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A report published on Monday by the Prison Policy Initiative highlights the predatory practices of prison technology companies in city- and county-run jails, where inmates and their families continue to pay “astronomical rates” to place phone calls that would cost average consumers virtually nothing. While the cost of placing a call from a state prison…
Up until about a few minutes ago, Eero’s mesh networking system was our recommendation for filling a large home with reliable, fast, and easy to use wifi. But now that Amazon has just announced it’s acquiring the company, it might not be a bad idea to put your wi-fi upgrade plans on hold until we…
Last week, an alt-rock mystery puzzled the music press. Almost 25 years after its release, the Dinosaur Jr. song “Over Your Shoulder” appeared at number 18 on Japan’s Hot 100 chart, beating out major new releases like Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.” The fuzzy, mournful closer to Dinosaur Jr.’s 1994 album Without a Sound, “Over Your…
The range of music that Chiptune artists can squeeze from old video game consoles is unbelievable, but at the same time that’s hardware that was specifically designed to produce a range of sounds to accompany a game. Alexander Semenov, however, managed to create an entire Chiptune album using only the sound capabilities of a motherboard’s…
Dating apps including Tinder and Grindr have failed to prevent child sexual exploitation on their platforms, in part due to weak age verification measures, according to a new report by the Sunday Times. Through a public records request, the Sunday Times obtained documents from ten UK police forces detailing several cases of child grooming and…
Reddit has raised a $300 million investment round led by $150 million cash injection from the Chinese tech titan Tencent. Meanwhile, the San Francisco-based social media site, valued at $3 billion and ranked as the sixth most popular website in the United States, is still banned in China. https://gizmodo.com/reddit-banned-in-china-is-reportedly-set-to-land-150-1832375439 In addition to Tencent, Reddit also…
Most of the major TV makers, like LG and Sony, were eager to show off their enormous 8K sets in January, but if you were struck with TV envy, you were frustrated because no one at the show was willing to talk about how much over 33 million pixels would cost. But Samsung announced availability…
Internet providers in Russia are preparing to conduct exercises that will help the nation build a path toward possible internet independence, according to Russian news reports. Russian news outlet RosBiznesKonsalting reported the tests were set in motion by a proposed law called the Digital Economy National Program, which parliament introduced last December. The tests should…
It’s a hell of a time to spread misinformation in India—especially if you’re a member of parliament and a government minister. Indian MP Piyush Goyal, the country’s current railways minister, seems to have a history of sharing misleading information online. And now he’s under fire for promoting sped-up video footage of India’s fastest train in…
Apple has been relatively quiet about hardware since it released new iPad Pros back in the fall. But if a handful of new rumors are true, we could see a variety of new products launch this spring, including second-generation AirPods, a new tablet, and maybe even Apple’s long-awaited wireless charging pad. Starting with Apple’s wildly…
The human body can withstand a lot before giving up and dying: falls from second-story windows, years of fevered substance abuse, wolf attacks, etc. We have a pretty good idea of what it can’t tolerate, but some ways of dying instantly have received less attention than others, and speed is one of these. We’ve all…
If you’re serious about using macOS to its full potential, then you need to be serious about making the most of the Dock—and that means tweaking and customizing it to suit your workflow, the apps you need, and the way you use your Mac. Here’s how to get the macOS Dock set up the right…
President Donald Trump reportedly plans to sign an executive order today creating something called the American AI Initiative. The executive order is apparently a symbolic nod to artificial intelligence that doesn’t create any new funding but encourages the federal government to do more with AI. And we can’t help but wonder, what are the odds…
A good rule of thumb if you’re going to threaten to publish nude photos of the richest man on the planet unless he says you’re not working with the Saudi government is: Probably don’t do that! And if for some reason you are reckless enough to do that, you probably shouldn’t do so in writing!…
Last year, Google I/O gave us a glimpse of what augmented reality in Maps might look like, teasing a future in which our phones orient us using our cameras. The demonstration showed us improved navigation tools to properly direct users as well as pop-ups indicating surrounding businesses and shops. There was even a bouncy fox…
Legislators in Texas are mulling a bill that would make illegal to “impair or degrade” mobile data in any declared disaster zone, in an apparent response to telecom giant Verizon’s decision last year to tell California firefighters busy tackling the deadly Mendocino Complex fire they needed to upgrade their plan or continue to suffer slow…
There are not many ways in which an iPhone resembles a battle rifle, but military officials searching for a contractor to build the gun of the future seem to think there is. Officials at the Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center at New Jersey’s Picatinny Arsenal told military and veterans news site Task & Purpose…
It’s that time of year again when it’s time to talk about the dangers of boiling water. At least eight people were treated at Chicago’s Loyola University Medical Center last week for second- and third-degree burns attributed to failed attempts at the so-called “boiling water challenge” during the polar vortex. Arthur Sanford, trauma and burn…
Controlling what you listen to while browsing is about to get a hell of a lot easier. Google Chrome will finally allow users to control audio and video using their keyboard’s pause and play keys, ZDNet reported this week. The update is already about to improve your web browsing experience, but it’ll also allow users…
It’s been a strange, painful couple of days for some Wells Fargo customers. A tsunami of problems hit the bank this week, leaving some customers not knowing how to access their money. As a result, an army of angry Wells Fargo customers hit social media to report missing their paydays, trouble using debit cards, and…
