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TECHNOLOGY AND MORE!

Scientists Discover Protein in a Meteorite

18KFuturism / 11h
For the first time, scientists found a complete protein molecule in a meteorite — and they’re pretty sure it didn’t come from Earth.
After analyzing samples from the meteorite Acfer 086, a team of researchers from Harvard University and the biotech companies PLEX Corporation and Bruker Scientific found that the protein’s building blocks differed chemically from terrestrial protein.

Citroën introduces a two-seat EV that costs €19.99 a month

1KTechCrunch / 7h
The Citroën Ami is a new take on urban mobility.
Jokes aside, the Citroën Ami could be a glimpse at the future of mobility.

Taylor Swift is a manspreading, cigar-smoking, tantrumming dude in 'The Man' video

3KMashable / 15h
You'll see Taylor Swift in a whole new light in her video for "The Man." Literally. In the video, Swift dresses as a suit-wearing, manspreading, cigar-smoking, yacht-owning, tennis-match-tantrumming dude. And does a very convincing job of it. In the song — a newly-released single from her album Lover — Swift imagines what life would be life if she were a man. "They'd say I hustled/Put in the work


We Found Clearview AI's Shady Face Recognition App

Gizmodo / 7min
Reporters were able to download the most recent Android version of the app marketed to police by Clearview AI, a New York-based startup whose controversial scraping of an estimate 3 billion photographs from the likes of Facebook, Google, and YouTube have prompted legal threats from major tech companies and alarmed privacy hawks on Capitol Hill.
A face recognition app used by thousands of law enforcement agencies, which has drawn considerable scrutiny in past weeks due to its creator’s dubious data collection efforts, contains code hinting at a range of unreported potential features, based on a version of the app discovered by Gizmodo.

Citroën's new EV is a tiny two-seater that only costs $22 a month

Engadget / 10min
Yes, you can't replicate Fast and Furious stunts with it, and it doesn't have a lot of range, but the Ami was designed for city driving and narrow streets anyway.
Citroën has launched a new electric vehicle that's a tiny car and an enclosed scooter at the same time.

'Crossy Road' follow-up comes to Apple Arcade with a focus on co-op play

Crossy Road Apple Arcade28Engadget / 52min
It's been a few years since Crossy Road updated the Frogger formula to create a popular mobile game, and now developer Hipster Whale has returned with Crossy Road Castle. The Apple Arcade -exclusive title is available across iOS, iPadOS, macOS and tvOS devices and invites players into its obstacle course as they try to climb a spinning tower. The multiplayer is built for use on a single device (a

OPPO Find X2 10-bit high-contrast screen officially teased

SlashGear / 55min
According to OPPO, other phones today, whether LCD or OLED, use 8-bit technology, which means it is capable of display 256 shades of a single color (not 256 colors, to be clear) while its 10-bit screen is able to show off 1,024 shades.
Over at Twitter, the company boasts of the Find X2’s 10-bit OLED screen.

Galaxy Tab S6 Lite to offer a mid-range S Pen slate

SlashGear / 1h
It has another such mid-range tablet ready to land soon and, apparently, it will be called the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
It may on longer be flooding the tablet market with nearly identical models but Samsung does still put out a few options each year.

Spotify Australia just launched a swathe of original and exclusive local podcasts

44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
While Spotify currently dominates the globe on the music streaming front, the Swedish company has made it clear it wants to overtake Apple and conquer the realm of podcasts too, and its latest money move has arrived in the form of new Spotify Original and Exclusive podcasts for Australia. This time last year, the streaming giant dropped US$200 million to help secure its podcasting future , acquir

Cellphone Carriers May Face $200 Million in Fines for Selling Location Data

200+NYT > Technology / 2h
The Federal Communications Commission is set to propose about $200 million in fines against four major cellphone carriers for selling customers’ real-time location data, according to three people briefed on the discussions.
Ajit Pai, the F.C.C. chairman, said in a letter to the House Commerce Committee last month that the agency’s investigators had concluded that “one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law,” but it was unclear at that time what penalty the F.C.C. would suggest.

CDC warns E. coli infections linked to popular sandwich restaurant

SlashGear / 2h
The FDA has joined the CDC and state officials in investigating this outbreak, including whether the same contaminated clover sprouts are being served at other restaurants.
At this point in time, the contaminated clover sprouts were linked back to some Jimmy John’s restaurants.

Pandemic simulation game 'Plague Inc' pulled from China's App Store

China Chinese Plague51Mashable / 2h
'includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China' and has been removed from the China App Store," Ndemic Creations wrote.
Ndemic Creations is attempting to contact the Cyberspace Administration of China to find out more information and work to return Plague Inc. to the Chinese App Store.

I Pray Apple's Rumored iPad Pro Keyboard with Trackpad Ditches the Fabric

24Gizmodo / 2h
Apple really, really wants you to consider the iPad a MacBook replacement, so after adding cursor support in the latest version of iPad OS, the company reportedly has a reimagined Smart Keyboard with built-in trackpad on deck.
When I saw the report, I immediately envisioned Brydge’s beautiful aluminum Bluetooth iPad Pro keyboards, scheduled to ship this April, which also have trackpads to take advantage of cursor support.

Shark Tank host falls victim to phishing scam

59TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
The incident began last week when Corcoran's bookkeeper received an email regarding an invoice related to a real estate renovation.
It was an invoice supposedly sent by my assistant to my bookkeeper approving the payment for a real estate renovation.

Google Authenticator 2FA codes are at risk from this Android malware

SlashGear / 2h
To be fair, it isn’t Google Authenticator itself that is vulnerable to a strain of malware known as the Cerberus online banking trojan.
2FA apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, and LastPass, just to name a few, pretty much act like password managers except they only generate One-Time Passwords (OTPs) when you open the app.

The Five Best Dipping Sauces, According to Our Readers

Gizmodo / 3h
Great on its own with perfect heat/taste ratio, and mixing it about 2:1 with blue cheese dressing gives you a next level creamy/spicy dipping sauce.
Earlier this week, we asked our readers one of the most contentious questions you can ask a bunch of people just waiting to be pissed off: What’s the best dipping sauce?

U.S. Health Workers Lacked Training, Protective Gear When Assisting Coronavirus Evacuees: Report

100+Gizmodo / 3h
A whistleblower from the Department of Health and Human Services has alleged that officials sent more than a dozen workers to receive American evacuees from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak , without providing sufficient protective gear or medical training, according to recent reports from the Washington Post and the New York Times .
“I soon began to field panicked calls from my leadership team and deployed staff members expressing concerns with the lack of H.H.S. communication and coordination, staff being sent into quarantined areas without personal protective equipment, training or experience in managing public health emergencies, safety protocols and the potential danger to both themselves and members of the public they come into contact with,” the whistleblower stated, per the Times report.

Yes, you can ski in Maryland: Here’s what I learned during my trip

The Points Guy / 3h
The gift of a smaller mountain is that there’s probably only one true base area, and you’re much less likely to accidentally end up somewhere you shouldn’t be.
That can be great if you’re after varied terrain, but it comes with challenges if you have kids who are ready to start exploring on their own, but not with so much freedom they could accidentally find themselves on a trail way beyond their skill level.

Your credit card could score you free 2-day shipping, plus discounts on Spotify and Groupon

The Points Guy / 3h
If you’re passionate about good deals, you’re going to love Chase’s latest gift to cardholders: discounts on Spotify, Groupon and ShopRunner, the membership service that offers free two-day shipping from more than 100 retailers.
This promotion offers targeted Chase customers a 5% statement credit for six months on a Spotify Premium membership when they enroll by May 31, 2020.

Protecting whales from the noise people make in the ocean

300+BBC News - Technology / 3h
Dr Jessopp was recently involved in a research project to study the effects of marine seismic surveys on animals such as whales and dolphins.
He says that one benefit of the prototype device is that it doesn't produce noise across a wide range of frequencies.

Apple tipped to release iPad keyboard with trackpad later this year

SlashGear / 3h
A leak alleges that Apple will release a new keyboard for the iPad that features a trackpad, adding the sorely needed functionality that would make the iPad Pro more useful as a laptop replacement.
The leak comes from The Information , which claims that Apple will release the new iPad keyboard with trackpad later this year.
Also in
Silicon Alley Inside...
The Verge +3 sources

Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay reveal: A huge leap past THAC0, early access in 2020

BG Larian Baldur Gate 3100+Ars Technica / 3h
This sequel to the acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons video game series, which was created by BioWare and left idle for over a decade, is already in a fully playable pre-alpha state, and an hour-long gameplay demo revealed what we can expect when the new game's "early access" version launches on PCs "in a couple of months."
Larian Studios, the game maker behind the Divinity: Original Sin series, kicked off this weekend's PAX East expo with an eagerly awaited look at their next massive RPG: Baldur's Gate 3 .

Clearview said its facial recognition app was only for law enforcement as it courted private companies

Clearview AI ICE Macy93TechCrunch / 3h
After claiming that it would only sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies, a new report suggests that Clearview AI is less than discerning about its client base.
According to the report , even if a company or organization has no formal relationship with Clearview, its individual employees might be testing the software.

Uber’s new feature will help you avoid language barriers while traveling abroad

The Points Guy / 3h
The feature is built for “situations in which a driver or rider maintains different preferred languages, or when English is a secondary language” according to Uber.
If you’re sending an English message to a driver whose preferred language is Spanish, for example, your messages will appear to your driver in Spanish.

Hyundai A-League 2020: live stream every match online in Australia

48TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 3h
There’s a few ways to watch the Hyundai A-League this season – the ABC has become the official free-to-air partner of the competition, and will air 29 live matches in the Saturday 5pm AEDT time slot, as well as delayed broadcasts of the final match-ups.
The streaming service boasts over 50 sports live and on demand, and has almost everything there is from Foxtel’s sports pack, including all the A-League match-ups.

LA Wants To Give Priority Security To People Who Ride Public Transit. That’s Silly.

View from the Wing / 3h
This isn’t PreCheck or CLEAR, just priority line access for the regular security queue, and follows a program at Boston Logan for people who take a shuttle bus or ferry to the airport.
Los Angeles is is considering letting people who take public transit to the airport have priority security .

Latin America roundup: SoftBank adds $1B, Stori raises $10M and Grow Mobility puts on the brakes

56TechCrunch / 3h
The firm currently oversees more than 650 companies in Latin America, largely concentrated in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, and plans to invest $100-150 million in 17 firms and two VCs by the end of the year.
After investing nearly $2 billion of its Innovation Fund in Latin America in 2019, SoftBank announced this month that it would add an additional $1 billion into the fund to continue supporting tech startups across the region.

