Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a London hospital Monday night after his symptoms from covid-19 got worse, according to multiple reports out of Britain. Johnson has received oxygen treatment but British government officials insist he has not been placed on a ventilator. “He’s not on a…
The Wisconsin state Supreme Court on Monday blocked Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ last-ditch effort to halt primary elections on Tuesday, ensuring that in-person voting will commence tomorrow despite the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court shot down extended absentee voting deadlines in a separate case. For weeks, Evers had urged the state to switch…
If new streaming service Quibi’s show “Memory Hole” looks familiar to you, you’re not alone. According to the video and performance collective Everything Is Terrible (EIT!), which has been around since 2007, Quibi’s show bears more than a coincidental resemblance to its 2014 show by the same name. In a tweet earlier today, EIT! accused…
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday said it would not be taking any special steps to police the circulation of medical advice related to coronavirus outbreak by on-air media personalities who’ve touted unproven treatments and downplayed the virus by comparing it to the “common cold.” The decision came in the form of a response…
Following new guidance issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people in the U.S. wear masks in public settings to mitigate the spread of covid-19 between individuals who may be asymptomatic—and as available masks are desperately needed by health workers on the front lines of the global coronavirus pandemic—the agency…
A grim look inside hospitals from confirms impressions gathered from medical professionals and state officials in recent weeks: Hospitals are in crisis. The Department of Health and Human Services’s inspector general’s office interviewed administrators from 323 hospitals in the United States, finding shortages across the board—including staff, medical supplies, tests, beds, and personal protective equipment—and…
Of all the dumb stuff some of us are guilty of indulging in during the current pandemic, downplaying its severity is certainly common. We’ve seen Sean Hannity do it. We’ve seen Elon Musk do it. And while a ton of us have probably seen Dr. Drew do it—thanks to a supercut of the media mogul…
As reports of security issues surrounding the video conferencing app Zoom continue to mount and accounts of video “bombing” grow increasingly disturbing, New York City has taken the extraordinary measure of banning the service from the city’s classrooms. New York City Mayor de Blasio said this week that the city was “not going to put…
After Bose released updated firmware for its QC35 II headphones last year, users complained on the company’s forums that the headphone’s active noise cancellation had gotten a worse. Now, the number of complaints has ballooned to fill more than 200 pages in the forum, and even though Bose says its software isn’t the problem, the…
The ongoing nightmare of coronavirus has made commonplace what was once unthinkable, a growing list of eroded norms that now includes potentially burying the staggering number of recently deceased New Yorkers in the city’s public parks. “Soon we’ll start ‘temporary interment’. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you…
Fighting forest fires inside Chernobyl’s dreaded exclusion zone sounds awful, but that’s exactly what nearly 150 emergency responders had to contend with this past weekend, as a pair of blazes broke out near the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. As CNN reports, the blaze began Saturday inside Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, which encompasses an…
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ didn’t offer much new in terms of design—they were more a minor upgrade than a true refresh. But newly leaked renders of the next generation Galaxy Buds have popped up online, and there’s no other way to say it: They’re li’l beans. The renders come from German tech site Winfuture and…
In the half-decade since he descended from Trump Tower’s escalator into every American’s brain, almost nothing has been able to dislodge Trump from the center of the public imagination. Technically, the coronavirus hasn’t either, as the outcome of this nightmare in large part depends—has already depended—on his response to it. This response will play a…
There’s a new quote from Pat Robertson circulating on social media that supposedly shows the far-right pastor blaming the coronavirus pandemic on oral sex. Robertson is quoted as saying, “Some of these young uns are doing all kinds of unnatural things with their sex organs.” Admittedly, it sounds like something Robertson would say in real…
As I write this, I realize that most of you are probably staying at home, like me. First of all, hang in here. This is a long and difficult fight, but I have no doubt we will get through it. Today I must confess that I had lots of help from a bag of little…
U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier, who was fired this week after sending a letter requesting assistance for sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt nuclear powered aircraft carrier, has tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Citing two Naval Academy classmates of Crozier’s, the New York Times reports that he began exhibiting…
Beginning Sunday, Zoom will begin requiring passwords and enabling virtual waiting rooms by default in an attempt to tamp down on the flood of troll attacks that’s accompanied its ballooning userbase in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. The multibillion-dollar video messaging platform’s userbase has jumped from 10 million people at the end of last…
Apple regularly acquires artificial intelligence startups to build up Siri’s capabilities, but its latest purchase might make Siri more conversational. According to Bloomberg, Apple just bought Voysis, an AI startup that makes it easier to use a voice assistant to buy stuff in shopping apps. It’s unclear how Apple plans to use the technology developed…
Yesterday, Jared Kushner was summarily roasted by reporters, who pointed out that his flat-out statement that the federal stockpile is “our stockpile” not “states’ stockpiles, that they can then use” directly contradicted the definition of the national stockpile on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services. Through the magic of editing, the…
Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has called at the absolute last minute for legislators to delay the state’s upcoming election and switch to vote by mail in order to prevent people from heading to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic. But it appears to be too late. Days after being slammed by a U.S. District…
