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Motorola Droid 2 Pre-Sale Starts Tomorrow on Verizon
Not that it's been a very well kept secret (http://gizmodo.com/5607887/spotted-in-a-newspaper-advert-the-unannounced-motorola-droid-2), but Motorola and Verizon have officially announced the Droid 2, the Froyo-outfitted, Flash 10.1-equipped successor to the original Droid. It goes on sale tomorrow for $199, after a $100 rebate.
Motorola Droid 2 Pre-Sale Starts Tomorrow on Verizon [Droid2] (http://gizmodo.com/5609069/motorola-droid-2-officially-announced-pre+sale-starts-august-11-on-verizon)
If you explore Google's corporate website, you'll encounter the company's ten core principles (http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html). It's a philosophy, sure, but it's also a report card. Good news! Google's passing its own test. Bad news: Big G's getting a C.
Google Graded On Its Own Principles [Google] (http://gizmodo.com/5609164/the-google-report-card)
What is abstract photography (http://gizmodo.com/tag/abstractphotography/)? We could debate the nuances of the definition all day—as many do. But it's so much more fun just to look at the mind-bending pictures from this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/5604338/shooting-challenge-abstraction), isn't it?
171 Absolutely Abstract Wallpapers [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5609194/171-absolutely-abstract-wallpapers)
According to an Engadget source (http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/11/upcoming-apple-tv-loses-1080p-playback-gains-apps/)—the same one that said the next AppleTV would be a $99 unit with iPhone guts (http://gizmodo.com/5550180/the-next-apple-tv-to-be-a-100-screenless-iphone)—Apple's next TV device will be rebranded iTV. And it will have apps, but it won't play 1080p video.
Rumor: AppleTV Renamed iTV, Will Have Apps but No 1080p Playback [Unconfirmed] (http://gizmodo.com/5610526/rumor-appletv-renamed-itv-will-have-apps-but-no-1080p-playback)
Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Echo 1, history's first passive satellite. NASA's Echo mission began rather poorly. A test launch had exploded so brightly, so spectacularly, that it prompted frightened calls up and down the entire eastern seaboard.
Happy 50th Birthday to Echo 1, Grandpappy of Satellite Communications [Techversary] (http://gizmodo.com/5610545/happy-50th-birthday-to-echo-1-grandpappy-of-satellite-communications)
Apple has pulled Camera+ (http://gizmodo.com/5610183/camera%252B-app-hides-hardware-shutter-from-apple) from the App Store (http://gizmodo.com/tag/appstore/). Its only sin: Allow iPhone customers to press the volume button to take photos. But why are they taking away a feature that everyone has been demanding (http://gizmodo.com/5339325/iphone-is-now-the-most-popular-camera-in-flickr) since the JesusPhone was introduced?
Why the Hell Did Apple Pull Camera+ From the App Store? [Rant] (http://gizmodo.com/5611169/why-the-hell-did-apple-pull-camera%252B-from-the-app-store)
If you ranked the things in life that Jobs seems perfectly content to ignore, license plates would be up there with Handicap parking spaces (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jumpingshark/2903462452/), three-piece suits and customer demands. The proof, as it were, is all (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitetoa/2840400467/in/set-72157607238947211/) over (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jumpingshark/2902622313/) Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/leoprieto/2635142895/).
The Mystery of Steve Jobs' Plateless Benz [Steve Jobs] (http://gizmodo.com/5611196/the-mystery-of-steve-jobs-plateless-benz)
Voice Actions (http://gizmodo.com/5611377/googles-one+button-voice-actions) work! Really well! The video above is a good demo, showing it it navigating to Giz, sending an email, finding Starbucks and and making a self-memo. I didn't even have to hold the phone up to my face.
Mouth On With Android's Voice Actions (Verdict: It's Great) [Voice Actions] (http://gizmodo.com/5611453/mouth-on-with-androids-voice-actions-verdict-its-great)
His name: Christian Owens. His age: 16. He made his first million dollars in two years, "inspired by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs". This is how he did it.
How a 16-yo Kid Made His First Million Dollars Following His Hero, Steve Jobs [Stories] (http://gizmodo.com/5612145/how-a-16+yo-kid-made-his-first-million-dollars-following-his-hero-steve-jobs)
In this week's totally awesome app round up: Splodes, sploded; nearby lightning strikes, pinpointed; the apocalypse, rendered in adorable 8-bit style; free turn by turn navigation, improved; Xvid files, played on your iPad; and so much more!
This Week's Best Apps [Apps] (http://gizmodo.com/5612663/this-weeks-best-apps)
The second ever 4G phone has added pressure to be better than the first. Aldrin was better than Armstrong at punching skeptics in the face, for example. So is the Epic 4G better than the EVO? In almost every way.
Sprint Epic 4G Review: The Best 4G Phone [Review] (http://gizmodo.com/5613501/sprint-epic-4g-review-the-best-4g-phone)
They are road signs for your daily rituals-the instantly recognized symbols and icons you press, click, and ogle countless times a day when you interact with your computer. But how much do you know about their origins?
The Secret Histories of Those @#$%ing Computer Symbols [Computers] (http://gizmodo.com/5612630/the-secret-histories-of-those-ing-computer-symbols)
After the latest Apple TV rumor (http://gizmodo.com/5610526/rumor-appletv-renamed-itv-will-have-apps-but-no-1080p-playback), an analyst claims—once again—that Apple will make a 40-inch TV for $2,000, perhaps with integrated apps, gaming and iPhones/iPad connectivity (http://gizmodo.com/5554017/the-new-apple-tv-could-be-big-hit). If true, that would be a very stupid idea.
An Apple Television Is a Very Stupid Idea [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5613905/an-apple-television-is-a-very-stupid-idea)
The first tease of Xbox Live (http://gizmodo.com/tag/xboxlive/) on Windows Phone 7 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone7/) piqued my interest (http://gizmodo.com/5493687/the-first-xbox-live-windows-phone-game-looks-awesome-achievement-unlocked), sure. But after I had a little hands-on time with some of the games planned for launch, Microsoft's officially got my undivided attention.
Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 Hands On: Levels Up [Microsoft] (http://gizmodo.com/5614244/xbox-live-on-windows-phone-7-hands-on-and-first-impressions)
The BlackBerry Torch (http://gizmodo.com/tag/blackberrytorch/) only sold 150,000 units (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704868604575433751932669646.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews) in its first three days? That's not bad at all. The real disappointment here is how deeply RIM bought into its own hype.
The BlackBerry Torch's Biggest Failure: RIM's Ridiculous Expectations [BlackBerry] (http://gizmodo.com/5614843/the-blackberry-torchs-biggest-failure-rims-ridiculous-expectations)
Apple has a new toy. It's a materials company called Liquidmetal, and everybody's talking! Problem is, nobody seems too sure what they're talking about. So, Liquidmetal: What is this stuff? And what does Apple want with it?
Giz Explains: What Is Liquidmetal? [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5614154/giz-explains-what-is-liquidmetal)
Thanks for feeding us with latest technology news in town. Please keep it up!
Sony's finally put a name to their motion controller (//http:///tag/motioncontroller), and it's called PlayStation Move (http://gizmodo.com/tag/playstationmove/). Updated with hands on.
Sony Motion Controller is Called PlayStation Move, Launches Fall 2010 (http://gizmodo.com/5490508/sony-motion-controller-is-called-playstation-move-launches-fall-2010-hands-on)
When Les "Survivorman" Stroud—the hardest-working cameraman in the business—says shooting his new show "Beyond Survival (//http:///tag/beyondsurvival/)" was his most challenging shoot yet...
Beyond Survival: Around the World Eight Times With Les Stroud [Survivorman] (http://gizmodo.com/5617135/beyond-survival-around-the-world-eight-times-with-les-stroud)
Shane lives on a sailboat. One night he noticed his faucet running. No big deal for landlubbers. But boaters have to pump in every gallon of fresh H20 themselves, so wasting water is unacceptable.
The Faucet Gets Smart [Home Mod] (http://gizmodo.com/5606716/the-faucet-gets-smart)
Re-adjust what you imagine when you think of a fast sailboat. Forget the floppy sails, majestic prows, and guys scurrying around in silly caps. Those would fly off on a C-class catamaran (http://gizmodo.com/tag/cclasscatamaran/). Hell, the boats even fly.
The Sailboat Race that Outpaces the Wind [Sailboats] (http://gizmodo.com/5619639/the-sailboat-race-that-outpaces-the-wind)
You're gonna want to either get comfortable or move on, because I'm fixin' to write about 700 words on video pinball. Seriously.
Obsession: Video Pinball [Lifechanger] (http://gizmodo.com/5618385/obsession-video-pinball)
Anyone who's tried to type on a TiVo—searching for YouTube, or viewing Netflix, or trying to find that show you want to record—knows it's both tedious and rage-inducing. TiVo Slide (http://gizmodo.com/5484061/tivo-premiere-qwerty-remote-requires-another-dongle) fixes this problem, plus, it's a better remote entirely.
TiVo Slide Remote Lightning Review: Entering Text Finally Doesn't Suck [Review] (http://gizmodo.com/5619996/tivo-slide-remote-lightning-review-finally-entering-text-doesnt-suck)
Those cheap earphones you keep buying year after year? The ones with the cool designs? They all kinda sound the same, huh? There's a pretty good reason for that: They actually are all the same earphones.
The Secret Scam of Cheap Earbuds [Earbuds] (http://gizmodo.com/5617200/the-secret-scam-of-cheap-earbuds)
Forty bucks for an iPhone case? Scam of the century. Here are seven cases that will keep your new iPhone 4 pristine and cost less than a couple of apps.
Sub-$5 iPhone Cases That Will Get the Job Done [Dealzmodo] (http://gizmodo.com/5620015/sub+5-iphone-cases-that-will-get-the-job-done)
Your eyes are absorbing this webpage. They're passing over this, this, then this word, right now. That's how reading works, online: you take this for granted. But what if you couldn't?
Giz Explains: How Blind People See the Internet [Gizexplains] (http://gizmodo.com/5620079/giz-explains-how-blind-people-see-the-internet)
We've reached the point where buying a "new" could still mean you're using firmware that's 18 months old. There's got to be a better way.
Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware [Qotd] (http://gizmodo.com/5620828/please-stop-making-new-phones-with-old-firmware)
"inventor" was an honest-to-god occupation. You could check a box, and tell the U.S. Census Bureau that's what you were. Now, inventors are as-seen-as-on-TV caricatures and "innovation" is a corporate-speak. We want to celebrate invention. Eureka.
Eureka: Hello Invention [Eureka] (http://gizmodo.com/5621719/eureka-hello-invention)
Calling! In Gmail! (http://gizmodo.com/5621146/soon-youll-be--to-make-phone-calls-from-your-gmail-inbox). It's been rumored for a little bit, but now it's here. Merged. You can make phone calls from Gmail (without going to your GV page). And they're free to the US and Canada.
Make Free Calls in Gmail With Google Voice [Google Voice] (http://gizmodo.com/5621741/google-voice-gets-integrated-into-gmail)
Cats. Dogs. The occasional lizard, pig or rock. These are your pets, Gizmodo readers. And for this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/5615841/shooting-challenge-pets), you photographed them brilliantly.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_alexbrooksbetty_02.jpg)
369 Absolutely Adorable Pet Wallpapers [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5621609/369-absolutely-adorable-pet-wallpapers)
Apple has finally made their September event official, and it's coming sooner than many expected—the "special event" will be held September 1 in San Francisco, and from the look of things it's going to involve music.
What's Apple Announcing at Their Music-Related September 1 Event? [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5621837/apple-holding-music+related-event-on-september-1)
"Did airplanes come from the R&D a train company or a steamship company?" Nathan Myhrvold (http://gizmodo.com/tag/nathanmyhrvold/) asks, rhetorically, his voice cracking. He's explaining how his company, Intellectual Ventures (http://gizmodo.com/tag/intellectualventures/), is going to reinvent the way things are invented.
How Intellectual Ventures Wants to Reinvent Invention (http://gizmodo.com/5621679/how-intellectual-ventures-wants-to-reinvent-invention)
The 60D, Canon's new midrange DSLR, is a whole lot like the Rebel T2i (http://gizmodo.com/5541310/canon-rebel-t2i-review-this-should-be-your-first-dslr) inside—still fantastic. It's what's outside that's better, a flip-out swivel screen and more rugged body that tug the camera closer toward video DSLR nirvana.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_60body.jpg)
Canon 60D Impressions: The Perfect Video DSLR Is Just a Little Bit Closer [Digital Cameras] (http://gizmodo.com/5622239/canon-60d-brings-the-perfect-video-dslr-just-a-little-bit-closer)
"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits," Edison once said. But is hustling all it takes? Is progress always deliberate? Sometimes genius arrives not by choice—but by chance. Below are our ten favorite serendipitous innovations.
