Tech News

HBO Max, Cosplayers, and One Big Asteroid: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Black lives matter. I know these weekly round-ups usually tread toward more upbeat and light-hearted subjects, but there’s no way to recount these last seven days without focusing first and foremost on the death of George Floyd and the mass protests sparked by this senseless and racist act of police brutality as well as all…

Tech News Alyse Stanley

Jake Paul Swears He Wasn’t Looting, Just Being His Usual Shitty Self

Prominent vlogger Jake Paul (not to be confused with his equally obnoxious brother, the idiot behind the infamous “suicide forest” video) has landed in hot water again this weekend. Several widely circulated videos on Instagram and Twitter show him and his friends at an Arizona mall while looting is taking place, though it’s unclear from the footage…

Tech News Alyse Stanley

Google Postpones Android 11 Beta Launch and Event, Saying ‘Now Is Not the Time to Celebrate’

Google announced this weekend that it was delaying its planned release of the public beta version of Android 11 and The Beta Launch Show, a live streamed event to present major Android updates and announcements. In a tweet announcing the news, Google said that “now is not the time to celebrate.” The company made the…

Tech News Jody Serrano

Apple Pays Developer $100,000 for Finding Serious Bug in ‘Sign In With Apple’ System

Apple has paid developer Bhavuk Jain a $100,000 bounty for finding a serious bug in its “Sign in with Apple” login system that could have allowed malicious actors to take over a user’s account on specific websites and apps. According to Jain, the bug was related to the way that Apple was validating users who…

Tech News Jody Serrano

European Union Leaders Urge U.S. to Reconsider Its Decision to Withdraw From the WHO

European Union leaders on Saturday urged the U.S. to reconsider withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and stated that “global cooperation and solidarity through multilateral efforts” are the only effective and viable ways to win the battle against coronavirus. In a joint statement, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the…

Tech News Jody Serrano

Sen. Ted Cruz Says Allowing Iranian Leaders to Have Twitter Accounts Is Possibly Criminal

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is urging the federal government to open a criminal investigation into Twitter for allowing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, to have accounts on the social media platform. Cruz argues that Twitter’s actions possibly violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. In a letter sent…

Tech News Jody Serrano

National Guard Says No ‘Child Soldiers’ Were Deployed to Control Protests

Officials with the National Guards of Georgia and Minnesota offered swift denials on Saturday regarding allegations that some of its citizen soldiers sent into protest zones were underage. Video captured in Minneapolis and Atlanta during the fourth day of protests over the police killing of George Floyd, 46, appeared to show several armed young men…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron & Tom McKay & Edward Ongweso Jr

Microsoft Is Switching Out MSN’s Contract Journalists for AI

Dozens of contract journalists at Microsoft’s MSN and Microsoft News organizations are being phased out in favor of artificial intelligence, according to multiple reports this week. Between Wednesday and Thursday, roughly 50 staffers received the news that their contracts would not be renewed after their June 30 expiration date. All are employed through outside agencies,…

Tech News Alyse Stanley

Facebook Says It’ll Do Fuck All About Trump’s Post Calling for Military to Shoot Protesters

Facebook will not remove an incendiary post from President Donald Trump essentially calling for authorities to enter Minneapolis and open fire on Americans protesting police brutality there, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday. Earlier in the day, Twitter flagged identical posts on both the official White House account and the president’s own de facto pulpit…

Social Media Alyse Stanley

RIP Echo Look, Another Amazon Device I Never Even Knew Existed Until Today

Less than three years after its debut, Amazon has banished its style-centric Echo Look device to the Goodwill pile. The company stopped selling actual units back in December 2019, but the company said this week it would be officially dropping support for the device in July. According to CNET (and first spotted by Voicebot.ai), emails started…

Commerce Joanna Nelius

Target Is Sponsoring News Stories of Its Own Destruction—And Likely Has No Idea

Like most industries largely run on automation, the tech that underlies digital advertising is far from perfect, which is why—despite the best efforts of industry bigwigs—sometimes the pipes powering the industry don’t go where they’re supposed to. Sometimes, they’re funneling a brand’s name (and that sweet brand cash) into nazi-adjacentnews sites. Sometimes, they’re fueling 4chan…

Tech News Shoshana Wodinsky

Your Stimulus Payment Might Look Like a Scam

Just when pandemic scams have peaked to the point that it’s reasonable to incinerate all mail, the government is sending economic impact payments in unmarked envelopes with a very shady return address. Various people have been sharing photos of envelopes that look like pre-approved VISA credit card offers, actually containing prepaid debit cards with up…

Tech News Whitney Kimball

Grubhub Reportedly Demanding Alimony in Prenup With Uber

In Uber’s apparent Hail Mary bid to buy Grubhub as a measure meant to help its beleaguered business, talks have reportedly stalled over Grubhub’s demand for a breakup fee should the deal fall through. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Friday that Grubhub has asked Uber to agree to a cash payout in…

