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It’s The Brig!

Doctor Who has launched a thousand spin-offs lately, but there’s been no sign of the quirky time traveler’s biggest sidekick, the man who put the “deadly” into “deadpan.” (Okay, you know what I mean.) Until now, when Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart showed up on the Sarah Jane Adventures, and brought verve to an otherwise standard…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Dec 1 '08

Product Manual Archive Gives Us a Glimpse of Gadgets of Yesteryear

For those of us who don’t remember life before the NES, Boing Boing uncovered a collection of vintage instruction manuals, ads, hang tags and more, which give us a glimpse of gadgets from the past. Included in these clippings are lessons on how to build fallout shelters in case of emergencies, and my personal favorite,…

Tech News Andi Wang Dec 1 '08

Did We Really Need a Robo-Serial Killer? [NSFW]

The arthouse gore hounds behind Machined have answered a question you never knew you had: How about a robo-serial killer made from scrap metal in a machine shop? I think the answer is still a tentative “no” even after seeing this mini-epic about a creepy, hairy, shirtless dude who turns a guy he hit with…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 1 '08

Super Dexterous Japanese Motoman Robot Chef Makes Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki’s a Japanese omlette/pancake dish that’s made of a mish-mash of anything you like. I love them. Kotaku’s Ashcraft loves them. This Japanese robot can make them. This makes it the best robot ever. http://kotaku.com/357545/mrs-bashcraft-explains-okonomiyaki It’s called the Motoman SDA10, and it’s an industrial robot made for working alongside humans, not replacing them. They’re supposed…

Tech News Jason Chen Dec 1 '08

v-Pod: Beer and TV, Together At Last

Sure, most of us have enjoyed a cold one while watching TV. But there’s nothing worse than running off to the fridge during Sex and the City reruns the game. Now that hassle is over. Because the Micro Matic v-POD is both your TV and your beer dispenser. Constructed of stainless steel and loaded with…

Television Mark Wilson Dec 1 '08

Guillermo Del Toro Dances With Roald Dahl’s Witches

Now, here’s an idea that will give me nightmares for years: Guillermo Del Toro is going to direct the stop-motion feature adaptation of Roald Dahl’s fantastic novel The Witches, where a small boy gets trapped in a hotel while the annual convention of witches is taking place. The brilliant Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), was…

io9 Meredith Woerner Dec 1 '08

SMS Touch: Send Free Text Messages Through Email

From the maker of handy iPhone landscape typing program TouchType, SMS Touch is an iPhone app that allows users to send unlimited text messages without paying for an SMS plan. https://gizmodo.com/touchtype-allows-for-landscape-writing-in-iphone-mail-5060686 It’s a clever idea. Avoid that $15 unlimited texting plan from AT&T by using your free email to send SMS messages. With SMS Touch,…

Tech News Mark Wilson Dec 1 '08

An Orbital City Converts Solar Energy Into Decadence

The Jumpgate Evolution MMO won’t be out until next year, but it’s already spawning some fantastic concept art, including this image of the Solrain SolCore. It looks like some kind of huge orbital sin hub, powered by solar energy and the hunger of deep-space pilots. More concept art below. The extension of NetDevil’s Jumpgate franchise,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Dec 1 '08

CurrenKey Coin-Shaped Flash Drive: It’s Almost a Good Idea

Kudos to LaCie for making their flash drives more portable—although, the coin-shape may prove problematic. It won’t be long before your sensitive data ends up in the hands of some Starbucks employee. It is definitely thicker than a traditional coin, but the metal exterior of the USB 2.0 drive enhances the illusion, making it easy…

Tech News Sean Fallon Dec 1 '08

Robot Christmas (1958)

Well Medicated recently compiled a number of paleo-futuristic images (mostly stolen from the always-excellent blog Modern Mechanix), including this one from the December, 1958 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. The robot family of the future sure is adorable, putting up their Christmas tree and all. If you recall, Parade magazine had a more terrifying depiction…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 1 '08

Why You Should Never Call Science Fiction “Sci Fi”

What’s in a term? Apparently a lot, if this discussion from 1997’s SF Vortex is anything to go by. Never mind the excitable host. Watch the debate between writers J. Michael Strazcynski, Harlan Ellison, Yvonne Fern and Herbert Solow (the man who not only developed Star Trek as a television series, but also gave Gene…

Television Graeme McMillan Dec 1 '08

A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes

Nick Harkaway’s first novel, The Gone Away World, proves that you can only talk about the really important things in the world by resorting to science fiction. At the heart of this silly, horrifying romp is a brilliant science fictional conceit for talking about the senselessness of war: a super-weapon that isn’t just senseless, but…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 1 '08

