Crime

High-Profile Silicon Valley Exec GUILTY of Mass Lego Theft

It’s a sordid tale of greed, power and Lego. Last Monday, Thomas Langenbach, a successful tech executive (and Lego fanboy) struck a deal with prosecutors and pled no contest to burgling tens of thousands of dollars worth of bricks and hiding them in his $2 million dollar home. Langenbach’s road to thievery is a cautionary…

Tech News Tatiana Danger

Man Steals Computer From Church, Asks If They’ll Remove Porn Block

Stealing computers is bad—everybody already knows that. And stealing from a church (or any non-profit institution for that matter) is extra bad. But if you must steal a computer from a church—especially one you’re a member of—don’t call up the software blocking company and ask if they’ll remove the porn filter. As Troy Ridling of…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

Apple Fires Back at DOJ with New Terms for E-Book Sales

Apple is not happy with the Department of Justice and friends. On Friday afternoon, just a few hours after the DOJ and 33 state attorneys general proposed a series of remedies for Apple’s anticompetitive behavior over e-book pricing, the company struck back with some proposals of its own. Apple’s reaction can be best described as…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

DOJ Wants to Force Apple to Let You Buy E-Books Directly from Amazon

After a U.S. District Court judged found Apple guilty of colluding with book publishers to fix the prices of e-books last month, it was unclear what the actual consequences would be for the iPad-maker. Well with little pomp or circumstance, the Department of Justice has just cleared that up, and it’s not good for Apple.…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

A map showing where violence is most likely to break out in the future

Here’s today’s disturbing statistic about human behavior. It appears that there’s a strong correlation between hot, dry weather and high levels of violent human conflict. With temperatures heating up on Earth right now, that could mean we’ve got the biggest pre-crime map you’ve ever seen. The Smithsonian’s Joseph Stromberg has the story: The team, led…

io9 Annalee Newitz

This court ruling could wreck the future of realistic science fiction

A ruling issued today in an obscure lawsuit against Electronic Arts could have wide-ranging implications for movies, television, and even books — especially if they strive for realism. In fact, alarm bells should be going off for anyone interested in depicting the future realistically in their work. The court determined that creators cannot “realistically” depict…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Yet another awful study on the connection between TV and crime

A new study suggests that so-called cybercriminals — people who commit crimes related to computer data — are going to cool it over the next few years. Why? Because they watch CSI. It’s one of the most entertainingly awful examples of science you’ll ponder today. The study, conducted by informatics researcher Richard Overill at Kings…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Bloodied wrestler jailed for stabbing murder of girlfriend

A disgraced wrestler led cops on a dangerous car chase until he crashed and was taken to the hospital, where he awaits charges of first degree murder for stabbing his girlfriend. Known as Donovan “The Future” Ruddick, the ex-wrestler allegedly took a knife to 25-year-old Bianca McGaughey, who was killed last night.

Sploid Ken Layne

Google Algorithm Busts Chinese Car Theft Ring Entirely by Accident

Every sci-fi movie about inventions rising up to take over the world is built upon one unchangeable seed crystal: the moment when the technology does something its inventors never predicted. As The Verge reports, that’s exactly what happened to Google engineers in 2010, with a truth-and-justice twist — Google’s AdWords software exposed a Chinese car…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich

Driving a Car with Pliers As a Steering Wheel Is a Hilariously Dumb Idea

Imagine you’re the police. Imagine you’re in your police car. Imagine eating a donut. Imagine complaining about life to your partner. Imagine seeing a car with two obviously blown tires drive by. Imagine pulling that car over. Imagine seeing that the driver driving the car was using a makeshift steering wheel made from… locking pliers.…

Tech News Casey Chan

Kid Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Hacking School Election

Unfortunately for one ambitious, young new resident of the California State Prison System, it seems there actually might be some justice in politics—at least for a 22 year-old caught stuffing a college election ballot box, that is. In Matthew Weaver’s bid to be student body president at California State University San Marcos, he decided to…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

Traffic On A Petition To Prosecute Zimmerman Crashed The NAACP’s Site

After last night’s decision in the Trayvon Martin case, many Americans errupted in anger and disappointment about George Zimmerman’s acquittal. Almost immediately following the decision, the NAACP posted an online petition for federal prosecution of Zimmerman. And the site got so much traffic that it crashed and has been in and out ever since. MoveOn.org…

Tech News Lily Hay Newman

J.K. Rowling quietly published a crime novel—all the way back in April

J.K. Rowling has a new book out—a book that has, in fact, been out for months. Rowling has just been unmasked as the author of the crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The Times reports that Rowling admitted to being the author of the novel, which was released in April,…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

Disturbing chart shows rise in “justified killings” of blacks in U.S.

