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Apple and the law enforcement community have been stuck in a back-and-forth over encryption for the last few years, and it’s heated up considerably this month since Apple announced a feature that would thwart a popular iPhone cracking method used by police. Now, the companies that work with law enforcement have responded, and they’re pretty…
The New York State Public Service Commission is doing something that just about every consumer wishes they could do to their internet service provider: telling them to actually provide the service promised or get bent. The agency ordered Charter to pay a multi-million dollar fine and complete required expansion of its network or face having…
Creepers, rejoice: after several months of testing, Instagram has killed a feature that alerted users when someone took a screenshot of their Stories. Long live the ability to discretely throw shade at all of your online frenemies! BuzzFeed first reported the change, which Instagram quietly made without much hubbub—though now that the news is out…
MoviePass is a runaway train that relentlessly burns through cash to keep itself going. But the head of its parent company is doing a lot of press to insist that everything’s fine. In fact, he claims the theater subscription company is 2 million subscribers away from breaking even. An upcoming family plan could help push…
Google, seemingly aware that people are unnerved by just how much ad networks know about us, today said it’s refining how it lets you control what ads you see. The company has updated its ad personalization settings page, and in the process, has kindly reminded us that it’s easy to turn off personalized ads altogether.…
By now, you’ve probably seen the satirical posts where someone claims to have “forced a bot” to watch thousands of hours of video and then write their own script. The posts are funny, but if you haven’t realized, they’re jokes that don’t quite encapsulate how artificial intelligence works. We thought it was pretty obvious, but…
House Democrats are working to keep a flame to Facebook’s feet ahead of the company’s anticipated responses to lingering concerns over the handling of user data, as well its ongoing efforts to weed out foreign-bought political ads targeting American voters. “The midterm elections get closer with each passing day, and Facebook has many important questions…
It’s good to have options, especially when it comes to ergonomics on the job. That’s why standing desks have become a hallmark of the modern workplace (or co-working space) despite their unclear health benefits. Still, if the man in charge wants ‘em, that means everyone’s getting ‘em, which is what happened at Apple. In an…
You probably spend more time than you realize copying, moving, renaming, and otherwise organizing files on your Windows hard drive—so knowing how to do all of this faster and smarter can claw back a serious amount of time. Here are 20 of our favorite hacks and tricks for mastering File Explorer and file management in…
Wireless carriers have already demonstrated an inability to understand what “unlimited” actually means, offering phone plans that habitually throttle customers who use more than 26GB or so of data every month. However, with the release of its new Above Unlimited plan, Verizon is pushing the mental gymnastics carriers employ to define unlimited to a whole…
What was the best thing your parents ever built for you? A treehouse? Maybe a go-kart? I’m afraid their efforts pale in comparison to the jet-powered scooter Colin Furze built for his son who finally has a definite answer to the question, “which parent do you love the most?” Unlike the jet engines powering commercial…
Snap Inc. announced Thursday that it’s releasing a new developer kit that embeds Snapchat’s signature features like bitmoji and stickers into other apps. Reports of Snap Kit leaked last month, but this is the official confirmation. Snap Kit is currently invite-only, Wired reports, but Tinder, Giphy, Pandora, and Patreon will be included at launch. Pandora…
If your personal data gets hacked, then why not file a lawsuit? That’s what Vermont librarian Jessamyn West did by successfully suing Equifax over its 2017 hack, which exposed the personal data over 140 million people. A Vermont judge awarded West $690 for her claim—$90 of which covered the court papers she submitted. West’s lawsuit…
Two campers are to blame for a fire that has consumed more than 500 acres in Nevada’s Voltaire Canyon as of Wednesday night, according to Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. Furlong said the campers were burning poop in a hole, reports the Reno Gazette Journal. They have been detained by the sheriff’s deputies. The sheriff’s…
Steve Bannon has been keeping a relatively low profile since he was excommunicated from the warm glow of Donald Trump’s love. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy. He’s reportedly been working to make cryptocurrencies great again and is even considering launching his own token: The “Deplorables Coin.” It’s been 10 months since Bannon…
Both Google and Apple have started the long tease ahead of new software updates in the fall, with Android P and iOS 12 now available to users who are brave enough to take the plunge (and have a developer account, in Apple’s case). So which beta software looks most promising and gets us most excited?…
Even though there’s only one Amazon Go location so far, it seems the existence of Amazon’s cashier-less, checkout-free convenience store has left some of the company’s biggest competitors wondering how they, too, can get in on futuristic retail. According to Reuters, Microsoft is now working on tech that would allow retailers to build checkout-free stores.…
Every summer, amusement parks across the country compete to lure visitors with bigger, faster, and more terrifying thrill rides. This year, Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey is hoping that people will actually line up to ride its new Cyborg Cyber Spin that churns stomachs along three different axes. The ride is reminiscent of those…
Elon Musk’s underground transportation business, The Boring Company, has won a bid to create an underground high-speed rail line from downtown Chicago to O’Hare International Airport. The company beat out at least four other developers for the project, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to make an official announcement this afternoon. “We’re really excited…
Fresh off finally completing the goal of killing net neutrality protections, Ajit Pai’s Federal Communications Commission is onto its next attempt to destroy longstanding rules that have protected American consumers. According to Bloomberg, the FCC is planning on sneaking in a vote to change limits on how many television stations a single company can own…
