Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
In an attempt to give touchscreens another level of interactivity, researchers at Disney have come up with a remarkable way to generate tactile feedback as fingers slide across a smooth glass display. And all without deforming or changing the shape of the display in the process. Imagine a touchscreen keyboard where you can physically feel…
We might not always realize it, but a lot of the stuff we’re putting into our mouths has been meticulously engineered by Big Brother to turn us into robust, super-human specimens. Sure, it kind of sounds like the plot of a corny sci-fi flick—but we’d be nothing more than rickets-stricken piles of rotting teeth without…
As you may know, Gizmodo’s been going through some serious changes. The site design, yes, but also in terms of design coverage and getting to the core of how our surroundings shape our lives. We’re still the same straightforward and occasionally snarky Giz to the core, but in opening our arms to new ideas we’ve…
The iKettle might have a terribly cliched name, but it makes up for that unoriginality with loads of novel functionality that might just be enough to justify its $160 price tag. Maybe. After all, how many kettles do you know that politely ask if you’d like a piping hot cup of tea when you get…
Today, Amazon launched a new feature called “Login and Pay With Amazon” that allows you to use your Amazon account as both a payment method and login credentials for third-party retailers. It’s the Amazon Payments feature that’s already available combined with the third-party login service that’s already available from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.…
Moog Music’s new “Minifoogers” are a line of compact, analog effects pedals that’ll allow you to warp the sound of your guitar or another electrified instrument in myriad ways. They’re packed with all the Moog sound we’ve come to expect from the brand, without the high price tag its products usually command. The five new…
Harness the power of the sun with the Logitech K760 Solar Bluetooth Keyboard for only $50 today. It’s attractive, compact, and switches easily between your devices… and did we mention it’s solar? You’ll be like a God to them. [Amazon] refurb. Canon T3i w/ Kit Lens ($389) | Canon Ready for your first DSLR but…
The world goes by in a blur, but somehow, we keep our composure in the middle of it. This week’s Shooting Challenge participants celebrate that. And race cars. Plenty of race cars. WINNER: Subway I was on a trip with my family, and we were headed back to the hotel since my mom felt like…
The American kitchen has always been a battleground for competing visions of the future. But one of the most radical ideas for the kitchen of tomorrow wasn’t some Space Age design with all the bells and whistles — it was actually having no kitchen at all. At the turn of the 20th century the kitchen…
Ever scoffed over a piece of modern art, and thought you could make it and make it better? Photographer Sarah Anne Ward took that thought in the most delicious direction, turning eight iconic examples of modern art into desserts. Ward, a commercial photographer, gave the dessert treatment to pieces like Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog and…
A lot of watches claim to be designed for use by pilots, but just because they have an orange backlight to preserve night vision doesn’t mean they’re truly useful for aviation. That’s not the case with Garmin’s new D2 GPS watch, though. It seemingly puts an entire cockpit’s worth of instrumentation and data on a…
While cars like the Nissan Leaf and Tesla S are bringing electric vehicle technology mainstream, a team of student researchers are driving that technology to its very limit. The result: a record-shattering 300 mph bullet car that runs without a sip of gasoline. The Buckeye Bullet is a series of alternate-fuel vehicles designed and built…
You hear about the Higgs-Boson all the time, but do you know what it is? If the answer is no, fear not: It’s complex and confusing. Luckily, the New York Times has a beautiful, animated explainer to break it down for you in layman’s terms. [New York Times]
Google’s Chromecast wonder-dongle is now available outside the US! Order through Amazon, and you can have it shipped internationally, even though Google still isn’t formally offering it outside the States. [Amazon via DroidForums]
“Torrenting” is kind of a dirty word. It makes you think piracy, doesn’t it? Well it shouldn’t. Torrenting isn’t illegal. It’s not even morally ambiguous. It’s just a way to send data, and it’s awesome. Those are the points BitTorrent’s trying to drive home with its rad new ad campaign. Mysterious, anonymous billboards started going…
Welp, that settles that. Anybody who was wondering if authorities were going to keep going after the arrest of Silk Road kingpin Ross Ulbricht and start targeting users don’t need to wonder anymore. Multiple arrests have now been made worldwide, and it looks like more are on the way. This new wave of arrests knows…
Marissa Meyer’s parade of progress is continuing at Yahoo with a very sparkly redesign of Yahoo Mail. It’s got all things that are good, including more storage and cleaner navigation and threaded conversations. Frankly, this redesign does pretty much anything to make Yahoo Mail look more like Gmail. The similarity smacks you in the forehead.…
Google’s been leaky lately, first with Android 4.4 Kit Kat screens, and then with a whole manual for the Nexus 5. Now, some screens from Android Police are showing off the best upcoming feature on Android: SMS in Hangouts. Yes! Finally! Of course, as with any leaked screenshots this could be fake, but SMS for…
The Chemex Coffeemaker, a pour-over apparatus invented by scientist Dr. Peter Schlumbohm 70 years ago, hasn’t changed a bit since it was designed. It’s the very definition of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So how did this quiet little device gain such a following? Shlumbohm was responsible for the creation of more than…
There are many reasons the displays in all of your devices are as flat as a pancake, including the simple fact that curves result in distorted images that are hard to correct. But taking a design cue from nature, researchers at Disney have created a curved display that manages to avoid warping altogether. Instead of…
