Latest

Microsoft Doubles Down On the “PC Era” with Healthy Dose of Rhetoric

The PC is awesome; the future rosy! So says Frank Shaw, Microsoft spokesman, who blogged this week we’re in a “PC Plus” era, not “post-PC.” Embarrassingly, I thought PC plus meant the extra adware that came standard with Windows. [AppleInsider]

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 21

2011 Hugo Awards: A good night for time travel, artificial intelligence, and Asimov’s Magazine

The 2011 Hugo Award winners were just announced, and it’s a good year for time-travel stories, including Connie Willis’ Blackout/All Clear and Doctor Who’s fifth season finale. Plus it’s an excellent night for Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. So, the winners: Best novel: Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis. She gave a really lovely speech about how…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Aug 21

Smoking Robots of the Future (1931)

This picture of the bucket-headed Willie Vocalite appeared in the September 6, 1931 San Antonio Light. Designed by Westinghouse engineer Joseph Barnett, Willie appears to have been programmed with a fondness for nictoine. Early 20th century inventors sure loved to make robots smoke, (when they weren’t shooting apples off their heads). So much so, that…

Tech News Matt Novak Aug 20

io9 Roundup: August 20, 2011

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: 8/14 -8/20 | Zano’s Hipster Thundercats. (Spotted on Super Punch.) We’ve seen the first footage from The Avengers! https://gizmodo.com/weve-seen-the-first-footage-from-the-avengers-5832914 The first extended look at The Avengers just premiered at Disney’s D23 Expo. Here’s our spoiler-y rundown of what we saw. Here’s the spoiler-free version. More » Spy Kids 4 is the 21st century equivalent…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 20

This Is Why You Don’t Mess With Raptors

If “Jurassic Park” taught me anything, it’s that Velociraptors are terrifyingly awesome. So hearing Sam Neil give that classic speech brings me right back to that fascination. And the terror. Don’t forget the terror. [This Is Colossal]

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

New John Carter footage shows off Martian super-leaping and gigantic, lovable lizard-dogs

John Carter director and Pixar stalwart was on hand today to introduce some new sneak peek footage from his upcoming adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom books about a broken Civil War veteran who becomes Mars’s greatest warrior. Spoilers ahead! Stanton was joined by stars Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), Lynn Collins (the humanoid Martian princess…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 20

A UFO shut down an airport in China this week

Earlier this week, a stereotypically round UFO flew over and shut down Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in southwest China. It wouldn’t be summertime without some high-profile Chinese UFO sightings, and this was one was most certainly not a lantern. https://gizmodo.com/a-slow-brooding-look-at-the-ufo-that-shut-down-an-airp-5588554 [NTDTV via Real UFOs]

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 20

Gaddafi Reportedly Flees as Cellphone Rebellion Spreads Across Tripoli (Updated)

Reports are coming in from the regions that Muammar Gaddafi and his sons have fled Libya. Al Jazeera reports that Pro-Gaddafi residents in Tripoli have gotten texts telling them to “eliminate agents with weapons.” Tweets from the region show that anti-Gaddafi fighters have answered the call to take to the streets. Explosions and gunfire have…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

We’ve seen the first footage from The Avengers!

The first extended look at The Avengers just premiered at Disney’s D23 Expo. Here’s the spoiler-free version: everything we saw looked like an awesome mix of epic, funny, and badass. And now, for the spoilers… The footage began with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in prison on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) addresses…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 20

Englishman Slows Speeders by Installing… a Bird Feeder

Driving fast is awesome. Getting tickets sucks. But at the end of the day, probably safer. One Englishman agreed. He noticed that speed cameras are a good deterrent for speeders. Only he didn’t need a camera. He used a bird feeder that looks like a camera. It’s really quite ingenious. 63-year-old Ian Magee of Williton,…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

Hitler Reacts to WebOS’ Death

No, these never get old and this one is great. The end is particularly funny—if you’re aware that HP is considering quitting the PC business, that is. https://gizmodo.com/hey-pc-makers-dont-quit-fight-5832629

Tech News Jesus Diaz Aug 20

What it’s like to play a mushroom as a trumpet

Boston area mushroom merchant Benjamin Maleson knows a thing or two about musical mycology. Watch him play “The Trumpet of Death,” a melodious (and not poisonous) mushroom you can blast like a kazoo. Watch him show you how. See also: Vienna’s Vegetable Orchestra. https://gizmodo.com/vegetable-orchestra-grow-your-own-guitar-5817756

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 20

Was Our Beloved 13-Year-Old Solar Power Genius Just Proven Wrong?