Clearview AI leak names businesses using its facial recognition database

Clearview AI ICE Macy100+Engadget / 3h
One of the most vehement arguments against Clearview AI's practice of scraping billions of photos from millions of public websites to build its facial recognition database was that the company's data storage and security protocols were both untested and unregulated.
On Wednesday, Clearview AI claimed that its facial recognition database was hacked , giving intruders access the the company's full client list, which Buzzfeed News has acquired.

SeeHow helps cricketers train smarter

100+TechCrunch / 3h
“Putting the sensor inside the ball or bat handle where the action is happening is when you can capture data fundamentally at a higher accuracy,” says Dev Chandan Behera, founder and CEO of SeeHow .
Its sensors are baked into cricket balls and bat handles to track very specific types of data that batsmen and bowlers generate.

NASA planning document may offer clues to changes in Artemis program

NASA Universe Artemis96Ars Technica / 3h
According to a planning document circulated at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center this week, titled "Moon 2024 Mission Manifest," the space agency has set target launch dates for its first 10 Artemis Moon missions.
But based upon the document obtained by Ars and recent internal briefings by NASA Associate Administrator Doug Loverro, it does seem increasingly clear that NASA is moving away from it original Artemis plan, which involved the use of multiple rockets and assembly of a Human Landing System in orbit around the Moon.

U.S. wireless carriers face $200 million in FCC fines for mishandling customer data

FCC AT&T Sprint Verizon61Mashable / 3h
"If reports are true, then [FCC Chairman] Ajit Pai has failed to protect consumers at every turn," wrote Wyden .
Senator Ron Wyden (D - Oregon) blasted the FCC for failing to proactively protect consumers and, instead, only reacting to investigative reporting on the issue done by the likes of Motherboard .

Starbucks will offer plant-based meat sandwich starting in Canada

Starbucks Beyond MeatSlashGear / 4h
Starbucks is the latest franchise to get on the fake-meat bandwagon, according to an announcement from the company on Thursday. The coffee chain will source its plant-based meat from Beyond Meat, the same company supplying meat-free patties to McDonald’s and select other restaurants. Starbucks will first offer its plant-based food items in Canada starting later this spring season. Plant-based mea

Walmart Is Preparing to Launch an Amazon Prime Competitor Called Walmart+

Walmart Amazon Prime31Gizmodo / 4h
It’s unclear whether Walmart would keep the same price point for Walmart+ as with its Delivery Unlimited program, but a subscription of around $100 a year would compete directly with Amazon’s own membership, which costs $13 per month or $119 per year for one-day delivery on millions of products.
According to Recode, Walmart is hoping to launch a service that differs from Amazon Prime when it comes to perks and savings, specifically through prescription discounts, fuel savings at gas stations, and a scan-and-go system to save shoppers time in store.
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TechSpot
The Unofficial Apple... +4 sources

DocuSign acquires Seal Software for $188M to enhance its AI chops

100+TechCrunch / 4h
Contract management service DocuSign today announced that it is acquiring Seal Software for $188 million in cash.
These companies use Seal for its contract management tools, but also for its analytics, discovery and data extraction services.

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, 61, Who Created the ‘Konami Code’ Video Game Cheat, Dies

Konami Kazuhisa Hashimoto500+NYT > Technology / 4h
The code — up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start — was a famous cheat for players who wanted to squeeze more lives out of their video game consoles.
Kazuhisa Hashimoto, a Japanese video game producer whose “Konami Code” allowed players to cheat their way to superhuman strength, additional firepower and extra lives, has died.

Worried about coronavirus? Stop touching your face.

200+Mashable / 4h
"People don't realize how frequently everyone is touching their face, and how important it is in spreading germs," she said.
If you do catch yourself touching your face, Parikh says that you should wash your hands immediately.

The Airbus A380 rolled through a French town for the last time

The Points Guy / 4h
A convoy of trucks transporting A380 parts ready to be assembled traversed the French village of Lévignac, on the way to the Airbus plant near Toulouse.
Because of its sheer size, getting those components to the Toulouse assembly plant is a gigantic logistical undertaking : th e wings are built in the U.K., the front half of the fuselage in France and the back half in Germany, the tail in Spain and Germany — a completed A380 includes parts from dozens of countries.

Raccoon malware affects all browsers

64TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 4h
Despite its expensive price and subscription-based business model, the Raccoon malware has grown increasingly popular among cybercriminals due to its ability to target at least 60 applications including most popular browsers .
What sets Raccoon apart from other malware is the fact that it employs a subscription-based business model that includes technical support, bug fixes and updates.

Stem is offering cash advances to help musicians stay independent

68TechCrunch / 5h
With Scale, Rabkin Lewis and her team are trying to offer something better — a way for musicians to get access to the money they need without having to sign a restrictive contract.
Money might not be the only thing a musician needs, but Rabkin Lewis (a former agent at the United Talent Agency) said that marketing and other services that were once the sole domain of record labels are now available through independent professionals.

YouTube TV is losing FOX Regional Sports and YES Network

YouTube Fox SinclairSlashGear / 5h
YouTube TV subscribers will no longer be able to access the FOX Regional Sports Networks starting on February 29, the company said in a series of tweets.
The talks took place with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns FOX Regional Sports; YouTube says it has been ‘unable to reach an agreement’ with the company, meaning it will only be able to offer these sports channels for a few more days.

Mousepads Are So 1995—Get Yourself a Full Desk Mat Instead

22Lifehacker / 5h
It feels just like a normal mouse mat, with the requisite anti-slip base and stitched anti-fray border, and its mostly-unadorned surface is good for those who don’t want to plaster their desk with images.
This gives you a larger space for mouse movement—you’ll almost never go over the edge—and is less likely to slip around, since it has the weight of your keyboard on top of it, too.

Fear and liability in algorithmic hiring

91TechCrunch / 5h
It would be a foolish U.S. business that tried to sell chlorine-washed chicken in Europe — a region where very different food standards apply. But in the high-tech world of algorithmically assisted hiring, it’s a different story. A number of startups are selling data-driven tech tools designed to comply with U.S. equality laws into the European Union, where their specific flavor of anti-discrimin

Facebook cancels F8 conference over coronavirus fears

Facebook F8 Coronavirus100+Ars Technica / 5h
In recent months, organizers of major international events have become increasingly skittish about the risk that their venues could aid the global spread of the coronavirus.
Several major companies have also announced they were pulling out of the Game Developers Conference—though conference organizers have said the show will go forward.

U.S. airlines begin waiving change fees for Europe travel following coronavirus spread

26The Points Guy / 5h
The coronavirus situation continues to escalate around the world — now, U.S. travelers are reconsidering their plans to visit countries throughout Europe, with cities in northern Italy falling under even greater scrutiny following a recent outbreak near Milan .
As of now, all fees will be waived prior to checkout as long as you plan to travel by April 3, 2020 — Delta will waive the change fee to travel beyond that date or to another destination, but a difference in fare may apply.

What Walmart+ should do in order to really compete with Amazon Prime

Walmart Amazon MarketplaceMashable / 5h
Free photo printing and delivery: Walmart already has photo printing services in stores and online; we want to see the retailer offer some sort of free printing for Walmart+ members.
Amazon doesn't really have a leg in this game because the company doesn't have brick and mortar stores with extra facilities like pharmacies and gas stations.

Glowing Amphibians, Extreme Weather Satellites, and More News

100+Wired / 5h
New research in Scientific Reports reveals that amphibians actually glow, and always have—scientists just couldn't see it.
Extreme weather-tracking satellites prepare for launch

We are so on board for Jordan Peele’s clever reinvention of Candyman

Jordan Peele Candyman100+Ars Technica / 5h
Based on the Clive Barker short story "The Forbidden," the original 1992 Candyman starred Virginia Madsen as a Chicago graduate student in sociology whose thesis deals with urban legends.
The legend holds that anyone can summon Candyman by repeating his name five times while looking in a mirror.

Watch a Half-Scale Cybertruck Beat a Ford F-150 in a Tug of War

1KFuturism / 5h
In just over a month, the YouTubers behind the account “The Hacksmith” have built a half-scale Cybertruck so powerful that it can win against a full-sized Ford F-150 pickup truck in a tug of war.
In a previous video , the team of engineers claimed their mini Cybertruck has a whopping 50 percent more torque than a 5-liter F-150 pickup truck.

Fortnite may soon feature a survival LTM with infected players

SlashGear / 5h
Details on the alleged upcoming LTM were found in game code, hinting at a new mode that involves two teams of players, one that is in some way ‘infected’ and potentially operating as zombies.
Though it’s impossible to tell exactly what Epic has planned — assuming it has anything planned — the discovery could hint at a future survival-based LTM that splits players into two teams, one that plays as Survivors and the other that plays as Infected.

Unions Push F.T.C. to Study if Amazon Warps the Economy

100+NYT > Technology / 5h
The Teamsters joined several other major labor unions in filing a petition Thursday asking the Federal Trade Commission to open a wide-ranging study into Amazon’s business practices.
Mr. Carney said the company’s minimum wage of $15 an hour had pushed other employers to increase pay, and “in keeping with what political leaders say they want to see from companies, Amazon has plowed $270 billion into the domestic economy since 2010.”

Still no MacBook touchscreens. But Apple might make an iPad keyboard with a trackpad.

100+Mashable / 6h
If you have an iPad, it might basically be a MacBook by the end of 2020. A new report from The Information indicates Apple plans on blurring the lines between its flagship tablets and laptops later this year. According to The Information's anonymous source, Apple is planning on releasing an official peripheral for the iPad with a keyboard and a trackpad. Apparently, you'll be able to get it along

SaaS earnings bump Dropbox, Box and Sprout Social

100+TechCrunch / 6h
So let’s take a peek regarding why Dropbox , Box and Sprout Social — one recent IPO and two slightly-out-of-favor SaaS shops — each shot higher after reporting their Q4-era results.
A quick hit as we have a podcast to record , but a few public companies in the broader SaaS market reported earnings in the past week.

Facebook sues analytics firm that stole user data through third-party apps

Facebook OneAudience89Engadget / 6h
At the time, Facebook said OneAudience and another SDK developer called Mobiburn obtained information like people's names, emails and gender.
Facebook has filed a federal lawsuit against a company called OneAudience, accusing it of stealing the personal information of its users.

