William Turton, Author at Gizmodo

YouTube Bans North Korea’s Propaganda Channel

YouTube recently blocked the channel of North Korean state television, due to American sanctions on the country. The ban could be a big blow to the country’s propaganda efforts—as well as those researching them. As a report in the The Washington Post explains, North Korea’s YouTube channel wasn’t taken down because of the actual propaganda produced…

Tech News William Turton Dec 14

Palmer Watch: Day 81 [Signs of Life]

There’s movement in Palmer land! We just learned that Palmer Luckey, the 24 year-old founder of virtual reality company Oculus, is moving to a new role within the company. Oculus, of course, has been owned by Facebook since the company dropped $2 billion to purchase it in 2014. Facebook won’t say what role he’s moving…

Tech News William Turton Dec 13

Why Apple Can’t Figure Out How to Make AirPods Work

Apple’s AirPods have been plagued by delays after they were announced alongside the iPhone 7 earlier this year, and now we might finally know exactly why. A new report in the Wall Street Journal says that Apple engineers are still struggling to make the product ready for mass production, citing a sync issue and a…

Tech News William Turton Dec 9

We Need to Stop Taking Facebook’s Word For It [Vol.3]

Facebook is doing a big public relations push today to promote its “Year in Review,” lists of the top topics and videos on the platform, and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg appeared on the Today Show as part of the festivities. During her interview, Sandberg dodged questions on fake news and failed to provide any…

Social Media William Turton Dec 8

Palmer Watch: Day 76

Welcome to Day 76 of Palmer Watch. This week, Palmer Luckey was still nowhere to be seen as Oculus VR, the company he founded, reached a significant milestone: the release of the Oculus Touch controllers. Luckey, as you’d know by now as a loyal Palmer Watch reader, sold his breakthrough virtual reality company to Facebook…

Social Media William Turton Dec 8

Read the Idiotic Chat Logs of a Hacker Who Just Got Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

A man has been sentenced to five years in prison for hacking celebrities, social security numbers, nude photographs, and trying to sell scripts for popular movies and TV shows. As The New York Times notes, his five year sentence is almost twice the suggested federal sentencing guidelines for hacking. According to the initial complaint, Alonzo…

Privacy & Security William Turton Dec 7

Trump Bitches About Air Force One Upgrade He Won’t Get to Enjoy, Lies About Costs [Updated]

President-elect Donald Trump woke up from a Big Mac-induced coma this morning to send off a tweet about Air Force One. Big Donny says the latest versions of the Air Force One being built by Boeing have become too expensive, and that the order should be canceled. It’s worth wondering if Trump actually wants to…

Tech News William Turton Dec 6

Amazon Tests Grocery Store With No Checkout

Amazon just officially announced its long rumored grocery store, and it actually looks pretty neat. The concept is that there’s no place to checkout. You just tap your phone on some sort of detector when you walk in and then walk out with your food. Once you’ve left, you are billed through your Amazon account.…

Commerce William Turton Dec 5

Explosion at Philadelphia Power Station Unleashes the Foam

An explosion at a power substation in Philadelphia left 2,700 people without power and set off the station’s fire suppression systems. Then, an impressive quantity of foam spewed out and eventually spilled over into an street below. If you watch to the end of the video, you can briefly see what seems to be another…

Tech News William Turton Dec 5

Feds Bust Huge ‘Avalanche’ Hacker Network in Global Sting Operation

Federal authorities from around the world have finally shut down “Avalanche,” a massive network of 500,000 hijacked machines that hackers used to launch malware and phishing attacks. In fact, at one time, the Avalanche network was responsible for two-thirds of all global phishing attacks. As part of this unprecedented sting operation carried out by Europol…

Privacy & Security William Turton Dec 2

Trump’s Pick for Defense Secretary Wanted to Use Sketchy Theranos Tech in the Military

President-elect Donald Trump yesterday named Gen. James Mattis, who also sits on the board of directors at failed biomedical startup Theranos, as his pick for defense secretary. Now the The Washington Post has emails that show General Mattis pushing for Theranos to receive a deal for a military field test from 2012 to 2013, despite…

Tech News William Turton Dec 2

Palmer Watch: Day 69 [Nice]

Welcome to day 69 of Palmer Watch—another day in which neither Palmer Luckey nor Facebook will tell me if the founder of Oculus VR even works at the social networking giant or not. It’s been 69 days since the 24-year-old made a statement after The Daily Beast revealed Luckey was helping fund a political organization…

Social Media William Turton Dec 1

This Giant Inflatable Waterpark Is What Dreams Are Made Of

This 200-person capacity beachside waterpark might just make me travel to Dubai. Coming in at 252 feet long and 115 feet wide, this floating obstacle course looks like a grand ol’ time. The park even spells out Dubai! [Design Boom]

