Tech News

An Extra Grip Helps This Umbrella Battle Gale-Force Winds

Who would have thought that with just the simple addition of a second grip an umbrella could become more than just a frustrating mess of metal and nylon during a windy rainstorm? But from the looks of it the sublimely genius Grip2 umbrella could make maelstroms easier to manage. Besides a double-layer canopy that helps…

Handcuff Key Cufflinks Would Get James Bond Out of Any Lock-Up

Seemingly targeted at dapper globe-trotting spies, or wealthy perpetrators of corporate crimes, these stylish Sparrow Uncuff Links feature a handcuff key secretly incorporated into their design. Except that it’s not so secret. How long is it really going to take for super-villain henchmen or law enforcement to recognize that distinctive telling keyhole logo on the…

Spotify Is Testing a Web Player That We’ll Probably See Next Year

If you’ve been looking for a way to stream Spotify tracks without having to use the standalone app, that day may come sooner than later: Spotify has confirmed with us that they have begun testing the feature with a small audience. A web-based version of Spotify has been a rumor for awhile now, and rumblings…

Here’s Some Awesome Slow-Mo Test Footage From Anthony Bourdain’s New Show

Proven fact: everything’s better in slooooow mooootion. For some more evidence, the ZPZ Equipment team has posted test footage using the Sony NEX-FS700, a camera that will be used in filming Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain’s new show for CNN. The footage—clearly made more dramatic by the background music—was shot at ISO 500 at 480 frames…

US Air Force Tests Doomsday Nuclear Launch Attack

If Lenin ever leaps out of his coffin and starts singin’ nukes at Rhode Island, this is how America will seek her justice: a nuclear-tipped Minuteman III rocket, aimed straight down Moscow’s throat. Will it work? Watch and see! Just to make sure all the buttons still work and there isn’t too much dust in…

John McAfee, On the Run, Stops To Ask For Tech Support

John McAfee may still be on the run from authorities in Belize—despite claiming that he is innocent in the murder of his neighbor, Gregory Faull—but he still has enough free time to post to a private message board asking for information about how phone tracking works. https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-john-mcafee-wanted-for-murder-updated-5959812 At just before 10PM last night, McAfee posted…

This Is What Live-Tweeting a War Looks Like

A conflict is escalating in Gaza, where the Israeli Defense Force has been engaged with Hamas for the past several days. And whoever is running the IDF’s Twitter account has decided to live-tweet the entire thing. The disconnect between the cavalier tone and the grave content is positively surreal. Here’s what conflict looks like at…

Sinofsky Says He Didn’t Quit Microsoft Over Windows Phone

We all got quite a shock earlier this week when Windows chief Steven Sinofsky departed Microsoft just short while after the launch of Windows 8. Reports indicate that Sinofsky was getting into many internal executive battles. Well, he’s taken to the comments section of blog to quash some of the rumors. https://gizmodo.com/the-president-of-windows-steven-sinofsky-is-leaving-mic-5959997 Former Microsoft engineer…

Apple’s Clever Method to Silence a Vibrating iPhone

Ironically, leaving a silenced phone set to vibrate on a hard surface like a table can actually create more of a disturbance when it rings and bounces around. So Apple has patented a system that uses the iPhone’s mic and accelerometer to listen for vibrations and scale back its intensity when it gets too loud.…

Simple Router Software Could Boost Public Wi-Fi Throughput By 700 Percent

Using public Wi-Fi is a hit-and-miss endeavor: sometime’s its perfect, at others it’s bogged down so much as to be worthless. Fortunately a team of researchers has hit on a solution that can improve throughput by 700 percent—and because it’s software-based, it won’t even need any new hardware to have us all contentedly online. You…

This OS X Bug Is Deeply Annoying But Amazingly Pretty

A handful of OS X users on Reddit are reporting a weird bug that makes Launchpad simultaneously unusable and rather beautiful. According to Cult of Mac, the problem is a result of OS X using an incorrect core filter built into the OS when it throws up Launchpad: [S]omehow Launchpad is applying the crystallize effect…

Inside Obama’s Tech Team

There sure was plenty of tech involved in Obama’s election campaign—including millions of virtual elections which were used to predict the future—but until now the team behind it has gone uncelebrated. https://gizmodo.com/obamas-campaign-ran-millions-of-virtual-elections-to-pr-5958522 Fortunately, Ars Technica has a wonderful feature about Obama’s secret weapon: Team Tech. To whet your appetite: The reelection of Barack Obama was…

Skype’s Giving Away Free Unlimited Worldwide Phone Calls For an Entire Month

Time to call that long-lost aunt in the middle of absolute nowhere: Skype’s just announced that you can now claim a whole month’s worth of unlimited free world-wide landline and mobile calling—but only if you claim it by end of today. We’re not sure if many people actually make phone calls these days, but hell,…

JBL iPhone 5 Speaker Docks Hands-On: Lightning Finally Finds a Friend

This week, accessories for Apple’s new lightning dock connector are finally starting to trickle out. Starting right now, you can order two new lightning connector speaker docks from JBL. Finally, a dock for your iPhone 5. How did you ever sleep at night without one? https://gizmodo.com/the-first-third-party-lightning-accessories-are-a-car-c-5957849 In general, this year’s JBL products have been well…

Ballmer says Android’s ecosystem is “wild and uncontrolled”, iOS’s “highly priced and controlled.” Um, duh. [TechCrunch]

These Tiny, Faster Memory Chips Will Be in Your Next Phone

These are Samsung’s latest memory chips. They might not look much, but they’re 20 percent smaller and 30 percent faster than the current standard—and they’re already destined to appear in your next phone. Their secret lies in a shrinking manufacturing technique, which allows adjacent features on the chip to be packed closer together; for the…

Obama Has Signed a Secret Directive to Stymie Cyber Attacks

Obama has signed a highly secret directive which will allow the military to act more aggressively when it comes to stopping cyber attacks striking the US. The Washington Post reports that Policy Directive 20 outlines a series of broad but strict standards, which federal agencies will uses to guide them when dealing with online attacks.…

Facebook is finally adding the “share” button to its mobile site and apps. Like? [TechCrunch]

How Guys Talk to Cute Girls on OKCupid

Online dating, like real life dating, can get a little skeevy because people are lame and pervy and also, lame and pervy. So to see the type of lame and pervy responses that a cute girl would get while on a dating service like OKCupid, a guy created a fake profile with a picture of…

The Stoner Channel: People Getting Twisted, Pond Weed, and James Brown Doing the Beverly

Time Remapping Spins Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round “TimeRemapExportHD” by Adrien M and Claire B. explores the incredible, slit scan-like distortions that After Effects time remapping feature can produce. [Boing Boing] Growing Your Weed in a Pond Isn’t Nearly as Gross As it Sounds It’s called aquaponics and works on the same general principles…