Oh! Gizmo

By Evan Ackerman

For those of us unfortunate enough to be Americans right now, we have more to worry about than who we’re going to elect as the next president. We also have to be paranoid about whether we’ll actually be voting for who we intend to vote for at all. Our system (make that systems) for casting votes are not only notoriously confusing, but also notoriously hackable. DVICE has an interactive map of the United States, showing which states are using the less hackable but more confusing paper ballots, which states are using the more hackable but less confusing electronic voting machines, and where all of the other methods of voting fall on that spectrum. You can click on each state for more detailed information, including pros and cons on the different types of voting machines.

Of course, this doesn’t imply that voting on an electronic machine means your vote is going to get hacked, nor does it imply that you’re going to make a mistake voting on punch cards. The point of these maps is simply to make you aware of potential issues with the voting process in your state, since these things have a way of screwing themselves up. Funny, that.

There is a bright side to all this, however: when your guy loses, now you’ve got something to blame it on. Canada is starting to look pretty good now, eh?

[ DVICE ]

By Evan Ackerman

And now, it’s here, for real. Right below the comment form on (as far as I know) any and all YouTube videos is a button that says “Audio Preview.” Click on it, and a computerized voice will read back what you’ve typed in. The unfortunate reality is that the people who need this feature most are probably also the people who are least likely to use it, and it’s not required that you preview before you post… Yet.

VIA [ Webmonkey ]
Comic from [ xkcd ] and reproduced under CC license

By Andrew Liszewski

What started out as a terrible rumor this morning has unfortunately been confirmed by Ain’t It Cool News. Visual FX wizard Stan Winston, who is probably well known to both gagdet and movie enthusiasts, passed away last night. I’ve already made mention of my love for Jurassic Park as a kid, and it was while reading about the effects behind the movie that I first learned about Stan Winston and his many contributions to the visual effects industry.

His work, and the studio that bears his name, was responsible for some of the greatest animatronic creations to ever grace the silver screen. From the Terminator films to Jurassic Park and more recently Iron Man, his work will stand as a lasting legacy for future generations of movie buffs to enjoy. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone who was ever lucky enough to work with him.

[ AICN - Rest In Peace Stan Winston ]

By Evan Ackerman

Somebody needs to do a study on television remotes. Somehow, remotes have the ability to lose themselves, and if we could figure out how they do it, teleportation would be just a step away. Alas, I fear that science is not yet ready to understand how remotes get to where they get to, so we have no alternative but to keep on searching for them, which is where the Remote Control Finder comes in. Stick one of these things onto your remote, and whenever you can’t find it, just whistle, and it’ll start flashing and beeping.

There’s a catch, of course… You have to use a special whistle. A very small special whistle. An eminently losable special whistle. So I guess you’ll have to stick one of the finder things on it so that you can figure out where it is. But wait, you say, I need a special whistle to find the special whistle! Of course you do. That’s why you buy two of them, and just use one to find the other. OR, here’s another solution: duct tape your remote control to your dog… Then, not only will you not need the stupid special whistle, but the remote will actually come to you. Assuming your dog doesn’t have better things to do, anyway.

[ Remote Control Finder ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]