Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Amazon has policies against hateful products, but a new report finds that it could be doing far more to enforce its own rules and tamp down hate-based merchandise on its platform. The report, published on Friday by the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) and Partnership for Working Families, lists dozens of specific…
A group of scientists Thursday unveiled research into a new method for stealing people’s passwords. The extreme conditions required for success, however, mean the odds this attack will ever be used fall somewhere between astronomical and zero-fucking-chance. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, this week disclosed the attack, a method used for capturing user…
If you’ve spent any time around Apple products, you know that “compatibility with hardware made by rival manufacturers” isn’t high up on the company’s priority list. But using your iPhone with a Windows PC can be a smoother experience than you might think. The good news is that iPhones are much more independent than they…
You know your critical analysis of Stranger Things you wrote at work during your lunch breaks while everyone else was on vacation? The one you submitted on Netflix’s desktop site? Yeah, well it’s getting deleted pretty soon. Netflix says declining usage has led it to retire the written review feature. You’ve got until July 30…
Automakers want in on the highly lucrative big data game and Mitsubishi is willing to pay for the privilege. In exchange for running the risk of jacking up its customers’ insurance premiums, the car manufacturer is offering drivers $10 off of an oil change and other rewards. Consumers will have to decide if a gift…
As Tidal continues to struggle, Apple Music has found major success, and if a report leaked to Digital Music News is true, Apple Music may have just become the most popular on-demand streaming music service in the U.S.—at least as far as paying users go. While Sirius XM satellite radio boasts 33 million subscribers, tallies…
All-time heat records have been set around the world this week, in North American cities including Denver, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; and Montreal, Quebec; as well as in cities in Europe and Russia. But here’s something that might confuse you: Today is also aphelion day—the day in Earth’s orbit that where it’s farthest from the Sun.…
Shoko Asahara—the leader of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo’s subway that killed 13 and poisoned thousands—has been executed. Asahara, birth name Chizuo Matsumoto, was killed along with six other members of the cult on Friday morning. They were all hanged, which is the only method of death…
A former Thailand navy SEAL has died while working to save 12 boys and their coach from the submerged Tham Luang cave complex, the New York Times reports. The death comes as a heavy blow to the rescue mission, as monsoon rains threaten further flooding and as oxygen levels inside the chamber have started to…
President Trump gave a speech at the United Nations in September of 2017 where he famously called Kim Jong Un, “rocket man.” Now, in one of the most bizarre stories we’ve heard this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver a CD of Elton John’s song “Rocket Man” to the North Korean dictator today.…
When Google introduced Google Duplex, its AI assistant designed to speak like a human, the company showed off how the average person could use the tech to save time making reservations and whatnot. What wasn’t touched on was the possibility that Duplex may have a use on the other side of the line, taking over…
When it comes to product releases, Apple may be secretive but it’s also predictable. Software announcements come in the spring during WWDC (as was the case this year) and hardware typically comes in the fall. A new rumor, fueled by filings made with the Eurasian Economic Commission, has sparked some speculation of a summer release,…
One of the world’s deadliest diseases—tuberculosis—made a rare stateside appearance Thursday. This afternoon, the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland reported that a small amount of the infectious germ was potentially released in its facilities while being transported. The incident initially prompted the evacuation of several buildings, but hospital officials now say no one is…
With ZTE currently operating on a lifeline in the form of a temporary reprieve from the company’s seven-year ban on purchasing components made by U.S. companies, there’s absolutely no room for any sort of messing about. So, in the latest rush to comply with U.S. regulators, after dumping its entire C-suite including the company’s CEO,…
The council tasked with ensuring consistency in criminal sentences in England and Wales has provided instruction on how courts should handle revenge porn cases: harshly. The Sentencing Council published on Thursday new guidelines on how courts should handle perpetrators who non-consensually share photos of their ex-partners. It’s the first time the committee has addressed the…
An instructor of mine once compared mixing a song to baking a cake. The various tracks are the ingredients, and once everything is mixed and baked, as with a cake, those ingredients can’t be deconstructed. Or can they? AI researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have created an app that can isolate…
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for one California lawmaker over the past month as he’s tried to push a comprehensive net neutrality bill through the state’s legislature. In mid-June, it seemed as if Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill, S.B. 822, would get watered down once it combined with another bill introduced by a colleague. Days later,…
This week, some passengers traveling through the international airport in Sydney, Australia will be the first guinea pigs in a program that intends to replace the passport with facial scans. The check-in process may surely become less of a headache, but at what price? Select passengers flying with Qantas Airways will have the chance to…
Summer is finally upon us, which means it’s time to put together a reading list, whether it’s for the beach, your cottage, or the hammock in your backyard. Here are 15 science and technology books that will keep your nerdy brains engaged and titillated. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of…
The Vindicator, a news outlet in Liberty, Texas, wanted to help its followers read the entire U.S. Declaration of Independence before the Fourth of July, so it posted excerpts on its Facebook page. But something in one of the most significant documents in modern history triggered Facebook’s filters. The outlet broke the Declaration up into…
