Tech News

We Found the Building Blocks of Life on a Comet

Last week, a slew of scientific papers told the story of comet lander Philae’s bumpy touchdown,comet 67P’s surprisingly fluffy surface, and — most exciting — the discovery of life’s building blocks there. We haven’t found life. But we may have found part of life’s origin story, buried on this icy rock. When scientists say they’ve…

This 3D-Printed Machine Blows 14,000 Bubbles Per Minute

You can’t truly call it a lazy summer afternoon if you’re doing anything more than just sitting in a lawn chair soaking up the sun. So someone on Thingiverse has designed a 3D-printed bubble blower that can churn out almost 14,000 of them every minute. This is truly sloth at its finest, or working smarter…

10 of the most beautifully animated movies of all time

Some animated movies aren’t just cartoons for kids but paintings that have come to life, art that’s in motion and the realization of the imagination. It takes a lot of work to make an animated movie and CineFix has come up with a list of what they think the top 10 most beautiful animated movies…

T-Mobile’s Whole “Uncarrier” Thing Might Actually Be Working

CEO John Legere has long asserted that T-Mobile’s been No. 3 carrier in the U.S. for some time, but now he has the officials stats to back it up. According to new Sprint quarterly numbers, T-Mobile is now the No. 3 wireless service based on subscribers., gaining two million additions last quarter compared to Sprint’s…

Makerbase Is Like Liner Notes for Your Favorite Stuff On the Internet

Actors and musicians have the leading roles, but their support teams are acknowledged in ending credits and liner notes. But online creativity often discredits the editors, designers, and developers who quietly work in the background to make your favorite sites and services possible. Makerbase wants to change all of that. The site’s creators, Anil Dash…

Vloggers Faked a Surveillance Video, But Did They Destroy hitchBOT?

It’s now clear that two video bloggers faked a “surveillance video” showing the destruction of hitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot. What’s still unclear is whether the pair were responsible for actually destroying the bot, and whether we can expect more to come from their “prank.” Jesse Wellens and Ed Bassmaster were the last people to see…

You Can Make Cortana Ditch Bing for Google in Windows 10

Cortana makes the jump to the desktop in Windows 10, meaning you can get a more personalized experience through voice commands or the good old mouse and keyboard. But what if kind of hate Bing’s search engine? You can use a browser extension to redirect Bing queries to any search engine you choose. In this…

Seeing two magnets try to destroy things is a lot of fun

Magnets are one of the few things that make life more interesting. Just feeling its attraction to each other or seeing it connect together is always fun. Don’t trust me? Watch these two super strong neodymium magnets try and destroy things like an apple, a juice box, an iPhone and more and try not to…

Microsoft just announced that the Xbox One will become a full-featured DVR in 2016. This couples with the console’s latest feature for free over-the-air television. You can record shows while playing games, and content can be shared with any Windows 10 device or downloaded for offline viewing. Best part? It’s free.

Large Sinkhole (Hell Gate?) Opens in Brooklyn 

A large sinkhole has swallowed up an intersection in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, on 5th Ave. and 64th St. No injuries have been reported. The Reckoning approaches. The concrete shroud partitioning the dank gurgle of the Underworld has been pierced; the Devil has come to claim Brooklyn. It’s not clear yetif water lines are impacted,…

Here’s the First 3D-Printed Drug to Get FDA Approval

A new pill used to control epileptic seizures has just been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the first to be pumped out by a 3D printer. The drug, Spritam, is made with “ZipDose” 3D printing technology from pharmaceuticals company Aprecia. Why print the stuff? “Being able to 3D print a tablet offers…

All the Evidence Against Lizzie Borden—And Why She Was Acquitted

On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, were found hacked to death in their Fall River, Mass. home. The top suspect: Andrew’s daughter, Lizzie, who was acquitted but thereafter lived under the shadow of the crime. Why was Lizzie accused, and how did she beat the rap? Let’s take a look. Motive…

Steampunk Batman Is An Internet Fever Dream Turned Into An Action Figure

“The kids love the Batman! They love the gears and the steams and the punkiness! They also love mashing things together!”—someone, somewhere at Square-Enix, before deciding to unleash this wonderfully insane action figure onto the general populace. Yes, the DC variant line from Play Arts Kai that has already given us Cowboy Batman and Giant…

How To Pitch Freelance Stories to Gizmodo

If you’re a freelance journalist who covers science, technology, internet culture, and/or the future, we want your stories! Yes, we pay in actual money! Here’s how to send us your ideas. Who We Are Gizmodo is obsessed with tech, science and the world of tomorrow. We love slipstream journalism that combines speculation with skepticism and…

Malvertising Attack on Yahoo Is Another Reminder to Disable Flash 

In case you weren’t already aware that Flash is useless trash that you should disable immediately, consider the sad tale of last week’s malvertising attack on Yahoo. Hackers bought ads on Yahoo’s sprawling ad network, but the ads used malicious codeto hijack the computers of people with old versions of Flash on Windows. Yahoo shut…

Apple Wants To Be Your Smartphone and Your Carrier

Following (again) in Google’s footsteps, Apple may create its own mobile virtual network operator, according “sources close to Apple” via Business Insider. Like Project Fi, Google’s attempt at an MVNO with its own Nexus 6, iPhone users would pay Apple directly for calls, texts, and data. Technology is filled with all kinds of rumors and…

Acer’s Cloudbook: Like a Chromebook, But With Windows 10 for $170

Acer has just announced a new pair of computers that offer Windows 10 within a thin-and-light laptop case—and they start at just $170. The Aspire One Cloudbook comes in 11 and 14 variants, which refer to their respective screen sizes. They both feature 1.6GHz Celeron processors, 2GB of RAM, and full-size keyboards, along with USB,…

This Air Force Workshop Is Like an Engineering Operating Theater

At home, you might be content with a wrench and an oily rag to fix up your car. But that doesn’t cut it for Air Force mechanics. Here, members of the 23rd Component Maintenance Squadron Propulsion Flight perform maintenance on a TF-34 engine in spotless surroundings. The engine will find its way into a Moody…

What It’s Like to Lose Your Sense of Smell

Losing your sense of smell takes away more than scents and flavours – it can fundamentally change the way you relate to other people. Nick Johnson skims the lunch menu at the White Dog Cafe, a warren of little rooms and ante-rooms in Philadelphia’s university district. “Beef empanadas… I would have loved those. But all…

A Hack Turns the Square Card Reader Into a Skimmer

The Square Reader has helped lower the barrier to entry for many small retailers keen to take payments on card. Now, though, new research reveals that it’s possible to turn one of the readers into a skimmer. Security researchers have discovered that it’s possible to disable the encryption systems on the device to garner card…