The Future of Tech, News and making sense of it all!

Friday, December 18, 2020

Late Thursday Technology and More....

 


Technology and more...




Please, I Beg You, Do Not Rinse Your Ground Beef

5KLifehacker / 16h
By now you have probably seen the chaotic TikTok video where a young woman rinses some cooked ground beef to get rid of “all this grease.” It is upsetting content for people who love flavor, but I suspect it’s even more upsetting for plumbers. Read more...

SpaceX and its kick-ass, phenomenal, totally awesome 2020

4KEngadget / 14h
2020 has been very good to SpaceX with the aerospace transportation firm surpassing a number of milestones and achieving virtually every goal it set out for itself during the year. Both the company’s autonomous and crewed space vehicles operated without any major failures as SpaceX earned its NASA flight certification, along with deals with the US Space Force and private industry. There was one m

Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store, offers full refund

Sony Cyberpunk 2077•
400+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
PlayStation version of bug-ridden game gets withdrawn after gamers complain.


Stop video piracy with vdocipher video hosting platform

TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7min
With the rise in video content consumption, the need of protecting your content from piracy is higher then ever.

Super Nintendo World Direct to show off the theme park for 15 minutes

SlashGear / 24min
Some industries were hit harder than others during this COVID-19 pandemic. Those that relied on people gathering in a single location, big or small, were some of those that got hit the hardest, and even big resorts and theme parks, like those under Disney’s name, temporarily closed or let go of thousands of employees. Despite that, there are still some … Continue reading

Save over £200 on this premium 4K TV from Panasonic

Mashable / 48min
SAVE £220: The Panasonic 65-inch 4K Ultra HD Multi HDR LED LCD Smart TV is on sale for £679 on Amazon, saving you 24% on list price. You are likely to go through plenty of movies and shows this Christmas, so this could be the best time to upgrade your TV. The bad news is that you have missed out on most of the best deals from the Black Friday shopping season, but there is still hope. A few of the

Why Singapore Airlines is boosting New York JFK, LAX, San Francisco flights to daily

The Points Guy / 51min
Singapore Airlines is bringing back daily service to its three largest U.S. gateways, an early sign that international travel could be poised for a rebound. The airline’s Singapore service will become to daily from New York-JFK, Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) starting Jan. 18, 2021. The flag carrier of Singapore describes the increase as its “most significant U.S. schedule expansion” s

Build your own video game with this engaging training bundle

Mashable / 53min
TL;DR: The Unity 2D Game Developer Bundle is on sale for £29.61 as of Dec. 18, saving you 98% on list price. If your Christmas is going to look like a lot of takeaways and alone time this year, welcome to the club. But if you want to make the most of the extra free time, why not try something new? How about learning to create your own video games? The Unity 2D Game Developer Bundle can help show

Twitter Starts Testing Spaces, Its 'Dinner Party'-Like Voice Chat Rooms

20Gizmodo / 1h
The social media company that brought you the Fleet began testing its take on audio-0nly chat rooms on Thursday. In a thread announcing the private beta tests, Twitter said a small group of users would be able to create Spaces, as the feature is now being called, and invite any of their followers or other Twitter… Read more...

Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation store

Sony Cyberpunk 2077•
200+BBC News - Technology / 1h
Players say the game is riddled with bugs and glitches and is prone to crashes so will offer refunds.

Alibaba ‘dismayed’ by its cloud unit’s ethnicity detection algorithm

92TechCrunch / 1h
Chinese tech giants have drawn international criticism after research showed they have technologies that enable the authorities to profile Muslim Uyghurs. The cloud computing unit of Alibaba, Alibaba Cloud, developed a facial recognition algorithm that can identify a person’s ethnicity or whether a person is “Uyghur”, according to research from surveillance industry publication IPVM. China has re

Nokia PureBook X14 up for pre-order in India: price, specifications and availability

28TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
Nokia's first laptop, the PureBook X14 is now up for pre-order in India. The laptop falls in the competitive sub Rs 60,000 segment.

WhatsApp calls on Web and Desktop now available in beta

SlashGear / 1h
When it comes to Facebook’s instant messaging services, its own Messenger and Instagram are probably the most known. That said, there are definitely people and even businesses that rely on that other major messaging platform, WhatsApp. Like Instagram, WhatsApp has mostly been very phone-centric to the point that you couldn’t use it anywhere else. Those days are slowly numbered and … Continue read

Nintendo Direct will show off Super Nintendo World on Friday

100+Engadget / 1h
The US Super Nintendo World theme park is still a few years away from opening , but in Japan the Universal Studios expansion will open its doors in the spring . In lieu of going to see it yourself, you can get a look inside via a 15 minute live stream on Friday afternoon at 6 PM ET. This Nintendo Direct won’t have any game content, but with the park designed as a “life-size, living video game” we

AirPods Max early iFixit teardown doesn’t bode well for repairs

SlashGear / 2h
Apple has never been a fan of third-party repairs and has actively worked to thwart such attempts. Whether it’s by hardware triggers or through some software verification process, the company has tried to make it harder for those without authorized tools and software to take apart its products and put them back together again. Sometimes, though, the obstacles simply in … Continue reading

Twitter bots and memorialized users will become ‘new account types’ in 2021

100+TechCrunch / 2h
After a period of public feedback, Twitter adjusted some its plans for a new verification process, set to roll out next year. The company suspended public verification applications in 2017 and since appears to have rethought a few aspects of what information the platform should signal to its users, blue checks and beyond. One big verification-adjacent change around the corner: Twitter plans to ad

A running list of American antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook

Google Facebook Texas•
100Mashable / 2h
Christmas has come, like, a week early for anyone who cares about the American government enforcing its antitrust laws. In the last quarter of 2020, states and the federal government have filed multiple lawsuits against Big Tech companies Google and Facebook for abusing their monopoly power. The lawsuits came after a year-long congressional investigation which culminated in a July hearing that sa

TikTok Is Reportedly Booting Off OnlyFans Creators and Sex Workers

100+Gizmodo / 2h
OnlyFans creators and sex workers have seen TikTok delete their accounts en masse in recent months for violating the platforms sex and nudity policies, Rolling Stone reports. Of the half a dozen creators the outlet spoke with, all of them said their videos didn’t violate TikTok’s policies and believe they were banned… Read more...

Sony delists PlayStation version of Cyberpunk 2077, offers refunds to all owners

Sony Cyberpunk 2077•
100+Ars Technica / 3h
Enlarge / Refunds have gone to a whole new level for CD Projekt Red's latest game. (credit: CD Projekt Red / Sam Machkovech) Cyberpunk 2077 's woes on "last-gen" gaming consoles mounted on Thursday with an unprecedented about-face by Sony. Effective immediately, the CD Projekt Red adventure game has been fully delisted from the PlayStation Store, and existing owners have been told they can reques

Creating animal food from a greenhouse gas

100+BBC News - Technology / 3h
Animal feed is often transported thousands of miles so scientists are looking at new production methods.

Cyberpunk 2077 removed from PlayStation Store

Sony Cyberpunk 2077•
SlashGear / 3h
You know things have gone from bad to worse to worst when Sony decides to make a rather big step that goes beyond just refunding a product. Even after CD Projekt RED publicly apologized for mishandling its launch on consoles, Cyberpunk 2077 status on the Xbox One and PlayStation remains in limbo without the updates that are still planned for … Continue reading

Google sued again over anti-competitive search practices

300+BBC News - Technology / 4h
US states accuse Google of unfairly abusing monopolies to dominate new tech like voice assistants.

