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Sunday, July 4, 2021

Technology News and More-Saturday Evening Edition

Technology News and More



Hubble celebrates the Fourth of July with a gorgeous cosmic fireworks show


1KMashable / 9h
These aren't actually fireworks you're seeing, but they sure look the part. As we head into Independence Day weekend in the United States, a new Hubble image drop from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) is here to kick off the festivities. While fireworks as we know them aren't actually a thing in the vacuum of space, expansive star clusters like this one certainly look the part. This Pictu

Lovecraft Country Not Renewed for a Second Season at HBO Max


1KGizmodo / 8h
HBO said in a statement to Deadline that the network isn’t moving forward with the second season of Lovecraft Country . Read more...

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut locks PS5 features behind a paywall – and that's dishonorable


Ghost Tsushima ’s Cut•
66TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
Ghost of Tsushima is getting a paid expansion, which is the only way to access the game’s PS5-specific upgrades. Here's why that's not ok.


Porsche Recalls Roughly 43,000 Taycan Electric Cars Over Bug That Causes Sudden Power Loss


Gizmodo / 2h
Luxury sports automaker Porsche is recalling roughly 43,000 of its Taycan electric cars worldwide over a bug that causes a sudden loss of power, the company said Friday . To fix the issue, you’ll have to take your car to a repair center since an over-the-air software update apparently isn’t possible in this case. Read more...

Bird to Offer Accessible Vehicles for People With Disabilities in New York City Pilot


Gizmodo / 2h
Bird, the scooter and bike sharing company, is launching a pilot focused on offering accessible mobility vehicles for people with disabilities to rent in New York City this summer. Read more...

Riot Games Releases Sessions: Vi Album That Anyone Can Use Without Fear of Copyright Complaints


Gizmodo / 3h
It’s no secret for creators that using pre-recorded music in their content can be a hassle —it can even get your content lawfully taken down from whatever platform it’s on. Riot Games, developer of the popular League of Legends , is aware of this as well, and came up with a solution: a copyright-free album of relaxing,… Read more...

You Can't Just Slap a Starlink Dish Onto Your Car, California Motorist Finds Out


200+Gizmodo / 3h
Somebody got the bright idea to slap a Starlink satellite dish on the hood of their car, and now they’re paying the price. Read more...

These Michelin-starred restaurants in Ireland are worth hopping on a plane for


45The Points Guy / 4h
The Emerald Isle has something to suit all travelers — from people on a budget to those after five-star luxury castle hotels. Irish restaurants are also making a splash. Here’s a list of some of our favorite Michelin-starred restaurants in Ireland, where to stay and some other things to do while you’re there. (Photo by David Soanes Photography/Getty Images) Aimsir (first two stars), Kildare Aimsi

Star Wars Visions' First Teaser Puts a Japanese Lens on the Galaxy Far, Far Away


100+Gizmodo / 5h
Star Wars is so vast and all-encompassing as a franchise , that the galaxy far, far away can play host to so many different styles and genres of storytelling. But while western animation is certainly no stranger to Star Wars , now creatives from Japan are taking the lead on a new series that wants to bring fresh eyes to… Read more...

FaZe Clan suspends players allegedly involved in crypto pump-and-dump scheme


29Engadget / 5h
FaZe Clan is once again reeling from drama, and this time the damage might be longer-lasting. Decrypt notes that FaZe has punished four players for alleged involvement in a pump-and-dump scheme involving the Save the Kids cryptocurrency project. The eSports team suspended Jarvis (pictured), Nikan and Teeqo, and has permanently removed Kay from the organization. Save the Kids (aka KIDS) was pitche

Go Back in Time and Use the Old macOS Dashboard Widgets With This Cool Website


Gizmodo / 5h
Although Apple killed its beloved widget Dashboard in 2019 , a savvy developer has created a way for us to travel back in time and experience that old Apple nostalgia. Read more...

Hawks vs Bucks live stream: how to watch game 6 NBA playoffs online from anywhere


TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 5h
Can Bucks secure the win, or will Atlanta push them all the way? Here's how to watch the Bucks vs Hawks series and live stream NBA playoffs action from anywhere.