1. The Microwave - Percy L. Spencer
2. Saccharin - Ira Remsen, Constantin Fahlberg
3. Slinky - Richard James
4. Play-Doh - Kutol Products
5. Super Glue - Harry Coover
6. Teflon - Roy Plunkett
7. Bakelite - Leo Baekeland
8. Pacemaker - Wilson Greatbatch
9. Velcro - George de Mestral
10. X-Rays - Wilhelm Roentgen
Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All Time [Eureka] (http://gizmodo.com/5620910/whoops-the-10-greatest-accidental-inventions-of-all-time)
A piece of plastic goes in, a piece of metal comes out. At least, that's what vapor metallizing seems to accomplish, at least to our immediate senses. It's gilding, except it's been updated for the electronics age. And it's everywhere.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_vaporizedwatermark.jpg)
Vocab Lesson: Vapor-Metalized Plastic [Vocablesson] (http://gizmodo.com/5622105/vocab-lesson-vapor+metalized-plastic)
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided (http://gizmodo.com/5622800/our-worst-nightmares-about-the-government-tracking-us-just-came-true) that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here's how to (http://gizmodo.com/tag/howto/) protect yourself.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_blocker.jpg)
How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!) [How To] (http://gizmodo.com/5622807/how-to-stop-the-government-from-tracking-your-location)
My Netflix Instant queue is long. Very, very long. And because I'm not a quitter, I'm determined to watch every last bit of it. Attacking it from my iPhone (http://gizmodo.com/5622368/you-can-now-stream-netflix-movies-and-tv-shows-on-iphone-and-ipod-touch) actually gives me a fighting chance.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_img_0016_01.jpg)
Why the Netflix iPhone App Makes Me a Happy Zombie [IPhone Apps] (http://gizmodo.com/5622804/streaming-netflix-to-the-iphone-just-made-me-a-happy-zombie)
Blockbuster's likely bankruptcy filing (http://gizmodo.com/5623329/rumor-blockbuster-filing-for-bankruptcy-next-month) will mean lots of their stores will close. That's sad! The loss of Blockbuster stores is a loss for everybody.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_blockbusted.jpg)
A World Without Blockbuster Is a World Filled With Sadness [Blockbuster] (http://gizmodo.com/5623824/a-world-without-blockbuster-is-a-world-filled-with-sadness)
America makes some of the world's finest beers. And now those beers are getting the conveyance they deserve—cans.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_lagerwatermark.jpg)
Why do people always sit in a circle? I'm leaned back in my nylon camp chair, fishing around in the mesh net of the cup holder for a lighter. Most of the people at this BBQ know each other from work, so conversation sometimes takes a little time to ramp up.
Canned Beer Is The Future of Good Beer [Blotto] (http://gizmodo.com/5622938/canned-beer-is-the-future-of-good-beer)
Eureka (http://gizmodo.com/5622247/eureka-how-genius-strikes?skyline=true&s=i) has been Giz's celebration of inventors of all stripe, from Tesla to Popeil. (http://gizmodo.com/5623239/6-legends-of-tv-inventions) But some of the most memorable inventors of our time were actually invented themselves. Here are ten fictional innovators near and dear to our hearts.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_famousfictionalinventors.jpg)
The 10 Greatest Fictional Inventors of All Time [Inventors] (http://gizmodo.com/5623849/the-10-greatest-fictional-inventors-of-all-time)
Apple has finally made their September event official, and it's coming sooner than many expected—the "special event" will be held September 1 in San Francisco, and from the look of things it's going to involve music.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_appletar.jpg)
What Will Apple Announce at Their Music-Centric September 1 Event? [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5621837/apple-holding-music+related-event-on-september-1)
Earlier today, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Traffic Safety Administration showed off stickers (http://jalopnik.com/5625482/new-fuel-economy-window-stickers-chock-full-o-numbers) that would give car buyers standardized info on a particular model's fuel economy and environmental impact. Gadgets should have standardized ratings, too.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/500x_vaio.jpg)
It's Time To Make Standardized Ratings For Gadgets [Gadgets] (http://gizmodo.com/5625746/gadgets-should-have-standardized-ratings-too)
You accelerate, hit maximum velocity and the world blurs. Whether you're driving a car alone or a moped packed with your entire family, this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge) participants always made the experience epic.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_dandechiarovelocity.jpg)
69 High Velocity Wallpapers [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5626278/69-high-velocity-wallpapers)
WebOS 2.0 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/webos20/). It's really happening, and it's coming soon. Amidst the turmoil and the headlines and the doom-dropping, Palm's been busy: WebOS 2.0 looks like it'll be better than the original in basically every way.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/08/340x_palmmulti.jpg)
Palm WebOS 2.0: Now This Is Multitasking [Palm] (http://gizmodo.com/5626228/palm-web-os-20-now-this-is-multitasking)
Apple's music event (http://gizmodo.com/5626542/apple-ipod-and-music-meta+liveblog) was so full of shiny gadgets and awesome news that your head might still be spinning. In case you struggled to keep up with everything or want a review, here are all the highlights:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_appleroundup_01.jpg)
All the Cool New Stuff From Apple Today [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5627368/all-the-cool-new-stuff-from-apple-today)
It was possibly the worst-kept secret in tablet-land (http://gizmodo.com/tag/samsung-galaxy-tab) (more so than the iPad), but the final specs have now been revealed for the Tab (http://gizmodo.com/tag/samsunggalaxytab/). It'll run Android 2.2 (Froyo) and comes in a 7-inch flavor—for now.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_samgaltablife16.jpg)
Samsung's Galaxy Tab Runs Froyo, Has Flash and Measures 7 Inches (http://gizmodo.com/5627498/samsungs-galaxy-tab-takes-on-the-ipad-just-like-android-does-the-iphone)
Apple has always sucked at the internet (//http:///5552953/why-arent-i-the-center-of-the-apple-universe). With Ping (http://gizmodo.com/5627644/what-is-ping-apples-social-network-for-music) and the new Apple TV (http://gizmodo.com/5626657/the-new-apple-tv), Apple sucks a little bit less at it. But Apple could be good at it.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_apple_clouds_03.jpg)
The Seeds of Apple's Cloud [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5628255/the-seeds-of-apples-cloud)
Writing an eBay description of a beloved car is like writing an obituary for a friend that's still alive. Flaws and strengths. Have to be honest. But then you have to go out to the garage and crawl inside them.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_sky_cruiser.jpg)
Let's Talk Adventure! [Adventure] (http://gizmodo.com/5629654/lets-talk-adventure)
Apple's music event was so full of shiny gadgets and awesome news that your head might still be spinning. In case you struggled to keep up with everything or want a review, here are all the highlights:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_appleroundup_01.jpg)
All the Cool New Stuff From Apple [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5627368/all-the-cool-new-stuff-from-apple-today)
The 'tubes are buzzing this AM with Kanye's two-hour Twitterized heart-dump. Pure and honest (?), it was also hard to follow. So I edited it. Lightly. Because even Kanye West (http://gizmodo.com/tag/kanyewest/) needs an editor, and dude, we media aren't so bad.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_kanye_01.jpg)
Kanye's "Apology" Tweets: Edited into Letter Form [Kanye] (http://gizmodo.com/5630204/kanye-wests-tweeted-apology-edited-into-letter-form)
After last week's Apple announcements, your previous-gen iPod probably isn't looking so hot. Cheer up! We've got five mods that'll breathe new life into the little guy, so you don't have to feel guilty about picking up a shiny replacement.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_imodbadge.jpg)
Five Hacks to Give Your Old iPod a New Life [Hacks] (http://gizmodo.com/5627298/the-top-5-coolest-hacks-to-give-your-old-ipod-a-new-beginning)
You live your life at 2.4GHz. Your router, your cordless phone, your Bluetooth earpiece, your baby monitor and your garage opener all love and live on this radio frequency, and no others. Why? The answer is in your kitchen.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_wireless_02.jpg)
Giz Explains: Why Everything Wireless is 2.4GHz [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5629814/giz-explains-why-everything-wireless-is-24ghz)
Over Labor Day, many of you went to work (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge) with your cameras to capture the ultimate moment of R&R.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_ryanpowersrr.jpg)
60 Photos of Relaxation at its Purest [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5631923/60-photos-of-relaxation-at-its-purest)
Sony barely mentioned pricing with their PlayStation Move motion controller (http://gizmodo.com/5490508/sony-motion-controller-is-called-playstation-move-launches-fall-2010-hands-on?skyline=true&s=i), only noting that the combo pricing with PlayStation Eye and a game will cost less than $100. But by our back-of-the-envelope calculations, the experience is going to be really expensive.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/500x_movemovemovemovetop.jpg)
Mental Math: The PlayStation Move Experience Is Going to Be Expensive [Playstation Move] (http://gizmodo.com/5491379/mental-math-the-playstation-move-experience-is-going-to-be-expensive)
The Western World keeps cutting its science research budget because of the economic crisis. As China rises—funneling tons of money into science—our obtuse politicians don't realize that, without pure research, they are sentencing us to irrelevance and oblivion.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_nasa_wall.jpg)
Science Research Cuts Will Ruin Us All [Rant] (http://gizmodo.com/5631824/science-research-cuts-will-ruin-us-all)
Samsung's Galaxy S phones (http://gizmodo.com/5574325/samsung-galaxy-s-known-as-vibrant-captivate-and-fascinate-with-us-carriers), like the Fascinate (http://gizmodo.com/5631671/verizon-folks-can-enter-galaxy-s-tomorrow-with-samsung-fascinate) on Verizon, represent everything that's good—and bad—about Android.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_fascinated.jpg)
Samsung Fascinate Lightning Review: When Greedy Carriers Ruin Decent Phones [Review] (http://gizmodo.com/5632186/samsung-fascinate-lightning-review-when-greedy-carriers-ruin-decent-phones)
With the latest iPods (http://gizmodo.com/5627368/all-the-cool-new-stuff-from-apple-today) shipping this week, you'll be wanting to know whether an upgrade is necessary—or whether to take the plunge into the wild world of iPoddery. So far, this is what the reviews are saying:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_ipodgroupshot3.jpg)
Five Takes On the New Apple iPods [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5632577/five-takes-each-on-apples-ipod-touch-ipod-nano-and-ipod-shuffle)
iOS 4.1 is live, bringing Game Center, HDR photos, a proximity sensor fix and more (http://gizmodo.com/5627602/apple-announces-ios-41) to iPhones (3G, 3GS, and 4) and iPod Touches (second-generation on up). Let the Game Center username land grab begin!
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_ss41.jpg)
Apple iOS 4.1 Is Available Right Now [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5632976/apple-ios-41-is-available-right-now)
Google's just announced Google Instant (http://gizmodo.com/5632947/googles-streaming-search-results-eliminate-the-search-button)! They say it's going to transform search forever—making it faster, better, stronger. But what is it, exactly?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_google_search_01.jpg)
What Is Google Instant? [Google Instant] (http://gizmodo.com/5632969/what-is-google-instant)
Clifford Nass (http://gizmodo.com/tag/cliffordnass/) is a Stanford professor specializing in computer interaction. In this excerpt from his new book, The Man Who Lied To His Laptop (http://gizmodo.com/tag/themanwholiedtohislaptop/), he talks about how he made Clippy lovable. Cliff will be in the comments, answering Q's.
How I Made Clippy Lovable [Book Excerpt] (http://gizmodo.com/5632237/the-man-who-lied-to-his-laptop)
The iPhone 4 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/iphone4/)'s best new feature in iOS 4.1 (http://gizmodo.com/5632976/apple-ios-41-is-available-right-now?skyline=true&s=i)—besides not hanging up on people with your face—is its ability to capture HDR photos (http://gizmodo.com/5627919/this-is-how-ios-41-hdr-photos-look-in-reality). But you've gotta use it correctly.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_shaooodws.jpg)
How to Shoot Better iPhone HDR Photos [Iphone 4] (http://gizmodo.com/5633122/how-to-shoot-better-iphone-hdr-photos)
In a surprising announcement—after receiving a mountain of criticism (http://gizmodo.com/5586050/does-steve-jobs-just-not-get-game-development), —Apple has announced that they "are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create apps" and "publishing app review guidelines." That's good. The bad: Arbitrary censorship stays.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_epic_citadel_approved.jpg)
Censorship Stays as iPhone App Development Rules "Relax" [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5633721/apple-to-allow-other-iphone-development-tools-publishes-app-review-guidelines)
It was almost a footnote. AirPlay, the audio streaming protocol once known as AirTunes, got just one minute of keynote time last week. But it might end up as the backbone of Apple's assault on the living room.
