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Tech NewsInside the Song Machine: How Today’s Hits Are Manufactured
Who are the hit makers? They are enormously influential culture shapers—the Spielbergs and Lucases of our national headphones—and yet they are mostly anonymous. Directors of films are public figures, but the people behind pop songs remain in the shadows, taking aliases, by necessity if not by choice, in order to preserve the illusion that the … Continued
John Seabrook -
Tech News
The New Way Queer People Hook Up in the American Heartland
South Dakota’s only gay club is dead when I show up on a Friday night. A Katy Perry song thumps on a dance floor so vacant it looks fit for an open house. There’s a lone lesbian chain-smoking outside and two guys slurping vodka near a row of empty bar chairs. The place, Club David … Continued
Natalie O'Neill -
Tech NewsA Beginner’s Guide to the Synth
You know the sound. Listen to Devo’s “Whip It” or Parliament’s “Flash Light.” Like countless modern pop songs, they’re full of sounds that aren’t made by acoustic instruments; the sound is pure synthetic. You’re listening to electricity manipulated by a machine. The machine of course is the synthesizer, and it’s been one of the most … Continued
By Meg Neal -
Tech News
How the Peeple App’s Psychological Logic Misses The Mark
Several weeks ago, Julia Cordray and Nicole McCullough unveiled their plans for a new app called “Peeple,” billed as a “Yelp for People” where users would be able to conveniently rate every person they’ve ever met as if they were trendy restaurants or hair salons. They think this will help spread “good feeling.” Social psychology … Continued
Melanie Tannenbaum -
Tech News
The Best of Gizmodo This Week
While were all busy watching The Martian, three Nobel Prizes — “the Oscars of Science” — were announced this week, and we explained the significance of the winners in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine. Meanwhile, Microsoft introduced a slew of new gadgets, including the latest Surface laptop and Windows phones. Here are the highlights … Continued
By Meg Neal -
Tech News
Drug Companies May Not Be Able to Justify the Cost of Medicines
In the US, drug prices for consumers are climbing. The average cost is up 11%from 2013 to 2014 — that’s a lot more than inflation. What’s really behind that sky-high pricetag? First, a Few Numbers Pharmaceutical companies cite the high costs of drug discovery as the reason for expensive medication, but it’s hard to fact-check … Continued
Olga Oksman -
Tech NewsThe Best of Gizmodo This Week
First off, there were lots of new phones to play with this week. We reviewed the iPhone 6s and played with two new-and-improved Nexus phones while livebloggin’ from Google’s event. We were also at Tesla covering the big reveal of the Model X, and debuted the Indefinitely Wild video series with an explainer on how … Continued
By Meg Neal -
io9Books & Comics
Why Don’t Libraries Have Dungeons & Dragons Gamebooks?
Dungeons & Dragons and libraries should be a natural fit. Both attract people who love books, storytelling, and lore. Early D&D gamebooks even point readers towards their local libraries for research, and many libraries host comic book-themed events or have D&D clubs. This is why I was so surprised to learn how rare it is … Continued
Edward Schneider -
ScienceHealthThere’s a Reliable Therapy for Sex Offenders — But Nobody Wants Them to Get It
In June of 1994, a convicted child molester named Charlie Taylor moved into a small apartment in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, across the street from a community center. He had no family. He had no parole officer. At the time, sex offenders deemed too dangerous to be let out of prison early were, paradoxically, released … Continued
Maggie Koerth-Baker -
Tech NewsGoogleOur Google Nexus Liveblog Is Here
Welcome to our Google Nexus liveblog, where we’ll be feeding you all kinds of Google goodies from new Nexus Android phones to maybe a Chromecast or two. And hey! There might even be some sort of tablet! This is also Google’s last chance to showcase Marshmallow, Android’s upcoming six dot zero release, before seeding the … Continued
Gizmodo Staff -
Tech News
Microsoft Surface 3: One Of the Best and Most Accurate Tablet Displays
The key element for a great tablet has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge tablets have always flaunted their beautiful high-tech displays. The Microsoft Surface 3 is no exception. The Surface 3 tablet is a smaller and lighter version of Microsoft’s flagship Surface Pro 3, with a … Continued
Dr. Raymond Soneira - DisplayMate Technologies -
Tech News
The Best of Gizmodo This Week
We introduced a new series this week, Living With Data, which will help you decode how the massive amount of personal data hidden from your is affecting your life and your future. We had a bunch of great reviews too, from two new smartwatches on the market to what Siri means for your car. Here … Continued
By Meg Neal -
ScienceBiologySharks Can Sense Electricity, and That Might Save Them from Extinction
Anyone who has ever gone fishing knows that you don’t always catch what you’re trying to catch. In industrial fishing, that problem is called “bycatch,” and it can have grave consequences. It’s hard not to catch other animals swimming near the target species. Large commercial vessels fish for tuna and swordfish with miles-long lines containing … Continued
David Shiffman -
ScienceHealth
When Are You Going to Get Your Prescription MDMA?
Not long ago, the idea of walking up to a clerk behind a counter and getting a baggie of weed seemed ludicrous. Now, in states where recreational or medical marijuana is approved and regulated, it’s a routine, mundane part of life. Are psychedelics next? It may seem like a similar scenario isn’t far off for … Continued
Cynthia McKelvey -
Tech News
The Best of Gizmodo This Week
The theme this week on Gizmodo was “survival”—how to survive a natural (or unnatural) disaster, the wilderness, the apocalypse, what have you — including, of course, Apple’s new mobile OS. Here are the highlights from this week. 23 Things You Can Do in iOS 9 That You Couldn’t Do in iOS 8 It may have … Continued
By Meg Neal -
Tech NewsThis Company Wants to Start a New Sports League with Giant Fighting Robots
It wasn’t the sound that was so shocking. It was the air itself that hit me as I stood mere feet from the polycarbonate resin wall that separated people from the 220-pound remotely controlled battling robots inside the combat arena. The air hit me with a thump and passed on, attenuating as shock waves do … Continued
Dr. Kiki Sanford -
ScienceBiologyHow Scientists Use Hidden “Camera Traps” to Get Incredible Cameos of Animals in the Wild
By now you’ve probably heard of camera traps, and if you haven’t, you’re definitely familiar with the photos they take. Camera traps are small cameras hidden inside sturdy boxes that a researcher or photographer attaches to a tree or stake or rock in order to spy on wild animals. The images are incredibly valuable for … Continued
Jason G. Goldman -
Tech NewsThe Best of Gizmodo This Week
This week saw the debut of some exciting gadgets — a new Moto X, Intel’s latest processor, Google’s wifi router — but the Star Wars BB-8 toy droid stole the show. We reviewed it and found it to be the Best Toy Ever. Here are the highlights from this week. Ashley Madison Code Shows More … Continued
By Meg Neal -
Tech News
The Best of Gizmodo This Week
The Ashley Madison hack dominated tech headlines again this week, and we analyzed the leaked data to expose an interesting and sad twist to that story. That and more favorites from this week below. Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site When hacker group Impact Team released the … Continued
By Meg Neal -
io9Books & Comics
There’s a Hidden Conveyor Belt Under the Capitol That Was Just for Moving Books
Most people who work in the U.S. Capitol don’t know about the 100-year-old book conveyor tunnel underneath them that used to connect the building to the Library of Congress. It’s long since abandoned, but it’s still down there. Before the separate library was finished in 1897, books had been kept in the Capitol itself, and … Continued
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Meg Neal
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