Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
It’s official: My money is gone. Electronics? Mortgage? Pants? No superfluous spending for me, thanks. I invested in life’s two basic pillars: Food and booze. So, I can has flash memory for zero bucks? Yes. Computing & Peripherals • HP Officejet Pro L7680 All-in-One w/ Bluetooth Dongle & HP Photo Book for $139.99 (Recertified) (normally…
It’s likely to be one of those defensive patents, but RIM’s patent application for a fold-out smartphone keyboard forgets why you might want a fold-out keyboard. Because while Blackberries are historically known for excellent emailing on huge keyboards, their newer SureType (two letters per key) system has turned off many users to smaller models like…
The weekly Thank Giz It’s Friday lists are about unwinding and having fun. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Here is the best of the bunch. •10 Sex Toys That Are Confusing and Wrong (NSFW): A roundup of NSFW toys that are pointless, vulgar, confusing and…
Somewhere between a sock and an actual bank lies the Executive Safe-T bed. Hollandia International’s design incorporates a heavy-duty safe underneath the mattress and a cover in the head joint of the bed base. The bed was originally developed for a wealthy international customer that wanted to keep a handgun close by at all times,…
While it seems Walmart will no longer sell $99 iPhones to the masses, AT&T is now offering some $99 iPhones of their own—except these ones are refurbished. https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-iphone-coming-to-walmart-by-the-end-of-decem-5103986 Over at AT&T’s online store, you can find the black, 8GB iPhone for $99, or the 16GB iPhone for $199 in white or black. A two year…
If you’re known in your extended family as the “tech guy,” then some aunt has probably gotten you a terrible gadget gift in the past. What to do in this situation? Let’s explore your options. 1. Grin and Bear it The polite thing to do when you get a gift that you want nothing to…
Following only two months behind iPhone 2.0 (but at a significant installed-base disadvantage), Android still has a long way to go. But there is definitely some early potential. Here are our favorite apps of the year. I still think Android, and its openness toward developers, can do some magical things and give iPhone a run…
A teaser for something called Zii was sent out by Creative, a company known for soundcards, mentioning the ambitious sounding and pretend terminology “stemcell computing”. Updated 3:47pm: iTunes Competitor? The website referenced at zii.com has this info: • The words “Zii”. (Can assume that Nintendo’s Lawyers are powering up.) • The words “Everything you know…
Ky Michaelson, or The Rocketman as he’s known in some circles, doesn’t trudge through the frozen winter tundra like the rest of us. His custom-built rocket sled is modeled after a miniature Radio Flyer. Of course, his features machined aluminum rails, oak planks, front-mounted steering bars, speedometer, and, oh right, a freaking rocket strapped to…
Millions of kids were made happy yesterday by getting their favorite toys for Christmas. A smaller amount were left disappointed when their hippie parents left them a newspaper recycler under the tree. The Bill Nye Paper Recycling Factory lets you take old newspapers and turn them into new paper products such as cards and notepads.…
If you happen to spot a rubber duckie floating in the ocean, NASA would really appreciate it if you give them a call. They’re missing about 90 of them and want them back. The rubber duckies were tossed into a hole in Greenland’s ice three months ago as a way to track how the polar…
Melodie is one year old, can name more game characters than most people, likes chocolate cookies, and is the cutest thing ever. If you ask me, she should become the next Kotaku editor. [GoNintendo]
Only five months since Apple launched the App Store, and there are now over ten thousand apps. Don’t worry, we did the hard part, trying them out and picking the year’s best: We already selected our 20 essential iPhone apps not too long ago-November 14, to be exact. That’s recent enough to still be fresh,…
What if Rudolph were reimagined as an evil, metallic minifig? This picture is what. If we had one complaint, it’d be that Rudolph’s tumorous nose is not filled with a startlingly bright red LED. Because if it were, when minifig Prancer decided to be a jerk during reindeer games, minifig Rudolph could blind him with…
Windows will run soon on the iPhone using Citrix Receiver, a remote screen software that connects to a PC and gives you the illusion you are running Microsoft’s operating systems, including copy and paste functionality. Why is this useful? It will give you the ability to run full Windows apps in your iPhone over the…
I was a generation or two too late for breadboxes, and looking at this particular breadbox, I realize that’s just a shame. The Armadillo Breadbox, a real, purchasable product ($90), will store your bread in a segmented, brushed aluminum shell. Then, when you are hungry for some carbs, just fold back the sneeze/bullet shield and…
Formerly a Japan-exclusive, the Wii Lens Cleaning Kit has Godzilla-crawled its way across the Pacific Ocean floor to the US. Honestly, any DVD player cleaning kit would probably work just as well, but if you like all of your boxes to match before they’re thrown away, the Wii Lens Cleaning Kit is available in the…
Here you have it. Un-de-ni-a-ble proof that the iPhone nano 3G exists. Boom. Because, if there’s a knock-off, there must be a real one out there, right? Somewhere! Anywhere? Come on! Think about it, people! https://gizmodo.com/fakemodo-undeniable-evidence-of-iphone-nano-3g-zomg-5118216 Yesterday, a reader jumped on the tips line saying: OMG! I FOUND THE NEW IPHONE NANO! CHECK IT OUT…
We’ve already seen a clip with the Lenovo W700ds laptop popping out its secondary monitor. But here’s much better clip that really gives you a real idea of how it works. https://gizmodo.com/how-the-dual-display-works-in-the-ibm-thinkpad-w700-5116266 The things we noted: the second display does slide out fairly smoothly and it takes just a few seconds for the monitors to…
Analysts knew it would be bad, but not this bad. Retail sales this year are down 5.5% in November and 8% in December overall, but electronics specifically fell by an astounding 27%. Consumer electronics are always hit harder than average in tight times, but massive drop confirms what my various visits at barely-busy big box…