Facebook Messenger, Instagram temporarily disable some features in Europe

SlashGear / 4h
Facebook has been on the receiving end of a lot of legislative inquiries and litigations around the world and it has lost many of those fights in Europe. It’s not surprising, then, that it is trying to be too careful now that the region has passed new privacy-related rules. European of the social media giant’s instant messaging services in Messenger … Continue reading

Sony is pulling the PS4 version of 'Cyberpunk 2077' and offering refunds

Sony Cyberpunk 2077•
500+Engadget / 4h
The highly-anticipated launch of Cyberpunk 2077 has been rough on all platforms, but especially troublesome for owners of previous generation consoles . A few days ago developer CD Projekt Red apologized , and encouraged disappointed owners to seek refunds if they didn’t want to wait for a patch. Now Sony has taken the seemingly unprecedented step of pulling the PS4 version from its digital store

Pass the wine and crank the tunes: Twitter tests 'dinner party'-like Spaces

55Mashable / 4h
Nothing pairs with your pinot and gruyère quite like a Twitter test feature. The social media company that brought you the fleet is back at it again with a new addition it hopes will, when done right, "feel like a well hosted dinner party." Say hello to Spaces, which Twitter describes as moderated audio conversations between users. Twitter announced Spaces Thursday morning, and the test might be

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau hints at smartwatch plans, admits Facebook blunder

SlashGear / 4h
OnePlus has definitely come a long way from an upstart startup to one of the big boys, at least in terms of popularity and sales figures. That growth, however, wasn’t with its costs. It definitely wasn’t smooth sailing for OnePlus, especially in these last few months when it bid farewell to some of its most important key executives. In a … Continue reading

Cozy Lo-Fi Winter Games to Study and Relax To

61Lifehacker / 5h
Top Pick: Celeste (Nintendo Switch) | $20 | Amazon Read more...

Study warns ultra-processed foods may cause death risk to skyrocket

SlashGear / 5h
Frequently eating ultra-processed foods, such as chips, microwave meals, and other convenience foods, may pave the way for heart disease and drastically increase your risk of dying from it. The findings come from the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, where researchers found that overall death risk increases in association with ultra-processed foods. Ultra-proce

Aurora sends offers to majority of Uber ATG employees, but not the R&D lab

100+TechCrunch / 5h
Autonomous vehicle company Aurora Innovation sent offers Thursday to more than 75% of employees at Uber Advanced Technologies Group, just a week after announcing plans to acquire the self-driving subsidiary, according to a source familiar with the post-merger integration plans. Uber ATG Toronto, which employs about 50 people where the subsidiary conducted its research and development work, did no

A League of Legends MMO is in development, according to exec

32TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 5h
League of Legends studio Riot Games' next big project: an MMO, according to an executive's tweet.

American Express Surveys Possible $750 Marriott Credit Card

View from the Wing / 5h
Today the $450 annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant offers 2 points per dollar (plus 3x at restaurants and airlines and 6 points at Marriotts); Platinum status after $75,000 spent each year; a $300 Marriott credit; Priority Pass Select; and an annual free night up to 50,000 points. They're evaluating annual fees for this card up to $650 or even $750, but here's what they'd offer. They're surveyin

The venture firm SOSV has hired former TechCrunch COO Ned Desmond to help grow its startups

100+TechCrunch / 5h
Ned Desmond, a longtime publishing executive who spent more than half a dozen years at Time Inc. before becoming the chief operating officer of both TechCrunch and Engadget for more than eight years, has joined the investment firm SOSV as a senior operating partner. It’s seemingly a good fit for both sides. SOSV — which is currently managing a $277 million flagship fund alongside some smaller veh

The Intriguing Verizon Visa Credit Card

29One Mile at a Time / 6h
Verizon Visa Card 4% back on grocery and gas 3% back on dining no annual fee Annual Fee: $0 Learn More While I usually write about travel rewards credit cards, Verizon and Synchrony Bank recently launched a potentially lucrative credit card. While it’s most definitely niche, it’s worth being aware of, for those who are Verizon customers. Details of the Verizon Visa Credit Card The Verizon Visa Ca

Watch out Zoom, WhatsApp for desktop could soon support video conferencing

32TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 5h
WhatsApp will likely soon announce that voice and video calls are coming soon as they're currently being tested in beta.

NASA approves Mars sample return project for next big phase

SlashGear / 6h
NASA and the European Space Agency hope to bring a small piece of Mars back to Earth, a project that just got a big approval to enter Phase A. NASA announced the decision today, stating that the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission will ‘mature critical technologies’ needed for the effort, among other things. Bringing samples back to Earth from elsewhere … Continue reading

US cyber-attack: Hack of government agencies and companies poses 'grave risk'

1KBBC News - Technology / 6h
The US cyber-security agency says thwarting the attack will be "highly complex and challenging".

How Google Ruined the Internet (According to Texas)

Texas Google Facebook•
32Gizmodo / 6h
Among all of the antitrust probes facing Google right now, the case dropped on Wednesday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stands out for a few reasons. First, it focuses on the tech giant’s dominance in digital ads, rather than focusing on search the way that the Justice Department and more than 30 states have in… Read more...

Chargers vs Raiders live stream: how to watch NFL Thursday Night Football anywhere

28TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 6h
Las Vegas' playoff hopes could hinge on a win tonight - here's how to get a Chargers vs Raiders live stream and watch NFL Thursday Night Football online.

Facebook Repays News Industry It Destroyed With Print Ads Begging You to Hate Apple

100+Gizmodo / 6h
Facebook has taken out its second round of full-page ads in two days seeking to have Apple... not roll out a privacy update or something. Read more...

The Best 4K HDR Movies to Show off Your New TV

50Gizmodo / 6h
Top Pick: The Matrix (4K UHD Blu-ray) | $25 | Amazon Read more...

Microsoft is reportedly added to the growing list of victims in SolarWinds hack

200+Ars Technica / 6h
Enlarge (credit: Traitov | Getty Images ) Microsoft was hacked by the same group that compromised the networks of software maker SolarWinds and multiple federal agencies, Reuters reported , citing people familiar with the matter. In response to the report, Microsoft said it had detected a backdoored version of SolarWinds software in its network, but had uncovered no evidence it was used to compro

The Best 4K HDR Movies to Show off Your New TV

48Lifehacker / 6h
Top Pick: The Matrix (4K UHD Blu-ray) | $25 | Amazon Read more...

Battle of the Companion Passes: Southwest vs. JetBlue

20The Points Guy / 6h
JetBlue made waves this week when it unexpectedly announced a killer new Mosaic benefit . Starting Jan. 1, Mosaic members can bring a companion with them on all JetBlue flights through May 20, 2021. This effectively gives these travelers half-price airfare when traveling with a companion — an excellent deal, especially after the bulk of travelers have stayed at home during the coronavirus pandemi

Googling for ‘Baby Yoda’ will bring him into your living room via augmented reality

200+TechCrunch / 6h
Google has been all about the fun little augmented reality Easter Eggs lately, with a bevy of search terms triggering Halloween-themed AR experiences back in October . Ghosts! Jack-o-lanterns! Dancing skeletons! Now they’ve got another one. Rolled out just in time for tomorrow’s Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, this one brings The Child (or, as the world has taken to calling him, “Baby Yoda”)

Mental wellness platform Lyra Health is raising up to $175M at a $2.25B valuation

200+TechCrunch / 6h
The coronavirus pandemic has underscored, and often exacerbated, the mental health crisis that exists across the world. Even the spread of remote work is part of the problem: As everyone stays at home, the lack of interaction and watercooler chat has left employees without in-person interaction. The need for a solution has helped tech-powered mental health solutions raise funding to meet increase

Well, Well, Well, Tim Cook and Craig Federighi Must Testify in Epic Case

20Gizmodo / 6h
Yes, Apple and Epic are still in a legal battle over in-app transactions in Fortnite . And apparently, a judge has now ordered both Apple CEO Tim Cook and Craig Federighi, Apple’s perfectly coiffed senior vice president of software engineering, to testify. Read more...

