Tech News

The Massive Black Friday Dollar Store Line Prank

Waiting outside of Best Buy? Cliché. Furiously refreshing Amazon? Amateur. The real Black Friday pros this year lined up outside of a Manhattan dollar store. Or at least, that’s what Improv Everywhere would have you believe. The venerable group of jolly pranksters got in the mass consumption spirit this year, much to the surprise—and delight—of…

New Money-Destroying Virus Attacks Iran

After the US and Israel cooked up Stuxnet—a potent cyber weapon aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities—whenever a virus targets Iran, it could be something major. This time around, the web threat wants to erase Iranian banks. The worm, which Symantec has dubbed W32.Narilam, started creeping through Iranian financial servers over the past several days: Just…

X-Ray Image Shows the iPhone 5 Totally Buck Naked

Ever wonder what it would be like to gaze at the iPhone 5 with superhero-caliber X-ray vision? Wonder no more, because an engineer named Alex Caron has snapped a couple of X-ray images of Apple’s newest smartphone. Caron told us he shot the phone with a “filter of thungsten-rhodium at 32 kilovolts for a dose…

Oops: Macy’s Parade Confetti Included Shredded Confidential Police Documents

A group of Tufts University students enjoying the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last Thursday noticed something unsettling about the confetti being tossed around. Instead of being made from blank colored paper, it had bits of confidential information on it like Social Security numbers, license plate numbers, phone numbers, and addresses, made from sensitive documents from…

What Was Your Most Ridiculous Black Friday Purchase?

If you’re anything like me—and I certainly hope you’re not, on any level—you’ve got a weakness for a good sale. Or any sale, really. For people like us, Black Friday and Cyber Monday present a conundrum: thousands of items, none of which you would buy under normal circumstances, paraded in front of your wallet at…

Watch Samsung Stress Test Its Phones With a Jorts-Wearing Robot Ass

Hardware manufacturers putting their devices through hell to test their durability is nothing new. But this never-nude jorts-covered (jeans + shorts) robot butt created by Samsung to test how well its phones can survive accidentally being sat on shows just how far the company is willing to go. Whether or not they run the test…

Exclusive Cyber Monday Deals For Gizmodo Readers Only

You can save a bundle on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but oftentimes to get the best savings you have to settle for a gadget that’s not necessarily exactly what you want just because it’s deeply discounted. So Dealzmodo went out and scored Black Friday savings for Gizmodo readers on cool stuff that you actually…

China’s First Aircraft Carrier Claims Its First Victim (Sort Of)

Our frenemies across the Pacific are now a naval superpower, having successfully landed a Chinese jet on a Chinese aircraft carrier for the first time. And it’s lethal—the guy in charge dropped dead in the middle of it. We’re not doctors here, so we can’t exactly say the J-15 literally killed Luo Yang, President of…

That Facebook Copyright Notice Is Worthless

There’s a copyright notice people have been posting on Facebook over the past couple of days similar to privacy notice that made the rounds several months ago. Before you copy paste it on your own profile, stop. It’s bogus and unenforceable. https://gizmodo.com/your-facebook-privacy-notice-is-unenforceable-nonsens-5915875 Here’s the full text of the waning post: In response to the new…

Ten (Mostly) New Illusions To Kick Start Your Brain This Morning

After a four-day weekend it’s not easy to get your brain back in gear for the work week. So consider this two-and-a-half minute collection of optical illusions a mental boot camp with Richard Wiseman serving as your overly-pleasant drill sergeant. Admittedly, some of these illusions are a little old. In fact, there’s a good chance…

Wireless Networks of Cows Will Keep Gas Under Control

I’d hate to be the IT guy fixing this network. By dropping electronic devices into the stomachs of cows and networking them together, researchers hope to reduce the climate-warming farts and burps they produce. Emissions from livestock – much of which is methane released when they burp – are a serious component of global greenhouse…

Google Is Shutting Down Motorola’s Country-Specific Websites

Earlier this year Google made it clear that it was planning to make dramatic cuts at Motoola Mobility. Well, the first major change to affect consumers is here: Google is axing Moto’s country-specific websites. https://gizmodo.com/google-cutting-motorola-staff-concentrating-on-a-few-g-5934115 The Next Web reports that sites in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have all been…

How to Annoy Generation Y

This Sticky Comics cartoon is so depressingly accurate that it’s hilarious. Who actually uses their cell phone to call people these days anyway? [Sticky Comics]

Samsung Audit: No Child Labor, But So Many Other Problems

After a a Chinese labor watchdog fingered Samsung with child labor allegations, the company set to auditing its entire catalog of factories. Initial results weren’t too great, but now the final results are in—and while there’s no evidence of child labor, there are plenty more problems to worry about. https://gizmodo.com/report-underage-children-abused-in-samsung-factories-5932504 The company has inspected 105…

The next Raspberry Pi mini computer will offer a 5-megapixel camera and run Minecraft, too. Wowzer. [Raspberry Pi]

Are Blood Bricks the Future of Building?

Take the blood of a freshly slaughtered animal. Mix thoroughly with preservatives and sand, pour into square molds, and bake for one hour. Allow to cool—then build your home from the result. No, really. At least, that’s what Jack Munro, an architect with a passion for material research and experimentation, would like us to do.…

Apple Had to Acquire Its “Lightning” Trademark From Harley-Davidson

Apple’s controversial Lightning connector has a name that nicely matches up with the Thunderbolt data connection. But its name caused Apple some trouble—because it had to buy the trademark from Harley-Davidson. https://gizmodo.com/whats-changed-in-apples-new-8-pin-lightning-dock-connec-5942555 The EU Patent & Trademark Office has published trademark applications for Apple’s Lightning connector, reports Patently Apple. But what’s interesting about them is…

How That Football Field Was Blown Up in The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises was pretty incredible for many reasons. But one of the most jaw-dropping bits was when Bane blew-up an American football stadium right at the start of a game. Here’s how they actually did it. Raised turf with holes for people to fall into, pyrotechnics galore, a myriad of stunt personnel—and then…

US consumers spent over $1 billion online on Black Friday, for the first time ever. Good shopping, guys. [Bloomberg]

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals List Categories

We know, we know. Our lists have gotten so big that they’re tough to navigate without filters. We’re definitely going to get that in place next year. For now, though, here is a list of all the categories available, so you can use Find (CONTROL+F or COMMAND+F) to jump right to them. We promise to…