Many of you in the comments remarked that 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer’s breakthrough was nothing new. Fair enough. But it’d be different if someone totally disproved it. One blogger claims to have done it. Can I get an expert in here? https://gizmodo.com/genius-13-year-old-has-a-solar-power-breakthrough-5832557 The blogger’s entry has since been taken down (here’s the cached version), but the…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

Spy Kids 4 is the 21st century equivalent of The Children’s Crusade

Despite my elementary school diploma, I loved Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Why? It’s a chilling examination of an alternate reality in which children have become fellow travelers in global espionage, a parallel universe where Langley is run like Willy Wonka’s candy-colored calorie mill. Like Ender’s Game mixed with The Mickey Mouse…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Aug 20

The Biggest BLT Ever Weighs a F—-ing Ton. Literally

Because everyone loves bacon. St. Louis’s Iron Barley restaurant went after the biggest BLT world record this past week, and they owned it. What resulted was a behemoth of bacon perhaps too much even for Epic Meal Time. This BLT included: 600 pounds of bacon 440 pounds of bread 550 pounds of tomatoes 220 heads…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

Don’t Worry: HP Is Refunding You All Your TouchPad Money

In the midst of all the news about the TouchPad fire sale, some people might feel left out in the lurch with their pre-downfall tablets. You’re covered; HP will reportedly refund you your money or pay back the difference on the sale prices. https://gizmodo.com/so-will-touchpad-buyers-get-full-refunds-update-yes-5832304 It’s funny that the TouchPad has been selling like mad all…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

The Whimsical Adventures of Levitating Naked Ladies (NSFW-ish)

If you’re going to live in a house filled with clouds, balloons, and Spongebobs, you might as well live it up. Thank you, Chien-Wang Yang. Thank you. [Fubiz]

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

Dogs can reliably sniff out lung cancer, German study shows

A dog can accurately detect the early presence of lung cancer by sniffing patients’ breath, doctors in Germany say. While researchers have known for some time that dogs can sniff out the telltale signs of other forms of cancer, this is the first study that proves dogs can reliably smell this particular kind. This is…

io9 Rebecca Boyle - Popular Science Aug 20

Verizon’s 45,000 Striking Workers Will Soon Go Back to Work

Those seas of red outside Verizon stores will soon dissolve. Enough progress was made in the negotations to allow Verizon’s 45,000 workers that took to picketing two weeks ago to return to work on Monday. https://gizmodo.com/45-000-verizon-workers-strike-as-last-minute-contract-n-5828474 Said workers won’t have new collective bargaining agreements, but the talks will continue. The big issues—presumably pay raises and…

Tech News Kwame Opam Aug 20

Why the Cable Guy Is Never on Time, Mourning the Death of webOS, and the Other Best Stories of the Week

https://gizmodo.com/why-the-cable-guy-cant-keep-an-appointment-like-the-res-5831536 Why the Cable Guy Can’t Keep an Appointment Like the Rest of the World Your new pad is ace. All it needs now is cable. Easy! You’ll be all set in no time; just take a vacation day and wait for some dude to show up and run a line to a box. What?…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Aug 20

Microsoft Doubles Down On the “PC Era” with Healthy Dose of Rhetoric

2011 Hugo Awards: A good night for time travel, artificial intelligence, and Asimov’s Magazine

Smoking Robots of the Future (1931)

io9 Roundup: August 20, 2011

This Is Why You Don’t Mess With Raptors

New John Carter footage shows off Martian super-leaping and gigantic, lovable lizard-dogs

A UFO shut down an airport in China this week

Gaddafi Reportedly Flees as Cellphone Rebellion Spreads Across Tripoli (Updated)

We’ve seen the first footage from The Avengers!

Englishman Slows Speeders by Installing… a Bird Feeder

Hitler Reacts to WebOS’ Death

What it’s like to play a mushroom as a trumpet

Was Our Beloved 13-Year-Old Solar Power Genius Just Proven Wrong?

Spy Kids 4 is the 21st century equivalent of The Children’s Crusade

The Biggest BLT Ever Weighs a F—-ing Ton. Literally

Don’t Worry: HP Is Refunding You All Your TouchPad Money

The Whimsical Adventures of Levitating Naked Ladies (NSFW-ish)

Dogs can reliably sniff out lung cancer, German study shows

Verizon’s 45,000 Striking Workers Will Soon Go Back to Work

Why the Cable Guy Is Never on Time, Mourning the Death of webOS, and the Other Best Stories of the Week

Latest news

‘You Can’t Miss What Our Values Are’: Before Its Pivot to AI, Allbirds Sounded Very Different

The First ‘Clayface’ Footage Was Wonderfully Disgusting

Scientists Found Literal Ink From Ballpoint Pens in Martian Meteorites

The ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ Han Solo Proves You Really Can’t Replace Harrison Ford

BYD Is Rolling Out 5-Minute Charging on Several Popular EVs

Jury Does What Trump’s DOJ Wouldn’t, Deems Ticketmaster a Monopoly

Govee RGBIC TV Smart Light Bars Go on Clearance, Bringing Each Down to Under $25 on Amazon

EU Is Rolling Out an Online Age Verification App That Could Become the Global Blueprint

Latest Reviews

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

Let us help find what you are looking for...