Lockheed Martin’s Lisa Callahan on building a lunar lander collaboratively (and during COVID)

80TechCrunch / 6h
NASA’s Artemis mission is just starting to get underway, and among the commercial partnerships vying for the privilege of building the lunar landing system is one between Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin, which is leading the effort. Lockheed VP and GM of Commercial Civil Space Lisa Callahan says that the collaboration has been surprisingly smooth and fruitful. Speaking at TC Sessions: Space , Cal

Daily Crunch: Discord raises $100M

100+TechCrunch / 6h
Discord announces a big funding round, Google gets European approval to acquire Fitbit and Twitter launches a new voice-based feature. This is your Daily Crunch for December 17, 2020. Discord raises $100M The popular gaming chat platform confirmed today that it has raised $100 million and also announced that it has 140 million monthly active users, twice as many as a year ago. “We are humbled and

Android Things, the IoT OS you forgot about, is shutting down

SlashGear / 6h
Google has announced that its Android Things smart home OS will be shutting down for good in just a few weeks, something that will impact just about nobody at all. The IoT platform never grew into anything notable and many consumers remained unaware of its existence — and as of January 5, it will join the huge list of Google … Continue reading

Streamers Flabbergasted After Twitch Partially Bans The Word 'Simp'

3KGizmodo / 6h
It’s been yet another long 24 hours for Twitch—the latest in what’s shaped up to be an agonizingly long year for the company (and also everybody on Earth). Yesterday afternoon, Twitch held a live town hall with the goal of illuminating recent policy changes and features around DMCAs, sexual harassment, ads, and other… Read more...

UiPath files confidential IPO paperwork with SEC

100+TechCrunch / 7h
UiPath , the robotic process automation startup that has been growing like gangbusters, filed confidential paperwork with the SEC today ahead of a potential IPO. “ UiPath, Inc. today announced that it has submitted a draft registration statement on a confidential basis to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for a proposed public offering of its Class A common stock. The number

Twitter Is Relaunching its Troubled Verification Process After a 3 Year Hiatus

35Gizmodo / 7h
After suspending the program back in 2017, today Twitter announced that it’s bringing back its verification process supported by an updated policy beginning next month in January 2021. Read more...

Moderna vaccine gets the thumbs-up for emergency use

FDA Moderna Covid Pfizer•
63Ars Technica / 7h
Enlarge / This unassuming building in Massachusetts has taken on remarkable significance in recent weeks. (credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Getty Images ) Earlier this week, the FDA released documents that summarized the data on a second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, this one from a company called Moderna. That document was the background for a meeting of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Produc

Last-minute Apple deals: price cuts on the Apple Watch, iPad, AirPods, and more

28TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
Last-minute Apple deals at Amazon include price cuts on the Apple Watch, iPad Pro, AirPods, and more.

Everything coming to Hulu in January 2021

43Mashable / 7h
Read more... More about Hulu , January , Entertainment , Movies Tv Shows , and Streaming Services

Double-Decker Bento Box Rice Cooker Promises Hot and Fresh Work Lunches That Rival Take Out

Gizmodo / 7h
Back in March , when working at an office wasn’t something we all took for granted, we marveled at Thanko’s bento box rice cooker that made a single serving of rice at a time. But, realizing that eating nothing but rice every day for lunch would get tiring, Thanko’s released an updated double-decker version of the… Read more...

Tor malware is becoming a worryingly popular ransomware tool

52TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
Ransomware groups are increasingly using the SystemBC RAT in high-profile attacks.

Google Search adds Baby Yoda 3D model with AR experience

SlashGear / 7h
You can now invite Grogu (“Baby Yoda”) into your home using Google’s 3D model and augmented reality experience. As of now, searching for the terms Baby Yoda, Grogu, and The Child on Google Search will pull up a 3D model of the tiny, adorable alien — and you can view it in your own room using your smartphone. Google Search … Continue reading

How to Get the Cheapest Disney+ Plan

74Lifehacker / 7h
Since Disney+ launched in 2019, the streaming service has acquired over 86 million paid subscribers , and this month at Disney’s Investors Day event they announced development on 100 new projects between 2021 and 2024. Out of those projects, 80% will be streaming on Disney+. So how will Disney keep up with their… Read more...

A successful experiment gets us one step closer to a quantum internet

100+Engadget / 7h
The quantum internet is one step closer to becoming reality. This week, a joint team of researchers made up of scientists from Caltech, the Department of Energy’s Fermilab, AT&T, Harvard University, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the University of Calgary announced that they successfully teleported qubits of photons across approximately 27 miles of fiber-optic cable. While other scientists have wo

The Best Apple-ish Gear for Apple Haters

50Gizmodo / 7h
Apple products weren’t exactly allowed in my house growing up . My school had a lab filled with Apple computers, so I got exposed to the basic ins and outs of macOS. But inside my home it was Microsoft-Microsoft-Microsoft. My dad was a computer hardware engineer, and he worked with Windows, so it’s not surprising. Read more...

Jeremy Bulloch, the original Boba Fett, has passed away

Bulloch Boba Fett SW•
500+Ars Technica / 7h
Jeremy Bulloch attends a photo call at the "Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition" on July 26, 2017 in London. (credit: John Phillips / Getty Images) Jeremy Bulloch, the original actor behind the role of famed Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett, has passed away at the age of 75, his family confirmed via a Facebook post. Though the post is currently labeled "private," the information was publicly co

Two 1:1 Transfers You Didn’t Know You Could Make With Chase Points

View from the Wing / 7h
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips. Continue reading ...

Google committed “antitrust evils,” colluded with Facebook, new lawsuit says

Texas Google Facebook•
63Ars Technica / 7h
Enlarge (credit: Sean Gallup | Getty Images ) Two separate coalitions of states have filed massive antitrust lawsuits against Google in the past 24 hours, alleging that the company abuses its extensive power to force would-be competitors out of the marketplace and harms consumers in the process. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spearheaded the first suit, which nine other states also signed onto

Intel reveals new Clover Falls AI-powered coprocessor for Intel Evo platform

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
Intel is looking to enhance its Intel Evo mobile computing platform with Clover Falls, a new AI-powered coprocessor that the company says will improve the energy efficiency and battery life of Intel-powered laptops.

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 color schemes pop in newly leaked images

100+Engadget / 8h
By now, we're all pretty much convinced Samsung is pushing up its schedule and prepping for a major smartphone launch in early 2021 -- maybe as early as January 14th, otherwise known as the last day of CES. Point is, we won't have long to wait for a proper Unpacking, but in the meantime, new images published by prolific leaker Evan Blass offers what might be our best looks yet at Samsung's latest

Among Us just landed on Xbox Game Pass for PC

SlashGear / 8h
Xbox Game Pass has had a pretty big December thus far, but today might just be the biggest day of the month for it. One of the most popular games of the year – Among Us – is going live on Xbox Game Pass for PC today, and though it’s hard to imagine that there are people who want to … Continue reading

Jeremy Bulloch, the Man Behind Boba Fett, Has Died

Bulloch Boba Fett SW•
2KGizmodo / 8h
The first man to embody the most notorious Bounty Hunter in Star Wars history, influencing the franchise’s direction even to this very day, has passed away at 75. Read more...

You Can Now Share Your Smartphone Screen in the Discord App

100+Lifehacker / 8h
Discord has finally added screen sharing to its Android and iOS apps. You can now share your mobile device’s screen with up to 50 others in voice channels or video calls. Read more...

Your next hotel check-in may include a COVID-19 test

The Points Guy / 8h
Are COVID-19 tests the latest resort welcome amenity? It’s starting to seem that way. Many countries, states, airlines and even the limited cruise lines that have resumed sailing are requiring a negative COVID-19 test before welcoming travelers. But now, your next hotel or resort stay may require one, too. This started slowly, primarily in far-flung destinations such as smaller resorts in the Mal

Twitter starts testing ‘Spaces’ for live audio chats

40Engadget / 8h
Twitter has begun testing Spaces, its new feature for live audio. The experiment could significantly change how users interact on the platform, though it’s just a small test for now. the human voice can bring a layer of connectivity to twitter through emotion, nuance and empathy often lost in text. we see this with voice tweets & voice dms. sometimes 280 isn't enough, and voice gives people anoth

Build Your Own Transforming Robot With The Robosen T9

Futurism / 8h
Sure, we can pretend to soberly assess articles informing us that there are more and more robots that turn into vehicles , and vice versa. But if we’re really being honest, who among us doesn’t want a robot friend who can change into a car on command? The Robosen T9 Programmable Robot is the mechanical buddy you’ve wished for, and it’s also a good way to learn about robotics and programming. Curr

State AGs Accuse Google of Abusing Its Monopoly on Search in Third Antitrust Suit

Texas Google Facebook•
28Gizmodo / 8h
We’ve waited years to see antitrust action taken against Google, and now there’s too much to keep up with. On Thursday, more than 30 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the search giant claiming that its search giant-ness has become too giant. Read more...

