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Tech NewsGadgetsSamsung’s Latest Transformative Gadget Is… a Smart Belt?
Samsung just revealed the first class of gadgets to emerge from its Creative Lab projects. They’re creative alright! Topping the list of shiny new things from the Korean electronics giant is a smart belt called WELT. Yes, you heard that right. Samsung describes WELT as “a smart wearable healthcare belt that looks like a normal … Continued
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Tech News
Despite Tim Cook’s Trashtalking, Apple Will Pay Italy $348 Million in Back Taxes
Apple, like many other companies, is infamous for funneling money through its European headquarters in Ireland and benefitting from a lower tax rate. Well, Italy’s had enough of it, and Apple just agreed to pay the boot-shaped country $348 million in back taxes. Tim Cook must be pissed. Tim Cook must be pissed since earlier … Continued
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Tech News
Google Glass Is Still a Bad Idea
Google ended its Glass Explorer program a year ago, bringing a welcome end to the experiment. But Google Glass is not dead. Instead, the device is being resurrected as a tool for workplaces, and government regulators just released images of a prototype. Guess what? The new Glass looks just like the old Glass, and sounds … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Very American History of Christmas Lights
Christmas lights are a uniquely American tradition. That’s not just because the first electric Christmas lights appeared in America. The tradition embodies a certain American-ness, an ingenuity and hunger for innovation, that’s easily overlooked. America doesn’t just make things. America makes things spectacular. The tradition of light and Christmas dates further back than America and … Continued
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Tech News
Zaha Hadid’s New Skyscraper Looks Like a Big Huge Earplug
You might’ve seen Zaha Hadid’s name in the news recently. After Japan’s Sports Council announced a design to her replace her widely loathed and alien-like Olympic stadium in Tokyo. But the real update comes in the form of a new skyscraper in Melbourne. It looks a little bit like… an earplug? In partnership with Plus … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
Hacker Charged With Stealing SSNs, Nude Pics, and Scripts From 130 Celebrities
The Fappening made headlines over a year ago, and Feds are still hunting down the hackers responsible for releasing hundreds of naked celebrity photos. Now there’s been a new celebrity hack, one that might be slightly more terrifying. This week, a 23-year-old was charged with breaking into 130 celebrities’ personal accounts by stealing passwords and … Continued
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Tech News
California Taxi Industry Finally Has Its Own App, Only Four Years Too Late
The task of competing with logistics giants Uber and Lyft seems more soul-crushing than ever. Uber’s valued at something like $70 billion. Lyft has those pink mustaches. How’s the everyman cab supposed to compete? Government support, of course. A recent ruling from the California Division of Measurement Standards will let a small startup called FlyWheel … Continued
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Tech News
Someone Redesigned the USPS Package Delivery Slip, Thank God
A frustrated writer and poster enthusiast got upset when she had a hard time getting a Patti Smith print delivered to her home in Brooklyn. What did she do? She redesigned the slip that the United States Postal Service (USPS) uses to notify you that they’ve fail to deliver. Which makes me think: Why does … Continued
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Tech News
Go Register Your Drone Right Now (Credit Card Number Required)
Today’s the day, folks. Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will let you register your drone on a brand new and surprisingly sharp-looking website. Well, saying the government will “let you register your drone” is putting it lightly. The FAA is forcing you to. New drone rules mean that any aircraft weighing more than 250 … Continued
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Tech News
Sad Man Sues Game Company After Losing Wife and Job to Fallout 4 Addiction
It sounds like a viral marketing project. A Russian man is suing Bethesda Game Studios after he went on a three-week-long Fallout 4 binge, a confusing decision that led to his boss firing him and his wife leaving him. Heck, it might be a viral marketing project. And yet, there is paperwork. “If I knew … Continued
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Tech NewsA Pirate Bay Founder Built a Machine That Copies 100 MP3s Every Second
What do you do when you face millions dollars in fines for committing a crime that didn’t necessarily hurt anyone? (Though it does hurt an industry.) If you’re Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde, you make an art project that highlights how ridiculous those fines seem. Sunde’s been out of prison for a year now, but … Continued
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Tech News
So How Do You Like Bud Light’s New Design?
Anheuser-Busch just revealed a “bold new look” for Bud Light, “The Prince of Beers.” As one Bud Light executive put it in a press release, “In 2016, we’ll put a more modern twist on Bud Light, from the way the brand looks to the way it acts.” Well, this is a twist alright. What do … Continued
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Tech News
Blackberry’s CEO Gives You a Great Reason to Buy an iPhone
Cops and spies alike are up in arms lately over companies like Apple using uncrackable encryption on their devices. But Blackberry, whose clickity keyboards can still be heard in the halls of many government bureaucracy, doesn’t think criminals deserve privacy. The struggling Canadian company’s CEO recently published a blog post with the bold headline, “The … Continued
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Tech NewsStop Buying Hoverboards
Two things: One, those two-wheeled self-balancing teen transporters you’ve heard so much about lately should not be called “hoverboards,” as they do not hover. Two, everyone should stop buying them. The United States Postal Service just banned quote-unquote hoverboards on airmail flights since the batteries have a naughty tendency to catch on fire. The move … Continued
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Tech News
Relive the 80s With This Amiga Emulator for Chrome
A nostalgic Google researcher recently flexed his C coding skills and built a fully functional Commodore Amiga 500 emulator for Chrome. You can try the realistic software here. It’s good, geeky fun. Of course, it’s also a handy way to flaunt some of Chrome’s lesser known features. The Amiga emulator was built with Native Client, … Continued
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Tech NewsThe 6 Best Things That Happened to the Internet This Year
Over a year ago, we offered a handy guide for explaining net neutrality to your relatives. This holiday season, that conversation is a lot more fun. In the past 12 months, the FCC has issued the strongest open internet rules this country has ever seen—and the fun doesn’t stop there. It feels like 2015 will … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Future of In-Flight Wifi, a Cautionary Tale
We were cruising at around 10,000 feet, somewhere above the Midwest, when two pizza-shaped antennas on top of the plane finally connected with the satellite. Within seconds, I was streaming a movie on Netflix in full HD while the man next to me waved at his iPhone. Our in-flight wifi, I realized, was faster than … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial Media
Facebook Won’t Change Its “Real Name” Policy but Will Offer a Workaround
For nearly a decade, marginalized individuals—from transgender people to victims of abuse—have begged Facebook to change its “real name” policy. Over a year after apologizing for the controversy, Facebook definitively said it would not change the rules. But it will offer a workaround for some users. In announcing the changes, Facebook was very clear about … Continued
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Tech NewsWhy the EPA Got Busted for Spreading “Covert Propaganda” on the Internet
Americans don’t like propaganda. It’s un-American! So you might be upset to hear that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just got slapped on the wrist by government auditors for spreading “covert propaganda” on the internet. Here’s what happened. The ruling from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the EPA violated federal law when it … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
My Application to Become an Astronaut on NASA’s First Mission to Mars
NASA started accepting applications for future explorers today. The salary range is $66,026.00 to $144,566.00. The benefits are great. “Frequent travel may be required.” You might even get to go to Mars! Sounds like a dream job to me. I got so excited when NASA first announced its recruiting push last month, I got my … Continued
Adam Clark Estes
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