Gizmodo

Working from home during the pandemic has been a challenge for someone used to a dead quiet house. While I typically rely on white noise to help me concentrate, it’s now been replaced with David Whiting’s Endless Acid Banger: a browser-based sequencer that generates random but very listenable Acid house music.Read more...

After launching its first wearable air conditioner last year, Sony’s back with the Reon Pocket 2. This time around, the device can absorb twice as much heat thanks to newly designed internal circuitry, has better sweat resistance, and comes with more accessories and apparel options.

On Thursday morning, the Biden administration unveiled a pledge to slice the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in half compared to 2005 levels by the end of the decade. It will accomplish this, it says, by investing in infrastructure, funding a green economic recovery from the covid-19 pandemic, taking on pollution,…Read more...

Following up on its first gravity-defying achievement on Mars, the helicopter Ingenuity took flight again this morning for a second, more complex aerial maneuver. The flight was a success, further pushing the limits of what humans (or at least, human-made drones) can do in the thin Martian air.

In 1981, Arne Johnson claimed not guilty to the count of murder by reason of demonic possession. It didn’t work, but it sure as hell looks like it’s going to work as a movie.

Montblanc’s Summit Lite has, since January, been the high-end smartwatch for the Euro set. Encased in steel, the $860 piece is a less expensive version of the luxury company’s Summit 2+, a $1,170 splurge that is one of the last luxury smartwatches on the market.Read more...

A week before the new version of Pokémon Snap hits the Nintendo Switch, Fujifilm has revealed a re-branded version of its Instax Mini Link printer that will let players print out hard copies of their best Pokéshots, as well as let users accent any photo with Nintendo-themed stickers, frames, and effects.Read more...

Dave Bautista really wants to play DC Comics’ Bane. Netflix’s new young adult vampire series finds its first director, and the streamer teams up with Alejandro Brugués for a new horror tale. Plus, what’s to come on The Nevers and Creepshow. To me, my spoilers!

The U.S. and China are the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas polluters, together constituting some 40% of the world’s carbon emissions. On Sunday, leaders from the two countries announced that they’re willing to work together to enact urgent climate policy.Read more...

When Pioneer initially described their new DJ monitors, the VM-80s, I was convinced they’d be a great addition to my desk audio setup. Pioneer makes great, solid speakers, and these new monitors—essentially $289 standalone speakers that can be installed in any configuration—looked like just the trick to get some solid…Read more...

There are plenty of good reasons to hook up a keyboard and mouse to your next-gen console. Not only do peripherals give you greater precision and flexibility while gaming, they also make entering text and using other apps much less of a chore. It opens up ways of using your games box—to browse the web, for…Read more...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled Brompton electric folding bicycles over a firmware problem that can cause unwanted acceleration even after users stop pedaling, according to a press release from the government agency.Read more...

Director Alexandre Aja is always happy to mess you up. Whether it’s basement alligators in Crawl, flesh-eating fish in Piranha 3D, or surprising serial killers in High Tension, he’s become very skilled at making audiences incredibly, deliciously uncomfortable. His new movie looks to take that to new heights.

Friends, family, past and current Apple TV users, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of the very best remote for streaming.Read more...

Twitter has a bunch of big problems, and most of them are easy to identify: free speech issues; rampant harassment on the platform; difficult-to-mitigate abuses by electeds and other officials in positions of power. Thankfully, on Wednesday Twitter announced that it had decided to fix the absolute least of those…Read more...

A long-awaited project for the Jim Henson Company is finally taking a step toward production: Muppet Man, a biopic of puppeteering legend Jim Henson (The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth), has a writer aboard to pen a script about Henson’s remarkable career.Read more...

The OnePlus Watch launch was catastrophic. Never had a flagship smartwatch since Will.i.am’s infamous Puls smartwatch failed in such spectacular fashion. I recently wrote 2,000 words about how it was the worst smartwatch I’ve ever used. Today OnePlus pushed out an over-the-air update that claims to fix some of the…Read more...

