- ScienceSpace
Telescope Aimed at Black Hole Gives Taste of Incredible Results to Come
You might remember that about a year ago, astrophysicists turned the whole Earth into a telescope to try and get a picture of a black hole. That image isn’t available yet, but the folks behind this “Event Horizon Telescope” just released data from previous observing periods, and it’s making us even antsier for the final … Continued
- io9
The Writers of Solo Discuss the Challenge of Creating Han and Chewie’s Iconic First Meeting
Han Solo’s life has been full of iconic moments—the Kessel Run, winning the Millennium Falcon, running afoul of Jabba the Hutt and more, but none are more significant than Han meeting Chewbacca. So when Solo: A Star Wars Story, writers Lawrence and Jon Kasdan definitively decided on what that first meeting would be, they knew … Continued
- Tech NewsApple
Samsung Forced to Pay Apple $539 Million for Violating iPhone Patents
This patent battle between Apple and Samsung is the lawsuit that just won’t go away. Since 2011, the two smartphone giants have been fighting over five patents due to the claim that Samsung infringed on Apple’s intellectual property when it made a handful of devices including the original Galaxy S 4G, the Galaxy S2, and … Continued
- Tech NewsGadgets
This Bop It-Like Toy You Can Fuck Has Major Design Issues
I will admit I spent a very long time staring at this Motherboard story about a new sex toy created in celebration of National Masturbation Day. Partly because it was 9 in the morning, and contemplating a variety of sex toys bolted to a Bop It-style frame before I have finished my coffee is enough … Continued
By Alex Cranz - Tech NewsNews
WeChat Blocks ‘Sugar Dady’ Dating Service in China
After a meteoric rise in popularity in China, the SeekingArrangement dating app was removed from the country’s most popular social network, WeChat. SeekingArrangements is marketed as an app that helps “sugar daddies or mommas” and “sugar babies” connect for “mutually beneficial relationships.” The site says that for the former, “Money isn’t an issue, thus they … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
New Evacuation Plan in Place as Third Kilauea Lava Flow Reaches Ocean
US Marine Corps stationed in Hawaii are now on standby to help with evacuations should lava flows cut off the only remaining escape route from the beleaguered Puna neighborhood. The latest threat comes as the Big Island enters its fourth week of eruptions, and as a third lava flow reaches the ocean. At a base … Continued
- io9
Here’s the Trailer for the Ursula K. Le Guin Documentary Almost 10 Years in the Making
Earlier this year, the world lost one of its most prolific creators when Ursula K. Le Guin passed away at 88 years old. Now, the universes she created and the people she inspired are here to share her story, in the debut trailer for Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, a documentary that’s been in … Continued
- Tech News
Apple Just Killed the Ability to Stream Games From Steam to Your iPhone
Valve’s anticipated app designed to let you stream games and movies from the Steam platform to your iPhone or iPad has been rejected by Apple, despite the company approving it earlier in the month. As with Valve’s Steam Link box, the app would have allowed you to stream games from your PC directly to your … Continued
- Tech NewsAmazon
Amazon Confirms Alexa Heard a Couple’s Background Conversation as a Command to Record Them
Two weeks ago, a woman in Portland learned that her Amazon Echo device had recorded and sent a private conversation between her and her husband to one of his employees in Seattle without their knowledge. “Unplug your Alexa devices right now,” she says the employee told them, “You’re being hacked.” But the couple in Portland … Continued
- Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook and Google Accused of Violating GDPR on First Day of the New European Privacy Law
When Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of members of the European Parliament on Tuesday, he insisted that Facebook was ready for Friday, the day when the European Unions’s strict new data privacy law went into effect. But users in Europe have already filed complaints against Facebook and others today, saying the tech companies are in … Continued
By Matt Novak - io9
This Delightful Christopher Robin Trailer Will Relieve Some of Your Existential Dread, At Least for a Little While
Come for Ewan McGregor shrieking “POOH!?” in the most chipper accent possible. Stay for the absolute adorableness of Pooh and friends going on their greatest quest yet: to save Christopher Robin from… a mid-life crisis? Debuted exclusively on The Ellen Show today, the new trailer for Christopher Robin paints a much fuller, and altogether more … Continued
- EartherEarth Science
Please Enjoy Some Lava at Night From Space
We’ve had no shortage of incredible imagery of Kilauea’s eruption over the past three weeks. But while aerial footage is perhaps best for conveying the epic fury of lava fountains, images from space offer a different perspective. This one, for instance, highlights just how searingly hot the landscape is. The false-color image was captured Wednesday … Continued
By Maddie Stone - How To
How Google News Compares to Twitter, Facebook, and RSS for Your News
There’s a new news aggregator in town (well, an old one, revamped). The updated, refreshed, and smarter version of Google News is out now on Android, iOS, and the web, so how does this reimagining of the news stack up against the other ways we usually get our headlines—Facebook, Twitter, and RSS? We’ve been diving … Continued
By David Nield - io9TelevisionMorning Spoilers
It’s Time to Speculate Wildly About the Title of the Wonder Woman Sequel
Danny Boyle is officially confirmed for Bond 25. Emilia Clarke has high hopes for David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ Star Wars trilogy. Emily Bett Rickards has heroic hopes for Felicity in Arrow’s next season. Plus, new footage from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Expanse. Spoilers, go! Wonder Woman 2 Domain Name Wire reports Warner … Continued
- EartherClimate Change
This Climate Visualization Belongs in a Damn Museum
There’s a new global warming illustration that’s fit for the Museum of Modern Art or the Getty. Seriously, just look at that stunner up there. Ed Hawkins, the climate scientist who made the viral temperature spirals, is back at it again with another striking view of our warming planet. His latest visualization strips out all … Continued
By Brian Kahn - Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Dozens of American News Sites Blocked in Europe as GDPR Goes Into Effect Today
The European Union’s digital privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), officially went into effect today. But some websites in the U.S. have decided to block their services entirely rather than adhere to the new regulations. Dozens of American newspapers are currently blocked in Europe and web services like Instapaper have suspended … Continued
By Matt Novak - Tech NewsNews
Serial Swatter Indicted for Death of Gamer, Disruption of FCC Net Neutrality Vote
A California man who allegedly placed a hoax emergency call that resulted in the death of a Kansas man is also believed to be responsible for the fake bomb threat that disrupted the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to repeal net neutrality protections last December. The US Department of Justice announced Thursday that Tyler Barriss, a … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Wants a Social Security Number From Political Advertisers
Facebook already has more data on most people than it knows what to do with but the company announced Thursday that it will need a few more vital pieces of personal information from anyone hoping to place political ads on its platform, including a government-issued ID and social security number. In a blog post, Facebook … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
A Lonely Astronaut Explores a Desolate America in These Beautiful Paintings
If the world was ending and you were an astronaut, you’d probably just go into space and drift away. But not artist Scott Listfield’s astronaut. He sticks around to provide us a very unique perspective on the world around him. Listfield, who’s Massachusetts-based, spends much of his time painting a faceless astronaut in evocative and … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Essential Never Lived Up to Its Name, and Now It’s Reportedly for Sale
Just over one year into its endeavor to “inject passion back into smartphones,” Essential appears to be on its last legs. Bloomberg reported the smartphone manufacturer founded by Android creator Andy Rubin is exploring a sale and has scrapped plans to develop a second smartphone. According to the report, Essential already has one unnamed suitor … Continued
By AJ Dellinger