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

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Technology News and More-Saturday Edition

 Technology News and More...






13KGizmodo / 22h
Elon Musk exposed his erect penis to a flight attendant employed by SpaceX in 2016 and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex, according to allegations in a new report from Insider . The report cites a settlement for $250,000 between SpaceX and the unnamed woman, Insider reports, documentation Gizmodo has not… Read more...



Mashable / 49min
Sony stuck to tradition with its latest flagship headphones in that they have amazing sound quality and noise cancellation, but an absolute mouthful of a name. The WH-1000XM5 over-ear noise-canceling headphones hit the market in May 2022 with an MSRP of $399.99, which is $50 more than their predecessor, Sony’s WH-1000XM4s . The new headphones have an updated design, as well as upgraded sound and



The post appeared first on Popular Mechanics .




A shortage of infant formula across America has led parents to share supply locations online.



The Xperia 1 IV is Sony’s latest enthusiast-baiting smartphone, and it’s packed full of multimedia potential. But when it comes to creating a phone that pros and media types love to use, Apple is the king of the hill. Its iPhone 13 Pro Max is in the running to be dubbed the best flagship phone in the current market because of its all-round excellence. Does Sony have the key to access that same ex







Samsung Buds 2 Pokemon•
Samsung has created a Pokémon themed case for the Galaxy Buds 2 wireless earbuds. The case takes on the appearance of a small Poké Ball that acts as a shell wrapped around the regular Galaxy Buds 2 charging case. A special bundle is available on the South Korean tech giant's online store (thanks, Gizmodo ) that includes a Poké Ball charging case, a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 wireless earbuds,



The Polestar 1 turns heads even without the brand recognition of Ferrari or Bugatti. The high-end vehicle is the automotive epitome of a tailored suit.



Nvidia GeForce Now could come to more devices in the future if there’s enough interest from gamers, including Nintendo Switch. In an upcoming interview with TechRadar Gaming, GeForce Now’s vice president and general manager Phil Eisler didn’t rule out the possibility that the game streaming service could come to other platforms in the future, but it all depends on demand. “Based on member request



When I'm hanging around my iPhone-using friends, they're always AirDropping things left, right and center. "One of the benefits of having an iPhone," they tell me, "is that you can AirDrop things." I was taken aback recently, though, when an Android-using friend said the exact same thing to me, when they wanted to send something over. It was then that I realized that many Android phone users don'



TL;DR: The VPN Unlimited Lifetime and PlayStation Plus One-Year Subscription Bundle is on sale for £56.55, saving you 72% on list price. Whether you finally got your hands on a PlayStation 5 or you’re trying to make the most out of your PlayStation 4, one of the best ways to upgrade your gaming experience is with a subscription to PlayStation Plus. And for a limited time, you can bundle it with a



Pear, a Palo Alto, Ca.-based venture firm that we’ve been tracking since its outset in 2012, looks to be raising a fourth fund that’s targeting $410 million in capital commitments, shows a new SEC filing . It would be a big step up from Pear’s first three funds, which closed progressively with $50 million in 2013, $75 million in 2016, and $160 million in capital commitments in 2019, including fro



Larry Ellison 2020•
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was involved in a call where a number of influential GOP figures—including Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Fox News anchor Sean Hannity and Trump attorney Jay Sekulow — brainstormed ways to contest the 2020 presidential election, reported the Washington Pos t. Details of the call which occurred on November 14, 2020 were revealed in new court filings from a lawsuit brought



Hey everyone, and welcome back to Chain Reaction. In our Chain Reaction podcast this week, Anita and I chatted with Mercedes Bent of Lightspeed Venture Partners on backing blockchain startups and the future of consumer fintech. More details below. Last week, we talked about how the crypto industry needs to take a moment to reflect on buying the love of its followers. This week, we’re looking at t



Gigabyte Project Stealth•
Gigabyte announced a partnership with Maingear to develop Project Stealth, a computer assembly kit meant to make PC building more hassle-free. Project Stealth combines the technologies of Gigabyte and Maingear to tackle the difficulties in building PCs with the assembly kit composed of three products: the Z690 Aorus Elite Stealth motherboard, RTX 3070 Gaming OC Stealth graphics card, and Aorus C3



Founders have gotten the memo that the ground is shifting under their feet right now. What to do about it is the question. Already, teams are making plans to scale back their spending to preserve capital. They’re making painful staff cuts toward that same end — or else instituting hiring freezes. But they should also be thinking a lot harder about building relationships with bankers and the large