Social gaming platform Rec Room scores $20 million Series C

100+TechCrunch / 8h
Social gaming platform Rec Room has scored some new funding as it aims to bring its once VR-centric world to every major gaming platform out there. The startup has closed a $20 million Series C led by Madrona Venture Group . Existing investors, including First Round Capital, Index, Sequoia and DAG, also participated in the round. They’ve raised just shy of $50 million to date. The platform has be

Tesla Cybertruck Hot Wheels toy ships late—just like real Tesla cars

100+Ars Technica / 8h
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty / Tesla ) Customers who were hoping to put a radio-controlled Hot Wheels Cybertruck under the Christmas tree will be disappointed this holiday season. Mattel has begun telling customers that the hotly anticipated toy won't ship in time for Christmas due to "unexpected challenges," according to Bloomberg . Mattel is now aiming to ship them by May 1. Mattel un

A Supermassive Black Hole Is Missing, NASA Says

4KFuturism / 8h
Astronomers have spotted a distant galaxy cluster without the expected supermassive black hole at its center — despite the fact that its mass should be somewhere between three and 100 billion times that of the Sun. The black hole was theorized to be in the galaxy cluster Abell 2261, about 2.7 billion light years from Earth, according to observations made between 1999 and 2004, according to a NASA

The best Netflix original shows and movies of 2020

20Mashable / 8h
Mashable's Brooke Bajgrowicz breaks down all the Netflix original movies and shows that made our queues brighter in 2020. (And don't @ us...these are in no particular order.) Read more... More about Mashable Video , Never Have I Ever , Netflix Original Film , Netflix Originals , and Netflix Tv Shows

Mandalorian Xbox controllers verify Boba Fett chain code

SlashGear / 8h
Two controllers appear in a single special Star Wars box. Both controllers per Xbox Principal Designer Elliott Hsu, the custom controllers “feature sketches of the now iconic Child wielding the Force and the steely Mandalorian’s Beskar armored profile.” These controllers are not going to be available for sale to the public – or at least they don’t appear to be … Continue reading

The 10 Best Deals of December 17, 2020

84Gizmodo / 8h
Thursday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals Read more...

‘Among Us’ is coming to Xbox in 2021

100+Engadget / 8h
Among Us is heading to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2021, and will be available to play through Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service . The news comes on the same day that the popular mafia-style game joined Xbox Game Pass for PC — and just days after it came out on Nintendo Switch . *pops out of vent* Oops, we've been caught. @AmongUsGame comes to Xbox and @XboxGamePass in 2021! https://t.co/gH7

The 10 Best Deals of December 17, 2020

84Lifehacker / 8h
Thursday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals Read more...

Cozy Lo-Fi Winter Games to Study and Relax To

61Gizmodo / 8h
Top Pick: Celeste (Nintendo Switch) | $20 | Amazon Read more...

Save $30 on the Jabra Elite 85t, Our Favorite Wireless Earbuds

34How-To Geek / 8h
Our favorite wireless earbuds are $30 off until December 27th. Now’s your chance to grab the excellent Jabra Elite 85t earbuds, which landed on our Best Products of 2020 list, for just $200. If you’re looking for the best wireless earbuds available today, then it’s time to take the plunge. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

Buy the LEGO Road Pieces You Need For Your Custom Sets Now, While You Still Can

24How-To Geek / 8h
In 2021, LEGO will debut a brand new road plate system. It’s modular, customizable, and should work with most new City sets. But it’s also incompatible with classic road plates made from base plates, and those are less expensive. So if you don’t want to spend megabucks adopting the new system, you better buy the classic road plates while you still can. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

Enter the Xbox Sweepstakes to Win Two Limited Edition 'Mandalorian' Controllers

How-To Geek / 8h
As The Mandalorian hurdles toward its Season 2 finale, Microsoft is celebrating the series with a Mandalorian-themed Xbox controller sweepstakes. Fans of Star Wars can follow and retweet the Xbox Twitter account for the chance to win limited-edition, not-for-sale Baby Yoda and Mandalorian controllers. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

See Grogu from 'The Mandalorian' in 3D and AR in Google Search Now

How-To Geek / 8h
Over the past couple of weeks, Google has released 50 new AR creatures to Search for both iOS and Android. Now, Grogu (aka Baby Yoda, aka The Child) from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian is the latest addition to the roster of 3D animals and objects. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

8 Tips to Help with Snow Removal at Home

How-To Geek / 8h
Snow has a tendency of sneaking up on us. Before you find yourself without something you need to deal with mounds of the white stuff, make sure you have the following things on hand. Read This Article on LifeSavvy ›

Just 10 books I really loved this year

38Mashable / 8h
If there was any small silver lining to spending all this time indoors in 2020, it had to be the truly ridiculous amount of books consumed I caught up with royals, visited alternative versions of the past, went to art camp in Brooklyn, and even explored one very creepy haunted house (below). I loved a ton, but the below 10, in no particular order, really stood out to me as my favorite new books o

Twitter tests 'humanization prompts' in effort to reduce toxic replies

100+Mashable / 8h
Twitter wants you to remember that there are actual people on the other side of your replies. The company began testing a new feature, dubbed humanization prompts, on Thursday with the goal of improving conversational health on the platform. As part of the test, some Twitter users will be presented with the shared interests and mutual followers of the accounts they're replying to. In other words,

Upgrades, lounge access and more: How to earn top-tier Oneworld status for $1,400

28The Points Guy / 8h
There was a time when it was possible to earn huge sums of miles and top-tier elite status for very little travel or spending. This was because you earned elite qualifying miles based on the distance traveled and the cabin you flew. Since then, most airlines have added a spending component to their elite status requirements, making mileage runs a lot less attractive. There’s one notable exception

Twitter explains how you’ll get verified in 2021

SlashGear / 8h
Years after removing the option, Twitter announced in November that it will bring back its public verification system next year. The company provided a draft of its new policy related to verification, doing so in an effort to get feedback. In light of the response, Twitter is now back with details on how to get verified — or keep your … Continue reading

Cat lovers, you're going to want this litter box from the future – Future Blink

20Mashable / 8h
Space Kotty , a futuristic litter box, claims to use algorithms based on veterinary knowledge to identify health issues from your cat's weight and, ummm, bathroom behavior . Read more... More about Cats , Mashable Video , Kittens , Cat Lovers , and Litter Box

SolarWinds hack that breached gov networks poses a “grave risk” to the nation

1KArs Technica / 9h
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images ) The supply chain attack used to breach federal agencies and at least one private company poses a “grave risk” to the United States, in part because the attackers likely used means other than just the SolarWinds backdoor to penetrate networks of interest, federal officials said on Thursday. One of those networks belongs to the National Nuclear Security Administratio

When is The Mandalorian season 2 episode 8 released on Disney Plus?

32TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
When is the next episode of The Mandalorian season 2? Here's when you can stream season 2, episode 8 on Disney Plus.

Zack Snyder's Justice League cut has a release date – and it's very soon

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
The revised movie lands in March, according to a new Vero post from Snyder himself.

