Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
By now, most of us have given up trying to contribute during a crowded video call, and instead just mute our mics and politely nod in agreement until it’s time to hang up. Six months after we desperately needed it, Cameron Hunter has come up with a clever solution to help you respond during video…
On top of all the other fracas currently facing our country’s postal service, the USPS name is at the center of a string of phishing schemes slamming phones nationwide, with some folks claiming these texts have ties to a massive, multinational sex trafficking operation—while offering no evidence to back it up. For those lucky enough…
I was covering your event.
In a bit of a surprise at the end of today’s Apple event, Tim Cook announced that iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and the latest tvOS would all drop tomorrow. With no iPhone 12 at today’s event, it was anyone’s guess if the other mobile OSes and tvOS would get announcement dates. Typically it…
I’ve long complained about Apple’s Watch faces. These were an ugly mix of skeuomorphic (aka realistic) design melded with someone’s idea of what a fancy watch face might look like. Now, with WatchOS 7, they’re finally getting the hang of things. The new GMT face is the most interesting. It offers a Rolex-inspired split ring…
While we continue to wait for info about the iPhone 12, which was nowhere to be seen at today’s Time Flies event, Apple is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the iPad with the release of the new 8th-gen iPad and iPad Air. Sporting an A12 Bionic processor and a 10.2-inch display, the new 8th-gen sports…
In case you haven’t heard, retail is in trouble. Aside from the hundreds of clothing stores that have permanently shuttered after the coronavirus brought shopping to a screeching halt, we’ve also spent the past year watching the slower (though no less tragic) decline of mall staples like Macy’s and JC Penney , not to mention…
For months leading up to today’s annual Apple event, rumors swirled that the Cupertino tech giant was gearing up to bundle its growing roster of services. Today, Apple confirmed it’s introducing a multi-tiered bundle called Apple One, which will group together some of its most popular services with additional cloud storage. There are three primary…
Now that we’ve all suspended our gym memberships and have spent all pandemic working out at home (right?), Apple has decided to use its Apple Watch as a platform for a new streaming fitness subscription service, called Fitness+. The $9.99/month (or $80/year) service serves up on-demand workouts led by trainers who can guide you through…
We knew it was coming, but the Apple Watch Series 6 is finally here. It has a little friend, too: the Apple Watch SE, a more affordable mid-tier option that’s slightly more advanced than the Series 3. The big story here is the Series 6 adds the ability to monitor blood oxygen levels. The new…
On the days where enough has gone right in my tiny sliver of our grim shared reality to dredge up the now-nostalgic emotion of insouciance, I’ll make it a block or two from my apartment before realizing, oh right, the pandemic didn’t end, and I forgot a mask. I run back, embarrassed and deflated. This…
It’s September and there’s an Apple event! That typically means there’s an iPhone, but we’ve heard rumor after rumor that there will be no iPhone today. Still, it would be rude not to liveblog whatever DOES happen at today’s event, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. Right now it sounds like we…
Just as CBS All Access was finally getting good, ViacomCBS announced today it will rebrand the whole thing as Paramount+ in early 2021. Are we surprised that yet another media company has decided to name its streaming service after a brand followed by the humble + sign? Pfft. Of course not. That would require originality.…
Apple’s WWDC 2020 event seems like it happened only yesterday, but that was just the beginning of Apple’s usual slew of announcements leading into fall. Today the Cupertino company is holding the first of what could be a handful of fall events to reveal its latest lineup of devices. Historically, September is when Apple announces…
Why have the terms “Nazi Germany” and “Mengele” become trending topics on Twitter? The words dominated the social media platform on Monday after it was revealed that a whistleblower has alleged “high numbers” of immigrant women at a U.S. concentration camp in Georgia were sent to be given unnecessary hysterectomies. Many of the women reportedly…
Microsoft’s underwater Northern Isles data center has risen again from the ocean depth, the company announced on Monday, and it is remarkably intact other than being covered in sea scum. The data center—which Microsoft sunk under 117 feet of water off the coast of Scotland’s Orkney Islands in 2018—resembles a large, airtight fuel tank. After…
Sony launched the A7SIII earlier this summer, but the company’s camera division has more in store this year. Today Sony announced its smallest and most compact full-frame mirrorless camera yet: the Alpha 7C. Designed as a more portable alternative to mirrorless competitors like the Nikon Z6, Panasonic S5, Canon EOS R, and Sony’s own digital…
Facebook has royally screwed up its response to political misinformation, conspiracy theories, and organized manipulation campaigns in the U.S.—where it’s based. Outside the West, the company has long been a sort of absentee landlord that ignores the spread of propaganda, state-backed armies of trolls, and incitement to violence whenever it’s politically inconvenient. An internal memo…
While I think we can all agree that every app on our phone is probably an invasive little shit, I’d argue that weather apps deserve their own little corner in hell. We’ve seen weather apps sign folks up for services without their say-so, sneakily get location data from users who deliberately turned that function off,…
QAnon, the internet brainvirus that’s set untold masses searching for Satanic pedovores and howling “do your reeeeseaaaaarch” in every known comment section has afflicted the wellness community. As New York Times reporter Kevin Roose noticed this morning, a handful of yogi influencers have posted a joint statement on Instagram to “take a stand” against the…