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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Twitter’s Inexplicable New Settings Highlight Problems with Abuse
So Twitter created a rather obscure new setting in its privacy menu called “Receive Direct Messages from Anyone.” Now, people you don’t follow can send you a direct message, or DM, in private. Here’s why this setting got people’s knickers in a bunch — for some pretty good reasons. First of all, the whole point … Continued
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Tech News
Girl Scout Cookies, or California’s Most Notorious Strain of Cannabis
I first heard of Girl Scout Cookies a few years ago, shortly after I got my prescription for cannabis in California. I went into my local dispensary and asked for whatever buds they had that smelled the nicest. “Have you tried Girl Scout Cookies?” the woman behind the counter asked. “It’s famous.” Image by Ry … Continued
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io9Television
This New Series About Hacking Could Actually Be Amazing
Here’s the teaser for the new hacker television series Mr. Robot that took the South by Southwest Film Festival by storm earlier this year. It’s sort of like a darker version of Hackers, with a tormented geek hero named Elliot who is tempted by Anonymous-like forces of chaos. Audiences who saw it at SXSW say … Continued
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Tech News
Want the Best App for Your Daily Commute? Take a Public Bus.
I take buses and trains everywhere in the San Francisco area, and I know the city’s bus routes better than I know the UX on my phone. So I had to try Leap, the city’s new private bus service. It was a nice experience in many ways, but I wouldn’t recommend it – and not … Continued
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Tech News
Poll: Which Ports Do You Want on Your Dream Machine?
The new MacBook is out this week, and its most famous attribute — other than its heroin-addicted model skinniness — is its single USB-C port for power and everything else. Yep, you can’t power your machine and use an external monitor or USB drive at the same time. So let’s build a crazy multi-port dream … Continued
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ScienceSpace
Now You Can See How Close to Perfect the SpaceX Landing Was
Yes, it’s true that yesterday SpaceX failed to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone barge in the ocean. But it wasn’t exactly a crash landing, like last year’s attempt. In fact, it was a nearly perfect landing — until the rocket began to tilt and fall over. This video … Continued
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Tech News
Massive Online Protests in India Over Net Neutrality
Just as the United States seems on the brink of accepting net neutrality regulations, protests over a similar issue are erupting in India and Europe. Though net neutrality looks a little different in these regions, the issues are still fundamentally the same. According to Jayadevan PK, writing in The Times of India: In one of … Continued
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Reviews
HBO Now Review: It Passed the Game of Thrones Test, But Is That Enough?
I still remember that terrible night in 2011 when millions of fans screamed in agony as Game of Thrones started, stuttered, and died on HBO Go. We all felt burned by HBO’s crappy internet service. But HBO Now, launched just in time for last night’s GOT premiere, promised to be better. Was it? Yes. What … Continued
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Tech News
Wearables Are All About Giving You a “Rich Person Experience”
Over the weekend, economist Paul Krugman wrote an interesting column for the New York Times that explains why Apple is emphasizing wealth and luxury in its Apple Watch campaigns. Krugman believes that’s because all wearables are aimed at giving you an experience that only super rich people can have. Krugman starts by talking about how … Continued
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io9Television
Why the Hell Can’t I Watch Murphy Brown Online?
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer saysthat without the 1990s TV series Murphy Brown to inspire her, she wouldn’t have gotten where she is today. The show was so influential that Vice President Dan Quayle turned the main character, played by Candice Bergen, into a political meme. And yet this series isn’t available anywhere online. In her … Continued
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Tech News
This Craigslist Ad for a Genetic Engineer Is Pure Wonderful Madness
I have loved a lot of Craigslist ads in my time, but I truly love this one the most. It sounds like a plot ripped from The Avengers or Fantastic Four, crossed with VC-funded biotech startup madness. Here’s what the ad says: I am a billionaire who needs help creating a mouth wash.solution.gum with CRISPR-Cas9 … Continued
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Tech News
Game of Thrones Was Pirated 7 Million Times in the Last 3 Months
Citing a study from anti-piracy service Irdeto, Hollywood Reporter claims that episodes of Game of Thrones were illegally downloaded 7 million times in a three month period this year. Pirates love dragons, obviously. Those numbers are up from last year, when the show was downloaded 8 million times in twelve months, according to Torrent Freak. … Continued
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Tech News
Edward Snowden Tells John Oliver How to Generate the Best Passphrases
On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, a long conversation with Edward Snowden wound up turning into advice on coming up with good passwords. The upshot? Passwords of 8 characters or less are basically crackable in seconds. And the best (memorable) password that Snowden could come up with was margaretthatcheris110%SEXY. Contact the author at [email protected]. … Continued
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Tech News
All the Ways That Your Livefeed Is a Lie
There’s nothing new about streaming video from your phone, or posting live news updates from important events. But now companies are trying to make the experience of streaming your life more real than ever before — and they’re doing it by telling us very dangerous white lies. Image by Alexander Supertramp via Shutterstock Livestreaming started … Continued
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Tech News
45 Percent of People Featured in Memes are White
It turns out that memes are something that white people like. At least, that’s one possible way to understanda recent study of 50 popular memes, which found that there are an awful lot of white people in these widely-shared internet joke cycles. Over at the Washington Post, Caitlin Dewey explains this aspect of the study: … Continued
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Tech News
The Guerrilla Movement To Deploy Sensors All Over Your City
“You want to see our sensor?” Pierre Forcioli-Conti gestures at a high window that leads to the roof. “You’ll have to climb over Matt’s desk and go out the window.” No problem. I wriggle through the window and climb out on top of the the refurbished 1940s movie theater on Mission Street in San Francisco. … Continued
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Tech News
How Autodesk’s Experimental Lab Gave Us an Odd Little Star Wars Movie
The long rectangles of San Francisco’s famous piers gave the city a blocky, geometric border with the Bay over a century ago. Now these abandoned remnants of the Barbary Coast are being rejuvenated by companies like software giant Autodesk, whose Pier 9 Workshop is so experimental that it feels like science fiction. On an early … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
I Paid a UX Expert $100 to Get Drunk and Evaluate Gizmodo’s Design
It happened late on Tuesday night. Of course I was working. “Have you seen this?” my colleague Chris Mills texted. He followed up with the link to a site where a rather devilish-looking UX professional promised to get drunk and evaluate the website of your choice. Only $75! I knew I had to do it, … Continued
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Tech News
30 Previously-Unknown Species of Fly Discovered in Los Angeles
Nature doesn’t end at the borders of a city — it’s just transformed. That’s why scientists are finding new animal species in urban areas, where the ecosystems favor scavengers, hardy weeds, and junk-eaters. It probably comes as no surprise that the sprawling city of Los Angeles is home to its own unique fly species. Today, … Continued
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Tech News
Head to the Robogames Next Weekend to Greet Your New Overlords
Do you like to watch expertly designed robots smash and grind each other to bits? What about watching them compete to solve mazes, or win a game of soccer? If you’re a normal person and said yes to all these questions, then you need to be at Robogames — and it’s coming up next weekend. … Continued