Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
This video is the best-look yet at the slick OpenGL-accelerated OS from Else (formerly Emblaze) and Access (who developed a next-gen Palm OS before Palm ditched it for their own). The big news: The First Else phone arrives next-year. Confusingly, the name of Else’s first phone is actually “First Else”. As we mentioned in October,…
There’s just no escaping the Avatar marketing machine. Special bottle-shaped Coke Zero cans will soon hit the streets, and when held up to your Webcam, they’ll make a controllable helicopter appear on screen. Take a look. And McDonald’s is getting in on the action, too. It’ll have special cards that bring up a controllable mechanical…
The International Robot Exhibition 2009 is underway in Tokyo, and Yaskawa is again showcasing its Motoman robots. We’ve seen how dexterous previous models were in robo chef demonstrations, but it seems they’ve now got a taste for the Force. https://gizmodo.com/super-dexterous-japanese-motoman-robot-chef-makes-okono-5100624 The choreographed moves are more cute than intimidating, but seriously, maybe we’ll see lightsaber droids…
A Muppets version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody? You got me at Gonzo and the chickens. This is one of the first 1080p YouTube clips, weighing 107MB compared to the 72MB 720p. Does the resolution make any difference? You bet. First, enjoy the video by playing it full screen. Switch between 1080p and 720p while you…
Celeb-nudity expert Mr. Skin has been using the HD power of Blu-ray to extract image and video of heretofore-unknown celebrity naughty bits. This is one of those revelations that really makes you appreciate living in 2009. Mr. Skin has mentioned this new ability before the expose in the current issue of The New Yorker, including…
Canada Has Its Very Own Version of the AT&T vs. Verizon Ad Lawsuit…CollegeHumor Tackles Modern Warfare 2 (With Bonus Giz Appearance)…LG BL4 Gets Christmas Edition…VUDU Adds Wikipedia, Possibly the World’s Most Boring Update… Canada Has Its Very Own Version of the AT&T vs. Verizon Ad Lawsuit Telus and Rogers are sworn enemies in the Canadian…
I like my typography the same way I like my coffee and men. Hot and confusion-free. These venetian blinds are neither. They look neat, but I can’t figure out why you want to spell something out in blinds. https://gizmodo.com/hot-radiator-reminds-you-of-its-reason-for-existing-5324960 Do I just have abnormal windows? Does the rest of the world have ones that spell…
The Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia keeps some of the most accurate climate records which are key to many climate change debates. Its email archives were hacked, and now it’s the center of another conspiracy claim. As soon as the email archives’ contents were made publicly available, arguments broke out. Was…
It might not be the smartest way of giving a zero-weeks notice at work, but you’ve gotta give this guy some credit for doing extra work and making a custom Mac OS X app just for the purpose of quitting. Supposedly the pop up prompt (which apparently doesn’t do anything) was seen by the fellow’s…
First driving, now even walking: The combination of cellphone use and motion seems to be the most dangerous threat facing Americans today. Two new studies have shown that pedestrians using cellphones are significantly more likely to get smacked by a car than anybody else. A simulation indicated that older people are especially likely to be…
Maybe I’m just not a good pet owner, but I never understood the original Pet Rock. Mine just sat there holding down papers on my desk and refused to eat. Looks like this USB-powered one doesn’t do much either. Like the tauntaun sleeping bag, the USB Pet Rock is another case of an April Fools…
Kudos to the talented chefs behind this Cylon cake with a working red eye. Of course, I wouldn’t want to be the one cutting this thing up with a knife. [SciFi Wire]
WETA, the special effects studio behind movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has a new line of prop rayguns, and they’re actually sort of affordable this time. WETA has been selling incredible ray guns for a while now, but they’ve run into the hundreds of dollars range. The new line, Dr. Grordbort’s…
The ever-present flower on my desk sits in a skinny vase that doesn’t exactly scream I’m-kinda-geeky-but-hey-it’s-ok-because-I-make-cool-things. Time to start using a funky DIY planter or mini terrarium made of repurposed light bulbs. Maybe the what-a-bright-idea puns will be a bonus. https://lifehacker.com/lifehacker-workspaces-rosa-golijan-edition-5363799 Check out the Instructables guide for details on how to hollow out light bulbs…
Package-tracking sensors aren’t super new, but Senseaware is one that’s unique because it tracks multiple criteria—temperature, location, drops and light exposure—and updates those to the web constantly. Useful when you’re transporting organs and not MP3 players. Senseaware is going to be using these sensors in the medical transport field, who distribute organs on a regular…
The rumors published last week may be true after all: Google is testing a new search interface on random people, as these screenshots from Gizmodo reader Matt Karolian confirm. Like the Google Wave-inspired interface for Gmail, the new user interface is cleaner and bolder than the current version, offering more options to the user. It…
Theoretically, we shouldn’t drive while playing with gadgets. But at stop lights and while we’re waiting for roadtrip passengers to finish buying cornchips at the gas station quickmart, well, OK. BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here. https://gizmodo.com/car-gifts-too-dangerous-to-actually-use-while-driving-5411565 Scrolling LED Message Sign With Remote: There’s so…
ALK is dropping the price of CoPilot Live North America from $35 down to $20, starting tomorrow. Since CoPilot was already our favorite non-subscription budget GPS app, this is nice to hear. https://gizmodo.com/iphone-navigation-app-battlemodo-part-ii-the-best-che-5367026 We’re not sure when the sale ends—maybe ALK hasn’t decided—but if you have at least a marginal interest in GPS apps for…
Apparently Verizon has gotten cocky after its court victory over AT&T and decided it wants an encore. This time the wireless provider is playing the bully as it demands that Sprint cease claiming that it’s “America’s most dependable 3G network.” https://gizmodo.com/judge-tells-at-t-to-stop-whining-as-the-verizon-ads-wil-5407902 Sprint isn’t giving in to the request and is proceeding to argue independent test…
I know it’s science, which is ostensibly more objective than human intuition, but there’s something unnerving about an MRI brain scan being admitted as evidence in a murder trial in Chicago, the first in the US. True, here the fMRI is being used by the defense as a means to elude the death penalty, and…