Latest

Awesome Batman Toy Cape With Pop-Out WingsTurns Kids Into Dark Knight

I’ve wanted to be Batman since I was a little kid, but I’ve never had the billions required to hire Morgan Freeman to construct swollass para-military gear for me to wield an overwhelming advantage over ill-financed and poorly equipped common criminals. So, I’m going to have to settle for projecting my dreams onto my future…

Tech News Matt Buchanan Feb 16 '08

Reuters/NHK: Toshiba To Pull Plug on HD DVD Next Week

Both Japan’s NHK and Reuters are reporting that Toshiba is going to finally pull the trigger on HD DVD, ending the format war after being punted by Wal-Mart (the country’s biggest retailer), Best Buy and Netflix. The official announcement will come next week, though Reuters’ source confirmed that “We have entered the final stage of…

Gadgets Matt Buchanan Feb 16 '08

PSP Time Machine Lets You Restore Firmware Versions of Old

Dark-AleX has just released a hack for the PSP that boots from the Memory Stick, and will allow you to select any firmware version you so choose. The app, dubbed Time Machine, will also boot-up PSPs with destroyed firmware, a second life for you not-so-great hackers out there. It functions via Pandora, and looks a…

Tech News Haroon Malik Feb 16 '08

Looking for Life on Mars with the Next Generation Rover

Definitely one of the coolest symposia at AAAS was the one this afternoon devoted to the Martian rovers — past, present, and future. On the panel were NASA’s Richard Cook, who helped design Spirit and Opportunity as well as the next Martian rover; Steven Squyres, a Cornell geologist who has been working with Spirit and…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 15 '08

Make Your Own Physical Gmail Notifier

There are quite a few email notifiers on the market, but none of those gadgets can give you the satisfaction that comes with building something with your own two hands. Given the fact that I am lazy and unskilled, I would just as soon purchase the device, but for anyone with skills and some determination,…

Tech News Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

Farmer Jones and the Year 2000 (1956)

The Independent Press-Telegram magazine, Southland (Long Beach, CA) dedicated their entire November 4, 1956 issue to “You and the Year 2000.” The section about farming appears below. The most odd scenario depicted is one in which an H-bomb actually makes crops grow better. The entire article by George Serviss, entitled “Anyone for a Garchidrose?” appears…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 15 '08

Darth Vader Vs. The Spartans

If you’ve ever wanted to see Star Wars mashed up with 300, then this clip from the short-lived 1978 show Quark may make you happy. Or maybe not. The Great Gorgon, a transparent Darth Vader rip-off, comes in his big orange Death Star to conquer the planet of Spartans… who surrender. I remember loving Quark…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 15 '08

New Atomic Clock Will Be Accurate for 200 Million Years

Physicists at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics have developed a new atomic clock that is so accurate, it will not lose a second of time in more than 200 million years. That makes the old atomic clock record holder and its 80 million year accuracy rating look like something you would get out of…

Tech News Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

Get Your Steampunk Freak On With New Webcomic

If you’ve been hankering for a beautifully-illustrated, free steampunk webcomic, then today’s launch of FreakAngels may be just the thing you’re looking for. The six page launch episode of the weekly strip by Warren Ellis and new artist Paul Duffield may currently be full of familiar Ellis-isms, but is worth your time for the art…

io9 Graeme McMillan Feb 15 '08

Palm Gets Dicky Towards RIM With Full Page Newspaper Ads

Remember the BlackBerry outage? You know, the one that happened on Monday? Palm sure didn’t, and they’re betting that you didn’t either, which is why they’ve taken out advertisements in major newspapers across the country to simultaneously kick RIM in the nads and pump up their own service. As you can see above, they’re emphasizing…

Tech News Jason Chen Feb 15 '08

World’s Largest Solar Farm Opens: A Billion Trees Probably Died to Build It

A solar farm has opened in Spain that consists of 120,000 solar panels over 100 hectares (247 acres). It also has a peak capacity of 20 megawatts and it can power up to 20,000 homes—making it the world’s largest solar farm to date. The farm is expected to generate an estimated annual income of $28…

Tech News Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

How To Create The Most Boring Villains In The Universe

Now that we know volume three of Heroes will be called “Villains,” it’s not too soon to start bracing ourselves for the worst. After all, that show hasn’t had the greatest track record in creating and sustaining villains so far. There’s no surefire way to make a villain scary and memorable. But there are some…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 15 '08

60 Second Charcoal Starter is Not a Bunch Of Hot Air…Wait, Yes It Is

I think that most people will agree that charcoal grilled burgers taste better, but getting those little briquette bastards to light can be more trouble than it is worth. Fortunately, there are dangerous man-tools out there that can help get the job done. Hammacher has just such a device—in fact, they claim that their starter…