The Last of Us Television Series Starts Production!


83Gizmodo / 6h
Production on The Last of Us HBO Max series is finally kicking off! Read more...

These Nine Android Apps May Have Stolen Your Facebook Login Information


100+Gizmodo / 6h
Google has kicked nine Android apps with more than 5.8 million combined downloads off its Play Store after researchers discovered they contained malicious code used to steal users’ Facebook login credentials, according to the Russian anti-virus software firm Dr. Web . Read more...

The best films streaming on Hulu


Mashable / 6h
Stop me if this sounds familiar: It's a Friday night, you're in the mood for a movie, you've fired up Hulu...and now you've spent 40 minutes racked with indecision, just trying to decide which of the endless options in front of you feels right for right now. Well, we can't tell you what your heart wants. But we can tell you what our hearts want — what movies we love the most, which ones we never

Will Covid Take Down Travel Again In The Fall?


View from the Wing / 6h
Here most places have re-opened. There's an expectation that many businesses will return to the office in the fall. Schools are expected to be open. Already leisure travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and in some places has exceeded it. But is this state of affairs going to last? When leisure travel tapers in the fall it won't yet be replaced by business travel. And spread of the Delta va

Boring Company proposes Fort Lauderdale transit loop for trips to the beach


58Engadget / 6h
Elon Musk's Boring Company is still trying to sell cities on transit loops , and it might just have a significant buyer. As The Verge reports , the Boring Company has submitted a bid for a transit tunnel loop that would link the downtown with the beach. The Las Olas Loop would be an "innovative and unprecented" way to manage traffic congestion and transit demands, Mayor Dean Trantalis claimed . T

3 things I wish I’d known when planning my first ‘momcation’


The Points Guy / 6h
As a mother of two toddlers just 19 months apart, the pandemic was especially difficult on me. I went from having the autonomy and independence I loved to suddenly being a work-from-home and full-time mom. It goes without saying that I’ve needed some time to myself several times over the last year. Affectionately called a “ momcation “, when a mom gets to take a solo trip without her family, she

Police Ticket Driver Who Bolted Starlink Antenna to Car Hood


500+Futurism / 7h
Visual Obstruction The California Highway Patrol (CHP) stopped a person driving a Toyota Prius with what appeared to be a Starlink dish attached to its hood. The police officers ticketed the driver for mounting the large satellite dish to his car, saying that it obstructed the driver’s view, according to The Verge . “Sir I stopped you today for that visual obstruction on your hood,” said a Facebo

Do you really need a 4K monitor?


TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
With the best 4K monitors becoming easier and easier to get, it's time to ask – do you actually need one?

Are sustainable aviation fuels the future for commercial air travel?


The Points Guy / 7h
This week, the U.K. government announced another $4.15 million worth of funding for the JetZero Council to continue its push for zero-emission flight infrastructure. According to its website , the JetZero Council is focusing on the development of net-zero and zero-emissions technology to fuel the first zero-emission passenger flight across the Atlantic. As part of this plan, it is funding zero-em

This Week in Apps: iOS 15 public beta arrives, Android App Bundles to replace APKs, app consumer spend hits new record


39TechCrunch / 7h
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices alone. And in the U.S., app usage surge

Welcome to hot due diligence summer


21TechCrunch / 7h
Wow, that headline worked? A recent board fight at a digital health unicorn is a reminder to entrepreneurs that it’s important to set boundaries, even amid the dizzying volume and velocity of this summer’s deal frenzy . This week I published a scoop about how Bessemer Venture Partners replaced a board member at Hinge Health , after that board member invested in a competing startup. Hinge Health c


A new ‘digital violence’ platform maps dozens of victims of NSO Group’s spyware


51TechCrunch / 7h
For the first time, researchers have mapped all the known targets, including journalists, activists, and human rights defenders , whose phones were hacked by Pegasus, a spyware developed by NSO Group. Forensic Architecture, an academic unit at Goldsmiths, University of London that investigates human rights abuses , scoured dozens of reports from human rights groups, carried out open-source resear

