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Contrary to a lot of reports, more than just Apple’s products are made at Foxconn’s Shenzhen factories. Nintendo, whose Wii and other products are made there, has announced it shall be investigating the working and living conditions of the factory workers in light of the suicides. [MarketWatch via Kotaku] https://kotaku.com/nintendo-investigating-factory-suicides-5549870
Many a-time have I moaned about the lack of photo-altering apps available for Android. The iPhone has Hipstamatic and Swankolab—it can’t be too hard to create similar apps for Android, can it developers? Enter FxCamera. https://gizmodo.com/swankolab-iphone-app-lets-you-play-around-with-dark-roo-5515136 It’s free (a nice reward for Android users who had to wait this long), and creates lomo-esque photo effects…
Hon Hai Precision Industry has announced that it will raise the salaries of employees at its Foxconn factory by about 20 percent. The company claims that the raises were planned for a while and aren’t in response to recent suicides. https://gizmodo.com/the-math-behind-the-foxconn-suicides-5549000 There is no word about when the raises will be implemented or no guarantee…
Feast your eyes in these detailed videos of the beast that is designed to match-and-crush 5th generation American combat jets. It’s the Sukhoi PAK-FA, and it comes loaded with some amazing technology from the other side of the fallen wall. https://gizmodo.com/a-look-at-fifth-generation-fighter-planes-5162787 Traditionally, the then-Soviet-now Russian fighter jets have been feared all over the world. Even…
Crashing your BMW convertible is going to be devastating no matter what, but it helps to have a shoulder to lean on. This guy couldn’t find a shoulder to lean on, so he made one…out of his crashed BMW convertible. After wrecking his 2005 BMW 645CI, this individual’s five stages of grief went something like…
The problem with most water guns is that once your tank runs dry, you’re helpless until you can make it to a faucet. No so with the Saturator AK47! It uses clips of water to ensure you’re always full. Brilliant.
This Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal USB mouse was a limited-edition item in the UK that is, sadly, now sold out. But we can still appreciate how clever and awesome this thing is. [MusicRadar via Engadget]
I love the eerie feeling of Kim Høltermand‘s architecture photographs. She makes everything look like long time abandoned structures from alien planets. This is the 62-meter-high Hyllie Water Tower, in Malmö, Sweden. [Høltermand via Behance]
This is the Cellular Guard System, which is to say it’s a necklace that you hook your cellphone up to so if you drop it while stirring a big bowl of sauce, it won’t fall in. Oh…my. [Cellular Guard System]
ArcAttack graced us with their musical Tesla coils—and an entertaining interview—at last year’s Gizmodo Gallery. And as impressed as we were with their performance then, I’m downright giddy that they’ve added the Dr. Who theme to their repertoire. https://gizmodo.com/arcattack-lightning-proof-musicians-share-their-tesla-5367329 This recent performance from Maker Faire combines so many of my favorite things: glowing mesh suits,…
Uh oh. We’re hearing reports that AT&T service is down in Los Angeles. Anyone experiencing issues there or in other parts of the country? Update 1: We’re trying to confirm the issue with AT&T. Update 2: Readers are reporting that 3G service appears to be the culprit and that toggling 3G off in their phones’…
This Game Boy soap doesn’t actually play Tetris, but it does wash off the stink of gamersweat. So really, that’s something. [Etsy via Geeky Gadgets]
Sick of everyone playing with your Android, draining the battery? It’s as bad as the first weeks of the iPhone, somedays. Download the free Fake Battery app, so you have a legitimate excuse not to lend your phone to someone. It will pop a low battery warning up on the screen once triggered, so all…
The Facebook SDK for Android is the result of an engineering intern’s project and will allow Android developers to easily integrate the Facebook platform into their apps. It is now available as a beta. [Facebook]
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft might be considering lowering the price on its Zune Pass service in order to better compete with Apple and RealNetworks. Currently the service gives you unlimited music streaming and 10 song downloads for $14.99/month. [Bloomberg]
Google just released a list of the top 1000 websites in the world, something they’re uniquely suited to rank, since most traffic funnels through them first. Google left themselves off (they’d be #1), so Facebook and Yahoo are close together at 1 and 2. To save you time, we’re at 540, edging out Pandora, Intel,…
Two-way video calling is now possible on Android, and the chances are damned good that they’re coming to the iPhone next month. But really, do you care? https://gizmodo.com/fring-for-android-is-two-way-video-calling-from-the-fut-5549494 Holding a phone up and talking at it and seeing the other person talking back is a neat trick, sure, but I can’t imagine I’ll use it…
An “irate” AT&T customer went into an AT&T store and shot one of the employees. The employee is in surgery now, but the suspect was shot by an off duty police officer that was already at the scene. What’s unfortunate is that the same customer came into the store before, waved around the same gun,…
Previously Wi-Fi Sync, the clever app that allows folks with jailbroken devices to sync to iTunes over Wi-Fi, was only for Mac users and iPhones. But now Windows lovers and iPad owners can join the fun as well. https://gizmodo.com/now-available-a-10-app-whichll-sync-your-jailbroken-i-5538689 The app is still $10 and available through the Cydia store.
After months of uncertainty amid FTC investigations, Google’s acquisition of AdMob is finally totally 100% complete. Now, Google’s shiny ads and Apple’s shiny ads will compete for your eyeballs and you will try your best not to let them bother you too much. [Google Blog] https://gizmodo.com/how-apple-enabled-googles-750-million-admob-purchase-5544707
