Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
If Apple released a 13-inch, 3.8lb aluminum laptop for $799, we’d all be going freaking nuts. Just check out the specs: • 2.16GHz Intel dual-core • 13.3-inch WXGA, 3.8lbs, .4-.98 inches thick • 250GB hard drive • 3GB of memory • Intel GMA X4500HD (OK, forget that part) • External USB 8x DVD optical drive…
Sprint’s picking up Virgin Mobile in a deal worth $483 million. Virgin Mobile, if you recall, is an MVNO that runs on Sprint and bought Helio earlier. They’re going to mash it up with their Boost Mobile for MVNO funtimes. https://gizmodo.com/virgin-mobile-to-buy-helio-kill-it-consume-it-5019473 The idea, apparently, is to strengthen Sprint’s prepaid business, or something like that. Now…
We don’t usually go on about chips, but after years of selling the same hugely popular (but power hungry) SiRFStarIII GPS chip, SiRF launched a new chip platform acknowledging that cellphones now rule the GPS business. Since portable navigators have the luxury of plugging into the 12V jack on your car’s dashboard, the SiRF chip…
On TreeHugger, a brick-laying robot makes beautiful buildings better, Samsung investing billions for greener gadgets, a cool biomass cookstove doubles as electrical generator, and your iPod repair skills could be a lucrative side job. In its Eco-Management 2013 report, Samsung says $4.3 billion is going into greening its gadgets. Check out how. Can a robot…
Now we know why Google Voice apps were only released for BlackBerry and Android. Apple rejected Google’s official Google Voice app when it was submitted for approval six weeks ago. What. The. Shit. https://gizmodo.com/google-voice-apps-coming-to-android-and-blackberry-iph-5314857 Here’s the quote from the Google spokesperson to TechCrunch: “We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile…
Following Asus’ announcement that its motherboards will soon feature USB 3.0 ports, Fujitsu’s teasing us by shipping its new USB 3.0-to-Sata bridge chips which will allow for the super-dee-duper speedy data transfers implied by USB 3.0’s official name, SuperSpeed USB. https://gizmodo.com/asus-first-to-feature-usb-3-0-with-p6x58-motherboard-5318979 To give you an idea of what to be excited for: the company estimates…
Meet Fresh, the amazing Shrinking Milk Jug, who will keep your milk fresh for up to a week longer by eliminating the air void which makes it go bad in the first place. “Normal milk jugs trap air inside them, which causes the milk to spoil rapidly,” but with its innovative spring frame design, Fresh…
Back to the review https://gizmodo.com/sonos-cr200-touchscreen-controller-review-better-than-5323890 Back to the review Back to the review Back to the review Back to the review Back to the review Back to the review
Verizon Wireless has asked the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to judge its advertisements claiming “America’s most reliable 3G Network” to be truthful, an assertion that AT&T has disputed. The point at issue is network speed and how it relates to reliability; Verizon believes that AT&T’s challenge “relies on the incorrect premise that speed is…
Samsung and Intrinsity have announced one of the fastest ARM Cortex A8-based processors yet—the same chip design in the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre—clocking in at 1GHz. Code-named “Hummingbird,” this new chip is designed with smartphones in mind as it balances power consumption and high clock speeds, and matches the single core end of Qualcomm’s…
This image of the International Space Station, taken just as it crossed the face of the sun, was captured by French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. Amazingly, Legault took the picture from the ground—using only a camera-telescope unit and specialized solar filters.[Wired]
Just a few weeks after celebrating the 35th birthday of the barcode, researchers at MIT have unveiled a promising replacement for the aging standard. https://gizmodo.com/happy-35th-birthday-bar-code-5302930 Dubbed the Bokode, the system uses a clever focusing technique that allows a small beam of light to hold a wealth of easily accessible information. Bokodes are based on the…
It’s not a negative. It’s not frozen. This rat’s skin is blue and its color may be the secret to avoid spinal cord injuries and paralysis, according to a new study by neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. That secret is Brilliant Blue G dye, a variant of Blue Number One, which is…
Verizon’s not dicking around on LTE—what’s LTE?—they’re planning trials later this year in Seattle and Boston, with the stated goal still commercial launches in 30 markets next year (not in time for Apple tablet). [PCMag via PhoneScoop] https://gizmodo.com/giz-explains-why-wimax-and-lte-wireless-4g-data-will-b-5168035
You’ll never guess what is revealed when you open this bra-shaped pudding packaging! Oh, wait, yes you will: boob pudding. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be F-Cup Pudding from Japan, which is designed to increase breast size. It’s just regular old pudding that’s shaped like breasts. Come on, Japan! You used to be such a…
Jason Chen has over 60,000 gamerpoints on Xbox Live. If he gets equally hooked on Booyah Society, the new iPhone app that gives you points from doing basically anything, he’s in trouble. Booyah Society gives you points for everything from going to a new restaurant to hitting the gym to buying a new pair of…
If you email photos from your iPhone using the standard “share” button, it shrinkifies them to a squee 800×600. But if you copy and paste them into the email app, you’ll get the full delicious resolution. [Geek Stuff via Lifehacker] https://lifehacker.com/send-photos-in-full-resolution-from-your-iphone-5323809
The question of what to do when police have more than one perp to unnecessarily victimize has finally been answered with the new X3. As you can see with the video, the X3 is capable of firing three cartridges without reloading. It also uses “a revolutionary Pulse Calibration System” that monitors electrical output in order…
Everyone has a drawer where their gadgets go to die. If there was a gadget Hell, it would surely look like these 10 reader submissions. https://gizmodo.com/is-your-gadget-drawer-the-messiest-prove-it-5322194 LordieLordie: That’s where gadgets go to die… PlaneParts: Every time I look at that Audiovox phone, I’m amazed at how huge it seems now and how stoked I was…
Here’s a poorly thought out burglary alarm: human flypaper. Set it inside your front door at night or when you’re out and anyone who breaks in will be stuck to it. Of course, then they will take off their shoes and be seriously pissed off, either coming after you or your property in retaliation. But…