-
Tech NewsNewsSouthwest Reportedly Protested Safety Checks Designed to Prevent Engine Failures [Updated]
As the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate what caused an engine explosion on a Southwest flight that led to the death of a passenger earlier this week, Reuters reported the airlines fought against new inspections rules proposed by the engine manufacturer. In September 2016, a Southwest flight suffered a similar engine explosion that … Continued
By AJ Dellinger -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
A Recent Update from Google Could Severely Hamper Anti-Censorship Tools
A recent change to Google’s App Engine will discontinue a practice called domain-fronting, an essential technique used by dozens of internet freedom tools designed to allow users to work around state-level internet censorship. The update in Google’s network architecture, first spotted by developers of privacy-minded web browser Tor and reported by The Verge, removes an … Continued
By AJ Dellinger -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Tech Workers Ask Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon to Not Pursue Pentagon Contracts
Google employees have spent the past few months pushing back against their company’s involvement in Project Maven, a Department of Defense initiative to enhance image processing of drone footage using artificial intelligence. As Gizmodo first reported, Google is contracted with the DoD to provide artificial intelligence for Project Maven—a decision that many employees opposed because … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
FTC Privacy Audits of Companies Like Facebook and Google Are ‘Woefully Inadequate’
When Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress last week, several lawmakers grilled him on Facebook’s failures to comply with a 2012 consent decree that required the social media company to submit routine privacy audits to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC’s privacy audits are widely viewed as one of the strongest enforcement mechanisms for keeping tech … Continued
By Kate Conger -
Tech NewsNews
Man Finds Mystery $500,000 in His Bank Account—and It May Belong to Backpage’s Founder
A Phoenix news station reports a bizarre incident involving a $500,000 check mistakenly deposited into the bank account of a recent law school graduate. The deposit was made in the name of Michael Lacey—the name of the co-founder of Backpage, whom the FBI recently accused of money laundering and facilitating prostitution. Parker Fox, the recent … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsNews
Bill Gates Backs Plan to Surveil the Entire Planet From Space
EarthNow is a new company looking to provide satellite imagery and live video in virtually real-time. Its unsettling pitch describes a network of satellites that can see any corner of the globe and provide live video with a latency of about a second. And a look at the startup’s top investors gives a lot of … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsNetflix Apparently Wants to Buy Its Own Theaters, and That’s Honestly a Good Idea
Netflix wants to get into the movie theater business, according to a new report from The Los Angeles Times. Anonymous sources told the paper that the Los Gatos-based entertainment giant pursued a deal to buy the Mark Cuban-owned Landmark Theaters but ultimately backed out due to a high sale price. While it might sound wild … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgets
Looks Like Microsoft’s Windows Phone Supply Is Finally Running Dry
Admit it, you dun goofed. You hemmed and hawed and reasoned that no one else would buy them, but now they’re gone. The last of the remaining Windows Phones are finally out of stock, and you can be pretty damn sure they aren’t coming back. Going out with the weakest of whimpers, the last available … Continued
-
Tech NewsNews
UK Official Says It’s Too Expensive to Delete All the Mugshots of Innocent People in Police Databases
In 2012, a ruling by Britain’s High Court found that keeping the mugshots of innocent people in police databases was unlawful. But almost six years later, the country’s Home Office has defended the continued retention of such images, saying, basically, the problem is too expensive to fix. According to a report presented to Parliament, at … Continued
-
Tech NewsNews
What the Hell Is Going On With New York City’s Sex Trafficking Hotline?
There is some confusion around New York City’s “trafficking hotline.” But the mess isn’t as dumb and bad as a recent report makes it seem. Essentially, the hotline was touted by the New York City Police Department as dedicated to helping victims of trafficking. Thing is, it isn’t just dedicated to victims of trafficking. It … Continued
-
Tech NewsFor $367,500, This Clockwork Machine Will Save You the Hassle of Writing Your Own Name
Are you a billionaire suffering from wrist cramps brought on by the endless stacks of checks you need to endorse? A two-dollar rubber stamp is one solution, but more befitting of your fiduciary status could be Jaquet Droz’s Signing Machine, which uses sophisticated clockwork mechanisms to flawlessly recreate your signature. Jaquet Droz, named after the … Continued
-
Tech News
A Worrying Number of Amazon’s Warehouse Workers Are Reportedly Living Off Food Stamps
Amazon bills itself as a creator of jobs. Look no further than the ludicrous subsidy packages offered by cities in competition to host its second headquarters. But according to public records requests obtained by the Intercept, Amazon can drain public coffers in other ways, with five states listing Bezos’s empire as a top beneficiary of … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsRare Mutation Among Bajau People Lets Them Stay Underwater Longer
The Bajau people of Malaysia and the Philippines are renowned for their free-diving abilities, often working eight-hour shifts in search of fish and other sea critters. Underwater sessions can last upwards of two minutes, with accumulated daily totals of breath-holding often reaching five hours. New research suggests these impressive feats aren’t the result of training, … Continued
-
Tech NewsNews
Woman Who Posted Instagram Pics of Her Fancy Drug-Smuggling Trip Sentenced to Less-Fancy Prison
A Canadian woman who was caught smuggling a fuck-ton of cocaine after posting ritzy photos of herself on Instagram was just sentenced to minimum four years and nine months in prison. Melina Roberge, 24, acted as a front for the massive illegal drug trade by posting photos of her two-month vacation aboard the cruise ship … Continued
-
Tech News
Flies Love to Ejaculate, Experiment Finds
If there’s one thing I know about human males, it’s that they love ejaculating. It can sometimes seem like their entire existence is motivated by a need to shoot sperm and seminal fluid from their genitalia. But have you ever wondered from where they acquired such a desire? A team of scientists, led by graduate … Continued
-
Tech News
Skip the Tourist Stuff and Just Lock Yourself Up in This Hotel’s Bananas Gaming Suite
If you’re a gamer who doesn’t want to haul a PC with you on vacation, you could book your next trip to Panama City where the local Hilton has packed a ridiculously customized hotel room full of high-end gaming gear and accessories. The beanbag chairs, VR goggles, and racing seat all make sense to me, … Continued
-
Tech News
Pioneering Psychologist Hans Asperger Was a Nazi Sympathizer Who Sent Children to Be Killed, New Evidence Suggests
The term “Asperger’s syndrome” will never be heard the same way again, owing to new research showing that Hans Asperger—the Austrian pediatrician for whom the disorder was named—was an active participant in the Nazi eugenics program, recommending that patients deemed “not fit for life” be sent to a notorious children’s “euthanasia” clinic. New research published … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgets
The First Gaming Phone With RGB Lighting Is So Silly, It’s Awesome
I’ve been waiting for this to happen for a long time, and I’m actually a little surprised it’s only happening now. But with the launch of the Nubia’s Red Magic, there’s finally a gaming phone with built-in RGB lighting. For years, desktop and console gamers have enjoyed a wealth of gadgets and accessories with customizable … Continued
-
Tech News
Two Months After Announcing New Smart Glasses, Intel’s Killing the Project Entirely
Damn, I’ve never seen a tech company give up on a project so quickly since Microsoft bet big on the Kin, but Intel may have taken the cake as it announces the closure of the division responsible for its intriguing Vaunt smart glasses. Just five years after creating the New Devices Group, Intel is shuttering … Continued