Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Keep your hot, hot, hot Macbook Pros off your desk finish and avoid a house fire with this clear notebook riser designed by Morten Kokkendoff. https://gizmodo.com/how-to-cool-your-macbook-pro-down-and-void-your-warran-170687 In addition to keeping things cool, it raises up the notebook to eye level, which eases neck and back strain. So does naking a nap, but your boss usually…
Sometimes hiding things in plain sight can be better than placing it in a thick safe. Place your precious jewelry into this fake wall outlet and thieves will never find it. There’s also a lock mechanism to keep the outlet from falling out willy-nilly. The only problem with this is the ground hole on the…
Looks like the Sidekick III is almost upon us! Reader A.J. drops the third party bomb: https://gizmodo.com/possible-sidekick-3-marketing-pic-171157 I’m a third party dealer for T-Mobile, and after calling up today to place the weekly order for phones, I was informed that the Sidekick II has officially been discontinued by T-Mobile. They are stating a mid-June launch…
Last week saw Team Kotaku invade E3 ’06, capturing the sites, the sounds, the offensive smells from the show floor. With so much to digest, it might be a little intimidating. This very special edition of High Score will get you up to speed with the week’s big announcements. Nintendo had a strong showing with…
Looks like Jockey has solved the problem of “plumber’s ass” with men’s underwear called 3D Innovations, spandex briefs made in two halves and cut on the bias. According to a company spokeswoman: “The builder’s bum, an unsightly glimpse of a behind that no one ever needs see, is officially going to be a thing of…
Here’s an idea that’s been tried before, but the Nimzy Vibro Blaster is the smallest device yet that attempts to turn any flat surface into a loudspeaker. Stick the sucker onto a window, wall, anything flat, and then the Vibro Blaster supposedly rocks the object into musical nirvana. Its manufacturer says its frequency response is…
To be American means that it’s your inalienable right to visit a foreign country and get upset at the locals for not knowing English. If, for some reason, you wish to learn their strange tongue, bring along your iPod and load up iLingo. It’s software (well, in as much as a bunch of sound files…
Harry Santamarki is going to get pretty messed up on cod liver oil if Nokia continues their wackiness of banning the word “phone.” Santamarki, the vice president of multimedia strategy and business development for Nokia, is taking a swig of cod liver oil everytime he mentions the word “phone”. Rather, Nokia is producing “multimedia computers.”…
Do We Need Another Wireless Standard? By Brian L. Clark One of the most interesting things about covering tech is you’re constantly bombarded with propaganda touting the “next great” technological breakthrough. For example, these days I’m thinking the next great thing is WiMAX, or 802.16. WiMAX is, essentially, WiFi on steroids. The idea behind it…
Designer Damion O’Sullivan created a concept for a solar lamp with 36 solar cells, each connected to an LED bulb. Hang it outside during the day to collect its energy from the sun, and then bring it inside via its carrying handle for use at night. Or just leave it hanging on a tree for…
It seems our previous post about the death of the N-Gage and the sight of a sad-eyed sales stand cast off by a local EB Games was incorrect. The N-Gage is alive and well and living in Manhattan. Reader Nick sent us these snaps of the N-Gage stand walking its dog, macking on hotties, and…
As the saying goes, get ’em while they’re young. Fisher Price’s Kid Tough line of childproof gadgets includes a digital camera and a digital music player that only supports the company’s proprietary FP3 format. (Sorry, no OGG Vorbis support here, OSS fanatics.) The camera has room for 60 pictures unless you decide to add a…
From now until the end of the year, calls through SkypeOut made to and from the US or Canada are completely free. Huzzah? Huzzah. Skype has now removed any cost barrier for its American and Canadian customers to keep in touch with friends, family and business associates. Skype anticipates that completely free calling in the…
Sennheiser took its time getting into the Bluetooth headset market, but finally after three years in the making it releases the BW900, a noise-canceling model that the company says can work up to 300 feet away from a desktop telephone. That number goes down to a more-normal 30 feet when you’re using it with a…
MTV and Microsoft will be releasing the URGE music and video downloading service Wednesday. URGE will have more than 2 million songs for download at $.99 each or $9.95 for entire albums. There will also be an unlimited download plan for $9.95 or $14.95. The interesting fact is that URGE is integrated into Windows Media…
LG seems to have a knack for designing really svelte looking cellphones and their latest, officially the LG-KV6000, but what all the cool kids will call the Black Label II, certainly maintains that tradition. Other than looking like something James Bond wouldn’t mind carrying around, there’s not much in the feature department that would make…
If you recall, last Friday we heard news about a collaboration between Softbank and Apple for the iPod Phone. Unfortunately, Softbank released a statement today more or less saying that the iPhone news was more rumor and speculation. Oh well, at least we still have Tang. Yummm, Tang. https://gizmodo.com/apple-iphone-confirmed-kind-of-173569 Translated Press Release [SoftBank]
A Sony VAIO 17-inch notebook packing a Blu-ray drive is set for release this summer, with various model numbers for different countries being bandied about. Whether you call it the AR190 or the AR11S, it has a 200GB hard disk, Freeview digital TV tuner, HDMI output and a GeForce Go 7600 GT graphics card. Expected…
Bono’s AIDS charity has begun seeing red all over the UK. Many manufacturers—including Gap, American Express, Armani, Converse and Motorola—are releasing special red products to raise awareness and money to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Motorola’s contribution—the red SLVR—has the same specs, but resides in a nice candy red shell. Also 5 percent of…
We’re thinking there’s not much super about this USB-powered mini speaker, with its 2 watts of power and tiny size. It has a retractable resonator that’s supposed to provide louder sound, but the laws of physics assure us that its output will be nothing that approaches wall-to-wall audio goodness. Looks neat, though, and hey, it’s…