Startups, culture and riding the meme wave


29TechCrunch / 7h
Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s broadly based on the daily column that appears on Extra Crunch , but free, and made for your weekend reading. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here . Ready? Let’s talk money, startups and spicy IPO rumors. Hey! It’s going to be a long weekend here in the United States, which means that this newsle

YouTuber Wins $10,000 Bet Against Physicist, Drives Wind-Powered Car


4KFuturism / 7h
The $10,000 Question A science YouTuber has won a five-figure bet from a physics professor after he proved a wind-powered car could move faster than the wind while driving downwind. Derek Muller, who runs the YouTube channel Veritasium , made the bet with Alexander Kusenko, a physics professor at the University of California, after Kusenko messaged him saying that it was impossible for the car to

Porsche recalls 43,000 Taycan EVs over sudden power loss


40Engadget / 7h
It didn't take long for Porsche's rumored Taycan recall to become official. The German car maker has recalled about 43,000 Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo EVs worldwide over a sudden power loss issue. You'll have to take your electric sports sedan to a workshop to receive an hour-long software update (over-the-air isn't an option this time), although Porsche said you could continue driving until

Somebody slapped a Starlink satellite dish on their car's hood. Police slapped them with a ticket.


87Mashable / 8h
Sometimes innovators are punished or laughed at, or they're simply ahead of their time. I'm not sure that's the case here but whatever. You've still got to hand it to a motorist who apparently attached a Starlink satellite dish to the hood of their car. Starlink, for the unaware, is Space X's satellite-based internet service provider . Anyway, here, look at this innovation. The California Highway

Oil Company That Caught Ocean on Fire Has Staggeringly Long History of Death, Accidents


1KFuturism / 8h
The oil company behind the whole catching-the-ocean-on-fire incident has — unsurprisingly — a long history of terrible and deadly accidents. PetrĂ³leos Mexicanos, more commonly known as Pemex, has a record of major accidents at its facilities and oil wells dating back to 1979. That was the year the company’s exploratory oil well Ixtoc I in the Gulf of Mexico experienced a blowout — resulting in on

Hotel Cancels Award Stay Because They Found Someone Better To Rent Rooms To


View from the Wing / 9h
Your travel reservations are never guaranteed, if the travel provider can sell your trip to someone else for (enough) more money. I wrote recently about Hilton cancelling all summer reservations at a Hawaiian hotel property, leaving guests with few options when the hotel had a chance to sell out to a single group booking. Now a similar situation has happened with Hyatt, though unsurprisingly Hyat

FTC charges Broadcom with 'illegally monopolizing' the chip industry


28Engadget / 9h
Broadcom is facing a major antitrust crackdown. Gizmodo reports that the Federal Trade Commission has charged Broadcom with "illegally monopolizing" the markets for broadband and TV chips, including WiFi parts. The FTC claimed that Broadcom struck exclusive deals with vendors and service providers that prevented them from buying chips from rival suppliers. The FTC also accused Broadcom of obtaini

Black Widow Has Kevin Feige Hyped for the Future of the MCU


53Gizmodo / 10h
Producer and President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige and director Cate Shortland , are hyped for Black Widow, which occurs between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. To get the full scope of the film, read Germain Lussier’s review . Read more...

How to Install tvOS 15 Public Beta on Your Apple TV


Lifehacker / 10h
While you might not think of the software that runs on your Apple TV too often, Apple does release a major update every year. In the fall of 2021, Apple will release tvOS 15, which brings some quality-of-life improvements to the Apple TV: You’ll finally be able to log in to apps using Face ID on your iPhone, for… Read more...

Shohei Ohtani's Babe Ruth impression is the only way I watch baseball. It rules.


