Gizmodo Australia

Philosophy Web Series Shots Of Awe Will Blow Your Mind In 180 Seconds

Leslie Horn — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:00:00 +1000

Shots of Awe is a new web series hosted by “performance philosopher” Jason Silva that features lightning flashes of philosophy that might blow your mind in three minutes or less. Hosted on Discovery’s TestTube network, the series discusses everything from the universe to technology, society, science and much more, all in the tone of the boundary-pushing lectures of Alan Watts. More »
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Architecturally Inspired Forms Have A Place On Your Dessert Plate

Leslie Horn — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:30:00 +1000

The shapes you see in architecture can be reflected in the things you eat with these silicon food moulds from Alessi. They come in six different designs that are inspired by the features you might see on a building, or even the whole building itself. More »
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How One Artist Makes Hypnotic GIFs From Cloned Video Loops

Leslie Horn — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:00:00 +1000

Sometimes we use GIFs for reactions, sometimes they’re a punchline, and sometimes they’re art. The latter is certainly true of the ones made by Istanbul-based artist Erdal Inci, who masterfully creates mesmerising GIFs using cloned pieces of videos. More »
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Lighting The Sails: Behind The Scenes On Vivid Sydney’s Most Ambitious Project

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:00:48 +1000

Every year, Sydney’s best landmarks are converted from gorgeous colonial structures into canvases for incredible light displays as part of Vivid Sydney, with the centrepiece always built around the Sydney Opera House. This year’s Vivid is bigger than ever, but it’s also the most important, because it’s the first time that the lighting of the Sails has ever been done by an all-Aussie crew. More »
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After Hours: Apps To Never Lose Your Friends On A Night Out

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:00:22 +1000

Where the heck is that bar you’re supposed to be at? And what about that restaurant everyone’s gathering near? Make sure you never get lost again on a night out with these awesome apps. More »
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Monster Machines: This Rocket Bike Just Set A Land Speed Record

Andrew Tarantola — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:00:00 +1000

There’s a surprising amount of energy locked away in the fizzing bubbles of hydrogen peroxide. Enough, in fact, to propel one daredevil and his modified bicycle into the record books at nearly triple the speed limit of your local interstate. Eat your heart out, Wile E. Coyote. More »
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Tomorrow’s Galactic Explorers Could Use Pulsars As Interstellar GPS

Andrew Tarantola — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:30:00 +1000

Space is so ludicrously vast that keeping a precise fix on our spacecraft — even within the solar system — is really tough. So rather than track them from afar, a team of researchers want spacecraft to govern themselves — using pulsars. More »
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Xbox One’s Kinect Sensor Is Officially Coming To Windows Next Year

Ashley Feinberg — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:00 +1000

We knew that the Kinect would be coming to Windows eventually, but it looks like Xbox One’s groundbreaking new Kinect sensor won’t be stuck tethered to a console for long. Microsoft has just announced that the new and improved motion-tracking system will definitely be hitting Windows sometime next year — but exactly when remains hazy. More »
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Ride Along As A Madman Drives A Snowmobile Off The Edge Of A Mountain

Andrew Liszewski — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:30:00 +1000

If there’s one thing the popularity of GoPro cameras have given mankind, it’s the ability to enjoy near-death experiences from a safe and comfortable remote vantage point. Like Erik Roner, who was kind enough to strap a couple of GoPros on as he drove a snowmobile off the edge of a cliff so we can all experience what it’s like to almost end our lives prematurely. More »
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This Week In Smartphone Software Updates: Telstra, Optus, Vodafone

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:08 +1000

Wondering when the sweet new versions of Android will land on your device? You’re in luck: each week, Gizmodo Australia will take you through all of the handset updates currently being tested on Australian networks like Vodafone, Telstra and Optus, and tell you when you can expect them on your device. More »
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Bondsy: The Best Way To Barter Between Friends

Ashley Feinberg — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:00 +1000

Craigslist’s bartering section is a wonderful concept, sure, but the fact of the matter is that there’s an inherent set of risks that comes along with it when you’re making deals with total, unverified strangers. But with Bondsy, which launches today, you can exercise your bartering skills and finally get rid of junk that’s been laying around — but with friends and friends of friends only. All the perks with none of the uncertainty. More »
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What Happened With The NBN This Week?

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:45:09 +1000

It’s a week of acquisitions and arguments surrounding the National Broadband Network. What went on? More »
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Sherpa Personal Assistant App Is Coming To Google Glass

Peter Ha — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:30:00 +1000

Sherpa, the popular natural language digital assistant Android app, is coming to Google Glass and other Android-based wearables the company announced today. Although there isn’t a firm timeline for rollout, Sherpa founder and CEO, Xabier Uribe-Etxebarría, tells me the company is looking to launch on Android-powered wearables by the end of 2013 or early 2014. More »
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Opinion: Did The Australian Government Just Give Us A Terrorism Shopping List?

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:41 +1000

“Be alert but not alarmed.” That was the tagline of Australia’s first prominent terrorism awareness campaign back in the early-2000s. Hotlines were set up, ads were all over the telly, and people were generally advised to watch out for home-grown threats. It was a great idea, and now the government is out to revive the campaign against home-grown threats, but in doing so it seems to have given us a shopping list of ingredients for home-made bombs. More »
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Bowling With God: Vint Cerf Talks Time Travel, Porn And Web Addiction

Jeff Jetton — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:00 +1000

They say that success has many parents but failure is an orphan. Judged by that standard — or any other — the internet is a success. Al Gore invented it. Tim Berners-Lee got a knighthood out of it. Everyone was using it before it was cool. But only two men have ever borne the title “Father of the Internet”. One is the late computer scientist Bob Kahn. The other is Vint Cerf. More »
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Google Glass Will Make Amateur Photographers Even More Annoying

Andrew Liszewski — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:45:04 +1000

As excitement over Google Glass builds, we all really need to take a step back and seriously think about how the new technology will impact our lives. Sure, having directions and face recognition always accessible could be kind of neat. But if you’re already annoyed with people using smartphones and tablets as cameras, imagine a world where everyone’s filming everything with their glasses. More »
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World’s Smallest RC Helicopter Can Be Destroyed By A Fly Swatter

Andrew Liszewski — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:30:00 +1000

It was impressive enough when toymakers found a way to make remote control helicopters small and safe enough to fly around indoors. But their miniaturisation efforts continue on as toymaker Silverlit introduces the Nano-Falcon, an RC chopper so tiny that Guinness has officially granted it the world record for smallest IR-controlled helicopter. More »
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Which NBN Plan Do You Prefer: Coalition Or Labor?

Luke Hopewell — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:45 +1000

The press release wars, verbal assaults and party-line barrages continue between politicians and fanboys alike over the future of high-speed broadband infrastructure in Australia, and it’s an issue that will be used as an lightning rod by both parties at the upcoming Federal Election. So here it is: which NBN plan do you prefer: the Coalition’s fibre-to-the-node strategy or the government’s fibre-to-the-home plan? More »
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Why The Googolplex Number Is Insanely Difficult To Visualise, In Song

Jamie Condliffe — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:17 +1000

You might know that a googol — the digit 1 followed by 100 zeroes — is a very large number indeed. You might even know that a googolplex — a 1 followed by a googol of zeros — is an even bigger number. But this video helps explain why it’s such an insane concept to get your head round. More »
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Air-Powered Force Feedback Could Make Kinect Even More Immersive

Andrew Liszewski — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:30:58 +1000

Microsoft’s Kinect provided gamers with a hands-free way to play their favourite titles. But when the controller was removed from the situation, so was the haptic force feedback that can enhance gameplay. More »
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