Facebook Sues OneAudience for Doing a Bit More Data Hoovering Than Expected

Facebook OneAudience52Gizmodo / 6h
Case in point: earlier today, the adtech company OneAudience got slammed with a hefty Facebook lawsuit , on charges that the company with claims that it peddled “malicious” software to app developers that would pull sensitive intel from an app downloader’s Facebook, Twitter and Google accounts—behind all of these company’s backs.
At the time, Facebook requested “an audit” of the company’s data-sucking behavior, which the lawsuit states OneAudience didn’t comply with.

The $35 Raspberry Pi Desktop Computer Now Comes With Twice as Much RAM

Raspberry Pi 4 RAM200+Gizmodo / 6h
From our own tests the Raspberry Pi 4, which boasts 40 times the processing power, eight times the memory, and 10 times the bandwidth of the original version from eight years ago, can be used to build a very usable desktop PC.
But as you prepare to celebrate the quad-annual arrival of February 29 in two days, take a moment to remember that eight years ago the original Raspberry Pi first went on sale.

You Should Probably Never Eat Sprouts

200+Lifehacker / 6h
coli linked to clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s.
coli , those bacteria can grow as the sprouts grow and make you sick.

Cracks Are Starting to Show in the World's Fossil Fueled Infrastructure

42Gizmodo / 6h
The appeals court decision mostly agreed with them , noting plans for the airport put forward by the UK Department of Transportation “had not taken into account its own firm policy commitments on climate change under the Paris Agreement.”
On Wednesday, a British appeals court issued a ruling that Heathrow Airport’s long-planned third runway expansion in London is illegal due to its climate impacts that planners failed to adequately account for.

Save $20 on Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for the Nintendo Switch

56Gizmodo / 6h
Best Gaming Deals Best Gaming Deals The best deals on games, consoles, and gaming accessories from around the web, updated daily. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Nintendo Switch) | $30 | Amazon Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White is selling for a low $30 right now. I, in fact, have been waiting for a good sale on this particular game. With Studio Ghibli art style, this JRPG truly is special. For

Check Your Asus and Huawei Routers to Fix This Wifi Vulnerability

Medium28Lifehacker / 6h
Yet another major firmware bug has been found that leaves billions of phones, routers, and other wireless devices from Apple, Google, Amazon open to spying.
While most of your devices can (or have been) fixed with a software patch, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the latest firmware for your wifi routers, at least—as they don’t often automatically update themselves

‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands

98TechCrunch / 6h
Two robots exit the stage, leaving the last man to utter the final words, “Adam—Eve.”
Of course, the writer’s robots were more human than we presently associate with the word.

What’s scarier than hosts gone rogue? Westworld’s idea for privacy laws

34Ars Technica / 6h
In a cynical but perhaps genuinely American move, the message posits that enforcement and management of data privacy regulation will fall to a likewise fictional private company, Incite Inc., which we heard about before in a hidden trailer .
Email users who subscribed to Westworld updates from Delos Destinations may have received a message today about the Privacy Act of 2039 and its projected impact on Delos experiences.

Pinterest adds DoorDash exec and Caviar lead Gokul Rajaram to its board

44TechCrunch / 6h
The addition signals Pinterest’s desire to bring more digital advertising expertise to its board, given Rajaram’s experience as product director of Ads at Facebook and product management director at Google AdSense.
“Gokul brings great experience and innovation to our Board and we look forward to his many contributions,” said Pinterest CEO and co-founder Ben Silbermann, in a statement.

Virgin Galactic is getting closer to taking passengers into space

The Points Guy / 6h
At a Wings Club luncheon in New York on Thursday, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said that the company is “all in” on getting Branson to low-Earth orbit this year, and that the future of commercial space flight looks bright.
Virgin Galactic , the Branson-backed private space venture, says it is getting ever-closer to the first commercial passenger space flights.

Founder of 8Chan Faces Prison Time in the Philippines for Calling Current Owner 'Senile'

Gizmodo / 6h
Frederick Brennan, the founder of the fringe 8chan discussion board that disbanded after users on its far-right /pol/ subforum were linked to multiple mass shootings, could face arrest in the Philippines thanks to criminal libel charges brought by the site’s current owner, Jim Watkins.
Brennan is in the U.S. but lives in the Philippines and now could face six to 12 years in prison if he returns.

Coronavirus Concerns Lead to the Cancellation of One of Tech's Biggest Developer Conferences

Facebook F8 CoronavirusGizmodo / 6h
Microsoft also announced Thursday that it will no longer attend the annual Game Developers Conference, slated for March 16 through 20 in San Francisco.
Facebook’s Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, director of developer platforms, wrote in a Thursday blog post that the company is still planning local events and live-streamed sessions for developers to learn about changes and new features.

Star Wars' Dee Bradley Baker Tells Us What He Loves About Ahsoka, Rex, and Clone Wars' Enduring Legacy

60Gizmodo / 6h
And so, when they get shot or killed or realize the tragedy of the Clone Wars or glimpse that, it’s affecting to me...So there’s that connection that I have [that] I think the other actors in the show share with their characters very much.”
We really connect with them,” Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of Rex, Cody, and the clone army of the Republic at large on The Clone Wars , recently told io9.

The Raspberry Pi 4 gets a RAM upgrade: The 2GB version is now $35

Raspberry Pi 4 RAM77Ars Technica / 6h
The Raspberry Pi 4. [credit: Raspberry Pi ] The Raspberry Pi 4 is approaching its first birthday in a few months, but it's already getting an upgrade: more memory . The Raspberry Pi launched in June 2019 with 1GB of RAM for $35, 2GB of RAM for $45, and 4GB of RAM for $55, but today the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced that the 2GB model is getting a permanent price drop to $35 . The rest of the

Andreessen Horowitz has backed Run The World, a startup with a timely offering: live online events

500+TechCrunch / 6h
Indeed, beyond enabling organizers to reach a wider audience at perhaps a more accessible price point, a big advantage conferred by online events is the potential for more effective networking, insists Qu. For example, rather than walk into a physical space where it’s sometimes hard to know who to talk with about what, Run The World asks every event attendee to create a quick video profile akin to an Instagram story that can help inform other attendees about who is with them online.
Indeed, like a lot of founders who solve a pain point for themselves or someone they love, Qu wanted to create a platform where her mother could meet and have meaningful work connections with people regularly, and this would mean remotely, through digitized events.

Microsoft is the latest company to drop from GDC amid coronavirus outbreak

Microsoft GDC 2020SlashGear / 6h
The company said that it will move those announcements to a digital-only event that will take place from March 16-18 on the Game Stack website.
Microsoft, like many other companies, had announcements and talks lined up for GDC.

How To Maximize Value Redeeming LifeMiles

26One Mile at a Time / 6h
For example, want to redeem Aeroplan miles for a one-way business class ticket from the US to Germany on Lufthansa?
In this post I wanted to share where I see the value in the LifeMiles program — how do I earn LifeMiles, when do I choose to redeem LifeMiles rather than other Star Alliance miles, how do I do the math on that, etc.

Astronomers Detect Biggest Explosion Since the Big Bang

1KFuturism / 6h
“We’ve seen outbursts in the centres of galaxies before but this one is really, really massive,” Melanie Johnston-Hollitt, professor at the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and co-author of the paper uploaded to preprint archive arXiv earlier this month, said in a statement .
Researchers at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have discovered the largest explosion ever observed in the universe since the Big Bang.

What to Do If You Think You Have COVID-19

400+Gizmodo / 6h
While the coronavirus is a respiratory disease similar to a cold or flu, there’s a notable symptom that’s missing in nearly all cases: a runny nose.
People with COVID-19, or who think they may have been exposed to it, are being asked to stay home as much as possible.

Valve wants cities to bid on hosting The International

78Engadget / 6h
Cities that have lost out on bids to host the Olympics or other big events may have another opportunity to shine. Valve Software is soliciting bids from "host cities" to put on The International -- the annual Dota 2 championship and one of the top esports tournaments . Today, Valve issued a request for proposal ( RFP ) document, shared by Polygon , that asks cities to throw their hats in the ring

Stadia's Unrealized Potential Is Why Baldur's Gate 3 Developers Are Obsessed With It

BG Larian Baldur Gate 331Gizmodo / 6h
Earlier this week, the developer behind Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios, invited press to watch hours of gameplay in which a developer died over and over again in the difficult isometric RPG based on Dungeons and Dragons.
I went because the Baldur’s Gate series is one of my absolute favorite ever made—and also because the third in the series is one of the highest-profile games coming to Stadia this year, and I’m on a quest to understand the cloud gaming platform (and its slowly-growing roster of rivals).

Study details the link between anxiety disorders and vegetables

42SlashGear / 6h
The work involved the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, which revealed that people who ate less than three different sources of fruit and vegetables every day had much higher odds of developing an anxiety disorder.
Inflammation may be the common link between increased anxiety odds, fruit and vegetable intake, and body weight, according to the new study .

Steven Seagal Settles Charges of Unlawfully Promoting Cryptocurrency

Steven Seagal SEC 2018100+NYT > Technology / 6h
Steven Seagal, the actor best known for playing hard-bitten cops and commandos in action movies, has agreed to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose that he was being paid to promote a cryptocurrency investment on his social media accounts.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said that the actor was paid to promote the initial coin offering for a cryptocurrency company but did not properly disclose the agreement.

What Do Those Spotify ‘Top Fans’ Messages Mean?

100+NYT > Technology / 6h
This practice is most prominent during its annual year-end Spotify Wrapped marketing campaign, in which the streaming platform provides users with a short presentation about their most-played artists and songs.
Regina Anderson, 22, was one of many people told they were among Ms. Swift’s top fans and who, upon receiving the message, broadcast it widely.

New US coronavirus case from area with quarantined evacuees from cruise, Wuhan

US Coronavirus Iran96Ars Technica / 6h
UC Davis Health executives noted that the Solano county patient was transferred to the Sacramento facility on February 19 “from another Northern California hospital.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the case late Wednesday , saying, “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19,” meaning that the virus may be moving through members of the general US public undetected.

Delta members can soon earn and redeem SkyMiles on LATAM flights

38The Points Guy / 6h
With the duo’s latest announcement, as of April 1, Delta SkyMiles members will be able to earn and redeem miles for travel on LATAM.
Additionally, LATAM customers will be able to earn and redeem miles on Delta-operated flights, as Brazil’s Passageiro de Primeira reports.

The stunning immensity of choice in 'Baldur's Gate 3'

BG Larian Baldur Gate 333Mashable / 6h
I also had a chance to sit down and talk with Vincke and senior writer Adam Smith after the presentation to discuss how development is going, the kind of work that goes into creating a game like Baldur's Gate 3 , and the experience of translating every possible D&D rule into a video game.
By giving players so much choice and so many options of what to do, it makes the experience of playing the game more personal, even when it's referencing things like your character's race, class, or choices that you've made, Smith said.

