Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Twitter users who have taken the time to set up Tweeting-by-SMS are putting themselves at risk of attacks where anybody can post to their account, according to a team of security researchers. The security flaw allows attackers to post to a user’s Twitter account with just the knowledge of the mobile number associated with the…
If you’ve ever wondered what thinking about nothing looks like, here it is. It’s the result of an experiment by artist Gustav Metzger, who hooked himself up to a robotic carving machine—while thinking long and hard about absolutely nothing. The machine takes EEG signals—essentially the electrical signals from the brain, measured through the scalp—and then…
To try and make up for the fact that it’s struggling financially, Nokia has sold it HQ building in Espoo, Finland. But it’s not moving it out. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-reports-754-million-operating-loss-and-sliding-l-5952788 Instead, it’s entered into a long-term lease with the new owner, Finland-based Exilion, which ponied up $220 million for the sleek set of corporate offices. Nokia has…
Iranian media is reporting that its country’s military has captured a US ScanEagle drone that was flying in its airspace. Reuters explains that a ScanEagle drone—a small, endurance UAV commonly used for reconnaissance—was gathering infromation over Gulf waters when it entered Iranian air space. It was then, apparently, captured by the naval unit of the…
Last month HTC and Apple decided to play nice when they reached a settlement over a patent license. While Apple was forced to tell Samsung how much that deal was worth, it thought the rest of the case was secret—but it turns out that might not quite be the case. https://gizmodo.com/apple-and-htc-end-patent-dispute-and-agree-to-play-nice-5959533 In a court ruling…
Apple has apparently hired a glut of former Texas Instruments engineers to beef up its chip-making operations. [TNW]
In perhaps the best use of the White House’s official “We the People” petition system (the most ridiculous would still be Texas’ secession), a group of faceless signatures want the US to secure funding and resources in order to begin construction on a Death Star by 2016. Yes, a Death Star. http://gawker.com/5959719/we-the-people-petitions-filed-in-nineteen-states-seeking-permission-to-secede-from-the-union The real question…
Because we’re all egomaniacs who like to moonlight as artistic geniuses and because damn near everybody uses Instagram, the filtered photo sharing social network has devolved into a thumb scrolling exercise of the same freaking pictures: clouds, city skylines, feet, coffee art, food, walls, babies, sneaky boobs and anything to turn a like. This CollegeHumor…
Further Up Yonder This inspirational short film from NASA (edited by Giacomo Sardelli) illustrates why the ISS is so damn important to the future of the human race. [Buzzfeed] DAT BASS The bass in this video is too damn high. How to Clone Your Shrubbery Propagating pot plants is surprisingly simple, as this video from…
Hannah Sabata, a girl who’s only 19 years old, did something a lot of teenage girls do: post a video to YouTube in which they talk to the camera. But unlike most 19 years old, Sabata bragged about stealing a car and robbing a bank, even flashing the cash to prove it. She, um, got…
For some reason, a Belarusian iron and steel mill made a calendar using its naked women workers. That’s sort of normal, I guess. But the iron and steel mill wanted to make sure anyone who saw this calendar knew it was theirs by superimposing images of melting metal, wire looms, burning steel, cables, fences and…
Theresa Christy, a mathematician who works for Otis Elevator Co (they probably power your building), told the WSJ that once you press a button and wait for the elevator, it takes about 20 seconds before you start getting impatient and annoyed. Is that it? Or is that on the long side? If I imagine a…
Sometimes things on TV can look so real that we think it’s happening in real life. That’s the magic of the moving pictures! Like this fake plane crash for the TV show Chicago Fire, it fooled the news broadcast WGN-TV and tricked real people on the ground too. A girl who saw the plane crash…
Forget folding card tables wedged in the corner of some cold, dank basement, this beautiful poker table is card shark’s dream. It was carefully crafted by Axel Yberg of Akke Functional Art, and all you need to get it is to be really good at poker. Named “All In,” this table took more than 600…
In 1960, engineers set out to develop the technology that would convert our society into debt-crippled shopaholics. But before we all started wielding plastic, it was made out of cardboard—and now you can buy the original IBM prototype. Despite being nothing more than a small piece of cardboard with some magnetic tape wrapped around it,…
Hello, holy wow, we’ve got a massive list of the hottest, most awesome gear this month. So. Many. Awesome. New. Phones. Enough small talk, let’s get right to it. For the full list of Gizmodo favorites, head over to the complete Best Gadgets In: https://gizmodo.com/google-nexus-4-review-yes-you-want-this-phone-5956305 The Best Android Phone (AT&T, T-Mobile) Nexus devices are Google’s…
In response to user feedback, Facebook is proposing a set of clarified governance and privacy policy changes, and they want you, the Facebook enthusiast, to vote on them once again! https://gizmodo.com/you-can-vote-on-facebooks-new-privacy-changes-5914972 But this is still a Zuckocracy. In the very likely case that less than 30% of the site’s 1 billion users actually vote and…
Say what you want about John McAfee—that he’s crazy, that he’s a murderer, that he’s a crazy murderer, that he’s a creepo drug addict, that he’s a creepo drug addict with a harem of young girls—the man gets around. https://gizmodo.com/secrets-schemes-and-lots-of-guns-inside-john-mcafees-5958877 He went from fightin viruses in California to stirring up trouble in Belize to hiding…
Italians. Good at pizza. Not so good at tornadoes. Just watch this video and judge by yourself. Clearly, they certainly don’t have as much experience with tornadoes as people in places like, say, Texas. Which explains why they kept filming and screaming like morons even while that gigantic tornado was definitely going in their direction.…
Here they are, ladies and gentlemen. The Jordan XX8 aka the new freaking Air Jordans that acclaimed movie director Spike Lee and legendary Nike designer Tinker Hatfield just unveiled in New York. Here’s a first look at the kicks sneakerheads worldwide will be dying to get their hands on. Oklahoma City Thunder point-guard Russell Westbrook…
