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Tech NewsSteven Soderbergh Recuts Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the most iconic science fiction films of all time. Transcending the very genre it helped to modernize, it would be an act of desecration for any other person to re-cut Kubrick’s masterpiece. Well, hey would you look at that, guess what Steven Soderbergh just did? Soderbergh’s … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
12 More Viral Photos That Are Actually Fake
Last year was a big one for fakes. And if the first couple weeks of 2015 are any indication, we’ll have plenty of fake images, silly hoaxes, and outright lies this year as well. Below we’ve debunked a few photos that you may have seen floating around social media recently. None are quite what they … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsMeet the New Cold War, Same As the Old Cold War
Remember the Cold War? We basically spent half a century on the precipice of worldwide nuclear annihilation. Well, like it or not, the Cold War is back. In fact, it never really ended. Russia is invading old Soviet countries. China has put a robot on the moon. North Korea is the prime suspect in an … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
What Is A Time Capsule?
Time capsules can be buried, sealed in a vault, or even shot into space. They can be regular old boxes, enormous vaults, or a simple letter. Time capsules can take so many different forms that it’s about time we ask, what is a time capsule, exactly? I’ve been writing about time capsules for nearly a … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Ugh, look at all these chumps using cameras even bigger than iPads
In a recent study, we learned that roughly a quarter of Americans take photos with their tablets. Ugh. Don’t these people know that they look ridiculous? I mean, these people are totally ruining modern society by taking photos with something so enormous! Even though people who take pictures with iPads are objectively the worst, they … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
The “next Charlie Hebdo cover” that’s going viral is fake
You may have seen the magazine cover above, purported to be Charlie Hebdo’s next cover. “Urgently looking for six cartoonists,” the stark white-on-black text reads in French. But it’s not real. It’s a fake created by a satirical French TV show. Twelve people were brutally murdered at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
The most requested photo in the National Archives is of Nixon and Elvis
What do you suppose the most requested photo from the U.S. National Archives might be? Troops raising the American flag on Iwo Jima? That sailor kissing a random woman at the end of WWII? Nope. It’s Richard Nixon shaking Elvis Presley’s hand. The meeting took place in the Oval Office on December 21, 1970 and … Continued
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Tech News
No, that broken pencil illustration isn’t by Banksy
You may have seen a clever Banksy illustration of broken pencils being shared far and wide on social media yesterday. It’s a powerful message about optimism and rebuilding after facing adversity. But it’s not by Banksy. The illustration is actually by Lucille Clerc, a London-based illustrator. After being posted on an Instagram account purporting to … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
NYC taxi medallion prices have fallen almost 25% since last year
The New York Times’ Upshot blog reports that regular New York City taxi medallion prices have fallen about 23 percent since last year’s peak. A medallion now sets taxi drivers back about $805,000. Why are prices plunging? Uber. Well, probably. New York City, like other major cities, regulates the number of taxis allowed on the … Continued
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Tech News
Flying Car Prototype From 1990 Going Up For Auction
Want to own your very own flying car? Will you settle for a prototype that never left the ground? Well then you’re in luck! Because the Barrett-Jackson auction in Arizona has a 1990 prototype with your name on it. The car is called the Sky Commuter and was produced in 1990 by a company in … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Nike Designer: Back to the Future II Shoes Will Be Released This Year
Did you ever dream of having Marty McFly’s Nike powerlace shoes from Back to the Future Part II? Well, if all goes according to plan you might get your chance to own a pair. Nike reportedly has plans to release some version of the MAG shoes sometime this year. But they’re not saying precisely when. … Continued
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Tech News
LAPD Orders Tasers That Activate Body Cameras When They’re Used
Today the LA Police Department announced that it had purchased 3,130 new Tasers that activate a body camera when they’re being used. The camera is activated after the officer turns off the safety on the Taser. The “non-lethal” weapon communicates with the officer’s body camera via bluetooth. Equipping police officers with body cameras has been … Continued
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Tech News
Paul Revere’s 1795 Time Capsule Will Be Opened Tonight (Again)
People are understandably excited to see what’s inside Paul Revere’s time capsule when it’s opened tonight in Boston. The capsule was first interred in a cornerstone by Revere and Samuel Adams in 1795, and many news outlets are playing up the idea that the contents are a complete mystery. Except that it’s not. Because it … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Nikola Tesla’s Incredible Predictions For Our Connected World
We might complain that it’s 2015 and we’re still waiting on our hoverboards. But if Nikola Tesla were alive today, he’d probably wonder where the hell our fuel-free, super fast airplanes were. And who could blame him? Fuel-free planes aside, he actually predicted a lot of 21st century technologies quite accurately. The January 30, 1926 … Continued
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Tech News
That North Korean News Twitter Account Is Fake
You may have seen a strange North Korean news account floating around the Twitters recently. DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) sends out weird messages posing as an official mouthpiece of the authoritarian regime. But don’t be fooled. It’s a fake account run by a blogger. CNN, Newsweek, and Fox News have all quoted the account as … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
The CIA has to approve every script for spy drama The Americans
The Cold War TV spy drama The Americans is a fictional account of two Soviet spies living in the United States. It may be fiction, but that doesn’t stop American intelligence agencies from being concerned about the show’s content. In fact, the CIA has to approve every script before it’s even shot. The Americans was … Continued
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Tech News
6 Technologies That Have Always Been “Just Two Years Away”
It’s almost here, guys! Flying cars! Jetpacks! Hoverboards! Or so we’ve been promised. It seems these technologies are always just two years away. At least that’s what the media keeps telling us. Today we’re looking at promises for the near-future that haven’t quite arrived yet. We want so desperately to believe that they’re just over … Continued
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Tech News
Back to the Future II Takes Place This Year. How Close Did We Get?
Every decade produces iconic pieces of futurism that help to define a generation. For the 1960s it was The Jetsons and Star Trek. For the 1970s it was Future Shock and Soylent Green. What about the 1980s? It was almost certainly Back to the Future Part II. Sure, Back to the Future Part II didn’t … Continued
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Tech News
What’s Your Favorite Twilight Zone Episode?
We’re smack dab in the middle of SyFy’s New Year Twilight Zone marathon. And I truly wish I had time to watch it all. But this annual tradition always gets me thinking about what episode is my favorite. I honestly don’t know how to decide! There’s the classics like “To Serve Man” and “Eye of … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News86 Viral Images From 2014 That Were Totally Fake
We debunked a lot of fake viral photos this year. Eighty-six, to be exact. And that doesn’t even include all those fake toilet photos from the Sochi Olympics, those fake Ebola cures, and all the lies that UberFacts helped spread. It was a busy year for fakes. Below, a recap of 2014’s fake viral images, … Continued
By Matt Novak
Matt Novak
Matt Novak is a reporter at Gizmodo covering news and opinion, with a little history thrown in for good measure. Novak started at Gizmodo in 2013 and has been writing about past visions of the future at Paleofuture.com since 2007. Novak is fascinated with the history of technology and got his start writing professionally for Smithsonian magazine. Emails telling him to "stick to tech" can be sent to [email protected].
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