Twitter explains how to apply for a verification badge

73Mashable / 9h
Your New Year's resolution to get verified on Twitter just got slightly more realistic. Three years after pausing the verification process, Twitter announced Thursday that it's making good on its November promise to start verifying accounts again. Or, rather, that it will make good on that promise. In a lengthy blog post, the company stated that starting next year it intends to launch a public ap

Tips for applying an intersectional framework to AI development

TechCrunch / 9h
Kendra Gaunt Contributor Kendra Gaunt (she/her or they/them pronouns) is a data and AI product owner at The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth. A 2019 Google AI Impact Grantee, the organization is implementing new AI applications to scale its impact and save more young LGBTQ lives. By now, most of us in tech know that the in

Epic Games Store 15 days of free games kicks off with Cities: Skylines

SlashGear / 9h
Ever since the Epic Games Store launched, it’s been giving away free games each week as an incentive for PC gamers to join up. The hope, obviously, is that people use the free games to create a library within the Epic Games launcher and eventually become customers of the store. Those free games have done a lot to increase the … Continue reading

Umba, a digital bank for emerging markets, raises $2M Seed funding to expand across Africa

100+TechCrunch / 9h
Umba , a digital bank for emerging markets and aiming first at Africa, has secured a $2 million seed funding round from new investors including Lachy Groom, ex-Head of Issuing at Stripe; Ludlow Ventures; Frontline Ventures and Act Venture. Currently operating in Kenya and Nigeria, Umba offers a digital financial service alternative to legacy African banks. Its mobile app gives customers a free ch

Twitter repeals retweet roadblocks, Facebook follows suit

24Ars Technica / 9h
Enlarge / Ever notice that nobody talks about the procedure to replace the glass after the emergency is over? (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images ) With the worst of a storm of misinformation—and disinformation—about the 2020 US presidential election behind us, both Facebook and Twitter are relaxing some emergency measures put in place to limit its spread. Twitter brings back one-click retweets

Put a Virtual Baby Grogu in Your Home

500+Gizmodo / 9h
If you haven’t already brought Baby Yoda/Grogu/The Child into your home for the holidays—whether in the form of a giant stuffed animal, a walking toy, or just obsessive rewatchings of The Mandalorian —there is another... option (to borrow Yoda’s dramatic phrasing from Return of the Jedi ): Use your Android phone to drop… Read more...

Shiny Pokemon GO costume deluge – Here’s what’s new

SlashGear / 9h
In the last couple of weeks in the month of December, 2020, Pokemon GO has a variety of odd Pokemon available in the wild. There’s a Top Hat Pichu, a 2020 Slowbro, a Holiday Cubchoo, and more. The most awesome bit about this last couple of weeks of Pokemon GO’s special edition Pokemon is the fact that they’ve all got … Continue reading

Google kills Android Things, its IoT OS, in January

100+Ars Technica / 9h
Android Things Rainbow Hat Enlarge / The Android Things Rainbow Hat from Pimoroni. (credit: PImoroni ) The latest dead Google project is Android Things, a version of Android meant for the Internet of Things. Google announced it had basically given up on the project as a general-purpose IoT operating system in 2019, but now there's an official shutdown date thanks to a new FAQ page detailing the d

Space Force Claims That Russia Just Tested an Anti-Satellite Missile

1KFuturism / 9h
Anti-Satellite Missiles According to US Space Command (USSC) officials, Russia has launched a new anti-satellite missile test, Space.com reports . The test involved a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile that is designed to destroy small satellites in low Earth orbit. It’s Russia’s third anti-satellite test this year alone. Weaponizing Space American officials are irate. “Russia publicl

The Venn diagram between crypto and OnlyFans

72TechCrunch / 9h
Hello and welcome back to Equity , TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast ( now on Twitter! ), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For the first time in donkey’s years, we didn’t have our full crew this week. Instead, we had just Natasha and Chris and myself — we had to survive without Danny while he took the week “off” to “relax.” But our depleted ranks did not mean that news

40 more states have targeted Google with its third antitrust lawsuit in two months

Texas Google Facebook•
100+MIT Technology Review / 9h
Forty attorneys general representing both Republican- and Democratic-led states and territories have filed a new antitrust lawsuit against Google claiming that the company has “virtually untrammeled power over internet search traffic” as a result of its “overwhelming and durable monopoly in general internet searches.” The move comes one day after another complaint filed by Texas and nine other st

You Can’t Stop Aging. But Thanks To Advanced Science, You Can Age Better.

Futurism / 9h
Despite the nonsensical claims of many anti aging products, there’s nothing we can do to “stop” or “reverse” or “defy” the aging process. We’re all going to get old, so obsessing over the superficial signs of aging is just a waste of time and money. What we should be doing is trying to find a way to age better . And thanks to the team of scientists and Nobel Prize winners at Elysium Health , now

Put a Virtual Baby Grogu in Your Home

500+Lifehacker / 9h
If you haven’t already brought Baby Yoda/Grogu/The Child into your home for the holidays—whether in the form of a giant stuffed animal, a walking toy, or just obsessive rewatchings of The Mandalorian —there is another... option (to borrow Yoda’s dramatic phrasing from Return of the Jedi ): Use your Android phone to drop… Read more...

Google: Redesigning search would harm the internet

Google Antitrust Facebook•
300+Engadget / 9h
Earlier today, attorneys general from 38 states and territories filed antitrust charges over Google’s search business. The search giant has now responded to those allegations. In a post over on its Keyword blog , Google argues its search engine has evolved in response to user feedback, not a desire to disadvantage competitors. “Our rigorous testing tells us that you far prefer these types of rich

GREAT Time To Apply For Chase Freedom Unlimited

88One Mile at a Time / 9h
The no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® is one of the all around best cards for everyday spending . Over the summer we saw some positive changes to the card — not only was the welcome bonus improved, but the rewards structure was enhanced as well. When you combine those two factors, there has never been a better time to pick up this card, in my opinion. That’s especially true when you consider

Coinbase files to go public confidentially and we’re hyped

Coinbase Files Public•
100+TechCrunch / 9h
Coinbase , perhaps the best-known American crypto company, announced today that it has filed confidentially to go public. The company’s debut was expected, having been reported earlier in the year . As the well-funded unicorn has filed confidentially, its debut looks to be an early-2021 affair. What sort of flotation the company will pursue is not clear at this stage. Coinbase’s announcement is a

Twitter will reopen verification requests in 2021

37Engadget / 9h
Twitter will soon let users request verification for the first time in more than three years. The company unveiled its revamped verification policy, which will go into effect in January 2021. And with the new policy , Twitter will open back up verification requests for users who believe they deserve the blue checkmark. “The process will include asking applicants to select a category for their ver

We must end the era of adjunct surveillance

64TechCrunch / 9h
Vijay Sundaram Contributor Vijay Sundaram is the Chief Strategy Officer of Zoho Corporation, the parent company of ManageEngine. He leads or is involved in multiple functional areas from corporate strategy and execution to channel management, business development and enterprise sales. As consumers, most of us don’t mind providing companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter with our personal data,

You can now securely submit tips to TechCrunch using SecureDrop

56TechCrunch / 9h
For the past few years, some of the biggest stories on TechCrunch have come from you. We’ve revealed internal employee battles at some of the world’s biggest tech companies, reported on unexpected layoffs during the pandemic , uncovered safety violations, seen how Facebook paid teens to snoop on their private data, revealed a major hack that a company tried to cover up , and exposed workplace dis

Fish oil study has good news for those worried about cholesterol

SlashGear / 9h
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements — often sold as fish oil capsules — are popular due to research indicating beneficial effects on brain and heart health. Some past research has raised questions over whether these supplements raise ‘bad’ cholesterol levels, however, something the new study addresses. The study comes from the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI), which notes that there’s evidence … C

Sophos Home protects you and your family’s data no matter where you are

28TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Sophos Home offers a range of features to keep you and your family's data safe, even from a distance.

Cloudflare is launching its very own cloud hosting service

36TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 9h
Cloudflare Pages leverages the company's global network to deliver fast and scalable sites distributed on the edge.

