Victoria Song, Author at Gizmodo

This Meditation Headband Made Me Feel More Like a Naruto Reject Than a Mindful Blogger

When stay-at-home orders were first issued, wearing the Muse S headband, a smart headband intended to help you practice mindfulness and meditation, seemed like a good idea. I am an overly anxious person with too much brain poisoning from Twitter and I’m weathering lockdown in a cramped studio apartment with my partner and two needy…

Accessories & Wearables Victoria Song

Facebook Is Turning to AI to Teach Kids About Stranger Danger

Scams and creepers abound on Facebook Messenger. To combat them, Facebook is now turning to artificial intelligence. A new AI-powered safety feature for Messenger will now help people, particularly kids, identify bad actors and notify them about suspect accounts—all without reading the actual messages themselves. The feature, which was rolled out on Android in March…

Social Media Victoria Song

Siri Whistleblower Goes Public to Protest Lack of Consequences for Apple

Last summer, an anonymous contractor revealed that Apple had contractors listening to private conversations, unknowingly recorded by their devices, as part of a “grading” system to improve Siri. Now, the whistleblower has gone public in a letter sent to European data protection regulators, decrying the lack of action taken against Apple for violating people’s privacy.…

Tech News Victoria Song

Ajit Pai’s FCC Has Received Over 2,000 Complaints Related to Covid-19

When lockdowns in the U.S. were just starting and it was clear everyone would be stuck at home for the long haul, the Federal Communications Commission pushed carriers to sign its Keep Americans Connected Pledge—a promise that no one would get their internet or telephone service cut off due to an inability to pay. Now,…

Tech News Victoria Song

Strava’s Best Features Will Now Be Subscription-Only

Bad news, Strava fans. According to the company’s website, the popular cycling and running app is moving a few of its previously free features behind a paywall. Namely, the free version of Strava is now limited to activity tracking, support for devices like the Apple Watch, and the app’s community features. Features like route planning,…

Tech News Victoria Song

Texas Court Experimenting With Its First Zoom Jury Trial

Courts have been embracingvideo conferencing since the pandemic began, but in what’s likely a pandemic first, the Collin County District Court in Texas will be the first to hold a jury trial over Zoom. The one-day insurance dispute trial will be held today and streamed over YouTube via 470th District Court Judge Emily Miskel’s channel.…

Tech News Victoria Song

Can a Smart Watch Detect Covid-19?

The notification popped up without warning just as I was syncing the Whoop tracker I was testing: The tracker had a new metric, respiratory rate. Truthfully, I almost ignored it. But the notification used the phrase covid-19, and my eyes widened. At 7 a.m., I was bleary-eyed, under-caffeinated, and still adjusting to my new reality…

Gadgets Victoria Song

Researchers Find Coronavirus Symptom App May Be Pretty Handy in Predicting New Cases

In a new study, researchers from the UK and U.S. have found that crowdsourcing symptoms via an app may actually be useful in predicting covid-19 cases—and that the most reliable indicator was a loss of taste and smell, followed by fatigue and acute muscle pain. The app, called COVID Symptom Study, was developed for iOS…

Tech News Victoria Song

A New Flaw Means You Can’t Let Your Thunderbolt Laptop Out of Your Sight

There’s plenty of reasons not to leave your laptop unattended, but a Dutch researcher has found yet another. With just a screwdriver and five minutes alone with your computer, a hacker could potentially take advantage of your Thunderbolt port to read and copy all your data—regardless of whether it’s encrypted, locked, or set to sleep.…

Privacy & Security Victoria Song

Samsung Hops on the Finance Train, Announces New Debit Card

Samsung Pay has been around for five years, but it looks like the company isn’t content to just leave it at that. In a blog, Samsung vice president and general manager of Samsung Pay in North America Sang Ahn announced the company will be the latest tech giant to roll out a debit card. The…

Tech News Victoria Song

Wink Pulls Ultimate Dick Move By Forcing Users Into Mandatory Subscriptions

Citing long-term costs and “recent economic events,” smart home hub maker Wink has announced in a blog that it’s switching to a mandatory $5 per month subscription starting May 13. And as you might expect, the response from users has been less than thrilled. In fact, some have taken to social media accusing the company…

Tech News Victoria Song

Sonos Finally Supports Dolby Atmos With New Arc Soundbar

Sonos has been busy these past few months. The company announced it’s phasing out ‘legacy’ devices and plans to roll out a new app in June, not to mention that it also launched a new radio service. But all of these announcement lacked one crucial element: new hardware. The first next-generation Sonos product is the Arc…

