- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
App That Allows Parents to Spy on Teens Leaked Thousands of Passwords
TeenSafe, a service used by parents to monitor the online behaviors and phone activity of their children, allowed tens of thousands of accounts to leak online after failing to properly secure their servers. According to a report from ZDNet, the so-called “secure” activity monitoring app left at least two of its servers hosted on Amazon’s … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9Television
Arrow Season Seven Will Debut the Most Important Green Arrow Character of All: The Goatee
Everyone, it’s finally happening. Throughout the years, Green Arrow has had a few iconic characteristics. He’s been rich. He’s been lefty as fuck. And he’s had a beautifully tacky goatee. Now, finally, we know that Arrow will debut the most important character in Oliver Queen’s world. “Just because you’ve been polite, and just because everyone … Continued
By Julie Muncy - io9
Get Out Wins a Nebula Award, Reinforcing Jordan Peele’s Place Among Today’s Best Genre Creators
Get Out, one of the best films of last year (and absolutely one of our favorites), has another award to add to its long list: a Nebula. The Nebula Awards, a yearly recognition of the best works of science fiction and fantasy released in the United States, released its latest slate of winners today. Among … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech NewsNews
Study: Tinder Users Aren’t Having More Casual Sex Than the Average Horny Person
If you’ve been holding off on joining Tinder because it carries the stigma of being an app for hookups, have no fear: a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found no one on Tinder is actually having sex. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) surveyed more than … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
Toho is Planning a Godzilla Cinematic Universe, and Shin Godzilla 2 Won’t Be Making the Cut
After the success of the recent slate of Godzilla movies, Toho is looking to start a brand new Godzilla Cinematic Universe. But it’s looking like those plans don’t include a sequel to one of the best Godzilla movies of all time. Talking to the Japanese outlet Nikkei Style, Keiji Ota, the “Chief Godzilla Officer” at … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
UK Hospital Fires Worker for Looking at Ed Sheeran’s Health Records
Workers at a National Health Service hospital in the United Kingdom were reprimanded for their role in an extremely narrow data breach that exposed the personal information of exactly one person: Ed Sheeran. According to the BBC, two medical staff workers at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk, England accessed the health records of the famous singer … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
One of Thor’s Best Scenes in Avengers: Infinity War Is Just as Riveting in Lego
Lego stop motion is one of life’s simplest pleasures. For the viewer, anyway. For the creator, it’s immensely complicated, time consuming, and generally very hard to pull off well. Fortunately, some creators do it very well indeed. And now Lego has come to the Infinity War. (I know it’s not, like, the name of a … Continued
By Julie Muncy - io9
Open Channel: Who’s the Best Royal Couple in Fiction?
Today is royal wedding day in the United Kingdom, and whether or not you’re interested in that spectacle, it’s a good day to think about how we view royalty. Which leads me to the question of the day: who is your favorite royal couple in fiction? Royalty, after all, is an essential subject in so … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech NewsNews
Chemical Plant Explosion Near Houston Injures At Least 20
Nearly two dozen people were injured in an explosion and resulting fire that occurred at a chemical plant near Houston, Texas Saturday morning, according to KHOU-TV. The explosion at the Pasadena, Texas facility owned by Kuraray America—a plastic fabrication company—took place at around 10:43am local time when a valve malfunctioned due to an over-pressurization of … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
This Fan Trailer is a Beautiful Ode to the Haunted Beauty of Watership Down
A story of anthropomorphized rabbits is one of the most beloved and memorable animated films in the history of the medium. This fan trailer, using footage from Watership Down and its followup The Plague Dogs, is a fantastic and emotional ode to the classic. Using a track called “Time and Tide” by Alan Price as … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech NewsNews
T-Mobile Parent Company Hits Small Business With Cease and Desist Letter For Having a Pink Logo
Deutsche Telekom—a multi-billion telecommunications company that owns T-Mobile, another multi-billion telecommunications company—is getting ready to throw its weight around in order to prevent a small business in England from using a shade of pink in its logo. The BBC reported lawyers from the T-Mobile parent company opposed a trademark application made by Brighton-based technology company … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - Tech NewsApple
Apple Begins Removing CallKit Apps From Chinese App Store, Citing New Cybersecurity Laws
Apple has begun removing applications that use the CallKit framework from the Chinese version of its App Store after the nation’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology moved to more strictly enforce recent cybersecurity regulations, per a report in 9to5Mac. According to 9to5Mac, Apple has begun warning developers that they must remove CallKit integration from … Continued
By Tom McKay - io9
A Very Dark Montage Was Cut From Deadpool 2‘s Theatrical Release
Deadpool, as a character and a film franchise, often goes to dark places to get laughs. But some jokes are too dark even for the Merc with a Mouth, and this is probably one of them. Take care for not only spoilers, but mention of self-harm. During an AMA session on Reddit, writers Rhett Reese … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech NewsNews
Stop Throwing Cellphone Batteries in the Trash, You’re Firebombing Garbage Trucks
It can be difficult to figure out what to do with your old electronics when you’re ready to move on from them, but here is one thing you should definitely not do: throw them in the trash. Discarded devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are basically fire bombs waiting to explode on unsuspecting sanitation workers. According … Continued
By AJ Dellinger - io9
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Didn’t Know What a Droid Was When She Auditioned to Play One in Solo
Every science fiction franchise has its own jargon. If you’re not heavily involved in that world, you can forget how weird that jargon might sound to outsiders. Case in point: “droid.” “Droid… droid… what’s a droid?” According to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays the droid L3-37 in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story, this was … Continued
By Julie Muncy - Tech News
Pretty Much All Tech Demos Are Fake as Hell
At Google I/O earlier this month, CEO Sundar Pichai showcased an experimental Google Assistant feature called Duplex which can make routine phone calls on your behalf. In one striking demo, the digital assistant called a hair salon and scheduled an appointment with an employee at the other end in a voice punctuated with the vocal … Continued
By Alex Cranz - ScienceSpace
China’s First Private Space Rocket Launch Ever Was This Week
OneSpace Technologies conducted the first private rocket launch in Chinese history this week, firing off the 30-foot (9 meter) OS-X from a platform in northwest China on Thursday, according to CNN. The rocket reportedly reached an altitude of 25 miles (40 kilometers) and traveled some 170 miles (273 km) from the launch pad. The end … Continued
By Tom McKay - io9
This Video Explores the Experimental History of Scifi Book Covers
Science fiction novels have been, through the modern history of the printed book, a space for innovation and creativity. Their cover art, in particular, was something special, and beautiful. In a new video, Nerdwriter runs down the history of cover art in the scifi novel, which is a history of visionary, weird artists playing within … Continued
By Julie Muncy - ScienceAnimals
How Smart Was T. Rex? And Other Dino Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask
At the age of 34, American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Steve Brusatte has already accomplished more in his field than some scientists hope to over their entire careers. Born in Ottawa, Illinois, he attended the University of Chicago, where he studied under the tutelage of renowned paleontologist Paul Sereno. Now at the University of Edinburgh, … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
North Korea-Linked Hackers Targeting Defectors With Android Malware
Escaping the isolated and oppressive regime of Kim Jong Un’s North Korea requires a harrowing effort, but even getting out of the country may not be enough to escape its reach. New research from McAfee suggests hackers in North Korea are targeting defectors with malware-infected Android apps. The cybersecurity firm reported this week that it … Continued
By AJ Dellinger