Mashable / 10h
I used to be a baseball fan. Hell, I used to play the sport (albeit, kind of poorly). Now though, I cannot even recall the last televised game I watched. Baseball isn't a part of my life, with one massive, glaring exception: viral clips of Shohei Ohtani. But first, let's backtrack. More than a decade ago, during the Jimmy Rollins-Chase Utley-Ryan Howard era of the Philadelphia Phillies, I lived a

Tesla Cybertruck will have an answer to the Hummer EV's 'Crab Mode'


48Engadget / 10h
Tesla won't sit by the wayside as electric trucks like the Hummer EV and Rivian R1T lure customers with special features. Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla is adding rear-wheel steering to the Cybertruck to help the EV maneuver with "high agility." It's a rough answer to the Hummer's "Crab Mode" and R1T's tank turns, in other words. You might not have much trouble with a tight U-turn or tricky of

Pandemic Wave of Automation May Be Bad News for Workers


100+NYT > Technology / 10h
The need for social distancing led restaurants and grocery stores to seek technological help. That may improve productivity, but could also cost jobs.

Travelers warn of last-minute vacation rental cancellations this summer


60The Points Guy / 10h
We’ve seen posts on social media and heard from readers about recent issues with Airbnb and VRBO, including stories of hosts reportedly canceling at the last minute without penalty and failing to provide alternative accommodations. I spoke to TPG reader Tanner, who asked to be identified by his first name only, about a recent experience he and his partner had with Airbnb. Tanner, who is 28 and wo

CDC Warns of Outbreak of Deadly Bacteria


200+Futurism / 10h
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it’s investigating cases of a rare but deadly bacterial infection in the United States — and warned that it could spread to more people. The CDC is looking into three cases of Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis) in Kansas, Minnesota, and Texas, according to a health advisory the agency released on Wednesday . The infected were mad

Dell launches Black Friday in July sale with laptop deals starting from $269


TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Dell laptop deals can save you up to $400 on everything from premium machines to super cheap PCs this weekend.

Maui’s answer to the car rental shortage: A shuttle that costs up to $50 per person for a one-way ticket


100+The Points Guy / 10h
The rental car shortage has been an issue in many states since the return of travel started earlier this year. The state that seems to keep getting the most headlines though is Hawaii — some visitors even resorting to renting U-Hauls to avoid the astronomically high prices of renting a car. Hawai’i’s Tourism Authority has resources on its website to give visitors an idea of alternative forms of t

Netflix lays out a new He-Man story in its latest 'Masters of the Universe' trailer


Universe MotUR K. Smith•
Mashable / 11h
Fans of He-Man have lots of questions about what to expect from Netflix's star-studded Masters of the Universe: Revelation series, created by Kevin Smith and based on the classic Mattel toys. This latest trailer at last brings some answers for the first part of the series, which spans five half-hour episodes. Picking up after the events of the beloved '80s cartoon, Revelations opens into an Etern


Slick Vanderhall Brawley GTS is an all-electric off-road performance vehicle


SlashGear / 11h
A company called Vanderhall has rolled out a new, completely electric off-road vehicle called the Brawley. The Brawley GTS might resemble the Jeep Renegade to some users from the side profile and front as it has the same boxy shape and a very Jeep-like grille. It looks enough like a Jeep that it would be no surprise to see the … Continue reading

Hundreds of Businesses, From Sweden to U.S., Affected by Cyberattack


100+NYT > Technology / 11h
In Sweden, a grocery chain temporarily closed its doors after the attack. Some companies have been asked for $5 million in ransom.

Supreme Court Ruling Shows Why Airline Mask Mandate Is Illegal


37View from the Wing / 11h
The Supreme Court refused to overturn the CDC’s eviction moratorium, even though a majority of justices believe that it is illegal. And the same reasons 5 justices believe the eviction moratorium is beyond the CDC’s authority apply to the federal transportation mask mandate as well. Continue reading ...

This Pie Parfait Is a Perfect Last-Minute July 4th Dessert


Lifehacker / 11h
It is not exactly a secret that I am not particularly proud to be an American, but I am a food writer living in the United States, which means certain editorial decisions are influenced by certain American holidays. (That’s capitalism, baby.) This Sunday is Independence Day, a day often celebrated with the… Read more...

