Chandan gill

Short of the annual iPhone, few future devices get fans chatting like the next generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Both companies have teased what’s next recently—with Sony revealing some details about the PlayStation 5 in April, and Microsoft showing off a flashy video teasing so-called Project Scarlett at E3 in June. Both consoles are expected to launch by the holidays in 2020. In the absence of really robust information, speculation and rumors have proliferated on gamer forums, but why leave it to the forums when Gizmodo has a tipster blowing up our inbox claiming to have access to advance versions of both consoles—and showing us what they claim is photographic proof? Advertisement Our tipster, who claims to be working on a title for both consoles, sent us a series of messages from June through August to our SecureDrop. The first tip came in response to a nerdy theory we published following Microsoft’s E3 briefing. While Microsoft … [Read more...] about A Story About Two Tiny, Fuzzy Photos of a ‘PlayStation 5 Prototype’ [Updated]

For the majority of prime-time network television’s history, animated series rarely made an appearance. With the exception of Hanna-Barbera’s brief ’60s output (The Flintstones, The Jetsons) and the routine holiday specials, prime-time TV was hostile territory for animated programming. Until The Simpsons. When Fox’s gamble on Matt Groening’s creations became a massive hit in 1989, it didn’t just establish arguably the most successful TV show of all time. It also brought about a new era of openness to animation—and a new era of closing down many of those same programs with the usual cold-blooded cancelation strategy the networks applied to their live-action series. Below, we pay tribute to the 18 animated programs that have appeared on network TV post-Simpsons that failed to make it through an entire season. These are the wannabes that never were, cut down before they had a chance to make a lasting impression—unless you count failure. … [Read more...] about Not ready for prime time: 18 animated series that didn’t make it a full season

1. New Year’s Day: thirtysomething, “Happy New Year” (1990)great episode with which to celebrate those out-of-the-way holidays is even harder. Take, for instance, New Year’s Day, a holiday that falls in the two or three weeks of the year most American TV networks just don’t program and has to compete with its big brother Christmas for notice otherwise. But Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick turned the holiday into a time for quiet reflection on the year that was and muted hope for the year ahead on two of their series, thirtysomething and My So-Called Life. Both episodes are good, but former is the best pick for a New Year’s celebration. Taking place in the midst of an arc where a major character battled cancer, the episode is both somber and joyful, gathering the whole of the show’s terrific ensemble in one place to greet 1991. 2. Valentine’s Day/Presidents’ Day: The Simpsons, “I Love Lisa” (1993)The Simpsons’ … [Read more...] about 19 great TV episodes for non-traditional holidays

When I installed iOS 8.4 on my phone today to try Apple Music, I couldn’t find the iTunes icon. Anywhere. What had happened? Was it a glitch? Then I realized I had hidden the iTunes app in a drawer of Apple apps I never use, alongside Tips and Mail. I found it eventually, but it turned out I hadn’t used iTunes in months. The last update to the app was U2’s Songs of Innocence, which Apple put on my phone without asking last year, and which I never even bothered to delete, I guess. Apple has neglected iTunes for a long time, and with Music, it’s hoping to snare the users that its former hit application has hemorrhaged over the years. Advertisement As a marginally restless Spotify user, I was curious. Pick Your Poison Fire up Apple Music, and you’ll get an intro screen that gives you two pricing options—either $10 for an individual account or $15 for a family account once your free trial ends. One important note: Make sure you go into your user … [Read more...] about Using Apple Music: Wait, Do I Like Alternative?!

A strange star located 1,500 light-years from Earth is exhibiting strange flickering behavior that’s leading some scientists to speculate that an alien megastructure is blocking the light. But what would such a structure be exactly and how likely is it that the Kepler space telescope has actually spotted one? Right now the star KIC 8462852 is really hot – and not just because it is a F-type star – but because the Kepler space telescope has discovered that it flickers in a highly unusual way, as if something is obscuring it. These dips in the light are different to what you would expect from planets blocking the star. Advertisement Scientists are failing to come up with an explanation for the phenomenon based on natural astrophysical processes, so attention has turned to the potential of an alien megastructure blocking the light. But what would such a structure be exactly and how likely is it that Kepler has spotted one? Many Possibilities It is true that dips in … [Read more...] about What Are the Odds of an Alien Megastructure Blocking Light From a Distant Star?