Looking into the genetics of severe COVID-19

87Ars Technica / 10h
Enlarge / Researchers have looked at whether there are genetic influences on who experiences a case of severe COVID-19. (credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI / Getty Images ) The body's response to SARS-CoV-2 infection range from imperceptible to death, raising an obvious question: what makes the difference? If we could identify the factors that make COVID-19 so dangerous for some people, we could do our best

Judge orders Apple’s iOS and macOS chief to testify in Epic case

Cook Federighi Epic•
84Engadget / 10h
Apple’s iOS and macOS chief Craig Federighi will have to join CEO Tim Cook in testifying in the company’s case against Epic Games . Apple wanted Cook and App Store head Eric Neuenshwander (who reports to Federighi) to represent the company in the case. Epic asked for Federighi instead, believing he is "better able to that speak to the reasons for Apple’s closed, integrated ecosystem." US District

Russia's Hack Wasn't Cyberwar. That Complicates US Strategy

300+Wired / 10h
To evaluate whether cyber security tactics are working, you need to first establish what the SolarWinds hack really was.

Why We'll Still Be Wearing Masks for a While

200+Lifehacker / 10h
As much as we miss the Before Times—when we didn’t have to wear masks and could go to crowded places and travel and throw parties and attend concerts and eat at the same table as acquaintances and strangers—those times aren’t coming back soon. No matter how good the news on vaccines might be, hang on to your masks. Read more...

PS5 Walmart restock update: it's gone – but it's in stock elsewhere

100+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
PS5 is out of stock at Walmart after briefly getting it in, but we have tips on how to buy the PS5 from other online retailers next.

The Federal Government Spends More on Fire Prevention in Rich, White Neighborhoods

500+Gizmodo / 10h
This year, California’s record-breaking fires caused untold suffering and destruction, and future wildfire seasons are expected to be even worse . New findings show that poorer communities of color aren’t receiving as much funding to prepare for future fires as their wealthier, white counterparts. Read more...

Meet the 'slide-phone,' a credit card-sized phone that unfolds into three screens

52Mashable / 10h
In collaboration with the Japanese design studio Nendo, OPPO has unveiled a smartphone that can unfold into a screen three times its size. Read more... More about Smartphone , Mashable Video , Phones , Foldable Screens , and Foldable Phone

Giancarlo Esposito's 10 Best Genre Roles (So Far)

500+Gizmodo / 10h
Giancarlo Esposito is having a moment. The acclaimed television and film actor has recently starred in some of the biggest franchises around, including The Mandalorian , The Boys , and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul . But with almost 200 acting credits to his name, there’s so much more to love. Read more...

Whatnot raises $4M as it gets into livestreamed auctions and Pokémon cards

100+TechCrunch / 10h
Whatnot , a company I first wrote about back in February , has spent the months since growing rapidly — both in terms of feature set and user base. This morning the company is announcing it has raised a $4 million seed round. Originally focused on being a platform for safely reselling FunkoPop vinyl figurines, Whatnot has since expanded into other types of collectables, including Pokémon cards, s

The CEO of Emirates Now Leases Planes To American Airlines

28View from the Wing / 10h
Now that airlines have been getting direct subsidies from the U.S. government during the pandemic, and they're on the cusp of more, they no longer oppose airline subsidies. One of the arguments they deployed during their campaign against Mideast airlines, though, is that the Gulf carriers weren't just subsidized by their governments but their fortunes were too intertwined with those of the state.

Ian McKellen Says He Feels “Euphoric” After Taking COVID Vaccine

4KFuturism / 10h
Sir Ian McKellen, the 81-year-old actor best known for playing Gandalf, Magneto, and a horrifying cat monster , got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, according to CNN . When it was over, McKellen said he felt “euphoric” and urged everyone who’s medically able to get vaccinated as well. “I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine,” McKellen tweeted Thursday. “I would have no hesi

Sesame Street reveals new Rohingya refugee muppets

100+Mashable / 10h
Sesame Workshop , the educational nonprofit behind Sesame Street, announced two new residents set to join the Muppet family this year: Noor and Aziz, 6-year-old twins from the displaced Rohingya Muslim community living in the world's largest refugee camp. The twins are part of a Rohingya-language educational campaign and will be shown to families living in settlements around Bangladesh. The first

Google Fitbit takeover gets EU approval – but there’s a catch

SlashGear / 10h
Way back in November of 2019, Google announced its intention to purchase Fitbit for a whopping $2.1 billion. For a company as big as Google, any kind of acquisition is going to come under some pretty intense regulatory scrutiny, especially when the subject of its acquisition is a name as big as Fitbit. Fast forward 13 months later, and it … Continue reading

Galaxy S21 Ultra leaks front and back – Here’s your next phone

SlashGear / 10h
This week the folks at Samsung had a bit of a leak. Full front and back images of the Samsung Galaxy S21+ and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra appeared, divulging all the features one could’ve hoped to learn about before the launch of either device. These smartphones will likely launch by the end of January 2021. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra … Continue reading

Virgin Orbit, Relativity Space and Astra dish on the economics and efficiencies of space launches

69TechCrunch / 10h
Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis, Astra CEO Chris Kemp and VOX Space (Virgin Orbit’s national-security-focused subsidiary) President Mandy Vaughn all joined us at TC Sessions: Space to jointly discuss their varied approaches to the small spacecraft launch market. Each has a very different type of space launch system, but each is targeting roughly the same group of customers. There are plenty of tho

These 3D-printed holiday decorations are sweet enough to eat (literally) – Future Blink

Mashable / 10h
A Los Angeles confectioner, called Sugar Lab , developed a culinary printer that can use sugar and water. Now, the lab has made all sorts of edible 3D-printed holiday decorations to sweeten the season. Read more... More about Mashable Video , 3d Printing , Confectionery , Ornaments , and Holiday Decor

Why are we so obsessed with fantasy football?

Mashable / 10h
ESPN Senior Fantasy Football Analyst Matthew Berry helps Mashable's Mark Stetson figure out why he, and over 40 million people, are obsessed with fantasy football. Read more... More about Nfl , Mashable Video , Fantasy Football , Matthew Berry , and Fantasy Sports

21 zero waste kitchen swaps to help you live more sustainably

Mashable / 10h
Think about all the single-use items that you buy again and again. Products like sandwich bags, paper towels, and plastic wrap go straight to the trash can when you're done with them, and from there, they either end up in a landfill or in the ocean . Tossed food scraps also end up in landfills, where they can release methane into the atmosphere. Luckily, a lot of these products are quite easy to

Wildfire Smoke Is Loaded With Microbes. Is That Dangerous?

300+Wired / 10h
Researchers are putting out a call to study the potential effects of bacteria- and fungi-filled haze on human health.

How to Stream Amazon Luna Games on Android

38Lifehacker / 10h
Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service is now available for Android in the U.S., adding yet another option for playing console-quality games from anywhere on your smartphone. Using Luna on Android is simple, but there are several requirements you’ll have to address before you get started. Read more...

