Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
If you missed the initial run of Mad Catz’s excellent Arcade FightSticks, don’t cry—Play Asia’s taking pre-orders for new sets coming out later this year, sans sweet SFIV art, still $150. [Play-Asia, Play-Asia via Joystiq] https://gizmodo.com/mad-catz-street-fighter-iv-fightsticks-review-5161299
Hell froze. Microsoft is openly acknowledging Apple’s consumer electronics threat and going for the jugular. The company’s COO Kevin Turner has officially announced that they will open their own retail stores “right next door to Apple this fall”: https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-microsoft-opening-retail-stores-5152787 And stay tuned, because we’re going to have some retail stores opened up that are opened…
This is one of the two most perfect spheres ever. Exactly one kilogram—Imperial units be damned forever—smooth to the nearest 0.0000000003 meter (1.18110236 × 10-8 inches), and round to within 0.00000005 meters (1.96850394 × 10-6 inches). They were made using silicon by metrologists from the by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. [Makezine]
Back in the day, new fangled VHS technology opened up a world of piracy and paranoia that we are abundantly familiar with today. The only difference was that many pirates were making big, big bucks. As you will see in the following hard-hitting 60 Minutes report on the state of video piracy in 1979, insiders…
It’s Wednesday, but with many bargains on laptops, games, and more, it doesn’t matter! Looking for a TV? Check out this 40″ Sony Bravia. Are you a gamer? Mirror’s Edge is a steal! Lastly, a trip to Mars… sort of. Computers and Peripherals: • 15.6″ Dell Studio 15 Core 2 Duo Processor 2.2GHz LED Widescreen…
These paperclips, when placed on the floor of a japanese commuter train, stand up on their ends and dance whenever the train accelerates or brakes thanks electromagnetism. The video – shot on the Rokko Liner in Kobe, Japan – shows how paperclips stand on end when the train accelerates and brakes. The magnetism, which is…
We just confirmed it on our own machines: iTunes 8.2.1 breaks Pre syncing. Apple warned that they may cut off the sync, and Palm said it would be a direct blow to their users. Direct Blow, she is a’here. Updated https://gizmodo.com/apple-fine-print-warns-that-palm-pre-itunes-syncing-cou-5293219 Obviously if you’re a Pre user you should not update to the latest iTunes.…
We know as well as anyone that Kindles can be frustratingly fragile, but that’s why you buy a case, right? For the plaintiffs in a fresh class action lawsuit against Amazon, it was actually the case that caused the problems. https://gizmodo.com/busted-why-i-cant-wait-for-flexible-displays-5290328 Matt Geise, the name behind the case, went out of his way to buy…
If you have been quick to scoop up new iPhones as they come out, you may have a couple of old models lying around right now. How about using them to start a server farm? The prototype pictured here is intended to promote the ServersMan app, which gives iPhone users the ability to use their…
Hey, I’m all for a night out drinking now and then, but not to the point where I’m crawling into industrial garbage bins to sleep one off. You might not wake up when it’s crunch time. Case in point—math teacher and rugby coach Scott Williams was recently crushed to death when he fell asleep in…
Often it’s an artist’s second book or album that draws the public’s attention—so too with Apple’s number 2, whose story is excerpted here from Core Memory, photographed by Mark Richards and written by John Alderman. Name: Apple II Year created: 1977 Creator: Apple Computer, Inc. Cost: $1,298 with 4KB of RAM; $2,638 with 48KB of…
Some earth-shattering sleuthing from the WSJ: No one really knows how many albums Michael Jackson sold—certainly not 750 million. See, in the barbaric days before album sales were electronically reported to Nielsen SoundScan—1991—it was all guesswork. Here’s how messed up the Billboard rankings were in the pre-electronic days: It used rankings, not actual sales numbers,…
Sometimes when a guy cuts me off I wish I had a gun turret mounted on the top of my car. On the other hand, a horn from a WWII destroyer might be just as effective. Click to view [Break] Seriously, I can’t even imagine what this would do to a motorcyclist riding nearby. Of…
Looking for more serious drums for your Guitar Hero/Rock Band addiction? Logitech has a set of premium drums, and they’re asking a premium price for them: $230. Yep, the price for the drums exceeds the price for the game and full set of regular instruments. But these things are seriously solid for that price, feeling…
AppleInsider says Apple’s considering expanding the matte display option that’s only available on the 17-inch MacBook Pro to other Macs, most likely the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pros, to satisfy professional customers. We’ll see. [AppleInsider]
Like the last few Snow Leopard builds released unto the world, 10A411 is billed as an under-the-hood enhancement; basically it is. But there are few noticeable upgrades scattered around, if you look reaaaall close. Macrumors forums users, the dev-build-having, detail-discerning lot that they are, found a modest bounty. Quicktime X, seen below, gets a slightly…
Sony introduced the Walkman in 1979, and I got mine a year later. The Walkman boosted the profile of audio cassettes, which had been challenging LPs and 8-Tracks as a music medium. They soon dominated the music scene. A $185 TSC-300 I bought from J&R, my Walkman was also a stereo recorder. (Note the spiffy…
When I’m hidden away, waiting for a high-value target to come out of his hideout so I can put a bullet in his head from 300 yards, I always want a place to put my Fresca. Finally! [Danger Room]
When Bang and Olufsen tackles a new type of device, they do it in a very specific way: oddly, stylishly, and with reckless disregard for cost. Exhibit F: The $375 BeoTime, a flute-like, accelerometer-equipped wireless alarm clock. Tied to the broader range of Beo home theater product, the BeoTime is a bit minimalist, even by…
Call me crazy, but I don’t think the creators of this Solar Desk Lamp really thought this one all the way out. [GizFever]