Tom McKay, Author at Gizmodo

Hayabusa2’s Mission to Touch Down on the Asteroid Ryugu Has Been Delayed Until 2019

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has delayed the touchdown of the main section of the Hayabusa2 probe on the asteroid Ryugu from this month until January 2019, Nature reported, after mission scientists determined that the Ryugu’s surface is rougher than expected and the landing needs more planning time. While Hayabusa2 carries a number of…

Space & Spaceflight Tom McKay Oct 15

Magic Leap, BDSM-Bots, and Star Trek: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

If you’re receiving this message, please be advised that Site Gamma-Iota-Zeta has been compromised. Repeat, Site Gamma-Iota-Zeta has been compromised. This is not a drill. Containment failures detected for the following Class V entities: Magic Leap. A toilet paper roll with a Fitbit on it. BDSM-Bot. The witches from Hocus Pocus. The fossil-fuel industry. Mary…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 14

Report: There May Be More Criminal Charges Coming in the Theranos Investigation

The fraud case against the ex-management of crooked blood-testing startup Theranos, former CEO Elizabeth Holmes and former President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, is just one component of a larger investigation into the company, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Theranos claimed to have developed a miraculous line of blood-testing machines capable of running complicated tests on the amount…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 14

Employees Protest Microsoft Bid for Huge Military Contract, Saying It Could Cause ‘Human Suffering’

Last week, Google dropped its bid for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), a massive military cloud computing contract potentially worth up to $10 billion, amid employee backlash and concern the project could violate their “AI principles.” Now an open letter claiming to be from an unspecified number of Microsoft employees is urging the Redmond,…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 14

Death Toll From Hurricane Michael Is Now at Least 18, and Expected to Keep Rising

The death toll from Hurricane Michael, an unprecedented storm which slammed into the Florida Panhandle near Mexico Beach at Category 4 strength last week, is expected to rise from the latest count of 18 across the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia as search-and-rescue teams scour devastated coastal communities that were still “cutoff…

Earth Science Tom McKay Oct 13

Turkish Paper Claims Evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Was Transmitted by His Apple Watch

Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist-in-exile, frequent critic of the ruling House of Saud, and Washington Post columnist, went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Since then, Turkish government officials largely speaking under the cover of anonymity have insisted that Saudi security forces waiting in ambush inside tortured and murdered him…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay Oct 13

Cryptocurrencies Just Plummeted $13 Billion in Value Over the Course of a Few Hours

The cryptocurrency markets saw a significant crash on Wednesday (Eastern local time), with just short of $13 billion in value wiped out over the course of just three hours, CNBC reported. As of late Wednesday, cryptocurrency-tracking site CoinMarketCap listed Bitcoin as down 4.26 percent, Ethereum down 9 percent, XRP down 9.95 percent, and Bitcoin Cash…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 11

Facebook Is Still Thirsty for Your Health Data

Facebook already has a veritable treasure trove of data on anyone who uses the site, including stuff users do on the web outside of it. It still has an appetite for even more. Per CNBC, Facebook’s head of health research Dr. Freddy Abnousi—the Facebook executive behind the company’s canceled plan to share anonymized health insights…

Social Media Tom McKay Oct 10

Why Didn’t Walmart Put Blockchain in This Cart That Measures How Tense and Sweaty You Are?

If there’s anything Walmart shoppers needed, it is shopping carts that spy on you. And those shoppers are in luck: Per Vice, the retail giant has filed a patent for shopping carts that could potentially host a range of sensors that would track shoppers throughout the store. According to the patent, which is titled “System…

Gadgets Tom McKay Oct 10

EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler Is About as Much of an Idiot on Social Media as You’d Expect

Environmental Protection Agency chief and former energy lobbyist Andrew Wheeler—who is pretty much ex-EPA chief Scott Pruitt minus the latter’s most obviously corrupt tendencies—isn’t the most discerning social media user. In fact, judging by Twitter and Facebook discoveries on Tuesday by the Huffington Post, Wheeler has a history of engaging with conspiracy theories and racist…

Climate Change Tom McKay Oct 9

Microsoft Says It’s Fixed That Windows 10 October Update Bug That Mass-Deleted Entire Directories

Over the weekend, Microsoft pulled the latest update build of Windows 10 (version 1809) after a bug that flew past its Feedback Hub without the company’s notice resulted in mass file deletion for some users. Now, the company’s director of program management for Windows servicing and delivery, John Cable, says that the bug has been…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 9

Google Drops Bid for Massive Military Cloud Computing Contract Amid Employee Pressure

Google has dropped out of the competition for a Pentagon cloud computing project that could be worth as much as $10 billion and last up to a decade, citing a possible clash with its corporate values, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project, which involves the mass transfer of data previously…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 8

Facebook VP Who Incensed Staff by Supporting Brett Kavanaugh Later Hosted a Party for Him

