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Tech News
RIM’s Finally Launching a 4G PlayBook (In Canada)
RIM is finally releasing a 4G LTE PlayBook. The company announced today that it will debut in Canada next week and it will be available in the U.S. “in the coming months,” which hopefully isn’t code for “never.” It’s pretty much the same PlayBook we’re already familiar with—7-inch display, front- and rear-facing cameras, the same … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsGadgets
Casio’s Tablet Appeals To the Pen and Paper Crowd
With a touchscreen keyboard and interface, the iPad has made great strides in pushing printing and writing towards extinction. But Casio sees a different future with its new Paper Writer tablets. A future where hand-written notes and tablets live side-by-side in perfect harmony. When available in September (pricing to be determined) there will be four … Continued
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Tech NewsApple
Sharp: We’re Shipping New iPhone Displays This Month
The next iPhone is on the way, and a handful of rumors point to a launch on September 12th. Now, Sharp has announced that it’s shipping screens for the new device this month—so it looks like those dates could be believable. https://gizmodo.com/iphone-5-the-complete-rumor-roundup-5930100 Sharp’s new president, Takashi Okuda, said that “shipments will start in August” at … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
RIM Planning to License BB10 to Other Manufacturers
The Telegraph is reporting that Thorsten Heins, CEO of RIM, has said that the company plans to license outs its new BB10 operating system to other hardware manufacturers when it’s launched, taking a lead from Android to make itself relevant again. Speaking to the Telegraph, Heins explains that RIM’s future could lie not in producing … Continued
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Tech News
Pentagon Tells Staff: Stop Surfing Porn Sites at Work
Sometimes work can get tedious—even if your job is one that others may think of as exciting. Which is, apparently, the case at the Missile Defense Agency in the Pentagon, because its staff has been warned to stop watching so much online porn while at work. Bloomberg managed to get hold of an internal memo … Continued
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Tech News
This Guy Stomps Out 3G Hotspots at the Olympics
Portable Wi-Fi hotspots, powered by 3G, are banned at all the Olympic venues in London. But while that might sound like a hollow threat, this man makes sure it isn’t, by sniffing out rogue Wi-Fi networks and shutting them down. There is, of course, good reason to want to keep portable Wi-Fi hotspots out of … Continued
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Tech News
How to Survive a Robot Apocalypse
When robots become sentient, it won’t be long until they rebel. But while many a Hollywood movie may convince you that humans will have their luck cut out trying to battle the ‘bots, there is an easier way: just add water. https://gizmodo.com/when-ai-gets-too-smart-itll-be-dumb-again-5904241 In Randall Monroe’s most recent spin-off from his XKCD web comic, each week … Continued
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Tech News
House of Representatives Considering Bill to Stamp Out Patent Trolls
While occasionally amusing, patent wars between tech companies are always expensive, often needless, and sometimes stymie creativity. Now, though, the House of Representatives is considering a bill which could help reduce the number of cases we see. https://gizmodo.com/apple-and-samsung-cant-even-agree-on-where-to-sit-in-co-5929512 Ars Technica reports that the Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act would attempt to … Continued
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Tech News
Does the Technology Make the Writer? I Hope Not
Over at The Atlantic, Robert Rosenberger has a fascinating and smart piece about technologies like Siri, which take voice dictation and turn it into text, and what kinds of effects they may have on how we write. As a writer who’s being thinking a lot about finding easier ways to write while I have my … Continued
By Molly Oswaks -
Tech News
Do You Want to Live Forever?
