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Some new vending machines in Japan are designed to hand out free drinks to all comers—but only in case of an emergency. In the earthquake-prone country, specially marked vending machines currently being distributed to subway stations can be set to “emergency mode,” in which they hand out free drinks to everyone. It’s a pretty great…
Swedish advertising agency Acne assembled this junkyard monster, a bus sculpture assembled from 50 cars, to make a point about C02 emissions. As you’ll see in the clip below, the sculpture created a bit of a phenomenon, causing traffic jams and a small media sensation. But I included the video for the fun time lapse…
Someone did an application to detect metal using the Android G1. Is this because the G1 is more smartypanties than other smartphones? Is it magic perhaps? No, it’s a clever use of the built-in compass. As you know, a compass detects the magnetic field of the Earth. And when they get close to an iron…
Here it is, the first official photo from Iron Man 2. Tony Stark is looking concerned because he ran out of bourbon while a wall of Iron Men look on. I can’t wait. Director Jon Favreau says that Iron Man 2 will take place six months after Tony Stark tells the world that he’s Iron…
MaximumPC took a solid whack at explaining how dreaded Blue Screen of Death error codes work (pertaining most recently to XP, Vista and even Windows 7), what they mean and how to fix them. https://gizmodo.com/what-a-windows-7-bsod-looks-like-5129919 A good deal of their article is aimed at overclockers—which isn’t so surprising given the audience. But there are some…
LeftRightLeftRightLeft. That’s the stupid name for Coldplay’s upcoming live album recorded during their 2009 tour, still going on. The good news for fans? It is going to be completely free online this May 15: Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans – the people who give us…
Michael Bay has done it again: Pack our favorite robots in a marathon of complete destruction, falling debris, and the occasional flashing of naughty bits. All in glorious high definition, just like we like it. I just can’t wait for this magnum opus to be released in June 26, because that will mean I will…
Rather than just sticking a strap on your DSi, you could use something with a bit more function: A dual strap/charger. The Thrustmaster T-Strap is a mere cord that plugs in the back of your DSi. But through the remarkable engineering of a little plastic piece thingie, the cord creates a loop when not plugged…
Pete Burrows has it from a source “familiar with Apple’s plans” that the next iPhone will include video (yeah?), an iMovie app for basic on-phone editing, plus loads of video sharing options. [BusinessWeek via Macrumors] https://gizmodo.com/iphone-3-0s-video-recording-interface-revealed-5202166
Variety is claiming that Sony will unveil a Wiimote-type motion-sensing controller at E3, piling another rumor on top of expectations for a UMD-less PSP. No matter what, Sony’s in for an int-er-est-ing June. https://gizmodo.com/rumor-new-umd-less-psp-hardware-to-launch-at-e3-chris-5232000 Variety’s sources claim to have used the device, which more-or-less conforms to the system outlined in this two-year-old patent. This is…
That’s right, Windows 7 RC has been given an expiration date far ahead in the mists of time: June 1st, 2010, to be exact. So don’t be shy about giving it a whirl. The extra-long lifespan is to encourage people to take their time, read reviews, and not feel rushed to grab a copy before…
In the melting ice, amidst the thawing dog crap, Whitehorse, Yukon resident Andrew noticed an oddly-familiar rectangular item: An iPod classic. He brought it home and found, to his surprise, that it was fully functional. Frozen in the “bottom layer” of ice (Christ, how many layers do you think there are?) since, he estimates, early…
It looks like Europe is just as taken with the Pirate Party as we at Giz are, because a recent electoral poll shows them with enough votes to secure a seat in the E.U. Parliament. https://gizmodo.com/swedens-pirate-party-makes-a-run-for-the-e-u-parliam-5188323 The guilty verdict handed down to the Pirate Bay leaders resulted in a huge amount of publicity and popularity…
Today was a bad day. Unrelated, gadgets were misbehaving. Someone had to pay for it. I was rushing off to meet with Owen from Valleywag, and I was late. I forgot that a surfboard on my roof was not tied down on my roof rack and as I stopped for a stop sign at the…
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the B-2 Stealth Bomber’s first flight. To celebrate, Northrop Grumman’s has unveiled the B-2 Stealth Bike, which unfortunately doesn’t fly and it’s not invisible. It looks… hmmm, stealthy? https://gizmodo.com/b-2-stealth-bomber-crashes-1-2-billion-dollars-turn-to-360090 [Flight Global]
I fantasize about replacing all my windows with flat aquariums, filling them with coral and reef life (rays, lobster, clownfish), lighting them with full-spectrum bulbs and calling myself Namor. [Aquawall via BornRich] The tanks are roughly 6 inches deep, cost well over a thousand dollars, have an LCD readout for temperature and claim to be…
The big yellow Gourmet cookbook is one of my go-tos for weekend dinner planning. Now the entire contents of Ruth Reichl’s culinary bible are on a free iPhone app—one that makes shopping lists for you. It’s great—you either search for recipes you already know (from the pages of Gourmet, Bon Appetit and a bunch of…
Attempting to erase the line between art and technology—and also make the laptop less “cold and impersonal”—Dell has added 120 new designs to their Laptop Art Studio. The new skins bring the total to over 200 different designs from a collection of artists. Here are a few of my favorites from the new batch: [Dell…
Cnet says that hundreds of critical hospital devices across the U.S. have been infected by the Conficker worm. The number of hospitals affected wasn’t disclosed, but the problem isn’t thought to be widespread. https://gizmodo.com/conficker-is-not-happening-ignore-conficker-5193684 Cybersecurity expert Marcus Sachs broke the news at a security conference in San Francisco, raising the question of what would happen…
That’s right: Scientists will achieve mind control. By shining laser beams. Directly at cells in your brain. Which have been intentionally infected. By a blue-light sensitive virus. That they made in a lab. From algae. According to Wired, you can really do some fancy stuff inside the mind by injecting an engineered virus into cells…
