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Although we may all be super excited at what the Zune is getting, here are two things that the Zune definitely is not getting soon (even though it’s possible thanks to its new architecture): Gaming and Phoning. https://gizmodo.com/zune-2-and-flash-zune-official-306387 Microsoft’s J Allard told Reuters that gaming on a portable music player has been done before, but…
To our innocent eyes, the video of Russia’s “Father of All Bombs” looked pretty impressively explosive, but US big-boom experts are now questioning Russia’s hoax-y claims about the weapon’s size and power. For one, it might not even be a shockwave-generating thermobaric bomb—one expert says it actually looks like a fuel-air bomb, which is just…
Here’s some lousy breaking news for you: in the case we recently told you about, Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas, the jury found in favor of the RIAA, awarding $222,000 worth of damages. That’s $9,250 per song, for those of you keeping track at home, which is a hell of a lot less…
In case you happened to notice that freaky looking thing hanging from the ceiling of the $8.5 million tech pad, it’s an artwork called Drone #4 (2006) by Björn Schülke, from the Bitforms Gallery. After you watch our video, by Nick McGlynn, check out the artist’s other interactive sculptures—I’m not sure if Björn’s target customer…
Google’s beating the drum about the FCC’s 700mhz auction rules again—or rather, Verizon’s persistent efforts to undercut them. In the latest post on their public policy blog, Google calls out Verizon for trying to “water down” the rules in closed-door meetings, specifically two regarding open devices and open apps, saying they shouldn’t apply to a…
The iNo promises a “fun, fast, furious game of music trivia as players take turns transforming their personal iPods into an interactive music party.” Users take turns inserting their iPods into the iNo then, using one of the four wireless remotes, attempt to outdo each other in a song-guessing battle royal that will undoubtedly culminate…
Rumor has it that Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is going to be shipping in just a few weeks on Friday, October 26th. Although it’s not very surprising, given that Apple usually releases new OSX versions on the last friday of the release month. If we were betting people, our money would be on the…
The trial of the century — Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas — is coming to a close, with the Jury having just been sent in for deliberations. The case, which is the first RIAA case to make it to trial, all hinges on whether or not Jammie was the one using her Kazaa…
Just like MIT and various other colleges before it, UC Berkeley’s put a bunch of lectures online to YouTube so you can watch and learn from the comfort of your toilet. Berkeley does have a great computer science department (top three or something), but don’t expect many of those lectures online for free though—why buy…
There’s a “friends only” special on Woot right now for an original (refurbished) 30GB Black Zune for a mere $100. It’s first-come-first-serve, and if I were you I’d hurry my ass up and go get one before they shut this down. It’s by far the cheapest you’ll find one, and it’s an especially great deal…
Sure we’ve covered other robotic fortune tellers in the past, but none of them have cost anywhere close to $75,000. Now, to be fair, as far as robotic swamis go, this one looks amazing. Utilizing “cutting-edge” AI and over 30 facial motors, this swami can learn his own name, wink at you as you walk…
We’re pretty sure this has been around for a while, but we have to say that the name Pantman F1 is pretty much the best name for a pants press ever. It’s not just Pantman, it’s the Pantman F1—which brings smooth, pressed pants at F1 speeds. The thing’s only $149, which is a slightly high…
It seems the FiOS TV subscriber numbers in the NYC region haven’t quite hit what Verizon has hoped—or has even said. An ad company’s suing Verizon for publishing allegedly inflated numbers of FiOS TV subscribers that lump in “pending” customers with current subscribers, allowing it to boost ad rates. https://gizmodo.com/why-does-japan-get-all-the-super-fast-fiber-optic-love-307203 In other words, according to…
It’s not quite Asimo, but this Chinese magician automaton (read: crappy wooden robot) does one thing and one thing only: make other wooden automatons appear and disappear from containers (we don’t count sporting a badass mustache as a thing). It’s going to be auctioned off on October 28 at Skinner in Bolton, MA, if any…
The New York Times just took a peek into the world of Japanese fiber optic broadband, which we all know is much faster and cheaper than ours. While we here in the States might view the Japanese broadband market as some utopia where entire HD movies can be downloaded in seconds, it’s not quite that…
We’re not passing any judgment on Symantec’s Japanese advertising campaign where they take an Ultraman-like character and have it beat up several black “virus” characters on the street to hype their Norton 360 product. Why? Because it’s actually pretty awesome. Way more awesome than the crappy anti-virus ads we get here in the US, which…
According to a Sony spokesperson, an announcement regarding a possible price drop or a new model (or something) on the PS3 is imminent. [CNN via Kotaku] http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/ps3-price-drop-imminent-307115.php
Attention friends to the Great White North: the Apple iPhone is rumored to be coming your way by middle of this month. The leak is said to come from an insider at Canadian fashion specialty department store Holt Renfrew, and the 8GB GSM iPhone will reportedly sell for $799. If these rumors are true, and…
This scene from the 1930 film Just Imagine shows how babies will be made in the futuristic world of 1980. The clip directly follows the scene we looked at a few months back about meal pills. https://gizmodo.com/just-imagine-1930-512629681 Thanks again to Amy Macnamara for this paleo-futuristic classic that hasn’t yet been released on VHS or DVD.…
Recently at CEATEC in Japan Shinoda Plasma Corp unveiled a plasma screen that tops out an an extraordinary 1mm in thickness. Plasma tubes aligned between film-form electrodes not only make the screen thin enough to be bent (as the image above demonstrates), they also make it extremely light. In fact, the 43-inch screen prototype weighed…
