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If you think your gear runs out of juice at inopportune moments, consider the infantrymen of the world, whose lives depend on their gadgets maintaining a charge. Thus the MetalCell, a magnesium-based battery that charges with salt water. Or urine. The MetalCell, developed by engineers in South Korea, is an update on the Baghdad Battery,…
Um, could you balance completely perfectly on a ball while carrying your own body weight? This robot can. And honestly, it’s kind of freaky. [YouTube via IEEE]
It’s the end of the week and the oh so lovely weekend is almost here. The weather is looking good, the birds are chirping, and well, it’s time to spend your hard earned money. Dealzmodo, as always, has you covered. Top Deals: • 50″ Panasonic VIERA TC-P50U2 Plasma HDTV (1080p) for $889.99 plus free shipping…
For every positive, there’s a negative. For every orange, there’s an apple. For every Starsky, a Hutch. That’s why someone made these ying and yang bunk beds. I like it. My back, however, won’t be too happy. [Born Rich]
The company that brought you the comedy gold of Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates gabbing about footwear has solved humor forever, the end. Meet Microsoft’s education competency guide to humor, and please remember to tip your waitress: Remember, guys, humor is a process, and can’t be too over-thought. If you’re looking to improve your humor…
The weekend officially starts with this video: Cupcakes hurled at people’s faces with a 120psi cupcake cannon, captured at 700 frames per second. Repeat: Super slow motion cupcake EXPLOSIONS. [Johnny Cupcakes]
The Europeans weren’t kidding when they named it the Extremely Large Telescope. It’s, indeed, extremely large, obliterating previous records. The adaptive optics mirror on the ELT is 138 feet in diameter, compared to the 98 feet of comparable space eyes. https://gizmodo.com/saurons-eye-finally-being-installed-in-hawaii-5319946/ Its extraordinary size will give it a unique look into planets from other solar…
A hacked game lets you play the original Super Mario Bros with any number of old-school video game characters. But this idea could be taken so much further! Let’s combine games across consoles and eras, shall we? https://kotaku.com/play-super-mario-bros-as-mega-man-link-samus-and-mo-5526401 Send your best entries to me at [email protected] with Game Crossovers in the subject line. Save your…
With Motorola’s latest quarterly sales of 8.5 million, the former biggest phonemaker in the US lost its lead to Apple, who sold 8.8 million iPhones last quarter. A moment of reflection, please. [AppleInsider]
Amazon? Not playing around with publishers when it comes to ebook deals. Penguin’s contract ran out on April 1, so Amazon can’t sell their ebooks. So Amazon’s cut the price of Penguin’s actual hardcovers to $9.99 ebook pricing. Which, one, shows just how cutthroat Amazon will be on pricing—a lot of the $9.99 hardcovers aren’t…
Just click through this harmless survey, email the last question to [email protected], and you’ll be entered to win a $150 Eastern Mountain Sports gift card with which to outfit yourself for a night or two in the wilderness, away from your computer. Or not. [Rules]
The problem with walking through a virtual reality world is that you’re subject to the physical world’s spatial limitations. That’s why the Enterprise’s holodeck always gave me headaches. But I get it now: they had a CyberWalk. CyberWalk is an omni-directional platform; essentially, a giant treadmill that adjusts its speed and direction to allow for…
Four years in the making, the Acadalus tripod head uses motors and an inclinometer to relieve you of fiddling and make sure your shots are absolutely, positively straight. Of course, that perspectival perfection comes at a price: $5000. Not everyone needs instant leveling at the touch of a button. But for those who do, Acadalus…
On April 1st, Sony’s PS3 3.21 firmware update removed the ability to run other operating systems on the device—most notably Linux. Three weeks later, they’re facing a class action suit. Good. https://gizmodo.com/sony-ps3-firmware-update-3-21-now-live-and-forcing-you-5507002 The suit, filed on Tuesday by Anthony Ventura, alleges that Sony has violated their sales contract by taking out an advertised feature. And…
The poop slinging continues, as Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen accuses Steve Jobs of being a liar. You can see him being grilled and responding to Jobs’ harsh words on Flash in this interview with the Wall Street Journal: https://gizmodo.com/adobe-gives-up-on-flash-for-apple-5527750 Click to view I don’t know who is at fault, Shantanu or Steve, but I wish…
Avatar put me to sleep, but I admire James Cameron‘s thirst for new film technologies. Now I admire him even more after he convinced NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to put back the 3D camera in Curiosity, the next Mars rover. The new camera will sit on top of Curiosity’s mast filming at ten frames per…
Reader Aaron Vader has sent us an email announcing that Lala.com will shut down on May 31. If you are a Lala user, your credits will be converted to iTunes credits. Does that mean that streaming iTunes.com would launch soon? It’s hard to say. WWDC 2010 comes right after Lala’s shutdown, but it’s unlikely that…
Bought a Chumby One and aren’t sure what to do with it? Turn the device into a 3G router! It’s quick and you’ll need nothing but a Chumby One, a 3G USB modem, and these instructions. [BunnieStudios via Make] https://gizmodo.com/chumby-one-review-totally-frivolous-but-totally-adora-5403517
HP is killing its Windows 7 “slate” tablet project, says TechCrunch, citing a source “briefed on the matter.” Business Insider already posted a less sourced report on its demise. Now that there’s some insider confirmation, we’re inclined to believe it. (We sent a note to HP to confirm for sure, and can update if we…
Cut past the nerdy hipster schtick, and—if you’re not trying to DIY—the technical orientation. Starting at 5:20, these guys bust a surprisingly palatable mashup of Prince, Vampire Weekend, G’N’R, Eurythmics and… I Dream of Jeannie. We’ve seen other iPad DJs, and God knows we’re going to see a lot more, in every style. But I…
