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The next big source of alternative energy could be the air itself

There’s electricity in the air all around us, formed as water vapor comes into contact with dust particles. For centuries scientists have dreamed of tapping into this source of power – and we finally might be able to do it. The knowledge that water vapor creates electricity goes back to the industrial revolution, when workers…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 26 '10

Vocab Lesson: Vapor-Metalized Plastic

A piece of plastic goes in, a piece of metal comes out. At least, that’s what vapor metallizing seems to accomplish, at least to our immediate senses. It’s gilding, except it’s been updated for the electronics age. And it’s everywhere. Vapor metallization is a solution to a common industrial problem: Plastic is easily moldable, lightweight…

Tech News John Herrman Aug 26 '10

Shooting Challenge: Velocity

A while ago, we challenged you to capture motion blur. This week, we’re upping the ante. Your subject will be in motion, but it’s the background of the shot that will blur into obscurity. https://gizmodo.com/117-beautifully-blurry-photos-5456519 The Challenge Take a photo of something in motion, capturing it completely sharp with the background in a blur. But…

Tech News Mark Wilson Aug 26 '10

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 Aug 26 '10

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 Aug 26 '10

See a world of terror through the eyes of a woman who’s slowly going blind

, shot from the protagonist’s viewpoint. Here is the first ever subtitled trailer for the film, which is produced by GDT and written and directed by Guillem Morales, . The story follows a husband and wife after they move into a new town to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding their sister’s death. As of right…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 26 '10

Gmail Voice Is About Future Search, Not Free Calls

Sex, Bombs and Burgers author Peter Nowak explains how Google Voice in Gmail has nothing to do with giving you free phone calls. It’s actually here to help Google perfect the next generation of search. https://gizmodo.com/make-free-calls-in-gmail-with-google-voice-5621741 Yesterday’s most exciting news was Google’s introduction of free voice calls to Gmail. In a nutshell, if you have…

Tech News Peter Nowak Aug 26 '10

What is that police box doing on top of a building at MIT?

What the heck is that blue box on top of the Small Dome at MIT? Students starting school this week at the venerable geek institution were wondering that themselves. Let’s take a closer look . . . Yep, it turns out that the Doctor is stopping by to give the first lecture in 6.01, the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 26 '10

Next Big iTunes Update to Be Social Web-Based Site and Not Cloud-Based Service?

Too many headlines have focused on iTV and new iPods for the upcoming Apple event that the cloud-based iTunes has almost slid into obscurity. Almost. AllThingsD‘s sources say to forget about a streaming service, and start thinking social. Citing industry executives, Peter Kafka scribed today that while Apple hasn’t yet inked deals with the various…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Aug 26 '10

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 Aug 26 '10

Ancient galaxies possess gigantic, mysterious ultraviolet rings

Some of the universe’s oldest galaxies appear to be going through the cosmic equivalent of a mid-life crisis, surrounding themselves with immense ultraviolet halos. These highly energetic rings of light make galaxies look young again, and astronomers are totally baffled. Using NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers closely examined thirty galaxies that…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 26 '10

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 Aug 26 '10

Google Trademarks Mystery New Hardware: Speedbook

Speedbook. Add that one to your spell-checkers, everyone, as it looks like that’ll be the name of a future Google-branded product. But what is it? An e-reader? A speedy notebook? A new page-turning technology for lazy fans of traditional paper media? We have no idea, and neither does Bnet’s Erik Sherman who unearthed the application…

Tech News Gary Cutlack Aug 26 '10

Can’t Decide Between an iPhone and Palm Pre? Get Both—In One Phone!

Ok, so you’ll have to import it from dodgy Chinese site M8Cool, but surely a gamble with your credit card security is worth the slight chance of getting a working Palm Pre, running iPhone OS? It walks and talks just like a Palm Pre, only has an iPhone home button instead of the little silver…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Aug 26 '10

Use This Snazzy Multitouch Interface to Control Your Robot Army

Mark Micire of UMass Lowell is a forward thinking dude. Right now, most of us don’t even have one robot, let alone a swarm. But someday, we’ll be tripping over ’em! Micire’s multitouch interface will help keep them in line. Micire’s interface is built atop Microsoft Surface, and marks one of the neatest (and perhaps…

Tech News Sam Biddle Aug 26 '10

Hulu vs. Hulu Plus By the Numbers

Hulu Plus! It’s finally here! But what is it really? According to this sampling by research firm One Touch, it’s 62 more episodes of Ugly Betty, 16 more episodes of House, 142 more episodes of Family Guy and more! https://gizmodo.com/hulu-plus-is-real-10-month-for-iphone-ipad-and-tv-vi-5575555 More episodes of more shows, that is. Of course, this isn’t everything you’re getting with…

Television Kyle VanHemert Aug 26 '10

An exclusive look inside Dr. Horrible’s Evil League of Evil

Watch the Bad Horse start off a meeting of the Evil League of Evil with his terrible “death whinny.” We’ve got an exclusive inside peek at a meeting for the ELE, thanks to the new Dr. Horrible comic book. Inspired by Joss Whedon’s webseries and written by Zack Whedon, this Dr. Horrible comic will be…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 26 '10

Why Ideas Are Expensive

Intellectual Ventures founder and modern day Merlin Nathan Myhrvold explains why it costs a lot of damn money to create new ideas. Hint: Think Hollywood. [Eureka on Gizmodo] https://gizmodo.com/how-intellectual-ventures-wants-to-reinvent-invention-5621679 Eureka is our week-long meditation on the wonders of invention, inventors and genius. Videos by Mike Short.

Tech News Matt Buchanan Aug 26 '10

Is This HTC Merge a 10MP Android Phone or Tablet?

If it weren’t for the rumor that this HTC Merge has a 10MP camera, you could almost be mistaken that it’s a tablet with that name. Of course, maybe the 10MP rumor is a disguise… A few weeks ago Phandroid turned up mention of the Merge in Verizon’s inventory, not suggesting much other than the…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Aug 26 '10

Doctor Who hits the road with Winston Churchill and… Neil from The Young Ones?

Doctor Who’s huge new stage production goes on tour October 8. It’ll star Nigel Planer, better known as the hippie Neil from The Young Ones, as the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy. Will his character turn up on the show? In Doctor Who Live, the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy, Vorgensen, travels around talking about…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 26 '10

The next big source of alternative energy could be the air itself

Vocab Lesson: Vapor-Metalized Plastic

Shooting Challenge: Velocity

How Kodak Built a FrankenCamera to Take Digital Photos in 1975

Best Buy Wants to Buy Your Old and Busted Games

See a world of terror through the eyes of a woman who’s slowly going blind

Gmail Voice Is About Future Search, Not Free Calls

What is that police box doing on top of a building at MIT?

Next Big iTunes Update to Be Social Web-Based Site and Not Cloud-Based Service?

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

Ancient galaxies possess gigantic, mysterious ultraviolet rings

Now Landing on Your Droid: Flash 10.1

Google Trademarks Mystery New Hardware: Speedbook

Can’t Decide Between an iPhone and Palm Pre? Get Both—In One Phone!

Use This Snazzy Multitouch Interface to Control Your Robot Army

Hulu vs. Hulu Plus By the Numbers

An exclusive look inside Dr. Horrible’s Evil League of Evil

Why Ideas Are Expensive

Is This HTC Merge a 10MP Android Phone or Tablet?

Doctor Who hits the road with Winston Churchill and… Neil from The Young Ones?

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