Tech News

Google’s Got Two New Chromecasts That Have You Covered From Music to Video

When Google debuted Chromecast in 2013, the streaming dongle was a hit. While it’s been juiced up with new features over the past few years, we’ve been waiting for a true upgrade. The wait is over: At today’s Google Nexus event, Google debuted two new Chromecasts for television and audio. Here’s what we know about…

Google’s New Family Plan for Music Is a Damn Good Deal

Google just announced a “Family Plan” for Google Play Music. For just $15 a month, you get up to six accounts that family members can use on any device. The plan will even keep each preferences and recommendations. That’s a pretty good deal. The idea of a shared family plan for streaming music is hardly…

Edward Snowden Joins Twitter, Only Follows One Account: The NSA

Edward Snowden just joined Twitter. Everyone’s favorite whistleblower and data privacy advocate is gaining followers fast, but is only following one account at current: the NSA. Touché, Ed. Follow him @snowden. Snowden recently participated in the launch of the Snowden Treaty, an initiative named after him that would see countries swear to surveillance restrictions and…

The Nexus 5X Is the Resurrection of the Best Phone Google Ever Made

In 2013, LG made the Nexus 5, and I loved it. It was a simple device, a slab of a phone really with 1080p LCD display and matte plastic finish. But at $350, it was incredibly cheap and held its own with the very best. Now, LG and Google return with the Nexus 5X. This…

Nexus 6P: Google Reinvents Its Android Giant In a Cloak of Metal

The original Nexus 6 was a mammoth, and not just in size. It was a lovely combination of well-designed hardware and stock Android software, which made a huge phone finally feel right. How do you top the original? With a gorgeous aluminum body. The phone is 7.3 mm thick and has a 5.7-inch WQHD AMOLED…

Hand making a suit at home takes $4000, 10 months, cotton picking and a lot of animal shearing

What does it take to truly make a handmade suit? If you want to do every step of the process on your own, it takes a lot and a lot and a lot of work. Think about the materials that go into a suit: the cotton, the wool, the knitting, the silk and more. You…

Our Google Nexus Liveblog Is Here

Welcome to our Google Nexus liveblog, where we’ll be feeding you all kinds of Google goodies from new Nexus Android phones to maybe a Chromecast or two. And hey! There might even be some sort of tablet! This is also Google’s last chance to showcase Marshmallow, Android’s upcoming six dot zero release, before seeding the…

The Ultimate Power in the Universe Can Now Be Used to Charge Your Phone

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away it was used to blow up entire planets. But years later the Empire isn’t what it used to be, and the Death Star is now just the ultimate way to charge your mobile devices as a USB wall adapter. Available exclusively from ThinkGeek, the $30…

Microsoft Surface 3: One Of the Best and Most Accurate Tablet Displays

The key element for a great tablet has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge tablets have always flaunted their beautiful high-tech displays. The Microsoft Surface 3 is no exception. The Surface 3 tablet is a smaller and lighter version of Microsoft’s flagship Surface Pro 3, with a…

Amazon Flex Pays You To Deliver Strangers’ Packages

Want to drive around town and deliver Amazon Prime Now packages for up to $25 an hour? A new service called Amazon Flex launched today offering that very gig, starting in Seattle and rolling out to nine other major U.S. cities in the coming months. “Deliver smiles” and “be your own boss,” the Amazon Flex…

Self-Rolling Dice Are One Less Physical Burden in Your Life

If you’re having a hard time getting your tablet-addicted kids to gather around the table for a nice family game of Monopoly, a new Kickstarter for a pair of motorized dice that magically roll themselves might help tear them away from their touchscreens. Boogie Dice, invented by Nimrod Back, are only slightly larger than the…

Don’t Spread Those Bullshit Facebook Copyright Takedown Posts 

This post was originally published January 5, 2015, but this year’s second round of Facebook warnings are very similar, so everything still applies. This week, you may have noticed a surge in Facebook friends posting an alarmist message on their walls insisting that they won’t give Facebook permission to use and distribute the content they…

Amazon Prime Music Finally Gets Tunes From Universal Music Group

Amazon Prime Music is one of those little perks of Prime membership that may be nice to have, but that you don’t necessarily take advantage of regularly. Today, it becomes a more complete service that you’re more likely to use–because it’s getting music from Universal Music Group, the lone major label conglomerate that has refused…

Watch Google’s Marshmallow-Filled Nexus Event, Live Right Here 

Today, Google will unveil its latest Nexus phones — a Nexus 5X, made by LG; and a Nexus 6P, made by Huawei. Both will be stuffed with Android Marshmallow goodness, which isn’t just for developers anymore. And finally, we may get to ogle the next generation of Chromecast streamers too. Gizmodo will be there, eating…

Stop Facebook-Stalking Your Former Squeeze 

Breaking up is hard enough on its own, but when both you and your ex hang out on social media you can watch exactly how your (former) best beloved is moving on. A study in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking suggests that it’s probably healthier to click on something like a cat video…

Cargo plane makes a crazy low pass over fighter jets at an air base

Here’s a role reversal of sorts: an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane does a low pass right over some SU-25 fighter jets on a Ukrainian air field. Seeing the big boy plane delicately flying close to the ground over the nimble little planes makes for a pretty hilarious visual. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us…

Legend of Zelda Shield Backpack Must Be How Link Carries All That Gear

It’s always been a bit of a mystery how a child could carry a vast arsenal of medieval weapons, bombs, potions, and instruments in nothing but a tunic. But we might finally have an answer if it turns out Link’s shield was secretly always really a backpack. This officially-licensed Nintendo collectible from The Legend of…

This Trippy Image Could Help Us Treat Meningitis Better

It may look like a sci-fi space scene or a Fear and Loathing out-take, but this image, which shows a a zebrafish larva infected with meningitis, could help researchers develop new treatments for the disease. In the image, you can see the Cryptococcal meningitis organism as red dots in the brain of the zebrafish larva,…

This Art Installation Tests How Much You Value Your Personal Data

This art installation, Sensible Data by Martin Hertig, is a test: a test of how much you might be willing to give away about yourself in exchange for a little fun. On the surface it seems harmless enough. You can exchange a photograph of yourself for a line drawing portrait; an email for an assessment…

The latest version of Skype now supports Android Wear, allowing you to respond to messages —using pre-written responses or by dictating some text — as well as giving you the option to accept or decline calls.