Amazon trialing AI-based customer support agents

56TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
Applied science manager at Amazon's customer service technical management organization, Jared Kramer explained in a blog post how the ecommerce giant's automated agents use neural networks to make decisions as opposed to just rules, saying:
“Most text-based online customer service systems feature automated agents that can handle simple requests.

An alternate 2019 top 10 phones list: Cheaper still wins

iPhone Samsung 2019SlashGear / 7h
Earlier today we saw some analysis done on sales of smartphone units in the year 2019 from the company called Counterpoint.
Analysis from research firm Omdia via MacRumors another ranked list of smartphone models for the 2019 calendar year.

FCC may fine carriers for failing to protect phone location data

FCC AT&T Sprint Verizon81Engadget / 7h
Wall Street Journal sources say the FCC hopes to levy "hundreds of millions of dollars" against AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) after determining that they failed to protect real-time location info.
The FCC has warned phone carriers that they broke the law by selling location data, and it might soon make those companies pay the price.

AMD has sold more GPUs than Nvidia, according to this analyst report

AMD Two Intel Xeon89TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
According JPS’s Market Watch Q4 2019 report , AMD saw a 22.6% increase in overall GPU shipments in Q4 2019.
This means that AMD now has 19% share of the GPU market, which is a 3% increase from Q3, while rivals Nvidia and Intel saw 0.97% and 2% drops respectively.

Corporate travel payments just got a whole lot easier for road warriors and finance teams thanks to TripActions

The Points Guy / 7h
TripActions, a corporate travel-management platform, just launched a new travel payments solution, TripActions Liquid , that just may be the answer to employee frustrations with paying for work travel.
Launched this week, TripActions Liquid enables finance teams to get better visibility and control into work travel spend by their employees while dramatically minimizing time wasted on back-end reconciliation of that spend.

Plan Your Mental Health Days in Advance

45Lifehacker / 7h
In an ideal world, mental health days would be something you automatically work into your schedule to prevent you from getting to a place where you desperately need a break, David Klow , licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Chicago’s Skylight Counseling Center, tells SELF.
While some of us might have enough vacation time (or freelance flexibility) to take mental health days during our work week, planning mental health days in advance means you can schedule them for days when you don’t have to work.

This Food Scale Can Get You Perfect Portions Every Time

21Lifehacker / 7h
Best Home Deals Best Home Deals The best home, kitchen, smart home, and automotive deals from around the web, updated daily. Nicewell Food Scale | $20 | Amazon They never said cooking is an exact science, but it is always a good thing that you know how much of one thing that’s going in a recipe, especially if you’re really about portion control. Well, the Nicewell Food Scale can definitely come i

Improving the logistics of trucking, San Diego’s Flock Freight raises $50 million

98TechCrunch / 7h
“We want to change the way freight moves,” says Oren Zaslansky, the chief executive and founder of Flock Freight .
The company raised its cash to change the way shippers move small amounts of goods — those less-than-a-truckload-sized amounts that have to move through hub-and-spoke operations which increase the time goods are on the road and the possibility for breakage as they’re unloaded and reloaded onto different delivery vehicles.

Phone Carriers to Face $200 Million in Fines After Illegally Sharing Phone Location Data

FCC AT&T Sprint Verizon100+Gizmodo / 7h
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to seek at least $200 million in fines from cellphone carriers accused of illegally sharing the location data of their customers, Gizmodo has learned.
In 2018, the FCC’s enforcement bureau launched an investigation into the data sharing practices of several top carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, as allegations of widespread abuse arose after the New York Times reported that a former Missouri sheriff had paid a private company cash to track cellphones without a warrant, including, reportedly, those of other officers.

This cat is living her best life with new 3D-printed titanium limbs — Future Blink

78Mashable / 7h
After Dymka lost her limbs to frostbite, vets and researchers created new limbs for their new furry friend. Read more... More about Cats , Mashable Video , Cat , 3d Printing , and Future Blink

This embedded platform will help you create music — Future Blink

32Mashable / 7h
Daisy is meant to test users at their computer science skills while also allowing them to create cool beats. Read more... More about Tech , Music , Mashable Video , Embed , and Future Blink

Bose Frames work with Microsoft's navigation tech for the blind

100+Engadget / 7h
While Microsoft doesn't offer comparisons, it appears the app is able to deliver more detailed instructions on Bose Frames than some of the other devices where the company has made it available.
The company has added the Bose Frames to the list of devices its Soundscape app supports.

GoodRx Shares My Prescriptions With Third Parties—and It's Perfectly Legal

500+Lifehacker / 7h
But an app like GoodRX, which tracks drug prices and gives users coupons for discounted medicine, can have relative free reign over your health-related data since it’s a private company—no doctors or hospitals involved.
While looking over the data being shared from GoodRX’s app, I found it was being sent to four separate companies: Branch, which links users across their different devices, and Facebook both received my usage information, like how often I opened or closed the app.

Walmart’s own Amazon Prime competitor tipped with special perks

Walmart Amazon PrimeSlashGear / 7h
The report alleges that Walmart will soon start testing its own subscription service called ‘Walmart+’ that will include unlimited same-day fresh grocery delivery from the customer’s local grocery store.
That may change in the near future, according to a new report from Recode , which claims that Walmart is preparing to launch a competing service called Walmart+ that will cost $98 per year and include same-day delivery of fresh grocery items.

COVID19 pushes investors to “stay at home” stocks like Netflix and Blizzard

SlashGear / 7h
A note shared by investor company MKM Partners pointed toward companies such as Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, Peloton, Slack, and Zoom.
At the top of the list: gaming company Activision Blizzard.

Google Translate adds five new languages

Google Translate Five36Mashable / 7h
This week, Google added another five languages to the Google Translate service and with it enabled access to web content for millions more users.
It's been four years since Google added new languages to Translate.

Coronavirus costs GDC 2020 another major exhibitor

Microsoft GDC 2020SlashGear / 7h
The statement sounds much like statements that other companies have shared, saying that while GDC is an important show for many in the games industry, Unity has decided to drop out due to the risk presented by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Like many companies who have dropped out of GDC 2020, Unity had announcements planned for the show, with Riccitiello saying that the content Unity had in the pipeline will now be revealed online instead.

Airtight Reusable Food Storage Bags Are Only $10

Lifehacker / 7h
Best Home Deals Best Home Deals The best home, kitchen, smart home, and automotive deals from around the web, updated daily. Reusable Food Storage Bags | $10 | Amazon Everyone loves reusable storage bags , but what if I told you they were airtight and could also hold LIQUIDS? Yeah, that’s right. For a low $10 , you can get a complete 11-piece set that can house liquids, solids, frozen, and even H

How to Keep Your Soup Bowl From Sliding Around the Plate

Lifehacker / 7h
My stepmother (an elegant woman) has an elegant solution to this inconvenience: place a folded, damp paper towel between the bowl and the plate.
Much like a damp towel under a cutting board , the folded piece of paper product stabilizes the bowl, preventing it from scooting and sliding around your plate.

Facebook cancels F8 developer conference due to coronavirus

Facebook F8 Conference82Mashable / 7h
In a statement posted on its Facebook for Developers site on Thursday, the company announced it was cancelling the “in-person component” of F8 2020 because of growing concerns around the coronavirus.
“This was a tough call to make — F8 is an incredibly important event for Facebook and it’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate all of you from around the world — but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on,” reads Facebook’s statement.

Tinder’s video series ‘Swipe Night’ gets a second season

100+TechCrunch / 7h
The company confirmed today it’s renewing “Swipe Night” for a second season, which will launch this summer (again) as an in-app experience within Tinder’s dating app.
Tinder said millions of users tuned in to “Swipe Night,” and matches and conversations increased by 26% and 12%, respectively.

This Timex GPS watch lasts 25 days and costs a third of the Apple Watch 5 price

85TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
That said, the R300 doesn’t look to have nearly the feature set of leading all-around smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 , for instance, but it allows a lot more interactivity than the simple digital displays on prior Timex trackers.
Timex has a new smartwatch that tracks fitness and GPS for a maximum 25-day battery life – and all at a third the cost of a new Apple Watch 5 .

YouTube TV to drop Fox regional sports channels following Sinclair dispute

YouTube Fox Sinclair100+Engadget / 8h
YouTube TV is dropping Fox Regional Sports Networks (including the New York City-oriented YES Network) on February 29th after it was "unable to reach an agreement" with Sinclair to continue carrying the channels.
Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair, the content provider that offers the FOX Regional Sports Networks and YES Network.

If You're Over 65 You May be Able to Get an Apple Watch Series 5 for $49

400+Lifehacker / 8h
You’ll also need to wear your Apple Watch —if you’re required to use one as part of the study—“every day for the duration of the two-year, active phase of the study.”
In total, you’ll spend three years helping out Apple and Johnson & Johnson with this research, but the time will fly by, especially if you’re already used to wearing a smartwatch every day.

Best laptops under $300 2020: the top laptops you don't have to splurge on

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
Though in the budget range of the lightweight Chromebook environment, this line is also powerful enough, has an impressive battery life and boasts a good selection of ports.
This little Chromebook that could has many things going for it, starting with its surprisingly great design and solid build, as well as its comfortable to use keyboard and touchpad.

Facebook, Google and Twitter Rebel Against Pakistan’s Censorship Rules

China Google Pakistan300+NYT > Technology / 8h
MUMBAI, India — When Pakistan’s government unveiled some of the world’s most sweeping rules on internet censorship this month, global internet companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter were expected to comply or face severe penalties — including the potential shutdown of their services.
Under the new regulations, formally known as the Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020, social media services must remove or block content within 24 hours of a request from a newly appointed officer, called the national coordinator.

Cloud Computing Is Not the Energy Hog That Had Been Feared

200+NYT > Technology / 8h
The digital services churned out by the world’s computer centers are multiplying, but their energy use is not, thanks to cloud computing, a new study says.
A new study of data centers globally found that while their computing output jumped sixfold from 2010 to 2018, their energy consumption rose only 6 percent.

Recycled Nuclear Waste Will Power a New Reactor

500+Wired / 8h
After a year of recycling the spent fuel, the lab has produced over 1,000 pounds of near-fuel-grade material, but Jess Gehin, chief scientist at INL’s nuclear science and technology directorate, expects to increase this production rate as the lab refines its processes.
INL is using spent fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, a nuclear power station that provided electricity for much of the lab for nearly 30 years and also used recycled fuel.

