Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Everex’s gPC run on Wal-Mart store shelves has come to an end as the retailer decided that online-only sales made more sense for the $199 budget PC. Everex seems to agree. [Yahoo News] https://gizmodo.com/everex-200-linux-gpc-hits-wal-mart-bowls-rednecks-ove-317284
Oh man. Apparently somebody just saw The Lawnmower Man and got inspired. This virtual reality head mount for the iPhone is designed to let you strap your favorite expensive phone to your face, blocking out everything else so there’s nothing to distract you from the glow of your precious. This entirely garbage idea was created…
How thick of a hair sweater do you need to have to need something called a War Hammer to shave off your back hair? Pretty thick, which is why Razorba improved their previous release with this War Hammer version, which holds more types of razors (Gillette Fusions are the most notable) than the predecessor. It’s…
The Wii is great and all, but I think it just slides too easily into my home theater cabinet. I want something more awkwardly shaped and garishly colored, dammit! When will Nintendo listen to my requests? I need to go to modders to get what I want; specifically, this hand-painted Wii mod with a 3D…
Diving is fun until your oxygen tank runs out and you die, but this Poseidon Mk IV Discovery tank actually extends the time you can be underwater by recycling your carbon dioxide exhaust and turning it into breathable oxygen. The tank works its magic with its C02 scrubbers and oxygen cells, which is powered by…
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University just confirmed two older research studies, one in 2006 and one in 2003, that says driving while talking is as bad as driving while drunk. How did they reach this conclusion? Brain imaging. Volunteers drove a simulator inside an MRI brain scanner and were asked to determine whether a sentence…
Microsoft has made last week’s Euro XBox price cut rumors official with an 80 euro ($122) price drop across all SKUs making the Arcade version 200 euros ($307) and the high-end Elite to 370 euros ($568) while price drops in the UK fell between 20-50 pounds ($40-$100). [Reuters] https://gizmodo.com/deep-euro-xbox-360-price-cuts-coming-364368
Hannspree, a company that’s no stranger to putting LCD screens in absurd places, has just pioneered a leather purse LCD TV. You read that right. Leather. Purse. LCD. TV. Purse. TV. LCD. Leather. TV. Purse. LCD. Purse. TV. Italian Leather. 9.6-inches. $259. You don’t want one. [Hannspree via Shiny Shiny] https://gizmodo.com/hannspree-hannsfries-tv-doesnt-promote-obesity-at-all-247057
Sprint Mogul’s ROM update will be available for direct download later today, confirming yesterday’s rumor. As expected, the update includes EV-DO Rev. A, GPS capabilities, and other tweaks and fixes. Laptop Magazine found faster music and web page downloads, as well as an upload speed boost of 105 Kbps in their test of the update.…
Hulu, the joint NBC/Fox online video service, may very well be launching any minute now, if sudden attention after months in quiet beta is any indication. We reviewed it last November (along with Joost and Miro), and we’re still not sold on it. Our last experience was chock-full o’ ads and didn’t have nearly enough…
Acknowledging the “data corruption bug” that’s been ravaging Windows Home Servers since Christmas, Microsoft today warned users NOT to: • “Use applications to directly edit or change files stored on Windows Home Server” • “Use media management programs, such as Windows Media Player, to import files to the Windows Home Server” • “Redirect applications to…
If you missed your weekend Gizmodo fix because you were doing something else incredibly antisocial, here’s a roundup just for you: • Tank, alcohol, destruction. Enough said. • Masdar HQ became the world’s first positive energy building. • An exploding iPod nano almost destroyed a PS3. Oh, the humanity. • We took a look at…
Purveyor of strange peripherals Thanko may actually have made a useful non-USB gadget— a motorized TV stand that lets you raise your TV up to eye-level for better Wii gaming. Great idea, but Thanko needs to employ new guys in the “name that gadget” office: this is called the “Electric Up and Down Big TV…
Who would lose more dignity if you modded an old Mac into a toilet paper dispenser: you or the Mac? It’s a tough one, but you’re welcome to find out with the detailed instructions for turning the old computer into a TP receptacle/pee spray magnet on TechRepublic. Personally, I’m sticking with a bar on the…
Yesterday, AT&T announced an unlimited voice plan for the iPhone that still comes with a paltry 200 text messages. Now, we have word that AT&T will be jacking up the price of text messages over your plan’s limit to a whopping $0.20, with multimedia messages going up to $0.30 (not that the iPhone can send…
Pioneer just released a statement that its much-loved North American chairman and CEO, Tom Haga, will “pass on the reins” after 38 years with the company. He is stepping down rather quickly, shifting to an advisory role on March 31, and his replacement, Masao Kawabata, will be moving from Japan. This sounds fishy following Pioneer’s…
BrickArms can help you build your private army with everything you need, from the superadvanced Colonial Marines’ Xeno Pulse Rifles to NATO’s G36 Assault Rifles to vintage German Rocket Propeller Grenade launchers, PPK pistols with Brausch silencers and Magnum revolvers. If your private army is a bunch of LEGO minifigs, that is. We talked with…
If only Janine Zust’s inflatable rescue sled was the real deal, and not a concept. Right now, I would be sending it to Blam, who had a whoopsie on the slopes of Tahoe yesterday. Called the Firun, it is small enough to fit into a backpack when deflated. See it packed up below. I reckon…
Useful for Austin Powers wannabes living in tiny apartments is the BedUp: a bed that retracts into the ceiling. Saving you up to 30 square feet, the bed slides up when you’re not using it and can even have lighting integrated into its underside— so much more 21st Century than the flip-up closet Murphy beds.…
Brando has dipped into the barrel marked “plastic kitsch” and come out with a set of speakers that you can either sling round your neck and look like a Care In The Community case, or connect up to your PC or MP3 player via USB or audio jack. Such class will only cost you $14.…