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Hey Linux kernel! You’re 15! You know what that means—look back on fond times, recompile, and gather all of your copyright-reform-loving, terminal-typing friends and have a rager! After 15 hard punches to the flipper, we’ll recount the important moments in your life and the accomplishments you’ve managed to rack up before even being allowed to…
Here are six reasons why I think that the amazing Takasugi-an Teahouse is, nevertheless, somewhere I’d never be caught dead, despite my love of tea: 1. It’s built atop two chestnut trees that were chopped down, so no roots, just engineering. 2. You can only get inside by using free-standing ladders. 3. It sways. 4.…
Onkyo’s new TX-SR607 receiver goes where no sound component has ever gone before by providing Dolby Pro Logic IIz, which gives you vertically-oriented sound in addition to the normal surround sound. The vertical sound field is created by two speakers which sit above the television, and will provide a noticeable effect in situations where something…
Bugs that skate on water can do it because their feet are “superhydrophobic.” Chinese scientists applied a similar coating to a tiny copper mesh boat, and suddenly it could hold three times the weight. It’s actually crazy: The superhydrophobic coating—what the scientists are casually calling “the cooperative effect of hierarchical micro/nanostructures and a low-surface-energy wax…
My good friend Josh Davis has written another whopper of a story for Wired. This one is about the world’s biggest diamond heist and how the thieves circumvented 10 layers of tech security. https://gizmodo.com/wired-feature-on-deep-sea-cowboys-saving-giant-ships-361048 The backstory: In February 2003, Notarbartolo was arrested for heading a ring of Italian thieves. They were accused of breaking into…
Reward: Some dude took a demo gadget, a Japanese 5-second stopwatch guessing game, from Lisa’s e-tech talk, and she’s very upset about it. That’s me in the video, using the gadget a few days before. The man last seen using the stopwatch was sitting in a back row, unable to win or let other people…
And now, I will continue the fine tradition of bitching and moaning for the features we want to see in America’s Next iPhone Software Rev. We will open with our usual salvo: CUUUUUUUUUUT AND PASSSSSSSSSSSTEEEEEEEE!!! Beyond that, here’s our magical unicorn-fantasy list: • Multitasking gestures, like the Palm Pre • Background app running, like the…
Despite being an original sponsor of the OLPC project, AMD processors will not be used in the upcoming XO-2 touchscreen netbook. Instead, in an interesting move, ARM chips will take on the computing load. https://gizmodo.com/olpc-xo-laptop-2-0-has-dual-touchscreens-looks-amazing-392060 OLPCs CTO Ed McNierney said in an interview today that the 5 watts of power used by the XO is…
The contrast between machines and nature is always fascinating to look at, and such is the case with Audiowood’s line of turntables, which bring a very woody aesthetic to the wheels of steel. Joel over at Boing Boing Gadgets says that Audiowood’s founder, Joel Scilley, has a PhD in Media Studies, but instead hopped over…
An iPhone app streaming every game of the NCAA tournament, one of the year’s most joyous events, is totally a good use of $5. If I didn’t have to watch only on wi-fi. Granted, there are a few scenarios I could imagine where this would work—leeching free wi-fi while on the go, at a friend’s…
Driving would be way more fun if we didn’t have to worry about the whole gas and brake thing, right? Sentience understands this, and their intelligent cruise control means you can finally forget about it. Maybe I’m exaggerating just a little bit, but the tech here is really cool. Sentience will analyze the best route…
For the love of Jeebus, why are there “digital photo frames” (read: LCD panels) embedded into a pencil cup?! Perhaps it’s because they’ve gained consciousness and want to rule the world. As though that glowing monstrosity sitting on your desk wasn’t enough already, this tool of Satan gives you a 1.5-inch, 128×128 screen that can…
In Rochdale, Lancashire UK, the local government isn’t taking any crap when it comes to noise pollution. After repeated complaints, officers seized around $4000 worth of home theater equipment from a local family. All-in-all, Paul and Amanda Cregan have been ratted out six times by neighbors since 2006. When those warnings were ignored, officials finally…
With Pioneer out, Panasonic is licking their chops in the plasma department (with some decent LCDs too). Either way, they make some of the best sets available: here’s a guide to their 2009 lineup. https://gizmodo.com/pioneer-officially-quits-making-tvs-5152220 Note that these are the same TVs rolled out at CES—nothing new has been announced, save for pricing and availability…
Much like waiters and cooks, IT department guys are not to be trifled with. There are many reasons why, but on the top of the list you will find the Etherkiller. Simply put, this fairly simple DIY device involving an RJ-45 connector spliced onto a power cord that will obliterate anything with an Ethernet port.…
The G-rated world of the Wii has little room for lethal-looking peripherals. Luckily Cobalt Flux stepped up to the plate with their Dark Ops Lightgun, at least in their press shots. The Dark Ops Lightgun probably sounds a lot scarier than it actually is, but it’s managed to ditch “I’m just a toy” white for…
I ate a wheel of cheese for lunch. But I’m not worried. Constipation is no match for the bowel-emptying thrills of the ski jump toilet stall. Just align your feet on the painted skis on the floor and imagine you are barreling down the mountain bare-assed on a rocket full of feces. Yeah, Metamucil can’t…
After I posted the custom Xbox 360 bong yesterday, I asked you to send in any other custom gaming smoking paraphernalia you might make. I was not disappointed: say hello to the NES Zapper bong. https://gizmodo.com/xbox-360-bong-will-give-you-the-red-eyes-of-laziness-5168305 Created just last night, the Zapper bong is designed to be used handle-up, with the barrel in your mouth.…
Having a party and want to let your guests (or at least your guests with iPhones with Remote installed) have a say in the music that plays? New iTunes DJ lets you do just that. https://gizmodo.com/itunes-8-1-now-available-5168529 If you have iTunes DJ enabled, anyone with the newest version of Remote on their iPhone can vote on…
Like a Terminator edging toward you with half its face blown off, the Sony A900 dSLR only looks meaner without the candy plastic shell. [CNET photo by Stephen Shankland via Core77] Hey, all you endoskeleton people—calm down. Take a deep breath. It’s OK. John Mahoney and I actually had the same conversation, and he convinced…
