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A substantial firmware improvement is set to arrive on Barnes & Noble’s Nook next month, bringing a host of new features and optimizations. Barnes & Noble says the 1.5 update will: Dramatically increase NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi‘s page turn speed and deliver the features and performance enhancements most-requested from NOOK customers. These include improved…
Created by Uysal Mehmet Ali, this clothespin pinching Earth is part of a contemporary art sculpture exhibit at the Parc de Chaudfontaine, Belgium. Off camera, to the right, you can see one of Earth’s nipple clamps. Kinky. [Flickr]
Lonnie Johnson did risk assessment for the Atlantis space shuttle. He helped get the B-2 stealth bomber off the ground. He gave us the Super Soaker. And now, with his latest invention, he might just make solar power viable. Johnson, a “self-invented inventor,” is profiled in the November issue of the Atlantic, and while his…
Spacebar. Get it? GET IT? Sadly, not a t-shirt yet, but you can vote for it at Threadless. [Threadless via Likecool]
Imagine how much hard work and pain could be saved if they animated the series in three pixels. https://gizmodo.com/the-simpsons-title-scene-secretly-created-by-banksy-5660618 [9gag]
With Apple’s big OS event just days away, MacBook Air refresh rumors are hitting hard. According to Cult of Mac, Apple will unveil 13.3-inch and 11.6-inch models, along with a 50% bigger battery, a much lower price, and more. Details! https://gizmodo.com/apple-back-to-the-mac-event-oct-20-new-os-x-and-mac-5662920 A MacBook Air refresh has been a long time coming; Apple’s ultraportable notebook has…
Giant music festivals are awesome, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could just hover above without any of the packing or mud-caked feet? This tilt-shifted video gives a stellar vantage point, and makes it all look so damn cute. The video, by Sam O’Hare, documents the festival from the early setup, to wandering fans…
Today, Intel announced that in addition to Adobe AIR apps, the Intel AppUpSM Developer Program will now support Microsoft .NET apps—providing resources which include a brand-new software development kit. One year since launch, the Intel AppUpSM Developer Program continues to grow. You’ve been asking for support for .NET apps—so Intel has updated its AppUp SDK…
Here is that clamshell BlackBerry. It’s a beautiful phone—if you are a Jersey Shore character. The official promo video music—with crap techno music from hell—gives it all away: https://gizmodo.com/blackberry-clamshell-9670-and-os-6-0-get-shown-off-on-v-5558912 Running on OS 6.0, the flipper has two screens—one 2.7-inch QVGA on the inside, and on the outside there’s a 2-inch QVGA. New messages and caller…
I can understand not wanting to be the guy who brings a jai alai xistera to a snowball fight, sure, but if you want to start tagging up your enemies (neighborhood nine-year-olds) at distances of up to 150 feet, well… …this is the way to do it. The 150 Foot Slinging Snowball Xistera, an important…
This is why we can’t have nice (allegedly patent-infringing) things! After drawing legal heat from Apple for its MagSafe connectors, HyperMac has announced that they’ll stop selling their MacBook charging cables and car chargers on November 2nd. But there’s hope! Apparently the cessation was required by Apple before they’d begin negotiations with Sanho, HyperMac’s parent…
Just when Nintendo-loving Netflix streamers were feeling left out in the cold, Wii has joined the PS3 in dropping the Netflix disc requirement. Instead, Netflix is available as a download from the Wii Shop Channel. https://gizmodo.com/netflix-streaming-on-ps3-gets-1080i-and-surround-sound-5663821 Anybody with an $8.99 or higher Netflix plan qualifies for streaming, although it doesn’t look as though you’ll be…
Having been to Bali several times, I can tell you that this marine research vessel concept is about a million years away from most of their architecture. Saying that, however, the next photo juxtaposes the old and new beautifully: Solus4 entered their concept into a design competition in Indonesia, where they stated that the marine…
If you’re going to get your laptop stolen by anyone, better hope it’s by this Swede, who copied the laptop’s data onto a USB stick and sent it to his victim in the post a week later. As the victim, a professor at Sweden’s Umeå University, told the Västerbottens-Kuriren newspaper “this story makes me feel…
The French mathematician was the father of fractals, and while pancreatic cancer got the better of him four days ago, his reputation will live on in the areas of maths, physics, finance, biology and countless more. The New York Times publicized his death on Saturday in a touching obituary, focusing mostly of his work in…
KISS frontman Gene Simmons, besides being a rock god, is the biggest blowhard on the planet. So when he gets in an internet fight with the 4chan-affiliated internet vigilantes Anonymous… well, you end up rooting for Anonymous. Anonymous is a shady, loosely-organized band of bored internet “vigilantes” who like to hang out on the anarchic…
Have you ever seen an Android like this before? Unfortunately it’s only destined for Europe, and while the specs aren’t quite as high as HTC’s recent Androids, it’s running Froyo and comes in three delicious colors. Really, it’s no contest though—that forest green is just too nice for words. I’d love to see them roll…
After one million downloads in just the first day of release on Android, Rovio has just tweeted that Angry Birds has now racked up two million downloads. Get it for free in the Android Market or on GetJar, now. [Rovio via TechRadar] https://gizmodo.com/angry-birds-tears-it-up-on-android-with-1-million-downl-5665988
That Lego printer that printed documents with pens was cool and everything, but a Lego 3D printer made from 2,400 bricks, that builds a Lego creation of your dreams? Now we’re talking. https://gizmodo.com/lego-printer-for-mac-restores-my-paper-lust-5553377 Battlebricks’ MakerLegoBot used three Lego Mindstorms NXT kits, along with nine more NXT motors, plus over 2,400 bricks to create the 3D…
I’m sure they’d be just as enthralled jiggling homescreen icons around on an iPad as they would at Disney World, but if not you can now treat them with a trip to visit Tinkerbell—through the 360-degree iPad app. Mobile-Ent describes the Walt Disney World Magic Vacation Mirror iPad app as an interactive travel brochure, which…
