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Tech NewsApple
Apple to Face Antitrust Probe in Europe, Courtesy of Spotify
Less than a month after Spotify filed a formal complaint against Apple for its app store practices, a European Commission probe is moving forward, potentially threatening one of the Cupertino giant’s cash cows. Spotify went on a publicity tear last month, coordinated with its antitrust complaint, that included a statement from CEO Daniel Ek and … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Invites Journalists to See New ‘War Room,’ Won’t Let Them Ask Workers Questions
Facebook, the social media giant that helped enable genocide and yet is still allowed to exist for some reason, had a big public relations push this weekend. And if the news stories that came out are giving you a sense of deja vu, you’re not alone. Facebook has a new European “war room” to combat election … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGiz Asks
Will There Ever Be New Colors That We Can See?
When brain chips break big, and commercial tech giants start sifting our thoughts and swapping cherished memories for subscription wine box ads, there will be plenty of reasons to be skeptical. But if this future is inevitable, we might as well dwell on the good stuff. New colors, for instance: for years we’ve been saddled … Continued
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Tech NewsBest of the Week
Batwoman, Failed Airlines, and Height Enhancement Scams: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
It’s been a busy week for our friends at Facebook: Amid showing a bunch of loser far-right trolls and also Louis Farrakhan the door, kicking off an unhinged Twitter spree by the president, the company announced a confusing pivot towards being a privacy-first platform while also announcing other features designed to lure users into telling … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech News
Air Force Says It Has Successfully Shot Down Multiple Missiles Using a Laser Prototype
The U.S. Air Force announced on Friday that it had successfully used a ground-based surrogate for its laser weapons project, the Self-Protect High-Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD), to shoot down multiple air-launched missiles during a test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The system is designed to eventually be mounted on aircraft, where it … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
FAA Revises Predictions for Commercial Drone Market, Estimates It Will Triple by 2023
After an explosive increase in commercial drone registrations in 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration has revised its predictions for the sector and now expects it to triple in size by the year 2023, according to NextGov. According to NextGov, the FAA was caught off guard when commercial drone operators registered over 175,000 drones in 2018, … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Trump Is Very, Very Mad About Facebook’s Latest Purge of Conspiracy Theorists and Far-Right Trolls
This week, Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram banned a number of far-right figures, including white supremacists and conspiracy theorists, in a somewhat clumsily executed effort to rid itself entirely of figures like failed congressional candidate and anti-Semite Paul Nehlen, Infowars founder Alex Jones and associated fringe personality Paul Joseph Watson, internet troll Milo Yiannopoulos, opportunistic … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
North Korea Launches ‘Several’ Unidentified Projectiles Amid Stalled Nuclear Talks
North Korea fired off what the South Korean military described as “several unidentified short-range projectiles” early Saturday local time in a move that could threaten to upset whatever diplomatic gains the U.S. has achieved with the country in recent years, the New York Times reported. According to the Times, the incident was the “most serious … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsMicrosoft
What’s Going to Happen With Microsoft Next Week?
On Monday, while many of us dissect the latest episode of Game of Thrones, thousands of developers will convene in Seattle to talk about all things Microsoft at its annual Build conference. Where once that meant speculating about cool new laptops or a fancy mixed reality headset, this year things will probably be focused on … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
Tech NewsNews
Travis Who?
Founders are a revered breed in Silicon Valley, but for Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, that good will evaporated a long time ago. Now, according to multiple reports, Kalanick won’t be invited to the New York Stock Exchange balcony to celebrate the company going public next Friday. Ouch. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was allegedly the one … Continued
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Tech NewsTech Policy
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Injects Energy Into Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Break Up Big Tech
In March, Senator Elizabeth Warren published her proposal to break up the tech juggernauts—namely, Facebook, Amazon, and Google. On Friday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has finally endorsed the plan, possibly providing a major boost to the bold Big-Tech regulation and antitrust platform. Warren released the policy before a rally in Queens, New York, near the site … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
Lyft Says It’s ‘Not in the Transportation Business,’ So Disability Law Doesn’t Apply
We’re in the season of multi-billion-dollar rideshare IPOs where the spotlight is on global and unprofitable transportation companies like Lyft and Uber as they try to get into the black. Let’s check in with how the process is unfolding. Excuse me, I’m sorry, my notes here say that actually, Lyft is not in the transportation … Continued
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Tech NewsRobots
Imagine Getting Pulled Over By This Tablet on a Stick
It’s a far cry from the badass cyborg who served and protected the people of Detroit in the movie RoboCop, but this bizarre extending robot can assist with traffic stops and promises to help make such roadside interactions safer for both police officers and motorists. Every year, millions of drivers are pulled over and during … Continued
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Tech News
Evidence of Arsenic-Breathing Microbial Life Found in Pacific Ocean
Researchers working off the coast of Mexico have discovered evidence of arsenic-breathing life in oxygen-starved waters. These resilient microbes are a vestige of Earth’s ancient past, but they could also be a sign of things to come under the influence of climate change. Billions of years ago, when the Earth was still very young, the … Continued
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Tech NewsCrime
One of the Largest Dark Net Markets ‘of All Time’ Falls to Police
Police from around the world shut down the biggest active black market on the dark web this month, according to announcements from law enforcement agencies in the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands released on Friday. Wall Street Market, as the black market site was known, was the target of a 1.5-year-long multinational investigation. Three … Continued
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Tech News
Boeing, Accused of Union-Busting, Really Going for Some Sort of ‘Worst Company’ Award
With an entire line of its planes grounded following several, likely preventable air disasters that cost hundreds of passengers their lives, Boeing has decided to kick itself while it’s down by engaging in what three ex-workers are calling retaliatory firings. Last May, a group of Boeing workers at a South Carolina facility successfully voted in … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech News
You Know How This All Ends, Don’t You?
Brands—they’re just like us, only thirstier. Just last night, Pornhub sent out a press release claiming it was “extremely interested” in buying Tumblr, the distressed blogging platform Verizon is reportedly looking to unload. TechCrunch explained why this is a bad idea, but there’s a more fundamental question here: Sure, it has the money, but is … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech NewsNews
Airbnb Hosts in China Are Discriminating Against Muslim Minorities
In China, powerful systems are already being used to target entire minority populations, illustrating how a nation’s discriminatory leanings are exacerbated by the use of technology. Now, a new report indicates how this unsettling reality is also true for something as seemingly innocuous as booking a place to stay on vacation. As Wired first reported, there … Continued
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Tech News
This Goofy Apple Computer Video From 1987 Has Futuristic Gadgets That We’re Still Waiting For
Apple Computer was an innovative and nimble company in 1987, so it makes sense that people at the tech giant would imagine a world dominated by Apple ten years into the future. And that’s precisely what it did when it released this goofy video from the perspective of the year 1997. The 1987 video, which … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGoogle
Google’s Pixel 3a Has Basically Leaked in Its Entirety
The anticipation leading up to a product’s launch can be a magical time for gadget nerds. But with Google’s Pixel 3a, the company might as well just flash a giant screen reading “We Know You Already Know” at its I/O conference on Tuesday. In the latest leak reported by Android Police, it appears that a … Continued