Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Acer is planning the release of an 11.6-inch Aspire One. It’s a lot like the 10-inch version, but it will feature the Atom Z530 processor (as opposed to the N270), which as my pea brain understands it, features identical clocks speed to the N270/280s but lower power consumption. The system also features a GMA500 graphics…
HardOCP gleefully answers this, the least pressing question of our time, with science. Video after the jump, NSFW for language, guns, and ridiculous blaring death metal. [HardOCP via Digg]
The latest creation from the industry leader in extremely unlikely gadgets, Brando’s Rota-Rota USB hub combines three swiveling USB ports, readers for most flash memory formats (sorry, CF) and, uhh, two thermometers? https://gizmodo.com/meeting-brando-hong-kongs-usb-willy-wonka-5136739 Styled more like a 1950’s car accessory than a USB device, the Rota-Rota only looks like it’s made of metal. And before…
With so much talk of late about how old media outlets are dying, it may be time to look at past visions of the media future. Not that they worked. Don’t get any crazy ideas guys. The image above is from the excellent blog Modern Mechanix and was featured in the May, 1939 issue of…
Remember that huge mystery box that appeared at my home’s door, which is not a TV or a sex doll or a dead hooker or a new Apple iMac? Well, here is a hint. https://gizmodo.com/what-is-inside-this-huge-mystery-box-5162911 No, it’s not a life-sized doll of Vulcan Betty Page dressed up as a sexy Federation pin up. It is…
This POV viral campaign advertisement demo film(?!) is an amalgamation of cell phones, VR headsets, Lost music, Half-Life references and hat tips to movies like 28 Days Later. But what, exactly, does it mean? Spotted initially by CrunchGear, the movie links to a web site called What’s In The Box, but the trail pretty much…
So you say you’re a somewhat shady person, but you really want to confirm that trait for anyone who’s still on the fence about you. Enter the Mobile Visor. It’ll do the trick. Easy. Before the visor, people might have simply guessed that you were surfing porn on your mobile while at work. “Well, his…
The Xtensor is marketed as a tool to better your gamer skillz, but come on. Let’s get serious. Mary Palm and her five friends just got a little hotter, didn’t they? What? Too crass? Fine then, this thing also helps alleviate tennis elbow and arthritis pain, thanks to what its designers call “true biomechanical correctness.”…
Is Amazon ready to unleash HD VOD shows on the masses? Possibly, as the search engine bots roaming the interweb today discovered a few indexed Amazon pages listing HD content for $3 an episode. New Tee Vee has a few cached images of the new shows, but as BGR notes, clicking any of the links…
Gordon Dickson wrote a piece in the February 15, 2009 issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the Paleo-Future blog: In popular culture, paleofuture refers to the study of what people in the past thought we’d be doing today — flying in cars, eating entire meals in a pill, submitting to self-aware robots. One clearinghouse…
Called “Ghost in the Machine,” this artwork from iri5 uses some kind of “cassette” to recreate the likenesses of popular musicians. Apparently, cassettes were used for music and seduction, by way of a “mix tape.” But more seriously, this is a pretty ingenious use of older gadget-y materials to make something inspiring and new. There’s…
Between this post about “soft robots,” those nanotube muscles we talked about earlier this week, and the last scene of Battlestar Galactica, I have no doubt that our future is very robotic indeed. https://gizmodo.com/these-carbon-nanotube-muscles-are-30-times-stronger-tha-5176213 But what’s this “soft robot” thing, you ask? Easy. It’s your traditional autonomous robot, with limbs that bend, flex and fit…
Even sci-fi television dramas are not immune to the ill effects of the current economic climate. Take Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, for example. Eye spy an Xbox 360 wireless headset painted black. [Thanks, Alex]
With warmer weather comes mosquitoes. Mosquitoes suck, no pun intended. In underdeveloped countries mosquitoes also kill by carrying malaria. This is why I love the Provector “flower.” Everything about it is designed to kill. But why a flower, and not a juicy pseudo-human arm? Well, fun fact: Mosquitoes love sucking blood, but they love sucking…
As I watched this video of the Miniatur Wunderland my mind went from mild amusement to surprising awe to absolute astonishment. At 11,840 square feet and fully computerized, the world’s largest model defies belief: Click to view It took 500,000 working hours to build, going from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to North America, through Germany,…
Asus’s interesting Fold/Unfold concept we saw at CES is actually going to be commercially released, according to Asus CEO Jerry Shen. The notebook (not netbook) will cost somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500. https://gizmodo.com/asus-will-actually-produce-their-best-concepts-5166623 Shen expects the Fold/Unfold (is that really the official name?) to come out in around September or October 2009. The design, since…
Note: This faucet-vase combination will not excuse the rest of your grungy tenement. [Craziest Gadgets]
The Super Nintoaster, like its predecessor, is a fully-functioning SNES case that does actually start games when the toast lever is pushed. https://gizmodo.com/the-nintoaster-breakfast-of-champions-5047886 It doesn’t appear to toast bread anymore, but that’s probably for the best. [Craziest Gadgets]
There are some serious issues at work here: Best Buy sold a machine as new when it obviously wasn’t, and that’s no good. But the proof is so gloriously graphic, I’m tempted to overlook it. This customer bought a supposedly new DVD player from Best Buy, and when he came home, he found not only…
iriver’s P7, the 4.3″ touchscreen PMP with a mysterious “magazine-style layout” for a GUI, is now available for pre-order for the reasonable price of $169/199 for the 8GB/16GB options. [J and R via DAPReview] https://gizmodo.com/iriver-p7-gets-official-packs-innovative-packaging-5157932