Tech News

This Giant Terrarium Lamp Is a Beautiful Bedside Prism

The Companion Lamp looks like one of those glass prism planters discovered the chest of cookies from Alice and Wonderland that read “eat me,” chowed down, and grew five times its size. And I love it. The lamp a beautiful piece, made by ABJ Glassworks in Philadelphia. Each one has either silver or copper trim.…

Rebuilding the Web We Lost

We have the obligation to never speak of our concerns without suggesting our solutions. I’ve been truly gratified to watch the response to The Web We Lost over the last few days; It’s become one of the most popular things I’ve ever written and has inspired great responses. But the most important question we can…

Yep, 3D Printed Records Sound Awful, But They’re Still Pretty Awesome

If you don’t recognize it, that’s Daft Punk’s Around the World playing off a plastic LP created with a high-resolution 3D printer. It sounds awful, even worse than AM radio ever did, but that’s not what’s really important here. The fact that it exists at all is what’s neat, and it’s another example of how…

With $2.7 billion of revenue and a loss of .22 dollars per share, RIM did slightly less bad than expected. Yay, RIM!

New Peel-and-Stick Solar Cells Can Power Anything

You usually see solar cells on houses and buildings; those aren’t the only things they can power, obviously, but they’re too rigid to be adaptable enough to put most other places. Finally, though, Stanford researchers have invented the flexible photovaltaics that peel and stick like decals. Can you say solar-powered business card? These flimsier solar…

A Spotify Channel is now available on Roku 2 and Roku Streaming Stick. It’ll show up soon on Roku HD and Roku LT.

This Snow Globe Timelapse Is Freaking Gorgeous

Early leader for least corny, still cool holiday video: a timelapse shot through snowglobes of cities in Canada and England. OK, sure, the “snowglobes” are just glass gloves, but it’s still impressive, since the photographer says that the video is assembled from nothing but still photographs taken with a macro lens and a homemade tilt-shift…

The Lego Back to the Future Set Is Now OFFICIAL!

It’s official, people. We won! The Lego Back to the Future—one of the Holy Grails of Lego—is going to be an official set! The fans have spoken and Lego has approved it. They are going to produce it for everyone to buy it! Yes, i’m so excited. https://gizmodo.com/nerdgasm-the-official-lego-back-to-the-future-set-is-a-5906074 Just like it happened to the Lego…

Heads up: Nintendo’s Tvii for Wii U just went live—right on schedule.

Concrete Wine Bunkers Let You Get Drunk Even After the World Ends

We’re just hours from the Apocalypse at this point. It’s way too late to take any preventative action, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be ready for the aftermath. And what are you going to want when you’re battered and bruised, wandering around the torrid wasteland that once was Earth? Alcohol. All of it. https://gizmodo.com/7-ways-the-world-really-could-end-tomorrow-5969688…

This Top of the Line Roku Is Your Dumb-TV-Has-a-Braiiin Deal of the Day

Roku and Apple are two very different companies. That’s clear. Yes, they both make small puck-like boxes that are currently the preferred ways to add a Netflix streaming brain to your dumb TV. But that’s where the similarities stop. Apple’s TV system is closed, so you can’t do Amazon Prime streaming, or HBO Go, or…

Hey Australia, Is the World Over Yet?

I’m writing these lines on December 20, 2:54PM. In Australia, it’s December 21, 6:54AM. If you are in Australia, please reply in the comments promptly. We want to know if the world is over yet there or not. Also, if you have spotted any Nibirus, please tell us at once. Thank you.

A Sobering Look At Our Cold Robotic Christmases Of Tomorrow

We all laughed at Futurama’s prediction of a murderous, vengeful Robot Santa in the year 3,000. But it turns out we’re not really that far from the borgs taking over Christmas. The Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich probably thought it was creating a heartwarming Christmas greeting featuring its rolling, walking, and flying automatons. But…

The 100 Most Astonishing Images of 2012

We’ve seen some incredible images this year. Aerial shots of Dubai, crystalline ice on the open sea, moments of war, portraits of bugs. From our own massive image cache, we selected 100 of the most fantastic photos from 2012. This Girl Snuck Into a Russian Military Rocket Factory The Best Solar Eclipse Photos When You…

Stop Misleading People On Twitter, You Idiots

Sometime early in the boot-up of the blogosphere, April Fools became an odd tradition. People would put up stories that were intended to fool readers into believe something that wasn’t true. I did it once or twice myself, but came to believe it was a bad idea. Instead I celebrated the birth of my blog…

Iron Man Arc Reactor Ring Box Was the Perfect Proposal For a Comic Book Nerd

Eddie Zarick is a clever man. First, he has a girlfriend who is a comic book nerd and loves Iron Man (“She always calls me Tony Stark for all of the projects I have going,” he says). Second, he can make stuff like this cool motorized Iron Man arc reactor, which opens to reveal a…

The F-35B Stealth Fighter Descends Like a Wrathful God of War

Sure, the F-35 Lightning II program comes with a trillion-dollar price tag. Sure, it’s been beset by numerous production delays, system bugs, and fleet groundings. But damn if its vertical night landings don’t put the Harrier to shame. https://gizmodo.com/the-most-expensive-plane-of-all-time-takes-its-first-go-5877539 [Image: Lockheed Martin / Flickr]

Make Your Own Reindeer Lunar Module

Hey it’s almost Christmas so we’re feeling festive around here. We’re loving these DIY Rudolph Lunar Guidance Modules. If you’re also feeling the spirit, you can make your own adorable reindeer. Just buy a Lunar Lander from Papertronics (directions are included) and download the pattern for the horns. Hurry if you want it in time…

This Automated Land Mine Hunter Finds Its Explosive Quarry by Flailing About

Afghan roads routinely used by American forces are popular targets for IED mining—so much so that demining patrols have become routine. But what to do when an IED is discovered? Sure, you could send in an EOD officer to carefully (and slowly) defuse that IED at great risk to his life—hello, Hurt Locker!—or you could…

Facebook Might Make You Pay To Send Messages To Strangers

Today Facebook is adding a couple of new settings for messages to make sure you see the ones you need to see. And it’s also testing a system where you pay a buck to ensure someone you aren’t friends with reads a note you sent. Ugh, hopefully that test fails. Anyway, there are two new…