Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Now that China’s taken point on sticking surveillance cameras pretty much everywhere, we’re going to start seeing all sorts of fun projects to disable them, all of questionable legality. This impressive setup is a cellphone-controlled laser, which can render a security camera useless from afar. Simply set the laser up pointing at the camera(s) of…
The dudes over at GottaBeMobile got to play with the HTC Shift, the upcoming Windows Vista-running UMPC from HTC. If you don’t remember, this UMPC beats current UMPCs because it has an actual slide-out, fold-up QWERTY keyboard. What does GBM think about it? Best. UMPC. Ever. They even made a video of their experience. https://gizmodo.com/htc-shift-is-the-umpc-for-umpc-haters-246965…
While you were watching Baywatch reruns the trusted weekend team was writing tech blog magic. Look how the tables have turned; now we are watching the reruns and…you are still watching them too? Turn that off and check out what you missed! •We had hover board honeys floating around. •We asked MyFountain to make us…
Ars Technica has a lengthy piece that re-sounds the battle cry against AACS, the copy protection scheme for Blu-Ray and HD DVD—specifically, the gimpage it’s bringing to both PCs and Macs in order to sate Hollywood’s fears of casual piracy. The video path basically has to be locked down at every point, and both Microsoft…
Remember those people you used to talk to before the Internet was invented? I think there was a name for them . . . oh yeah, family and friends! Well, here’s an excuse to talk with them for the good of the Internets. The Paleo-Future Project seeks to document our collective memory of the future.…
There aren’t many iPod docks with tubes around—and those that seem to be quite ‘spensivo. The iTPA-220 from Dice is a cheaper alternative for fifth-generation iPods, boasting a pair of perky Dual 6N3 tubes and 2×20-watt speakers. https://gizmodo.com/roth-mc4-music-cocoon-ipod-dock-is-a-series-of-real-tub-241538 iPod tube preamplifier – True, audiophile quality music – iPod charging – Video output for use with…
That troop surge in Iraq we’ve heard about? It’s here, although it’s not what you expected. It’s a surge of robots; 3000 robots, to be exact. These won’t be the gun-toting robots that we recently reported on, with the surge instead consisting of mostly 50-pound reconnaissance bots that will sniff out bombs without putting troops…
This woman put a real engagement diamond ring—the hardest substance known to man—inside what looks to be a Blendtec blender. Then she added some water and pressed the “Ice Crush” button. And no, I won’t say the question, but you can watch the results in the video after the jump. Jump to the middle of…
You know you’ve made it when random restaurants in Sarajevo are named after you, though I always envisioned Gates’ place with a Surface at every table and a bit less residual grease on the windows. But that Sinatra-esque rendering of Bill—dead on. So what would the Jobs restaurant be like? I’m seeing calamari, finger bowls…and…
2Dive is a mini-sub that Very Clever Person Michael Henrik Schmelter knocked up in his spare time. The vessel can dive to a depth of 100 metres (328 feet) and you can see him taking it out in the bay of Kiel, Northern Germany, in the gallery after the jump. [Spiegel via Spluch]
The Magnum Chrome DS case is a mod for your Nintendo DS. Completely replacing the outer shell of your portable, the Magnum is actually covered in chrome, not some spray-on finish. This means your DS will be tougher and more resistant to those smudges that make us feel like pigs every time we just want…
Microsoft’s not taking the FCC smackdown over its “white space” prototype lying down: They’re disputing the FCC’s findings, though they totally admit the first prototype was defective. But the new model worked last week! Really! [Yahoo!/Reutuers] https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-google-dell-coalition-white-space-prototype-287736
For whenever you need a pick-me-up or just an easy pot of gold, the Rainbow Pebble illuminates a room with the magic of rainbow luminescence. By reflecting the pattern of light off a convex mirror, the clamshell form allows for precision adjustment of your rainbow, allowing it to stem from stinky shoes, a scary closet…
In October, Time Warner is going to start rolling out a new DVR-like service called Look Back—emphasis on the “like,” since it won’t let you fast-forward through commercials and you have to watch a show before midnight on the day that it’s shown. You don’t get to keep them, either. But, it’s totally gratis. Subjecting…
What if Uncle Ben were never shot? Peter Parker would have never learned his lesson, fought the Green Goblin or made movies. Instead, he might have become a successful real estate tycoon with the goals of making lots of money every day and banging Mary Jane every night. And he would have used this cellphone…
Click to viewIt looks like videoconferencing is now working on the iPhone using the Wi-Fi connection and its built-in camera. Ken and Greg Aspeslagh claim that they created the application at the C-4 Developer Conference’s Iron Coder Live this weekend, winning first prize. As you can see in the gallery, the hack also involved a…
The LG Trax CU575 we showed you last month is finally available to AT&T customers. The 3G HSDPA phone replaces the CU500, and be compatible with AT&T’s new over-the-air non-DRM eMusic service as well as Video Share. [AT&T] https://gizmodo.com/lgs-trax-phone-280537
We wrote about this DMFT fuel cellback in December, when it was just a mere glint in Samsung’s eye. And here it is in its latest incarnation—looking a lot less clunky than it did eight months ago. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-fuel-cell-to-power-laptop-for-a-month-a-pop-224446 Although this version is not for public consumption, the day when we will have no excuse for…
Symbian-Guru’s all over the US N95 launch, this time bringing us a handful of up close snaps, confirming the body changes picked up from the flyer. The shutter slider has indeed been jettisoned, but now the camera is receded into the the back of the phone. They’ve also apparently raised the media keys and made…
A 62-year-old Frenchman is giving his attempt on the world free-fall record one last try in the skies above Saskatchewan. Michel Fournier has spent $13.25 million trying to jump from 25 miles above the earth’s surface and break the world free-fall record set by USAF test pilot Joe Kittinger in 1960. But first he has…
