Tech News

The Onion Reveals Facebook’s Secret History

The Onion’s Extremely Accurate History of the Internet rolls on, this time shining a light on social networks, YouTube, and Hitler. Yep, that sounds like the internet! https://gizmodo.com/the-onion-tackles-its-most-important-topic-ever-the-hi-5960466 Here’s one of the latest entries, which takes a look at Facebook’s creepy stalker origins. Thank goodness the site’s matured into the creepy stalker dynasty it is…

Facebook Has New Privacy Settings: Here’s What’s Different

As surely as the sun rises, Facebook will keep revising its privacy settings in an effort to keep everyone from complaining. Starting today, there’s a brand new method, and it’s simpler than ever before. But there are some catches. Easy shortcuts The first thing you’ll notice is a simple, obvious means of hitting the main…

Now that Republic Wifi is out of beta, unlimited data is just a monthly $19 and Wi-Fi signal away.

Woman Caught Smuggling Cocaine Inside Her Breasts

A woman has been arrested by airport police carrying almost three pounds of cocaine in her breasts. Not in her bra, no—inside her breasts. You can see the cocaine implants in this image. They are 1.5 pounds each. The woman was traveling from Bogotá, Colombia, to El Prat airport, in Barcelona, Spain. The police thought…

The Best Gifts to Give (or Receive) About Paleofuturism

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for that paleofuturist in your life, might I suggest a few of the books and DVDs currently sitting on my shelf? Well, not these books exactly. But different copies of these books that you can buy from a reputable retailer. You get the picture. Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions…

How To Design Like Apple

Apple is known for its beautiful, simple product design. Minute MBA lays out how to replicate that, based on five basic rules. As we all know by now, Steve Jobs was a notorious perfectionist, but that’s not the only reason iPads and iPhones almost sell quicker than Apple can make them. There are also some…

What Do You Think Belongs in an Internet Museum?

Today, The Big Internet Museum is opening its figurative doors to, well, the Internet. Just like any museum, “wings” are divided into sections like Audio-Visual, Social Media, and Gaming, and temporary exhibits will be springing up from time to time. Entries range from logical (the invention of HTML) to the absurd (double rainbow guy seems…

Facebook Helped the FBI Bust an International Crime Ring

Facebook: it lets you find out way too much about your weird cousins, aids you in stalking your exes, and now, it helps the feds fight crime. In partnership with the FBI, Facebook assisted in nabbing a giant international crime ring that had been stealing the identities of people and doing $850 million in financial…

Portable Presents for the Frequent Traveler

It’s amazing that you can travel thousands upon thousands of miles in a single day. But that doesn’t mean it’s aways fun to do—and if your job requires you to travel all the time, the strain can get to be awful. But having the right gear can really make this mobile lifestyle a little less…

The Pope Didn’t Technically Send That First Tweet Himself

When the Pope tweets, people listen. And watch, apparently. And… applaud? Sure, why not! Here’s Benedict XVI, in all his divine glory, sending out his first 140-character missive to the massive. https://gizmodo.com/heres-the-popes-first-tweet-5967776 Well, okay, technically the hovering Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli hit send. And someone else maybe probably typed it into the iPad for him,…

Flickr: A Photo App That’s Far Past Fashionably Late

Yahoo must be making at least a small effort to resurrect Flickr. Today it finally, finally gave birth to an updated Flickr iPhone app. If only it weren’t three years overdue. What does it do? It’s basically a pared down version of Flickr on the desktop, fitted to an iPhone app. You know, how apps…

How BMW’s LifeDrive Is Like the World’s Most Advanced Electric Skateboard

LifeDrive isn’t just any carbon fiber shell. It’s the world’s first automotive body specifically designed and purpose-built for the series production of electric cars — and the architecture underneath the gorgeously fluid skin of BMW’s new i3 and i8 electric Concept cars. LifeDrive is innovative, lightweight, and smartly engineered. It’s also kinda like a giant…

Here’s Everything You Cared About in 2012 on Facebook

Facebook just released its 2012 trend report, boiling down what all us billion idiots care about and share incessantly. What was the top meme? The top song? Which horrible TV do millions of people care about? Read on. In the US, “TBH” (to be honest, if you’re a parent) took the top meme spot. Not…

Look Back on Your Awesome Life with Facebook’s 2012 Personal Roundup

The best part of Facebook is using it as a mirror, and what a mirror they’ve made today—a Timeline that pulls together your “20 biggest moments,” life events, how many people you friended, and other crowning achievements. So what’ll you find? I was presented with a group shot I took on Election Night (significant!), a…

Reason #5,482 That Smart TVs Are Dumb: They Can Get Hacked

Televisions with apps are already a little superfluous; the updates are slow, the interfaces are borish, they think you actually want to tweet from a 55-inch screen. But now it turns out that they’re also vulnerable to hackers. Great. In the video above, security consultants demonstrate just how deep into a Samsung TV they can…

The 10 Most Searched Things of 2012 Show How Screwed Up Humanity Is

Google, the number one search engine on the planet, has published its comprehensive list of what was on people’s minds during 2012. The company’s 2012 Zeitgeist—”the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time”—is as accurate a reflection of humanity’s current state of…

Every Kindle Fire Is on Sale Today—If You’re a Mom

On Monday, Amazon slashed prices on its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire tablets. If you missed that sale, you’re in luck; it’s back today, and this time applies to all Kindle Fire models. Oh, except this time you’ve got to be a mom. https://gizmodo.com/amazons-got-50-off-every-8-9-inch-kindle-fire-hd-today-5967084 The sale, limited to Amazon Mom members who also have Amazon Prime, includes…

Apple, Samsung, Nokia, and Others Urge Congress to Free Up Spectrum

A band of tech giants, including Apple, Samsung, and Nokia, has sent a letter—yes, a letter!—to Congress, urging it to free more spectrum for mobile data. The Hill reports that the companies explained to congress that “authorizing new spectrum auctions is timely and relevant” to current debates over the “fiscal cliff”. They went on to…

Logitech’s Bluetooth Keyboard Plays Nice With All Your Apple Toys Now, Too

Following up on the release of the K810 Bluetooth keyboard and its updated Wireless Touchpad back in October, Logitech has just announced new versions of both of those peripherals designed to complement your OS X and iOS toys. https://gizmodo.com/easy-switching-bluetooth-keyboard-condones-gadget-polyg-5951792 Like its Windows-centric predecessor, the Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard has backlit keys that auto-alluminate when your…

Sometimes, Honesty Isn’t the Best Policy

Your mom brought you up to believe honesty is always the best policy. That’s because she’s a good woman. But sometimes—just sometimes—honesty is a terrifying glimpse into your crazy little brain. The world is a complex and confusing place, and that’s before you start thinking about what else exists in the rest of the universe.…