Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
TiVo’s fiscal year that ended Jan 31, 2009 was its first full year of profitability EVER, which is good news if you own a TiVo, or like TiVo, or invest in TiVo.
What the hell is wrong with this phone? I mean, rotary? Come on, this is the 21st century. [eBay via Boing Boing]
Ceramic isn’t just for pottery. It’s used in military armor to stop bullets and the Space Shuttle to thwart heat. Now, Asus is reintroducing the material in its sci-fi-tastic Marine Cool motherboard. If our best guess is correct, not only is the board built on a ceramic underplate, but all of those off-white structures on…
Here’s the first footage of Woz practicing for his upcoming TV dancing debut and it’s, well… just watch it and judge for yourself. [CNET via Valleywag] https://gizmodo.com/first-picture-of-woz-primed-to-dance-into-americas-hear-5157013
Microsoft’s five minute video on what the year 2019 will look like is pretty goddamn amazing. I want to live in this world. GIVE IT TO ME NOW. The clip was shown at Wharton Business Technology Conference and it’s called 2019. My own enthusiasm aside, it looks like Microsoft’s interpolating various research technologies like Surface…
I’m visiting Texas, so I’m going to get some BBQ with a six-pack later, but not before picking up a free Bible. Or a Samsung monitor for $99. God bless beer, BBQ and LCDs. Applications & Software • Beejive IM iPhone app for $9.99 (normally $15.99 – valid until 3/8). Cellular Phones • Apple 8GB…
Mentalfloss has a list of eight tech product names, their origins and what they could have been called. For example, TiVo could have been Bongo, and Hulu means butt in Indonesian. Haha, butt. [Mentalfloss]
We’ve never heard of the Mentalists (because we’re old), but this four-woman London band just covered MGMT’s Kids using just iPhones. And it doesn’t sound like shit! The foursome used the App Store’s Ocarina, Retro Synth, miniSynth and DigiDrummer Lite to recreate the song. Again, surprisingly not horrible. [T3]
Lockheed Martin has made an awesome video—hosted by experimental test pilot Alan Norman—showing the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II combat airplanes, which include an exclusive view on the F-35 demon pilot helmet targeting system. https://gizmodo.com/f-35-helmet-display-system-to-scare-the-bejeezus-out-of-260482
Analysts at Gartner are expecting PC shipments to drop 12%, to 257m computers. I’m surprised that number doesn’t go to half that considering, generally speaking, PCs are fast enough these days that we can all wait a year to buy a new one. Gartner also believes that desktop sales will drop 32% and laptop demand…
Even the iPhone is getting in on Watchmen madness as Watchmen: Justice is Coming (snicker) heads to the platform on March 6. How is this an MMO? Because it uses Amazon’s web services. You can roam around NYC as a customized “hero”, punching your friends or (random people) in the face. The actual fighting gameplay…
As long as you live in a submarine, a refrigerator or a steel box, this Striker magnetic LED mine will be extremely useful for odd-angle illumination. If not, not as much. $9 dudes! Then again, sink work and car work would probably benefit from a nicely-placed light. Assuming, of course, that it was brighter than…
Much like the next gen OLPC design, Asus’ dual panel laptop ditches its keyboard for a second screen. https://gizmodo.com/negroponte-open-sources-olpc-hardware-design-invites-c-5149026 Spotted at CeBIT, the device features double multi-touch touchscreens that are coupled with software allowing for virtual interface devices—like a resizable keyboard and trackpad—or the laptop can simply be rotated for eBooks that read more like…
If Apple’s Time Capsule excites you, you will be happy to learn that the 1TB model is now available for $387 down from $500. This may signal the introduction of new models soon. https://gizmodo.com/rumor-apple-desktop-to-be-refreshed-on-march-24-5162606 That discount is huge. The Apple refurb store is also selling them for the cheap, but the ones at Amazon are…
Sony’s latest Japan-exclusive Bravia W5 and F5 are some fancy LCDs, refreshing at 240Hz and featuring deep contrast ratios. But the neatest thing about these TVs is surely their credit card-reading remote control. By simply pressing your card to the remote, you can make payment for VOD movies without the hassle of navigating an onscreen…
The RIAA is currently laying off dozens of employees in what’s been described as a “bloodbath” at the lawsuit-happy organization. Could this be the end of the RIAA? Hypebot, the site that reported the layoffs, says that the “RIAA as you know it is probably history by Tuesday.” And yes, that means tomorrow. Offices are…
This Japanese Human Relations calculator can tell you your compatibility with another person by simply inputting your birthdays. It’s sure to save you many headaches. It can also tell your fortune, if you’re living life solo these days. I’m assuming both solo and couple fortunes are pulled out of thin air and are wildly inaccurate…
When CNN sums up Gizmodo, you might think about Jason Chen’s pantsings or Mark Wilson’s hilarious turn of a phrase (no to that second one? fair enough). Instead, it’s all about OMG! Ponies!. CNN’s article starts out nicely enough, tipping the hat to our beloved super commenter: “If I’m going to buy something, I want…
Seed Magazine has accelerated 4.6 billion years in sixty seconds. Simple, but it gives you a perfect idea about how “fast” life has moved and the scale of evolution. [Seed]
I can’t promise that these low prices will stay, but right now, there are a small handful of custom Street Fighter IV cabinets (filled with genuine SFIV boards) available on eBay, starting at $650. UPDATE These aren’t some weird scam knock-offs. The Capcom-sanctioned cabinets made their public debut at a recent SFIV event. Each system…
