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Electric kettle

The ±0 Electric Kettle From Japan

I've been thinking of getting an electric kettle for some time, and I think I've found the most simple, beautiful one I could ever hope for. The small container's power cord is stored inside the base, explaining that one seam you see running around the base of the unit. I'll have to pick this up in Japan or ask Doug to send one back on his next trip. [+- via Core77]

Star Wars

This is What Happens When You Combine Boba Fett, Flashdance and Fireworks

This is what happens when you mix Boba Fett, Flashdance and fireworks: a brilliant, but somehow disturbing stop-motion animation, that's what. Damn you, Patrick Boivin, for mixing everyone's favorite Star Wars bounty hunter with the movie scene that made me horny for the first time. On the other side, it could have been a lot worse: More »

Google Earth

The UBiqWindow: Google Earth Hologram Device You'll Want

If you can forgive the fairly craptastic music, you'll just love this video of Google Earth mashed up with a hologram machine. This is real, and I want one very, very badly. By combining a 2D mid-air projection system and motion sensors, the device gives you a gesture-based interface for exploring the world. The term "badass" springs to mind. [UBiqWindow via GED via GEB]

Future Spandex

Nike's High Tech Team USA Olympic Track Suits Shave Fractions Off Races

This is not a leaked American Gladiators uniform. It's Nike's design for the US Olympic Track and Field suits. They're made from Nike's proprietarily named (but possibly a poly-nylon blend synthetic) swift materials. Nike claims the socks and arm coverings, with their dimpled surfaces, break up drag to the tune of 12 to 19% in those areas. The suits, Nike claims, can bring a typically sub-10 second run in the 100-meter dash down by .02 seconds. [Gizmag]

The end

Best Fireworks Ever Not Happening Today but in Three Days

If you think you are going to see some cool fireworks today, just wait three more days. Because we just checked the countdown and that's when the Large Hadron Collider will be activated in Geneva, Switzerland. Then we all will enjoy the mother of all fireworks. Well, not us, but the aliens, Tom Cruise, Elvis and the rest of what's left of the Universe. So enjoy your weekend, my friends (you conspiracy morons of the world included) because life is too short, even if the LHC doesn't destroy the galaxy. [LHC Countdown]

HDTV

HDTVs Have Hidden Feature: Poison Gas

Did you know that your HDTV has a gas in it that could make you and your family sick and destroy the planet? It's true, a gas called Nitrogen Trifluoride, and it's bad stuff. Apparently thousands of times worse for the planet than CO2, it's a greenhouse compound that could significantly contribute to global warming. And it's bad to inhale, poisoning your liver and kidneys. It's not a real issue right now, but when landfills of the future start filling up with older HDTVs, it could be a problem. Luckily by then we'll have colonized another planet to mess up. [CrunchGear]

Videos

Fun Times With Hands-Free Driving

We might have come up with a list of ridiculous things you can do while driving with a handsfree Bluetooth set, but some people actually acted it out. And who wants to read when you can just stare?

July 4th

Giz Service Announcement: Fireworks and Watermelon Don't Mix

Hey, we here at Gizmodo, together with Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, want to remind you to have a safe 4th of July. Don't use illegal fireworks for anything dangerous. Like blowing up an M-1000 inside of a watermelon. In slow motion. Happy 4th weekend everybody. [CPSC]

Super Soaker

Evolution of the Super Soaker Watergun

It's the 4th of July weekend, which means sun for most of us and all kinds of fun outdoor activities, many of them including squirt guns. If you're hardcore, you use nothing but the Super Soaker, which was first introduced in 1989 and has evolved into personal water cannons that seem capable of blasting holes in concrete. Hyperbole aside, they've come a long way, and iSoaker has a very cool interactive, clickable chart showing the evolution of the world's most popular water gun. Which one was your favorite? [iSoaker]

Palm

Helio, Sidekick UI Designer Working On New Palm OS

This is some pretty exciting news for us Palm fans who've been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for something new from the handset maker. It turns out Palm has hired Matias Duarte to design the UI for the next Palm OS. You probably haven't heard of him, but he's the guy behind the impressive interfaces for the Sidekicks and Helio's phones. The idea of giving this guy a large install base and a touchscreen to play with is a good one. Palm's got an uphill battle to take on the iPhone, but this could be how they do it. [Engadget]

Napolean

Motorola's "Napolean" Q World Phone Gets Leaked: CDMA + GSM Included

Motorola's got another Q in the queue in the form of the new Napolean world phone. It's a CDMA smartphone for Verizon that does double duty with GSM, so you can use it pretty much anywhere. It also includes Wi-Fi if you're not feeling like using its EV-DO Revision A or EDGE data, runs Windows Mobile 6.1, and includes a fingerprint scanner and a 2-megapixel camera with flash. It sounds like a great phone for world travelers, but probably overkill for anyone else. [BGR]

nike hyperdunk

DeLorean Shows Up at Nike Hyperdunk "Back to the Future" Sneaker Premiere

As you already know, today was the launch of the limited-edition Marty McFly-inspired Nike Hyperdunk sneakers. 350 pairs were sold almost instantly (some are now for sale on eBay for as much as $2,000), a hundred of them at the UNDFTD shop in Santa Monica, where L.A. Lakers' megastar Kobe Bryant arrived in a DeLorean time machine to be greeted by hundred of fans, some of them camping outside for more than 24 hours. Seriously, I'm a Back to the Future fan too, but what kind of obsessed fanboy can wait for more than 24 hours for a stupid piece of merchandise? Ah... hrmmm. OK, never mind. [Hypebeast]

Blu-Ray

The Godfather Box Set Going Blu

The Godfather box set is coming to Blu-ray this September. [Amazon]

Most Popular Stories

Thank giz it's america

10 Gadgety Reasons Why I Love America

With an unpopular war going on, an unpopular president in the White House and an economy in crisis, sometimes we struggle to remember what makes this country great. July 4th should be a time to reflect on the positives—a day to celebrate our independence and recapture our patriotic spirit. For some of us, that may be easier said than done. However, I am confident that the following gadgets will serve as a reminder, to all nerds, why we live in the best country in the world. And if you are still not convinced, just remember—you could be living in Canada. More »

Dell dock

Review: Dell's Vista Dock Pretty But Lifeless

I'm OCD about my desktop. I keep exactly six icons on it, tucked in the upper left hand corner. So Dell's OS X wannabe dock—actually made by Stardock and licensed to Dell, but let's not pretend it's not an Apple reaction—sounds like a great way to keep my desktop immaculate. Who originated the dock or why it came to be aren't really that important. The fact is, lots of people who never would've used a dock are now going to when Dell ships these out. And that would be awesome, if the dock weren't so dumb. More »

Speed Limit

British Vauxhall Cars Have New Camera That Scans Signs, Displays Current Speed Limit

Although various GPS units already have the ability to display the current speed limit (they're pre-programmed in) of the road you're on, this Vauxhall Motors invention seems even better. There's a camera on-board that takes 30 snaps per second, then recognizing speed limit signs and translating that to a number to display on your dash. More »

Star Wars

Bobble Head Vader is So Ashamed of You

This bobble head Darth Vader is designed for your monitor, where he can look down on you in shame. What has disgusted him so? You. Slob. I mean, you were the chosen one! Yes, you! You always knew it, too, but gave up on moving objects with your mind at an early age while settling for a brief stint at community college and a decent office job. Sure, you've got a nice dog and a decent girlfriend, but you could have been wielding lightsabers and sharing awkward sexual tension with your sister. You're so lame. [Monsters in Motion via Nerd Approved]