Ford brings its Spin scooters to Germany this spring

67Engadget / 8h
Spin, the Ford-owned e-scooter company, is expanding its fleet into Europe.
Since Ford acquired the company in 2018, it has expanded into over 60 cities and 25 university campuses in the US.
Also in
Engadget

Bright-Red “Blood Snow” Is Falling From the Sky in Antarctica

1KFuturism / 8h
When summer hits the polar regions, the algae bloom, staining the snow and ice around it in blood-resembling red, as Live Science explains .
It’s a stunning display of a natural phenomenon — but it also creates a nasty feedback loop that causes the ice to melt faster.

Architectural rendering of an apartment building. Printed on...

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
Architectural rendering of an apartment building. Printed on the image : “Charles N. Agree, architect.” With caption: “Apartment building: Longfellow and Genesee.” “Max Hamburger, owner. Charles N. Agree, architect.” Stamped on photo back: “Kalec & Forster, 2539 Woodward Avenue, Detroit: Negative safely filed for reorders.” Courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

gameraboy1: General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan by...

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
gameraboy1 : General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan by Balthazar Korab, 1956

ostdrossel: It snowed all day and everybody was confused.

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
ostdrossel : It snowed all day and everybody was confused.

schlesingerlibrary: Today marks the 98th anniversary of the...

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
schlesingerlibrary : Today marks the 98th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the 19th Amendment. In celebration, we present a button from our memorabilia collection .

heaveninawildflower: 1) Bird with Tulip, Carnation and Insects...

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drawing,_Bird,_Butterfly,_and_Pear,_18th_century_(CH_18299405).jpg heaveninawildflower : 1) Bird with Tulip, Carnation and Insects 2) Bird, Butterfly, and Pear British, 18th century. Pen and ink with traces of graphite. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Catalog Photo Wikimedia.

Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8,...

Music, Arts & Literature / 8h
Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) Portrait of contralto Marian Anderson. Printed on front: “Halsman, N.Y.” Stamped on back: “Marian Anderson.” Courtesy of the E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library

Not above the law: Steven Seagal's shady crypto past under siege by SEC

Steven Seagal SEC 201843Mashable / 8h
Notably, other celebrities who promoted cryptocurrencies or initial coin offerings on social media without disclosing they were being paid to do so have found themselves under siege, too.
Actor Steven Seagal found himself on deadly ground on Thursday following an SEC charge that, back in 2018, he failed to disclose he was being paid to promote an ICO for a token by the name of Bitcoiin2Gen. While not admitting any fault, it appears Seagal made the executive decision to fork over $314,000 in fines and penalties levied by the government.

What's Up, Danger? Hot Toys' New Into the Spider-Verse Figure Is Outstanding

1KGizmodo / 8h
We might be waiting for Into the Spider-Verse 2 at this point, but Hot Toys is still out here reminding us just how much the first movie ruled (it’s not the best superhero movie of the last decade for no reason ) with this utterly glorious rendition of Miles Morales in its 1:6 line of action figures.
Clocking in at approximately 11-and-a-half inches tall, Hot Toys ’ Into the Spider-Verse Miles makes up for being late to the party by packing in a frankly insane amount of accessories that really make this the ultimate Spider-Man figure (sorry, not sorry).

Delta & LATAM Add Reciprocal Frequent Flyer Benefits

24One Mile at a Time / 8h
Today it has been announced that Delta and LATAM will introduce reciprocal mileage earning and redemptions for flights as of April 1, 2020.
This means there will be an overlapping period where you can earn and redeem oneworld miles or Delta SkyMiles for travel on LATAM.

Google Cloud’s newest data center opens in Salt Lake City

200+TechCrunch / 8h
Google Cloud announced today that its new data center in Salt Lake City has opened, making it the 22nd such center the company has opened to date.
Google also announced that PayPal, a company that was already a customer, has signed a multi-year contract, and will be moving parts of its payment systems into the western region.

How Texas’s wind boom has spawned a Bitcoin mining rush

100+New on MIT Technology Review / 8h
Leading mining chip maker Bitmain, which is based in China, has also moved into Texas, opening a facility with 50 MW of power in a town called Rockdale in October that it says can eventually scale up to 300 MW.
But what may be particularly attractive to Bitcoin mining businesses are certain unique characteristics of Texas’s wind power market.

Etsy's new mandatory ad fees are leaving sellers furious

26Mashable / 8h
Etsy has automatically enrolled every single one of its sellers into the program. Read more... More about Advertising , Mashable Video , Etsy , Handmade , and Culture

Minecraft Festival is coming to Orlando in September

Mojang Minecraft Festival73Engadget / 8h
Mojang and Microsoft are promising plenty of things to do besides hearing the latest Minecraft news, including panels, exhibits, tournaments, "live entertainment" and, of course, exclusive merch.
The renamed Minecraft Festival is now slated to take place at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center between September 25th and September 27th, with tickets available starting March 6th at 12PM Eastern.

Lucid plans to launch first electric car, promises it’s not a Tesla killer

36Mashable / 8h
The company hopes to produce 20,000 units of their luxury vehicle, the Air, in 2020. Read more... More about Mashable Video , Tesla , Electric Cars , Lucid , and Lucid Air

Now Firefox and Edge users can enjoy Google Earth (but not Safari users yet)

Google Earth Firefox32Mashable / 8h
The change comes after a six-month beta period, and has been made possible by moving Google Earth onto WebAssembly. Read more... More about Mashable Video , Firefox , Edge , Safari , and Google Earth

Deal alert: Flights to Iceland from $333 round trip, including over peak summer dates

The Points Guy / 8h
Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express ( 5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel ), Chase Sapphire Reserve , American Express® Gold Card , Citi Premier Card , Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases).
New York (JFK) to Reykjavik (KEF) for $333 round-trip on Icelandair via Vayama:

Both Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions are on sale today

Microsoft Xbox Series50Ars Technica / 8h
Today's Dealmaster is highlighted by a couple of deals on Xbox subscriptions, as 3-month membership codes for both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are on sale.
Of note: if you already pay for Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft says that buying a 3-month Xbox Live Gold membership will convert to 50 days of Ultimate service.

Delta Will Start Offer Mileage Earning And Redemption On LATAM Starting April 1

View from the Wing / 8h
Alaska Airlines remains a LATAM partner (although I don’t expect that to remain the case in the long term) and offers outstanding value redemptions, e.g. 45,000 mile business class awards each way between the U.S. and South America.
I’d expect to see business class awards cost about 100,000 miles each way between the U.S. and Southern South America.

Vice President Pence bulks up Coronavirus Task Force with medical and economic experts

Trump Pence Indiana95TechCrunch / 8h
On the first day as the new leader of the U.S. government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence announced a number of new appointments to the government’s Coronavirus Task Force. The point person for the government (who will be reporting to Vice President Pence) is Deborah Birx , a longtime leader in the U.S. government’s efforts to contain the HIV/AIDS pan

Find Lost Websites With Wayback Machine's Browser Extension

87Lifehacker / 8h
Pulling up a website, only to come face-to-face with the dreaded “404,” can be annoying. But if you really need whatever content was previously on that site prior to its demise, you have options. The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is one of the best and most well-known ways to access saved caches of dead websites, but it can get tedious to encounter a 404 , pull up the Wayback Machine in anot

Microsoft won't be at GDC because of coronavirus

Microsoft GDC 202079Engadget / 8h
Microsoft is skipping the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this year, citing concerns about the global coronavirus outbreak.
"After a close review of guidance by global health authorities and out of an abundance of caution, we've made the difficult decision to withdraw from participating at Game Developers Conference 2020 in San Francisco," Microsoft said in a blog post .

Heartline study offers some participants a $45 Apple Watch

Apple Watch AFib 5SlashGear / 8h
If you do not already have an Apple Watch Series 5: “You’ll be offered two options to obtain a watch: purchase one, or get one on loan for the duration of the study and return it when your participation in the study ends.”
“Discounted pricing available to Heartline study participants using coupon code obtained in the app on select Apple Watch Series 4 models.

Baldur’s Gate 3: How and when to watch today’s gameplay reveal

BG Larian Baldur Gate 3SlashGear / 8h
Last week, Larian announced that it would be revealing our first look at Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay at PAX East.
We’re not sure how long the livestream will last, but it seems that this reveal will be part of a larger Larian presentation on Baldur’s Gate 3 .

Quick notes on the DoorDash IPO filing

Seagal SEC DoorDash100+TechCrunch / 9h
(It’s hard to imagine the cash-fired engine that is DoorDash looking toward a direct listing.) We’ll dig through its fundraising, unearth what we know about its revenue over time and turn over some data concerning its hiring efforts in recent months to better understand its IPO prep.
So let’s remind ourselves of what we know about DoorDash’s financial history.

Anthony Mackie picks sci-fi movie icons he'd want to fight alongside with

Mashable / 9h
Anthony Mackie is used to saving the day in his movies. He sat down with us to discuss the movie characters he'd want on his team. Read more... More about Entertainment , Mashable Video , Sci Fi , Anthony Mackie , and Altered Carbon

HTTPS for all: Let’s Encrypt reaches one billion certificates issued

80Ars Technica / 9h
More importantly, by establishing a stable protocol to access them, it enabled the Electronic Frontier Foundation to build and provide Certbot , an open source, free-to-use tool that automates the process of obtaining certificates, installing them, configuring webservers to use them, and automatically renewing them.
The EFF stepped in to provide that automation to end users and admins with Certbot, one of the most popular ways to manage acquiring, installing, and renewing Let's Encrypt certificates.

Facebook Had a Secret Right-Hand-Only Phone Codenamed After Ghostface Killah, Author Says

Facebook OneAudience24Gizmodo / 9h
Codenamed GFK (as a nod to rapper Pretty Toney aka Ghostdini aka Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan ), Facebook’s prototype phone was apparently created with help from well-known designer Yves Behar and featured “an unusual groove in the curved surface, where one could scroll using a thumb” located on the right side of the device meant for scrolling and unlocking the device “in a single movement.”
And even though only right-handed people could use the phone’s weird touch groove properly, an anonymous Facebook employee told Levy that instead of trying to make the phone better suited for use with either hand, “We decided we didn’t care about left-handed people.”

Restock Your Coffee Coffers With Amazon's Lavazza Sale

Lifehacker / 9h
Best Home Deals Best Home Deals The best home, kitchen, smart home, and automotive deals from around the web, updated daily. 25% off Lavazza Ground & Beans Coffee | Amazon Suze Orman once hilariously (?) said, “If you waste money on coffee, it’s like ‘peeing $1 million down the drain.’” And while it’s a little tone deaf, it’s sound advice. Making your own coffee is one of the easiest ways to save

Great value Disney Plus UK deal kicks £10 off the price when you buy now

41TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
When Disney Plus finally releases in the UK, you can expect over 1000 shows, movies, shorts and other forms of content.
Disney Plus UK is finally out here on March 24, but pre-ordering now will save you some cash.

