Adam Clark Estes

The Horrifying Job of Facebook Content Moderators

Isn’t Facebook great? (It’s not.) But isn’t it nice and clean and kid friendly? This is true for a very specific reason: the social media giant outsources the gnarly task of finding and deleting inappropriate content. In the November issue of Wired, Adrian Chen offers a peek into the darkest corners of the industry. It’s…

How to Ditch Your Big Terrible Bank

People don’t talk about it quite as much as they did in 2008, but big banks are the worst. Aside from the fact that they’re full of crooks, big banks provide terrible customer service, charge obscene fees, and profit from your misery. You should probably stop giving them your money now. Unfortunately, short of keeping…

Now Etsy Has a Card Reader Too

Etsy just released a card reader. It works just like all of the other card readers out there, except it’s orange and only works with Etsy purchases. It is also sort of a brilliant thing for Etsy to do. People spend a lot of money buying Etsy products, and according to Etsy, 35 percent of…

Take a Sneak Peek Behind the Science of Interstellar

Wired just published a meaty feature on Kip Thorne and the science behind Interstellar. Thorne, one of the world’s most celebrated theoretical physicists, worked with director Christopher Nolan to ensure that depictions of things like black holes and wormholes would be accurate in the film. And also spectacular. We’re preeeeeetty excited about Interstellar—which opens in…

What If We Visualized Rhythm With Circles Instead of Traditional Bars

Music is inherently orderly (at least, most of it is), but you’d never know it by looking at a page full of notes and notation. However, a new TED video shows how the backbone of any piece of music—rhythm—can be easily visualized using a simple wheel and hand. The unique visualization looks a lot like…

Apple Quietly Launched a Business Listings Service For Maps

In the immediate wake of all the iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite hubbub, Apple took a step in Yelp’s direction by launching a new service called Apple Maps Connect. Like Yelp, Apple Maps Connect lets people add small business listings to a directory. Unlike Yelp, that entire directory lives inside Apple Maps—for now. Realistically,…

Hackers Roamed Around JPMorgan Chase’s Financial Records for 2 Months

Earlier this month, approximate 76 million households—or roughly half of the households in America—were unhappy to hear their JPMorgan Chase accounts had been compromised. Those 76 million households will be equally unhappy to learn that the hackers who broke in were wandering around the bank’s servers for two months. Two whole months! The New York…

Can You Get Handoff to Work in OS X Yosemite?

When Apple first announced OS X Yosemite, Handoff was one of the features I was most excited about. And then this week, when the Yosemite update arrived, I was stoked to use it. Unfortunately, I can’t—and not just because of compatibility issues, either. Handoff simply doesn’t work with my iMac and iPhone. It also doesn’t…

Tinderjust announced that the so-far totally free dating app will launch a premium service in early November. “We are adding features users have been begging us for,” said CEO Sean Rad. No word on what those features will be yet, however.

Report: Chinese Authorities Are Now Targeting iCloud Users

Right on the heels of the iPhone 6 launch, Chinese authorities are now reportedly extending the Great Firewall to include iCloud services. That includes the iMessages, Contacts, and Photos of any of its citizens that own an iPhone. In other words, China’s government could be tracking their every move. This is scary but not altogether…

We Tried This Whiskey-Enhancing Stick of Wood So You Don’t Have To

Whiskey is in my blood. Not literally—well maybe a little right now—but since my dad’s side of the family is from Scotland and I grew up in Tennessee, I like to take the spirit seriously. So when I heard of a gadget that would make cheap whiskey taste top shelf, I was pretty excited. Until…

The legs on this puppy-sized spider are a foot long

Have you had any nightmares, lately? Would you like some? Then you’ll love the South American Goliath birdeater. This furry spider is the size of a puppy, and thanks to hard claws on the tips of its foot-long legs, it makes a horrifying clicking sound when it scampers through the forest. Harvard etymologist Piotr Naskrecki…

The View from the Top of NYC’s Tallest New Apartment Building Is Nuts

We’ve already seen some night-time vistas from the top of 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in North America. They’re pretty wild. But now, the developers have released some high-res images of the views during the day time. They’re absolutely nuts. Obviously, 432 Park Avenue is an exceptional building. Prices start at around $17…

iOS Expert: Don’t Use Whisper If You Want to Remain Anonymous

When apps are accused of shady behavior, Jonathan Zdziarski is the guy that investigates. And this week, the self-identified iOS forensics expert was quick to respond to requests for a deep dive into Whisper, the supposedly anonymous secret-sharing app that’s been taking heat lately. Guess what: Whisper’s not so anonymous. Zdziarski just published his preliminary…

OS X Yosemite Dock Icons, Ranked

Apple just released OS X Yosemite. It looks pretty nice. The typeface is new. The menus are frosty. The new “Dark Mode” is dashing. And, best of all, the icons are fresh and delightful. Well, most of them are. In order to separate the improved icons from the terrible ones, we ranked them. All rankings…

Go Download OS X Yosemite Right Now

A few hours after announcing that it would soon be available, Apple has finally released OS X Yosemite to the public. Download it here right now. You’re going to love it. The latest version of the Mac operating system comes with a design refresh that makes OS X look a bit more like iOS, including…

A spider crawled inside this man’s body for three days (updated)

An Australia man’s vacation to Bali took a dark turn last week after he discovered a painful red line forming above his belly button. At first, doctors told 21-year-old Dylan Thomas that it was just an insect bite. Then the line started to grow and the horror was obvious: It was a spider burrowed into…

A Fully Loaded iMac With Retina Will Cost You $4,400

Thinking of buying a pretty new iMac with Retina display? That’ll cost you. Thinking of buying the most tricked out, pumped up new iMac with Retina display that you possibly can. That’ll really cost you—$4,400 to be exact. That’s a lot of money, but it’s really not that bad. It’s definitely not as bad as…

OS X Yosemite Is Out Today—and Free

Apple just announced that OS X Yosemite will be out today, and it’s free. No huge surprise there—Mavericks was also free. But it’s still good news for anybody who likes pretty things. https://gizmodo.com/our-new-ipad-imac-and-more-liveblog-starts-10-16-at-1-1644529414 In addition to news about the release, Apple also showed off some flashy things that the new Continuity feature offers. It works…

This Artist Uses His Magnifying Glass To Burn Pictures, Not Ants

Jordan Mang-osan is a patient guy. This Filipino artist is so patient that he can sit for hours at a time, calmly holding a magnifying glass over a slab of wood so that the sun can burn the slightest little dark spots into the surface. But eventually a beautiful landscape emerges. The idea of burning…