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Apple Inc. appears to have complied with the wishes of Chinese censors and removed all major VPN apps from the China-based branch of its App Store, a move which will make it harder for consumers to dodge the country’s pervasive restrictions on internet freedom. As TechCrunch noted, it’s still possible for users to create an…
We’re not entirely sure why six years into the 3DS’ life cycle Nintendo decided to inject life into an aging platform that features outdated hardware from the start. But here we are, and admittedly there are a lot of old 3DS games worth playing, so let’s make the best of it. With the addition of…
North Korean state TV just aired footage of yesterday’s missile test, which has been confirmed by South Korea and US forces as an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. Early figures show that this is North Korea’s longest range missile to date. The missile, which North Korea claims is the same Hwasong-14 model that it tested…
iRobot, the maker of Roomba, made big news this week when an interview with its CEO mentioned plans to sell the map data of customers’ homes to third parties. Today, the company launched damage control measures and the CEO is spreading assurances that this is all just a big misunderstanding. https://gizmodo.com/roombas-next-big-step-is-selling-maps-of-your-home-to-t-1797187829 In a statement first…
Just like anything with a lithium-based battery has the potential to explode, just about any tech product that’s considered “smart” is potentially hackable. Which is why one clever hacker was able to break the Armatix iP1, a smart gun that is designed to only be fired by a person wearing a paired smartwatch. The hacker,…
A day after Twitter revealed that its user base is stagnating like never before, the company began inviting users to test a subscription service that automatically promotes tweets to a wider audience for a monthly fee. On Friday morning, several companies and individuals tweeted out screen grabs of emails inviting them to participate in the…
The debate over whether photography can be truly considered an art takes another weird turn as the winner of a photo contest in Australia took home a $20,000 prize for what is essentially a blank photograph covered in scratches and spit courtesy of her grandmother. Inspired by watching her grandmother test pens by scribbling with…
Charlie is 10 years old and loves paleontology. According to his mom, he has Asperger syndrome, so when he likes something he will “try and find out everything about it.” Recently, he visited Britain’s Natural History Museum and schooled the curators on their dino-knowledge. https://gizmodo.com/this-newly-discovered-dinosaur-looks-just-like-a-modern-1797274767 Charlie was visiting the London museum with his family for…
You’re probably aware that nature’s most badass animal is undoubtedly the tiny tardigrade, or water bear. They might be small, but unlike your weak butt, they can live a life without water, withstand temperatures from -328 to 304 degrees Fahrenheit, and even survive the depths of space. How did evolution make such a strange creature,…
The abyssal waters of the deep sea are rife with terrors and spooky fish. It’s extremely on brand that an elusive sea monster would call this dark ravine home, swirling around in an eternal quest to prove it’s NOT A PHASE, MOM. This deep-sea dweller is colloquially known as the cusk eel, which is used…
While Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was wavering between being the richest person in the world and the second-richest person in the world, his company stealthily revealed its plans to secure precious real estate inside apartment buildings. Amazon is now offering a new service called Hub, consisting of modular lockers that the company aims to install…
German Shepherds are among the most popular breeds in the world, but their numbers have started to decline. New research suggests the decreasing demand for German Shepherds may have something to do with the breed’s propensity for health problems—likely the result of selective breeding for cosmetic traits. A relatively recent shift in the way German…
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will resign his position immediately following a landmark decision by his country’s Supreme Court. Sharif has been under fire since last year, when leaked documents appeared to show his family had hidden wealth in shell companies overseas. Earlier this month, investigators revealed that crucial financial documents provided by the Sharifs…
Today, in unexpected news, The Atlantic announced that the Emerson Collective has taken a controlling stake in the magazine. That may sound like humdrum media news until you realize that the president of the Emerson Collective is none other than Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. So now, one of America’s…
Marty Sklar, arguably one of the most influential people to work at the Disney Company aside from Walt Disney himself, died yesterday. He was 83. Sklar started at Disney just a month before Disneyland opened in 1955 and would work his way up to becoming one of the most tireless and dedicated storytellers at the…
The Planet of the Apes prequels did much to explain how humans lost their status as the dominant species on the planet—a cataclysmic set of events fueled by a global pandemic known as the “Simian Flu.” This virus, the product of a medical experiment gone horribly wrong, wiped out the vast majority of humans, but…
In the age of Trump, a tweet from a political figure can be a canary in a coal mine. And it looks like America’s canary is currently having trouble breathing. Early this morning, Mike Huckabee tweeted out a bizarre proposal, and it legitimately makes me concerned for the future of American democracy. Or whatever’s left…
Will.i.am has had a hard time breaking into the tech market. In his latest entrepreneurial venture, he’s jumping into the smart home game. What could go wrong? https://gizmodo.com/let-us-count-some-reasons-why-you-wont-want-will-i-ams-1778367350 Innovator and musician Will.i.am’s lack of luck in the gadget world has always come down to the fact that he’s been so far ahead of his time.…
We all know that the gig economy is just a terrifying innovation that makes it easier for the moneyed class to exploit workers. But one Fiverr drone recently found out that it’s also a perfect way to get framed for doing crimes. Back in April, a woman named Alexa Emerson was taken into custody in…
China has long been ahead of the US when it comes to human genetic engineering—there, the idea seems far less morally fraught. But for the first time, scientists in the United States have now genetically modified a human embryo, according to a new report in the MIT Technology Review. At Oregon Health and Science University,…
