- Tech NewsNews
Capital Gazette Shooting Suspect Sued Paper for Reporting His Online Threats Against a Former Classmate
The suspect believed to have carried out the shooting at the offices of Annapolis, Maryland newspaper company Capital Gazette that left at least five dead and two injured sued the publication for defamation in 2012. The charges were thrown out by the judge. Authorities identified the shooting suspect as 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos. He was identified … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
There Sure Is a Lot of Purging in the First Trailer for The Purge TV Show… Not
Boy howdy, if I wanted to see a bunch of people being brutally murdered on the one night a year they can, I sure came to the right place. I am of course messing with you: I have no desire to see any of that. Not that it matters, the debut trailer for USA’s The … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
MoviePass is Selling Merch Now, Which Will Definitely Turn Things Around for It
MoviePass, a company that exists solely to piss off its customers despite offering a service so generously price that it will inevitably lead to its own downfall, entered the “we’re selling flamethrowers” phase of its existence Thursday with the official launch of its merch store. The collapse of the company is sure to follow. At … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
The Remake of Stephen King’s Firestarter Just Landed a New Director
It feels like almost every single day, a new Stephen King property moves forward in Hollywood. Yesterday, it was The Boogeyman. A few weeks ago, it was the sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep. Now, the remake of Firestarter has taken a jump forward by landing acclaimed director Fatih Akin. Variety reports Akin will helm … Continued
- io9
Luke Cage‘s Complicated Queer Romance Is a Part of Gangster Movie Tradition
Even though Luke Cage is a show about a bulletproof superhero battling villains, in its deepest heart of hearts, it’s really a dramatic soap opera that’s at its strongest when it focuses on loving relationships. Love takes on a number of different forms in Luke Cage’s second season as it pushes together and pulls apart … Continued
- io9
The New House With a Clock in Its Walls Trailer Feels Magical and Adventurous
The first trailer for The House With a Clock in Its Walls was… fine. Cool visuals, great cast, but tonally, it felt a bit awkward. Well, that’s gone in this second trailer, which ups the wish-fulfillment, fantasy, and adventure elements in a way that will get you very excited. Directed by Eli Roth, The House … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
AT&T Has to Pay Up Millions After Two Major 911 Outages Last Year
The Federal Communications Commission just settled an investigation into AT&T 911 outages from last year, hitting the telecom company with a $5.25 million fine. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau made the announcement on Thursday, stating that “such preventable outages are unacceptable.” Aside from the fine—which is really a drop in the bucket for the billion-dollar behemoth—AT&T … Continued
- io9Games
I Wasted Approximately ¥3,896 on This Stupid Japanese Crane Game App and Learned Nothing
It started as all tales of hubris do: with Yeast Ken, a Japanese plushie who is a dog and also a loaf of bread, and recently went viral on Twitter. As someone easily captivated by anything involving Shiba Inus, and having recently been told by my significant other that “if u don’t get this for … Continued
By Tom McKay - Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
California Lawmakers Pass Bill Stopping Companies Like Facebook From Selling User Data Without Consent
The California legislature just passed one of the most robust data privacy bills in the United States. Known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, the bill largely mirrors protections offered to European citizens under the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is likely to drastically change the ways that American companies … Continued
By Dell Cameron - ScienceSpace
Interstellar Comet ‘Oumuamua Has a Built-In ‘Propulsion’ System
Remember that cigar-shaped interstellar object that whizzed through our Solar System last year? It was pretty weird, right? Well, new research shows ‘Oumuamua is even stranger than we realized. ‘Oumuamua, pronounced “oh-MOO-ah-MOO-ah,” is a comet and not an asteroid, according to research published yesterday in Nature. That’s not a huge revelation, as many scientists had … Continued
- io9
RIP Harlan Ellison, the Legendary Scifi Author Behind One of Star Trek‘s Greatest Episodes
Harlan Ellison, the iconic yet controversial writer behind dozens of beloved speculative fiction and scifi works, has passed. He was 84. The news announced on social media today by Christine Valada, a close friend of Ellison and his wife Susan, at her request: Ellison’s work across multiple genres—from horror to scifi to speculative fiction, across … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Disney Has Built Impressive Robot Stunt Doubles That Mean No One Any Harm
Following the debut of the Donald Trump robot that perfectly captured the soul of its namesake, many people are wondering what Disney’s Imagineers will do next. The answer turns out to be autonomous stunt double bots that bring us one giant leap closer to IRL Westworld. It might come as a surprise that it’s easier … Continued
By Rhett Jones - EartherConservation
North America’s Largest Coral Reef Is No Longer in Danger
A couple weeks ago, I met some corals for the first time off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. It was pretty rad. Now, I have a newfound appreciation for the animal and any good news about it. So here’s some: The Belize Barrier Reef is no longer on the World Heritage Committee’s List of World … Continued
- Tech News
RIP Asimo, You Useless Robotic Honda Ad
Honda just announced that it will cease development of Asimo, the super cute humanoid that tours the world in the name of stunt marketing. Asimo was 18 years old. Asimo, once heralded as the future of robotics, was not even old enough to buy a beer. But it was always happy to help sell you … Continued
- io9
You’re Going to Have to Wait Longer for Indiana Jones 5
Indiana Jones 5 is currently scheduled for release July 10, 2020—but it seems like that’s about to change. According to Variety, production on the highly anticipated sequel, which was supposed to start in April 2019, will be moved back at least a few months and possibly up to a year. As a result, the film … Continued
- io9
Showtime’s Halo TV Series Is Still Happening, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ Rupert Wyatt Has Joined It
Microsoft announced Steven Spielberg’s involvement in a live-action adaptation of its legendary shooter franchise Halo back in 2013—and now, there’s finally some new news on the series. And of course, as ever with Halo, there’s a familiar fight to finish. 343 Industries announced on the official Halo website today that Showtime has commissioned Halo for … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Sling TV’s Great, Super-Cheap Streaming Plan Is Getting a Price Hike
Sling TV, like other streaming services out there, is hiking the price of its base package of channels, making the cord-cutting service five dollars less appealing. Lucky for cheapskates, Sling is also pushing some updates to its app, and letting users purchase certain channels à la carte, potentially saving them a few bucks in the … Continued
- ScienceHealth
The Strange Connection Between Opioid Addiction and Narcolepsy Might Help Us Treat Both
A new study could revive an abandoned theory about how to treat narcolepsy, the thus-far incurable disorder that makes people chronically sleepy. And it could also provide a new lead on how to treat drug addiction. The paper, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, suggests that opioids can restore a narcoleptic person’s ability to produce … Continued
By Ed Cara - io9
Ant-Man & The Wasp Is Bringing Us Into a New Kind of Uncanny Valley
Ant-Man & The Wasp is a visually-stunning film that toys with your senses in order to create a larger-than-life adventure befitting any Marvel blockbuster. But the film’s most impressive technical feat isn’t one of the flashy CGI-powered stunts you’ve seen in the trailers. [Ed’s note: This article contains very slight spoilers for the upcoming movie.] … Continued
- EartherConservation
Scientists Have Invented Craigslist For Shark Livers
In order to save endangered species, biologists are often forced to take a step that feels counterproductive: sacrificing wild specimens for study. Now, a pair of grad students have devised a virtual tissue bank that could help reduce the number of rare plants and animals killed in the name of science. Tens of millions of … Continued
David Shiffman