Add another pushpin to the string wall of America’s shadowy force of postal service cops. Yahoo News reports that the USPS’s security arm, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), monitored social media for potential threats of domestic violence. According to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo…Read more...

The Mother of Dragons conquered Westeros; now, she’s coming for the comics industry. Actor Emilia Clarke—who just recently joined the MCU—has written a new superhero comic for Image. It’s titled M.O.M.: Mother of Madness, and it involves significantly more heroin-addicted raccoons than I would have guessed.

Israeli digital intelligence firm Cellebrite sells software designed to unlock phones and extract their data. As a result, its products are a favorite of law enforcement agencies across the U.S., and police frequently use them to gather evidence from seized devices. In the past, the company has received criticism for…Read more...

Apple’s little Bluetooth location-tracking AirTags are finally here and ready to be attached to your key rings, luggage handles, or whatever else you tend to lose and would very much like to find again. Sure, you can absolutely buy an AirTag and throw it in a bag without any covering whatsoever, but you’ll probably…Read more...

Subjectivity is one of the best things about art, but there are a few undeniable objective facts about it too. One is that no matter how good or bad a piece of art is, the right frame will only make it better. That’s a truth the artist who goes by JoKa is bringing to his new solo show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles…Read more...

Researchers in the United Kingdom are asking people who previously contracted covid-19 to volunteer for one last mission: allow themselves to be intentionally exposed to the coronavirus again. The scientists expect that their research will help us better understand the limits of natural immunity, including the risk of…Read more...

In May 2019, astronomers witnessed a bright flare coming from the center of our galaxy. The event was caused by matter accreting to our local black hole, a 4.6-million-solar-mass monster named Sagittarius A*. The cause of the flaring was unknown, though one researcher now says enigmatic “G-objects” may be responsible.

It may come as no surprise but Sony just signed a deal with Disney that’ll allow its upcoming theatrical releases from 2022-2026 to appear on Disney streaming and cable services. That means, at some point, you might be able to watch the full complement of Marvel Cinematic Universe films on Disney+, as well as the…Read more...

The site of a 19th-century cabin belonging to the family of Harriet Tubman has been uncovered in Maryland. It’s a significant find, as the location of the site, along with the discovery of numerous artifacts, could offer fresh insights into the abolitionist hero’s formative years.

Quibi content acquired by Roku earlier this year will henceforth be known as Roku Originals, a move that should mercifully allow all of us to move on from the memory of Quibi’s spectacular implosion.

In a few weeks, just in time for unofficial Star Wars holiday May the Fourth, everyone’s favorite R2 unit will join Lego’s line of giant, adult-targeted kits. This 12-inch droid is made up of over 2,300 bricks and has a lot more going on than just looking good.

The EU is giving the U.S. a run for its money with privacy regulation, and now they’ve upped the ante with a dynamo of a proposal: banishing AI systems that violate “fundamental rights,” with a special place in hell for law enforcement using real-time biometric identification. The end of that sentence is more of a…Read more...

One of the most impressive things about Mortal Kombat is how each fight means something. When things get cooking in the second half of the film, everything that’s happened before gives each one of the various showdowns some sort of personal stakes—that’s what makes those fights shine even beyond special effects and…Read more...

As a former Tetris fanatic, the idea of an operating system that only runs Tetris, over and over again forever, is fairly compelling. First, my workday would be completely different. Gone are Zoom meetings, mid-morning Slack standups, and endless writing. In fact, a computer that can only play Tetris would remove me…Read more...

There is way too much plastic in the world—and we’re making more every day, even as we struggle to find a way to get rid of the old stuff. A new study poses an interesting solution: Melting plastic bags and bottles back into the oil it was originally made from.Read more...

After nearly a century of probing the nature of tiny, ephemeral objects called excitons, researchers finally managed to image the structure, hinting at the true location of an electron. The findings could eventually help physicists create new states of matter or new quantum technologies.

