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During WWI, German U-Boats were alarmingly effective at sinking allied warships and transport vessels alike. But since a ship couldn’t exactly be cloaked, Norman Wilkinson, British artist and naval officer, developed another method nicknamed razzle dazzle. U-Boats were effective but simple—they shot torpedoes, not directly at ships, but where they estimated a ship would end…
In today’s Remainders: patience. Or at least, it’s what’s required by today’s items, including Lumix camera pricing, Google’s acquisition of Aardvark; LG’s forthcoming e-reader, and the great Palm Pre manufacturing halt that wasn’t. Aardvark Party Google has acquired Aardvark, a unique social search engine, for $50 million. With the internet still buzzing over Buzz, it…
It’s been a long road from conceptual render to final product, but the Riiflex Wii weights (for Wii Fit, or any other game) are available now for $30/pair. Me? I’m too lazy to even waggle a stock Wiimote. [Riiflex] https://gizmodo.com/riiflex-weights-make-the-wii-fitter-5136528
CBS News anchor Katie Couric, in a 2008 Notebook segment, weighed in on whether to dump or not to dump via text message. Katie’s classy; she said “no.” Bonus points for turning tech-related injury into an insult. [Video on Giz] https://gizmodo.com/survey-shows-half-of-phone-break-ups-are-texted-5469611
Apparently Veoh Networks, an online video company vaguely similar to YouTube, has “laid off its workforce yesterday and is expected to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.” It’s sad to see the site go under as some of us have fond memories of using it, but what’s sadder is seeing about $67.5 million in venture…
A Penn State graduate student and professor have built a system that transmits wireless data at 1 Gbps over infrared light. And they think it can go even faster. Just last month, we saw Siemens get to 500Mbps streaming using white LEDs, but this infrared solution works at twice that speed: https://gizmodo.com/stream-500mbps-over-led-light-5453690 Their setup sent…
The rumor that Apple is building its own search engine “isn’t credible,” according to a source familiar with Apple’s operations. Our source tells us “there’s too many options” for search on the market, so there’s no reason for Apple to build its own search engine. Another reason Apple might not want to build its own…
The human race continues its free fall into extinction. Good.
There is no way I’m exchanging romantic words with someone when I have no idea what their natural scent is.
An interview with a Microsoft Senior Product Manager opened the door to rumors of an iPad version of Microsoft’s Office suite. Let’s keep in mind though that the fellow just vaguely hinted that Microsoft is looking into this idea. When asked if Microsoft would be considering an iPad version of Office, Mike Tedesco, Senior Product…
Nevermind the war against viruses—they’ll kill each other before we even update AVG. A Russian Trojan horse program, known as Spy Eye, has stolen data from its competitor Zeus, and replaced PC infections with its own botnet-badness. It’s still a lose-lose situation for anyone with an infected computer, with one botnet being replaced with another,…
Batteries are usually just a boring, blunt necessity, on account of being batteries and all. But HyperMac’s line of Apple-friendly lithium-ion battery packs are a colorful exception to the rule. Plus: battery babes! HyperMac introduced three new aluminum-cased battery pack sets today in all, each available in the nine iPod nano colors (that’s black, silver,…
Get geared up for Valentine’s Day. Lenovo’s S10 bends into many desirable positions, eHarmony’s free Valentine’s weekend lets you go back to being a creep-on-the-cheap, and Solid Snake is available at $20—for mustache rides. Top Deals: • 10.1″ Lenovo S10-3t 0651-37U Tablet Netbook for $449.99 (normally $500). • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the…
Boost your metabolism-and detox like a pro-with the Hemoglobin Filter Max 2. This durable, high-quality artiforg represents the state-of-the-art in detoxification technology. And thanks to its compact, lightweight design and comfort-flex fit, the Filter Max 2 has quickly become The Union’s top selling artificial liver. It’s like having a new lease on life, for only…
We’ve all seen clocks running off foods like oranges and potatoes, but what kind of citrus power does it take to charge an iPhone? This ever-so-strange, ever-so-enchanting video reveals the answer. [Hacker News via Geek] https://gizmodo.com/liquid-power-digital-clock-167288
In the next week or two, Windows Update will list a new, “Important” update for you to download. It’ll be called “Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7,” and if you’re running a bootleg copy of Windows 7, beware. The optional update will sniff out 70 “known and potentially dangerous activation exploits” that are meant…
A Radio Shack just exploded with a big ball of fire in Manhattan. It happened on 6th avenue, in between 19th and 20th streets. According to Fox NY, it was a “manhole explosion” that “sparked a transformer fire.” Click to view A) I hope nobody is injured. B) I’m glad is not the only worthy…
When we asked for Valentine’s Day tech horror stories, some protested that there’s another side to things—serendipitous meetings on Twitter, gadgets that won hearts, and love. We want to hear more of these happy Valentine’s day love stories. https://gizmodo.com/send-us-your-valentines-day-tech-horror-stories-5469088 Maybe that NSA Craig’s List ad led to marriage, maybe technology aided a long-distance relationship, or…
Google Buzz is strangely familiar. Probably because what it does already exists in the form of Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. But that’s not stopping them! What’s next in Google unceasing march towards doing everything? https://gizmodo.com/what-is-google-buzz-5467846 Send your best entries to me at [email protected] with Google Services in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs…
Nearing Valentine’s Day, we enlisted our favorite love doctor, Debby Herbenick, to share advice on romance in the age of broadband wireless 24/7 interconnectedness. The first question: With a potential love interest, when do you friend or follow? Most young-ish Facebookers (especially those who remember the .edu days) have so many Facebook friends that one…