Forget Apple TV. AirPlay Is Apple's Sneak Attack On Television [Analysis] (http://gizmodo.com/5634087/forget-apple-tv-airplay-is-apples-sneak-attack-on-television)
As expected, Apple has reevaluated their iPhone case initiative (http://gizmodo.com/5594596/apple-iphone-4-case-program-starts-right-now): "We are discontinuing the free case program on all iPhone 4s sold after September 30, 2010." But they'll still give you one if you complain.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_500x_bumpersignal__1_.jpg)
Apple's Ending the Free iPhone 4 Case Program September 30 [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5635077/apples-ending-the-free-iphone-4-case-program-september-30)
The Apple internet revolution (http://gizmodo.com/5552953/why-arent-i-the-center-of-the-apple-universe) we needed didn't happen. We wanted a unified service that would let us store all our media and personal information in the ether. But we didn't get it. So forget the fruit stand; we're going rogue.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_apple_bat_signal.jpg)
How to Cloudify Your Apple Life. Without Apple's Help. [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5634524/how-to-cloudify-your-apple-life-without-apples-help)
You can place your iPad pre-order at the Apple Store (http://gizmodo.com/tag/applestore/) now. And if you're still between a few models, it's not too late to read our iPad Buyer's Guide, Haiku Edition (http://gizmodo.com/5491558/ipad-buyers-guide-super-simplified-edition-some-jest-implied). [Apple (http://store.apple.com/)]
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/500x_ipadpre.jpg)
You Can Pre-Order the iPad Now [Ipad] (http://gizmodo.com/5491789/you-can-pre+order-the-ipad-now)
This is the DTV Shredder (http://gizmodo.com/tag/dtvshredder/), a militarized skateboard with two caterpillar tracks. It can travel at over 30mph, go up 40-degree slopes, turn around in four feet, and be remotely operated. It's also quite spectacular in action:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_dtv-shreder.jpg)
Militarized Skateboard Perfect for Hipster Invasions [Military] (http://gizmodo.com/5635786/militarized-skateboard-with-caterpillar-tracks-is-perfect-for-hipster-invasions)
This is not a Photoshop. It's not an optical trick. And it's not an illustration. It's just a simply great photo taken near the Linevo village, in the Volgograd region of Russia.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_4974418220_c02a9b8cbd_b.jpg)
This Image Is Not a Photoshop Trick [Image Cache] (http://gizmodo.com/5636576/this-image-is-not-a-photoshop-trick)
While summer is winding down everywhere else, San Francisco's heat is just arriving. For me, it's the right time to set up backyard lights.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_night.jpg)
Lighting the Yard [Home Mod] (http://gizmodo.com/5636766/lighting-the-yard)
Most probably, this is just unfounded gossip, but Bloomberg is reporting on a story about Steve Jobs (http://gizmodo.com/tag/stevejobs/) getting stopped at the Kansai Airport last July, after security found ninja stars in his carry-on luggage. He got pissed-off, they say. Updated.
Was Steve Jobs Busted for Bringing Throwing Stars into an Airport? [Rumors] (http://gizmodo.com/5637551/is-steve-jobs-a-closet-ninja)
While discussing the art for last week's OKCupid post (http://gizmodo.com/5632105/the-real-stuff-white-people-like?skyline=true&s=i) on the preferences of different races, guest artist, Chris "Powerpig" McVeigh (http://www4.flickr.com/photos/powerpig/) dropped an astonishing fact: "Almost all non-white faces in Lego are scowling." Easy now: It's not Lego's fault.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_1978_police_officer_minifigure.jpg)
Hollywood's Racism Exposed ... by Lego [Lego] (http://gizmodo.com/5633208/hollywoods-racism-exposed-by-lego)
When planning this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge), I hadn't been so forward-thinking to realize that it coincided with New York's "Tribute in Light" 9/11 memorial. Having said that, these entries definitely added an unexpected depth to the results:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_celineruffinoray.jpg)
51 Radiant Ray Wallpapers [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5637546/51-radiant-ray-wallpapers)
America is divided! One faction is powerful and entrenched. The other is respected by the rest of the world, but can't seem to seize power here. I'm talking, obviously, about our cellphones.
Giz Explains: What's the Difference between GSM and CDMA? [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5637136/giz-explains-gsm-vs-cdma)
Whether it's true or not, Apple is denying that Steve Jobs ninja star story. (http://gizmodo.com/5637551/is-steve-jobs-a-closet-ninja?skyline=true&s=i) But you might still wonder, what exactly is this forbidden implement, where did it come from and how do you throw it?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_ninja_star_01.jpg)
What Is a Ninja Star? [What Is] (http://gizmodo.com/5637907/what-is-a-ninja-star)
It's hard for Nikon to fight Canon on video, so they're fighting with what they know: photography. Nikon's new D7000 packs a 16.3-megapixel sensor, 39-point autofocus, dual card slots and ISO up to 25,600 in a $1200 camera. Hot.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_d70000.jpg)
Nikon D7000 Packs a Whole Lot of Pro Into a $1200 DSLR [Digital Cameras] (http://gizmodo.com/5638323/nikon-d7000-packs-a-whole-lot-of-pro-into-a-1200-dslr)
Milled from a single piece of aluminum much like their Legend phone, the Desire Z (http://gizmodo.com/tag/desirez/) is as far removed from HTC's previous slide-out Android, the G1, as you could possibly hope.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_htcdesirezone.jpg)
HTC Desire Z Is a Gorgeous Slide-Out QWERTY Android With Brains [Android] (http://gizmodo.com/5638424/htc-desire-z-is-a-gorgeous-slide+out-qwerty-android-with-brains)
It's not often you can trace so much creative and artistic awesomeness back to a single piece of gear—particularly in the music industry. Meet the Yamaha NS-10: A speaker you've probably never heard of, but have definitely heard.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_yamaha-speaker.jpg)
Yamaha's NS-10: The Most Important Speaker You've Never Heard Of [Speakers] (http://gizmodo.com/5637077/yamahas-ns+10-the-most-important-speaker-youve-never-heard-of)
After spending seven days living with our new iPods, we're gonna let them stay. As far as media-slinging sidekicks go, they're pretty good. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_newipodtouch_6.jpg)
A Week With the New iPods [IPod] (http://gizmodo.com/5637954/a-week-with-the-new-ipods)
With David Packard (http://gizmodo.com/tag/davidpackard/)'s birthday passing last week, and HP's recent leadership woes (http://gizmodo.com/5631492/former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd-lands-co+president-job-at-oracle), we at Gizmodo feel it's time to remember early HP's innovative founding culture. We bring you an inspiring excerpt from Packard's book, with a foreword by his son.
The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company [Book Excerpt] (http://gizmodo.com/5634378/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-our-company)
It's a revelation. It's the way the iPad always should've been. With iOS 4.2 (http://gizmodo.com/5627606/ipad-ios-42-everything-from-ios-4-plus-airplay-music-and-video-streaming) there's multitasking, a unified inbox, folders and... Helvetica in Notes.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_img_0189.jpg)
iOS 4.2 on iPad: There's No Going Back [Ipad] (http://gizmodo.com/5639074/ios-42-on-ipad-its-impossible-to-go-back)
Didn't you notice? It was just Nokia World (http://events.nokia.com/nokiaworld/home.htm)! But with profits plummeting and executives fleeing (http://gizmodo.com/5636353/another-nokia-exec-bites-the-dust-anssi-vanjoki)—both at alarming rates—maybe it should have been a reckoning instead.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_mcdonalds_nokia_03.jpg)
Nokia Is the McDonald's of Phones [Nokia] (http://gizmodo.com/5638995/nokia-is-the-mcdonalds-of-phones)
You know who knows speakers? Audiogon (http://www.audiogon.com/), the high-end audio community knows speakers. So we asked them if it was possible to get kick-ass sound for under two G's. Their answer: a turned-up-to-eleven, room-shaking YES.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_audio_engine_a5_bamboo.jpg)
The Best Speakers Under $2,000 [Speakers] (http://gizmodo.com/5639824/the-best-speakers-under-2000)
As expected, Sony's Move is perfectly competent, hardware-wise, because Sony is a hardware company. But making games that mimic Nintendo's casual-friendly Wii party games is the wrong move. Instead, they need to focus on their true fanbase: The hardcore fans.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_psmove.jpg)
Sony Move Review: Don't Be Wii 2.0 [Review] (http://gizmodo.com/5640908/sony-move-review-dont-be-wii-20)
TV is rapidly moving online. But you already knew that. What you don't know—because it's nearly impossible to tell—is exactly what shows are available online right now, where they're located, and what's worth watching.
What's Worth Watching on the Web this Week? [TV] (http://gizmodo.com/5641270/whats-worth-watching-on-the-web-this-week)
The Indonesian "Play House," designed by architects at Aboday, boasts clean lines, high ceilings and something that's especially awesome for the lucky little 5-year-old punk who uses it: a two-story polished concrete slide that goes from bedroom to kitchen.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_dzn_playhouse-by-aboday-1_01.jpg)
Slide Into Home [Slides] (http://gizmodo.com/5642077/slide-into-home)
Try not to get too excited, guys, but Peek 9 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/peek9/) is here. It's not as worthless (http://gizmodo.com/5431759/worst-gadgets-gallery/) as TwitterPeek (http://gizmodo.com/5396213/the-twitterpeek-is-so-dumb-it-makes-my-brain-hurt), but that's vastly different from being worthwhile. Honest question: who in blue blazes buys these things? How does Peek stay in business?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_peek9.jpg)
Who In Their Right Mind Would Buy a Peek 9? [Rant] (http://gizmodo.com/5642837/who-in-their-right-mind-would-buy-a-peek-9)
Not so long ago, you might have walked out of a restaurant that served you ludicrous-sounding creations like cream of mushroom foam, or spheres of olive oil that explode in your mouth like salmon roe. Not anymore.
Science for Dinner: It's the New Normal [Taste Test] (http://gizmodo.com/5643297/cooking-with-science-its-the-new-normal)
The photos that follow are impossible. But they actually happened. The entries for this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge) are composites, stacking subjects from the same place at different moments in time. The results will bend your brain in the best ways:
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_louinydeliuscomposites.jpg)
30 Impossible Scenes That Actually Happened [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5643192/30-impossible-scenes-that-actually-happened)
For something so familiar, cooking is incredibly mysterious. Ask a home cook what happens to a steak in a pan—hell, ask most chefs. It gets hot. It gets brown. It gets juicy. How do you like yours, again?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_scienceofcooking.jpg)
Giz Explains: How Food Cooks [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5643387/giz-explains-how-food-cooks)
It's a revelation. It's the way the iPad always should've been. With iOS 4.2 (http://gizmodo.com/5627606/ipad-ios-42-everything-from-ios-4-plus-airplay-music-and-video-streaming) there's multitasking, a unified inbox, folders and... Helvetica in Notes.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_watch_tv.jpg)
iOS 4.2 on iPad: There's No Going Back [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5639074/ios-42-on-ipad-its-impossible-to-go-back)
Didn't you notice? It was just Nokia World (http://events.nokia.com/nokiaworld/home.htm)! But with profits plummeting and executives fleeing (http://gizmodo.com/5636353/another-nokia-exec-bites-the-dust-anssi-vanjoki)—both at alarming rates—maybe it should have been a reckoning instead.
http://www.youtube.com/v/QqeeQd-YNL0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Nokia Is the McDonald's of Phones [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5638995/nokia-is-the-mcdonalds-of-phones)
As expected, Sony's Move is perfectly competent, hardware-wise, because Sony is a hardware company. But making games that mimic Nintendo's casual-friendly Wii party games is the wrong move. Instead, they need to focus on their true fanbase: The hardcore fans.
http://www.youtube.com/v/WATcSu58uI4?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Sony Move Review: Don't Be Wii 2.0 [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5640908/sony-move-review-dont-be-wii-20)
Listen, cookbooks are great. That's fine. But do you know what else is great? Friggin' apps. With the right apps, your smartphone or tablet is your new cookbook—and cooking instructor, and sous chef. Here are the best.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_versus_foodapps.jpg)
The Best Cooking Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5644319/app-battle-the-best-food-apps)
Everyone loves instant ramen, but eating the same starchy Maruchan crap every night is boring. Here's a short list of ingredients that'll help you doctor your ramen—and save you from feeling like the broke-ass that you truly are.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/09/ramen_01.jpg)
Souped Up: How to Make Instant Ramen into a Gourmet Meal [Hack] (http://gizmodo.com/5645425/souped-up-how-to-make-instant-ramen-into-a-gourmet-meal)
The FCC just cleared a path (http://gizmodo.com/5636518/the-fcc-is-about-to-start-a-powerful-wifi-giveaway) for a new generation of "Super Wi-Fi (http://gizmodo.com/tag/superwifi/)" technologies. Sounds great! But what the heck is Super Wi-Fi?
What Is "Super Wi-Fi"? [Super Wi-fi] (http://gizmodo.com/5646259/what-is-super-wi+fi)
If you lose a limb in this day and age, the miracle of science can provide you with a cool carbon fiber leg (http://gizmodo.com/5214685/5+year+old-amputee-fitted-with-high-performance-carbon-fiber-legs), and even append actual senses (http://gizmodo.com/5642124/human-fiber-optics-could-give-senses-to-artificial-limbs). The olden-time folks who had to wear these contraptions weren't so lucky.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/09/prosthetic14.jpg)
15 Mildly Horrifying Vintage Prostheses [Prosthetics] (http://gizmodo.com/5647038/15-vintage-prosthetics-you-can-be-glad-or-sad-youll-never-have-to-wear)
Hey America: You waste almost 40 percent of the food you produce. WTF? Sure, you can address that by making behavioral changes, but, uhm... boring! Fortunately, we can fix this. With gear.