Elon Musk Suggests That a Brain Parasite Is Forcing Humans to Create Superhuman AI


3KFuturism / 11h
Rats to Cats Elon Musk tweeted a fascinating—and frankly unsettling—theory about how a brain parasite is forcing all humans to create advanced AI. The Tesla CEO was responding to a story from National Geographic about how toxoplasmosis, a common parasite often found in cats, is causing hyenas to be reckless around predators such as lions. He suggested that the parasite is actually what’s causing

Hundreds of Businesses, From Sweden to U.S., Affected by Cyberattack


100+NYT > Technology / 11h
In Sweden, a grocery chain temporarily closed its doors after the attack. Some companies have been asked for $5 million in ransom.

Hackers conduct one of the largest supply chain cyberattacks to date


75Engadget / 11h
Hackers just perpetrated one of the largest known supply chain cyberattacks so far. The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal report that IT management software giant Kaseya has fallen victim to a ransomware attack that compromised its VSA remote maintenance tool. The company initially claimed that "fewer than 40" of its customers were directly affected, but security response firm Huntress said

Health organizations offer conflicting mask guidance as delta variant spreads


78The Points Guy / 11h
The World Health Organization (WHO) on June 25 warned that even fully vaccinated individuals — those who received their final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks prior — should still wear a mask as the B.1.617.2 strain , also known as the delta variant , spreads. “People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves,” said Dr. Mariangela S

Swedish Coop supermarkets shut due to US ransomware cyber-attack


400+BBC News - Technology / 11h
Some 500 stores are forced to close due to the ripple effects of a major cyber attack in the US.

PSA: Don’t put a Starlink satellite dish on your car


SlashGear / 11h
There’s a saying that goes: if you see a warning sign, no matter how absurd, it exists because someone performed the action advised against. That’s the case with this new warning against putting a Starlink satellite dish on your car’s exterior, an action that recently earned one customer a moving violation citation. The California Highway Patrol in Antelope Valley recently … Continue reading

Researchers Find New Windows Exploit, Accidentally Tell Hackers How to Use It


71How-To Geek / 12h
In June, Microsoft patched a critical-rated vulnerability called CVE-2021-1675. This vulnerability allowed hackers to take remote control over PCs through the Print Spooler system—pretty scary stuff! Unfortunately, researchers at Chinese tech company Sangfor have set a similar exploit called PrintNightmare on the loose after telling hackers how to take advantage of a previously undiscovered bug.

How to Play the Hidden Pinball Game in Google’s iPhone App


21How-To Geek / 12h
Google is a company that loves Easter eggs. It has hidden games inside the Chrome browser and the Play Store on Android. But did you know that the Google app for iPhone and iPad has a hidden game, too? Read This Article on How-To Geek ›

NASA’s most popular free software was originally designed to enable space exploration


SlashGear / 12h
Many people may not know that NASA has a vast catalog of free software available for anyone to download. Most of the software it offers was originally developed to help space exploration, and the programs are available for people to download for other uses here on Earth. The software catalog has hundreds of programs and more than 180 new applications, … Continue reading

'Lovecraft Country' showrunner takes a swipe at HBO after the show's cancellation


200+Mashable / 12h
Lovecraft Country won't be returning to HBO for a second season. The network confirmed the news in a Friday announcement. Lovecraft Country was adapted from Matt Ruff's 2016 novel, which used historically racist author H.P. Lovecraft's notions of cosmic horror to fuel stories set in the American South during (primarily) the 1950s. "We will not be moving forward with a second season of Lovecraft C

Is The Forever Purge the Last Film in the Franchise?


47Gizmodo / 12h
On July 2, Universal Pictures dropped the fifth Purge film: The Forever Purge. Read more...

Sony WF-1000XM4 vs Apple AirPods Pro: how the best wireless earbuds compare to the best AirPods


TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
Should you buy wireless earbuds from Sony or Apple? Here’s everything you need to know about the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the AirPods Pro.

MCU toys may contain movie spoilers – but let's stop looking for them


TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
Official Spider-Man: No Way Home toys have set the internet ablaze with new rumors and speculation – but it’s about time we stopped looking for Marvel secrets in their merchandise.


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