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Tech NewsA Suit For The First Man on the Moon (1961)
The August 6, 1961 Post-Standard Sunday magazine (Syracuse, NY) ran a short piece about an Experimental Engineering class at UCLA that was experimenting/playing with a “moon man’s suit.” Designed by Allyn B. Hazard, the suit also appeared on the cover of Life magazine’s April 27, 1962 issue. The entire two-page spread from the Post-Standard can … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
S’More Keyboard Would Not Survive 10 Minutes on My Desk
If this keyboard were real, and not made up of hundreds of thousands of Photoshopped pixels, it would undoubtedly be a delicious PC experience right at your fingertips. Sadly, it is Photoshopped, as you can tell from a variety of tells and mistakes. Says resident PS guru Jesus Diaz, “the chocolate and marsmallow keys are … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Retrolicious Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds Camera Unboxed, Goosed in UK
The wonderfully retro Olympus E-P1, recently fondled by the hands of beautiful Chinese models, has been subsequently unboxed and fondled by the rough hands of some lucky guy in the U.K. https://gizmodo.com/olympus-e-p1-micro-four-thirds-camera-goes-legit-with-1-5292179 We get a good look at the interchangeable lenses, the rig itself, as well as a shot of the pretty pedestrian box. As … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Computer-Controlled Air Compressor Alarm Clock Pounds Your Head Into Consciousness
The inventor of this head-pounding “alarm clock” is admittedly a bit quirky (“Hi Mom!” cliche, check!), but I’ll be damned if I don’t give him kudos for inventing the most violent, aggressive alarm clock I’ve ever seen. Sadly, the source site doesn’t allow embedding, so I’ve assembled a series of screen grabs to try and … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Our Augmented Reality Future
io9 was busy this weekend detailing detailing how the future might look as “augmented reality” takes off in the next decade or so. Personally, I can’t wait for the information overload. It’s just too bad spam will follow us into 2020. [io9] https://gizmodo.com/two-augmented-reality-technologies-that-are-about-to-ch-5303332
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Lenovo S12 VIA Nano Option Swaps Battery Life For Speed Boost
A quiet addition to the relatively new Lenovo S12 grants users a bit of a speed boost if they’re willing to sacrifice some battery life to get it. https://gizmodo.com/lenovo-s12-is-the-first-netbook-with-nvidia-ion-costs-5268833 The option is a VIA Nano ULV 2250 processor with Chrome9 HC3 graphics. This setup replaces the usual Intel Atom and GMA 950 tandem that ships … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Amazon’s Unfortunate Windows 7 Freudian Slip
Surely this is some kind of innocent SEO-related keyword slip, right? I mean, Microsoft definitely doesn’t want one of the biggest online retailers in the world billing its new OS as Windows Vista 7 Home Premium, right? Right?! I mean, such labeling would play right into detractor’s hands. Regardless, Hodgman has been dispatched. New Apple … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
July 1 Nokia N97 Firmware Update Can’t Fix That Keyboard
The recently released Nokia N97 has been drowned, put on a diet and was unlucky enough to share its launch with the Palm Pre and iPhone 3GS. We still thought it was “quite good,” and now it’s getting new firmware. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-n97-waterproof-experiment-tests-hypothesis-that-n-5299397 However, that said there is as of yet no nanotechnology update process available to … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
HTC Hero Arrives In UK via Amazon On July 15 For $710
Did Jesus’s manhandling of the HTC Hero get you all hot and bothered? If so—and you live in the U.K.—you can pre-order the $710 phone today for a July 15 arrival (subject to change). [Amazon via Phandroid] https://gizmodo.com/htc-heros-teflon-coating-makes-the-iphone-feel-like-jun-5302637
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Why Is Japan So Sweaty?
Imagine Slate columnist Daniel Gross’s surprise when he arrived at the Nikkei offices in Japan and was greeted by businessmen, sans ties. To appear so casual in the workplace is almost sacrilege in Japan, and yet here it was, happening. But why? Simple: It’s the environment, stupid. And ironically, in a country obsessed with technology … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
The Martian Base (1951)
This painting by Leslie Carr, based on a drawing by R.A. Smith, appears in the 1951 book The Exploration of Space by Arthur C. Clarke. Eighteen years before Man would set foot on the moon, the image depicts a Martian colony of the future, similar to those which would show up later in the 1957 … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Nikkei Reports Sony Is Working On Famed PlayStation Phone
Nikkei, one of the largest media conglomerates in Japan, is reporting that Sony has been working on a combination cellphone/game system for nearly a year. It’s a rumor we’ve been hearing for years, so what’s different this time? Well, not much, really. Nikkei is a very solid source, definitely not prone to tossing plausible ideas … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Retro-Gen Plays Dusty Old Sega Genesis Cartridges and Digital ROMs
We’ve seen reimagined Genesises (Geneses?) before, but this might be the best one yet. It’s portable, it plays both original cartridges and ROMS off an SD card, it’s got TV-out and it only costs $50. Sign us up. https://gizmodo.com/the-sega-genesis-is-back-baby-5169314 The Retro-Gen (branded Sega, though we can’t imagine Sega actually had anything to do with it) … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Autobots and Decepticons Agree: Palm Pre Rulz, iPhone Sux
You may have thought, after eons of punching each other in movies with nonexistent plots, that Autobots and Decepticons wouldn’t agree on anything. But as proven on Attack of the Show, they both agree that the Pre bests the iPhone. Click to view Video Game – E3 2009 – Attack of the Show Thanks to … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Magnetic Levitating Turntable Concept Looks Impractical, Amazing
Rhea Jeong’s “void” turntable concept uses what would have to be incredibly strong and precise magnet control to levitate a record above its base. That little red ball on top of the vinyl is actually the needle. We’re not sure how the music would be outputted—would there be a transmitter in the red sphere? It’s … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Nerds Beat Netflix’s Recommendation System, Qualify for $1 Million Prize
In a very shrewd move, Netflix created a contest more than 3 years ago to award $1 million to anybody that could create an algorithm more than 10% more accurate than theirs. Now, a team has finally done it. The two front-running teams, distressingly named Team Pragmatic Theory and Team Bellkor in Chaos, joined forces … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
Sony Finally Achieves the Unholy Grail: A $2,000 Netbook
We’re not sure if there’s been a lot of clamoring for an crocodile-skin laptop, but Sony’s new Vaio Signature Collection looks to fill that void. Even crazier is their customized Vaio P netbook, checking it at a crazy $2,000. We should note, in case anybody’s thinking of sending Sony a fake blood-stained laptop or something, … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech News
QOTD: How Did You Learn About Michael Jackson’s Death?
It’s the sad news that nearly killed the Internet. Google News, Yahoo!, MSNBC, CNET, Twitter, LA Times and more all went down from the insane amounts of MJ-related traffic. So we ask: How did you learn of Michael Jackson’s death? This is more than a simple survey. In the past, we’ve learned of major breaking … Continued
By Dan Nosowitz