NEW YORK, 1:16 AM, MON JUL 7 | 14 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@gizmodo.com | RSS
UK | FR | NL | IT | DE | ES | JP | AU
Posts Tagged “

Giz Explains

”
giz explains

Giz Explains: IPTV, or Cable From the Phone Company

If you still rock the bunny ears we salute you. But odds are, you probably get TV one of two ways: Cable or satellite. There's a newer way: IP, that is Internet Protocol, TV—in this case, the TV delivered over the internet by your phone company. Verizon and AT&T push FiOS TV and U-Verse, respectively, in select regions of the country where their fiber networks have been built out. (Update: As has been pointed out, FiOS TV isn't actually IPTV, my bad.) In a lot of ways, it's the TV of the future—in part because most of you can't get it yet. Beyond that, the technology that delivers it to your home, as well as who is doing the delivering, opens up some pretty sweet new interactive possibilities. And even for regular old boob tubing, the way it's architected means its good for HD buffs. More »

Feature

2:30 PM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By matt buchanan
6,570 views, 46 comments

Latest by n/a: yes. Because the world needs more ways to watch American Idol to satisfy its median IQ of 75. I can envision NO better use for that bandwidth. The internet was starting to bore me, anyway. ... F'n retards. more »

Bill Gates Retirement Party

Giz Explains: How the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Will Save the World

Bill Gates is officially "transitioning" from Microsoft this week, but really, he checked out a long time ago. His Big Hairy Vision isn't just modernizing the world anymore—it's saving it. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest charitable foundation, with a current asset trust endowment of $37.3 billion. Last year, it gave away $2 billion. Its work is divided into three major programs: Global Development, Global Health and United States. It's not your average charity though—and not just because two of its three trustees, Bill and Warren (no last names needed) constantly jockey for the title of world's richest man. It's the smartest. And that's why it just might succeed. More »

Feature

4:00 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By matt buchanan
12,346 views, 40 comments

Latest by n/a: @GadgetPlay: duh Man, you're making me dislike conservatives almost as much as I dislike liberals. more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard Parallel Processing and GPU Computing

As you've probably heard, the next version of OS X, Snow Leopard, will not wow us with a crazy circus of features like Time Machine and Boot Camp. So why would Apple spend a year programming an OS that they can't boast has over 300 new features? Here's a quick rundown of how Apple is totally rebuilding OS X to take advantage of Core 2 Duos, graphics cards and parallel processing, in order to deliver serious performance gains. And yes, that is a big deal. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed Jun 18 2008
By matt buchanan
20,448 views, 65 comments

Latest by n/a: @Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!: I thought Mac wanted only thier stuff in Mac's. Isn't that why they build all thier own units in house. more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: What You Didn't Know About the iPhone 3G's GPS

Welcome to special edition of Giz Explains: Following yesterday's rundown of the stuff you didn't already know about iPhone's 3G goods, today we're tackling its finding-a-Waffle House-at-4am-in-strange-places GPS powers. Why's the GPS gotta be assisted? Is it crippled? The answers to those q's and more. More »

Feature

4:40 PM on Thu Jun 12 2008
By matt buchanan
44,558 views, 53 comments

Latest by Quicksilver4648: I have a question. Would it be possible to purchase a 3G iPhone with a bare-bones minimum (I believe $30 a month) 2-year service contract and after the 30 day grace period I call up AT&T, cancel my contract, get charged more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: What You Didn't Know About the iPhone's 3G

Yeah, yeah, you get it: The new iPhone uses AT&T's best-in class (in NYC at least), 3G high-speed network, one that's getting faster and more spread out all the time. But there's a lot you probably didn't know about the technology involved: How fast can you really go on the thing? Why did AT&T feel the need to cap the iPhone's speed? If you want answers to these and other questions, you came to the right place. More »

Feature

3:00 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
By matt buchanan
64,670 views, 68 comments

Latest by justinpe: Anyone else notice that there was no "Install Flash" link on the speed demo on either the the 3G or edge screens? Maybe 2.0 will have flash support? When I load the page on my iPhone, there is a link that more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Under the Hood of the Newest Laptops and Mobile Gear

If your head's spinning from the buckets of chip splooge that's shot out over the past couple days, we don't blame you. There's been a new mobile chip launched or announced by every major player in the biz (Intel, AMD, Nvidia and Via), so no wonder it's all sticky and running together. Don't worry, here's a quick guide to what matters, who makes it, and what kind of stuff you'll see it in. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By matt buchanan
9,556 views, 28 comments

Latest by matt buchanan: @arrgh406: It was re-branded as Nano. more »

word up

Subnotebook vs. UMPC vs. Netbook: WTF Is the Difference?

When Blam broke the news on Dell's mini Inspiron, there was one he was stuck on: How to categorize it. Is it a subnotebook? A UMPC? A netbook? (Knowing the specs might have helped, but probably not much.) Part of the problem is that the category names themselves are very new and pretty vague. Here's a mini-compendium of the most popular terms for dwarfish laptops being tossed around, where they come from and what they're trying to say. Help us decide which ones to keep, and which to ditch. More »

Feature

5:00 PM on Fri May 30 2008
By matt buchanan
17,566 views, 44 comments

Latest by Brookespeed: I call my Everun a 'little computer'. Or 'Lil Compy' for short. For instance I sometimes say, with sadness "I can't watch that DVD because my lil compy doesn't have an optical drive" or with pride, "Yes, my more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: OLED, the Future of TV

Plasma and LCD HDTVs are better now than they ever have been, but they're just that—the TVs of now. OLED is the TV of the future—being shown off today at All Things D. Thin, beautiful and obscenely expensive though, for the moment, still a bit small. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed May 28 2008
By matt buchanan
17,130 views, 76 comments