A police officer is a convicted murderer in America today because a teenager recorded that police officer murdering a man in broad daylight and shared the video with the world.

When Apple unveiled FDA-cleared ECG capabilities with the Apple Watch Series 4, it spurred a slew of other wearables companies to do the same. Now, health tech company AliveCor has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission claiming the Cupertino-based tech giant allegedly infringed on three of its…Read more...

My phone time is usually spent sanding down the edges of my mind on TikTok and Twitter, with a “healthy” dose of emailing, calendar massaging, and capital-S Slacking to get things done. But recently, a new category of app has crept up my iPhone Screen Time leaderboard: gaming, especially through platforms like Steam…Read more...

This week, all 50 states officially opened up eligibility for covid-19 vaccination to all adult residents. But while millions of Americans are still lining up to get their dose, experts warn that the country is quickly approaching a vaccine surplus, with too few takers to meet the supply we have available. Once that…Read more...

Former President Donald Trump’s border wall loomed large in American consciousness throughout his campaign and presidency—and wreaked a path of ecological destruction as he raced to fulfill his promise to build it. And while President Joe Biden has halted construction on the wall, what has been built (or more…Read more...

If you were somehow uncertain that Hulu’s Marvel animated series about the bigwig in charge of AIM wasn’t going to have a joke or 60 about MODOK’s grand noggin’, well... this trailer’s got you covered.

A spring break assignment for geology students has resulted in the discovery of radioactive isotopes in honey produced along the U.S. East Coast, and at levels higher than expected. The amount of radiation isn’t considered dangerous, but the finding points to the drawn-out legacy of nuclear tests done during the Cold…Read more...

When it comes to facing your own mortality, there are few things better than a grinning skull with creepy eyeballs. And when it comes to really freaking you out, the only way to make a grinning skull worse is to connect it to a computer and make it jerk around and gape like some degloved animatronic Abraham Lincoln…Read more...

Apple showed off its new M1-powered iMac yesterday, and it sure does come in a lot of beautiful colors. Aside from the processor, there are a few neat features, like a magnetic power cord and an Ethernet port in the power block, and the entire thing has been slimmed down to just 0.6 inches (11.5 millimeters) thick.…Read more...

Climate experts and lawmakers often refer to the social cost of carbon, which is an approximate cost of the net harm caused per ton of carbon dioxide dumped in the atmosphere. A new study, published in Nature on Wednesday, looks at the social cost of a different greenhouse gas: methane. The findings show that the cost…Read more...

With our first good look at Disney’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings having dropped on Monday, we’ve also got the inevitable deluge of tie-in merchandise giving us a sneak peek at plastic incarnations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new heroes and villains. While they mostly give us an opportunity to see…Read more...

The fossilized shoulder joint of an early hominin named “Little Foot” suggests the upright-walking species was also proficient at swinging through trees, at a skill long gone among modern humans.

Does a robotic pet have to look and behave exactly like a real dog or cat to entice its owners to interact with it? With the Aibo Sony seems to think so, but the creators of the flatcat disagree. First revealed a couple of months ago, the robotic roadkill is finally available for sale through Kickstarter, but like any…Read more...

You know what’s worse than a werewolf? A secret werewolf. That the sort of monster that can tear a community apart—unless Veep’s Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub (our would-be Squirrel Girl) can hold it together while searching for the hidden, furry killer.

In the already-glum world of climate research, tipping points are one of the least rosy areas of study. The collapse of crucial systems in response to passing certain levels of planetary heating isn’t exactly uplifting stuff.Read more...

Usually, when a phone gets worn down, you recycle it or trade it in for a new one. But with its new upcycling program, Samsung is trying to help people convert old Galaxy phones into new IoT devices.Read more...

Tomorrow, Netflix will release Stowaway starring Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Toni Collette, and Shamier Anderson. The sci-fi tale features a Mars mission that’s unexpectedly thrust into peril when the crew discovers... well, read the title. Today, io9 is debuting an atmospheric track from the soundtrack by Volker…Read more...