Microsoft withdraws from GDC gaming conference over coronavirus concerns

Microsoft GDC 2020300+TechCrunch / 9h
Xbox-maker Microsoft announced today that it will not have a presence at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this year, highlighting concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
Epic Games announced it would also be pulling out of the event Thursday.

Etsy Announces It's Found a New Way to Gouge Sellers

Etsy Sellers New200+Gizmodo / 9h
Etsy is rolling out a new campaign for offsite advertising that automatically enrolls its sellers and charges them a fee for sales from those ads, but some sellers won’t be able to opt out—meaning they’ll pay for the service whether they like it or not.
Touting its “budget and expertise,” Etsy said that ads will run on sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bing, and if one of those ads leads to a sale on a seller’s shop within 30 days, they’ll then pay an advertising fee.

How to prepare for buying a home

20The Points Guy / 9h
Throughout the entire process, from the hunt for the perfect home to creating a moving checklist it’s important to enlist the help of people and organizations that you trust.
I would say that’s one of the most important things to keep in mind, especially if you’re buying a home with a significant other: you need to have a LOT of candid conversations about your non-negotiables.

Major new airport runway nixed because of the warming planet

Earth New Moon 202062Mashable / 9h
In a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, the judges found the government's runway plan failed to consider how the added air traffic — which will emit prodigious amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide — would impact the UK's commitment to slash its carbon emissions, as agreed to in the historic Paris climate accords .
The new runway, however, could still potentially get built one day — if Heathrow explains how it wouldn't hinder the nation's aims to ambitiously slash carbon emissions.

Save up to £60 with these exclusive EE iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy S10 deals

44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Once you apply the code, you're saving £60 on the iPhone XR or £30 on the Samsung Galaxy S10 , making them two of the best mobile phone deals compared to the current competition.
Both Apple and Samsung's latest - the S20 range and iPhone 11 range - are some of the most expensive phones currently on the market.

Chinese Nurses Retract Plea for Aid in Prestigious Medical Journal

300+Futurism / 9h
On Wednesday, prominent academic journal The Lancet retracted a call for help that had ostensibly been written by Chinese health workers fighting the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
Futurism covered about the letter before it was retracted, describing the grim situation the nurses claimed to be experiencing while they put themselves at risk to treat a growing number of COVID-19 patients.

Facebook cancels F8 developer conference over coronavirus concerns

Facebook F8 Coronavirus100+Engadget / 9h
Facebook is also donating $500,000 to an organization that promotes diversity in the tech industry -- most years, the company donates a portion of ticket sales, but with no in-person event it's just making a flat donation instead.
Facebook is the latest tech company to cancel an event due to the coronavirus outbreak.

'GTA Online' gets competitive F1 racing today

87Engadget / 9h
Rockstar is adding a new competitive racing mode to GTA Online called Open Wheel Races that allows you to drive the game's equivalent of F1 cars against other players.
As part of the update, Rockstar is adding two new cars, the Ocelot R88 and the Progen PR4.

AOC and Lin-Manuel Miranda explain the importance of census participation in new PSA

80Mashable / 9h
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Lin-Manuel Miranda are here to teach a lesson...on why their fellow New Yorkers need to participate in the 2020 census. In a public service announcement from NYC Census 2020 , an organizing initiative established by the city's mayor to encourage census participation, the congresswoman and the playwright lead a class to explain why participating in the census matt

Astronomers See Ancient Remnants of Incredible Galactic Explosion

NASA Universe Artemis40Gizmodo / 9h
When researchers analyzed radio telescope images of the area and compared them to x-ray images, they realized they were looking at the remnants of a truly enormous outburst from the center of an active galaxy.
The combined data “showed very clearly that the extended radio source fits the X-ray edge like a hand in a glove,” Giacintucci and study author Maxim Markevitch from the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center wrote in a blog post for the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Bug bounties have made these hackers millionaires

44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
The bug bounty platform HackerOne , which helps connect companies to ethical hackers, has grown to include a community of 600,000 white hackers who managed to cash in a record $40m in bounties over the past 12 months according to its annual report on the state of ethical hacking.
Bug bounty programs continue to grow as businesses and even federal governments seek out the help of white hat hackers to find vulnerabilities in their software.

Star Trek: Picard episode 6 recap: Picard reunites with an old friend from TNG

Star Trek Picard Borg44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Narek says Soji's recurring dream is the key to discovering the location of "the homeworld", and if he can get her to tell him about it, he might be able to get the information without her activating her defense subroutines.
On the La Sirena, a drunken Raffi, still depressed about her encounter with her son last week, calls an old friend at the Federation and gets Picard 24-hour diplomatic access to the Borg Cube.

Big Spotify app update seems ideal for drivers

SlashGear / 9h
This new update for Spotify makes things bigger, fatter, easier to access, and far more friendly for people looking to find and play music at a glance.
A similar change is coming in track listings for “liked” songs.

Air New Zealand’s New Conservation Safety Video

27One Mile at a Time / 9h
As it’s described, the video highlights the impact of New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis through the story of a young girl who transports a lost takahē to his new home with help from Air New Zealand and the Department of Conservation (DOC).
While perhaps not the biggest news from the airline this week , Air New Zealand has today unveiled their latest safety video, called “A Journey To Safety.”

T-Mobile conducts layoffs as it prepares to complete Sprint merger

300+Ars Technica / 9h
The CWA analysis identified 11,800 prepaid jobs at T-Mobile and Sprint that could be eliminated, along with 13,700 jobs in the companies' postpaid businesses and another 4,500 at their headquarters.
The analysis was conducted before the merger plan was altered to divest Sprint's prepaid business to Dish Network, which could limit job cuts.

No, China Is Not Sending a Giant Duck Army to Defeat Pakistan's Locusts

China Google Pakistan500+Gizmodo / 9h
That’s in part because the bugs are voracious little shits: The FAO said a swarm the size of Paris can eat the amount of food as half of France in a single day.
The Associated Press published a story early Thursday morning using reporting from Chinese-based Ningbo Evening News that Chinese authorities were deploying 100,000 ducks to Pakistan to help combat the locust swarms plaguing the country.

Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns

Facebook F8 Conference400+TechCrunch / 9h
“Out of concerns around COVID-19, we’re cancelling the in-person component of F8, but we look forward to connecting with our developer partners through local events, video and live streamed content.”
Meanwhile, a number of companies have pulled out of next month’s Game Developers Conference , although organizers said yesterday that the event will be “moving forward as planned.”

James Currier, Sarah Nahm, Arun Mathew and Vlad Magdalin to speak at Early Stage SF

100+TechCrunch / 9h
We’re thrilled to announce that James Currier, Sarah Nahm, Arun Mathew and Vlad Magdalin will be joining us at the event.
Webflow was bootstrapped and profitable for seven years before co-founder and CEO Vlad Magdalin trusted Accel’s Arun Mathew as their first institutional investor.

Google Earth heads to a bunch of new browsers today

Google Earth FirefoxSlashGear / 9h
As the team behind it explained today, Google Earth was initially built on Native Client, which mean it’s only worked on Chrome.
Google Earth can be a handy – or at least fascinating – tool to use, and though it’s available as an iOS and Android app, its web implementation has been fairly limited.

Southwest Airlines has big plans for its new gates in Denver

The Points Guy / 9h
The Dallas-based carrier plans to use the gates to add more routes from Denver International Airport (DEN), such as the airline’s recently unveiled service to Steamboat Springs , Southwest managing director of airport affairs Steve Sisneros said Wednesday.
Under the deal that was approved by the committee Wednesday, Southwest will add 16 under-construction gates on the east end of Concourse C to the 24 it already controls there .

Catch all of the action with a GoPro Karma grip on sale at its lowest price at Amazon

44Mashable / 9h
Catch all of the action with a GoPro Karma grip on sale at its lowest price at Amazon
Before you buy, make sure the Karma grip is compatible with your current GoPro camera.

The First Candyman Trailer Provides New Terrors and Buckets of Blood

Jordan Peele Candyman1KGizmodo / 9h
“The first thing I remember about Candyman was being dared to say his name in the bathroom at my middle school, which was right next to the projects,” DaCosta said.
“The movie from the ‘90s has a vision of Cabrini Green where it’s sort of on its way to being knocked down...So what we do in our film is talk about the ghosts that are left behind because of gentrification, in particular in Cabrini Green, and that’s how we find our way into the reimagining.”

Steven Seagal settles with SEC over undisclosed bitcoin promotions

Steven Seagal SEC 201880Engadget / 9h
Seagal didn't disclose the fact that he was paid by B2G to encourage his fans to buy into the bitcoin, which is required by law when a currency qualifies as a security.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, "in accordance with the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws, any celebrity or other individual who promotes a virtual token or coin that is a security must disclose the nature, scope and amount of compensation received in exchange for the promotion."

Arsenal vs Olympiacos live stream: how to watch tonight's Europa League 2020 football online from anywhere

48TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Read on to find out how to watch what looks set to be well-matched Europa League clash, no matter where you are in the world, with our guide to getting an Arsenal vs Olympiacos live stream tonight.
Our guide explains all the best ways to watch an Arsenal vs Olympiacos live stream from practically anywhere in the world.

Immigrants trusted Maryland to give them licenses. Then ICE betrayed them.

500+Mashable / 10h
Today in corrosive public policy, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been running warrantless facial recognition searches of Maryland driver's licenses allegedly as a way to hunt down undocumented immigrants, according to a report from The Washington Post .
In 2013, the state passed a bill that allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, a policy intended and proven to increase public safety.

Steven Seagal to Pay Over $330,000 to the SEC for Promoting Bitcoiin. Yes, Bitcoiin

Steven Seagal SEC 2018500+Gizmodo / 10h
Zen master goblin Steven Seagal, last seen promoting a straight-to-DVD action flick for fans such as Vladimir Putin –and also in sexual abuse allegations –has agreed to pay the SEC a total of $330,448.76 for failing to disclose the details of his financial relationship with the intriguingly-named cryptocurrency “Bitcoiin2Gen.”
According to the SEC, Seagal called it a don’t-miss opportunity , leading up to B2G’s initial coin offering (ICO).

