Gizmondo Is Coming Back, or So They Say

In a surprising turn of events, UK-based firm Plextek has confirmed today what we thought was impossible yesterday: they are working with Carl Freer to bring the infamous Gizmondo back to life. Knowing that the original Gizmondo was a front to defraud investors, don't hold your breath on this one. Things still look quite muddy and mysterious at the moment: [Gizmodo]

Gizmondo Is Dead, Dead, Dead. DEAD and Not Coming Back

We received half a dozen tips earlier today from our Svenska readers talking about "Gizmondo coming back." The story went from a vague November 2007 quote by ex-convict Carl Freer into a morning internet craze, all fueled by a flash animation in a domain registered through an anonymous service. A bit of fact checking, with the help of a few Swedish journalist friends and whois, reveals that the rumors of a Gizmondo reappearance may have been greatly exaggerated. Actually, there's probably enough material to completely smash them. [Gizmodo]

Bo Stefan Eriksson, the mad genius behind the portable videogame system Gizmondo, deputy commissioner of antiterrorism in a Southern California police force, and wrecker of a perfectly good Ferrari Enzo, was released from jail today. To honor his newfound freedom, revisit the tale of his spectacular crackup as chronicled by Randall Sullivan in Wired.

It's a great day to be alive, Waggers

Grab some coffee and thank the gods you weren't replaced by a temp in Bangalore. It's a happy happy Monday, because: More »

Gizmondo's Stefan Eriksson is probably guilty of something

Former Gizmondo exec Stefan Eriksson showed up in L.A. Superior Court yesterday to file his pleas. Not that the Ferrari-crashing ex-con is necessarily guilty of any specific crime he's been charged with, but with an impressive count like this — More »

Niggly bits: Ballmer's getting fired

Quick thoughts for this morning: More »

Remainders: To the CrunchCave!

• Ballmer, Brin, and the other big boys take potshots. Google's Sergey Brin about Microsoft: "We just see the history of that company behaving anti-competitively and not playing fair." MS's Steve Ballmer about Google: "Can you imagine writing a letter to someone. 'Hey, Mom, I am upset with the gun policy.' Then an ad pops up and says, 'Hey, do you want to buy a gun?'" Yahoo's Terry Semel about Microsoft: "My impartial advice to Microsoft is that you have no chance." [ISEdb.com]
• Matt Cutts is a Google celebrity. In the lame way that Walt Mossberg is a celebrity. [ClickZ]
• Michael Arrington could make a million a year. But he blows it all on renting the secret CrunchCave and CrunchMobile. [OKDork]
• Okay, fuck it. Gizmondo's Stefan Eriksson is so terrible that he's awesome. [L.A. Times]
• Lloyd Grove gets pissy after Terry Semel teases him — in front of all the cool media people! Terry, that is just mean and you should apologize or Lloyd will keep sniping at you in his gossip column. [NY Daily News]
• MTV plans to kill iTunes. The plan: "We will concentrate on people who don't have iPods." So, like, music for uncool people? [Financial Times]

Buh-bye, Gizmondo

Blogger James Cox sends in a final goodbye to Gizmondo, a parting shot of the ill-fated gaming-handheld maker's shuttered front. More »

Gizmondo exec #2 gets arrested for packin' heat

Gee, wouldn't it be hilarious if that Gizmondo story got even weirder? GUESS WHAT. More »

Remainders: LiveJournal loves popups is so sorry

• The Guardian confirms: Bloggers are loudmouths, and Glenn Reynolds has an opinion. [Guardian]
• Blog platform Automattic bypasses the usual startup interview question: "But how will you make any money?" [Business 2.0]
• Sick of dumb corporate names? Salon is old-school sick of dumb corporate names. [Salon, 90s]
• Slate performs a mental autopsy of Stefan Eriksson's crashed Ferrari (half-pictured). [Slate]
• Use Firefox, get banned from LiveJournal: The site's new terms of service give them the right to kill your account if you use a pop-up an ad blocker. UPDATE: The lawyers snuck that in, and LiveJournal's gonna fix it. [Slashdot and LiveJournal Support]

The Stefan Eriksson Ferrari-crash flowchart

Is the Stefan Eriksson Ferrari crash — and the simultaneous fall of his former employer Gizmondo — is too complicated to handle (even after the Valleywag recap)? This flowchart from Game Revolution maps it out for you. More »

Why Gizmondo crashed

Causes of gaming console Gizmondo's death listed by Tech tabloid MS Mobiles: More »

Stefan Eriksson arrested, still a big Ferrari-crashing loser

Stefan Eriksson was finally arrested after his February car crash in Malibu. The ex-Gizmondo exec is suspected of grand theft auto in the latest twist to the Ferrari Enzo crash saga. I cannot decide which is the best detail so far. More »

Stefan Eriksson's crash — he taped it

Too golden — Stefan Eriksson (the Gizmondo exec who ripped his Ferrari apart in L.A.) might have taped the crash from inside the car. Who knows what it'd look like — cops haven't found the alleged video yet. But as a consolation prize, the L.A. Times (who's digging this story as much as I am) shares this simulation (opens in a media player) of the crash. Man, "crash the rare Enzo" would have made a great Gizmondo game — if Gizmondo's console hadn't been such a car wreck itself. More »

Gizmondo ex-exec was a cop. Kinda. Not really.

The LA Times picks up a new twist to the Stevan Eriksson Ferrari crash story. The crooked ex-Gizmondo exec who totaled his car (to be crystal-clear: split his car in half while driving drunk) in L.A. flashed a business card at the cops. More »

More dirt on the Gizmondo Ferrari wreck

A plot thick as a Pynchon novel is congealing around former Gizmondo exec Stefan Eriksson's 162 mph Ferrari crash (covered here earlier). (Note: That's sucky handheld game maker Gizmondo, not Gawker blog Gizmodo.) More »

Pic of Gizmondo exec's totaled Ferrari

The Register scored a photo of Gizmondo Europe ex-exec Stefan Eriksson's wrecked Ferrari. The former member of the world's lamest handheld maker "walked away with cuts and bruises." The car, not so lucky. More »