Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Looks like Microsoft isn’t completely ready to let its dreams of a deal with Yahoo die yet. Despite calling the purple giant’s demands “excessive” and retiring its $47.5 billion bid just two weeks ago, Microsoft is now saying that it’s discussing an “alternative transaction.” Apparently something has changed enough in the last few days for…
Yet another job for pimply 16-year-olds has been rendered obsolete with technology, now that golfers can use the Shadow Caddy—a fully autonomous golf club carrying cart that trails behind you automatically. The three-wheeled cart works by following a signal from a transmitter worn on the golfer’s body. Switching the caddy’s setting from “Follow-Me” to “Park”…
Oscar Pistorius is a sprinter with a difference: he runs on two artificial lower legs and feet fast enough that he may qualify for the Olympics. And that’s something he can now attempt, given that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has just overturned his ban. The International Association of Athletics had ruled against him…
Last year we brought you news that designers Romain Jerome were making wristwatches out of parts acquired from Titanic herself, and now they’re doing it again, this time with a fountain pen. The Titanic DNA pen has a steel band made from genuine wreck-salvaged rusty metal mixed with other steel from the shipyards that originally…
Pregnant women should probably add cellphones to the list of things they need to avoid, along with alcohol, sushi and cat poo. A giant study that surveyed over 13,000 children found that women who used mobile phones when pregnant were more likely to give birth to kids with behavioral problems. The study, conducted by UCLA…
I know we’ve been raving on about the Casio Exilim EX-F1 camera and its amazing high-speed shooting capabilities. And I know: we’ve shown you lots of very nifty footage indeed, including some shot by the lucky Wilson, who actually got to play with the thing. But we’ve not shown you this footage before, made by…
The one thing I never buy on the Internet anymore is clothing, after realizing for the umpteenth time that the dress that looked great on the 6 foot, 100lb model doesn’t quite hang the same on me. But Japan-based Aveilan Company’s virtual fitting room technology might make me give Internet clothes shopping another chance. Aveilan’s…
Nothing screams impeccable taste like having a fireplace in the middle of your coffee table and now, thanks to Planika Fires, you can keep the flames roaring without worrying about smoke or soot. The company makes the magic happen using a proprietary liquid biofuel called Fanola, which burns completely smoke and smell free. Fanola, the…
woof woof woof woof woof jones here. i am addy and jesus’ dog, and today i am doing what master jesus does everyday, sitting in front of this big screen and going bang bang bang on this flat thing that makes clicking noises, heh heh. addy’s no better you know. lies in bed or on…
A spy drone with an infrared night vision system captured this perfect moment when a solider without night vision gear discovered why it’s such a useful piece of tech. You know, for spotting otherwise-invisible lurking bad guys in the dark … and huge puddles right in your path. Brilliant. Thanks to whoever declassified this! [Danger…
Power strips sit under all our desks, and they’re an oft-ignored bit of kit, with the occasional exception. Which is why I like the Revolve power strip design by Takumi Yoshida. It’s a simple and neat solution to the problem of power strip clutter caused by different sized power bricks: each socket can spin around…
For those of us who need to do computer work in dirty and harrowing situations, iKey has a new industrial keyboard that’s “built to withstand the harshest of environments.” The Membrane Keyboard has no crevices, to prevent gross gunky buildup, and a waterproof, washable surface. The keyboard includes raised, mechanical snap-dome keys under a hardcoated…
Conde Nast and Wired bought Ars Technica for a rumored $25 million. More details are coming on Monday but I’m happy to see friends at both Wired and Ars get together in this deal. [Techcrunch, Thanks Arn]
A new FCC filing for an Intel 5350 WiFi/WiMAX combo card that fits into Mini PCI Express slots is probably the best evidence yet for future WiMAX functionality in Apple MacBooks, but it’s still far from a confirmation. The bottom line is that with the new card, the WiMAX option officially exists for MacBooks, but…
Sure, the iPod has marketshare…and what may prove to be a timeless style. But you know what kicks the crap out of that stuff? Patriotism. And nothing says “America” like red, white and blue along with a star-shaped control panel—exactly what the Zvue Spirit is ready to offer. The Spirit stores 1GB of tunes, including…
Catheters suck, but they’re a necessary evil for men who want to know if they have benign prostatic hyperplasia (quickie Giz diagnosis: you’re cancer-free, but pee six times an hour). And in addition to excruciating tube-down-your-johnson pain, the catheter also carries with it the potential for infection. The process could be changing soon, however, thanks…
One of Dell’s official blogs provides a bit of clarity as to the discombobulation of the XPS gaming line in favor of Alienware. Basically, the XPS and Alienware development teams are being fused together, and XPS is going to go in a more high-end consumer direction (“XPS isn’t going away, though it may go in…
Our memories have grown fuzzy. We can’t remember exactly what watching TV was like 10 years ago, but we’re pretty sure that it involved a 16mm projector, slide rule and a horse that walked in circles around the room (oddly enough, the horse wasn’t actually connected to anything). Now we have a slew of new…
When Apple purchased chip manufacturer P.A. Semi, the Department of Defense was worried. Why? P.A. Semi manufactures chips for ten different military systems, and has $100 million in deals with the DoD over the next four years. And the DoD never expected Apple to keep supporting the sweet, deadly chips. https://gizmodo.com/apple-buys-itself-a-little-chip-company-known-for-super-382929 But they were wrong.…
I like to believe that all of us have rock star alter egos. For most of us, these inner rock beasts sleep latently, awaiting the proper heartbreak or drug cocktail to wake from slumber and cut a hit record. Rifflet.com is a place that shares my theory—a social networking site in which users can share…
