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Tech NewsNew Mueller Report Injustice: It’s Getting Delivered to Congress on CDs
Congress has long been clamoring for the Mueller report, and the Justice Department is expected to deliver the report later today. With a twist. Congress is getting the 400-page report on some now semi-ancient tech: CDs. Attorney General William Barr held a press conference this morning to present his interpretation of the report. And soon, … Continued
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Tech NewsCrimeStudent Fried $58,000-Worth of College Computers Using ‘USB Killer’ Device
A 27-year-old former college student pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sticking a “USB killer” device into 66 computers at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. On February 14, Vishwanath Akuthota went on a technological rampage, destroying 59 Windows computers and seven Apple computers, and several digital podiums and monitors—all of which had … Continued
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Tech NewsHow to Completely Ignore the Mueller Report Through the Magic of Technology
The Mueller Report, detailing the investigation into Russia’s efforts to help President Donald Trump win the 2016 election, will be released sometime after 11 am ET today. But if you’re sick and tired of hearing about it, which is only natural at this point, there are tools you can use to limit your exposure. Set … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGadgetsReport: Nintendo’s Got a Cheaper, Smaller Nintendo Switch Coming This Fall
As someone who’s obsessed with portable gaming, on paper, the Switch seems like the perfect console for me. But I actually find it a little too big to leave the house with, so I’m optimistic about a report from Japan’s Nikkei newspaper which claims a couple of new Switch consoles are en route, including a … Continued
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Tech NewsNorth Korea Says It Tested a New ‘Tactical Guided’ Mystery Weapon, Further Freaking Everyone Out
North Korea has developed a brand new weapon according to dictator Kim Jong Un, who made the announcement overnight through state-controlled media channel KCNA. But Kim didn’t stop there. Just hours after the news, the country dropped another bombshell, explaining that North Korea wants U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo removed from nuclear negotiations. The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGadgetsT-Mobile’s Next Big Move Is… a Checking Account?
While it’s not quite a pivot, it seems more and more tech companies are straying out of their lane and into the finance world. T-Mobile has decided to join the collection of startups and legacy tech players that want to handle your banking with a new checking account product simply called T-Mobile Money. Of course, … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaFacebook Asked Some Users for Their Email Passwords, Then ‘Unintentionally Uploaded’ 1.5 Million Contact Lists Without Consent
Earlier this month, Facebook admitted that it was asking some users who signed up on desktop while using email addresses not supporting the OAuth open standard to give them the passwords to their email accounts—with options to avoid doing so hidden in a “Need Help?” sub-menu. Now the social media giant has admitted that yes, … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityChicago Police Bust Alleged Car2Go Theft Ring, With Up to 100 Vehicles Believed Stolen
Thieves have stolen an astonishing number of Car2Go vehicles in the city of Chicago, Motherboard reported on Wednesday, with up to 100 cars reported missing. According to the Verge, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement that 16 people have been detained for questioning. Car2Go, a Smart car and Mercedes-Benz rental service and app … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsYouTube’s CEO Responds to Its Bad Content Problem, Exposes the Core of Its Platform Problem
Seemingly with each passing week, YouTube faces another content moderation problem. And despite the company’s own efforts at moderating its platform, it can’t seem to get its hands around the problem. A profile of the company’s CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday by the New York Times captures in clear terms the extent to which the … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityNew Scam Has Men in White Vans Offering People Money for ‘DNA Samples’
If you thought face-to-face confidence scams were obsolete thanks to the wonders of modern connectivity, well, think again. Today’s grifts have only gotten creepier. Bloomberg reported today on the rising trend of con artists portraying themselves as medical professionals while offering residents of low-income communities a few bucks in exchange for a DNA swab and … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityThe Internet Is About to Get Less Horny and That Sucks
The UK government is going to remarkably puritanical lengths to make sure the youth can’t look at online fucking. On July 15, porn companies will be required to have age-verification systems to make sure that anyone consuming their content online is 18 or older. If they don’t implement these checks on their websites, they risk … Continued
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Tech NewsAfter 36 Years, Helvetica Gets a Much-Needed Facelift
Everyone has an opinion about fonts, but Helvetica has long reigned over the modern era. It’s used for brands galore—Panasonic, Jeep, American Airlines, Motorola, 3M, Toyota, to name a few—but in recent years, tech companies like IBM, Apple, Netflix, and Google have been shifting to their custom Helvetica-esque-but-not-quite fonts to deal with some of its … Continued
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Tech NewsFCC Plans to Ban World’s Largest Mobile Phone Operator From U.S. Citing National Security Concerns
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it will move to block China Mobile, the largest telecom company in mainland China, from offering services in the United States. The effort comes at the direction of the White House and still needs to be approved at the FCC’s May 9 meeting. “Safeguarding our communications networks … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGadgetsLook at All These Fucked Up Galaxy Folds [Updated]
Just days after Samsung gave its $2,000 foldable smartphone to reviewers, a troubling number of journalists say their Galaxy Fold units are all jacked up. Reporters at CNBC, The Verge, and Bloomberg have all tweeted images showing seemingly distinct problems with the Galaxy Fold—although in the last case, the reviewer may have helped fuck up … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech NewsGoogle Adds AI That Automatically Stops You From Filling Your Pixel 3 With Selfie Trash
Take a peek at your smartphone’s camera roll and you’ll probably find hundreds of duplicate shots, all snapped while trying to take the perfect selfie. To remedy this, Google is bringing some new AI smarts to its camera app so that it only takes a photo when everyone is selfie-ready. Digital cameras have had features … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaFair Warning: Facebook Is Reportedly Building Its Own Voice Assistant
What we can all agree on is that of the heavy hitters operating in the voice assistant market—Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and I guess Cortana and Bixby if we’re being generous—exactly none are made by Facebook. We can probably also agree things ought to stay that way, but then, when in recent memory has humanity … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsThe $9,000 Surface Hub 2S Is a Gigantic Windows Touchscreen With Special Wheels to Scoot Around on
It seems like every day there’s someone in a fancy office talking about how teamwork and collaboration is the key to success. And yet, most of us are still stuck with the same infuriating video conferencing tools that make people want to give up. But the Microsoft Surface Hub 2S feels a bit different, a … Continued
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Tech NewsApple’s Secretive Project Titan Is Reportedly on a Quest for a Better Self-Driving Car Sensor
A fresh report has renewed rumors about Apple’s super-secretive autonomous car unit known as Project Titan. Citing three sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported Wednesday that the company’s self-driving car unit is exploring options for a “revolutionary design” in lidar sensors. The company has spoken with at least four unnamed companies, the news service … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsWhen Will Apple Release a 5G iPhone?
After two years, Apple’s legal spats with Qualcomm have come to an anticlimactic end. There’s a lot to parse from the settlement itself, but one main takeaway is that Apple now has a faster path toward building a 5G-compatible iPhone. Neither company officially specified exactly why two years of sniping came to an end, but … Continued
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Tech NewsKaspersky Lab Saga Grows Weirder as Critics of the Security Firm Say Bumbling Spy Tried to Discredit Them
A man who goes by the name Lucas Lambert reportedly spent months setting up meetings with three cybersecurity experts under false pretenses last year, hoping to get them to say that they were paid to criticize Kaspersky Lab. Lambert was unsuccessful, but the attempt sheds new light on alleged covert activity potentially carried out on … Continued
By Matt Novak