Instant Xmas Tree-In-a-Pizza-Box Is Probably Made by ACME

The fully-decorated tree in a pizza box is one of those amazing ideas that kick ass and sucks all what’s good about Xmas at the same time. Yes, I hate it. I mean, look at it. You buy the thing, it comes in a flat pizza box, you put two sticks together, place the flattened…

Gadgets Jesus Diaz Dec 1 '08

Planet of the Apes Gets Serious and Goes Hard Science

Fox is close to nailing down its new entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise: Called Caesar, it’s a flick about the super-intelligent monkey who is an ancestor of the new rulers of Earth. Scott Frank will be directing and writing, which is a good sign: He wrote the amazing reincarnation thriller Dead Again,…

Movies Annalee Newitz Dec 1 '08

Apple Ships Mini DisplayPort Adapter In Huge MacBook-Sized Box

Speaking of Mini DisplayPort, here’s another entry from Apple in the shipping hall of shame. They’re shipping the five-inch Mini-DiplayPort-to-DVI adapter in a box that’s bigger than the MacBook’s. Check out the waste. https://gizmodo.com/apples-mini-displayport-might-not-be-bs-proprietary-por-5100514 As Kevin notes, it might seem nitpicky, but when you compare this to how much Apple boasts on the MacBook’s green…

Tech News Matt Buchanan Dec 1 '08

Doobiebot is Harbinger of a Future Where Pot is Legal

I love this little bot whose fingers are made of roach clips. In the future, when pot is legal and alcohol-drinking is for people who experiment with dangerous retro-drugs, you’ll be able to choose from a whole line of doobiebots who scoot around with burning joint-ends and say things like “Dude, don’t bogart that joint!”…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 1 '08

Genetic Testing Promises to Reveal Your Child’s Sports Aptitude

For $149 dollars, Atlas Sports Genetics will test your child’s DNA and send you a report listing the sports where your child is likely to succeed. Some parents see it as a way to steer their child toward an activity that is a good match for their abilities. But psychologists and ethicists fear that assigning…

io9 Lauren Davis Dec 1 '08

Exclusive Clip Shows Why Keanu Can’t Fill Original Klaatu’s Boots

Michael Rennie, stoic actor and first to don the silver spaceman duds in the 1951 classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, has left Neo some mighty big space boots to fill. Don’t take our word for it — just check out this exclusive clip from one of the featurettes from the new TDTESS DVD…

io9 Meredith Woerner Dec 1 '08

Question of the Day: Who Is Most to Blame For the Walmart Trampling Incident?

Black Friday horror stories are inevitable, but nothing can compare to the trampling death of a 34 year old Walmart employee. But who is really to blame? Let us know—and feel free to vent. https://gizmodo.com/black-friday-horror-stories-5099983 Oh, and to make matters worse, the police investigation of the surveillance tape is not turning up any leads—so the…

Tech News Sean Fallon Dec 1 '08

New “Forbidden Planet” Delves into Creation of Alien Tech

With The Day the Earth Stood Still bowing next week, you’ll want to brace yourself for more epic re-imaginings of iconic 1950s scifi: J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Shakespearean alien melodrama Babylon 5, is hard at work on what he mysteriously calls “not a remake, not a reimagining, not exactly a prequel” of Forbidden Planet.…

Movies Annalee Newitz Dec 1 '08

It’s The Brig!

Product Manual Archive Gives Us a Glimpse of Gadgets of Yesteryear

Did We Really Need a Robo-Serial Killer? [NSFW]

Super Dexterous Japanese Motoman Robot Chef Makes Okonomiyaki

v-Pod: Beer and TV, Together At Last

Guillermo Del Toro Dances With Roald Dahl’s Witches

SMS Touch: Send Free Text Messages Through Email

An Orbital City Converts Solar Energy Into Decadence

CurrenKey Coin-Shaped Flash Drive: It’s Almost a Good Idea

Robot Christmas (1958)

Why You Should Never Call Science Fiction “Sci Fi”

A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes

Instant Xmas Tree-In-a-Pizza-Box Is Probably Made by ACME

Planet of the Apes Gets Serious and Goes Hard Science

Apple Ships Mini DisplayPort Adapter In Huge MacBook-Sized Box

Doobiebot is Harbinger of a Future Where Pot is Legal

Genetic Testing Promises to Reveal Your Child’s Sports Aptitude

Exclusive Clip Shows Why Keanu Can’t Fill Original Klaatu’s Boots

Question of the Day: Who Is Most to Blame For the Walmart Trampling Incident?

New “Forbidden Planet” Delves into Creation of Alien Tech

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