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House Representative Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) has put forward a bill that will require retailers to ask for identification from anyone buying a prepaid cellphone. The bill, called Closing the Pre-Paid Mobile Device Security Gap Act of 2016, is designed to “close one of the most significant gaps in our ability to track and…
The internet is, generally speaking, a garbage dump suffused with vitriol and poison. “But surely,” some might ask, “the one, tiny corner of Twitter devoted to Cool Pope Francis would be a respite for our bitter, blackened hearts?” To which the answer is: of course not, no. Just yesterday Cool Pope Francis sent this unassuming…
In Connecticut, six individuals have been charged with exploiting a bug in electronic lottery machines that allowed them to select winning tickets last year. In November 2015, Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection noticed an abnormal uptick in dispensed winning tickets, and suspended the 5 Card Cash machines, pending an investigation. The six men arrested, the…
Artificially intelligent computers understand Donald Trump not unlike artificially intelligent humans. His speeches read as extended phrases of semi-clarity interrupted by moments of utter horror. Just watch. The above video comes from photographer Eric Cheng who explained: The source video is a CNN highlights reel from Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy announcement in July 2015. I…
Astronaut Tim Korpa took this fantastic image of Athens from his post on the International Space Station when it passed over Greece last night. Scott Kelly might be retiring from NASA, but as long as we have astronauts in orbit, we’ll still have spectacular pictures of our planet: [Twitter]
While the Zika Virus outbreak has been raging across Central America, new studies suggest that the virus might have arrived in Brazil much earlier than previously thought: in 2013. First detected in May 2015, experts believed that the virus might have arrived with an increase in travelers coming to the 2014 World Cup or Va’a…
Earlier this week, Tesla pulled their listing for the 10 kilowatt Powerwall device, leaving only its 6.4 kwh battery listed for sale. In a statement to GreenTechMedia, the company confirmed that the option has been discontinued. The company noted that while the device has been extremely popular, there has been far more demand for the…
Canned foods made their debut on store shelves in the 19th century, and they’ve only become more common ever since. From your local deli to supermarkets, you can find pretty much anything—from tuna to pineapple—in canned form. But how did we get here? The history of canned food is more intricate than you’d think, and…
Google might be working on a competitor for Amazon’s Echo, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not willing to play along with the consumer giant. You can now use Alexa to control your Nest thermostat. Nest has opened up compatibility for the Amazon Echo, Fire TV, Tap and Echo Dot, and provided a list of…
Once upon a time, the worst names to be named were things like Hugh Jass and I.P. Freely. But that all changed when we started living our lives on the internet. A BBC story looks into some names that you don’t want to have in our hyperconnected world, and topping them all is the name…
In depressing news, about 180,000 cubic meters of wood will be taken from the last of Europe’s primeval forests. The environmental minister in Poland declared that the Bialowieza Puszcza will be logged over the next decade. The Bialowieza Puszcza was always famous to environmentalists and naturalists, but it became well known to everyone due to…
Holoportation is now a thing, so start slapping everyone in arm’s distance to make sure they’re real. This new technology by Microsoft Research uses 3D motion capture and Microsoft’s HoloLens mixed reality hardware to “holoport” people from one place to another, which is definitely going to contribute to a universal feeling of paranoia in the…
As a kid I spent a lot of time on the Maryland shore. Squinting out across the endless blue expanse, I could have sworn I saw the edge of Portugal once or twice. I was shocked recently to learn that my childhood imagination had it all wrong. (Truly, a first.) With telescopic vision, I wouldn’t…
Taking photos through windows is annoying because light bounces off it and ruins the picture. But scientists at MIT just developed new technology that could fix the pesky reflections. Members of MIT’s Media Lab have developed tech that detects how long it takes flash to bounce back off nearby objects (like, say, a window) and…
One day after trolls transformed Microsoft’s chatbot Tay into a ditzy, Holocaust-denying monster, the company has issued an apology for failing to realize that people on the internet are dicks. “We are deeply sorry for the unintended offensive and hurtful tweets from Tay, which do not represent who we are or what we stand for,…
Why do pizza pockets exist? No one knows. But everyone secretly enjoys them. Not on the same level as a pizza obviously (I mean, what does anyone enjoy more than pizza) but there’s definitely a nostalgia kick to eating a vaguely pizza-flavored, mini-calzone hot pocket of sorts. Here’s how one brand puts them together. I…
When I was a child, Peeps were Daylight Saving for my soul. As the days grew warmer, the technicolor hues of the marshmallow candy began sprouting on drugstore shelves, the confectionery equivalent of daffodils and tulips. On Easter morning, spotting the sparkling pastel fluffs in my carefully hidden wicker basket was like a ray of…
Brain, why aren’t you getting along with eyes. Eyes, what the hell are you doing to ears. Ears, why are you confusing your feelings. It’s so unsettling to see a carrot get unpeeled because your eyes are seeing something they don’t ever get to see while your ears are hearing the satisfaction of peeling while…
I’m a man of simple tastes. A nice cold pale ale is my drink of choice, and when I order a cocktail, it’s usually rye with a couple extra ingredients. My roommate, though, prides himself on obscure and exotic booze. Our liquor cabinet reflects that with astounding vibrance. Welcome to Gizmodo’s Happy Hour. Substance abuse…
The new Star Wars and the original Star Wars are pretty much the same movie. Everyone can agree on that right? That’s not a bad thing! When you’ve got a formula that works, you don’t have to add in a Jar Jar. Here’s a side-by-side visual comparison from Zachary Antell that shows the similarities between…
