Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
GadgetTrak, an anti-theft tracking system, claimed its first victory, and we’re pretty impressed. An iMac was stolen two weeks ago, and the thief wasn’t clever enough to reformat. Big mistake: GadgetTrak managed to find his location and took his photo. After two weeks, the thief made the mistake of connecting to the internet, and GadgetTrak…
When Jay Leno replaced car parts, he could only print plastic molds in 3D. Life’s easier now, because molds are unnecessary in the creation of custom desk kitsch and car parts as 3D printing got a stainless steel upgrade. https://gizmodo.com/jay-leno-uses-3d-printer-to-replace-rare-old-car-parts-5311414 21 days and $10 per cubic centimeter is all you need after you send a…
Young Alan here would like to show you how his OpenChord V1 guitar—an actual, string-having guitar—can be used to control everyone’s favorite rhythm game. Warning: If you ever want to play Guitar Hero again, don’t watch this video. I’ll grant this: it’s pretty neat what the OpenChord does, plugging into the Wiimote and convincing the…
This week the ‘hack has burglary tips, BSOD tips, a few Gmail tips and a way to make a cheap tilt-shift lens with toilet parts. • BlueScreenView troubleshoots your blue screen of death. Displays your last BSOD so you can Google for a solution • Firefox’s director talks about Firefox and Chrome • How to…
A Philadelphia jogger was killed yesterday by a falling tree when she failed to hear the warning signs of the impending crash over the music from her iPod. But let’s not be hasty and blame the iPod. What’s especially chilling, and damning if you’re the type to blame the inanimate gadget, is that the iPod…
I really thought—hoped, really—this sliver of black plastic was the Japanese PS3 Slim. It’s not. It’s a wireless router from Logitec—not Logitech, which is known as Logicool in Japan—that’s 7mm thin at its skinniest point, ballooning out to 24mm at its fattest. Except for its uncanny Sony style, it seems fairly unexceptional, but man, it…
If you look like Snow White or a dead fish after a chemical spill in all your photos, don’t worry: Now you can tan in no time, no risks involved, without leaving the comforting light of your monitor. Click to view I mean, who needs to spend any time frolicking half-naked on the beach, drinking…
Remember the Sex Offender Locator in the App Store? Because America kind of sucks sometimes, it was one of Apple’s top 10 paid apps for a while. Until Apple yanked it, that is. https://gizmodo.com/offender-locator-tracks-sex-offenders-on-your-iphone-5325395 The makers are apparently planning on suing Apple over this, but I don’t think they have a leg to stand on:…
It’s a bit surprising that even with the worldwide prevalence of text messaging, the first 911 call center to support SMS just opened yesterday in Iowa. Unfortunately, the system is still fairly imperfect. You see, only subscribers to i wireless, a local T-Mobile affiliate, can text message 911. And it only works within Black Hawk…
With the kickoff of Summermodo today, I got to thinking about the stereotype of a pasty nerd spending beautiful summer days indoors with his gadgets. Is it true? https://gizmodo.com/summermodo-gadgets-go-outside-5330961 In other words, are you a nerd that can tan? Are You a Nerd That Can Tan?(opinion) [Image via Flickr/bre pettis]
There’s plenty of laptop love in today’s available gadgets. Maingear has a new powerful rig in a portable form factor, and Newertech has a battery charger for anyone looking to keep multiple MacBook batteries topped off. • Maingear introduced the eX-L 15 today, the little brother to the monster eX-L 18. The eX-L 15 may…
Have you ever considered a backup plan for your GPS if it happens to fail in a city you’re not familiar with? If you said “another GPS”, you get a gold star. But what if you’re not rich? Those who don’t have money for two GPSes in the same car will need a map. Yes,…
I’ll give the WSJ a pass on running their Motion Plus review a week behind, because it’s a pretty good one. But a faux-unintentional “Wii” pun, in 2009? Get with the program! (Disclaimer: I giggled, like a child.) [WSJ] https://gizmodo.com/wii-motionplus-review-5326510
Remember this? When Steve Jobs had Bill Gates appear like the Wizard of Oz in a MacWorld keynote? Bill appeared to assure the world that Microsoft was going to keep developing Office for the Mac. It happened back on August 6, 1997. The video is pretty amazing to watch when we’ve got more recent and…
The sound is calm. There’s not a person in sight. I’m straddling the most advanced jetski in the world, a $16,500, 255hp supercharged beast. And I gun it. The front end roars to life, bucking a bit. And then the world blurs. Within about 3 seconds, I’ve reached somewhere around 70 miles per hour on…
Explore the history of photography by examining the 85 vintage photo ads hand-plucked from the Popular Photography archives. Is that a side boob on the 1937 premier issue? Now that’s how you launch a magazine. Scandalous! [PopPhoto]
One would think that the Cold War ended a long time ago, but ask the Pentagon officials who are very concerned about the two Russian nuclear-powered Akula-class attack submarines now patrolling the US East Coast. One ping only, Vasily. Akulas—the NATO designation for the Project 971 Shchuka-B Soviet Submarine—are some of the deadliest sea weapons…
Push. It’s not just a verb that sends people careening down a flight of stairs. It’s also not just for guys in suits diddling on BlackBerrys. You hear it featured on new iPhone apps every week. So, what is it? Well, push describes a lot of things. Push is simply an action. Versus, say, pulling.…
Not sure how this whole Windows 7 upgrade thing will work for you? Well, this official Microsoft chart probably won’t help one damn bit. Many of the upgrade paths here are illogical and unlikely to come into play (Vista Starter 64 to anything for example) but to simplify things a bit, if your upgrade path…
We’ve got some pretty keen deals today on desktops and monitors. Be sure to look at the Shark Week Great Bites Collection on Blu-Ray so you can experience the magic of Shark Week any time your heart desires. Computing and Peripherals: • Dell Inspiron 546 AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core 9650 2.3GHz Desktop PC for $429.00…