NASA’s Kathy Lueders discusses the Artemis moon landing 2024 target and team selection

80TechCrunch / 10h
NASA’s head of human spaceflight Kathy Lueders joined us on stage at TechCrunch Sessions: Space, where she spoke to scientist and Netflix host Emily Calandrelli about her work at the agency — including NASA’s progress on the Artemis program and the return of American astronauts to the surface of the moon. The 2024 target for NASA’s first Artemis moon landing has been oft-repeated by the agency, a

9 great gifts still available at Black Friday prices

Engadget / 10h
Although it's fun to give and receive presents, it comes as no surprise that this time of year can make a significant dent in one's bank account. To help those who still need to finish up their holiday shopping, we've put together a list of 10 cool tech devices that are still at Black-Friday-level prices. Meaning, you can get everyone on your list an innovative gadget and even have some extra cas

How Insurtech Can Help Make Car Insurance Less of a Burden

Futurism / 10h
Auto insurance is an unfortunate reality of owning a car. That means finding the best deal, and staying in control of your auto policy, is a reality for most of us. Fortunately, it’s not all bad news as it once was with traditional insurers. New-school insurers like Clearcover , currently available in nine states, put technology first to make the insurance process entirely digital, helping put dr

Report: Electric Cars Could Be Cheaper Than Gas Ones in Just 2 Years

5KFuturism / 10h
Driving Competition In a matter of just two to three years, electric cars are on track to become cheaper than their gasoline-powered alternatives, according to a new report by energy research firm BloombergNEF. According to the report, the market average for batteries will hit just $101 per kWh by 2023. Analysts have long predicted that for electric vehicles to match the price of gas ones, the co

Canoo electric delivery vehicle aims to upset Rivian and Ford

Canoo Electric Delivery•
SlashGear / 11h
EV startup Canoo has revealed its full-electric delivery vehicle, aiming to sell the zero-emissions van from 2022 priced from $33,000. The Canoo MPDV – or Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle – is based on the US automaker’s own, proprietary skateboard electric platform, and is expected to offer EPA range of up to 230 miles, depending on configuration. Canoo made headlines back in … Continue reading

‘Gas stations in space’ startup Orbit Fab extends seed round to $6M with strategic investor Munich Re Ventures

100+TechCrunch / 11h
Orbit Fab CDO Jeremy Schiel shows off the company’s satellite coupling system on stage at TC Disrupt 2019. On-orbit servicing startup Orbit Fab, which bills itself as the company focused on creating “gas stations in space,” has added an additional investor to its seed funding round. The add-on investment comes from Munich Re Ventures (the corporate VC arm of Munich Re Group, one of the largest in

Google slammed for ‘monopoly power’ in new antitrust lawsuit from 35 states

Google States Antitrust•
100+TechCrunch / 11h
Another day, another major antitrust effort seeking to dismantle the unprecedented power of the world’s biggest tech companies. On Thursday, a group of 38 attorneys general announced a bipartisan lawsuit against Google, alleging the company has engaged in “illegal, anti-competitive conduct” to create a monopoly in search and search advertising. “Google’s anti-competitive actions have protected it

Lunar Samples Land on Earth, Completing China’s Most Challenging ‘Space Adventure’

200+Gizmodo / 11h
For the first time in 44 years, a spacecraft has brought lunar samples to Earth. With the Chang’e 5 mission complete, China now joins a very exclusive club, reinforcing the country’s role as a major player in space exploration. Read more...

Update: Discord confirms raising $100M, sources say at a valuation of up to $7B

100+TechCrunch / 11h
The world of virtual communications continues to hold a central place in our socially-distanced lives, and today it looks like one of the companies reaping some of the spoils is also reaping some funding out of it. Discord , the chat and communications platform wildly popular with gamers and, increasingly, many others, has confirmed to us today that it has raised $100 million more in funding as i

Poland’s GeneMe secures €5.2M seed funding for its rapid COVID-19 test

70TechCrunch / 11h
GeneMe , Poland-based biotechnology company with a COVID-19 test, has secured a €5.2 million round of seed funding led by Robin Tombs , co-founder of Yoti and previously of Gamesys, and other angel investors. The startup has developed and patented a universal protein (polymerase) for RT-LAMP testing, which allows the production of highly accurate, rapid, molecular genetic COVID tests. It has thre

Twitter launches its voice-based ‘Spaces’ social networking feature into beta testing

Twitter Testing Spaces•
100+TechCrunch / 11h
Last month, Twitter announced it would soon begin testing a new social experience on its platforms involving audio-only chat rooms, similar to the sometimes controversial startup Clubhouse. Today, Twitter Spaces, as the product is now being called, is launching into private beta testing. During this time, the product will be limited to select individuals, largely from underrepresented backgrounds

No, there are no microchips in coronavirus vaccines.

1KNYT > Technology / 11h
Pfizer’s vaccine has 10 ingredients. None can track your location.

Spotify is now available on the Epic Games Store

35Engadget / 11h
Add the Epic Games Store to the list of places where you can download Spotify. The streaming giant has released the desktop version of its app to Epic’s digital marketplace, giving you another way to obtain the software if you don’t want to go through the company’s own website or the Microsoft Store . For the moment, at least, there’s no special functionality to be found in this version of Spotif

Increasing diversity in tech hiring requires a common-ground approach

100+TechCrunch / 11h
Michelle Ferguson Contributor Michelle Ferguson is National Community Relations Director at Dream Corps. Kasheef Wyzard Contributor Kasheef Wyzard is National Programming Initiatives Director for Dream Corps TECH. The pandemic is surging in America once more. If this past year is any indication, it will hurt all of us — but communities of color will continue to suffer disproportionately. Black an

Give Your Whipped Cream a Sophisticated Edge With Cocktail Bitters

93Lifehacker / 11h
Whipped cream is the fluffy final touch to so many desserts and drinks, and for good reason. It tastes good (like cream), and it looks good (like a cloud), and it never fails to make things feel fun. Read more...

Wow, Snow

51Gizmodo / 11h
Like most New Yorkers, I woke up this morning to lift my blind and see if the snow forecast had busted or not. Unlike in recent years, the reveal did not disappoint. Read more...

‘Sackboy: A Big Adventure’ gets online multiplayer a month after release

21Engadget / 11h
Sackboy: A Big Adventure was one of Sony's major PS5 launch games . It lacked online multiplayer at the outset , but you can now play with your friends without cramming everyone into the same room. As well as completing the main story solo, you can play through the titular adventure with up to three other people locally or online. Developer Sumo Digital has also added 10 multiplayer levels. You'l

NASA Says It Will Fly a Canadian to the Moon

400+Futurism / 11h
Collab? NASA just struck a historic deal with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that will entail, for the first time in history, a non-US astronaut orbiting the Moon. The agreement says that the CSA will help NASA with its upcoming Artemis Moon missions in exchange for a seat on some of the flights, according to Space.com . Not only is the CSA’s support good news for the Artemis missions specifical

GoPro's Redesigned Remote Lets You Control Your Action Cams from Afar

46Gizmodo / 11h
Just in time for the winter sports season, GoPro just released an updated remote designed to help you control the company’s action cams even if they are far away or mounted somewhere hard to reach. Read more...

Facebook exec says “We are at the center of what it means to be human”

26SlashGear / 11h
An internal company-wide meeting at Facebook revealed some disturbing statements and projects from the social network this week. In addition to tone-deaf language, a Facebook product manager revealed a tool called “TL;DR” currently in development. It’s been suggested that this AI tool will summarize long form articles “and spit out bullet points so people don’t have to read the full … Continue re

Robinhood Will Pay $65 Million to Settle SEC Claim That It Duped Investors

Robinhood $65M SEC•
60Gizmodo / 12h
The bloom is off the rose for Robinhood’s self-styled image as a champion of the little guy. The stock brokerage has agreed to pay a $65 million penalty to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misled customers with its claims of being a commission-free method of trading stocks. The state of… Read more...

Plan a Free Trip to a National Park

100+Lifehacker / 11h
The National Park Service has announced their 2021 free park dates and it’s time to start making your travel plans. Since pandemic activities have kept us mostly indoors for much of 2020, making a getaway to the great outdoors might be the perfect plan for your new, less-restricted year. (I’ve been taking walks around… Read more...

Holiday Blues Got You Down? Try an Ugly Sweater on for Size

20Lifehacker / 11h
Top Product: Cheeky Deadpool Sweater | $40 | Amazon Read more...

Just how bad is that hack that hit US government agencies?

