Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
At a State Department townhall conducted by Secretary Clinton, a staffer asked why Internet Explorer is mandated, even though Firefox is security-approved for the “entire intelligence community.” The answer? A whole lot of bullshit, especially the insane citing of “expense.” Internet Explorer isn’t mandated in every governmental department, and Firefox has been vetted and cleared…
If you’re one of those unfortunate Pre users that updated to iTunes 8.2.1 without seeing our warning, there are two options. You could either downgrade to iTunes 8.2, or use one of these alternative apps and future-proof yourself. https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-itunes-8-2-1-breaks-pre-syncing-5315386 The problem with downloading to iTunes 8.2 from 8.2.1 is that isn’t quite as straightforward as…
Eternaleds announced their new Hydrolux-4 LED lightbulb, the very first liquid-cooled bulb in the world. The bulbs are incredibly energy-efficient compared to either incandescent or CFL bulbs, and come with a price tag to match. The bulbs, which cost $35 each (!), are rated for 35,000 hours of use and only consumes 4W of electricity…
Details for Intel’s new quad- and dual-core i7 and i5 chips have leaked in the form of a roadmap, so we’ve got some excellent specifics, including release dates and prices. The new quad-core “Clarksfield” chips are the most expensive and powerful, and will be able to scale up clock speed with a feature called “Turbo…
Mattel’s Football (just “Football”) was one of the most popular standalone handheld games of the late ’70s, in the same ultra-addicting category as Pong and Pac-Man. It was the beginning of the end for the attention span of American youth. Even though I was -9 years old in 1977, when Football was first released, and…
Lifehacker many tips this week teach you how to stay cool, get your car fixed and curse like an unemployed pharmacist. • Make your own sun jar • Here’s their review on Gmail’s Todo list • Check your air conditioner now to save yourself trouble later https://lifehacker.com/create-your-own-sun-jar-lifehacker-edition-5315357/ • Combine Google and Wolfram results • Build…
Come on, I could get the whole Rocky Third Leg USB Drive thing—since he used to be a porn actor—but frikkin’ USB Crunching Elmo Elmo and his metal junk? https://gizmodo.com/rockys-third-leg-usb-drive-pumps-the-abs-5296975 It’s wrong. It’s $22. [Craziest Gadgets]
Soon you may start seeing real Google Maps markers everywhere across the world: Google has asked a whole bunch of famous people—like the chef Ferran Adria, artist Maya Lin, or puppeteer Al Gore—to share their favorite spots. Google is placing physical markers in all these places with icons and plaques identifying them. If I had…
If you are in a profession that involves tools, this caliper business card will certainly get you noticed. And the good news is that if you have access to a laser cutter you can easily make one yourself. Check out Thiniverse for the templates you need to make the caliper card. You may also want…
Holy balls! Did you watch the Home Run derby the other night? I didn’t. But if I had, I would have wondered: How did they manage to show those cool balls’ trails in real time? The mechanism involves a complicated math algorithm that tracks and predicts the ball’s trajectory in real time, only 400 milliseconds…
How’s this for irony: “Video Killed the Radio Star,” released in 1979 by The Buggles, is about how TV (MTV in particular) would kill radio. And now, 30 years later, Universal has disabled embedding the YouTube video. Really, it’s good that Universal has embedding disabled. If I could put it in this post, you’d be…
On a basic level, the Route O’ Clock looks fantastic. But the colorful face is about more than just looks—it’s a router that monitors your broadband signal and indicates its strength with different colors at each interval. This router is essentially a twenty-four hour clock divided into half hourly segments. As a reaction to the…
This is why you don’t check valuables people. A TSA officer and baggage handler working at JFK airport were recently busted stealing a MacBook Air and a T-Mobile Sidekick out of decoy luggage. Both suspects were filmed by authorities rummaging through luggage bound for Miami on July 7th. They also switched luggage tags in a…
Want to come with us to surf camp? Here’s how. All you have to do is follow simple directions. 1) Change your commenter name into a surfer name. “64BitDude” would become “64FootWaveDude” or something. Use your imagination. 2) Write a short paragraph explaining why you want to come learn to surf with us. 3) Put…
Walt Mosspuppet answers reader mail, exactly like you’d expect the only technology journalist in the world to, but super funny and mean. [YouTube via Fake Steve Jobs]
Google’s native app versions of Google Voice for Android and BlackBerry is an example of what we want to see on ALL phones, including the iPhone and the Pre. But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. https://gizmodo.com/google-voice-apps-coming-to-android-and-blackberry-iph-5314857 The major issue we have is the fact that text messages aren’t “intercepted” by the Google Voice app in…
Looks like a real live D300s to me. The Nikon leaks are speeding up, so I’m thinking we’ll see this get official in August. You know, if it’s real. More shots here: [Nikon Rumors] https://gizmodo.com/heres-the-nikon-d300s-and-d3000-maybe-5304478
Pizza Hut has just unveiled its new iPhone App, one that lets you order food as well as, uh, play a racing game. This app does what you’d expect it to do — order pizza and wings — while also making full use of the iPhone’s functionality to gimmicky effect. When you order wings, for…
Anyone who knows tech knows certain names—Gates, Jobs, Woz, Kamen, Stringer—but before they became legends, they were busy doing, well, some curious stuff. Here’s a glance at their lives circa 1979: Steve Jobs Click to viewNow: Just returning to daily work at Apple after a prolonged health scare, he’s still one of the most powerful—and…
…by completing this fun-filled survey all about YOU. Send the last question to [email protected], thereby entering yourself to win a $300 AMEX gift card. Then we’ll take a long walk on the beach together, planning our future while the surf gently laps at our toes. Love, Gawker. [Contest rules apply.]