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The Majority of the US Population Support Government Phone Tracking

For all the media coverage telling the US public it should be up in arms about the NSA’s phone tracking, a new study from Pew suggests that the majority of the population couldn’t care less—and in fact support the practice. https://gizmodo.com/what-is-prism-511875267 Seems that 56 percent of Americans think that tracking phone call metadata is an…

The New Maps Icon Shows Off Apple’s Spaceship Campus

The devil’s in the detail, and when it comes to iOS that even includes the tiny elements that make up its icons. Like the new Maps one, which is focussed around Apple’s upcoming Spaceship Campus. Unlike the last icon, which suggested you drive off a bridge, the new one is centered on the plot of…

PS4 Has a 500GB Hard Drive and the PS4 Eye Costs $60 Extra

One of the questions we had about the PS4 before tonight was what kind of storage would it be packing. How big would it be? Is it built in? Would it be removable? Well, Sony answered it in their Japan press release for the PlayStation 4. It’s a 500GB HDD, just like the Xbox One.…

Alienware’s Hefty New Light-Up Laptops Are Available Right Now

It’s E3, and along with the new consoles, we’re also getting treated to a new line of Alienware laptops. The new trio of machines boast fresh 700M series Nvidia graphics and Intel’s new 4th generation Haswell chips, along with a new look that’s more like that X51 tower (which is getting its own guts update)…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: All About Bananas Etc

Is the humble banana really a superfood in disguise, one capable of revitalizing the British Isles after a tidal flood of misanthropy? Yann Gorriz thinks so. The documentarian has assembled this extraordinary explanation of Britain’s and India’s tightly-woven histories and the bananas that could save them both.

Sony’s PS4 Is $400, Available This Holiday Season

It’s throwdown time. We’ve finally got prices on both of this generation’s flagship consoles and PS4 is coming in low at $400, undercutting the Xbox One by a cool $100. The console war is on. https://gizmodo.com/the-xbox-one-launches-in-november-for-500-512324271 Between the lower price point, and the total lack of used game restrictions, Sony is definitely aiming for a…

PS4 Has No Used Game Restrictions, Is Totally Offline Capable

If there’s one thing that can kick Xbox One hard in the nads, this is it: The PS4 has NO new restrictions on used games! At all! And doesn’t need to go online to authenticate. Sony just won tons of hearts and minds. Xbox One has been getting a lot of shit for being stingy…

Chris Hadfield, Astronaut Extraordinaire, Announces His Retirement

Thanks for all the fish, Chris Hadfield. You made us all care about space after many decades of not caring. Here he is earlier today strolling into the Canadian Space Agency. “I’m making good on a promise I made my wife nearly 30 years ago — that yes, eventually, we would be moving back to…

Is Your Network Speed Getting Faster?

For whatever reason, Netflix has been publishing the average ISP speeds for every provider in the US for several months now. And while the top rankings haven’t fluctuated all that much in the last few months, Netflix did point out today that the overall average speeds for the top five have seen an a slight…

Sony PS4: Everything You Need to Know

After two long hours of tease this past February, followed by a few fleeting glimpses in May, Sony’s finally ready to show us what its next-generation PlayStation console actually, you know, looks like. And it’s… well, it’s a rhombus. A familiar-looking one. https://gizmodo.com/the-playstation-4-is-here-update-sort-of-5985701 “It is a design that is sleek and visually impactful wherever it…

Buried under all of today’s shenanigans is a rather significant update for Yelp’s mobile apps, which promise to serve up better suggestions under the Nearby tab. For now, the iOS version will recommend venues based on your “location, previous check-ins and reviews” and other stuff like the weather and time of day. [Yelp]

Company That Sold Controversial Cosplay Body Pillows is Backing Down

Pictures of costumed fans were being sold on giant body pillows, without the cosplayers’ consent. Can you even imagine the horror of seeing a stranger lugging a giant pillow — with your back side printed on the back? Luckily, the company behind these pillows tells io9 they’ve agreed to stop selling them. Yesterday cosplayer Carrie…

Really, Falling Skies? You’re going to do the Cylon glowing spine sex?

As part of its quest to throw every single possible idea at the wall and see what sticks, Falling Skies gave us this moment of glowy-spine sex, straight out of Battlestar Galactica. Given that a few BSG’s writers have also written for Falling Skies, it’s especially… odd. Spoilers ahead… In general, last night’s two-hour season…

Watch Sony’s PS4 Reveal LIVE Right Here

The last time Sony told us it was going to reveal the PS4, all we got was two hours of hype and a look at a very familiar-looking controller. Tonight, though? Tonight we’re going to see the full monty. And you can watch it here live starting at 9PM EDT/6PM PDT. Check out the stream…

The Ultimate Photo Shoot Location

Photographers often go to exotic locations for unbelievable situations to see never before seen areas of the world to get that one perfect shot. It’s a constant search of trying to outdo yourself to capture something new. But sorry, you can go to the ends of the world and not outdo NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy.…

Dust storms are on the rise in the American west

People living in Colorado, Utah, and other western states in the U.S. often remark that there seem to be a lot more dust storms these days. But is it true? One geology researcher wanted to find out. What she discovered may make you want to get a dust-filtration mask for the coming decade. Image via…

Legendary author Brian Aldiss reflects on years of strange book covers

Over at the Guardian, there’s a must-read feature where Brian Aldiss celebrates the publication of his final science fiction novel, Finches of Mars, by looking at six decades of weird book covers. Here are a few of our favorite quotes. The Dark Light Years Faber & Faber (1964) Faber were my first publishers. I never…

The Dirty Mac – Yer Blues

John Lennon of The Beatles, Eric Clapton of Cream, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience—each helped found some of the biggest musical acts in history. But for one magical night in 1968, these four musical maestros teamed up to form the superest of supergroups ever assembled and…

The Greatest Science Fiction-Themed Bars and Restaurants on Earth

You may never get to drink at the Cantina — but you can still visit some real-life watering holes that celebrate your favorite stories. We’ve already shown you science-fictional bars we’d like to visit and people whose homes are based on spaceships, but here are real joints that boast a TARDIS, AT-ATs or the Martian…

Lightsaber Knitting Needles: An Elegant Tool For a More Civilized Scarf

Knitting in the dark is all but impossible unless you’re a craft savant. But with this fun tutorial over on on Instructables, you don’t have to let the sun going down stop you from finishing that scarf, those mittens, or that lovely sweater. All you need to make these glowing lightsaber knitting needles is a…