Gadgets Victoria Song

Samsung Heir Makes History by Pledging to End Family’s Corporate Dynasty

There are a few things to know about Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong and how his family runs the company—he does not make frequent media appearances, apologies are rare, and family succession is a given. But in a press conference on Wednesday, Lee not only publicly apologized for his role in a bribery scandal involving…

Tech News Victoria Song

After Months of Teasing, the New 13-inch MacBook Pro Is Finally Here

It’s finally here. After some murmurs on Twitter this morning that today was the day, Apple dropped a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro, complete with new Magic Keyboard and a bump to its specs. The new 13-inch Pro is available starting today on Apple’s website. All four configurations feature a quad-core processor, a 13-inch Retina Display,…

Tech News Victoria Song

Reddit Furiously Backpedals on Chat Feature After Fierce Backlash

Earlier this week, Reddit announced it was introducing chat rooms to some of its subreddit communities. Then roughly a day later, that new feature was rolled back due to “several errors” and pissed off moderators. The “Start Chatting” feature was billed as a way for more redditors to connect over their favorite topics now that…

Tech News Victoria Song

Quibi’s Been Here Less Than a Month and It’s Already Leaking Data

Quibi, the baffling mobile-first video streaming service that launched earlier this month, has already been found doing some shady stuff with your data. A new report has found the company leaked user email addresses to several third-party advertising and analytics firms via its email verification process. The report was published on Medium by Zach Edwards,…

Tech News Victoria Song

Google Meet Will Soon Be Free So Long as You Have a Google Account

It’s no question that during the global pandemic, Google was undoubtedly unprepared for the spike in video conferencing, leaving Zoom to claim the mantle of “that one program everyone uses to video chat now.” But starting in early May, anyone with a Google Account will be able to sign up for Google Meet for free.…

Tech News Victoria Song

The Escobar Phone Saga Heads to Court in Bizarre Tale of YouTube Hijacking and Fraud

What started out as an amusing case of a bizarrely-branded folding smartphone has now evolved into a legal drama. Escobar Inc, the shady phone company run by Pablo Escobar’s brother, is suing its chief operations officer for allegedly extorting the company for money and hijacking its extremely meme-worthy YouTube account. The court documents, which were…

Tech News Victoria Song

Organize Your Cords, You Godless Monsters

Few things make the eyes bleed more than a messy nest of errant cords. They just sit there, a trap for pet hair and dust bunnies, an ugly eyesore in the middle of your room just begging to be tripped over. You’d assume a blog full of tech nerds would be in agreement that messy…

Tech News Victoria Song

You’ll Likely Have to Wait a Month Longer for the iPhone 12

Surprising no one, it looks like Apple is delaying production on its flagship iPhones for 2020 due to weaker demand and supply chain disruptions stemming from the global pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive. Analysts and Apple prognosticators have been speculating on some kind of delayfor a while now, the Wall Street Journal…

Tech News Victoria Song

Victoria Song

This Meditation Headband Made Me Feel More Like a Naruto Reject Than a Mindful Blogger

Facebook Is Turning to AI to Teach Kids About Stranger Danger

Siri Whistleblower Goes Public to Protest Lack of Consequences for Apple

Ajit Pai’s FCC Has Received Over 2,000 Complaints Related to Covid-19

Strava’s Best Features Will Now Be Subscription-Only

Texas Court Experimenting With Its First Zoom Jury Trial

Can a Smart Watch Detect Covid-19?

Researchers Find Coronavirus Symptom App May Be Pretty Handy in Predicting New Cases

A New Flaw Means You Can’t Let Your Thunderbolt Laptop Out of Your Sight

Samsung Hops on the Finance Train, Announces New Debit Card

Wink Pulls Ultimate Dick Move By Forcing Users Into Mandatory Subscriptions

Sonos Finally Supports Dolby Atmos With New Arc Soundbar

Samsung Heir Makes History by Pledging to End Family’s Corporate Dynasty

After Months of Teasing, the New 13-inch MacBook Pro Is Finally Here

Reddit Furiously Backpedals on Chat Feature After Fierce Backlash

Quibi’s Been Here Less Than a Month and It’s Already Leaking Data

Google Meet Will Soon Be Free So Long as You Have a Google Account

The Escobar Phone Saga Heads to Court in Bizarre Tale of YouTube Hijacking and Fraud

Organize Your Cords, You Godless Monsters

You’ll Likely Have to Wait a Month Longer for the iPhone 12

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets