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The White House has correctly estimated that if Americans don’t want to perform a selfless act for their fellow citizens, then they might get off their butts for seeeeexxxxx. The Biden administration today announced that it’s teamed up with nine dating apps to add “vaccinated” badges and visibility boosts to user profiles, in its bid…
Now that Google has given everyone a big preview of Android 12, everyone is wondering about the next batch of Google devices slated to run the company’s mobile OS. And based on a number of recent leaks, the Pixel 6 is shaping up to be Google’s most enticing phone in years. Just yesterday, new code…
If there’s one sure sign a creature isn’t of this world, but some other horrific realm, it’s a lack of a face. For the creators of the MeowEver, a cat-shaped pillow that simulates purring, a lack of a face is instead supposed to be an endearing trait, and encourage users to cuddle up with the…
Spotify users with Apple Watches can breathe a sigh of relief. You can finally, finally download playlists, albums, and podcasts onto the watch for offline use. In its official blog, Spotify said it’s rolling out offline playlists starting today. All a user has to do is select the music or podcast they want to listen…
For most of us, occasionally switching up the desktop wallpaper is about as adventurous as we get when it comes to customizing the appearance of Windows. But there are in fact a multitude of ways to transform the operating system to perfectly customize its look—either through Windows’ own settings or with the help of a…
Amazon has shut down construction at a site in Windsor, Connecticut after several ropes tied up as nooses were found hanging from beams, according to a new report from USA Today. At least seven possible nooses have been found at the construction site since April 27. The latest noose was found on Wednesday, according to…
Spotify is partnering with Storytel, a Sweden-based audiobook streaming service, to integrate its library with Spotify’s platform later this year, the companies announced Thursday. Storytel is one of the first major publishers to take advantage of Spotify’s Open Access Platform, an initiative announced last month that aims to give creators new ways to monetize their…
Snap continues to forge ahead with its line of techy camera glasses despite previous generations largely proving unprofitable and/or unpopular. But hey, fourth time’s the charm, right? On Thursday, Snap announced its newest Spectacles smart glasses with built-in AR displays, but don’t expect to get your hands on them anytime soon—they’re not for sale. More…
The CPU is classically considered “the brain” of a computer because, like the human head, it contains all of the circuits responsible for receiving and executing commands. However, like the rest of a machine, CPUs are not infallible. In fact, they can be fairly easy to hack. Recent years have shown egregious examples of hardware…
The FCC today unanimously voted to cut cruelly overpriced prison and jail phone call rates, imposed by telecom companies that have creatively fished for every last penny from incarcerated people and their families. In an announcement, the FCC said that interstate calls will no longer exceed $0.12 per minute for prisons and $0.14 for jails:…
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing forward a privacy bill meant to offer some much-needed transparency on the data being hoovered by our digital devices. And for once, a bill like this actually has a chance of passing. This week, Senator Amy Klobuchar reintroduced the 2019 Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act to…
Earlier this week, Google announced it was partnering with Samsung to create a unified Wear OS-Tizen platform. It’s a bold move that could up-end the smartwatch landscape, and the next Samsung watches may be the first to offer the new Wear-Tizen mash-up experience. There’s been a steady stream of rumors and leaks surrounding the next-gen…
The first public beta for Android 12 was released earlier this week, and hidden in the code are some significant clues that may have just revealed Google’s plans for all the new Pixel phones coming in 2021, including a potential foldable Pixel. Discovered by 9to5Google, Google has included snippets of code in the Android 12…
Andy Warhol famously turned a mundane can of Campbell’s soup into an iconic piece of pop art, and now Bang & Olufsen is elevating the kitchen staple to a luxe piece of personal entertainment with its new aluminum-clad Bluetooth speaker that’s lightweight, waterproof, and not exactly cheap. Bluetooth speakers usually look like a container of…
Too bad for you, edgelords, your big boy TikTok jabs will not stand. Today, the platform announced a new feature allowing TikTokers to wipe out up to 100 comments in one stroke. TikTok says that users will now be able to select tick boxes and mass-delete, much like an email inbox. The company expects to…
With new Intel and AMD laptop CPUs to use, HP is now overhauling its gaming laptop lineup with three new notebooks, an updated gaming hub, and a refreshed gaming monitor to boot. The Omen 16 is HP’s new all-purpose gaming notebook, offering a 16.1-inch 2560 x 1440 display in a chassis that’s barely bigger than…
Republicans in the Arizona Senate—obsessed with overruling Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 elections—have been working with a shady, virtually unknown firm named Cyber Ninjas to audit 2.1 million votes in Maricopa County. This farce comes despite the objections of the county’s election officials, who insist their own audit has already proved…
Head to the Apple website today and you’ll see four different iPad models, each with a variety of specs to choose from. Which one is right for you? Why does the iPad Pro cost so much more than the iPad Air when they look so similar? Does anyone really need an iPad mini? We’ll answer…
The CEO of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, is stepping down at the end of 2021 according to a memo posted to the ByteDance website on Thursday. And while most corporate transitions are filled with bland PR-speak, Yiming’s departure memo is an interesting case study in honesty. Why is Yiming letting someone else take the reins at…
Devices like the reMarkable tablet have been around for about five years now, so Kobo’s Elipsa, a new E Ink-based digital notebook, is a little late to the scene. But the device is bringing a feature that all e-note tablets have been missing so far: a robust, native e-book store, making it great for both…