Tech News

Anyone Can Blow Past Your iOS 7 Lockscreen to Make Calls

Just the other day we came across an iOS 7 vulnerability that will let creeps see your photos and even share them from behind the lockscreen. But that’s not all! Turns out you can make calls from behind the lockscreen too. This bug was discovered by Karam Daoud, and it’s even easier to pull off…

Our Favorite iOS, Android, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Hello! You might notice that Apps of the Week looks a little different this week. You might also have noticed that our usual App of the Day posts were conspicuously absent. Things are changing, and we’re replacing App of the Day with a new, improved, and Windows Phone-inclusive Apps of the Week. Let us know…

I Would Totally Freak Out If I Saw This Man Flying on a Broom

For a second, I was stunned that a flying broom can lift a human into the air. Then I realized how silly I am. And then I secretly wished it were true that people could fly on brooms. Then I swore that some angles of the video looked real. And then I realized that it’s…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Blue Alley Waltz

Nothing about Sinitus Tempo’s newest music video makes any sort of sense. And, you know, it’s kinda better that way. Animator Ben Luce spent over three months creating this two and a half minute psychedelic short. Blue Alley Waltz is off of Sinitus Tempo’s album The Final Odyssey. Check out more of his music on…

This Week’s Top Comedy Video: Everything Is Samuel L. Jackson’s Fault

Other than being beautiful (not that Samuel L. is beautiful) and rich and powerful, being a celebrity must be really crappy. Can you imagine all the strangers rushing up to you? Can you imagine all the weird demands that ‘fans’ have? Can you imagine all the delusional people blaming you for doing your job? Samuel…

Did You Buy a New iPhone Today?

Though it didn’t seem like it if you were hanging out at the mall or watching the local news or perusing tech websites, the truth is most of the world did not buy a new iPhone today. But a few of you did! Probably more than a few! Did you get in the trenches at…

Leaked iPad Mini 2 Casing Shows a Possible ‘Space Gray’ Version

So with the iPhone 5S, Apple introduced a new ‘Space Gray’ color that is its new black. Not in that tired fashionista way where trends are considered the new black but in a completely literal way in that Apple is calling its black ‘Space Gray’. So maybe it’s not surprising that a supposedly leaked iPad…

Most Beautiful Items: September 14 – 20, 2013

iPhone, iPhone, and uh, more iPhone. We heard a lot about the new iPhones this week. But we also discovered some completely unrelated wonders like a famous Joy Division designer’s plans to rebrand Kanye West, or an urban farm in a Shanghai mall. Here are some of the loveliest things we found this week: What…

Touchy-Feely Speakers Hint at the Future of Haptic Interfaces

Touchscreens are flat and hard by necessity—thanks to their dense layers of glass, conductive metal, and capacitors. But as haptic interfaces start to appear in commercial gadgets, touchscreen devices are poised to become even more… touchy. Enter Eunhee Jo, a Korean designer who’s spending the next year as a designer in residence at London’s Design…

This Dizzying Zoetrope Turns a Spinning Flatscreen Into a 3D Light Show

Zoetropes are nearly as old as civilization—the first one was invented in 180 AD—but this is an entirely new spin (so to speak) on the same basic concept. This flatscreen monitor spins at such high speeds that our eyeballs are tricked into perceiving the two-dimensional animations playing on its surface as 360 degree figures. The…

iPhone 5S Camera Battle: A Stand-Up Camera That Doesn’t Stand Out

We spent the morning and afternoon testing out the redesigned iPhone 5S camera to get a sense of how it compares to its predecessor, as well as to the cameras on its biggest competitors. Without a doubt, it’s a solid shooter that incorporates some improvements, but mostly, we’re just damned impressed at how far smartphone…

This Concrete Tableware Brings a New Dimension To Dining

When it comes to tableware, are traditional round dishes hopelessly square? Architect and designer Vidó Nóri’s brand new geometric collection not only casts aside the circular shape, but also ditches ceramics for the industrial appeal of concrete. The gently bent trays and dramatically creased bowls might be more statement and special occasion pieces than the…

The Most Popular Cocktail Ingredient You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

You’re out on a date. You’re hoping to impress your companion and come off as a worldly gentleman or gentlewoman, but the bar menu is chock-full of alien ingredients. Your choice is simple: Get the one with fernet. It’s Friday afternoon, you’ve made it through the long week, and it’s time for Happy Hour, Gizmodo’s…

Other Kitchen Devices Can Harness Power from Your Microwave

When your microwave is sitting there glowing and spinning inside, do you ever wonder where all those stray rays of energy go? Turns out they usually just slip out the door, into thin air. But a Japanese scientists has found away to harness that power and use it to juice your other appliances. Yoshihiro Kawahara,…

Everyone’s a Master Bartender With This App-Connected Drink Scale

You’ve mastered opening your guest’s beers with your bare hands, but what about when a dinner party calls for something a little more sophisticated? You can try you hand as an amateur mixologist, hoping you’ve got the proportions right for the perfect cocktail. Or wait for Brookstone’s new Perfect Drink system that guarantees precise pours.…

This Week in Time Capsules: Lost “Steve Jobs Capsule” Has Been Found

This week we have a 1913 capsule in California that for some reason contained hair clippings and a tooth; an Andy Warhol capsule that will be opened in Pittsburgh tomorrow; and a TV crew that finally found the long-lost Steve Jobs time capsule in Colorado! TV Crew Finally Unearths “Steve Jobs Time Capsule” Missing Since…

Military Scientists Use Yelp and Digg To Test Viral Marketing Skills

In the age of Reddit and BuzzFeed, it seems like everybody wants to know the secret to making things go viral. Even the military wants to know how to make things go viral, and one research team says they’ve figured it out—using an algorithm they tested on social networks like Digg and Foursquare. Wait, why…

Ouch. BlackBerry announced a quarterly net operating loss of nearly $1 billion and plans to cut 4,500 jobs on Friday afternoon, shortly after trading was halted. By 2015, the company plans to cut operating expenditures by 50 percent.

Apple TV Just Got Support For iTunes Radio and More

Apple TV didn’t even warrant a mention at the iPhone event earlier this month, but as expected, the set-top box just got a software overhaul. https://gizmodo.com/rumor-theres-an-apple-tv-software-refresh-coming-next-1291904556 There aren’t any surprises in store, because most of this update had already been predicted. Anyway, Apple TV 6.0 features support for iTunes Radio and stuff bought from iTunes.…

How To Talk Your Friends and Family Through iOS 7

It’s already happened to you and now it’s happening to the ones you love. They’re staring at their iPhones in bewilderment and disbelief. Everything that made so much sense a few days ago is different, and scary. You want to talk them through the change, but where can you start? Here’s a template: [Mom/Dad/Bro/Sis/Grandma/Grandpa/Roommate/Stranger crying…