200+TechCrunch / 11h
It’s the nightmare scenario that has worried cybersecurity experts for years. Since at least March, hackers likely working for Russian intelligence have embedded themselves without detection inside the unclassified networks of several U.S. government agencies and hundreds of companies. Sen. Richard Blumenthal appeared to confirm in a tweet that Russia was to blame, citing a classified congression

With Bambee, Allan Jones wants to give small businesses HR services their employees can trust

200+TechCrunch / 11h
Allan Jones’s first startup was Fourth and Grand , a Trunk Club-like service backed by the venture studio and accelerator, Science, out of Santa Monica. While the business didn’t work out, it put the budding young entrepreneur (and college dropout) on a path that would lead him to launch the Los Angeles-based startup Bambee , a company that lets small businesses give their employees access to the

Longing For a Theater Filled With Strangers

300+Gizmodo / 11h
Several years ago, at an independent South Jersey movie theater that would later be overtaken by AMC corporate, I saw The Secret Life of Bees . My mother and I had read the bestseller it was adapted from just a few years before and growing up in the kind of family that went to the movies at least once, maybe twice per… Read more...

Google hit with third antitrust lawsuit from 38 states and territories

Google Lawsuit States•
63Engadget / 11h
Google is facing yet another antitrust lawsuit. Attorneys general from 38 states and territories have filed antirust charges over Google’s search business. The action is the second antitrust lawsuit against the company this week, and the third such claim this year. On Wednesday, Texas’ attorney general led a group of states in a lawsuit calling out Google’s advertising business. And The Justice D

The 'Great Conjunction' is about to appear in the night sky

400+Mashable / 11h
The gas giants Saturn and Jupiter are drawing ever closer together. Well, from our Earthling perspective anyhow. The "great conjunction" of these planets in the night sky is imminent. They will be closest on Dec. 21, appearing as a " double planet ." The celestial event, also known as the "Christmas Star," hasn't occurred at night for almost 800 years. "You can imagine the solar system to be a ra

This sleek Harman Kardon portable speaker is just $180 — better than Black Friday

37Mashable / 11h
Save $319: The Harman Kardon Go + Play portable Bluetooth speaker is on sale for just $179.99 at Walmart as of Dec. 17. (As of the time of this writing, it should arrive in time for Christmas.) Part of the fun of the holiday season is blasting "All I Want for Christmas Is You" nonstop. But if you want to do Mariah Carey's voice any justice, it needs to play on a premium Bluetooth speaker . And fo

Google’s Legal Peril Grows in Face of Third Antitrust Suit

States Google Facebook•
1KNYT > Technology / 11h
More than 30 states said that the company downplayed websites that let users search for information in specialized areas.

Hades gets cross-saves on PC and Switch: How to set them up

SlashGear / 11h
Hades is a game that’s made some waves this year. Though it originally released on PC in early access way back in December 2018 (which feels like a lifetime ago given how ridiculous 2020 has been), the game had its version 1.0 release in September of this year. At the same it time it launched into version 1.0 on PC … Continue reading

Google-Fitbit Merger Wins EU Approval, With a Few Conditions

EU European Google Fitbit•
33Gizmodo / 11h
Last year, Google announced it was going to acquire Fitbit for a whopping $2.1 billion. Immediately, the news raised privacy concerns as Google is a tech giant with a lot of ad data on the cusp of absorbing another company with a hoard of health data. The deal itself has been under some intense scrutiny from… Read more...

American Airlines Headquarters Is AvGeek Heaven

300+One Mile at a Time / 12h
On Tuesday I had the chance to tour American Airlines’ headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas (I’m in Dallas for an unrelated reason, which I’ll save for another post). I can count on one hand the number of airline headquarters I’ve visited, though this one is special, because it’s kind of made for aviation geeks. In this post I wanted to provide a quick picture tour of this very impressive complex. B

Google AI team demands changes after Dr. Timnit Gebru's departure

94Engadget / 12h
Two weeks after the departure of AI researcher Dr. Timnit Gebru , Google’s Ethical AI team has issued a list of demands to its management. In a letter obtained by NBC News and Bloomberg , the division calls for the removal of Megan Kacholia, vice president of engineering at Google, from the group’s reporting structure. “We have lost trust in her as a leader,” the team says of Kacholia, according

Axios Buys Charlotte Agenda, a Digital Start-Up, as Part of Push Into Local News

1KNYT > Technology / 12h
The site focuses on service journalism for North Carolina’s largest city. Now it has been scooped up in a deal valued at nearly $5 million and will be a partial model for other cities.

Walnut raises $3.5M from Ron Conway and others to stop remote sales pitches breaking

92TechCrunch / 12h
Amid the rise of remote selling due to the pandemic, Walnut , billing itself as a “Wix for Sales teams,” has raised $3.5 million from SV Angel (Ron and Topher Conway) and A.Capital by Ronny Conway and former a16z partners. This brings its total amount raised to $6 million. Other investors include NFX, Joe Montana, Wix CEO, Immad Akhund and Kenny Stone. Walnut is solving the friction between sales

The $60 AtGames Legends Core Sticks 100 Retro Arcade Games on Your TV

How-To Geek / 12h
If you want a home-sized replica of your favorite arcade, you can expect to spend at least $300. But what if you just want to play a bunch of retro games? At $60, the AtGames Legends Core does the job. The puck plugs into your TV and gives you 100 games. But you’ll need to supply a controller. Read This Article on Review Geek ›

NASA Suggests Sending Boston Dynamics Robodog to Mars

12KFuturism / 12h
Good Boy NASA scientists have an unusual idea for exploring the surface of Mars: sending a four-legged robot dog. Specifically, researchers suggested that a modified version of Boston Dynamics’ dog-like Spot robot would make for a great alternative to the classic Mars rover, Live Science reports . The idea is that they’re better suited to cover long distances and rough terrain — and could even he

2021 Cadillac Escalade Diesel First Drive – Torque Tease

SlashGear / 12h
The 2021 Cadillac Escalade diesel is no less vast than its gas sibling, no less lavish, and actually no more expensive, and that presents buyers of big, luxury SUVs with a conundrum. An Escalade with the Duramax turbo-diesel under the hood costs the same, from $77,490 plus destination, and aside from the 600D badge on the rear there’s no visible … Continue reading

You're Going to Want to See Jupiter and Saturn 'Kiss'

1KLifehacker / 12h
If the skies are clear enough when you live, you should plan on gazing upward early next week to witness what I can only liken to a great cosmic romance. Though the pandemic is rampant and your town or city might be buried under a deluge of snow, the heavens have promised an escape from the drudgery here on Earth with… Read more...

Act fast: Book Alaska Airlines flights for up to 40% off — including first-class

100+The Points Guy / 12h
Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter , and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @ tpg_alerts . Alaska Airlines is back at it again with another flight deal — or in this case, two deals. For a limited time, Alaska Airlines is offering a friends-and-family discount of 30% off flights. This discount is availa

SEC fines Robinhood $65 million for misleading users

Robinhood $65M SEC•
400+Engadget / 12h
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Robinhood was under investigation for not disclosing payments it received from market makers to execute the service’s trades. The allegations were yet another black eye for a company that had already found itself mired in controversy, but the case has finally come to a close. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the makers of the

AMD's special Radeon RX 6800 XT boost isn't as exclusive as we thought

60TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
Asus has enabled the tech on first-gen Ryzen CPUs, but don't get too excited

Microsoft’s Lessons for Google

80NYT > Technology / 12h
What the Microsoft case teaches us about antitrust and the power of Big Tech today.

The World's First Death Attributed to Air Pollution Could Spark the Change We Need

500+Gizmodo / 12h
In a groundbreaking decision on Wednesday, a UK court ruled that polluted air was a contributing factor to the 9-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah’s untimely, tragic passing in 2013. She is the first person in the world to have a death certificate that lists air pollution as a cause of death. The declaration could… Read more...

F1 engine makers are testing sustainable fuel

56Engadget / 12h
Motorsport governing body FIA has developed 100 percent sustainable fuel for Formula 1 cars. The organization and F1 aim to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2030 , and sustainable fuels will play a key role in that. With its fuel, which is made from bio waste, FIA aims to demonstrate that renewable sources of fuel are viable for grands prix. It’s encouraging F1 suppliers to develop their own such



Backblaze