BP has sent saw-equipped robot arms 5,000 feet into the deep in their latest attempt to stop oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Watch it work live, now, here. [CBS News] https://gizmodo.com/bps-next-oil-disaster-fix-could-make-things-much-worse-5552400
The Navy has successfully tested its shiniest new toy: the Laser Weapons System (LaWS), which recently “tracked, engaged, and destroyed” a drone in mid-flight. It’s not our first laser gun, but it’s certainly our best. https://gizmodo.com/photo-of-boeings-matrix-laser-destroying-an-air-drone-5407603 The system is similar to the Navy’s Phalanx close-in weapons system, which mounts a radar-guided 20mm Gatling gun on…
This week on TreeHugger, urinals pop up from sidewalks, solar-powered fish fry quells hunger, students use $100k to build “vibro-wind” and more. Bonsai Solar Tree Is Back… …and looking better than ever. Students Create “Vibro-Wind” With a $100,000 grant, a group of college kids are creating a panel for collecting wind energy through vibration iPad…
Click to viewFirst came the failed containment dome. Then, the top kill method, which didn’t work, either. Now BP’s readying their next attempt at limiting the damage, and it’s another containment dome. It could also lead to 20% more oil gushing out. https://gizmodo.com/watch-an-undersea-robot-try-and-fail-to-end-the-gulf-5538316 Here’s how it’ll work, also demonstrated in the video above: this morning,…
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Sounds like Marvel has been reading our fantasy casting list. First it there were the Nathan Fillion rumors, and now the shirtless demi-god Josh Holloway is the newest rumored Avengers cast member. But who should he play? https://gizmodo.com/nathan-fillion-to-play-ant-man-were-not-getting-our-ho-5541334 Avenger News was tipped off that Holloway might be popping up in Marvel’s giant Avengers film: We…
This is hardly a scientific test. But when an iPad screen and a Pixel Qi faced off head to head recently at Computex in broad daylight, there was one very clear winner. And one very murky “magical” device. Again, it’s impossible to know the conditions this test—done on the fly by ARMDevices—was done under, although…
Given that our first two choices — Peter Jackson, who said he can’t, and Guillermo del Toro, who just bailed — are out of the running, who should step up to the plate? Here are five names worth considering. https://gizmodo.com/the-hobbit-loses-director-guillermo-del-toro-5551446 To be fair, those two guys are still the first, best choices to direct MGM…
The Great iPad Magazine isn’t here yet—but it’s getting closer all the time. Popular Mechanics’ app, set to launch next month, already looks like the new best magazine on the iPad. https://gizmodo.com/im-still-waiting-for-a-great-ipad-magazine-5548158 If you’ve used Wired’s Adobe-developed app, you’ll notice Popular Mechanics’ app looks and feels more like it than any other magazine app so…
Dissecting the HTC Evo revealed no great secrets other than that it’s very easy to disassemble, which will make it easy to replace broken glass screens. In terms of random factoids? There’s a wetness indicator on the battery. [ifixit] Edit: Apparently the moisture indicator on a battery isn’t so new. So you get a bonus…
After watching this quadrotor drone making the craziest maneuvers I can imagine, I only have three thoughts. One, robotic extermination is inevitable. Two, I want one for next Christmas. Three, send a weaponized squadron to fight the mole men here. https://gizmodo.com/the-gates-of-hell-just-opened-in-guatemala-5551916 The quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was made by Daniel Mellinger, Dr. Nathan Michael, and…
Is Green Lantern’s main villain someone unexpected? Is a new casting call really from Super 8? Behold Gargamel and Azrael on the Smurfs set! Plus Predators, Transformers, Last Airbender, Doctor Who, Splice, Warehouse 13, Caprica, Stargate and True Blood spoilers! Green Lantern: Comic Book Movie apparently got its hands on a leaked press release including…
On June 11th, four DirecTV 3D channels will go live. HDGuru has a great summary of their content and the hardware you’ll need to watch them. (Note: I heard from an insider, they’re upconverted to HD, not true 3DHD.) [HDGuru]
After Wired’s June edition became the best selling app in the iPad App Store, Adobe revealed their new software behind it—the previously unannounced Adobe Digital Publishing Technologies. https://gizmodo.com/im-still-waiting-for-a-great-ipad-magazine-5548158 There’s not much to hear about the new publishing software yet, other than it integrates with the CS5 suite—InDesign in particular—to create multimedia-rich digital magazines, books and…
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They’re not blurry, but they sure are low-res. Nonetheless, these photos will pique Android users’ interests, as they’re pointed at being of the teensy HTC Aria, exclusive to AT&T. According to rumors from those who’ve seen/handled the phone, it’s a small handset (possibly with a 2.8-inch screen), though supposedly squeezes in a 5MP camera. Running…
At first glance I thought this phone was called the “fluffer,” but thankfully I misread—that instrument looks far too sharp to be involved in any fluffin‘. Spied on LG’s Flickr, the Flutter could solve all of their problems. Can you remember the last time you got excited about an LG phone? Apart from the Windows…
Ignoring for a moment that Hitachi appears to have used a male model with fake fingernails, this Z-series HDD boast the privilege of (currently) being the fastest 7mm drive around—and comes in capacities of 160GB, 250GB and 320GB. It’s got a height of just 7mm, and has speeds of up to 7200rpm if desired. Being…
It’s become de rigeur for manufacturers to whack a Snapdragon processor in smartphones nowadays—even if people don’t quite understand what it means (or does), they want nothing less. Now, Qualcomm’s offering dual-core 1.2GHz chips to manufacturers. See the MSM8260 and MSM8660 in an Android phone near you soon, with support for 1080p video encoding and…
PlayTV is the little PVR doohicker that was released in PAL territories as a PS3 add-on back in 2008. Now, a Sony rep has confirmed they’re working on a second model, with social networking features most likely to be added. https://gizmodo.com/sony-europe-releases-playtv-pvr-for-playstation-3-292322 ‘Course, with the PS3 being a whole lot more social these days anyway, things…