Tech News Catie Keck

Customs and Border Protection Flew a Predator Surveillance Drone Over Minneapolis Protests Today

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has flown a Predator drone above ongoing protests against police brutality in Minneapolis, according to flight logs. An aircraft using the call sign CBP-104 took off from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota—where CBP has drones stationed—at around 10:10 a.m. ET, reaching Minneapolis and entering a hexagon-shaped holding…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay & Dhruv Mehrotra

Facebook Wants to be the Arbiter of Truth When It Comes to the Identities of Mega-Viral Accounts

For the past year or so, Facebook has mandated that certain page owners and political ad-spenders on the platform verify their identities as a way to curb interference in the coming election. Now, these checks are being extended to certain people’s profiles, too. According to a postmade on the company’s blog yesterday afternoon, the company…

Social Media Shoshana Wodinsky

The Best Pair of Workout Earbuds Now Comes in Actual Fun Colors

I don’t know about you, but I’m over workout earbuds that only come in dark, boring colors. The options usually range from black to grey—occasionally navy, if you’re feeling spicy. Apple-owned Beats is now giving those of us who want more color a few more shades to choose from in its Powerbeats Pro lineup, making…

Tech News Caitlin McGarry

Google Made a Super Simple AR Tool to Help You Better Visualize Proper Social Distancing

Parts of the U.S. are starting to open up again, but with covid-19 continuing to plague communities throughout the country, it’s still important to maintain proper social distancing where needed when out in public. To help make staying six feet away from others easier to visualize, Google made a simple augmented reality tool called SODAR.…

Tech News Sam Rutherford

HBO Max Botched Its Launch-Day List, Too

HBO Max’s odd and decidedly messy release this week just got a little stranger. Despite promising a number of popular titles that the company said would be available immediately in a press release last week, those titles were nowhere to be found as of Wednesday. And now, it appears the company has yanked the memo…

Tech News Catie Keck

Greece Will Open to International Tourists but Ban Travelers From Covid-19 Hotspots Like U.S.

The Greek government announced today that it will open up to international tourists from 29 different countries on June 15, according to the English-language Greek news outlet Ekathimerini. People from countries with high infection rates for the coronavirus, including the U.S., UK, Sweden, Spain, and Brazil, will not be allowed to enter Greece. The announcement…

Tech News Matt Novak

Senators Call for Investigation Into Instacart for Enabling the Worst People

There are a million flavors of shithead on this bountiful planet, but far and away one of the most unforgivable are the subset of rat bastards who engage in the practice of “tip-baiting” gig workers. As of today, a handful of lawmakers are demanding Instacart stop allowing the practice, and are asking the FTC to…

Tech News Avery Ellis

HBO Max, Cosplayers, and One Big Asteroid: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

Jake Paul Swears He Wasn’t Looting, Just Being His Usual Shitty Self

Google Postpones Android 11 Beta Launch and Event, Saying ‘Now Is Not the Time to Celebrate’

Apple Pays Developer $100,000 for Finding Serious Bug in ‘Sign In With Apple’ System

European Union Leaders Urge U.S. to Reconsider Its Decision to Withdraw From the WHO

Sen. Ted Cruz Says Allowing Iranian Leaders to Have Twitter Accounts Is Possibly Criminal

National Guard Says No ‘Child Soldiers’ Were Deployed to Control Protests

Microsoft Is Switching Out MSN’s Contract Journalists for AI

Facebook Says It’ll Do Fuck All About Trump’s Post Calling for Military to Shoot Protesters

RIP Echo Look, Another Amazon Device I Never Even Knew Existed Until Today

Target Is Sponsoring News Stories of Its Own Destruction—And Likely Has No Idea

Your Stimulus Payment Might Look Like a Scam

Grubhub Reportedly Demanding Alimony in Prenup With Uber

Customs and Border Protection Flew a Predator Surveillance Drone Over Minneapolis Protests Today

Facebook Wants to be the Arbiter of Truth When It Comes to the Identities of Mega-Viral Accounts

The Best Pair of Workout Earbuds Now Comes in Actual Fun Colors

Google Made a Super Simple AR Tool to Help You Better Visualize Proper Social Distancing

HBO Max Botched Its Launch-Day List, Too

Greece Will Open to International Tourists but Ban Travelers From Covid-19 Hotspots Like U.S.

Senators Call for Investigation Into Instacart for Enabling the Worst People

Epstein Victims Sue Google, Claim AI Mode Exposed Personal Information

‘Wicked Spot’ Is a Fun, Sapphic Rom-Com That Yeets a Witch Into the Magical World of Influencer Culture

Anthropic and OpenAI Just Gave Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Model Pricing

Amazon Slashes 63% Off Acer Aspire Desktop for a Limited-Time Spring Sale, With Keyboard and Mouse Included

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

Scientists Found a Weird New Way to Wash Fruits and Vegetables

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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