Delta A321neo Boston•
Delta’s newest aircraft took flight on Friday as the airline flew its first revenue service with the Airbus A321neo, departing Boston bound for San Francisco. The new aircraft type also introduced Delta’s new first class seats, a modern update to the traditional recliner seat featuring a number of new touches — most notably the two wings on the sides of the headrest offering a slightly improved b



Blame it on technology, blame it on TikTok, or blame it on the multitasking nature of our capitalist society. The fact is, for most of us, our attention spans have only gotten shorter. A two-and-a-half-hour movie? Ha! That’s an indulgence reserved for special occasions or the rare few filmmakers who earn those excessive runtimes (looking at you, Dune ). We the people are tired, we’re impatient, a



Enlarge (credit: BeeBright / Getty Images / iStockphoto ) Researchers said on Friday that they found a malicious backdoor in a WordPress plugin that gave attackers full control of websites that used the package, which is marketed to schools. The premium version of School Management , a plugin schools use to operate and manage their websites, has contained the backdoor since at least version 8.9,



CDC US 180 Hepatitis•
Enlarge / Liver lesions in patient with chronic active hepatitis C. (credit: Getty | BSIP ) A sixth child has died in the United States from puzzling liver inflammation—aka hepatitis—and the number of unexplained cases has risen to 180 across 36 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest death was announced in a press briefing Friday, led by CDC Deputy Directo



100+Gizmodo / 9h
A new report claims that a subcontractor working for Russia’s intelligence service has a botnet capable of manipulating trends on social media platforms on a “massive scale.” The report , published Thursday by the cybersecurity firm Nisos, alleges that the Moscow-based firm 0day Technologies can spread disinformation… Read more...



84Gizmodo / 9h
Joining The Batman ’s Robert Pattinson in Mickey7 , the upcoming sci-fi film from auteur Bong Joon Ho , are Naomi Ackie ( Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) , Toni Collette ( Nightmare Alley), and Mark Ruffalo ( The Adam Project , She-Hulk). It’s been a while since the director’s multi-Oscar haul for Parasite and we couldn’t… Read more...




Enlarge / The prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK. A large Neolithic settlement known as Durrington Walls is less than two miles away and is believed to be where the people who built the famous site camped during the main stage of construction. (credit: Adam Stanford) Nearly two miles away from Stonehenge , there is a large Neolithic settlement known as Durrington Walls , believed



What is that we hear? Is that the Friday, May 20, 2022, on the calendar and the soft, alluring siren’s song of a weekend that’s right around the corner? Why, yes, that must be it! Our events team is busy putting together an awesome TechCrunch Disrupt, and we are psyched about Startup Battlefield, where the winner will walk away with a $100,000 check to continue building the future it is envisioni



iPhone iMessage FaceTime•
A nasty bug has been going around affecting iPhone users that can cause the iMessage and FaceTime apps to randomly deactivate with no way to turn them back on. The news comes from various Twitter users including prominent Apple leaker and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, all of whom detailed their experience with this bug. So far, this problem is limited to users on the T-Mobile and Verizon networ



Amazon’s cute little Astro robot has been scurrying its way around my apartment for the past few weeks. It has no arms to scratch its own head in confusion, but I am willing to do that for him. As part of Amazon’s Day 1 Editions program, the robot is a $1,000 invitation-only program with limited numbers of robots available, as the company is trying to get them into consumers’ hands with a questio



Most people can renew their U.S. passports by mail, which requires some paperwork as well as some time waiting around for processing and delivery. The State Department currently estimates the passport delivery time to be between eight and 11 weeks for routine service. However, certain people, including first-time applicants and kids have to complete the application process in person. Passports fo



2021 Ford Lincoln LN•
Ford issued a recall for thousands of SUVs for potential fire risks. Incidents with fire appeared regardless of if the vehicle was on or off, parked or driving.



300+Gizmodo / 10h
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's weekly roundup of the best bare-chested toys and collectibles on the internet. This week all other toy news is irrelevant as, just like life, Mattel Creations has found a way to bring us more Jeff Goldblum than we deserve. Hold onto your butts as you check it out! Read more...



A new gaming headset from EKSA aims to re-define the gaming headset market with surround sound, spatial audio, and a slew of other features.