Latest by The Monarch: @Matt Buchanan: Thank you, thank you, thank you for "stupid thin" and "a bitch to make"! Giz, can we have Donnie write here? more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: An Easy Primer on GPS

In this week's Giz Explains, we're doing a quick rundown of a sweet technology that has evolved from a (deadly) serious military application to becoming a household utility, found in all kinds of gadgets: GPS. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed May 21 2008
By matt buchanan
14,455 views, 69 comments

Latest by n/a: @Topcat: I, rather unfortunately, have an extremely poor sense of direction. As soon as I can afford one, I will definitely get a GPS system so that I can do the most basic wayfinding, 'cause if I don't have a more »

giz explains

Giz Explains LCD TV Basics

If you guessed that Giz Explains Plasma TV was just the first of several TV-technology explainers, you were right. Congratulations! You win... this week's installment: Giz Explains LCD TVs. The little panels are in your phone, on your desk and maybe you're looking at one for your home theater too. Here's the quick and dirty basics. More »

Feature

2:20 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By matt buchanan
16,449 views, 35 comments

Latest by n/a: Nicely explained and understood. How bout splainin' the lser tv's next? more »

giz explains

What Would You Like Giz to Explain?

Every week, Giz Explains breaks down sticky, chewy tech into easy-to-swallow bits, like a mama bird eating stuff and puking it back into her babies' mouths, already digested. We've covered stuff like scary plasma TVs and the image sensors in your digital camera. But what would you like us to explain? If there's something you'd like the quick, essential CliffsNotes on, send an email to tips@gizmodo.com with "Giz Explains" line. We won't tell your friends you asked, honest. [Giz Explains]

2:00 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By matt buchanan
2,781 views, 144 comments

Latest by n/a: what is so different and advanced about the "cell" processor in the ps3? oh yeah, and why do they call them apartments when they are so close together? Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways? more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Plasma TV Basics

In this week's Giz Explains—if you haven't noticed, it's a weekly series that breaks down a sticky piece of tech into something more digestible for people whose bellies aren't quite made of nerd steel—we're looking at plasma TVs. Plasma. It just sounds sci-fi. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By matt buchanan
30,667 views, 46 comments

Latest by Bitstuff: What altitude does a plasma need to be for it to explode? By explode I mean for the itsy bitsy cells to explode and release the plasma. I want to know what it smells like! more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Digital Camera Image Sensors

Spring is the primetime for new cameras, hence the cheap cam battlemodo, an entry-level DSLR battlemodo, not to mention loads of rumors and breakthroughs. It's a lot to keep up with, and you may not even know what's going on with the camera in your pocket. If that's the case, don't worry, here's a quick primer an digital camera image sensors—just what you need to know. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By matt buchanan
15,248 views, 53 comments

Latest by getgreg: a 6MP camera with a sensor the same size as an 8MP model is gonna take better picturesThis finally explains why my friend's 4MP camera takes such better pictures than my 6MP camera. more »

giz explains

Mobile Term Madness: LTE, WiMax, EV-DO and More Explained

We've been talking a lot about emerging mobile tech lately, tossing around crazy acronyms and words like WiMax, LTE, 3G, G-Spot, EDGE and whatnot. A lot of you probably already know this stuff cold, but in case you don't, here's the quick and dirty guide to what you need to know. More »

2:00 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By matt buchanan
21,253 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: Didn't AT&T just announce that they would have speeds of 20.0 mps by 2009? Is this possible on 3G phones, or am I gonna have to wait for the 4G iPhone? more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Why We're Psyched for Silverthorne

Silverthorne is a teeny processor built on the 45nm process (like the much-ballyhooed Penryn), designed for UMPCs, subnotebooks, mystery Apple products and any other smallish gadget that needs real crunching on an ultra-lean power diet. More »

11:40 AM on Thu Feb 7 2008
By matt buchanan
11,158 views, 30 comments

Latest by whootowl: @w00zzy: Monitors are for wimps. more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Quick Guide to Samsung's CES Goodies

Samsung just dropped almost 20 items on us at CES, but not all of em are worth your time. Here's a quick and dirty guide to some of the stuff worth knowing about, but not quite worth shoving down your throat with a full post. More »

5:33 PM on Sun Jan 6 2008
By Haroon Malik
4,175 views, 2 comments

giz explains

Giz Explains: Philips' Spring Product Line-Up

Philips is a mammoth of a CE company, but in the US it's not always easy to see what those guys are up to. Here's a fast look at what's new—not merely refreshed—in the 2008 lineup: More »

4:00 PM on Sun Jan 6 2008
By Wilson Rothman
6,339 views, 5 comments

Latest by jscseattle: I think we will see more of this... only cut rate units here or unbelievably high priced stuff. The dollar is so devalued now that there are almost no margins selling hardware in the U.S. We are seeing that with more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Vizio's Latest HDTV Models

Vizio's got almost 30 TVs on the world, with many of them so similar to the others that you can't tell the difference. Here's how you should view them:

• VP504F-50 1080p Plasma. It's got Silicon Optix HQV Processing for better images than most higher-priced sets.
• SV42LF-42 and SV47LF-47 has 120Hz, 1080p, Anti-Judder, and a side HD Game Port. Great for movie watchers (thanks to 120Hz refresh) and gamers.
• Jive Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio Kit. Adds onto many of their sets (including SV42LF and SV47LF) to give you an all-in-one entertainment system.
• Plasma line: 1080p and 720p sets.
• LCD line: 1080p and 720p sets, with the Envy line looking slightly fancier than the Evolution series. Then there's the VW series that's sold at Wal-mart.

1:15 PM on Sun Jan 6 2008
By Jason Chen
2,693 views, 2 comments

next »