are certainly en vogue lately, so this could be some sort of peripheral along those lines…

The Best of last night’s The Mask Commentary Twack event

Oh, we had us a fine time tweeting our way through the Jim Carrey comic-and-cartoon inspired misfire, The Mask. In case you missed it, and Cameron Diaz’s stunning movie debut, here’s the cream of the crop. @io9commentary okay, you beautiful sunsabitches…here we go. @io9commentary holy crap…there are divers in the bottom of this aquarium-looking set!…

CBS in Talks to Bring Shows to Hulu Plus

Good news, Two and a Half Men fans! CBS is in talks to bring its shows to Hulu Plus. They’re the last of the major networks to get on board. “Are we having discussions with the Hulu subscription service? Yes we are,” Moonves said. “Our goal is to get paid for our content in as…

Gadget Deals of the Day

Nothing is more American than a free game of bowling. No? Well, then check out today’s great deals on giant televisions and blazing-fast quad-core laptops. Now that’s more like it. Top Deals: • 55″ LG 55LH90 LED-Backlit LCD HDTV (THX, 1080p, 240Hz) for $1599.99 plus free shipping (normally $2799) • 16.4″ Sony VAIO VPCF113FX/B Quad…

The Battle of the Cheetos Carries On

As the Battle of the Cheetos progresses into its fourth week, thousands of users have tasted victory on battlefields across the web. But time still remains to create your own Crunchy or Puffs army and achieve worldwide web domination. Do you have what it takes? Play now, and find out.

NanoStudio For iPhone Puts a Recording Studio In Your Pocket

It’s hardly news that the iPhone can serve as a capable little music machine. But NanoStudio offers the complete music-making package, with synths, trigger pads, sequencers, samplers and much more—and, crucially, it makes them all intuitive to use. Complex apps walk a fine line between functionality and usability—there’s nothing more frustrating than a feature-laden app…

How the Chile earthquake created miles of new, “uplifted” coastline

Earlier this year, the 8.8 quake that hit Chile did more than level homes. It raised the ocean floor so much that undersea regions broke the surface of the water. Here are pictures of Chile’s incredible new coastline. Over the weekend, Science magazine published a report from a group of researchers in Chile, who measured…

On August 12th at 7pm, Gizmodo Staff in New York, San Francisco, London and other cities will be organizing meetups, and we’re looking for readers to organize Meetups in their own cities! Here’s how it works: We’re using Meetup Everywhere to organize meetups around the world. Visit the Gizmodo Day page or use the widget…

Just how autobiographical is Christopher Nolan’s Inception?

If you only read one essay about the hit dream-heist movie Inception today, make it this one. Lazenby takes the idea that we already raised, that Inception is about the act of making movies, and goes one further: It’s about Christopher Nolan’s anxieties about making movies, the fear that at any moment, the inspiration could…

166 Sunrises and Sunsets

For this week’s Shooting Challenge, you captured one of the quintessential photographs: the sunrise/sunset. And you did it extremely well. https://gizmodo.com/shooting-challenge-sunrise-sunset-5598618 Perfect Circle Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, AE Mode, Aperture f/2.8, Shutter hit 1/4000 Just a lake down the street from me, one that I ride by on my bike pretty…