10 Teched-Out Techniques for Saving Food [Foodwaste] (http://gizmodo.com/5645941/10-ways-to-save-food)
In just a few short years we've almost forgotten the concept of "saving" a document. Close an app? It's just there. Until it isn't.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_angry_cloud2.jpg)
When Good Apps Go Bad [Development] (http://gizmodo.com/5646541/when-good-apps-go-bad)
The basic premises of going to a restaurant haven't changed tremendously throughout history. You sit down. You order. It shows up. Maybe it's good. But new, high tech establishments around the world are putting a innovative spin on eating out.
http://www.youtube.com/v/el71OBLyfDs?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Nine Restaurants Sent Back From the Future to Destroy Us (With Good Eats) [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5647279/nine-restaurants-from-the-future)
Frank Reynolds (http://gizmodo.com/tag/frankreynolds/)'s story is obviously a complex, multi-year affair that involved years of research, but for the attention-span deprived, a summary: He was partially paralyzed. He researched neuroscience. Underwent intense physical rehabilitation. Walked again. Then he created InVivo.
http://www.youtube.com/v/mtPwGZ4y428?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Frank Reynolds Treated His Own Spinal Cord Injury and Walked Again [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5648158/frank-reynolds-treated-his-own-spinal-cord-injury-and-walked-again)
OK, we're calling it: Computers are more than a passing fad. We're so convinced of this, that we've teamed up with Sparkle Labs (http://www.sparklelabs.com/) to teach you about electricity and electronics prototyping with series of interactive video classes.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/09/lights_kit2.jpg)
Get Schooled: Gizmodo University [DIY] (http://gizmodo.com/5648255/get-schooled-gizmodo-university)
Just like the countless innovators, explorers and fine people killed in a Frankensteinian way by their own inventions, the current owner of Segway—not Dean Kamen—died yesterday after he rode off a cliff and into a river in England.
Segway Company Owner Dies After Driving Segway Off Cliff [Segways] (http://gizmodo.com/5648709/segway-company-owner-dies-after-driving-segway-off-cliff)
Every tech freak, rich man and lazy boy wants to be able to control their house like a Bond nemesis controls his volcano. But...where do you start?
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/09/automation_02.jpg)
Home Automation! What You Need to Know to Not Be Dumb [Homemod] (http://gizmodo.com/5647352/home-automation-what-you-need-to-know-to-not-be-dumb)
The BlackBerry tablet (http://gizmodo.com/tag/blackberrytablet/) is here, and it looks astoundingly nice. Nicer than anybody expected it to be. Here's what you need to know about the PlayBook, in 10 easy steps.
http://www.youtube.com/v/eAaez_4m9mQ?fs=1&hl=en_US
The BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet: 10 Things You Need to Know [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5649238/blackberry-playbook-tablet-an-ipad-killer-for-the-suits)
Today's been a sad day for Segway, so we thought we'd lighten the mood a little bit. Being kind of ridiculous to begin with, Segways make for naturally funny Web videos. Here are the best ones we could find.
1.
http://www.youtube.com/v/MuKoHxGwnPA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
2.
http://www.youtube.com/v/M_am3uTrMhU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
The Craziest Segway Videos [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5649178/the-best-segway-videos-ever)
We have been waiting for this one for a long time (http://gizmodo.com/5599836/has-apple-forgotten-about-its-remote-app), but here it is: Apple Remote 2.0 is now available at the Apple Store. And oh boy, it's dee-lish on the iPad. Updated with hands-on.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_cash-itunes.jpg)
Hands-On: Apple Remote 2. OH YES! [Apps] (http://gizmodo.com/5649913/hands+on-apple-remote-2oh-yes)
With new offerings from Roku (http://gizmodo.com/5645487/roku-internet-video-streamers-are-as-low-as-60-and-do-1080p-for-100) and Apple (http://gizmodo.com/5626657/the-new-apple-tv), and the grand impending entrance of Google TV (http://gizmodo.com/5564830/google-explains-google-tv-in-video-walk+through), the crowd of little plastic boxes that all want to stream your video is getting packed. And confusing. But we're here to help you compare.
Video Box Battle Royale: Who Should Be Your TV's New Best Friend? (http://gizmodo.com/5649560/video-box-battle-royale-who-should-be-your-tvs-new-best-friend)
You knew Steve Jobs (http://gizmodo.com/tag/stevejobs/) was tearing down his old mansion (http://gizmodo.com/5252151/steve-jobs-permitted-to-bulldoze-historic-mansion). You didn't know what he was building in its place. Until now.
Exclusive: The Plans For Steve Jobs' New House [Exclusive] (http://gizmodo.com/5649909/the-house-that-steve-jobs-will-build)
In just about a decade, much of the world has forgotten that film cameras ever even existed. For this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge), not only did participants shoot on film—they used crumby, often expired disposable cameras to do it.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_steventwardzikdisposable.jpg)
22 Experiments With Disposable Cameras [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5649180/22-experiments-with-disposable-cameras)
Your smartphone's screen: 500 nits. Your laptop's: 400. Your living room projector bulb: 1700 lumens. Your mini Maglite's: 16. To gadget makers, brightness is a numerical marketing weapon, wielded often and without grace. To us, it's just another spec. No more!
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_brightlight-1.jpg)
Giz Explains: Brightness [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5649389/giz-explains-brightness)
The iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch all use a menu system called "Springboard" that doesn't exist on the new Apple TV (http://gizmodo.com/tag/appletv/). But what the Apple TV uses instead might be coming to iPad.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_whatislowtide_01.jpg)
What Is Lowtide? [What Is] (http://gizmodo.com/5650309/what-is-lowtide)
The Fall 2010 Xbox 360 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/xbox360/) dashboard update brings some sports, some Zune integration and a fairly sizable UI change. Here's how it works.
The New Xbox Software Is Here and It's Better [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5650455/the-new-xbox-software-is-here)
I don't watch TV weather forecasts for the same reason that I don't own a wristwatch: I have a smartphone, a tablet, and a computer. Here are the best apps for knowing what it's like outside, without actually going outside.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/09/weathappbattle.jpg)
The Best Weather Apps [App Battles] (http://gizmodo.com/5651021/the-best-weather-apps)
Despite a modern spider's impressive offensive arsenal of venoms and trapping silks, defensive predator-evading "dragline" silk is perhaps its most valuable asset. In this week's excerpt, authors Leslie Brunetta and Catherine Craig discuss the incredible silk's evolution and ingenious implementation.
How Spiders Took Over the Sky [Book Excerpt] (http://gizmodo.com/5650464/how-spiders-took-over-the-sky)
The last few months have been phenomenal for Android fans, with Samsung's Galaxy line hitting all four carriers and Verizon getting a few, new, better Droids for their customers. But which should you pick? It's actually an easy decision.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_androidguide2.jpg)
How to Pick an Android Smartphone - September 2010 [Android] (http://gizmodo.com/5651182/how-to-pick-an-android-smartphone)
An unfortunate electronics-based ass explosion. A confused lad with dirty vinyl. A relationship doomed by a ringtone. This week's questions tortured us for minutes, but we recovered. And we came up with answers.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_askgiz.jpg)
Ask Giz: Scratched Records, Ass Tattoos, and Cellphone Fetishes [Askgiz] (http://gizmodo.com/5650460/ask-prof-gizmodo-scratched-records-ass-tattoos-and-a-nokia-fetish)
The most thrilling Microsoft product in years was killed before it ever officially existed. One of its most awesome services elicits more snickers than nods. Microsoft isn't even in the mobile space right now. Redmond, we have a problem.
http://www.youtube.com/v/HGmRKSds9OY?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Keep Enemies Close: Microsoft Needs iPhone Apps [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5638905/keep-enemies-close-why-microsoft-needs-iphone-apps)
There's a massive storm headed to New York, one that may flood the subway (http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/09/29/new-york-weather-new-jersey-connecticut-tropical-storm-nicole-massive-rainfall/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_NY_NY_Blog). What most people don't know is that we depend on just 700 fragile water pumps to keep the tunnels dry—some a century old. Updated
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_underwatersubway-1.jpg)
New York's Subway May Not Survive Nicole [Updated] [NYC] (http://gizmodo.com/5652348/new-yorks-subway-may-not-survive-tropical-storm-nicole)
Congress might have passed a bill (http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/121829-congress-turns-down-the-volume-on-tv-commercials) to make TV commercials quieter, but one anonymous online television engineer explains why it will take more than a law to save our ears.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_maxellspoof2.jpg)
Why Commercials Are Louder Than Television Shows [Television] (http://gizmodo.com/5652346/why-commercials-are-louder-than-television-shows)
Judging by the leaked terms and conditions (http://gizmodo.com/5651048/amazons-tcs-leak-out-for-android-app-store), Amazon plans to swagger into the Android world with an alternative app download store (http://gizmodo.com/5649713/is-amazon-launching-its-own-tablet-and-app-store-for-android), fists a-whirling. Are they building it to co-exist with Android's Market...or for an Android-powered SuperKindle?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_kindleandroidmarket.jpg)
Why is Amazon Making an Android App Store? [Amazon] (http://gizmodo.com/5652129/why-is-amazon-making-an-android-app-store)
Nowadays we tend to think of submarines as sleek (http://gizmodo.com/5516470/you-too-can-own-a-bulletproof-luxury-sub), futuristic (http://gizmodo.com/5563704/undersea-yacht-submerges-when-your-sunburn-starts-hurting%22), and powerful (http://gizmodo.com/5649267/japanese-inventor-wants-to-destroy-typhoons-with-submarines). But back in the Victorian era (http://gizmodo.com/tag/victorianera/), it was these steam-powered clunkers that ruled 20,000 leagues under the sea.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/09/500x_vicsub3_01.jpg)
12 Hundred-Year-Old Submarines [Steampunk] (http://gizmodo.com/5652604/12-hundred+year+old-submarines)
There are Jell-O shots (http://gizmodo.com/tag/jelloshots/). And then there are the shots from My Jello Americans (http://myjelloamericans.blogspot.com/): Cory Kete, Moe Sheehan, and Megan Booth have elevated the Jell-O shot into an art form. An art form that gets you wasted.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_jelloshot.jpg)
Amazing Jell-O Shots: This Art Gets You Wasted [Blotto!] (http://gizmodo.com/5653180/the-most-creative-jell+o-shots-youve-ever-seen)
Nokia is in trouble. In the US, the brand's gone from ubiquitous to the stuff of tech nostalgia. Its next (last?) stab at American relevance? The N8. We pitted the N8's usability against two rivals, and the results aren't pretty.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/phones.jpg)
Gizmodo HQ Video Throwdown: How Usable Is Nokia's New N8? [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5653621/gizmodo-hq-video-throwdown-how-usable-is-nokias-new-n8)
This is mechanically separated chicken. Chickens are turned into this goop so we can create delicious chicken nuggets and juicy chicken patties. It's obscenely gross and borderline alien but it's not going to stop me from eating nuggets. They're too good.
Chicken Nuggets Are Made From This Pink Goop [Chicken] (http://gizmodo.com/5654066/chicken-nuggets-are-made-from-this-pink-chicken-goop)
It makes me sad—emo-kid sad. Why do so many self-proclaimed geeks hold so much disdain for so-called hipsters?
Geeks Versus Hipsters [Opinion] (http://gizmodo.com/5653143/geeks-versus-hipsters)
Until now, all other artificial heart (http://gizmodo.com/tag/artificialheart/) transplants were just temporary relief. A 15 year old boy from Italy became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, due to the Duchenne syndrome which was wasting his muscles away.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_artificialhearttheatlantic.jpg)
Young Boy Becomes First Human to Live With a Permanent "Robot Heart" [Medicine] (http://gizmodo.com/5654769/young-boy-becomes-first-human-to-live-with-a-permanent-robot-heart)
Some 3D HDTVs actually kinda suck. The 3D effect can break down during fast movement and the active shutter glasses sometimes create a constant flickering effect. If you want decent 3D, check out these great sets recommended by Televisioninfo.com (http://televisioninfo.com/).
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_coolglasses.jpg)
The Best 3DTVs [3D] (http://gizmodo.com/5652675/the-best-3dtvs)
The last time the web smashed into television, over a decade ago, it exploded like poorly made breast implants. So why are we so excited about Google TV (http://gizmodo.com/tag/googletv/)?
http://www.youtube.com/v/ZDeX_oIfEeQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
5 Reasons We're Tingly About Google TV [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5655268/5-reasons-were-tingly-about-google-tv)
We've had a lot of wonderful guest artists on Gizmodo these last few months. Chris "Powerpig" McVeigh is one of the best. Let's take a look at his work again as we bid him hyvästi, including five new behind-the-scenes shots.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_radio_tower.jpg)
A Farewell Gallery of Powerpig's Beautiful LEGO Scenes [Guest Artist] (http://gizmodo.com/5653439/a-farewell-gallery-of-powerpigs-beautiful-lego-scenes)
Want to know if the government is really tracking you? If you find one of these tucked underneath your car, you can start freaking out.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_scaled.om6ne.jpg)
Want to Know if the FBI Is Tracking You? Look for One of These [GPS] (http://gizmodo.com/5655514/want-to-know-if-the-fbi-is-tracking-you-look-for-one-of-these)
This is Jungle. It's the first portable gaming console designed exclusively for online gaming (http://gizmodo.com/tag/onlinegaming/) and MMORPGs. And it's from the company who gave us the 3DO nearly 20 years ago.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_juuuuunglefever.jpg)
Exclusive: First Photo of Jungle, Panasonic's Portable Online Gaming System [Jungle] (http://gizmodo.com/5655371/exclusive-first-photo-of-jungle-panasonics-portable-online-gaming-system)
It was decided we don't know enough about the sea. So 2,700 scientists started the Census of Marine Life (http://gizmodo.com/tag/censusofmarinelife/), cooperating with museums, labs and aquariums across 80 countries to learn more. 10 years later, today, they're done.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_screen_shot_2010-10-04_at_3.35.17_pm.jpg)
How To Count Millions of Fish In the Sea (http://gizmodo.com/5655569/how-to-count-millions-of-fish-in-the-sea)
Today, two professors won the Nobel prize (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2010/) for physics "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene." The Nobel is the Olympic gold of science. But what is graphene, and why did it earn these guys over a million bucks?
