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Haleron iLet Mini HAL Is a Modest Tablet With a Modest Price

If the iPad seems extravagant and the JooJoo’s sordid past turns you off, the 7″ Mini HAL might be up your alley. It’s no powerhouse, but at least you’ll be able to say you own a tablet. Updated. Scam alert! The 600MHz VIA CPU isn’t blazing fast and the 7″ touch screen isn’t luxuriously wide.…

All U.S. Android Phones Reportedly Getting the Bump to 2.1

We recently heard that Android 2.1 was on its way to the Droid, but now sources tell AndroidandMe that all U.S. Android phones will get Android 2.1 firmware in coming months, though some will require a wipe to upgrade. Updated. https://gizmodo.com/droids-android-2-1-update-full-of-multitouch-and-some-5466971 As we’ve heard is the case with the Droid, some niceties like animated wallpapers…

Will Kick-Ass Kill Superhero Movies?

With Kick-Ass heading up the forefront of a new “What if superheroes existed in the real world?” trend, it may be time to wonder if this is a sign that superheroes are finally on their way out of mainstream culture. The prevalence of superheroes in mainstream pop culture always seems to go in a cycle…

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“Tron: Legacy” Secret Screening – An Awesome 15 Seconds

We checked out the Tron: Legacy “secret screening” today in Manhattan, along with about 100 other die-hard fans. Here’s what we discovered. The event was part of a viral marketing scheme for the film, which comes out in December. Fans had to sign up and create a profile on the site flynnlives.com and then request…

Turning Spam Into Art

Spam-mail becomes art in these images, which turn the most common words in specific weeks of spam messages into word maps, letting you see what was foremost on spammers minds in days gone by (Our favorite? “Please”). [New Scientist]

Apple Reports Discovery of Child Workers In Their Factories

February has not been a good month for the Apple supply chain. After the assault, the arson, and the poisonings, now Apple’s annual supplier report reveals that this year 11 minors were found working in factories that manufacture their products. https://gizmodo.com/investigate-apples-chinese-supply-chain-get-assaulted-5474160 The 24-page report is full of bad news. The worst of it: three different…

Folding Massage Chair Makes It Easy to Hide Your Embarassing Folding Massage Chair

Hammacher Schlemmer, purveyors of expensive, goofy gadgets, are now peddling the Foldaway Massage Chair, a shapeshifting piece of furniture that will keep your muscles relaxed, your apartment uncluttered, and your buyers remorse so potent you can almost taste it. Picture a Transformer. But instead of being a really cool car that turns into an ass-kicking…

New Interface Will Let You Fling This Article Across the Room

Oblong Industries recently unveiled its new “spatial operating environment,” a computer interface that lets you pluck, stroke, and shuffle onscreen data with nothing but a pair of gloves. If you’ve ever wanted to punch the Internet, that day is approaching. A few days ago, at the 2010 TED conference, Oblong, an L.A.-based software development company,…

The Frightening Future of Augmented Shopping

Online retail is nothing new, but now brick and mortar stores want to get in on the high-tech action. The New York Times has a disquieting look at new technologies that will make you shop ’til your signal drops. Take, for example, Norma Kamali’s boutique in Manhattan, which recently implemented a system called ScanLife that…

Merchandise To Make Marvel TVs Look Like A Good Idea

What better way to show your love for Marvel Comics than by buying a Wolverine-branded TV? Marvel have licensed their characters to a television manufacturer for a new line of expensive merchandise, but we’re wondering: Are they thinking too small? The new televisions – ranging in price from $1699 to $1989 – are being promoted…

New Pentagon Policy Lets Troops Overshare Like the Rest of Us

Yesterday the Department of Defense released a memo outlining the government’s first official policy for social media access by military personnel. Somewhat surprisingly, it gives them unrestricted access to blog, Tweet, poke and ping just like everyone else. Effectively immediately, Department of Defense personnel across the board, including civilian employees and troops alike, have full…

Transformers 3: Good For The Studio, Good For America, Says Bay

What motivated Michael Bay to say yes to a third Transformers movie? The desire to help his friends and stimulate the economy, according to the explodo director. Plus, watch the trailer for new videogame Transformers: War For Cybertron. In a recent TV interview, Bay explained that the origins of Transformers 3 lay in his sense…

Some Light Reading

No one likes getting stuck in traffic, but some roadblocks are better than others. A few of the best: an exceptionally cute string of ducklings; an ice cream truck with a flat tire; a stunning spread of 800 LED-equipped books. Earlier this week, the books blocked traffic on Water Street in Brooklyn, New York. They…

Nexus One Coming to Verizon March 23?

Yesterday we heard that a CDMA version of the Nexus One was approved by the FCC, and now Neowin has word from an anonymous Google employee that the Google phone will land on Verizon on March 23. That’s the day the CTIA wireless convention kicks off and it’s less than a month away; Perhaps a…

2012 Brings Wrath Of Church On Studio

Roland Emmerich’s 2012 may have failed to live up to its apocalyptic promise, but one group are nonetheless not too happy about how it all turned out: The Catholic Church are seeking restitution over the movie’s treatment of Jesus. According to reports, lawyers for the Brazilian Catholic Church are objecting to the treatment of the…

Thin Latex Metamaterials Are the Noise Cancelling Tech of the Future

If you want peace and quiet, current technologies require a compromise: settle for thick, unsightly foam or use thinner panels that don’t block bass. A new technology developed in Hong Kong, however, is both super thin and super effective. The researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Kowloon have made their noise-canceling…

Palm’s webOS 1.4 Update Is Live With Video Recording and Flash

You know that webOS 1.4 update for Pre, Pixi, Pre Plus and Pixi Plus that we’ve been talking about since January? The one with video recording and Flash 10 beta and some other stuff? It’s live. [Palm] https://gizmodo.com/sprints-palm-pre-and-pixi-webos-1-4-update-hits-today-w-5480901

From #whitenoise: Batman, Warmongers, and Drunkards

OCEntertainment wanted to know why we don’t have a Comment of the Week. I don’t really have an answer to that, but how about a collection of this week’s best #whitenoise comment threads instead? If you don’t like the gallery view, you can click here. https://gizmodo.com/from-whitenoise-batman-warmongers-and-drunkards-5481651 We’re proud of our comment system and commenter community.…

With the Adafruit Monochron Kit You Can Build a Competitive Clock

Adafruit’s Monochron kit lets you build custom clocks. You can use and abuse its animated display for whatever evil setups you can imagine, but my favorite is the retro arcade game based animation in this video. Wonder what happens if that clock ever gets better at playing the game though. Will time freeze? [Adafruit]