Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
On paper, Creative’s Vado might outclass and out-spec the wildly successful Flip Ultra camcorder it very liberally (like crazy, PETA liberal) takes its cues from, but what about in the real world? Laptop Mag tosses ’em together and finds that while the Vado outpaces the older Flip most respects—it’s cheaper, slimmer, more attractive and has…
Joost, the P2P-powered TV killer we reviewed back in the heady days of the writers’ strike that we found a bit wanting (and is on the skids), will work in your browser later this summer with a plug-in, rather than needing to install a whole separate app. As Valleywag points out, this might be a…
Usually, Zinio charges five bucks a pop for single digital issues of magazines like Men’s Health, Popular Mechanics, Playboy, Penthouse and other classy rags. But on the iPhone, at least for now, you can read them from cover-to-cover for free, if you direct your browser to zinio.com/iphone. Yep, even Playboy. If you’re on an actual…
I’m still traveling, and today on the beach in Ipanema, I got into a bit of an argument with the tide, which swept me out a bit. I waved to friends for a bit of help and they just waved back, I think. (Had already lost both contacts at this point, so couldn’t see.) I…
In celebrating the launch of Spycraft, I’ve looked at all kinds of gadgets, but the bread and butter of Cold War CIA gear were tiny cameras and listening devices. The bugs aren’t so exciting to look at, though the stories of their placement make great reading. The cameras, on the other hand, always come in…
Next Friday, a Dutch robotics researcher named Daan Hobbelen at TU Delft will be getting his PhD for building a robot named Flame. What’s the big deal? you robo-saturated Giz readers ask. Flame has been built to walk like a man, using human-based principles that strike fear in the hearts of other robotics experts. UPDATE…
Following the leak of Sidekick Gekko screenshots, the guys at Hiptop3 have snagged some pages of the manual. Besides confirming the 2MP camera with video recording, the blurb about being “highly customizable” is a bit more clear: Custom shells, so you can dandy up your phone any way you like (obviously for $$$). Check out…
Zara from Shiny Shiny got her hands on the Super Smoker, an electronic fake cigarette that allows you to smoke your filthy cancer sticks indoors due to the fact that it emits a harmless vapor. It uses replacable cartridges that come in a variety of nicotine levels, and while I’m sure it’ll keep you from…
For those times when it feels like no one listens to you (because, incidentally, no one ever does listen to you), you need to enlist help. Pick up one of these large-sized movable LED displays by OMDM and transmit your message to the world via burning retinas and horrifying parallel parking. We humbly suggest something…
Anybody else out there a big Top Chef fan? Because The Smoking Gun is a product right out of Richard Blais’ arsenal. Packable with any wood chips you like, the gun lets out a steady stream of smoke that can “marinate” foods in flavor when the grill just won’t do. I’m not sure that I…
Even though the XO Laptop’s Sugar-coated OS wasn’t exactly the most vaunted aspect of the attempted laptop-for-all, following Windows XP’s invasion of the project, former OLPC exec Walter Bender’s newly formed Sugar Labs is shopping Sugar around. They’re in talks with at least four “ultra low-cost” notebook makers who would use it for kid computers.…
Sometimes, I think that certain products are designed to remind the owner just how rich they are at all times rather than their supposed purpose. Take this ludicrous Red Diamond bathtub, for example. It’s got not one, but two waterproof HDTVs, can be controlled wirelessly via a built-in GSM module, and it’s built of solid…
Even refurbed, the MacBook Air retains most of its not-so-thin price. At $1549 for the non-SSD model, that’s less than a 14 percent price cut (13.89 percent, actually). We’ll take what we can get, but is there a sweet spot price you’d like to see? [Apple via thegadgetsite]
Robticist Steve Yohanan thinks there’s something missing from the design of many robots: the human touch. By omitting the touch sensation from robotic design, Steve thinks that scientists and engineers are missing out on an important machine-human interaction, capable of communicating emotions. So he’s designed and built Haptic Creature, a furry robotic research bunny with…
The Memorial Day weekend is finally here. For many of us, that means it is time to travel and or bust out the grill and cook up some meat. However, with gas prices being the way they are, you may be passing on the road trip this year. So, now that you are free to…
If you’d rather pack a rare conversation piece than a mobile powerhouse to impress the fellow Starbuckians, you’ll do no better than with this Xentex laptop prototype. While most laptops simply open and close, this Xentex can fold twice for portability. The system features two 13.3″ screens that can independently swivel for the benefit of…
DADS GRADS Welcome to the Gizmodo Dads & Grads Gift Guide, your one-stop source for the gift that says: “Congratulations on passing along your genetic makeup” or “Good on you for getting your liberal arts degree in digital pop culture” like no other. Click below to find the perfect gift for… The Fanciest Grad You…
Bad news for people who were looking forward to updated functionality in their Xbox Dashboard experience: Microsoft says there’s no Spring Update coming this year. The 360 usually gets two feature updates a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Instead of coding up some even fancier parental controls, the team’s working…
A Telstra—iPhone’s carrier in Australia—senior executive, has declared that “by Xmas (the iPhone) will be capable of 42Mbps, which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world.” While Telstra’s network may reach that speed in 2009, his claim seems nothing but hot air…
If you’re like me, there is urine all over your house. You know how crazy life can get, what with trying to juggle a career, a social life and a family. Sometimes you just don’t know where that pee will end up! For a guy on the go like me, there’s Urine-Off. It’s spray that…