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/graphene_copy.jpg)
Graphene Just Won Two Guys the Nobel. So What the Hell Is It? [Physics] (http://gizmodo.com/5656256/graphene-just-won-two-guys-the-nobel-so-what-the-hell-is-it)
You might not know what alumina is—neither did I. But hundreds of Hungarians do, after torrents of the stuff poured out of a plant and through their villages, prompting the country to declare a state of emergency.
http://www.youtube.com/v/Wu93r46ACTI?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Hungary in State of Emergency After Waves of Toxic Burning Mud Pour Out of Chemical Plant [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5656346/hungary-declares-state-of-emergency-after-waves-of-toxic-mud-pour-out-of-chemical-plant)
These extreme zoom-in movies were digitally created by NASA using photographic material from different satellites. From coast to coast, there is no escape from the eyes in space.
http://www.youtube.com/v/FG_gsSrakGs?fs=1&hl=en_US
Extreme Space Zooming From New York to LA [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5652671/there-is-no-escape-from-the-eyes-in-space)
Even if you hold your laptop up to your face like a flip phone, talking into your computer is lame. You want to use Google Voice like a real phone—with buttons and stuff. We'll tell you how.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_rotarygooglevoice.jpg)
Getting Started
If you don't have it already, you're going to need a Google Voice account. It's easy. If you live in the US, you can get a Google Voice number right here, right now, for free. Do it. Now, each method we'll detail will need some minor setup on the Google Voice side of things, so get to know it a little bit. The main setting you'll be monkeying with is getting Google Voice to forward calls to the right number. Basically:
• Log onto Google Voice
• Hit the Settings button in the upper right hand corner.
• Click on "Add another phone", and punch in whatever number you want.
• GV will call that number to confirm.
Read more: How to Replace Your Landline with Google Voice [Howto] (http://gizmodo.com/5654683/how-to-replace-your-landline-with-google-voice)
One moment it's a phone in your hand. The next, it's a full-fledged turn-by-turn nav unit with an active internet connection. What happened? These apps, is what.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/navversus.jpg)
The Best Navigation Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5656790/the-best-navigation-apps)
As expected, Facebook's big event today did involve some new design elements. But it's the features being announced that give a crucial look at the site's even bigger ambitions.
http://www.youtube.com/v/I6ud_SZARCs?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
The first feature Mark Zuckerberg announced, Download Your Information, lets you download all of your photos, messages, videos, etc. Simple enough! It all goes into a single zip file, so that it's all in one place, which will then be emailed to you. As for privacy concerns, you'll need to provide a password and possibly answer more security questions. Whether you feel totally comfortable having all that info passing back and forth is up to you.
The New Facebook: New Dashboard, Download Your Stuff, and Groups [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5657244/the-new-facebook-new-dashboard-download-your-stuff-and-more)
A girlfriend with dubious motives. A frightened social networker. A lonely neighbor with an eye on his WiFi. Some of you are real wrecks! Luckily, so are we. Let's commiserate.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_tv-vampire2.jpg)
Ask Giz: Insecure Boyfriends, Insecure Careers, and Creepy Neighbors [Ask Giz] (http://gizmodo.com/5656084/ask-giz-insecure-boyfriends-insecure-careers-and-creepy-neighbors)
Logitech's Revue Google TV box (http://gizmodo.com/5543974/logitechs-google-tv-box-will-have-special-powers) is now available for pre-order for $299, revealing a host of new features—HD calling, a wide array of controls, myriad apps, and—if you order today, it'll arrive by the end of the month.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_googletv.jpg)
Logitech Revue Google TV Box Full Details: $299 This Month With HD Video Calling [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5657345/logitech-revue-google-tv-box-full-details)
Maybe you just recently bought the phone of your dreams. Maybe you're due for an upgrade. In any event, the phone you coveted six months ago is probably not the one you're coveting now. So which would you buy today?
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/smartphoenchoice.jpg)
If You Had to Get a Smartphone Today, Which Would You Buy? [Question] (http://gizmodo.com/5657404/if-you-had-to-buy-a-smartphone-today-which-would-you-buy)
Superpower sounds can define a comic book hero as much as any form-fitting costume, and when a character is drafted to the silver screen the sound comes with him—but how do they bring these made-up sounds along?
http://www.youtube.com/v/FN3YaybNJ2s?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
BOOM! How Comic Book Sounds Become Movie Sounds [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5656616/thwip-snikt-bamf-how-comic-book-sounds-became-real-life-sounds)
The Verizon iPhone is coming next year (http://gizmodo.com/5657654/is-the-verizon-iphone-really-happening-in-early-2011). Verizon's 4G LTE service is launching next year (http://gizmodo.com/5657278/verizon-4g-lte-will-be-in-38-cities-by-the-end-of-the-year), covering a third of Americans (http://gizmodo.com/5501342/verizons-lte-4g-expansion-plans-one+third-of-americans-covered-this-year). Ergo, a 4G iPhone is on the way. Except it's not. Not for a couple of years.
Keep Holding Your Breath for That 4G Verizon iPhone [Verizon] (http://gizmodo.com/5658529/keep-holding-your-breath-for-that-verizon-iphone-4g)
Jets, spacecraft, and giant robots—some people build amazing things in their garages. Makes you feel a little self-conscious about that "cherry" 1981 Malibu and the stack of National Geographics you keep threatening to put on eBay, doesn't it.
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/garage1_01.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/garage1_01.jpg)
8 Amazing Garage Inventions [Neighbors] (http://gizmodo.com/5658715/8-amazing-garage-inventions)
The twisting pink mass that looks like frozen yogurt infected with ectoplasm might look disgusting. It might be mechanically separated chicken, chicken nuggets (http://gizmodo.com/tag/chickennuggets/) in their primordial form. And it is perfectly okay to eat.
http://www.youtube.com/v/RuIkr0df4-0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Behind the Chicken Goop: The Truth and Science of Chicken Nuggets [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5659271/behind-the-chicken-goop-the-truth-and-science-of-chicken-nuggets)
There's something for everybody this week. From Scare Tactics (http://www.clicker.com/tv/scare-tactics/) and Kurt and Courtney (http://www.clicker.com/movie/kurt-and-courtney/) to the return of Ask A Ninja (http://www.clicker.com/web/ask-a-ninja/), Web TV is crawling with some incredibly fresh finds.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/500x_watch_tv_01.jpg)
The Best TV on the Web This Week [TV] (http://gizmodo.com/5658508/the-best-tv-on-the-web-this-week)
Today's the big coming out party for Windows Phone 7 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone7/), with a gigantic Microsoft event starring Steve Ballmer. We're here live, and you can watch it live too (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windowsphone/liveEvent.aspx). Update: It's official, Windows Phone (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone/) 7 launches on November 8.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_windowsphon7live.jpg)
Live from the Windows Phone 7 Launch [Windows Phone 7] (http://gizmodo.com/5660614/windows-phone-7-launches-today)
Eager for a piece of WP7? Here are the top phones you should consider, broken down by US carrier. You're welcome.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/windows-phone-roundup.jpg)
The Definitive Guide to Windows Phone 7 Handsets [Windows Phone 7] (http://gizmodo.com/5660886/all-the-windows-phone-7-phones)
Running through some of Windows Phone 7 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone7/)'s first games and apps, it's hard not to be impressed. Twitter looks and feels fantastic, and you have to check out this ridiculous 3D tower defense game, Bye Bye Brain. Update: More apps!
Windows Phone 7's First Games and Apps Look Awesome [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5661083/windows-phone-7s-first-games-and-apps-look-awesome)
The Windows Phone 7 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone7/) section of the Zune Marketplace looks a bit like a barren wasteland (http://gizmodo.com/5660983/how-many-windows-phone-7-apps-will-be-there-at-launch) at the moment, but there'll be worthy apps aplenty ready for next month's launch. Here are your first priority downloads.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_windowsp7apps_01.jpg)
The Essential Windows Phone 7 Launch Apps [Wp7] (http://gizmodo.com/5661112/the-essential-windows-phone-7-launch-apps)
After yesterday's images of vagabonds using notebooks (http://gizmodo.com/5661222/he-may-be-homeless-but-at-least-he-has-facebook), two homeless people told us about their lifestyle, why they chose it, and why technology is so important every single day. This is the story of one of them.—JD
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/samspratt_homelesstech2.jpg)
I'm Homeless and This Is Why I Have an iPad [Life] (http://gizmodo.com/5661472/im-homeless-and-this-is-why-i-have-an-ipad)
By lowering the price to $99, Apple has made a bold thrust into the living room, proclaiming, "This is the streamer for the masses." But, ho, masses! Should you add this relatively inexpensive box to your increasingly cluttered TV system?
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/samspratt_hamlettv.jpg)
Do I Need an Apple TV? [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5661178/do-i-need-an-apple-tv)
Like water, smoke is beautiful, powerful and unpredictable. The 82 photos from this week's Shooting Challenge (http://gizmodo.com/tag/shooting-challenge)not only capture smoke as smoke, but smoke as demons, jellyfish and...OK...sometimes just as smoke.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_chrisschweensmoke.jpg)
82 Striking Photos of Smoke [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5662030/82-striking-photos-of-smoke)
Yesterday morning, you looked good. Yesterday evening, before you went out, you're pretty sure you looked real good. So who the hell is this schlub in the Facebook album from last night, tagged with your name?
http://www.youtube.com/v/KuqG7ZrWex4?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Giz Explains: Why You Look Different in Photos Than You Do in the Mirror [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5661253/giz-explains-why-you-look-different-in-photos-than-you-do-in-the-mirror)
When the iPhone 4 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/iphone4/) was revealed (http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone), it was obvious that its design was more fragile (http://gizmodo.com/5572546/design-test-note-fragile-beauty) than the previous generation: If you double the glass panes, the accidental shattering rate will increase too. Now there is data to confirm this theory.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_fragile-beauty.jpg)
iPhone 4 Cracked Glass Cases Almost Double the iPhone 3GS' [Iphone 4] (http://gizmodo.com/5662159/iphone-4-cracked-glass-cases-almost-double-the-iphone-3gs)
We're live at Sony's Internet TV press conference, where we're seeing the "world's first HDTV powered by Google TV (http://gizmodo.com/tag/googletv/)" (and its gnarly remote). Not bad at all, $1400 for the 46-inch model, available this weekend. Updated.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_sonyinternetv_4.jpg)
This Is Sony's $1399 Google TV-Powered Internet TV [Googletv] (http://gizmodo.com/5662323/were-about-to-meet-sonys-internet-tv)
Sally Davies bought a McDonald's Happy Meal (http://gizmodo.com/tag/happymeal/) on April 26, 2010. She placed it on her coffee table, uncovered, and took photos every day for six months. This video shows the results, which are quite scary.
This Is Why You Shouldn't Eat Happy Meals [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5662271/watch-six-months-of-a-happy-meals-eternal-life)
Sally Davies bought a McDonald's Happy Meal (http://gizmodo.com/tag/happymeal/) on April 26, 2010. She placed it on her coffee table, uncovered, and took photos every day for six months. This video shows the results, which are quite scary. Updated: McDonald's official reply.
Video: Six Months of the Everlasting Happy Meal [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5662271/video-six-months-of-the-everlasting-happy-meal)
Is that a Lion lurking in Apple's invite for a "Back to the Mac" event on October 20? It looks like a brand new version OS X (http://gizmodo.com/tag/osx/). I hope they call it Simba. But what else?
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/backtomaaccc.jpg)
Apple "Back to the Mac" Event Oct. 20: New OS X and MacBook Air? [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5662920/apple-back-to-the-mac-event-october-20th)
Creepy stalkers, annoying telemarketers, jilted lovers: The list of people whose calls you don't want can get long. And you might feel short on options for keeping their profane digits from polluting your sacred caller ID. You're not.
How to Fend Off Unwelcome Callers [Annoyances] (http://gizmodo.com/5656750/how-to-block-calls-from-stalkers-and-telemarketers)
Steve Jobs enters. "We've had tremendous, unbelievable success with multitouch. And that's why starting next year, we're bringing it to the Mac."
