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Tech NewsTech PolicyApple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook Execs Asked to Hand Over Private Emails in House Antitrust Probe
House lawmakers probing Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon for potential antitrust violations have requested the companies turn over internal records, including executives’ own communications. A barrage of letters signed by Republicans and Democrats on Friday said the requests are part of the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation into whether the companies are involved in anti-competitive … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsThe Apple Watch’s Next Trick Could Be Battling Pseudoscience—But Questions Remain
Before launching into its battery of Apple Watch announcements on Tuesday, Apple set the tone, as it often does, with a moving promotional video. Among the many characters featured was a mother who described how the Apple Watch helped catch a pregnancy-endangering heart condition. She rushed to the hospital, and her baby was saved. Later, … Continued
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Tech NewsTransportationFlight Turned Back After Pilot Spilled Coffee Causing Control Panel to Melt and Smoke
An airplane flying across the Atlantic Ocean had to reroute after a pilot spilled his coffee in the cockpit and damaged the audio control panel. The Condor-run Airbus A330-243 was flying 326 passengers from Frankfurt, Germany, to Cancun, Mexico, when cabin crew gave the pilot a coffee with no lid, according to a report from … Continued
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Tech NewsMagnetic Roaches, Cubed Poop, and Dirty Money: The Wonderful Winners of the 2019 Ig Nobel Prize
The winners of the 2019 Ig Nobel Prize—an annual contest that satirizes ridiculous science—have been announced. This is the 29th running of the contest, which pokes fun at the quirkiest, weirdest, and least necessary scientific research. The competition, such that it is, is organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, a science-based humor magazine. As … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsOnly Die-Hard Retro Gamers Will Want This Box That Lets Modern Consoles Connect to Old-School Tube TVs
If there’s one good reason to drop $190 on Analogue’s Mega Sg or Super Nt consoles, it’s that they allow you to play your favorite retro 16-bit games on a modern TV that only supports HDMI. But some nostalgic gamers demand the most authentic retro experience, and for them Analogue is releasing a new digital-to-analog … Continued
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Tech NewsMIT Engineers Have Created the ‘Blackest Black’ to Ever Black
Move over, Vantablack. MIT engineers have developed a material they they claim is 10 times blacker than any other to date. In a blog post, MIT describes the material as being made from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, which are microscopic carbon filaments. The engineers grew the carbon nanotubes on chlorine-etched aluminum foil, which then captured more … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets9 Useful Spotify Features You Might Not Have Started Using Yet
The Spotify apps are constantly updated, tweaked and refined, and that means a steady flow of new features for you to try out. In case you’ve been buried in your playlists to such an extent that you haven’t noticed what’s changed in Spotify since you first signed up, here are nine really useful features to … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsBody of Man Who Went Missing in 1997 Discovered in Pond on Google Maps
The body of William Moldt, a 40-year-old Florida man who was reported missing in November of 1997, has been found. And it’s all thanks to Google Maps, strangely enough. Barry Fay, a 50-year-old resident of Wellington, Florida, called the police after a neighbor told him there was a car in the pond behind his house … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsTravel Bloggers Arrested in Iran For Flying Drone Without a Permit
Two Australian travel bloggers have been arrested in Iran for flying a hobby drone without a permit. The bloggers often take photos with their drone and publish them to social media, but the couple disappeared from the internet in June after posting from Pakistan. The bloggers, Jolie King and Mark Firkin, operate the website The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityCalifornia Temporarily Bans Face Recognition Tech on Police Body Cams
California became the largest state to ban police from using body cameras with facial recognition software after lawmakers passed a three-year moratorium Thursday, Reuters reported. This landmark bill comes as legislators nationwide struggle to keep regulations apace with the fast-growing, and notoriously inaccurate, technology. The bill, AB-1215, bars state and local law enforcement from using … Continued
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Tech NewsSpotify Cracks Down on Family Plan Misuse By Periodically Vetting Where You Live
To make sure subscribers aren’t abusing Spotify’s family plan, the streaming music giant has started checking in on where they live. Over and over again. It’s all in the Premium Family program’s terms of service that Spotify updated in August. A single sentence outlines this new policy, which explains why the change went unnoticed until … Continued
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Tech NewsBizarre Streaming Service Quibi Already Has a Better Lineup Than Apple TV+
Apple had its most important event of the year earlier this week, and judging by its lackluster presentation for Apple TV+ one could be forgiven for thinking that it isn’t putting too much importance in its fledgling streaming service. Meanwhile, the mysterious millennial-focused streaming startup Quibi has a forthcoming show that, at least on paper, … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsKickstarter’s Sleazy Union-Busting Campaign Is Playing All the Hits [Updated]
Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has been the springboard for countless original products over the years, but an apparent attempt by the company’s management to bust up an ongoing union drive is dismally old-fashioned. Clarissa Redwine, Kickstarter’s former East Coast senior design and tech outreach lead, publicized her ouster from the company and continued hostilities from leadership … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsHell Yes, Slack Just Dropped a Dark Mode for Desktop
After rolling out dark mode on mobile earlier this year, workplace chat app Slack is finally bringing its dark theme to desktop as well. The company announced in a blog post on Thursday that dark mode on desktop was immediately available across its apps on Mac, Windows, and Linux. To access it, open Slack and … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsGadgetsHow to Upgrade to an iPhone 11 Without Getting Ripped Off
Pre-orders for the iPhone 11 and its Pro siblings start on Friday at 5am PDT/8am EDT. While Apple didn’t announce a ton of new features for the devices this year, there are some subtle but important changes happening around trade-ins and upgrades. So we made you a little guide to make sure you don’t get … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsAll the Phone Companies You’ve Never Heard of That You Should Care About
The market might be dominated by Apple and Samsung—with an occasional ripple of interest every time a new Pixel arrives—but there are more companies out there making phones than you might have realized. Not only that, they’re often doing more in terms of innovation and experimentation than the big names. At the last count, between … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsThis Is the iPhone 11 You Should Buy (If You Must Pre-Order)
Another September is here, and as we say goodbye to the Summer, we once again say hello to the agonizing upgrade decisions following Apple’s annual iPhone event. Let’s break down which iPhone 11 might be best for you, and whether or not it’s actually time for an upgrade. Aside from some hands-on time with the … Continued
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Tech NewsCommerceSoon, Alexa Might Be as Dumb as Your Neighborhood Troll
The next time you ask Alexa a question, the answer could come from some rando with an internet connection. Amazon is publicly launching its Alexa Answers program, a way for the company to crowdsource answers for questions Alexa doesn’t have a response for. Alexa Answers was initially introduced in December to a small invite-only beta … Continued
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Tech NewsYouTuber Arrested for Trespassing Near Area 51 Just a Week Before Now-Canceled Viral Event
Nevada police say they arrested a YouTuber and his friend, both from the Netherlands, this week after the pair allegedly defied notices and trespassed at a secure government site near Area 51. The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said in a public release that two Dutch nationals, YouTuber Ties Granzier, 20, and Govert Charles Wilhelmus Jacob … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsTech PolicyHuawei Considering Licensing All of Its 5G Patents in Effort to Avoid Ban in the West
With a ban that will effectively prevent Huawei from doing business with U.S. companies set to go into effect in November, it seems Huawei has come up with an idea that could potentially allow it to maintain a foothold in western markets: a one-time licensing deal that would give a buyer unlimited access to Huawei’s … Continued