Hyundai EV Georgia•
49Engadget / 10h
Hyundai is betting big on American electric vehicle sales. The automaker has struck a deal with Georgia to build its first dedicated EV factory in the US. The 2,923-acre plant near Savannah will make cars and batteries when production is projected to start in the first half of 2025. Construction starts in early 2023. The company expects to manufacture 300,000 EVs per year at the facility, coverin



Hyundai EV Georgia•
Hyundai is the latest automaker to announce plans to open an EV factory in Georgia, the same state where Rivian is preparing to break ground on its controversial plant. Hyundai’s $6.5 billion EV and battery manufacturing facility outside of Savannah will further the state’s goal of becoming a major regional hub for the EV industry. As sales of electric vehicles start to surge, the Peach State aim



Candy , one of the latest streaming installments in the controversial true crime genre , is a whirlwind. And not just because of the events that inspired it. The five-episode Hulu series stars Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery, a Texas woman accused of brutally murdering her friend Betty Gore (Melanie Lynskey) in 1980. It's based on real events , and like so many other on-screen stories, Candy doe



Xiaomi has a slew of new products coming to stores soon, including the colorful Mi Band 7, with a slightly larger screen and more power than its predecessor.



200+Gizmodo / 11h
Amazon’s head of devices took a swipe at Meta on Thursday, saying the company is working on enhancing a virtual world that will entice people to neglect the real world. Read more...



Editor’s note : This post has been updated with the latest information. Once you have enough Walt Disney World vacations under your belt, you start to understand the rules of the game. Ride strategy: check. Avoid crazy peak weeks: check. Make dining reservations months in advance: check. Or, at least, that all used to be true. Since the parks reopened following the COVID-19 closure in 2020, Walt



Rumors swirl around the reveal and release of Apple's next HomePod, with the potential for new devices that combine smart speaker tech with a display.



33Mashable / 11h
Prepare to see a lot more Donald Trump on social media again. Truth Social is no longer siloed behind an iOS-only mobile app. Trump's alternative social network, Truth Social, pushed out a notification on Friday to its current iOS app users informing them that a web version of the platform is now available. SEE ALSO: Elon Musk reportedly paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct case and Twitte



iPhone iMessage FaceTime•
A T-Mobile carrier-related issue appears to be plaguing iPhone users, causing phone numbers to deactivate. There are two simple fixes for this issue, for now.



Apple has responded to recent criticisms from over 100 top film and TV editing professionals over its management of Final Cut Pro (FCP). April saw the publication of an open-letter heaping praise on Apple’s flagship video editing software , going as far as calling it “the biggest leap forward in editing technology since the move to digital”. However, the signatories - including big-hitters on sho



Social media influencer Alina Bedrossian took to TikTok to share video she snapped on board a Delta Connection regional jet of a passenger she caught snapping photos of her feet. Her first video of the man “as he angles his iPhone toward her tootsies and takes a pic” has racked up about 6 million views. In a follow up video she shows the man editing the photos of her feet right there at his seat.



47Gizmodo / 11h
Law enforcement agencies are finding new and flawed ways to try to arrest more people all the time. And police have been using posts on sites like Facebook and Instagram to track down and charge protestors suspected of property destruction for years . Now, newly released documents show that Chicago cops can catfish as… Read more...




Indian Skyroot Kalam-100•
Skyroot , the first private Indian company to design, build and test a solid rocket propulsion stage, has reached another key milestone in the development of its Vikram-I launch vehicle: a full-duration test of the rocket’s third stage. The third stage, dubbed Kalam-100 in homage to Indian rocket scientist and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is just one part of the company’s debut rocket. Vi



When the bill comes at the end of dinner a dinner out with friends or family, things can get awkward, fast. Maybe you’re an adult who isn’t sure if it’s appropriate to keep letting your parents will pick up the tab. Maybe you’re on a first date and don’t want to give the impression you’re a mooch—or deal with the… Read more...



Sony stepped up its Active Noise Canceling headphone game with the Sony WH-1000XM5. Here's how the new release compares to what was promised.



Mercedes-Benz just set the record with the most expensive car sale ever, but the company's plans for the money may surprise you as well.



Intel $700M Lab Cooling•
Intel is set to pump $700 million into a new ‘mega-lab’ focused on building next-generation immersion liquid cooling technology. The 200,000-square-foot building will begin construction later this year at the company’s Jones Farm campus in Hillsboro, Oregon, with its opening expected in late 2023. Immersion cooling enables servers and other computing components to be submerged in dielectric liqui



Read more...



