Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Reader Mitchel Jones noticed something seriously wrong with the iPod display at his local Walmart. Is there another new iPod Nano? Has Apple finally abandoned its iconic wheel? The answer, as deduced by Mitchel himself, is much more depressing: retail fraud. It wouldn’t make sense for Walmart to be in any kind of dealings with…
Far be it from us to be criticize something like this, but RIM has been spilling some serious beans lately. The newest (and pehaps tastiest) comes to us from CrackBerry, where they’ve uncovered a few screens of the BlackBerry App Center. They’ve also got a wealth of information about the service, which will unfortunately be…
When it’s finished in ten years, Dubai’s latest architectural monolith will be the tallest skyscraper in the world. At more than one kilometer high (3,280 feet), the Nakheel Tower will have around two hundred floors. Like always, the company behind the project is very secretive about the actual size of the leviathan, in order to…
Get ready to fight to the death for this one, Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks: More than a thousand penguins have suddenly appeared on the beaches of Brazil. The scientists can’t explain why this is happening. Some say they are somehow confused. Knowing the view on Brazil’s beaches, I personally think they are not confused at…
Russian billionaire and Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich is building a $400 million mega-yacht. Yawn, you say? You have two? OK, well, this yacht has its own submarine. And armor plating with bulletproof glass. And little boats that fit inside the bigger boat. And a frickin’ missile defense system that will alert he and…
CrunchGear got their meaty hands on the new HP HDX16 Blu-ray notebook we previewed back in September, and it’s pretty shiny. And I say "meaty" because they damn near broke some of those flashy, flush buttons during the initial feeling up. Keep those paws away from the 16:9 high def widescreen and I think we’ll…
The 2008 Paralympics wrapped up over the summer, but we’re only just today learning about some of the awesome stories to come out of this amazing tech-assisted sporting event. We’ve covered these bionic athletes before, with some help from the Big Picture, but today’s story out of Germany shows just how much goes into helping…
Like a Ronco rotisserie or the perfect politician, you can set this non Stop Top and forget it, because it never stops spinning. Well, it never stops until it runs out of battery juice, which takes about eight hours. Mileage for pols or rotisseries is probably much more than that. It’s a cool, shiny top,…
When everyday devices become autonomous and start mating in the far future thanks to nanotechnology, items like fire extinguishers will become what designer Adam Scott has envisioned with the X Sting Wish. Mixing one part Dustbuster, one part machine gun, and a final part carbon fiber-wrapped fire extinguisher, Scott has managed to cook up a…
As part of its continuing effort to fight the “sin” of pollution, the Vatican has revealed that the first few panels of its 2,400-strong solar panel roof project were installed this week. The $1.5 million project will require minimal maintenance over the next 25 years, and is part of an ambitious environmental project that could…
Sony’s PSP is currently getting its butt handed to it by the Nintendo DS, but don’t tell that to Sega. With its upcoming Sega Vision PMP, due out in the UK sometime in 2009, the former hardware company-turned-sub par software maker is hoping to take on the jack-of-all-trades portable market. The prognosis for such a…
Ballpark vendors, those hot dog-dispensing, beer hawking staples of sporting events the world over, are in need of a refresh. A “get yer peanuts hee-yah!” 2.0, if you will. Designer Mario Weiss might have the fresh look they’re looking for with Nebo. Put simply, this slick all-in-one vendor concept could change the way people have…
The $1.7-billion HiPER facility-High Power laser Energy Research-will kick off with a party this monday. Yes, the project that will hopefully give us a way to produce limitless clean energy and save humanity from self-destruction (or pull out an LHC and destroy half the planet), starts up with a hydrogen pellet and alcoholic cocktails, which,…
Rectangular pool tables? Sounds great, gramps, but why don’t you come join us ballers in the 21rst century and have a little fun? Today it’s all about round tables with custom add-ons, like stripper poles, which is exactly what California-based JM Billiards is doing with their one-of-a-kind models. When the balls aren’t sinking your way,…
This great image requires a t-shirt urgently. When I came across it today on Digg I thought: “I can’t believe we haven’t asked this question in Gizmodo yet. Hello?” Who would you think would win: an Imperial Star Destroyer or the USS Enterprise? And a simple answer won’t work. You have give us actual technical…
You don’t need to meticulously memorize any talking points to see the beauty and functionality in these Igloo Satellite Cabins. Designed to protect you from the worst that Earth has to offer, these little huts are Eskimo-inspired and completely customizable. Like an IKEA store in the Arctic, you can also add in modular interior and…
Unbeknownst to most of the world, the late super rich adventurer Steve Fossett had started work on an amazing flying submersible that would one day theoretically touch the stars. More importantly, however, was that the design would have allowed adventurers and scientists alike (and most importantly Fossett himself, of course) to venture into the deadly…
The sneaksters over at Boy Genius Report have somehow gotten their hands on an official Powerpoint presentation of the soon-to-be-released BlackBerry Storm. This is evidently a Verizon property, since the wallpaper on all the Storms is their signature red V, but no mention of price or release date. Still, some good shots and a lot…
Gadgets like this Beer-Filled USB Flash Drive really make me question the basics. More than my first-year university philosophy class did, anyway. Existential angst, the downfall of western civilization, and “customizable floaties” after the jump. Is capitalism really that great, if it leads to beer-filled USB flash drives with “optional customizable floating objects” inside? Should…
9to5 Mac has gone on record as saying that the rumored Apple Brick isn’t a product, but a manufacturing process that can make high quality aluminum shells. The “brick” part comes in because the supposed technique carves these MacBook casings with lasers and high pressure water jets out of bricks of aluminum, making for a…