George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of murdering the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Many Americans were not shocked. And there’s a good reason why. Hard data shows that recent U.S. laws make it easy for blacks to be gunned down without anyone being found guilty of murder. Last year, PBS Frontline published…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Sophisticated chatbot poses as teenage girl to lure pedophiles

Spanish researchers have developed an advanced — and extremely convincing — chatbot that poses as a 14-year-old girl. Called Negobot, the system will help authorities detect sexual predators in chatrooms and social networks. To sniff out pedophilic behavior, the “conversational agent” utilizes natural language processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and even game theory — a…

io9 George Dvorsky

Apple Guilty of Price Fixing

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote has found that Apple is guilty of colluding with five book publishers to fix ebook prices artificially high in the iBookstore, thereby forcing Amazon and other online booksellers to do the same. There’s no word yet on how much cash money and concessions Apple will have to fork over, but…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

Idiot Thief Robs CCTV Company, Is Immediately Caught With CCTV Footage

A life of small-time crime is difficult enough as it is; the pay’s not great, the cops are on your case, your conscience flares up. But one particularly dim bulb in Somerset, England made things even harder on himself by robbing a man who installs IT cameras for a living. Whoops! In the perp’s defense,…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Football Star Aaron Hernandez Charged With Murder

New England Patriots’ star Aaron Hernandez has been charged with the murder of 27-year-old semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. According to the prosecution, the 23-year-old player “orchestrated the execution.” Lloyd was dating Hernandez girlfriend’s sister. https://deadspin.com/prosecutor-aaron-hernandez-orchestrated-the-execution-588065097 Latest Updates Monday, June 26, 2013 2:43PM—New England Patriots’ star Aaron Hernandez was taken to the Attleboro District Court…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

$1.2 Million Vanishes In Swiss Flight To U.S. Federal Reserve Bank

A Swiss Air flight carrying $93 million in U.S. cash arrived in New York with more than a million dollars missing. One of the sealed crates was found with a big hole—”large enough to put your arm in.” And that’s how the money presumably got out. http://gawker.com/swiss-air-and-the-fed-lose-1-2-million-to-bold-heist-o-574979236 [Photo via Getty Images.]

Sploid Ken Layne

12 Stories That Have Inspired People To Do Stupid Things In Real Life

After you’ve seen an awesome movie, played a great game, or just read an amazing book, sometimes you’re inspired to ponder the secrets of the universe. And other times, you decide to do something really dangerous or stupid. Here are 12 science fiction and fantasy stories that have inspired the most mayhem. 1. Superman We…

io9 Annalee Newitz and Amanda Yesilbas

High-Profile Silicon Valley Exec GUILTY of Mass Lego Theft

Man Steals Computer From Church, Asks If They’ll Remove Porn Block

Apple Fires Back at DOJ with New Terms for E-Book Sales

DOJ Wants to Force Apple to Let You Buy E-Books Directly from Amazon

A map showing where violence is most likely to break out in the future

This court ruling could wreck the future of realistic science fiction

Yet another awful study on the connection between TV and crime

Bloodied wrestler jailed for stabbing murder of girlfriend

Google Algorithm Busts Chinese Car Theft Ring Entirely by Accident

Driving a Car with Pliers As a Steering Wheel Is a Hilariously Dumb Idea

Kid Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Hacking School Election

Traffic On A Petition To Prosecute Zimmerman Crashed The NAACP’s Site

J.K. Rowling quietly published a crime novel—all the way back in April

Disturbing chart shows rise in “justified killings” of blacks in U.S.

Sophisticated chatbot poses as teenage girl to lure pedophiles

Apple Guilty of Price Fixing

Idiot Thief Robs CCTV Company, Is Immediately Caught With CCTV Footage

Football Star Aaron Hernandez Charged With Murder

$1.2 Million Vanishes In Swiss Flight To U.S. Federal Reserve Bank

12 Stories That Have Inspired People To Do Stupid Things In Real Life

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

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

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