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_os-x-lion-touch.jpg)
Is the Mac Ready for Multitouch? [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5663014/is-the-mac-ready-for-multitouch)
One thing smartphones aren't very good at? Sharing. They keep to themselves, hoard what they create, and bristle at the thought of accessing and sharing files like a normal computer. Thankfully, we have these apps.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/filesharingtop.jpg)
The Best File Sharing Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5662699/the-best-file-sharing-apps)
Apple's AT&T monogamy has officially ended, at least as far as the iPad is concerned. Because at the end of this month, the tablet is coming to Verizon. Well, Wi-Fi anyway.
iPad Coming to Verizon Stores on October 28th [Ipad] (http://gizmodo.com/5663702/ipad-coming-to-verizon-on-october-28th)
Smartphone cameras (http://gizmodo.com/tag/smartphonecameras/) are becoming increasingly powerful-many, in fact, are fully capable of taking very sharp and professional looking photos. But are these phones capable of holding their own against more sophisticated equipment? And which phone does it best?
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_vs_phone_cameras.jpg)
This week: a relationship ruined by text messages. An out of shape gamer looking for an easy way out. A broke-ass gent with an eye on Craigslist. Three sad souls, three desperations—three readers in need.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_move-exercise.jpg)
Ask Giz: Textual Intercourse, Flabby Gamers, and Online Scams [Ask Giz] (http://gizmodo.com/5661914/ask-giz-textual-intercourse-flabby-gamers-and-online-scams)
The iPhone is coming to Verizon, soon. That's the blinking-neon-light message tucked inside the iPad's arrival on Verizon (http://gizmodo.com/5663702/ipad-coming-to-verizon-on-october-28th). Apple is in this to win it.
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Shades of a Master Plan: Why Apple Won't Get Beaten Again [Verizon] (http://gizmodo.com/5664170/shades-of-a-master-plan-why-apple-will-not-get-beaten-again)
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is only a man. Unlike in myth, gods never create men. Only men create gods. To father a family of immortals is a burden no man can really bear.
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It's Time To Forgive George Lucas [George Lucas] (http://gizmodo.com/5664218/its-time-to-forgive-george-lucas)
We need your help. We need you to not ask any questions. We need you to videotape yourself saying the following five words "Katie, will you marry me?" Please send your 30-second-long max videos to marryme@gizmodo.com by Monday, October 25th.
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Gizmodo Pops the Question: We Need Your Help! [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5664130/gizmodo-pops-the-question-we-need-your-help)
With the recent rescue of the 33 Chilean miners (http://gizmodo.com/5663372/mission-accomplished-chile-all-33-miners-have-been-rescued), we've got mining on the brain. How do they create those crazy tunnels deep in the earth? With these spinning, churning, crushing machines of mayhem and destruction, that's how.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_mining_2_01.jpg)
15 Monstrous Mining Machines [Machines] (http://gizmodo.com/5664255/15-monstrous-mining-machines)
Did you not have time to watch funny videos this week, what with work and life keeping you busy? Don't worry, you can catch up with the week's best videos right here (http://splitsider.com/2010/10/the-top-five-web-comedy-videos-of-the-week-2/).
This Week's Top Web Comedy Videos [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5665225/this-weeks-top-web-comedy-videos)
So, you'd love to get the movies, music, and photos from your laptop to your living room, but you don't want to buy another box, right? Well, If you have a game console, you're in luck. ZOMG IT'S SOOOO EASY.
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How to Stream Media without Buying Any More Gear [Howto] (http://gizmodo.com/5660605/how-to-stream-media-without-buying-any-more-gear)
Robots have been singing for a minute. (http://gizmodo.com/5376148/girlbot-sings-looks-better-than-britney-spears) But the HRP-4C doesn't just sing, she performs. Watch her chirp the lyrics to her song, work the crowd, and shake her stuff in sync with her back up dancers. It's pretty amazing
http://www.youtube.com/v/xcZJqiUrbnI?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Meet the World's First Robot Pop Star [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5666855/meet-the-worlds-first-robot-pop-star)
The last time Steve Jobs (http://gizmodo.com/tag/stevejobs/) got on an earnings call, it was to reassure investors that he was in good health (http://gizmodo.com/5066543/apple-quarterly-earnings-69-million-iphones-sold-more-phones-than-rim). So what made him spend an hour taking questions today? Here's what Jobs said, and what it means.
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Steve On RIM (But Really WP7)
QuoteWe've now passed RIM and I don't see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future. They must move beyond their area of strength and comfort into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company. I think it's going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform and to convince developers to create apps for yet a third software platform, after iOS and Android. With 300k apps on Apple's app store, RIM has a high mountain ahead of them to climb.
http://www.youtube.com/v/hUQVIqjkzD4?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
Shit My Jobs Says: Earnings Call Edition [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5667183/shit-my-jobs-says-earnings-call-edition)
It's always nice when rumors actually hold up: HP just officially introduced the world to webOS 2.0 (http://gizmodo.com/5632031/leaked-webos-20-shots-show-a-bevy-of-new-services) and confirmed its flagship handset, the Palm Pre 2 (http://gizmodo.com/5662234/is-this-the-new-palm-pre-ii). So this is why HP spent all that money (http://gizmodo.com/5526620/why-hp-buying-palm-is-good-for-you). Let's take a quick spin.
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Much of what we saw in those leaked webOS 2.0 screen shots has been confirmed: Stacks and JustType, baked in Skype and Facebook support. HP's also promising "true multitasking," which means you never have to close an app to check your email, and Flash 10.1 beta support in the browser. It still looks every bit as good as we thought it did back in August.
WebOS 2.0 Now Official, Arriving On Palm Pre 2 "In the Coming Months" In US [Hp] (http://gizmodo.com/5667626/webos-20-official-will-arrive-on-palm-pre-2-in-the-coming-months-in-us)
Nokia has problems. Smartphone problems. Software problems. American problems. But to fully understand what's wrong, we've got to understand what's been right, or to put in another way, what's distracted Nokia. Meet the most popular phone in the world.
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It has been said that more of the world's population has access to a cellphone than to a sanitary toilet. But of the planet's estimated 5 billion cellphone users, a privileged minority have smartphones; a paltry few, iPhones.
If you spend hours thumbing through pages of apps, scoffing at less-than-perfect software upgrades and grousing about screen resolution and pixel density, it's easy to forget that the very concept of a mobile phone is a miracle. It's a device that shrinks your day to day world into a single point, making you simultaneously accessible to and able to access nearly everyone you know, instantly and everywhere.
The Most Popular Phone in the World [Nokia] (http://gizmodo.com/5634258/the-most-popular-phone-in-the-world)
There's an Apple event going on today at 10PT, 1ET! We'll be liveblogging, of course, and we're starting now.
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UPDATE! Apple is streaming this event as well, and you can find everything you need to know about watching it live right here.
The most likely announcements are OS X Lion, which theoretically should bring more new features, rather than just speed and architecture improvements in Snow Leopard. Rumors for 10.7 include more iOS-integration and even iOS-like functionality in the OS.
Apple Mac and OS X Liveblog Tomorrow, Oct. 20 [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5667919/apple-mac-and-os-x-liveblog-tomorrow-oct-20)
When people argue that smartphones are on the level with Playstation or DS portable as gaming platforms, they'll usually whip out a racing game. With good reason! iOS and Android's racing games are actually some of their best, period.
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The Best Racing Game Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5668767/the-best-racing-games)
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is here. As we predicted, Apple's desktop operating system is going in the same direction as the iPad—and for good reason. Here is what is coming and why it's good for you.
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Mac OS X Lion is another step in the road to a new—or better said, renewed—computer interface paradigm: Modal computing. And along the way, Apple is taking some of the most successful parts of iOS, like the App Store—with automatic installation of applications—and the springboard (rechristened Launchpad in Lion). They are also introducing new user interface elements, like Mission Control, to help solve the problems that modal interfaces may bring.
How Mac OS X Lion Brings the Best of iPad to Your Mac [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5668805/mac-os-x-lion-the-best-features)
It's been two years since the last MacBook Air refresh, but Apple's made up for lost time: the redesigned MacBook Air comes in 13.3 and 11.6-inch flavors with complete unibody construction. And a storage secret.
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New MacBook Airs: Faster, Lighter, Instant On, 30 Day Standby Power (http://gizmodo.com/5668810/new-macbook-air-faster-lighter-more)
Apple's Mac and OS X event was full of so much news that your head might still be spinning. So in case you struggled to keep up with everything or need a review, here are the highlights from the event:
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All The Cool New Stuff From Apple [Apple] (http://gizmodo.com/5668770/all-the-cool-new-stuff-from-apple)
FaceTime for Mac, which you can download right now, works pretty flawlessly so long as you have entries in your Address Book. Here's how it looks doing Mac to Mac and Mac to iPhone. There's even an iChat comparison.
Overall, it's good. Apple kept the aspect ratio vertical by default when you're doing Mac to Mac FT, but you can toggle landscape manually by doing Command + R. iPhone to Mac looks worse in terms of frame rate compared to Mac to Mac, but image quality is comparable. That says good things about the camera in the iPhone and not-so-good things about the camera in the iMac/MacBooks.
You can, however, free up the 15FPS limit in iPhone 4's FaceTime by jailbreaking your phone and installing a Cydia app called FaceTime Mod that lets the Framerate wander from 6FPS to 30FPS, rather than a locked 15. That's better coverage for when you're on 3G, and higher potential quality over Wi-Fi.
What It's Like Using FaceTime For Mac (http://gizmodo.com/5669022/facetime-for-mac-looks-like-this-works-quite-well)
Put bluntly, the Samsung Focus is the first Windows Phone that matters. But how good is it?
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Nine phones are impregnated with Windows Phone 7 at launch, and they're a remarkably uniform bunch. Most are recycled, reconfigured hand-me-down iterations of past models. It borders on inbreeding. Microsoft's tight control of Windows Phone hardware and virtual obliteration of custom software means it's that much harder for phones to stand out. But Samsung's Focus is the most eye-catching. It's the thinnest and lightest Windows Phone, and its Super AMOLED display is the best screen too. If you're going to get a Windows Phone, this is the one to stare at the hardest (even though we hear they're going to be in short supply).
Samsung Focus Review: The First Windows Phone That Matters [Review] (http://gizmodo.com/5668400/samsung-focus-review)
Let's just get it out of the way: Windows Phone (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone/) 7 is the most exciting thing to happen to phones in a long time.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_windowphonefocus_17.jpg)
Windows Phone 7 Review: Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have Ourselves a Race (http://gizmodo.com/5668738/windows-phone-7-review)
I've just barely dabbled with iMovie '11, but I'm already comfortable saying this: The new "Trailers" templates are going to be this year's latest meme fodder.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_imovie11outline.jpg)
They're so dumb. So simple. But the output—at least from the one I made in literally 15 minutes—is so incongruously hilarious compared to the low quality input I shot in my backyard in five minutes that I can already see a million kids with Flips and iPod touches running out into the backyard to perfect their shots.
iMovie '11's Trailers Are the Next Big Meme You'll Be Annoyed By [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5670192/imovie-11s-trailers-are-the-next-big-meme-youll-be-annoyed-by)
As we said before, Rock Band 3 is ambitious because it's not just a game where you push buttons to music, it's a game that gives you real(ish) instruments and makes you develop actual, usable musical skills.
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Rock Band 3 Instruments Review (http://gizmodo.com/5670348/rock-band-3-instruments-review)
I've just barely dabbled with iMovie '11, but I'm already comfortable saying this: The new "Trailers" templates are going to be this year's latest meme fodder.
They're so dumb. So simple. But the output—at least from the one I made in literally 15 minutes—is so incongruously hilarious compared to the low quality input I shot in my backyard in five minutes that I can already see a million kids with Flips and iPod touches running out into the backyard to perfect their shots.
iMovie '11 Review: These Trailers Are the Next Big Meme You'll Be Annoyed By (http://gizmodo.com/5670192/imovie-11s-trailers-are-the-next-big-meme-youll-be-annoyed-by)
These clunky "firsts" will leave you hungry for a game of Duck Hunt and your favorite cassette. Or possibly send you scrambling to hug your sleek iPhone while giving thanks for the goodness that is modern technology.
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12 Monumental Gadget Firsts [Gadgetmodo] (http://gizmodo.com/5670290/12-monumental-gadget-firsts)
Silly Bandz are great fun, but they're not really relevant to adults. So we made these Serious Bandz, suitable for anyone who has a dysfunctional marriage, a humdrum job, or a looming awareness of their own mortality. Get yours today!
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_seriousbandz.jpg)
Silly Bandz, of course, are the variously-shaped rubber bands that all the kids are wearing these days. And now adults can get in on the fun, too. Click the image for full-size seriousness.
Gizmodo Presents... Serious Bandz! [Humor] (http://gizmodo.com/5670844/gizmodo-presentsserious-bandz)
It seems like everyone wants to get into your living room this year. Most companies are invading with media streamers, but Google wants to sneak an actual computer in there. It's an Android for your TV.