If you saw James Cameron’s Avatar and thought “Hey now! That looks like a wise and wonderful way of existing in this world!” a Russian dreamer named Dmitry Itskov is the man you want to know. HIs “2045 Initiative” is modern, multi-billion dollar answer to the mortality. Or so he hopes it to be. But … Continued
By Molly Oswaks -
Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Kid Cudi on Weed, The White Stripes on Peppermint Parade, and Redman on the Art of Blunt Rolling
How to Roll a Blunt – Redman “Educate them [children] out there. Weed is not a drug, it’s a plant. It’s just, like, collard greens or some shit—just with flavor.” Kid Cudi – Marijuana Mothers lock up your daughters, Fathers lock up your stashes—Kid Cudi is coming to an amphitheater near you! People are Awesome … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Tentacles and Wrist-cuffs and Floggers, Oh My! A Tour of Kink.com’s Adult Film Studio
The Armory, a 200,000 square-foot reproduction Moorish castle, lies at the corner of 14th and Mission Streets in San Francisco. A combination of revivalist architecture and early 20th century machine age construction, it is currently home to Kink.com’s adult film studio. Rusty Blazenhoff of Laughing Squid was kind enough to share with Gizmodo photos she … Continued
By Molly Oswaks -
Tech News
The Ultimate Can and Bottle Opener
Two things you always seem to need but that always seem to grow legs and scuttle away: can openers and bottle openers. This handy well-made tool from Kuhn Rikon combines both of those into one. Problem solved! This particular piece of kitchen/bar gear will remove your lids without you having to pry them off and … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
Why Is Nobody Buying Our $1 Million Vacuums, Wonders Company
Remember the $1 million gold-plated vacuum with its own awful rap video? Of course you do. Gaudy loot like that isn’t easily forgotten. https://gizmodo.com/this-million-dollar-vacuum-cleaner-has-its-own-totally-5923379 And apparently, it’s not easily sold, either. “It’s perplexing to me, but as of now we’ve not sold a single vacuum,” creator of the Gold Vacuum, Justin Haver, is quoted as … Continued
By Molly Oswaks -
Tech NewsDesign
Tiny Hotel Hypercubus Is a Modular Dwelling for the Modern Traveler
Just because there isn’t a four-star hotel located in every lushly landscaped region of the world doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to visit and vacation anywhere other than Paris and Hong Kong or Kauai. Sure, there’s always camping. But it’s okay to not want to sleep in a tent for a fortnight. Really, I … Continued
By Molly Oswaks -
Tech News
The U: When Football Players Go Bad, Fun Things Happen
From the players to the coaches to the administrators to the boosters, University of Miami football in the ’90s was dirty, underhanded, morally and ethically suspect. It was also the best. But unlike the other schools which almost certainly went out of their way to project a squeaky clean image, the U was downright unapologetic … Continued
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Tech News
MedalCount.com Helps You Keep Track of the Only Thing That Really Matters at the Olympics
Every nation, broadcast network, and news site on the planet have a way to keep track of the medal count at the Olympics. But why wade through all that other ancillary crap—like stories of athletes overcoming adversity and political drama—when all you care about is what nation has the most medals, and by extension is … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
Google Is Cracking Down on Terrible, Malicious Android Apps in Google Play
Google just introduced new content restrictions for apps in Google Play in hopes that it can crack down on the malicious apps that pollute the Android ecosystem. For the longest time, Google Play, like the Android Market before it, has been an unregulated wilderness, so it’s a good thing Google’s drawing a line in the … Continued
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Tech NewsApple
Wolfram Cat Breeds Reference App: You Can Haz Cat Factz
The internet has done a lot for the rise of cats. With the deluge of feline videos and gifs, you’d think the four-legged furballs actually ran the world wide web. But what are cats really like? Answer all your burning questions with Wolfram Alpha’s Cat Breeds Reference App. What does it do? Gives you every … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsGadgets
Magic Aquatic Garden Turns Fish Crap Into Plant Food
Perfect for anyone who finds captive fish therapeutic but hates to clean their tank, a Japanese company has created this aquaponics system that connects a small vegetable garden to an aquarium filled with fish to recycle their poop. Besides providing a constant supply of H2O to the plants—perfect for people who forget to water—bacteria is … Continued