Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Here’s an extremely easy way to enable tethering on your iPhone 3G and 3GS (even on AT&T!) by just visiting a site on your iPhone’s Safari. No jailbreaking needed. Here’s where you go: http://help.benm.at/help.php Then scroll down to the Tethering & Internet Settings, then choosing your country and provider. This works for both AT&T and…
Apple is known for being secretive to the extreme, but did you know some of their employees look like they’re dressed up for Dungeons & Dragons LARPing while at work? Here’s stuff from the NYT article that we already knew: Secrecy at Apple is not just the prevailing communications strategy; it is baked into the…
It’s why we declared independence in America, and it may have something to do with fabled British teeth. The UK’s power plug is ridiculously large, and now one designer has fixed it. https://gizmodo.com/power-plugs-of-the-world-map-5259219 The video is a bit on the slow side, but here’s the gist: The UK is filled with beautiful slim electronics, but…
Just as reported, Intel and Nokia had a big fancy announcement to tell everyone that they’re going to be doing something together in the future—the specifics of which wasn’t important (or defined) enough to mention today. https://gizmodo.com/report-nokia-partnering-with-intel-for-mystery-device-5300832 The two did say that they’re going to be sharing Nokia’s HSPA/3G modem technology so Intel can put…
AT&T has released TeleNav’s turn-by-turn, voice-enabled GPS navigator for the iPhone at the expected price of $10 a month, proving that they’re all going to be expensive, including TomTom’s upcoming entry. https://gizmodo.com/app-store-subscriptions-mean-more-expensive-hopefully-5297473 The software, which we’ve already seen on BlackBerrys and other phones from both AT&T and Sprint, includes the usual car GPS features, like…
The screwtop has already challenged the tradition and snobbery behind the cork. But are you ready to order wine from a dispenser? N2Wine, makers of ‘wine globes‘ believe that yes, yes you are ready to buy wines distributed from big vats. They argue that the aging process is overrated and that 90% of wines are…
Crysis is the current standard bearer for PC game graphics. If your computer can run Crysis well, it’s a pretty impressive setup. So it’s pretty nuts to see Crysis running smoothly on a Samsung Omnia cellphone. The Omnia isn’t running the game, of course. Instead, its being processed remotely and streamed via OTOY, an upcoming…
Remember how Steorn, the company who built, hyped, then failed to demonstrate the Orb free energy machine, convened a hand-selected “jury” to evaluate the technology? No? Well, anyway, they’ve disbanded, unanimously unconvinced. https://gizmodo.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-steorn-orbo-free-energy-machin-275451 First, a little recap: In 2006, a little-known IT company announced that it had, in effect, circumvented the law of conservation of…
NYC starts counting carbon emissions with a giant billboard, LED lights are getting fancy with color-changing bulbs, Android mobile phones go solar powered, and the competition for the .eco TLD gets hotter. New York City is now sporting a billboard that is counting the carbon emissions in our atmosphere. Using the most reliable data available,…
He’s the invisible man/ count the bubbles in your hand/ the summer sites/ and the southern skies. That’s all that’s left behind/ the skies, and a sweet caress/ he’s the invisible man/ catch him if you can. This is The Man with No Shadow, a LED-based sculpture of a full size man by Makoto Tojiki.…
Last year, we raved about a crazy/genius pulsejet engine bicycle builder named Robert Maddox. Now you can buy his biggest and baddest engine on eBay. https://gizmodo.com/the-75-mph-bicycle-thats-powered-by-a-jet-engine-391602 This twin engine produces 100lbs of thrust by burning a mix of gasoline and kerosene—no need for jet fuel. Consisting of two 50lb engines that can each reportedly thrust…
What is your dog trying to say when he’s barking at bicyclists riding by your window? If only we spoke Japanese, we’d know. Back in 2002, TakaraTomy released a device called the Bowlingual, which claimed to translate a dog’s barking into human dialect you could read from a screen. Now, 7 years later, the company…
With the Sabre, OCZ has made good on a CES promise: to take Art Lebedev’s OLED-in-each-key concept and adapt it for the mass market. Along with a lower price, though, this means a less impressive feature set. https://gizmodo.com/ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-optimus-maximus-k-381011 The first thing you’ll notice is that only a small cluster of the Sabre’s keys—the numpad, specifically—are…
If Apple won’t do it, maybe it’s time for us to celebrate the potential of another company’s multitouch laptops. Because Lenovo’s worldwide product marketing manager Franciso Carias revealed that the company is considering building multitouch screens into their Thinkpads and creating a 15-inch OLED version of the T500 “if demand is there.” Well Lenovo, we…
Did anyone else notice? When NXE launched, it was pretty quick. But it’s just gotten slower…and slower. (Thanks ads!) Luckily, Microsoft is admitting there’s an issue and has a plan to fix it. During his last podcast, Xbox spokesperson/kind guidance counselor Major Nelson revealed that a “faster” dashboard update would be coming later this year…
Installing the Pre’s earliest homebrew apps required you to “root” your device—easy enough, but not for the faint of heart. Now, there’s a new method, with no rooting, no risky hacks, and one simple secret: email. https://gizmodo.com/running-custom-firmware-on-the-palm-pre-is-rather-easy-5288989 Seriously. Apparently, there’s a gaping security hole in the Pre’s email app, which allows certain applications to be…
Bloomberg is reporting that Nokia has chosen Intel to supply processors for upcoming devices. What kind of devices? Who knows! That news could come tomorrow, when the partnership is set to be announced. Nokia tablet, anyone? [Bloomberg—Thanks, Tim!] https://gizmodo.com/nokias-leaked-future-tablet-screenshot-large-smartphone-5260260
Adobe President and CEO Shantanu Naraye has pegged October 4–7 as the release Windows for a Flash 10 beta, which will bring official, optimized support to Android, WebOS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian. Notice anything missing there? The dates correspond with the beginning and end of the Adobe MAX conference, where Naraye says the beta will…
Allowing people to quickly hop through airport security with a TSA-verified biometric “fast passes,” Clear had great idea on their hands. Sadly, as of yesterday, their freeflowing security lanes will be closed. So what was it? Did tightened government regulations make operating impossible? Was there some kind of security breach? An issue with the TSA…
They’ve finally delivered: the Dev Team has released the Ultrasn0w full unlock for last-gen iPhones running firmware 3.0. https://gizmodo.com/iphone-dev-team-unlocks-iphone-3-0-with-new-ultrasn0w-5293367 The instructions are nice and short: 1. Ensure you have upgraded to iPhone OS 3.0 2. Jailbreak your iPhone 3G using redsn0w or PwnageTool (this will also install Cydia/Icy) 3. Run Cydia or Icy 4. Please…