This Summer 2022 Americans•
If you’ve groaned while looking at the price of airfare for this summer, you’re not alone. If you’re going to bite the bullet and book the trip anyway, you’re also not alone. Pricey airfare has combined with high across-the-board costs to form a very expensive summer trip, but industry experts say there’s no indication travelers plan to stay home over the coming months. Get the latest points, mil



FCC Broadband Mbps•
34Engadget / 11h
The Federal Communications Commission is aiming to boost rural broadband internet speeds through proposed changes to the Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program. The target is to improve minimum download and upload speeds to 100/20 Mbps in areas served by carriers that receive A-CAM support . The current baseline is 25/3 Mbps. The A-CAM Broadband Coalition proposed the creation of



Breaking an iPhone screen is never a fun experience. While nearly every electronics repair store will help you fix your iPhone, the job isn’t free, and you could walk out with a much lighter wallet. So, here are all your repair options, plus the prices you can expect to pay for an iPhone screen replacement. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



“Wave season” deals may have come and gone, but if you’re in the market for an Alaska cruise, you’re in luck: The Points Guy is seeing exceptional prices for high-season July and August cruises that you can book right now. These deals are for prime outside and balcony cabins, so you can keep an eye on the stunning scenery as you float past the glaciers and sparkling waters of Alaska. “There are q



danskjavlarna : From Wesleyan College’s 1931 yearbook. My modest collection of vintage ex libris / bookplates . Wondering about this post? Wait for the dissertation (TBA). For now: Weblog ◆ Books ◆ Videos ◆ Music ◆ Etsy



100+Futurism / 12h
One family says their child was left with hearing damage after the boy’s Apple AirPods blasted a super-loud Amber Alert in his ears. Reuters reported this week that a family has filed suit against Apple claiming the company didn’t give them adequate warning about the risk. The suit says his volume was set to “low” and that the kid was watching Netflix from a connected iPhone. The Amber Alert — wh



Canada is set to ban both Huawei and ZTE 5G network equipment in the near future after the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand have done the same.



Whether it’s a paddleboat picnic on Stow Lake or a stroll down the Embarcadero, the City by the Bay offers numerous hotel options where elite status and points can pay off. However, many hotels in San Francisco are still struggling with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic , so you need to do your due diligence before booking a room. In this edition of “book this, not that,” we are headin



Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new information. If you truly want to maximize your miles, periodic transfer bonuses can offer lucrative opportunities for fantastic points redemptions . You can sometimes get up to 50% more value from your points by transferring them to a specific airline or hotel partner during one of these bonuses. To help make it easier for you to track these off



Seltzer, or sparkling water if you’re fancy (“spicy water” if you’re my kid), has been having a moment since at least 2016 . At my Target, there is an entire wall dedicated to the many-faceted flavor combinations of LaCroix, Spindrift, Bubly, Waterloo, Aha, Polar, and Sparkling Ice, not to mention Target’s knock-off… Read more...



45Gizmodo / 12h
For most people, Christmas comes at the end of December. For Hallmark collectors, it comes much earlier than that—on the day Hallmark announces all of its ornaments for the coming year. Hundreds and hundreds of ornaments for every single occasion , aimed at fans of basically anything and everything. Read more...



Sunny Kumar Contributor Sunny Kumar, MD, MBA is a partner at GSR Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on healthcare technology with more than $3.5 billion under management. Blood pressure, body temperature, hemoglobin A1c levels and other biomarkers have been used for decades to track disease. While this information is essential for chronic condition management, these and many ot



Have one (or several) old laptops lying around your home? What you actually have is a productivity master waiting to reach its full potential



It would appear that the reasons why studying unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is so difficult are surprisingly simple, according to two researchers.




Enlarge / When there's danger! (credit: Disney) Traditionally, when Disney films skip theaters and go straight to video, it's not a good sign. That has changed somewhat now that the Disney+ content beast needs to be fed , yet the company still differentiates between "triple-A television" like The Mandalorian and "cheap, kid-friendly movies" like the Air Bud series. Hence, today's Disney+ premiere



Amazon Android 11 Modern•
1KEngadget / 12h
Amazon’s new Fire 7 tablets — due to arrive this summer — will be equipped with improved software. According to a report on AFTV News. tablets will come with Fire OS 8, an entirely new version of the Fire operating system that is based on Android 11. Given that Google no longer releases security patches or updates for Android 9 , this will be welcome news for Fire tablet owners. As Liliputing poi



A long time ago, smartphones were small. Like, really small. It used to be a given that such a device should fit snugly in the hand, so you could do everything you need to with it using only your thumb. They certainly don’t make ‘em like
 they used to. In 2022, most “smaller” smartphones are still enormous, sporting… Read more...


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