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Tipster Rob received a shipping confirmation for his Kindle 2 yesterday, two days before the official date. That translates to a delivery by release date, but also means that they’re out there, somewhere. —Thanks, Rob! https://gizmodo.com/kindle-2-official-images-and-price-leak-359-on-februa-5148568
Whenever doing research on past robots of the future I usually have to wade through a lot of exaggeration, distortion, and lies. The hundreds of articles that I’ve read from the 1920s through the present often describe robots doing things that would be incredibly difficult, even for the robots of 2009. It is much easier…
The Xact XG2500 Headset Cordless Telephone is still atrociously ugly, but that won’t stop it from inevitably appearing in JCPenny’s Christmas catalog in my parents’ mailbox later this year. And now it’s on sale! https://gizmodo.com/landline-wireless-headset-or-the-ugliest-gadget-ever-195778 Seriously, I think I saw this thing in the Penny’s catalog back when I was growing up in the 90’s,…
Some free advice if you’re ever walking down a dark street in Germany anytime soon: Be sure your cell phone is completely charged. Why? Because the country is turning out all the lights to save energy, and they’ll only turn on if you point a cellphone at them and command them to do so. So…
I’m actually kind of surprised no one had asked Nintendo this question yet, but today we learned exactly what the letter ‘i” in DSi stands for. Here’s a hint: It’s not “interactive.” Said a Nintendo rep: The “i” is symbolic of the subject “I” and its personal aspect. Plus, the addition of two cameras gives…
This upcoming bookshelf or nightstand CD player from Kenwood looks simple enough, but inside the company is promising surround sound quality output from just two speakers. The setup sort of reminds me of the overpriced Bose 3-2-1 system, which mimics surround sound using just two speakers and a sub, but unfortunately there’s little else to…
Place your kid in this iPod Bouncer stroller hybrid-thing from Combi and you’re going to need the Light of Earendil’s star to get it back. Because it looks like a giant spider, get it? Anyway, for $80, the Combi iPod Bouncer will literally rock and roll your infant with its bouncy legs and rear-mounted electronic…
Casio’s taken the wraps off the latest wristwatch in its adventurous Protrek line, the PRX-2000T, and the thin little thing is basically a streamlined weather station for your wrist. The PRX-2000T weighs in at a scant 105 grams, and is a mere 11.3mm thick. Crammed in that tiny space is a triple sensor that measures…
What’s the best way to create an HR firestorm in three easy steps? If you’re Microsoft, layoff 1,400 employees, give them severance on the way out, and then ask for part of it back. Better yet, let’s add a step four: Make sure you do all of this during one of the worst recessions in…
Ready to bow down to the otters as they slowly but inexorably take over our planet with their new grasp on human technology? No? What, you thought maybe it was going to be the dolphins? HA! Dolphins. Because they have sex for fun? Please. The otters are already making iMovie videos of said “relations” and…
As Gizmodo reader Christian was walking his dog the other day in Vienna, he stumbled upon what could be considered the original inspiration for Mac OS X’s “spinning beach ball of death.” The included pic, supplied by Christian, says it all. We’ve been calling the spinning rainbow cursor the wrong name all these years. Instead…
This week, we learned President Obama’s anti-trust chief pick said Google, and not usual suspect Microsoft, may be sent directly to jail for monopolistic behavior. My oh my, how the tables have turned, eh? “For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem,” said Christine A. Varney, Obama’s pick to head the…
Looks like the iriver Spinn is the hippest template for shameless plagiarism these days. Not one but two devices, a camera and a PMP, have popped up with obvious “inspiration” from iriver’s ’70s-influenced baby. https://gizmodo.com/iriver-spinn-media-player-has-a-great-70s-retro-flair-5043819 The camera, a no-name little 5MP bugger from China, is more forgivable, since its spinning mechanism does serve a different…
CNN’s otherwise-unremarkable piece on budget Irish airline Ryanair’s foray into in-air cellphone use brought an unexpected and unmentioned treat: Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, in a goofy promotional cellphone costume. Um. [CNN, thanks Billy!]
Welcome to your Saturday evening update on the trial of the century. Today, in celebration of the end of a week’s worth of court, the Pirate Bureau threw a massive and slyly rebellious rager. The trial has been going well for everybody’s favorite Swedish internet pirates, with the prosecution showing signs of a lack of…
The image you see above is purportedly traces of the ruins of the Lost City of Atlantis, found on Google Earth. Let’s weigh the evidence for and against, and see what we can conclude. Conclusion 1: This Is Atlantis, Dammit! The enigmatic lines were found under the sea off the north-western coast of Africa. This…
Neowin is reporting a date of April 10th for the release of Windows 7 RC, the next important version of the OS. Microsoft confirmed that beta users won’t receive the RC before the general public. Not all that much is known about the next release: it was rumored to be in April, but it’s unclear…
We caught a peek of iriver’s P7 PMP at CES, but now the 4.3″ screened player is up on the official site with some pretty pictures and a full list of specs. https://gizmodo.com/hands-on-irivers-crazy-wave-home-video-voip-web-consol-5126774 The key points: it’ll be available in 4/8/16/32 GB flavors, pack 35 hours audio and 7 hours video battery life, and a…
Man-mountain Shaquille O’Neal is a famed Twitterer, but his love of gadgetry goes even deeper than that. A follower of Shaq’s Twitter met him at a diner and exchanged a little gadget trash talk. After seeing an update on THE REAL SHAQ Twitter that he was at a nearby diner, blogger Jesse Bearden hopped on…
Wow, this is pretty incredible. TealOS incorporates a lot of the navigation and UI components of Palm’s new WebOS, but as an all-encompassing skin for older Palm phones. Check out the impressive video below. It looks super smooth even on an underpowered device like the Centro, and is not only pretty but functional as well.…