Tech News

The Gear That Got Us Through CES

Any tech blogger will tell you CES can be fun, but it is a grind. They will tell you loudly, and insistently. You will not need to ask. But to get through that joyous slog, we had some helpful sidekick gadgets to get us through (mostly) unscathed. Here are the Gizmodo Strike Force favorites. Eric…

Beats Music, the brand-heavy audio company’s streaming music service, goes live in the U.S. on January 21st. At $10 a month, or $15 for a five-user family plan on AT&T, the service’s human-powered curation hopes to distinguish itself from the likes of Pandora. [NYTimes]

Uber-Nerd James May Explains How Digital Cameras Work

James May is mostly known as the sensible one from the U.K. show Top Gear. But he’s also a bona fide tech nerd, and he’s here to explain exactly how the digital camera in your laptop, smartphone, or dedicated point-and-shoot works. Over at Head Squeeze, May and his team explain science, technology, and how all…

Now Neiman Marcus Customers’ Credit Cards Have Been Hacked

Target’s not alone in its credit card hacking woes: this week, high-end retailer Neiman Marcus acknowledged that credit and debit cards used in its brick-and-mortar stores have been compromised. Shopping sure seems dangerous lately. https://gizmodo.com/target-hackers-also-swiped-personal-info-of-70-million-1498591606 In a statement to security journalist Brian Krebs, a Neiman Marcus spokesperson says the retailer was alerted about a possible…

This Super-Tiny Windmill Could Someday Charge Your Phone

Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have come up with a way to build a nickel alloy windmill so small, 10 of them could be mounted on a grain of rice. And if all goes as planned, hundreds of the little things could end up in a case that charges up your smartphone.…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Mom Is a Knife Thrower

Why would you use your own child in a knife-throwing act? Why wouldn’t you use your own child in a knife-throwing act? Everybody knows that flesh wounds build character.

These pool tricks seem like they’re breaking all of Earth’s magnets

I’m not sure there’s an explanation for this amazing set of pool tricks other than the guy doing them, professional pool trick shot player Florian Kohler, is just impossibly good at what he does or that Kohler has somehow found a way to coax all of the magnets on Earth to bend balls however he…

Spectacular photos of SpaceShipTwo breaking the sound barrier

SpaceShipTwo just finished its third rocket-powered test and reached the highest altitude its ever been at 71,000 feet by hitting a maximum velocity of Mach 1.4. You can see the new reflective coating on the rocket plane’s tail booms which perfectly reflects the flame and our Earth. Lovely. Cant wait to book my ticket! Here’s…

Time traveling photographer adds herself into her childhood pictures

Genius. Photographer Chino Otsuka has discovered the art of time travel. Instead of exploiting a whole in the Space-time continuum to time travel, she simply digitally spliced her adult self into old photographs from her childhood. That way it looked like adult version of Otsuka was meeting child version of Otsuka. So clever. Otsuka explains…

Freiheit: George Lucas’ Very First, Very Worst Film

Many years before George Lucas decided it was ok to lie to the children of America, convincing them that tree-dwelling teddy bears with bronze age technology could really decimate the most capable military force in the galaxy, he started his directorial career with this short film about, um, freedom? Titled Freiheit, this 1966 short film…

This flying drone helicopter truck is a real life transformer

What is this? A flying drone? Eight flying drones? One flying helicopter? A moving room? A truck? It’s a little bit of everything. Called the AT Black Knight Transformer, it combines the vertical takeoff and landing of a helicopter with the off-road driving capabilities of a truck. So yes, that means it can fly and…

The Restaurant Inside LA’s Space Age Theme Building Has Closed

The restaurant inside an L.A. architectural icon has closed. Sadly, wannabe George Jetsons will no longer be able to pick up a cocktail at Encounter — the now-former restaurant inside LAX’s Theme Building. If you’ve ever flown through the L.A. airport you’ve no doubt noticed the space age, Googie-styled Theme Building. It was originally constructed…

This Six-Wheeled Stroller Can Roll Up and Down Stairs

Navigating a city with a child in a stroller is hard enough, but imagine doing the same with a set of twins. Those double strollers are like driving a miniature bus, and you’ll always be on the hunt for ramps, elevators, or a long way around a set of stairs. It’s a problem that designer…

Watch time getting frozen in these hypnotizing subway station videos

Photographer Adam Magyar took a high speed camera and recorded everything as his subway train car was getting into the station. Here’s the result in three spellbinding clips, part of his film Stainless, in three different cities: New York, Berlin and Tokyo. Above you can see 42 Street—Grand Central. Here’s Alexanderplatz in Berlin: And Shinjuku…

Are Other Vegas Businesses Benefiting from the Downtown Project?

The oldest freestanding bar in Vegas is Atomic Liquors, built in 1952, back when you could climb onto the roof and watch atomic bombs explode at desert test sites 60 miles away. If you sit long enough at its expansive bar, chances are Kent Johns will pull up a stool next to you and tell…

Awesome recording of space sounds exactly like a tropical rainforest

Birds singing, frogs croaking, animals walking, the sound of rain hitting trees, ponds, and the wet soil—if you listen to this video with your headphones you would believe you’re listening to the recording of a rainforest. But the truth is that you’re listening to space: CHORUS consists of brief tones which sounds like a chorus…

Professor Jyblitts sits down for an “automatic luncheon” back in 1903. The restaurant’s robot arms are even kind enough to take off his coat for him. — Read the full comic from the October 18, 1903 Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia

We Sure Watched a Lot of Porn During This Week’s Deep Freeze

Baby, it’s cold outside. But wait… You don’t have anybody to keep you warm? That’s what porn is for. During the polar vortex on January 7 and 8, traffic to Pornhub increased by over 40 percent in Maine and Michigan. Meanwhile, Florida saw a 37 percent increase during its uncharacteristically freezing days, too. Nationwide, it…

The Sun Is Your Zippo With This Solar-Powered Lighter

Perfect for smokers who live in windy cities, this compact parabolic reflector lets you harness the sun as your own personal lighter—one that’s immune to even the strongest winds. A spring mounted holder ensures your cigarette is always at the focal point of the sun’s reflected rays, and the $8 mirror is made of plastic…

Here’s what an explosion of flavors literally looks like

We know it’s tasty and delicious but who knew flavor could be so beautiful? This audio visual installation by Schwartz Flavour Shots riffs off the explosion of flavors one tastes with spices by literally exploding those flavors. Several tons of black pepper corns, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, cumin seeds, ginger, chili and coriander were placed in…