Sploid William Turton Dec 1

Apple’s Latest Desperate Attempt to Catch Google Maps Sounds Especially Ridiculous

Apple is going to try and close the gap between its mapping application, Apple Maps, and Google Maps by deploying a fleet of drones to scan streets, according to Bloomberg. Details are sparse, but what we do know sounds absurd. Per Bloomberg’s sources, Apple’s drones will be able to collect new mapping data faster than…

Tech News William Turton Dec 1

This New York Times Facebook Op-Ed Is a Joke

The New York Times op-ed section yesterday published an opinion piece that defended Facebook from calls that it should fact-check the news as a way of combating fake stories. In the piece, writer Jessica Lessin, who is chief executive of The Information, a $400-per-year news site for Silicon Valley insiders, mentions in the last paragraph…

Social Media William Turton Nov 30

Giraffe Fucks Up Lion

You might think: Giraffe is a weak creature. Silly tongue, flimsy legs, small brain. If you were thinking this about Giraffe, you are wrong. In fact, Giraffe is strong. Giraffe is killing machine. Giraffe take down lion. No mercy from Giraffe. Watch video of majestic Giraffe:

Tech News William Turton Nov 29

It Looks Like the San Francisco Muni Hack Was Worse Than We Thought

This weekend, San Francisco’s Municipal Railway was savaged by hackers demanding over $70,000 in bitcoins, leaving the metro system unable to collect fares. But the hack may be much more devastating for the transit agency, according to a list of servers allegedly compromised by the hackers and obtained by Gizmodo. The list contains the names…

Privacy & Security William Turton Nov 28

Palmer Watch: Day 62 [Thanksgiving Edition]

Another week, another edition of Palmer Watch. Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been relatively chatty when it comes to what Facebook is kind of vaguely doing to maybe deal with fake news on the social network. But he and the rest of Facebook’s PR operation are still quiet about Palmer…

Tech News William Turton Nov 24

Hackers Were Stealing Credit Card Data From Madison Square Garden for Almost a Year

The Madison Square Garden Company just disclosed that someone had access to its payment processing system for almost a year. That means all data included on the magnetic stripe of your credit card—like credit card numbers, cardholder names, expiration dates, and internal verification codes—could have been stolen. The breach not only affects Madison Square Garden…

Privacy & Security William Turton Nov 23

Facebook Reportedly Built a Censorship Tool for China

Facebook is building a censorship tool so that the company can return to the Chinese market in a move that has angered employees and caused some to leave, The New York Times reports. Facebook was banned from China in 2009. The censorship feature hasn’t been rolled out, according to The Times. Like many projects within…

Social Media William Turton Nov 22

William Turton

YouTube Bans North Korea’s Propaganda Channel

Palmer Watch: Day 81 [Signs of Life]

Why Apple Can’t Figure Out How to Make AirPods Work

We Need to Stop Taking Facebook’s Word For It [Vol.3]

Palmer Watch: Day 76

Read the Idiotic Chat Logs of a Hacker Who Just Got Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Trump Bitches About Air Force One Upgrade He Won’t Get to Enjoy, Lies About Costs [Updated]

Amazon Tests Grocery Store With No Checkout

Explosion at Philadelphia Power Station Unleashes the Foam

Feds Bust Huge ‘Avalanche’ Hacker Network in Global Sting Operation

Trump’s Pick for Defense Secretary Wanted to Use Sketchy Theranos Tech in the Military

Palmer Watch: Day 69 [Nice]

This Giant Inflatable Waterpark Is What Dreams Are Made Of

Apple’s Latest Desperate Attempt to Catch Google Maps Sounds Especially Ridiculous

This New York Times Facebook Op-Ed Is a Joke

Giraffe Fucks Up Lion

It Looks Like the San Francisco Muni Hack Was Worse Than We Thought

Palmer Watch: Day 62 [Thanksgiving Edition]

Hackers Were Stealing Credit Card Data From Madison Square Garden for Almost a Year

Facebook Reportedly Built a Censorship Tool for China

Someone Finally Took a Good iPhone Photo of the Moon. Good Luck Copying Their Trick

In Letter, OpenAI Reportedly Says Elon Musk and Meta Are Coordinating ‘Attacks’ Against It

Artemis 2 Day 6: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Anonymous Sources Detail Sam Altman’s Alleged Untrustworthiness in New Report

Steven Spielberg Still Wants to Make a Horror Film ‘Someday’

Waymo Has Stopped Testing Its Robotaxis in New York City and No One Knows What Happens Next

Samsung Pushes Monitor Deals Further, the 34″ ViewFinity Hits a Record Low at Nearly 40% Off

The Best Anti-Meta Smart Glasses Are About to Have Tough Competition

The Artemis 2 Mission Is Leaning in on the ‘Project Hail Mary’ Love

Here’s How Many Americans Have Ever Thought About Shooting Someone Else

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

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

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