Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
There’s been a ton of speculation about the HTC One M8’s strange new camera. With one large lens on the back and a slightly smaller one just above it, no one quite knew what to think. Is it just a 3D camera? Is one telephoto and one wide? Is it a light field camera like…
The new HTC One is here, folks! Last year’s model was one of the best Android phones you could lay hands on, but the smartphone world never rests. How does HTC’s big aluminum prizefighter stack up to the competition? We’ve charted all the most important specs and features for you below. https://gizmodo.com/the-new-htc-one-htcs-flagship-phone-gets-a-full-metal-1550634340 As far as…
Last year, HTC gambled on funneling its resources into a single flagship smartphone. That bet paid off in the form of the One, the first truly beautiful Android device. Its successor—the new HTC One—builds on that existing framework. It’s all grown up, in all the right ways. The Look We say grown up both because…
Many of us have suffered from broken bones, but it’s rare, outside of the most serious accidents, for bones to ever shatter. Now, researchers have worked out why: because our bones, it turns out, are filled with goo. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered that much of the mineral content from which bones…
Peat fires in Sumatra have been burning for weeks, producing thick clouds of haze and smoke. Deliberately set to clear land for palm oil, the fires have damaged air quality to the point where the local government has declared a state of emergency. Peat fires produce dense smoke when they burn. The fires are outlined…
Our favorite depraved data crunchers at the Pornhub Insights blog are at again, this time in collaboration with our other good friends over at Digg. And what do they have for us today? A city by city rundown of America’s favorite special alone time smut. In addition to granting data for each city’s favorite porn…
Hong Kong’s neon sign trade is fading in the face of new technology, but there are still skilled workers who craft the glowing lights by hand. The process is, by their own admission, painstaking, solitary, thankless, and steadily losing popularity, but these guys are still going at it. Watching them make the magic fixtures is…
Click and Grow’s second generation home hydroponic system launches today that, like its predecessor, provides urban gardeners an organic, pesticide-free, and nearly autonomous herb garden. Except the new Smart Herb Garden doesn’t need a bright window spot—it includes its own miniature sun. Actually, the Click and Grow Smart Herb Garden differs from the original model…
All of those images of a dystopian future where mankind is enslaved by giant robots don’t seem so terrifying if these inflatable air-powered alternatives are realized. Not only do they seem downright adorable and huggable, they’re also incredibly easy to make once a mould has been 3D printed. Inspired by a sea slug, which it…
Working with hourly pings that had no meta-data — no GPS, no distance, no speed, no heading — satellite company Inmarsat was able to determine the last known location for Flight MH370. Targeted searches in projected flight path area have turned up possible debris sightings. Inmarasat is a mobile satellite communications company. Their SwiftBroadband service…
Last night, Shigeru Ban became the 37th winner of the “Nobel for architecture,” also known as the Pritzker Prize. Ban is the most exciting winner in recent memory—here’s why. https://gizmodo.com/shigeru-ban-wins-the-pritzker-prize-architectures-hig-1550596664 The 56-year-old architect is far from a star. Rather, he seems like a fairly normal guy, apart from his unique ideas about architecture. Michael Kimmelman…
I knew I was going to freak out when I clicked on this video of a man stuck in The Tube, a long thin passage in the Lost Johns’ Cave—a large cave system on Leck Fell, Lancashire, England—as the water pours in and he panics. Fortunately, he escaped at the end. Note to self: Don’t…
Starting today, Spotify is offering US college students a killer 50 percent discount on its premium service: $5 per month for unfettered access to its on-demand catalog. That’s a great deal.
If you’re a regular buyer of Kindle ebooks, you want to go check your email; inside, there might just be a little present from Amazon waiting for you. And by “present” I mean “legally mandated compensation to make up for years of price-fixing.” Just like Christmas! Here’s the note going around to Amazon customers this…
The first ever entirely 3D-printed kayak isn’t just an impressive feat of engineering—it’s adorably child-like in its rainbow color scheme, too. Made up of 28, 3D printed sections, each has brass threaded inserts so neighboring sections can be screwed together. A little silicone caulk is used to keep things watertight, and the result is a…
Male or female, most of us have body hair—some far, far more than others. This video explains how testosterone fuels the growth of hair all over your body. Whether you want more of it or less of it—and wherever that may be—the key driver in hair production is the male sex hormone. This video explains…
D-Wave’s quantum computers have certainly demonstrated that they’re capable, but they’ve also received much criticism from scientists. Now, new results show that their technology could be even more solid than they’d claimed in the past. https://gizmodo.com/the-quantum-d-wave-2-is-3-600-times-faster-than-a-super-1532199369 D-Wave takes a different tack to quantum computing than most academics and researchers, favoring an applied approach which makes…
Apple has begun testing a new “related search suggestion” in the App Store, which may actually help make finding things easier. Because, damn, it couldn’t be much worse right now.
Google has just signed a deal with Luxottica. You may never had heard of ’em, but they’re the eyewear manufacturer behind the likes of Oakley and Ray-Ban—and they could, maybe, possibly, make Glass cool. Perhaps. The deal will see Luxottica bring “bring design and manufacturing expertise” to Google’s Glass project. Initially focussed on Ray-Ban and…
The New York Times reports that President Obama is planning to reveal a legislative proposal that will overhaul the NSA’s practices—and put an end to its bulk collection of phone records. The reports suggests that instead of allowing the NSA to gather and store call data, it would remain with phone companies. Further, carriers wouldn’t…