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Google TV Review: It's Kinda the Future [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5672946/google-tv-review-its-kinda-the-future)
We're taking our time with the new MacBook Airs, trying to find out if you can really count on these wonder wedges to serve as your main machine. But some early benchmarks are already out, and here's how they look:
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How Fast Are the New MacBook Airs? [Benchmarks] (http://gizmodo.com/5673765/how-fast-are-the-new-macbook-airs)
This is the view from the last drops of your water bottle. And here are 44 more brilliantly conceptualized photos from this week's Shooting Challenge:
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The perspective of my bottled water...I cut off the bottom of a one liter sized bottle of water, fit it over the lens and posed for it. It was more of challenge to turn it into a self portrait. I tried it with a beer bottle, but even the smaller 58mm (filter size) lenses didn't fit, I just ended up with several jaggedly broken beer bottles before i decided to try the perspective of the bottle i was actually drinking from...Shot with a Canon Rebel XSi, Sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4 Macro HSM Lens @ 58mm, ISO 100, 1/50, f/4.
-Esmer Olvera
45 Photos From Clever, Sometimes Unbelievable Perspectives [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5672971/45-photos-from-clever-sometimes-unbelievable-perspectives)
Adamantite! Rearden Metal! Uru! Durasteel! Dalekanium! Unobtanium! Thousands of fictional characters have fought and died for these equally fictional super-materials. So what is the real-life strongest substance on our puny, sun-warmed planet?
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Mankind's pursuit of the "strongest" material hasn't exctly been a concerted, organized effort, but it figures into history in incredibly profound ways. Hell, anyone who's played Age of Empires or Civilization—or read a book—knows that historians name entire eras after materials. The Iron (and steel) Age followed the Bronze Age, which followed the Copper Age. Materials got stronger, and humanity advanced. The two were hugely correlated.
Giz Explains: What's the Strongest Material Known to Man? [Giz Explains] (http://gizmodo.com/5673621/giz-explains-whats-the-strongest-material-known-to-man)
Barnes & Noble's touchscreen Nook Color—a reading-centric, 7-inch Android tablet with full color books, magazines, newspapers and apps is well, surprisingly good. It might be the best Android tablet yet, even. Update: Video!
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Nook Color: Barnes & Noble's Full-Color Tablet With Apps, Mags and Books for $250 [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5673924/nook-color-barnes--nobles-full+color-tablet-with-apps-mags-and-books-for-250)
President Barack Obama has been informed that the US AIr Force lost complete command and control of one-ninth of their ICBM arsenal last Saturday. Administration officials stressed that the problem was only temporary, but that doesn't mean it wasn't big.
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In fact, according to The Atlantic, a military officer briefed on the matter said that they have never experienced something so big: "[w]e can deal with maybe 5, 6, or 7 at a time, but we've never lost complete command and control and functionality of 50 ICBMs."
US Lost Command of One-Ninth of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Arsenal Last Saturday [Nuclear] (http://gizmodo.com/5674028/one+ninth-of-us-nuclear-intercontinental-missiles-down-last-saturday)
Windows Phone 7 could be amazing. It's not, yet. Right now, it's a good start. This is what's broken, and what Microsoft has to do to make it truly awesome.is-broken]More »[/url]
1. Multitasking for third-party apps—or at least fix the damn resume time
Windows Phone 7 doesn't have multitasking for third-party apps, even though every other major smartphone OS out there does. That's already borderline unacceptable for some people, but what made it nearly tolerable on the iPhone was relatively quick app launches, persistently saved data and fast resumes. So far, the bag is mixed. If you lock the phone and immediately unlock it, with most apps right now, you'll be hit by a Windows Phone "resuming..." screen, and then you'll often have to wait for the whole goddamn app to reload, whether it's Twitter or a game that took you a minute to get going in the first place (Rocket Riot, I'm looking at you).
10 Ways to Fix Windows Phone [Windows Phone] (http://gizmodo.com/5673838/10-ways-windows-phone-is-broken)
Smartphones have the potential to be killer note-takers: they're always with you, constantly connected, have touchscreens and pack cameras. And with the right app, any Android or iOS device can put your Moleskine, legal pad or padlocked diary to shame.
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2010/10/bestnotes.jpg)
This is an app built for the true note-taker, a scribbling, short-term archivist who just needs to put ideas, quotes and scraps of information somewhere, anywhere, then if possible, everywhere. It's a shockingly simple app with one killer feature: instant syncing with other Simplenote apps, be they the web interface on the company's website, or a desktop app such as Notational Velocity. I find myself using this combo not just for notes, but for general short writing. Free, iOS
The Best Note-Taking Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5674316/the-best-note+taking-apps)
China's stolen the US' chip-laden crown for building the world's fastest supercomputer. The National University of Defense Technology's Tianhe-1A PC uses "American" chips from Intel and Nvidia, and supposedly it solves math problems 29million times faster than 1976's supercomputer.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_mod-656188_tianjin1.jpg)
The computer, which has over 7,168 M2050 graphics cards from Nvidia at a cost of $2,500 each, and 14,336 processors from Intel, is under lock and key with the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education prior to its big unveil later today.
China Just Kicked Our Asses In Supercomputing [Supercomputers] (http://gizmodo.com/5675329/chinas-supercomputer-is-30-faster-than-the-previous-record+holder-in-the-us)
You've been getting by with the cheapie router you bought two years ago, so why should you upgrade now? Performance. And features. We asked seven manufacturers to send us the best consumer routers in their stables regardless of price tags.
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The Ultimate Router Battle [Reviews] (http://gizmodo.com/5675479/the-ultimate-router-battle)
Will you tell of your hopes and your dreams and the goodness you have seen? Or will you tell them of the darkness you've created with your own hands?
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The Church of the Sacred Hologram [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5652380/the-church-of-the-sacred-hologram)
The Xbox 360 controller's biggest flaw is the craptastic directional pad plunked in the middle of it. Five years later, Microsoft's come up with a better way: a transforming controller.
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The Xbox 360 controller might be the best button-and-stick-filled manipulator of this generation. It's telling that Microsoft has deigned to fix its controller's most dinged feature—the d-pad—at the same time it's launching Kinect, which does away with controllers entirely. Personal movement trackers may be the future of gaming, but it's clear that that future is a little ways off. And in the present, we need a better controller.
Xbox 360 Transforming Controller Review: I've Got Blisters on Me Fingers [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5675093/xbox-360-transforming-controller-review-ive-got-blisters-on-me-fingers)
Okay, this might not look impressive at first. The maze isn't that complicated. But imagine being the size of the robotic Micromouse—relatively, this is a human-sized hedge maze. Then imagine running to the finish in only five seconds.
Sure, the Micromouse needs to spend a few minutes studying its surroundings before it can process what it finds and solve the maze. But again, give it some credit—at no point does it have an overhead view of where the hell it is. It's lost in the maze. And it doesn't have eyeballs like you, lucky human. But once it gets its bearings—boom.x This little dude won first prize in a recent competition, and it's easy to see why. Feel ashamed, the next time you're in a maze. Ashamed! Or inspired.
Watch This Robot Mouse Blow Through a Maze Faster Than You Can [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5675759/watch-this-robot-mouse-blow-through-a-maze-faster-than-you-can)
The Nexus Two is real. It's made by Samsung, and a friend of ours got to play with it. It's not going rock your face like the Nexus One did. But it will record it with a front-facing camera.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_gizmodo_nexustwo-1.jpg)
"When I first saw it from 10 feet away, I thought it was the Galaxy S," says our source, who got to handle one. "I was a little surprised it was the Nexus Two," because it's so different from the Nexus One.
Hands on the Nexus Two by Samsung [Exclusive] (http://gizmodo.com/5676008/hands-on-the-nexus-two-by-samsung)
Climbers of Mount Everest spent the past 24 hours updating Facebook statuses, after Nepal's first-ever 3G connection was switched on yesterday at the base camp. The first use of the service? Making the world's highest video call. [Reuters and Unitopia]
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Aw Man, Even Mount Everest Has Better 3G Reception Than We Do [Networks] (http://gizmodo.com/5676300/the-worlds-tallest-mountain-has-gone-3g)
Can't wait for a Verizon iPhone? No problem—you can get one now. Cheaper than AT&T's borked handset, too. Yeah, we're being creative with the term "iPhone," but who cares. It works.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_verizoniphone_copy.jpg)
The $45 a Month Verizon iPhone Hack [How To] (http://gizmodo.com/5673980/the-45-a-month-verizon-iphone-hack)
The new 13-inch MacBook Air is Apple's katana blade: thin, durable, powerful, sleek. But does it have enough mettle to be your weapon of choice? Abandoning the metaphor: can you ditch your MacBook Pro?
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13-Inch MacBook Air Review: So Long, Fatty [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5676186/13+inch-macbook-air-review-so-long-fatty)
Monorails used to be the vision of futuristic travel. Now, that mode of transit has been mostly reduced to inter-terminal airport travel and family theme parks. Take a step back in time and gander at these bullet-shaped babies in action.
(http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/monorail1_660x.jpg)
9 Futuristic Monorails... From the Past [Vintage] (http://gizmodo.com/5676579/9-futuristic-monorails-from-the-past)
This week in Stanton, Delaware, a 12-yo girl was confronted by a man driving a white van. He told her to get in. She held up her iPod Touch (http://gizmodo.com/tag/ipodtouch/) and said she'd dialed 911. That may have saved her life. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5676840/12+yo-girl-prevents-kidnapping-by-pretending-ipod-touch-is-a-phone)
12-yo Girl Prevents Kidnapping By Pretending iPod Touch Is a Phone [Creeps] (http://gizmodo.com/5676840/12+yo-girl-prevents-kidnapping-by-pretending-ipod-touch-is-a-phone)
A couple weeks ago, a reader asked us for help. He couldn't figure out how to propose to his girlfriend in a way that would adequately express how much he loved her. So we turned to you...
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Marching bands! Magicians! Superheroes! One total creep! Girls in fish tanks! Guitar players! Shirtless dudes! You guys totally came through—scores of you sent in videos, and we mashed them together into something that we think is pretty special. If you sent something in, your name is in the credits (except for you, creepy guy).
Katie, Will You Marry Me? UPDATED! [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5676748/katie-will-you-marry-me)
What? Why? How? Answers to these questions, AND MORE, in Gizmodo's ultimate jailbreaking guide for iPhones, iPods and iPads.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/10/500x_iphone-4-jailbreak.jpg)
Jailbreaking is...
...freedom for iOS users, giving them a way to break free from Apple's restrictive App Store ecosystem, install whatever software they want, and use their phones however they please. Technically, each jailbreak is a hack; an exploitation of some flaw in the devices' operating systems, used to install unauthorized software. This software generally includes some kind of alternative App Store, called either Cydia or Rock.
The Ultimate Jailbreaking Guide [Jailbreak] (http://gizmodo.com/5675757/the-ultimate-jailbreaking-guide)
Fall is here and the weather is slowly getting colder. What does that mean? It's time to stay inside, get warm and play some video games. Here are the best video games available right now.
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The Best Video Games Right Now [Games] (http://gizmodo.com/5677167/the-best-video-games-right-now)
There's an ocean of apps out there. Whether you just got your iPhone and are feeling adrift or you're a salty old dog seeing what you might've missed, here are 50 absolutely essential apps.
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Gizmodo's Essential iPhone Apps, October 2010 [IphoneApps] (http://gizmodo.com/5676549/gizmodos-essential-iphone-apps-october-2010)
The 11-inch MacBook Air is marvelously twee—most people will quite literally marvel at it. It's stupid thin. And if it were any lighter, it would feel more like a trick than a tiny wonder of engineering and design.
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11-Inch MacBook Air Review: A Tiny Miracle [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5678421/11+inch-macbook-air-review-a-tiny-miracle)
We can geek out all we want, but the best way to choose is a phone is not just by the hardware or the OS, but the phone and the carrier. Here's the smartphone to pick on each...for now.
• AT&T—Apple iPhone 4
• Sprint—HTC Evo
• T-Mobile—G2
• Verizon—HTC
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The Best Gadgets of the Year (So Far) (http://gizmodo.com/5678553/the-best-gadgets-of-the-year-so-far)
Tuesday's midterms could mean more than just a routine reshuffling of the House and Senate majorities. The fates of a number of important science and technology policies also hang in the balance.
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What Tomorrow's Elections Mean for Science and Technology [Midterm Elections] (http://gizmodo.com/5678062/what-tomorrows-elections-mean-for-science-and-technology)
In Shenzhen's electronics markets, an entire building is dedicated to Apple products. You can buy white iPhones—at least the backs—by the case. But why pick drab old white when you can get something even snazzier?
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I Found the White iPhones (And the Green Ones. And the Pink Ones) [Shenzhennotes] (http://gizmodo.com/5678694/i-found-the-white-iphones-and-the-green-ones-and-the-pink-ones)
Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen, China, is home to about half of its 420,000 workers. They make many of our gadgets and computers, then walk to dormitories on the 2.1-kilometer-square campus. I got to look inside.
I traveled to China to report on Foxconn and Shenzhen as part of a special feature for WIRED, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the magazine. In the meantime, here's a small glimpse of some of the things I saw while in Shenzhen.
Exclusive Look: Where The Workers Who Made Your iPhone Sleep At Night [Shenzhennotes] (http://gizmodo.com/5678732/exclusive-look-where-the-workers-who-made-your-iphone-sleep-at-night)
Take your DSLR in one hand. Unscrew the lens with the other. Tilt the lens away from the camera body-maybe even flip the optics backwards. And take photos that you never imagined you could without expensive upgrades.
