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Sony first called it the Stowaway in the UK, the Freestyle in Australia, and the Soundabout in the U.S. — but eventually it would become known everywhere as the Walkman. https://gizmodo.com/stealing-my-brothers-walkman-1598510972 From Untapped Revenue: Smartphones, A Smart Move for the Music Industry by Hunter David Ripley: One of the first portable cassette players that Sony…
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 is a satellite tasked with tracking carbon sequestration around the world. It could revolutionize climate science, if only it could get into orbit. The original satellite crashed into the ocean, while the replacement’s launch was scrubbed in the final minute of countdown. Timelapse of the Mobile Service Tower (MST) rollback to…
Monty Python’s new mostly-live-show premieres tonight at the London O2 Arena. And they just released this video to show a little bit of what a few lucky bastards will get to see. As the reader LoadStar points out, the shows will be broadcasted live here. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…
Real estate is a fun adventure for many reasons, including the possibility that the building’s former owner may have left something behind. That was the case recently when an elderly woman bought a building in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, only to discover the perfectly preserved remnants of an old arcade on two floors. It’s like a…
Don’t you wish your furniture looked more like the surface of the Earth? No? Well maybe you should, because holy crap—it is beautiful when done well. And designer Greg Klassen does it well. This Washington-based furniture maker handpicks timber from around the Pacific Northwest that he sculpts into intriguingly rough yet strikingly sophisticated pieces. Klassen’s…
We’ve all see those best of Vine compilations, but until today, there hasn’t been a way to actually tell which Vines are the most-watched Vines of all. “Loop count” takes care of that. When you’re on the Vine website, the little number in the bottom right corner of a given video will actually update in…
This security camera from Foscam has night vision, on demand panning and tilting, and even smartphone monitoring. Plus, it isn’t even owned by Google! [Foscam Security Camera, $55] This Qi charging pad is slim enough to build into your furniture, and it’s only $20 today. [Anker Qi Charger, $20] If you live anywhere that experiences…
Believe it or not, even with films like Jaws in existence, some people are still willing to swim in shark-infested waters. Spotters and underwater nets help provide some level of safety, but these new sonar-equipped intelligent buoys being developed could finally make it safe—or at least safer—to go back in the water. The Clever Buoy…
You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of headphones, but should you? Lifehacker tackles the delicate balance between budget and booming bass below. https://lifehacker.com/are-high-end-headphones-really-worth-the-money-1597964432
Once again, Screen Junkies slam a crappy piece of cinema: Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes. Just in time before the new prequel opens in theaters. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
Gareth’s story about coyote-wolf hybrids inhabiting Rock Creek Park caused quite the stir in DC. Now, The Washington Post has dug a little deeper with this article.
Ever wanted to head out into the frozen backcountry on a snowmobile? Wilderness Collective did just that last winter, tackling a 400-mile section of the Iditarod trail and recording the experience in this video.
Birds are a traditional subject of nature photography, and usually are seen as specimens of beauty. But the parrots that soar and roost around Tokyo are portrayed in the work of Yoshinori Mizutani quite differently. The birds, actually parakeets, are not native to Tokyo. They were originally imported in large quantities as pets in the…
Here at Gizmodo, we love fun facts. But we think they’ve been treated pretty poorly on the internet. Too much of the trivia passing through our Twitter and Facebook streams is filled with lies. So we’re starting a new site that hopes to fix some of that. It’s called Factually. We have two goals: First,…
The LG G Watch is one of the first Android Wear wristables to reach the arms of those anxiously waiting for a smartwatch that’s more than hype. Until now, the options have all been a little clunky, lacking either beautiful hardware, usable software or both. This is better. But that doesn’t make it good enough—yet.…
So you want Google Cardboard. It’s awesome! Except that you weren’t at I/O and you don’t want to have to wait for a kit from DODOcase. Luckily Google put the plans online so you build one yourself from scratch. Here’s what that process looks like. https://gizmodo.com/why-a-chunk-of-cardboard-might-be-the-biggest-thing-at-1596545955 This handy little timelapse from reverendkjr will not make…
Barbie’s dreamhouse might have everything from working elevators to a pool, but no one would actually want to live inside that pink nightmare. These stunning modern dollhouses from Warsaw are a different story—to the point where your kids might wonder why they have to live in the tiny bungalow you call home. The designs of…
The Walkman turns 35 today. If you own one still, it is probably dusty, and maybe moldy, and definitely gross and old. But for a while, a Walkman was the thing. Especially in my house. When I was young I wanted nothing to do with a Walkman. At 10-years-old I wanted what every other kid…
Our world of amazingly tiny electronics is about to get even tinier. After a decade of research, IBM says it’ll bring carbon nanotube transistors to market by 2020. The company is now readying the technology to take over from silicon transistors, and that opens up a lot of exciting doors. Currently, Intel’s smallest silicon transistor…
Star Trek’s replicators were not only able to produce any food or products our far-off descendants wanted, they were also able to make it from any kind of waste products. It was the ultimate recycling scenario, one that the new Ekocycle Cube 3D Printer hopes to emulate by using a new filament made in part…
