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Amazon’s Halo band, the company’s first fitness tracker, drew criticism when it launched because of its two marquee features: body fat scanning and tone analysis. Several reviews— including Gizmodo’s—describing the gadget as creepy and invasive. You might think that would lead Amazon to perhaps rethink its approach to health tech. Instead, Amazon’s doubling down with a…
Facebook’s found a new way to capitalize on the thoughts, prayers (and data) from the religious side of its user base. On Thursday, the company confirmed that it’s begun expanding a new feature called “prayer posts” that will let members of particular Facebook groups literally ask for (and offer up) prayers for other folks on…
The U.S. Department of Justice plans to take a much harsher approach when pursuing cybercriminals involved in ransomware attacks—and will investigate them using strategies similar to those currently employed against foreign and domestic terrorists. The new internal guidelines, previously reported by Reuters, were passed down to U.S. attorney’s offices throughout the country on Thursday, outlining a…
Donald Trump Jr. has pivoted to the personalized celebrity video app Cameo because, as all relevant people do, he understands that nobody’s time on the internet should be free. You get that money, giiiirl. Filed under the “activist” label but searchable under the “reality TV” category, his price point is $500, on par with Dr.…
Apple’s AirTags are effective little Bluetooth trackers, but the thing that makes them work so well—leveraging Apple’s extensive Find My network of devices that are constantly pinging each other—also makes them extremely problematic because you can be tracked without your knowledge in what is essentially real-time. Apple made some effort to prevent stalking when AirTags…
A New Mexico sheriff running as the tough-on-crime candidate for the mayorship of Albuquerque was buzzed at a campaign event on Tuesday by a small drone with a giant dildo attached to it. Per the Albuquerque Journal, Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III was speaking at Revel Entertainment, a venue with multiple bars and restaurants,…
Antivirus apps are best known for running in the background and annoying people with all sorts of pop-ups. But with a new update to Norton 360, Norton’s antivirus app will now let you mine Ethereum, too. First spotted by BleepingComputer, the new Norton Crypto feature is being added to the Norton 360 antivirus app this…
Media Matters has released the latest edition of its now-regular QAnon candidates series: the checklist of people running for Congress who also adhere to conspiracy theories that helped motivate a violent insurrection. One has even talked about participating in that event. Some already hold office. Fun with friends from the internet. Out of the 19…
It took four generations, but the Philips Hue app is finally a delight to use. In a significant update to its iOS and Android apps, which control its expansive lineup of smart lights and bulbs, Hue now has an overhauled interface and better automation engine, plus a few other subtle tweaks that make the entire…
Fujifilm, the Japanese film company that somehow survived (and then thrived) amidst the digital photography revolution, would appear to be the latest victim in a recent blitz of ransomware attacks. The firm has announced that it’s investigating the “possibility of a ransomware attack,” while noting that it was still working to determine “the extent and…
Amazon’s Ring—a company that is famously pretty chummy with law enforcement—will now require law enforcement officials to make their requests for security footage public, the company said in a blog post published Thursday. Starting next week, any time an officer wants to ask Ring’s customers for any recordings that their cams picked up, they’ll need…
With their vibrant hues and designs inspired by science fiction, it’s often hard to make smart lights fit in with more traditional furniture. That’s exactly what Nanoleaf is trying to fix with its new line of Elements smart lights. Nanoleaf is expanding upon previous products, like its range of Shapes and Canvas light panels, except…
Back in January, researchers warned that the iPhone 12 lineup and MagSafe accessories could potentially deactivate implanted medical devices. Now, the American Heart Association has released a study that corroborates these findings on a larger scale, noting that several devices from three major companies were “found to have magnetic susceptibility.” The initial study published in…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said a Georgia police officer had not violated the country’s main anti-hacking law by improperly accessing a government database for financial gain, a decision likely to curtail prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) of individuals who misuse computer systems to which they have legal access. The…
I assumed there was very little I couldn’t do with my Apple Watch given it has its own well-stocked app store, but Nick Bild has shown me the error of my ways with this delightful Commodore 64-themed C64 Watch that not only has a retro-inspired watch face but a built-in BASIC interpreter too for coding…
The gaming controller that came with your PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S can do double-duty on other devices, too. This means you can take advantage of your next-gen controller’s ergonomics and adaptability to play games on your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, and other devices, too. Here’s how to set it…
Grimes, the musician and romantic partner of billionaire Elon Musk, is a big believer in artificial intelligence, according to a new TikTok video she posted late Wednesday. What can AI do for humanity? Grimes insists that AI is a way to achieve Communism, something she says is good, while avoiding “collective farming,” something she says…
In a March letter to company executives, Amazon Prime employees described a workplace culture of rank misogyny and pervasive gender inequality — one that included gratuitous promotions for men that far exceeded the number of similar opportunities available to women. According to a new report from Business Insider published Monday, the memo — which was sent…
We’re nearly halfway through the year and it looks like the meme stocks haven’t ended their run just yet: As of Wednesday, shares of movie theater chain AMC Entertainment were up as much as 3,200 on the heels of a newly launched initiative to provide free popcorn to shareholders. AMC’s stock price nearly doubled on…
The NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority discovered their computer systems had been penetrated
