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Not to be less than the US Navy, the Army has tested their own electromagnetic rail gun, firing several times at Dugway Proving Grounds. Manufacturer General Atomics calls it Blitzer. I call it Hey Enemy Tank, You Have Been Blended. https://gizmodo.com/navy-rail-gun-test-destroys-everything-it-touches-at-5-351467 Blitzer will continue testing through 2010, until they fire “tactically relevant aerodynamic rounds.” That…
Canon’s F2.8 100mm Macro L lens is the first to use a new hybrid image stabilization system that corrects for two kinds of camera shake. DPReview says it works as advertised, most of the time. The hybrid IS system works best at long ranges, delivering all four stops of stabilization Canon claims, though it ironically—given…
Windows 7 has taken some heat for aping a few Mac OS UI features, but it’s certainly not a copycat OS—something Microsoft Partner Group Manager Simon Aldous might not know, given his recent quote. Aldous is not a designer or developer, but works with Microsoft partners—sales, essentially. But his quotes are pretty odd despite their…
I often daydream about piloting a super-speedy, highly experimental spy plane, but I lost all hope of ever doing that when I saw these flight helmets. Real, modded, new, or old, they’re freaky enough to turn daydreams into night terrors. https://gizmodo.com/12-eye-popping-flight-helmets-5186358 While flying or flight helmets like these are great way to not only look…
You may recall that last year, a man named Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death in the crush of a Walmart crowd eager to score Black Friday deals. This year, Walmart is taking steps to prevent another tragic incident. https://gizmodo.com/walmart-shoppers-cracked-jokes-at-trampled-workers-expe-5104700 In fact, they went so far as to call in the same crowd control experts…
It would be better if they were. Or if not that, then POMCH3. I’m sure they could spare some of the $2.7 billion value of the acquisition into coming up with a name. [Business Insider]
Need 16 terabytes of storage that you can access from anywhere? Google’s got you covered, if you’ve got $4096. That’s the max limit with their new storage options, which’ll let you grab 20GB for only 5 bucks a year. [TechCrunch]
Sometimes, you just want to practice your putting. If you’re near a woman wearing Triumph’s new golf outfit, and you can convince her to take it off, you can putt to your heart’s content. Yes, this ludicrous item consists of a green bra that transforms into a putting green, with the cups turning into holes.…
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I can’t lie; I’ve been waiting for an excuse to post a picture of a bacteriophage*, the microscopic spider virus that lands on bacteria to inject its own DNA, for a long time. This Cyborg Life gives me an excuse. Rather than attacking typical plant or animal cells, the bacteriophage uses bacteria as its host…
The shroud falls a bit further: Apple’s now letting developers see where their apps are in the mysterious approval process! It’s not much, but it is progress. Maybe one day we’ll learn about the shadowy figures doing the approving. [Wired] https://gizmodo.com/apples-chickenshit-approval-process-has-gone-too-far-5325539
You knew the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 was coming, but did you know it looked like this? And this? And that? And this? Click the gallery to see what the console looks like without actually purchasing it. It really does look nice, like an Xbox 360 Elite with military-ish decals all…
There are two ways to look at the legendary Choose Your Own Adventure books. As reading experiences and childhood memories, they’re vital. But as data sets for visualizations, they’re weirdly spectacular. Observe! Designer Christian Swinehart has parsed piles upon piles of Choose Your Own Adventure titles, and rendered them as a series of visualizations, from…
Results from Wolfram Alpha—the mathematically-inclined search engine that everybody hyperventilated about a few months ago then promptly and completely ignored—will soon be rolled into Bing searches. This is fantastic news! (If you use Bing! [Which you actually might!]) Wolfram Alpha will still live on as a standalone site, since Microsoft is just licensing their search…
Save $4000 on your new Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle and then drive it through Yosemite without paying a dime—admission is free at all National Parks today in honor of Veteran’s Day. Top Deals: • Brammo Enertia, 100% electric motorcycle for $7,995 (normally $11,995). • Nero Liquid TV, USB HDTV Tuner, and 1 year TiVo service…
Is a picture frame that you slide your iPhone in completely ridiculous, or only mostly ridiculous? I mean, it does allow you to recharge your iPhone in the frame by tucking away the dock connector cord. So, in that sense you are getting more out of your phone while it charges—you can set up a…
So, why would you ever want to make your fingertip magnetic? Well, how about being able to feel your laptop spinning up? Or sensing if a cable had a current going through it? Think of it as a sixth sense. Some body modders, such as Jesse Jarrell and Steve Haworth, have experimented with the idea,…
When we reviewed the MacPadd, the anodized aluminum mousepad designed to match a MacBook Pro, we were highly complimentary of the product. And while we still stand by the product, we have to disown the company selling it. https://gizmodo.com/macpadd-aluminum-mousepad-lightning-review-5108595 A very long, detailed account over at tom’s hardware lists your stereotypical, horrifying buying experience. The…
When I first see the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC), it is hanging limply from the ceiling by a strap attached to its neck, dangling over a treadmill. I can’t wait to try it on. It has got two spindly black legs attached to a backpack with long rectangular batteries on the shoulder blades and…
See that enormous blue funnel in the middle of those buildings? It’s just one of the six canopies that will light up the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. As the close-ups show, the scale of these things defies belief: They are not just light sources, however. These LED towers also collect rainwater and funnel sunlight…
