-
Tech NewsNewsTrump Wants a Moonbase
Last night, Trump released his second term agenda, incredibly specific guidelines for xenophobic totalitarian rule sprinkled with pipe dreams. Among the former is the usual parade of fascistic talking points: “teach American exceptionalism,” prosecute the “violent extremist” group antifa, deport “non-citizen gang members,” hold China “accountable” for covid-19, eliminate sanctuary cities. The latter variety is … Continued
-
Tech NewsFacebookOpportunism, Thy Name Is Zuckerberg
Despite being at the center of at least one massive antitrust probe while fielding regulatory pressure from right- and left-leaning pundits alike, Facebook’s spent the last few months doing a whole lot of nothing to tweak the monopolistic business practices that landed it in hot water with regulators in the first place. Instead, its strategy is … Continued
-
Tech NewsAppleApple Has Finally Gotten Too Big for Its Britches
What started out as a battle between Apple and Epic over direct in-app purchases in Fortnite has evolved into an ill-advised, petty revenge scheme. On Sunday, Epic filed a new motion to bar Apple from revoking iOS and macOS support for its Unreal Engine while its other beef is ongoing. To back up a bit, … Continued
-
Tech NewsMicrosoftHappy Birthday, Windows 95
As of today, Windows 95—the first of the “modern” Microsoft OSes—is a quarter-century old. Happy birthday old friend. We could, of course, take this opportunity to recount the myriad features of 95 that would become staples of Windowses to come: the huge graphical improvements over 3.1, the start button and task bar, file shortcuts, plug-and-play … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsGoogleGoogle’s Upcoming Pixel 4a 5G Gets Leaked
Last week, new leaks for Google’s Pixel 5 hit the net. Now, new pics and info about Google’s other upcoming fall handset release—the Pixel 4a 5G—have surfaced, giving us a better idea of how Google’s two upcoming phones really compare. In new highs-res renders based on the Pixel 4a 5G’s rumored dimensions, created as a … Continued
-
Tech NewsStreaming ServicesWhy Is Disney+ Running Commercials From 1977?
With the Covid-19 pandemic shutting completely down film and TV production, streaming services are getting creative when it comes to sourcing new content. If you’re a Disney+ subscriber and search for The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World, you’ll be treated to a thinly-veiled hour-long ad for the theme park that appears to have been captured … Continued
-
Tech NewsNewsZoom Is Down at the Worst Possible Time [Update: It’s Back]
The same day that many schools are back in session, Zoom, the teleconferencing software that’s become the go-to for many educators’ remote-teaching needs for the foreseeable future, seems to have crashed for large swaths of the US. While Zoom’s own Twitter account hasn’t mentioned the widespread outages thus far, Zoomers across the country have posted … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgetsHow to Identify Any Song or Movie Using Your Phone
Your smartphone is a pocket portal to information on just about every song and movie in history, thanks to the internet—and it’s better than you might have realized at matching what’s in the real world to the wealth of data on the web. Of course, there aren’t going to be too many occasions when you … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsGiz AsksAre We Already Living in a Tech Dystopia?
For the most part, fictional characters rarely recognize when they’re trapped in a dystopia. Watching their neighbors get carted off for harboring subversive thoughts, they almost never say, “I wish we weren’t living in this dystopia.” To them, that dystopia is just life. Which suggests that—were we, at this moment, living in a dystopia ourselves—we … Continued
-
Tech NewsBest of the WeekSea Monsters, Voice-Controlled Faucets, And an Ode to Flypaper: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
Because I am, at my core, a basic bitch, I have a sign in my office that says “Today is a good day for a good day” (in garish sparkly gold and white letters naturally). It’s a sentiment that’s been harder to believe in these days, what with the universe apparently going through its rolodex … Continued
-
Tech NewsNewsFDA Grants Emergency Authorization for Covid-19 Plasma Treatments Because Science Schmience
The Food and Drug and Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent blood plasma as an experimental treatment for covid-19 patients. And President Donald Trump, per his usual M.O., found a way to put himself at the center of the announcement—no doubt in a bid to drum up some good press on the … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgetsLeaked Renders Show Off Motorola’s Next Razr
Motorola hasn’t officially announced the successor to its rebooted Razr, but thanks to a few new leaks, we purportedly have our first 360-degree look at its next attempt at a foldable phone. On Saturday, noted leaker Evan Blass tweeted a gif (shared below) showing a phone that looks very similar to last year’s Razr. In … Continued
-
Tech NewsRobotsThis Tiny Robo-Beetle Is Powered by Booze
Screw batteries and charging cables—2020 has been such a rough year that even the robots are turning to drink. This beetle-inspired microbot is fueled by methanol, the kind of alcohol you’d find in antifreeze as opposed to a barrel, according to researchers with the University of Southern California’s engineering department in a Science Robotics report … Continued
-
Tech NewsNewsWordPress to Add In-App Purchases Because Apple Won’t Allow Updates Otherwise [Update: Holy Hell Did Apple Backpedal Fast]
Updated: 8/22/2020, 6:00 p.m. ET: After being put on blast for the last 24 hours, Apple issued a rare on-the-record apology on Saturday and said that WordPress will not be forced to add in-app purchases. Apple’s emailed statement reads: We believe the issue with the WordPress app has been resolved. Since the developer removed the … Continued
-
Tech NewsHellfeedMods? MODS!?: Facebook’s QAnon Ban Is Too Little Too Late
Content and moderation decisions by tech companies are increasingly the focus of unending kicking and screaming—to the point where it’s now essentially a campaign plank for at least one of the U.S.’s major political parties. The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Google are also trying to convince the public how well they’re dealing with the … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNewsApple Strikes Back By Making Epic Games Look Like Jackasses, But It Seems to Have Backfired
Apple is claiming that Epic Games asked for a “special deal” to bypass its in-app purchase policies in a filing it released today. According to CNBC, former Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller, now a Fellow with the company, said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney asked “for a ‘side letter’ from Apple that would create … Continued
-
Tech NewsNewsFormer Uber Exec Charged Over Alleged Cover-Up of Disastrous Hack
The former chief of Uber’s security was charged this week in connection with an alleged cover-up of a massive 2016 hack that exposed the personal information of some 57 million Uber users—a breach he tried his hardest to sweep under the rug. According to a criminal complaint filed this week in the Northern California’s District … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsAI Murder Machine Kicks Air Force Pilot’s Ass in DARPA’s Simulated Dogfight Contest
Anyone remember the 2005 sci-fi movie Stealth? As far as I can remember, it involves a secret, artificially intelligent U.S. Air Force fighter plane that rebels against its creators when it is struck by lightning. It was not very good. Regardless, the U.S. military is now one step closer to its dream of unleashing an … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNewsA Mysterious 212-Story Citadel Reigns Over Melbourne in Flight Simulator
Players have applauded Microsoft’s updated Flight Simulator for realistically recreating all of the splendor the planet has to offer—including 550 cities, nearly 197 square miles land and sea—using machine learning to model 3D structures via satellite imagery from Bing Maps. Of the myriad unexplored attractions, though, pilots can not resist the thrall of The Spire: an … Continued
-
Tech NewsGoogleNew Leaked Pixel 5 Renders Depict an Upgraded But Still Humble Midrange Phone
After finally releasing the Pixel 4a earlier this month, Google has shifted focus to the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5G, and now, new leaks for the latter have arrived. The new images show some notable, but not game-changing, upgrades for Google’s upcoming mainstream device. The latest info comes in the form of high-res renders … Continued