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Tech NewsGadgetsWhy Your Web Browser is Running Slowly and How to Fix It
We do just about everything inside a browser nowadays—stream movies, write essays, chat with friends, edit photos—and serious slowdowns inside this key bit of software can have a serious impact on how much we get done. With that in mind, these are the reasons that your browser is slowing down, and what you can do … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsWhat Will the Internet Look Like in 2030?
Something has happened to our sense of the future. In old movies or TV shows, the future was often depicted as a wholly alien world, a barely recognizable landscape of flying cars, and out of control clones. On a show like Black Mirror, by contrast, the future often looks a lot like the present, but … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsAdd These 9 Simple Browser Bookmarks to Make Your Online Life Easier
Your browser bookmarks might be stacked with articles you’ll never get around to reading, and sites you’ve long forgotten about, but there are ways to use bookmarks more productively—save these 10 handy URLs saved in your browser, and you’ll be able to get more done and more quickly while you’re online. 1) Create new documents … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsDeadly Fungus, Fat Bear Week, PS5 Leaks, and Hot Dog Salad: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week
No news this week could possibly compare to the “hot dog salad” abomination created by a certain Gizmodo colleague, which has taken our forbidden sandwich out back, choked it to death, and absorbed it into its goopy morass. But reader, we tried. This week, the Gizmodo team covered everything from the Federal Communications Commission’s big … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsWhat Would It Take to Shut Down the Entire Internet?
Not too long ago, we here at Giz Asks contemplated what might happen if the entire internet shut down at once. One imaginative stumbling block, in playing out the implications of that scenario, was how something like that could happen in the first place. And so—without advocating any of the methods described below, or strongly … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsHow Firefox and Chrome’s New Tech Will Better Protect Your Browsing History
Firefox has announced it’s making encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) the default way of connecting to sites on the web. And this browser tech is coming soon to Google’s Chrome, too. If you’ve got no idea what any of that means, here’s what you need to know about the technology and the future of your browsing. When … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsInternetYou Won’t See Quantum Internet Coming
The quantum internet is coming sooner than you think—even sooner than quantum computing itself. When things change over, you might not even notice. But when they do, new rules will protect your data against attacks from computers that don’t even exist yet. Despite the fancy name, the “quantum internet” won’t be some futuristic new way … Continued
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Tech NewsInternetMark Zuckerberg Is a Slumlord
Tech giants, and social media ones in particular, are, well, giant. But they’re also dense, and certain problems tend to arise when a very large number of people occupy the same space. Sites like Facebook rely on the so-called network effect, the concept that a service exponentially improves, becoming more useful, attractive, or cheap, the … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsInternetWhat Would Happen If the Whole Internet Just Shut Down All of a Sudden?
A world in which the internet suddenly stops: surely the TV show’s already in development. Sprawling cast, gorgeous visuals, tediously on-the-nose themes. Some handsome B-lister tearing around the country in pursuit of his wayward kids, or the shadowy sect that pulled the plug in the first place. A patch of prairie in Kansas with a … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets11 Incredibly Useful Websites You Might Not Know About
The internet is a big place, and there’s no shame in not having gotten around to exploring every last corner of it—but just in case you’ve missed out on some of the very best sites the web has to offer, we’re going to pick out a few lesser-known highlights from our travels that are well … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsWho Has the Most Censored Internet?
Certain platforms might take down your homemade pornography, or censor your conspiracist podcast, but in the U.S. the internet is a fairly open place. As long as what you’re peddling isn’t actively illegal—or as long as you’re not peddling illegal wares too flagrantly—you’re free to set up shop elsewhere. Whether ours is the best of … Continued
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io9GamesIs Stadia Already Screwed?
We finally have the major details on Stadia, Google’s big push into gaming and at a glance it looks great: Crossplay with Xbox and Windows 10, a wide variety of recent and upcoming games, and the ability to play those games on any device with a solid internet connection. I’m writing this on an 200 … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
Tech NewsCuba’s Internet Restrictions Continue to Crumble as It Legalizes Private Wifi and Imported Routers
If you want to get online in Cuba, you currently have to go to a government-sanctioned hotspot, build your own illicit hotspot using illegal routers, or create a hotspot with an expensive 3G connection on your phone. But that will soon change, according to the Associated Press. Cuba’s Ministry of Communication (Mincom) announced on Wednesday … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsEverything You Need to Know About Elon Musk’s Satellite Launch Tomorrow
Elon Musk is a busy guy, and the latest project on his plate involves launching 60 satellites into space tomorrow. The launch is part of his company SpaceX’s Starlink plan—an ambitious attempt to bring high-speed, low-latency internet to anyone in the world. The gist of it is as follows. Starlink centers around using low earth … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightFCC Clears SpaceX to Launch Nearly 1,600 Internet-Beaming Satellites to a Lower Orbit
The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX’s plans to fly a fleet of internet-transmitting satellites, Starlink, at a “lower orbit than originally planned,” the Verge reported on Saturday. SpaceX originally planned to launch 4,425 Starlink satellites (its long-term plan is to launch nearly 12,000) to ranges between roughly 690-825 miles (1,110 to 1,325 kilometers). That … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsThe Former Lead Designer of Gmail Has a New Chrome Extension That Kills the Confusing Redesign
Fifteen years of feature creep have left Gmail feeling a little cluttered and over-burdened for some users, including Michael Leggett, who served as the product’s lead designer from 2008 to 2012. (Fast Company has an interview with Leggett about the extension.) So who better to help strip Gmail back to its simpler roots? His free … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Gentle Side of Twitch
“Hi! I see you, but I’m focused on the reading right now. I can chat during the next break!” This message popped up on the stream from Ryan Blake Hall, better known as Storyteller Mars on Twitch. He was busy reading from Henry Wysham Lanier’s A Book of Giants: Tales of Very Tall Men of … Continued
Nicole Carpenter -
io9MoviesSenator Kamala Harris Invokes Avengers: Infinity War to Defend Net Neutrality
Democratic Senator and Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris is a fan of superhero films, and has been known to use them to illustrate ideas related to her various political platforms. Following Congressman Michael Doyle Jr.’s (D, Pa.) Save the Internet Act making it through the House in a 232-190 vote, Harris took to Twitter with an … Continued
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Tech NewsMicrosoft Claims Nearly Half of People in the U.S. Don’t Use the Internet at Broadband Speeds
Tomorrow the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing to better examine the state of broadband maps in the U.S. These maps currently suggest just 25 million Americans are without access to broadband internet, which is defined as speeds of 25Mbps. But according to numbers released by Microsoft today, 162.8 million people don’t use broadband … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
Tech NewsColorado Governor Reportedly Set to Sign Net Neutrality Bill Into Law
A bill aimed at protecting net neutrality in Colorado is on its way to being signed into law. Colorado Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign Senate Bill 78, the Colorado Sun reported Friday, after it passed in the Colorado House this week. The bill was introduced earlier this year by state Democrats and would … Continued
By Catie Keck