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101 Photos Taken With the Lens Detached [Photography] (http://gizmodo.com/5679403/101-photos-taken-with-the-lens-detached)
Shifts at a Foxconn factory are typically eight to ten hours a day. Since about half of the company's Shenzhen employees live on campus, an entire city has sprung up around them. They train. They eat. They play.
Exclusive Look: Living at Foxconn [Shenzhennotes] (http://gizmodo.com/5679706/exclusive-look-living-at-foxconn)
Smartphones are the new portable cameras—almost. With these apps, though, you can turn your iPhone or Android handset into a true pocket camera killer.
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The Best Camera Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5680276/the-best-camera-apps)
Microsoft's motion gaming peripheral is, if executed correctly, quite possibly the future of gaming. It might even be the future of WIndows 8 and computers everywhere. But how much fun is playing with Kinect right now?
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Xbox Kinect Review: It's a Brand New Console (http://gizmodo.com/5680205/xbox-kinect-review-its-a-brand-new-console)
Sous vide is the four-star chef's secret to perfectly cooking almost anything. That kind of precision requires expensive gear—unless you build it yourself. Cooking for Geeks shows us how to engineer this miracle cooking technology ourselves.
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There's never been a better time to be in the kitchen as a hacker. In the past few years, the swinging doors leading into the kitchens of high-end restaurants such as wd~50, minibar, and el Bulli have been opened up, revealing kitchens that would be more familiar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Willy Wonka than the esteemed French Chef Auguste Escoffier. Vacuum chambers. Centrifuges. Cold plates. Water baths. To an outsider, the hardware in modernist cuisine must seem maddeningly insane. With a little explanation—and some tinkering—not only can you understand these tools, you can make your own versions. Here's how.
How to Steal a Four-Star Chef's Secret Cooking Technology—By Building It Yourself [Food] (http://gizmodo.com/5665010/how-to-steal-a-four+star-chefs-secret-cooking-technologyby-building-it-yourself)
Glass balls, tacky sequined stars, little trains—most ornaments suck. But these custom Lego designs from Giz illustrator emeritus Powerpig, do not suck. They are the coolest tree-adornment we've seen in some time. Here's how to make you own.
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Powerpig's site offers more than one way to piece together some plastic cheer. You might think November is a little early to start picking out Christmas tree ornaments—but Powerpig is looking out for you. See, designs mapped out in Lego's Digital Designer software can only have their parts custom ordered from Lego's warehouses up until around November 27th—so if you get crackin' now, you'll have your own beautiful brick balls in time for the holiday.
Build a Lego Ornament with Powerpig [Lego] (http://gizmodo.com/5681774/trash-your-old-ornaments-and-build-lego-ones-instead)
Afraid of heights? These may not be the videos for you. Alain Robert, the real-life spiderman, scales towering monuments across the globe—sans ropes, or security of any kind, for that matter. Don't slip, dude!
http://www.youtube.com/v/VfBitUoDWjM?fs=1&hl=en_US
12 Gravity-Defying Videos of the Real-Life Spiderman [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5682543/12-gravity+defying-videos-of-the-real+life-spiderman)
T-Mobile claims the largest "4G" network in the country. Verizon's launching its "4G" LTE network later this year. And Sprint loves talking about "4G" WiMax. Thing is, none of these networks are actually 4G. Not by a long shot.
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The Dirty Secret of Today's 4G: It's not 4G [4G] (http://gizmodo.com/5680755/the-dirty-secret-of-todays-4g-its-not-4g)
The internet was totally grossed out recently by images that showed a McDonald's hamburger sitting out in the open for six months without decomposing or rotting. But one blogger dug a bit deeper, and it turns out no hamburgers rot.
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Well, no burgers that are roughly the shape and size of McDonald's plain burger, anyway. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at Serious Eats was tired of people slagging off the Happy Meal burger without any real scientific sense of what was going on. The Happy Meal burger doesn't rot, sure, but he wanted to know why it doesn't rot.
The Truth Behind the Everlasting Happy Meal: Burgers That Size Don't Rot [Debunkery] (http://gizmodo.com/5682815/the-truth-behind-the-everlasting-happy-meal-no-burgers-that-size-rot)
Let's be honest: if you really had the power of inception, you wouldn't waste it on something as mundane as corporate espionage. You'd do exactly what this guy does. Creep.
http://www.youtube.com/v/8avQkpnpaXs?version=3
This Week's Top Web Comedy Video: A Gross Misuse of Inception [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5682883/this-weeks-top-web-comedy-video-a-gross-misuse-of-inception)
Adafruit's $2,000 bounty for an open source (http://gizmodo.com/tag/opensource/) Kinect driver hack was only offered up late last week and already someone has allegedly delivered, said Adafruit's Phillip Torrone in an email to us just now. This was inevitable. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5683744/was-microsoft-kinect-hacked-already)
Microsoft Kinect Hacked? Already?! [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5683744/was-microsoft-kinect-hacked-already)
Remember the iPhone recurring alarm DST bug (http://gizmodo.com/5659087/if-you-have-an-iphone-you-may-oversleep-when-daylight-savings-time-comes) that affected Australians and Europeans (http://gizmodo.com/5678208/dst-bug-means-european-iphone-owners-are-waking-up-one-hour-later-today), making them oversleep? Well, I didn't. It just happened to me and I'm sure it has happened to you too. If it did, write to us in the comments. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5684252/did-you-oversleep-because-of-your-iphone-os-alarm-failed-today)
Did You Oversleep Because Your iPhone OS Alarm Failed Today? [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5684252/did-you-oversleep-because-of-your-iphone-os-alarm-failed-today)
Just like last year (http://gizmodo.com/5430453/how-to-get-free-inflight-wi+fi-this-holiday-season), Google is paying the Wi-Fi for people flying to meet their relatives—or run away from them—during the holidays. You just need to fly the right airline. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5684388/happy-holidays-and-free-wi+fi-from-google)
How To Get Free In-flight Wi-Fi From Google [Free] (http://gizmodo.com/5684388/happy-holidays-and-free-wi+fi-from-google)
"Breaking News," the first single from Michael Jackson's forthcoming posthumous album Michael, is pretty awful. But that might not be Michael's fault! While Sony insists the track's legit, Jackson's nephews say that it actually isn't MJ singing at all. Controversy! More » (http://gizmodo.com/5684450/is-michael-jacksons-new-song-really-michael-jackson)
Is the New Michael Jackson Song a Complete Fake? [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5684450/is-michael-jacksons-new-song-really-michael-jackson)
New browsers might be hatched almost every day, but new browsers that sound like a sandwich one might find in Philadelphia—and that everybody seems to be talking about—don't. What is RockMelt (http://www.rockmelt.com)? More » (http://gizmodo.com/5684524/what-is-rockmelt)
What Is the RockMelt Browser? [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5684524/what-is-rockmelt)
Sometimes, reality beats science fiction. This is one of them: The heart of the Soviet missile defense (http://gizmodo.com/tag/missiledefense/) system looks like a building designed by Industrial Light & Magic. It's believed to be the most precise orbital tracking system in the world. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5685044/the-heart-of-the-soviet-missile-defense-system-seems-out-of-this-world)
The Heart of the Soviet Missile Defense System Seems Out of This World [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5685044/the-heart-of-the-soviet-missile-defense-system-seems-out-of-this-world)
Numerical combination locks have kept our stuff safe for hundreds of years. (Thanks, numerical combination locks!) But why not mix things up a little bit? How about a lock with a cheat code, instead of a passcode? More » (http://gizmodo.com/5681779/lightening-review-master-lock-speed-dial)
Lightning Review: Master Lock Speed Dial [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5681779/lightening-review-master-lock-speed-dial)
At the rate we're going, chocolate is going to be a rare—and extremely pricey—commodity within the next twenty years. Somebody needs to light a fire under those Oompa-Loompas, stat. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5685499/were-running-out-of-chocolate)
We're Running Out of Chocolate [Chocolate] (http://gizmodo.com/5685499/were-running-out-of-chocolate)
November is here, and along with it the soul-crushing responsibility of buying thoughtful gifts for every loved one in your life. But don't worry, we're gonna make it easy: Here are some perfect gifts for the 21st Century Hippie. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5685895/gift-guide-the-21st-century-hippie)
Guaranteed Awesome Gifts for the 21st Century Hippie [Giftguide] (http://gizmodo.com/5685895/gift-guide-the-21st-century-hippie)
This is it. The Galaxy Tab (http://gizmodo.com/tag/galaxytab/) is the first Android tablet meant for humans. But is it actually fit for humans? No. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5686161/samsung-galaxy-tab-review-a-pocketable-train-wreck)
Samsung Galaxy Tab Review: A Pocketable Train Wreck [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5686161/samsung-galaxy-tab-review-a-pocketable-train-wreck)
Reading news on a smartphone is a pain in the ass, unless you have a good RSS app. Here are the best. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5687130/the-best-rss-reader-apps)
The Best RSS Reader Apps [Appbattle] (http://gizmodo.com/5687130/the-best-rss-reader-apps)
Windows Phone 7 (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone7/) is out, so we're going to review as many awesome and essential apps as we can, live, updating throughout the day. If you're curious about what Windows Phone (http://gizmodo.com/tag/windowsphone/), this is the place to really check it out. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5687626/windows-phone-7-essential-apps-reviewed)
Windows Phone 7 Essential Apps, Reviewed [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5687626/windows-phone-7-essential-apps-reviewed)
Six days. That's how long it took to build this level 9 Earthquake-resistant, sound-proofed, thermal-insulated 15-story hotel in Changsha, complete with everything, from the cabling to three-pane windows. The foundations were already built, but it's just impressive. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5687521/chinese-build-15+story-hotel-in-just-six-days-rest-on-seventh)
Chinese Build 15-Story Hotel In Just Six Days, Rest On Seventh [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5687521/chinese-build-15+story-hotel-in-just-six-days-rest-on-seventh)
Landing a well-aimed rubber band—in the coffee, in the hair bun, in the ear—is one of the great pleasures of working in an office. So, how about about 100 of them? More » (http://gizmodo.com/5686935/lightning-review-the-500-rubber-band-gatling-gun)
Lightning Review: The $500 Rubber Band Gatling Gun [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5686935/lightning-review-the-500-rubber-band-gatling-gun)
According to Techcrunch's sources (http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/11/facebook-gmail-titan/), a full webmail client integrated with The One and Only Social Network will debut next Monday. This is why it may become your favorite webmail service. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5688464/why-facebook-mail-can-kill-gmail-and-everyone-else)
Why You'll Give Up Gmail for Facebook Mail [Facebook] (http://gizmodo.com/5688464/why-facebook-mail-can-kill-gmail-and-everyone-else)
Through Monday Nov. 15th, Amazon's offering all AT&T handsets for a penny (plus that pesky new two-year contract). This is your first chance—unless you're a Microsoft employee—to pick up a Windows Phone 7 device for practically nothing.
(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/500x_wp7amazon.jpg)
The includes the HTC Surround (probably your best bet, although the Samsung Focus is better), LG Quantum (the pick if you want a slider), and LG eXpo GW820. And if you take them up on the offer, here's what you need to download first.
AT&T WP7 Devices Are a Penny at Amazon Through Monday [Dealz] (http://gizmodo.com/5688564/att-wp7-devices-are-a-penny-at-amazon-through-monday)
The people at Sciency Stuff got a dead Intel processor, tore it apart and made an autopsy using an electronic microscope. They zoomed in 3,160 times. Play the video while you shout "ENHANCE!" in your brain.
Watch the fantastic voyage into a computer's brain [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5688741/watch-the-fantastic-voyage-into-a-computers-brain)
You'll have to wait until Tuesday to buy the mega three-disc Avatar Extended Collector's Edition Blu-ray (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XV3QY/?ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002VPE1B6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=198HG10M2DNFEJMNEX1M&tag=gmgamzn-20). But you can watch this exclusive featurette on how Zoe Saldana became eight-feet tall and blue right now. And yes, even horses get motion-captured. More » (http://gizmodo.com/5688751/exclusiveavatar-behind-the-scenes-featurette)
Exclusive Look at How Avatar's Human Actors Transformed Into Towering Na'vi [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5688751/exclusiveavatar-behind-the-scenes-featurette)
Photography is more accessible than it's ever been, thanks to the rise of cheap, amazing cameras. There's never been more potential photographers than this very moment.
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The Potential Photographer is that person that has the eye. You see something in their cute kitty pictures or whacked out food photos that you don't see in the thousands of others streaming by on Flickr. Lots of their photos are somebody's favorite. And they want to take it further. This is what you buy them.
Guaranteed Awesome Gifts for the Would-Be Photographer [Giftguide2010] (http://gizmodo.com/5688188/guaranteed-awesome-gifts-for-the-potential-photographer)
The Cuban government is very angry. The reason: This scene from a Call of Duty: Black-Ops mission that requires to kill Fidel Castro. They are claiming some bullshit about it being "perverse." I wonder if the victims of Castro's dictatorship agree.
The scene In which gamers blow Fidel's brains off [Video] (http://gizmodo.com/5688892/this-is-the-scene-that-shows-fidels-brains-blowing-off)