Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
The Chinese government has formally accused two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, of spying and stealing “state secrets,” according to a new report in the Washington Post. The charges come on the heels of a Canadian court’s ruling on Friday that an executive for Huawei who’s been charged with fraud can be extradited…
When whispers started swirling that OnePlus was going for a fully bezel-less design on its next major phone, the immediate question became: How would the company do it? Will the OnePlus 7 get a punch-hole selfie cam like the Galaxy S10? Or would OnePlus go for a more low-tech solution like the manual slider found…
Chinese telecom firm Huawei has recently come under intense pressure in the U.S. to prove that the company isn’t spying for the Chinese government. But if a new report is accurate, Huawei is ready to push back. Hard. According to the New York Times, Huawei is preparing a lawsuit against the U.S. government that could…
The winds of time blow strangely here, in our unfortunate state of internet-enabled perpetual present, but how the heck is it already March? This is not a rhetorical question. If you could explain this to me, that would be great. Yet in keeping pace with the relentless march of seconds turning into minutes turning into…
After a Germany-based security researcher last month claimed to have identified a macOS security workaround to access passwords and user information stored in Keychain, he says he’s reversed his position on sharing that information with Apple, 9to5Mac reported Wednesday. Linus Henze shared his apparent findings in a YouTube video shared Feb. 3. But he said…
Despite outcry from human rights groups and politicians, Google will reportedly keep a controversial Saudi government app in its Google Play store, Business Insider reported Saturday. Among other functions, the app allows Saudi men to track and restrict the travel of women and dependents. The decision not to remove the app, Absher, follows a Feb.…
Less than two weeks ago, the idea of a high-quality bendable phone seemed like a farce. After all, the first foldable handset—the Royole FlexPai—was ambitious, but also a piece of junk. It was clunky, hard to open, and looked like something that needed months, if not years, of refinement. But then the Samsung Galaxy Fold…
Facebook is suing four companies and three individuals based in China it alleges have been creating and “promoting the sale of fake accounts, likes and followers” on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram, as well as other social media sites, the company announced on Friday. In addition to the alleged efforts to create fraudulent accounts, Facebook…
Microsoft’s Band smartwatch and fitness tracker—production of which was mercifully discontinued in 2016—has finally reached the end of its lifespan. The Verge reported that Microsoft has announced its intention to sever all remaining support for the Band on May 31, 2019, with both backend services and the apps being yanked from Microsoft Store, Google Play,…
A man driving a Tesla Model 3 in Delray Beach, Florida was killed in a collision with another vehicle early Friday that has prompted investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NTSB tweeted late Friday that it was sending a three-person team to investigate the incident, and…
China’s dystopian “social credit” system—which penalizes citizens found to have engaged in some type of misconduct by imposing a number of restrictions on their activities—has already resulted in tens of millions of rejected attempts to purchase plane or train tickets, the Guardian reported on Friday. That’s according to information released by the National Public Credit…
Following an open letter from Representative Adam Schiff calling on Jeff Bezos to curb the promotion of anti-vaccination content and videos on Amazon, it appears his website has done just that. BuzzFeed News reported Friday that Andrew Wakefield’s Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is among a number of anti-vaxxer titles that no longer populate in…
In January, when news first broke that Facebook had been paying teens in gift cards to let it install what is, by definition, essentially spyware on their phones, it seemed like just another Tuesday. Had it been virtually any other company, the outrage would have been tenfold. After all, paying 13-year-olds to gain access to…
Huawei’s ongoing battle with the U.S. government suffered a significant blow on Friday when Canadian authorities ruled that an extradition hearing for the Chinese company’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, can move forward. The decision capped a week in which Huawei has experienced a series of victories and defeats in its struggle to fend off accusations that…
Meghan Trainor, 45, has been an exhibiting artist and performer for more than 15 years. She’s worked in 3D printing, brain-computer interface, robotics, and medieval technology. Drone metal outfit Earth is her favorite band and, this week, she was locked out of her social media accounts for “impersonating” Meghan Trainor—that is, herself. Meghan Trainor, 25,…
The Americans hack the Russians, the Russians hack the Americans, this is the song that never ends. But what comes next on our merry-go-round? On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that U.S. Cyber Command hacked and “shut down” the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) during the U.S. midterm elections in November. The IRA is that…
Even though Samsung pre-empted the next generation of new phones when it launched the Galaxy S10 just days before it officially kicked off, this year’s Mobile World Congress still felt special compared to previous shows. There was a frantic energy in the run-up to the show propelled by rumors of groundbreaking new tech, and once…
Less than two years after purchasing Whole Foods Market (WFM), increasingly not-online retail giant Amazon looks to be eying yet another chain of grocery stores, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. Two grocery chains may seem like overkill to consumers, but WFM made its name on only stocking items within specific parameters—like its…
Many factors have contributed to GoPro’s financial woes in recent years, but it doesn’t help that the company’s userbase simply doesn’t have a solid reason to upgrade their cameras every year like they would a fancy smartphone. YouTube’s Imaginative Guy actually makes a stronger case for upgrading your action cam than GoPro does. Built-in video…
Lyft finally filed for an IPO on Friday, a long-expected move for the ride-sharing company that has been racing to beat its larger competitor Uber to the public-offering punch. Aiming for a $20 billion valuation, Lyft’s newly filed IPO prospectus claims 39 percent of the U.S. ride-share market, a 17 percent jump in two years.…