Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is delaying rollout of its contactless payment system for the subway and bus systems, which was originally scheduled for October. Now, as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, completion of the system is reportedly being pushed back into December. The system, OMNY, uses contactless credit cards or non-PIN-restricted debit…
Yesterday, Sega revealed its Game Gear Micro throwback console and if you think putting just four retro games inside a tiny handheld with an even tinier screen was strange, the company has some even weirder gadgets in its back catalog, including a meticulously detailed miniature grand piano that plays all by itself. As Mat Taylor…
In the fall of 2006, I was a wide-eyed nerd who had just landed in Tokyo for my freshman year of college. There’s a lot of bureaucratic nonsense you have to do when you decide to study abroad long-term, but at the top of my list was getting myself a keitai, or a Japanese cellphone.…
The Trump regime plans to ban all passenger flights from China as early as June 16, according to a new report from Reuters that cites airline officials. The plan is reportedly retaliation for the Chinese government’s refusal to allow most American flights to land in China while Chinese carriers continue to fly into the United…
Finally acknowledging that the original Game Gear was a hefty beast as far as handhelds go, Sega has just released details on its latest throwback console: a miniature version of the Game Gear that’s reminiscent of Nintendo’s Game Boy Micro. It’s tiny, but even Sega wonders if it’s too tiny, given the company will also…
James Miller, a member of the Pentagon’s Defense Advisory Board, has resigned in the wake of President Donald Trump’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Washington, DC, on Monday, according to a new letter published by the Washington Post. In his resignation letter, Miller wrote that Defense Secretary Mark Esper “violated his oath” to defend…
A massive crowd assembled outside the White House on Tuesday, one day after authorities used jaw-dropping force there to clear one of the many peaceful protests against systemic police brutality and racism triggered by the May 25 police killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd. On Monday, U.S. Park Police, Secret Service personnel, and members of…
A Santa Monica area influencer was caught borrowing a worker’s drill to stage a photo-op outside a boarded-up shop damaged by the previous night’s looting. Toting a photographer/boyfriend, the woman hands the drill back to a worker and climbs into a Mercedes-Benz and scurries away, pronouncing “Good job, guys, BLM!” She has been identified as…
Earlier this year, clues indicated that Google was working on a new streaming video dongle that would both replace the Chromecast Ultra and run Android TV. But now, thanks a new round of leaks, we suddenly have a much better look of what that device could actually be. Based on product renders obtained by XDA…
Remember when we said killing Net Neutrality could lead to internet service providers charging more for specific content? Paid-prioritization or internet ‘fast lanes’ were and still are a major concern for Net Neutrality supporters. With good reason, too. We’re starting to see that concern manifest into reality. As reported by The Verge, AT&T will not…
If there’s one thing that the recent contraptions YouTuber and engineer Shane Wighton has designed and built has taught us, it’s that a lack of sports skills can be overcome with clever engineering. Following the creation of a basketball hoop that makes it impossible to miss a shot, Wighton has now created a self-adjusting golf club…
New York City’s curfew—prompted this week by ongoing protests over police brutality and ostensibly meant to curb looting in the city—has been extended through the beginning of next week and will be bumped up to 8:00 p.m. local time. An executive order states that the curfew, which was implemented Monday and began at 11 p.m.,…
No wearable device, whether it’s a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or smart ring, is currently capable of diagnosing covid-19. That’s it, full stop. Plenty of headlines have described how wearables companies are teaming up with medical researchers to see if their devices can detect symptoms early. So far, the research indicates that wearables may be able…
You’re not just seeing things due to lack of sleep and an overwhelming news cycle. Gizmodo dot com now looks a whole lot different! I know, I know—change sucks. But don’t stress. It’ll be fine—better than fine, in fact, as our redesigned homepage makes it easier to quickly find the wide array of news, reviews,…
Even though tomorrow’s originally scheduled Android 11 Beta Show has been postponed, it appears Google has also begun sending out the Android 11 beta to a handful of users even earlier than expected. Previous builds of Android 11 were intended to be developer previews, but this new Android 11 beta is set to be publicly…
A recent California Supreme Court decision has ruled that government agencies in the state can’t pass on the costs of privacy redactions in the course of fulfilling records requests. According to the ruling, the cost of redacting records that citizens file under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) falls on the state, and the state…
With schools and libraries closed, essential sources of education and entertainment have been cut off. That’s why, in March, the Internet Archive began digitizing books and offering them for free without restrictions as part of its National Emergency Library program. The country’s biggest publishers are now suing the Internet Archive over the free ebook program,…
A seemingly well-intentioned gesture of posting black boxes for Blackout Tuesday has backfired spectacularly, unintentionally—or perhaps even purposefully, depending on who’s doing the posting—drowning out information related to the Black Lives Matter movement and its associated hashtags. Blackout Tuesday was originally meant to raise awareness about systemic racism and police brutality that resulted in the…
Facebook won’t remove the president’s lies and threat to shoot people. BUT: maybe you would like a content management tool? Shhhhh don’t look over there. Today, the company announced the upcoming “Manage Activity” feature which makes it easier to mass delete old posts and select them by date range and tagged people. You can move…
For the thousands of people protesting and reporting on George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department—or even for bystanders caught up in the demonstrations—arrests, injuries, and even death are becoming commonplace in this moment. And just like protests we’ve experienced within the past decade, confrontation with police comes coupled with risks…