Some employees at Facebook have been furious that one of their top lobbyists, vice president for global public policy and former George W. Bush administration official Joel Kaplan, publicly supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings even as the latter faced multiple allegations of sexual assault. This probably won’t help: Over the…

Social Media Tom McKay Oct 8

Bioweapons, Viagra, Wind Farms, and the Apocalypse: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Halloween may still be most of a month away, but the scares have already begun. Urine-craved vampires. Genetically engineered insects that do their masters’ bidding. Algal monstrosities. Dark magicks. iPhone XS bugs. Ward yourself from these dangers and more with the ultimate talisman: knowledge. Gizmodo’s best stories of the last week will arm you with…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 7

Silicon Valley-Loving Saudi Prince at Center of Scandal Over Missing, Possibly Murdered Journalist

On October 2nd, 2018, Saudi journalist-in-exile and frequent critic of the country’s ruling monarchy Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain routine documentation for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz. He was never seen leaving—and, according to the New York Times, Turkish officials are anonymously confirming…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 7

Homeland Security Denies Report Chinese Spies Put Tiny Microchips on Apple, Amazon Servers

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement this weekend supporting Apple and Amazon’s denial of an explosive Bloomberg Businessweek report claiming that a Chinese military unit inserted microchips into Super Micro Computer Inc (Supermicro) server motherboards in widespread use at U.S. companies, saying “at this time we have no reason to doubt the statements…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay Oct 7

Capping Off Endless Leaks, the Pixel 3 XL Is Already on Sale in Hong Kong Before Launch Event

Google has had a rough time ahead of its October hardware launch event—namely, spoilers about the upcoming Pixel 3 line keep leaking online via Russian tech bloggers, Imgur posts, and even the backseats of Lyft cabs. It’s gotten so bad some have cooked up wild theories Google is deliberately leaking inaccurate information about the phones.…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 6

Banksy’s Predictable Criticisms of Capitalism Continue With Self-Shredding Painting

A framed canvas version of Girl with Balloon by Banksy, the pseudonymous street artist whose true identity remains unknown despite the best efforts of researchers and journalists alike, just sold at London auction house Sotheby’s for at least $1.1 million. At pretty much the exact moment the work was sold, a hidden device in the…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 6

Some Facebook Employees Are Furious Their VP of Global Public Policy Supported Brett Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court in a 50-48 vote with just one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, voting in the affirmative on Saturday, despite massive protests and several allegations of sexual assault by the nominee. Facebook, whose vice president for global public policy Joel Kaplan supported Kavanaugh by appearing at Senate hearings in…

Social Media Tom McKay Oct 6

Microsoft Delays Latest Version of Windows 10 After Reports of Mass File Deletion

Microsoft has temporarily halted the rollout of its October 2018 update for Windows 10 (version 1809), writing in a page dedicated to the update that it would “investigate isolated reports of users missing some files after updating.” The update—a major revision to Windows 10 that includes tools like a cloud clipboard and a preliminary version…

Tech News Tom McKay Oct 6

Tom McKay

Hayabusa2’s Mission to Touch Down on the Asteroid Ryugu Has Been Delayed Until 2019

Magic Leap, BDSM-Bots, and Star Trek: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Report: There May Be More Criminal Charges Coming in the Theranos Investigation

Employees Protest Microsoft Bid for Huge Military Contract, Saying It Could Cause ‘Human Suffering’

Death Toll From Hurricane Michael Is Now at Least 18, and Expected to Keep Rising

Turkish Paper Claims Evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Was Transmitted by His Apple Watch

Cryptocurrencies Just Plummeted $13 Billion in Value Over the Course of a Few Hours

Facebook Is Still Thirsty for Your Health Data

Why Didn’t Walmart Put Blockchain in This Cart That Measures How Tense and Sweaty You Are?

EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler Is About as Much of an Idiot on Social Media as You’d Expect

Microsoft Says It’s Fixed That Windows 10 October Update Bug That Mass-Deleted Entire Directories

Google Drops Bid for Massive Military Cloud Computing Contract Amid Employee Pressure

Facebook VP Who Incensed Staff by Supporting Brett Kavanaugh Later Hosted a Party for Him

Bioweapons, Viagra, Wind Farms, and the Apocalypse: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Silicon Valley-Loving Saudi Prince at Center of Scandal Over Missing, Possibly Murdered Journalist

Homeland Security Denies Report Chinese Spies Put Tiny Microchips on Apple, Amazon Servers

Capping Off Endless Leaks, the Pixel 3 XL Is Already on Sale in Hong Kong Before Launch Event

Banksy’s Predictable Criticisms of Capitalism Continue With Self-Shredding Painting

Some Facebook Employees Are Furious Their VP of Global Public Policy Supported Brett Kavanaugh

Microsoft Delays Latest Version of Windows 10 After Reports of Mass File Deletion

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

As Starship V3 Lags Behind, Blue Origin Prepares Third Launch of New Glenn

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice