Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Your phone has one, your laptop has one, and you’ve got a smart one in the corner of your room telling you the weather—but what makes a good speaker different from a so-so speaker? Why you might consider upgrading the audio capabilities of your TV or computer, and what should you look for if you…
As tech giants grapple with how to detect and scrub misinformation and propaganda from their social media platforms, French President Emmanuel Macron has a more extreme approach: Block the whole damn website. In a speech to journalists on Wednesday, Macron said he planned to introduce new legislation to strictly regulate fake news online during political…
Just in time for the eastern seafront to get assaulted with a bomb cyclone carrying blasts of snow and freezing temps, OnePlus has released a frosty new color variant of the 5T. On the inside, the white OP5T is the same as the black model I reviewed a few months ago, so I’m not going…
Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly just did something he should’ve done the day he took his job. He banned the use of personal devices by staff and guests in the White House. The ban will go into effect in the coming days, and the reason is obvious: security. But, c’mon, how is the Trump…
The France-based cloud PC service Shadow is finally making its way to America, and with it comes the choice to have a cloud-based gaming-level Windows machine on any computer you own—from your aging Windows desktop to your iPad to your Chromebook. The cost is pricey, but the promise is enticing. Shadow originally launched last year…
So much of our extremely online lives now revolves around things like the president of the United States threatening to either nuke North Korea or show them his genitals (not sure which!) or worrying about massive security breaches. But hey, some of it also rules. Per NPR, one of the hottest trends on Chinese social…
Dell’s XPS 13 is one of the top ultraportables on the market. But after three years of spec refreshes without touching the design, things were beginning to feel a bit stale. That’s why for 2018, Dell is overhauling its premium ultraportable with a revamped chassis in addition to 8th-gen Intel CPUs, and claims of even…
Malware discovered by Symantec researchers sneakily spoofs Uber’s Android app and harvests users’ passwords, allowing attackers to take over users’ accounts. The malware isn’t widespread, though, and most Uber users are not affected. In order to steal a user’s login information, the malware pops up on-screen regularly and prompts the user to enter their Uber…
This week, news of massive security vulnerabilities afflicting every modern model of Intel processor went public, even as developers for practically every major platform frantically rushed to roll out fixes. Much more information has now become available about Meltdown and Spectre, a group of attack methods malicious parties could use to break into some of…
A commission established by President Donald Trump to root out the millions of voters he baselessly claimed voted fraudulently against him has been shut down, the White House announced today. The so-called Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, headed by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, asked states to submit…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday confirmed a data breach involving the personally identifiable information of more than 240,000 current and former DHS employees. The agency disclosed few details about how the information was compromised, though it stressed that the data was not stolen in a cyberattack, nor was it exposed to malicious…
If you think the weather’s a bit weird right now, you’re not wrong. The northern and eastern portions of North America are caught in a deep freeze, and the eastern seaboard is preparing for something called a “bomb cyclone.” Meanwhile, Californians are reeling from an unusually long wildfire season, and Alaskans are skating in t-shirts.…
With less than a week before this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Chairman of the Federal Communications Comission Ajit Pai has decided to bail on a scheduled appearance. Pai—whose name is now synonymous with the Trump administration’s deeply unpopular goal of repealing net neutrality, and smirking toadyism writ large—was slated for a CES “SuperSession” that would…
Excerpts from an insider account of Trump’s bumbling first year in office are making big news on Wednesday. Among the nuggets of new information, a source recounts the aftermath of the president-elect’s first sit-down with tech CEOs at Trump Tower. At the time, it seemed that Trump was rubbing his new power in the faces…
IFixit has finished its teardown of Apple’s new, high-priced iMac Pro, and while most of the results are typical for an Apple device, because the company rarely meets a component it can’t solder to the motherboard, there are three noteworthy exceptions. The CPU, RAM, and SSD all appear to be user replaceable, provided you’re ready…
Bad news for the people of Texas: not everything is bigger in their beloved home state. On December 31st, a 2,200-pound fireworks shell with a diameter of 56 inches was launched in the United Arab Emirates to help welcome the arrival of 2018, and usher in a new Guinness World Record. Manufactured by Grucci Fireworks…
Google’s claim that it doesn’t have a pay gap problem has once again been disputed, this time by a former preschool teacher who worked at the company’s childcare center. Former employee Heidi Lamar filed a complaint on Wednesday with the San Francisco Superior Court alleging that Google paid women in preschool and infant/toddler teaching positions…
Late last year, the CEO of Intel sold millions of dollars in company stock, as CEOs often do. The sale appears to have occurred while developers were reportedly rushing to fix a major security flaw affecting Intel processors made in the last decade. According to a report published by the Register yesterday, “a fundamental design…
North Korea conducted a missile test on April 28, 2017 that didn’t go quite as planned. In fact, we’re now learning that the Hwasong-12 missile that the country launched actually went astray and may have hit the North Korean city of Tokchon. The Diplomat reports that a US government source with knowledge of the launch…
Eero should probably look over its shoulder because a new piece of software from Asus could make it and other boutique mesh routers seem super outdated. Asus, which makes some of the best standard routers available, today announced AiMesh, a new bit of software that turns old Asus routers into points in a mesh network.…
