Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
We knew that the iPhone 4 had an excellent camera, but we hadn’t thought to try it on any non-terrestrial subjects. It turns out that when paired with a telescope, it can take some gorgeous shots of our only satellite: https://gizmodo.com/test-notes-iphone-4-camera-5572766 A clever stargazer paired his Planisphere-equipped iPhone 4 with a Pencil Borg telescope (175mm/F7)…
Leaked images of Nokia’s N9 reveal just how eager the fading brand is for a hit. Our phone needs to be popular—why not make it look like another popular thing? The QWERTY slider is a MacBook Pro doppelganger. We already know a decent amount about the N9’s guts: a 4″ screen, 8MP camera, and a…
Cosmo’s sex advice always seemed a little suspect to me ever since the time a girl tried to press a cantaloupe up on my grundle mid-coitus*. But hey, maybe I just wasn’t adventurous enough for her forward-thinking ways! Cosmo’s new Sex Position of the Day iPhone/Android app is just what it sounds like: a new,…
The announced list of Windows Phone 7 games was impressive! But noticeably absent was EA, who’s dragging their heals on officially committing to the platform. https://gizmodo.com/xbox-live-on-windows-phone-7-hands-on-mobile-levels-up-5614244 In a statement provided to Mobile Entertainment, EA had little to say on the matter: “We are constantly evaluating new platforms and opportunities, but have nothing to announce right…
Available now at every Japanophile’s favorite export site J-List for $8, these bullet train chopsticks don’t *quite* travel at 224mph, but they do make futomaki pieces taste even better. Fact. [J-List via Laughing Squid] https://gizmodo.com/hell-on-wheels-japanese-bullet-train-billed-as-worlds-165536
Many assumed—rightly so—that RIM would be using some form of OS 6.0 on its upcoming “BlackPad” tablet, but the word on the town is that they’ll actually be using a completely new tablet platform, based on QNX’s microkernel-based OS, which they acquired from Harman International back in April. https://gizmodo.com/rumor-blackberry-tablet-blackpad-to-cost-499-5607993 Added to that is the concern…
This piece of electronic art involves a microphone listening to 25 woodworms eating away at a log. Chomp, chomp, chomp. On exhibition in Ireland, currently. [Zimoun via BLDGBLOG]
Sharp’s 60″ PN-L601B Blackboard, announced today in Japan, ditches the SMART Board’s projector in lieu of a 1,920×1,080, LED-backlit LCD display. It’s almost awesome enough to make me want to draw sentence diagrams for Catcher In the Rye. Teaching once seemed like a potentially-noble, probably-miserable future profession, before the allure of high tech blog world…
Not content with having the largest production OLED model on the market today (pictured), LG is doubling its size in time for the IFA electronics show next month, where it’ll show off a 31-inch panel. https://gizmodo.com/lg-15-inch-el9500-oled-tv-arrives-in-u-s-later-this-ye-5471403 A couple of years ago, Samsung showed off a 31-inch OLED at CES, which was just 4.3mm thick and…
Perimeter fences are hard to maintain. Security cameras are expensive these days. Armed guards can be bought. Yep, it looks like there’s really only one way to reliably protect your marijuana farm these days: lazy bears. That was apparently the proprietorial philosophy of one recently raided Western Canada marijuana farm. The attending police were flummoxed…
In this episode of Home Makeover: Mansion Edition: Steve Jobs finally, officially, gets to demolish his house to build a new one. There had been some scuttlebutt over Jobs-occupied Jackling House was a historic landmark, but! It seems that Jonathan Ive can finally get cracking on those iHouse blueprints. [Almanac News via 9to5 Mac] https://gizmodo.com/steve-jobs-permitted-to-bulldoze-historic-mansion-5252151
Earlier this year, after almost a decade of exclusively using cellphones, I hooked up a landline and got myself a batphone. It’s been fantastic. https://gizmodo.com/why-my-boss-is-cooler-than-yours-5552952 With Google Voice, there’s no more of that “call me on my landline, I’m at home,” or “hey I’m running out, let me call you back on the cellphone.” I…
In the 1970s, the heyday of lasers and holograms, holographic artist Jason Sapan, AKA Doctor Laser, was a rock star. Though his art form fell out of favor, he still tinkers tirelessly in holograms today. Here’s his fascinating story. [Motherboard]
It’s time to get out of the house, like, right now. Fill out the survey below and you could win a $150 gift certificate to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Go buy some new running shoes and then take a leisurely jog to the ice cream store.
I just hope this is not the guy in charge of the United States Cyber Command. https://gizmodo.com/the-secret-code-hidden-in-the-united-states-cyber-comma-5581373
Of all the celebrities you could search for on the web, Cameron Diaz is the most likely to give your computer something itchy. That’s according to McAfee, who may just be getting back at her for Knight and Day. Apparently a “Cameron Diaz” search has a one-in-ten chance of landing on a site with malware.…
Intel is set to acquire venerable security firm McAfee for a whopping $7.7 billion. Intel claims the deal will lead to safer computing through security measures that integrate their hardware, rather than a strictly-software approach. [Business Insider]
Seabreacher X is a pretty tame name name for such a kickass bit of aquatic engineering. I don’t know how you can call a shark-shaped submersible that can jump 12 feet in the air anything other than Jaws. Or AAAAHHHHHHH! Either way, it’s a marked upgrade from Innespace’s previous Seabreacher, which could travel up to…
There’s a rumor floating around Gamescom in Cologne, Germany this week, that selected VIPs are supposedly getting hands-on with the next PSP, which apparently features touch-controls on the back of the device for added gameplay input. Intereeeesting, I can hear you say. If true, it shows that Sony is definitely sitting up and taking notice…
It’s not quite the Häagen-Dazs we imagined, but according to “multiple sources” of TechRadar‘s, the next iteration of Android (following the upcoming Gingerbread, of course) will be named Honeycomb. Little else is known about the cavity-causing OS flavor, but knowing TechRadar‘s history of scoops, it’s sounding very solid to me. [TechRadar] https://gizmodo.com/whats-next-for-android-5544902