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Tech NewsMark Zuckerberg Is on Apple’s Side Even Though Most Americans Are Not
Facebook is the latest tech giant to join Apple’s battle against the FBI. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he supports Apple’s decision not to provide back-door access for the government to crack the iPhone of a suspected terrorist. As reported by Re/code Zuckerberg’s said: We’re sympathetic … Continued
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Tech News
Google Wants to Replace SMS With a Better Messaging Platform
Texting is long overdue for a makeover. The simple, utilitarian Short Message Service (SMS) has served our messaging needs well for more than a decade, but as our texts become increasingly crammed with photos, videos, and more, it’s clear that SMS can no longer meet the needs of the average smartphone user. That’s where Rich … Continued
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Tech News
Chicago Skyscrapers ‘Raining Glass’ After Scary High Winds
Buildings were evacuated in downtown Chicago this afternoon as 69-mph wind gusts whipped glass out of under-construction skyscrapers, smashing them into nearby buildings and shattering them onto streets below. According to DNA Info, glass and plywood from a pair of half-finished buildings were tossed onto streets and blown into neighboring buildings on Wacker Drive, one … Continued
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Tech NewsMore Evidence Streetcars Are Lame
How hard can it be to ride a streetcar? Apparently DC thinks its residents need help understanding how its newest transportation mode works. In advance of the city’s streetcar opening later this month, the District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation has produced a video to teach people how to ride it. The first thing you … Continued
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Tech News
Smartphones Don’t Kill Pedestrians, Cars Do
Every few months we get to read the same misinformed story about “distracted walking”—how pedestrians are too busy looking at their phones to safely walk across the street. But sidewalk Facebook updates aren’t the real problem here. The latest story in the narrative that puts walkers at fault for getting killed by cars is an … Continued
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Tech News
Delhi’s Car Ban Experiment Didn’t Improve Air Quality That Much, But it Should Still Be Permanent
Earlier this year Delhi’s air pollution was so bad that the government temporarily banned half its cars from streets. The policymaker who came up with the idea says the ban should be 365 days a year—but not because it improved air quality all that much. The “odd/even” scheme allowed drivers to use their cars every … Continued
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Tech News
Google CEO Finally Chimes In on FBI Encryption Case, Says He Agrees with Apple
After Tim Cook’s eloquent letter explaining why Apple wouldn’t help the FBI get encrypted data from the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, the internet looked to Google to take a similar stand. Now Google CEO Sundar Pichai has posted five tweets that seem to show he agrees with Cook. Edward Snowden chimed in among the many … Continued
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Tech News
This Super-Futuristic Skyscraper for Brooklyn Will Probably Never Get Built
An awesome-looking 73-story tower planned for downtown Brooklyn could add hundreds of apartments to a city that desperately needs more housing. Too bad the proposal will likely be denied. The concept for the supertall, which is designed by SHoP Architects, was first reported by New York Yimby back in November, followed by the first waves … Continued
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Tech News
Apple Reveals Hill
Apple released details about its newest product today in Vogue, almost a month before the Apple event rumored for March 15. Although this reveal was a departure from the company’s standard keynote unveils, the choice to announce the new product in the pages of Vogue certainly fits with its growing shift towards high fashion. Tim … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Porn House From The Big Lebowski Has Been Donated to a Museum
For design nerds, the Sheats-Goldstein residence is well-known as one of the most triumphant works of renowned architect John Lautner. For hard-core basketball fans, it’s the home of James Goldstein, the flamboyant courtside fixture at Laker games. And for everybody else, it’s known as Jackie Treehorn’s house. Now, the house prominently featured in The Big … Continued
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Tech News
Things Uber CEO Travis Kalanick May Have Said In His TED Talk Today
Today in Vancouver, the annual mind orgy TED welcomed Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to the stage. Did he talk about the logo? Did he talk about how cities are bringing him down? What did he say? You could wait a few months for the video—or you could take these people’s words for it. Now keep … Continued
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Tech NewsStreetcars Are the Great Urban Gimmick of Our Time
I want to love streetcars. I really do. Who doesn’t want to go rolling through your neighborhood, bells dinging and clanging, like you’re living in a Rice-A-Roni ad? But just when you thought these antiquated relics of the Victorian Era were dead, now Streetcars: The New Batch are coming to your city. Or that’s what … Continued
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Tech News
How Long Before Dubai’s New Observation Tower Is Engulfed in Flames?
A new observation tower will be built in Dubai, and it’s already being billed as an “architectural wonder that will be as great as Burj Khalifa and Eiffel Tower.” That’s great, but what I really want to know is this: Will it catch on fire? The new tower’s design, a contemporary take on traditional Islamic … Continued
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Tech News
Ford Is Finally Thinking Beyond Cars
Cars were a great idea until they started to destroy civilization. Now the inventor of that technology is busy working on the next big transportation idea, one that might not kill us all. Yes, the American automaker is spending big bucks to help you get around—even if it’s not in a Ford. In addition to … Continued
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Tech NewsWatching These Videos May Make You Feel as Good as Doing Drugs
If you’ve experienced it, you know what I’m talking about, although you might not have known the name for it. It’s when a sound triggers a physiological response from your body—perhaps a slight tingling that starts at the nape of your neck. It feels gooooood. But what is it? Welcome to Gizmodo’s Happy Hour. Substance … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeAir Pollution Kills 5.5 Million People Every Year Worldwide
The smog hovering over many major cities is not just an unhealthy inconvenience. Breathing that air is killing millions of people. A recent study in Nature estimated three million people died annually due to air quality. That number may be closer to 5.5 million premature deaths per year, according to a new study being presented … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeHoboken Residents Are Fighting a Seawall That Would Protect Their Homes From Total Devastation
In 2012 Hoboken, New Jersey suffered the brunt of Superstorm Sandy when most of the city was flooded. Now a piece of infrastructure has been designed to prevent this from ever happening again, but some people who live there don’t want it built. Because they think it will look ugly. After the storm, a Department … Continued
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Tech NewsWhy This Year’s Super Strong El Niño Might Start Shooting Blanks
El Niño hasn’t left the building—it’s just taking a few days to sober up between benders. But will it continue to deliver the precipitation punch in the gut the West Coast was promised? One particular factor might determine California’s fate. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its monthly El Niño update, which … Continued
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Tech NewsEl Niño Hasn’t Vanished—It Might Be More Powerful Than We Ever Imagined
We were promised torrential rain, “conveyor belts” of storms, violent-alcoholic-on-malt-liquor wrath. Now much of California is broiling in 90-degree temperatures with no precipitation in sight. What gives? Don’t worry—El Niño didn’t bail. It might be even stronger than we thought. For the past year or so, climatologists have been warning us about what to expect … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Obama’s Big Moonshot: Save Humanity
President Obama delivered a budget to Congress today. In the history of US policy, there has never been a more ambitious science-focused document to originate from the White House. This is Obama’s moonshot for Earth. And Congress is essentially ignoring it. The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2017 is very long and filled with plenty … Continued
Alissa Walker
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