Gadgets Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

Aircraft Carrier Condominiums In A Post-Nuclear Junkyard

Fallout 3 comes out later this year. Like the first two games, it’s all about surviving in a post-nuclear world full of mutants, radiation, and other bad stuff that wants to kill you. In the concept artwork above, you can see how mankind has adapted to what’s left of the world by building a makeshift…

io9 Kevin Kelly Feb 15 '08

ParaNav GPS Unit For Parachutists Helps Marines Avoid Errors…Like This One

Rockwell Collins has been selected by the US Marines to deliver 3,000 of its ParaNav GPS units for parachutists. Soldiers plummeting towards Earth will soon have the advantage of GPS navigation with a HUD that will help improve landing accuracy and allow for target zones to be easily changed on the fly. The system itself…

Tech News Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

Quaker Oats Working on an Oatmeal-Making Alarm Clock

The brilliant minds at Quaker Oats are currently hard at work on an alarm clock that’ll prepare a steaming bowl of oatmeal for you just as it wakes you up. Containing an insulated milk container, a clock and a heater, it’s got all the necessary equipment to make sure you stave off hunger with some…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Feb 15 '08

Tell George Lucas Why Star Wars Sucks

Back in 1983 we’re sure George Lucas got plenty of snail mail from angry fans telling him how much they hated the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, and asking him why he killed off Boba Fett in such a lame fashion. Now, 25 years later, he’ll be getting another slew of berating fans, this…

io9 Kevin Kelly Feb 15 '08

10 Ways to Saturate Your Home With LED Tackiness

LEDs are popping up in all sorts of home products these days. Now, I’m no interior designer, but I know that lighting can really make or break a space. With that in mind, here are 10 ways that anyone can utilize LEDs in their home (plus one way to outfit your wardrobe). And by anyone…

Tech News Sean Fallon Feb 15 '08

The Greatest Spaceships Made From Scrap

With the space shuttle program about to be retired, we need a new class of crewed ships for space exploration. But Congress may never cough up the money to build them. Luckily, science fiction teaches us that anything can be a spaceship: an old airplane, a World War II battleship, a fairground ride… or even…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 15 '08

Sony Magazine Says PSP Phone Could Come As Early As February? Really?

It’s not exactly a secret that Sony/Sony Ericsson’s making a cellphone that has PSP features in it. Hell, even the Sony Ericsson gaming boss says that a PlayStation-branded phone is coming some time. Sony Magazine’s putting an updated timeline on the project, saying that there are “suggestions that it could be in the shops as…

Tech News Jason Chen Feb 15 '08

Awesome Batman Toy Cape With Pop-Out WingsTurns Kids Into Dark Knight

Reuters/NHK: Toshiba To Pull Plug on HD DVD Next Week

PSP Time Machine Lets You Restore Firmware Versions of Old

Looking for Life on Mars with the Next Generation Rover

Make Your Own Physical Gmail Notifier

Farmer Jones and the Year 2000 (1956)

Darth Vader Vs. The Spartans

New Atomic Clock Will Be Accurate for 200 Million Years

Get Your Steampunk Freak On With New Webcomic

Palm Gets Dicky Towards RIM With Full Page Newspaper Ads

World’s Largest Solar Farm Opens: A Billion Trees Probably Died to Build It

How To Create The Most Boring Villains In The Universe

60 Second Charcoal Starter is Not a Bunch Of Hot Air…Wait, Yes It Is

Aircraft Carrier Condominiums In A Post-Nuclear Junkyard

ParaNav GPS Unit For Parachutists Helps Marines Avoid Errors…Like This One

Quaker Oats Working on an Oatmeal-Making Alarm Clock

Tell George Lucas Why Star Wars Sucks

10 Ways to Saturate Your Home With LED Tackiness

The Greatest Spaceships Made From Scrap

Sony Magazine Says PSP Phone Could Come As Early As February? Really?

Latest news

Anker Restocks Its 2,000W Power Station and Cuts It by Almost 40% for Prime Day

Samsung Goes Liquidation Mode on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, 512GB Now at Its New Record Low on Amazon

The DJI Osmo 360 Just Hit Its Record Low, Native 8K Video That Makes GoPro and Insta360 Sweat

This 5-Port 2.5G Network Switch Just Hit Its All-Time Low on Amazon, 177,000 Reviews Don’t Lie

What Would Jesus Do? Invest in Palantir, Apparently

This Breville Espresso Machine Has a Touchscreen and a Built-In Grinder, Amazon Drops It to Its Record Low

Logitech Drops the MX Master 3S to Near Record Low, 8K DPI Mouse Now Cheaper No-Name Copycats

How to Watch Norway vs Senegal Livestream Free from Anywhere

Latest Reviews

HP OmniBook Ultra Review: Perfect, if Not for the Little Things

Fender Elie 6 Review: So Close to Being Great

Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights Review: A Colorful Way to (Kind of) Light Your Patio

Logitech’s Folding Travel Mouse Fails at the One Thing That Matters Most

Maingear MG-1 (2026) Review: A Clean, Serene Gaming Machine for a Premium Price

Segway Navimow X430 Review: A Featureful Mow-Bot

GoPro Mission 1 Pro Review: The Best GoPro, Just Not the Best Camera

The Best Tech Gifts for Father’s Day 2026

Let us help you find what you’re looking for...