Coronavirus: Planning Ahead At Home & Abroad

200+One Mile at a Time / 10h
I’ve been meaning to put together a general post on the virus and travel for a while, but the combination of what I observed traveling internationally over the weekend and View from the Wing sharing what I’m sure are common coronavirus concerns has pushed me to put everything in one place.
At the same time, while China may have initially been slow to understand how contagious this coronavirus is (though I’m not an epidemiologist, and can’t speak to if any other country would have done better given the limited initial understanding of the disease), their aggressive response seems to be working to reduce the infection rate.

With better recall of our photos and videos, will our ability to forgive disappear?

100+TechCrunch / 10h
Perhaps not gorgeously written like some of the earlier short stories in this collection, but Chiang manages to interrogate an incredibly deep and intellectual question about what truth means in a world of digital remembrance.
Chiang structures the stories in such a way that we are compelled to confront our typical response to memory, that “forgiving” quite literally requires “forgetting,” and that new technologies — whether Remem, writing or other ways of transmitting information — damage our ability to redefine and improve ourselves and others.

Newlab and The Boston Globe team up to launch AI tools startup Applied XLabs

300+TechCrunch / 10h
Applied XLabs is a new startup building tools that can automate data-gathering for journalists — and eventually, for knowledge workers in other industries.
Vinay Mehra, president of The Boston Globe, said the hope is to use AI to improve the information that Globe journalists provide to different communities.

If You Want to Prioritize Something, Put It Where You Can See It

24Lifehacker / 10h
When Balcetis wanted to learn how to play the drums, she calendared her practice sessions the same way she’d block off time for a work meeting or a doctor’s appointment.
Turns out that technique works for less tangible priorities as well—like your values, or the way you want to spend your time.

Pandemic simulation game Plague Inc. pulled from iOS App Store in China

Plague China App Store500+Ars Technica / 10h
Plague Inc. maker Ndemic Creations says the game has been removed from sale on the iOS App Store in China because the relevant authorities say it “includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China.”
The popular game—which asks players to shepherd a virus' deadly spread around the world—has been available on the Chinese App Store for years without issue.

Glasses USA coupon: save 60% off frames plus free shipping

48TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
If you're looking to save on your next pair of glasses, then you're in luck. For a limited time, Glasses USA is offering 60% off prescription frames plus free shipping with code savebig60 at checkout . You can also protect your eyes with free digital block lenses with code digitalblock . Glasses USA offers a wide range of prescription frames with hundreds of styles and shapes from top brands like

Magma Partners scores $50M to build the a16z of Latin America

200+TechCrunch / 10h
As for the in-house recruiter who is helping to educate founders on making the right hires, Lustig says, “If you’ve only raised a small round, hiring the wrong person could kill your startup.”
Inspired by the Andreessen Horowitz agency model, Magma also offers to its startup founders content marketing, sales, recruiting and PR services.

This Xbox One X bundle deal is essentially just $199 - but you'll have to be quick

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
It might seem strange that the laptop overlords are brandishing the best Xbox One X bundle deal of the moment right now, but a $100 gift card included in the discounted console purchase means just that.
If you don't fancy hanging around for that $100 discount, but still want to save more than everyone else on your Xbox One X deal, you'll find that Walmart are also bundling in some extras to make their prices just that little bit more competitive.

Two commercial satellites docked in orbit for the first time ever

Intelsat Two Space200+New on MIT Technology Review / 10h
MEVs are usually designed to service satellites in geostationary orbit for 15 years, but other companies like Astroscale are pursuing orbital debris removal in low-Earth orbit, using magnetic plates to latch onto other objects and drag them down into Earth’s atmosphere for incineration.
It’s designed to dock with other satellites running low on fuel, and use its own thrusters and fuel to take over navigation and maneuvering processes, extending mission lifespans for at least a few years.

Amazon Transcribe can now automatically redact personally identifiable information

80TechCrunch / 10h
With this new feature, Transcribe can automatically identify information like a Social Security number, credit card number, bank account number, name, email address, phone number and mailing address and redact that.
Amazon Transcribe , the AWS-based speech-to-text service, launched a small but important new feature this morning that, if implemented correctly, can automatically hide your personally identifiable information from call transcripts.

Avoid All Kinds Of Traffic Tickets With A Universal Phone Mount

Gizmodo / 10h
Universal Car Phone Mount | $17 | Amazon | Clip coupon
In the spirit of not wracking up traffic tickets, I present to you a universal phone mount.

Ava DuVernay Is Working On an Adaptation of *Dawn* for Amazon

92Wired / 10h
Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney Are Working On a Dawn Adaptation for Amazon
In news that surprised most of Hollywood, Disney announced earlier this week that Bob Iger was stepping down as CEO of the company.

Here's how you can break your plastic bottle habit ahead of World Water Day

32Mashable / 10h
Our favorite reusable water bottle on the market, the standard Yeti Rambler is a heavy-duty bottle that comes with a leakproof TripleHaul Cap and sports a crack-, fade-, and peel-resistant DuraCoat Color finish.
With World Water Day coming up in a couple of weeks (Mar. 22), there's really no better time to invest in a reusable bottle that curbs your personal single-use plastic use.

Avengers: Endgame concept art seems to show the death of Nick Fury

47TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Given that Fury doesn't return in Avengers: Endgame until Tony's funeral, returning to existence after Hulk's first snap with the Infinity Gauntlet, we can guess this sequence was likely planned for the battle at the end of the movie.
Stephen Schirle, who produced concept art for both Infinity War and Endgame as well as Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and the Wasp, shared the art on his Instagram page.

Peloton settles music licensing lawsuit over its exercise videos

73Engadget / 10h
The organization launched a complaint last year in which it sought $150 million in damages from Peloton for failing to properly license some of the songs it played during its online spin and exercise classes.
On Thursday, the connected exercise bike manufacturer announced it successfully negotiated a settlement with the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA).

You Can Now Redeem Hilton Points At The Conrad Punta Mita

View from the Wing / 10h
When hotels aren’t making the award space available to members that they should I’ve had good success getting the loyalty program to intervene.
I asked Hilton why the Conrad Punta Mita wasn’t offering awards any night of the year .

Bare necessities: A review of the Amex Centurion Lounge in Seattle

The Points Guy / 10h
When it opened, the American Express Centurion Lounge in Seattle was the smallest Centurion location.
The Amex Centurion Lounge in Seattle is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Customers can enter a Centurion Lounge by presenting The Platinum Card® from American Express ($550 annual fee.

First look: Inside the most expensive luxury cruise ship ever, Regent’s Seven Seas Splendor

74The Points Guy / 10h
TPG was among a handful of media outlets to get a sneak peek at Seven Seas Splendor during the event, and we found it lined with as much high-end Italian marble (46,000 square feet), crystal chandeliers (more than 500, we were told) and high-end art as we’ve ever seen on a Regent ship — or any other luxury cruise vessel, for that matter.
Dubbed Seven Seas Splendor, the 750-passenger ship cost more than $600 million to build, the chairman and CEO of Regent parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Frank Del Rio, said during an unveiling event last weekend.

Why Disney's new 'Mulan' won't be a straightforward remake

100+Mashable / 10h
“Obviously Mushu is a beloved character, and one of the most memorable elements of the animated film,” Reed explained to a group of journalists huddled inside a tent on Mulan’s mountainous New Zealand set in October 2018.
Instead, the character of Li Shang will be split into two characters: Commander Tung, played by Ip Man star Donnie Yen, will serve as Mulan’s surrogate father and mentor in the film, while Chen Honghui, a role filled by New Zealander Yoson An, will be an equal to Mulan in the army and her eventual love interest.

UK Star Wars fans can stream every episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+ right now

52TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
It's now possible for UK-based Star Wars fans to watch all eight episodes of The Mandalorian via Disney Plus, despite the new streaming service not officially launching in the UK until March 23.
We've discovered that if you take Disney up on its pre-launch discount deal (get a 12 month subscription for £49.99 - saving £10) you can then use a VPN to log in and immediately stream anything and everything in the Disney+ US library which launched back in November - including every episode of The Mandalorian.

Spotify redesign makes it easier to play, favorite and download music

100+Engadget / 10h
Today, Spotify is rolling out three new icons in its iOS app. The icons are meant to make it easier to add albums to your playlists, download albums to listen offline and quickly shuffle songs. Free and Premium subscribers will see a new row in the center of their screen, just above an album's tracklist. A large green shuffle button will let you shuffle an album's tracks with one click. You can t

How to Pickle Frozen Vegetables

62Lifehacker / 10h
Pickled corn made with frozen stuff came out a little softer than fresh, but only slightly, and the sweet and tangy flavor was pretty much the same.
This is most commonly done with fresh vegetables, but if the vegetable you desire isn’t in season, you can (probably) use frozen.

Stardew Valley version 1.5 content update in the works

Stardew Valley 1.5SlashGear / 10h
Barone shared the news on Twitter, where he thanked everyone for the well-wishes during Stardew Valley ‘s recent 4-year anniversary.
With that roll out now complete, Barone has made a big announcement: Stardew Valley ‘s version 1.5 update is now in development.

The 2019 global smartphone sales top 10 list is here

iPhone Samsung 201920SlashGear / 10h
According to Counterpoint, Apple, Samsung, and one other brand dominated the top list.
South America is the only region in which a Motorola smartphone appears.The iPhone XR and iPhone 11 are the two that peek out into the top 5 of Europe and the rest of APAC – otherwise it’s mostly Samsung.

Disturbing Letter About Life in COVID-19 Ward in China Is Abruptly Retracted

500+Gizmodo / 10h
The correspondence, titled “ Chinese medical staff request international medical assistance in fighting against COVID-19 ,” was published in Lancet Global Health on Monday and was authored by Yingchun Zeng from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical Hospital and Yan Zhen from Sun Yet-sen Memorial Hospital in Guangzhou, China.
Earlier this week, British medical journal The Lancet published a brief correspondence from two Chinese medical aid workers who said they were currently fighting the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

IKEA’s new vegetarian meatballs will taste more like meat

200+Engadget / 11h
While the company offers a vegetarian version of its iconic meal, the veggie meatballs don't taste much like meat.
IKEA hopes that the new taste will be more attractive to meat eaters, and help them make the transition to a more plant-based diet.

TikTok star Loren Gray delivers a gorgeous eye roll in Taylor Swift's 'The Man'

TikTok Taylor Swift45Mashable / 11h
With 39.6 million followers, Loren Gray has the most-followed account on TikTok. On Thursday, she took her star power a step further, gifting a grade-A eye roll to Taylor Swift's music video for "The Man."
"Taylor has been my ROLE MODEL pretty much as long as i can remember and i’m at a loss for words," she said.

Here's how Kevin from 'The Office' is celebrating National Chili Day

500+Mashable / 11h
In honor of the annual food holiday, Baumgartner partnered with BUSH'S® Beans to share his own chili recipe with the world and give a nod to his iconic scene from The Office.
Though it's nice to see Baumgartner reunited with a pot of chili, it may upset fans to know that this chili recipe does not call for undercooking onions.

NBCU’s Peacock streaming service adds hundreds of hours of A&E shows

67TechCrunch / 11h
Peacock , NBCU’s upcoming streaming service , is expanding its unscripted lineup thanks to a new deal with A&E Networks.
While none of the newly licensed programs on their own would likely encourage users to subscribe, they’re that sort of B-tier content that helps make a service feel more complete.

Cut £15 off the price of a range of EE phone deals with this Mobiles.co.uk code

44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
Take a look through the tariffs that are being discounted and see how they compare to the current mobile phone deals so you know you're getting the best price
To celebrate the beautiful time that is payday, Mobiles.co.uk is helping you alleviate the sudden burden you might have of suddenly having too much money by offering up a payday discount code - it's a selfless act really!

Heart Rate Limitations Show Why You Shouldn't Get Your Medical Advice From the Apple Watch

Apple Watch AFib iPhone31Gizmodo / 11h
That said, Apple’s own FDA application for its ECG app admits the watch does not detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) for heart rates exceeding 120 beats per minute—a limitation that a Forbes report suggests could leave a large number of Apple Watch users with a false sense of security.
Mayo Clinic says that the heart rate of AFib patients can range anywhere from 100 to 175bpm—meaning the Apple Watch isn’t looking at a decent chunk of folks who may be affected.

Halsey reveals her spicy rigatoni recipe on 'Hot Ones'

28Mashable / 11h
Singer Halsey took a break from her Manic World Tour and hanging out with K-pop icons BTS to stop by Hot Ones . During her journey through spicy wings, she chatted with host Sean Evans about her spicy rigatoni — which she makes with the cheapest vodka she can find — as well as talking to John Mayer on the phone. Around 15 minutes in, though, the "gravy train comes to a halt," as Evans puts it. "B

Expert: China is Not Deploying Duck Army to Devour Locusts

200+Futurism / 11h
A video claiming China would be sending 100,000 ducks to Pakistan to help deal with the worst locust invasion in decades went viral on Chinese social media website Weibo this week, generating more than half a billion views .
Over the last couple of years, cute ducks have become a huge obsession for Chinese netizens, who lovingly turned them into countless memes, possibly explaining why the video went viral on social media.

Facebook has paused election reminders in Europe after data watchdog raises transparency concerns

100+TechCrunch / 11h
Big tech’s lead privacy regulator in Europe has intervened to flag transparency concerns about a Facebook election reminder feature — asking the tech giant to provide it with information about what data it collects from users who interact with the notification and how their personal data is used, including whether it’s used for targeting them with ads.
In a statement today, the DPC writes that it notified Facebook of a number of “data protection concerns” related to the EDR ahead of the recent Irish General Election — which took place February 8 — raising particular concerns about “transparency to users about how personal data is collected when interacting with the feature and subsequently used by Facebook.”

Don't sleep on Resident Evil 3 – it's even better than Resident Evil 2 Remake

78TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
In the same vein as the likes of Friday the 13th: The Game and Dead by Daylight, Resident Evil: Resistance is a survival horror game that sees a group of survivors trying to escape while a Mastermind tries everything in their power to stop them.
In typical Resident Evil fashion, this means traversing the streets and buildings of Raccoon City, solving puzzles and collecting items in order to progress – as well as retreading the same ground again and again.

Contigo Is Recalling Millions of Kids' Water Bottles—Again

200+Lifehacker / 11h
If your kids use Contigo water bottles with silicone spouts, you may remember that millions of them were recalled due to a choking hazard back in August .
Contigo has reissued its recall on 5.7 million “Kids Cleanable” water bottles, and has extended that recall to include the new replacement lids.

New Powerbeats wireless headphones appear to be on the way

Apple FCC Powerbeats73Engadget / 11h
It's been years since Apple and Beats introduced the Powerbeats3, a $200 set of wireless headphones with ear hooks and a cable connecting the two earpieces together.
A recent FCC filing for Apple shows off a paid of headphones that bears a striking resemblance to the Powerbeats 3, complete with a similar ear hook design and connecting cable.

The latest Timex smartwatch has 25-day battery life

72Engadget / 11h
The newest Timex Ironman smartwatch, the R300 GPS , bundles the workout essentials -- on-wrist heart rate monitoring, guided coaching, a range of performance metrics and water resistance up to 30 meters -- and avoids adding unnecessary extras that sometimes drive smartwatch prices up. The result is that the R300 GPS costs just $120, and the company claims the battery will last up to 25 days, as l

London-based Gyana raises $3.9M for a no-code approach to data science

200+TechCrunch / 11h
Coding and other computer science expertise remain some of the more important skills that a person can have in the working world today, but in the last few years, we have also seen a big rise in a new generation of tools providing an alternative way of reaping the fruits of technology: “no-code” software, which lets anyone — technical or non-technical — build apps, games, AI-based chatbots, and other products that used to be the exclusive terrain of engineers and computer scientists.
Das said they have also identified this, and so while currently Gyana already offers some tutorials and helper tools within the app to nudge the user along, the plan is to eventually bring in a large variety of datasets for people to get started with, and also to develop a more intuitive way to “read” the basics of the files in order to figure out what kinds of data inquiries a person is most likely to want to make.

Everyone on Star Trek: Picard Is Finding Their Traumas at the Worst Possible Time

Star Trek Picard Borg66Gizmodo / 11h
Instead of continuing his malaise about the moral rot of Starfleet, Jean-Luc gets a new-old trauma to reckon with: his time as Locutus of Borg, flashes of which stab away at his mind’s eye as he beams aboard and is immediately horrified by the reality he finds himself in.
It’s not just that Hugh’s clear unease of having to work with the Romulans means he’s more than willing to help Picard find and extract Soji from Narek’s dirtbag clutches.

Jordan Peele's gripping first 'Candyman' trailer dares you to say his name

Jordan Peele Candyman2KMashable / 11h
In the buzzy first trailer for Jordan Peele's sequel to 1993's horror classic (also titled Candyman ), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony McCoy, the grown-up version of the first film's infant MacGuffin whose connection to the Candyman legend draws him dangerously close to his roots in Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project. The trailer brings back Candyman's hook, bees, and teases the audience

How to Download Mods in The Sims 4

20How-To Geek / 11h
Have you ever wondered how YouTube Simmers get their custom content—commonly referred to as “CC”—in their Sims 4 game? Electronic Arts never released an official tutorial on downloading CC in The Sims 4, and there are a lot of YouTube tutorials, but they can be vague. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›

War Stories: How Crash Bandicoot hacked the original PlayStation

88Ars Technica / 11h
Similar dynamic memory management techniques are now pretty standard in open-world video games, and they all owe a debt of gratitude to Gavin's work on Crash Bandicoot as a proof of concept.
The result allowed for "20 to 30 times" the level of detail of a contemporary game like Tomb Raider , which really shows when you look at the game's environments.

Delta Air Lines Introduces BON & VIV Spiked Seltzer

68One Mile at a Time / 11h
I know I’m going on a crusade here, but can we please see a major US airline start offering iced coffee or cold brew on planes, even if it’s only available for purchase?
JetBlue was the first major airline to introduce spiked seltzer to their onboard beverage list, as the company started serving it in late 2019.

Thursday's Best Deals: Vizio 65" QLED TV, Dyson Cordless Vacuum, Tacklife 1200A Car Jump Starter, and More

40Gizmodo / 11h
Anker Powerwave Charging Pads have come through at a low price of $17 with a promo code, so you can charge both iPhones and Androids at at pretty good speed.
For what it’s worth, I think Anker projectors are the perfect compliment to a Nintendo Switch, and makes couch gaming a possibility wherever you go.

So, Amphibians Glow. Humans Just Couldn't See It—Until Now

Amphibians3KWired / 11h
(This is not the same as bio luminescence , in which an animal like a deep-sea anglerfish either produces its own light through chemical processes or with the help of a glowing symbiotic bacteria that lives in its body.) To get these images, the researchers flooded the amphibians with blue light and photographed them with a special filter that only allowed the fluorescent light from the animal to hit the camera.
Don’t worry—he studies biofluorescence under the deep blue sea too.) “We also saw fluorescence in animals that otherwise under white light might kind of look like plain Janes, that were maybe a duller brown or gray,” Lamb adds.

Is the Roku Ultra your favorite streaming device?

74Engadget / 11h
Even as TVs and game consoles and cable boxes pack in more and more features, the best way to access all your favorite streaming content continues to be a Roku.
These streaming sticks and boxes include the most popular apps, and it's super cheap to add one to an existing home theater setup.

How to Prepare Your Kid for Their First Pair of Glasses

42Lifehacker / 11h
I was never made fun of for wearing glasses (in fact, I distinctly remember being excited to get my first pair), but it is a big and likely permanent change.
As practically a lifelong wearer of glasses and contacts myself—I got my first pair of glasses at the exact age my son is now—I figured he’d likely need them at some point.

Pokemon Sword and Shield update gets a rogue monkey and more DYNAMAX Pokemon

SlashGear / 11h
This newest Pokemon Zarude has a set of basic statistics – much like any Pokemon – but these can change based on each wild encounter.
The modern Pokemon universe allows games like Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield to evolve and change over time.

Chinese Rover Discovers It’s Sitting on 39 Feet of Moon Dust

400+Futurism / 11h
Using high-frequency radar to look beneath the surface, it found that it was sitting on top of 12 meters (39 feet) of fine Moon dust, as detailed in a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.
The instrument peered 40 meters (131 feet) below the lunar surface — and found it was sitting on top of a mountain of fine dust.

The Latest Attempt at the Lost Boys TV Show Has Found Its Potential Stars (Again)

93Gizmodo / 11h
Deadline reports Brandon Cook, Lincoln Younes, and Ruby Cruz will star in the CW’s all-new, all-different pilot for a potential Lost Boys television series.
James Purefoy, Edward Hogg, and Jessye Romeo have joined the cast of Pennyworth ’s second season.

Xbox Series X will be able to resume games after reboots

Xbox Series MicrosoftSlashGear / 11h
The Xbox Series X, however, will allow users to suspend and resume multiple games at the same time, and as Larry Hyrb explained during his podcast, quick resume will still work even when the console is rebooted entirely.
In a follow-up to that post, Xbox’s Larry Hyrb has published a new episode of his Major Nelson Podcast in which he interviews Xbox director of product management Jason Ronald.