- Tech News
Steven Soderbergh Loves His iPhone So Much He Wants to Make All of His Movies With It
You might love your iPhone because it’s easier than ever to take snapshots of your misbehaving dog. Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh loves his Apple product so much he made a feature film with it. It’s a horror flick, and Soderbergh reportedly enjoyed the experience so much he wants to shoot all his movies using … Continued
- Tech News
Elon Musk Has Already Made $5 Million Selling Really Big Crème Brûlée Torches [Update: Sold Out, $10 Million]
Elon Musk’s tunnel-drilling company made millions over the weekend by selling a product that has nothing to do with tunnels or drilling. On Saturday night, Musk announced pre-orders for the Boring Company Flamethrower, a $500 gimmick that is really more of a flame-sputterer than a flamethrower. Flamethrowers shoot out an ignited stream of flammable liquid … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Eighth State Quietly Quit Free Anti-Voter-Fraud Program Over Security Concerns and ‘Unreliable’ Results
The State of Kentucky has pulled out of the Interstate Crosscheck System, Gizmodo has learned, making it the eighth state to quit the program so far—even though it cost nothing to participate. A source with direct knowledge of the decision told Gizmodo that Kentucky never used the data that it received from Crosscheck for the … Continued
By Dell Cameron - io9Movies
Sam Raimi May Join Lin-Manuel Miranda for The Kingkiller Chronicles
Lionsgate has their eyes on a genre master to help bring its fantasy adaptation, The Kingkiller Chronicles, to life. Variety reports the company is in talks with none other than Sam Raimi to direct the film, which is based on the first in a series of novels by author Patrick Rothfuss. Raimi, who’s best known … Continued
- Earther
Hey, Trump Nominated a Science PhD to Lead a Science Agency
President Trump’s political appointee nomination process is opaque, and oftentimes just ass-backwards. So when it was announced Friday that former astronaut and geosciences PhD James Reilly was being nominated to direct the U.S. Geological Survey, there were certainly some double takes. According to Nature, Reilly is only the second person with a science PhD to … Continued
By Ari Phillips - Tech News
Facebook Conveniently Declares ‘Privacy Principles’ Ahead of Stringent New Regulations
A few months before the EU enacts substantial new privacy rules, and just in time for Data Privacy Day, Facebook has both revamped privacy controls for users to make them simpler and published its internal “privacy principles,” which detail the company’s commitment to protecting user data. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), made law last … Continued
- io9Television
Counterpart Shows Us More of Its Paranoid, Depressed Alternate Reality
The pilot episode of Counterpart introduced viewers to two versions of Howard Silk; one a no-nonsense field operative, the other a meek paper-pusher. The two men lead their lives in vastly different worlds and, last night, we got to see the Earth that Doppel-Howard hails from. Episode two of Counterpart began on the series’ alternate … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Intel’s Never-Ending Spectre Saga Continues to Be a Hot Mess
We’re nearly a month since The Register first revealed that every single major processor in devices today is subject to a series of harrowing security vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown. Today, in light of news that Intel informed foreign interests of the vulnerabilities before the US government, and that Microsoft is pulling its latest … Continued
By Alex Cranz - io9Toys and Collectibles
Tomy Is Bringing Back Its Transformers/Star Wars Mashup With Some Smugglers in Disguise
Over a decade ago, Hasbro launched a collection that turned the vehicles and characters of Star Wars into giant transforming robots. As you do. The line came to an end in 2012, but now it’s back in a suitably grand style, kicking off with the fastest-transforming hunk of junk in the galaxy. Behold, the new … Continued
- io9Comics
Get Ready for More Comic Adaptations: Valiant Entertainment Has Been Sold
Marvel is owned by Disney. DC Comics by Warner Bros. And now, joining them in the “vast superhero universe owned by a multimedia conglomerate” family is Valiant, which announced its complete acquisition by DMG Entertainment (Looper, Iron Man 3). The reason is similar to its fellow publishers: To spearhead opportunities to bring Valiant’s comics to … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Lenovo Flaw Could Let Hackers Bypass Fingerprint Scanners on Some PCs
Earning a high severity level from Lenovo’s own security advisory, anyone currently using a select number of the company’s Thinkpad, ThinkStation, and Thinkcentre systems should know that there’s an important vulnerability that needs to be fixed. That’s because hidden within Lenovo’s Fingerprint Manager Pro software, there’s a flaw on machines running Windows 7, 8, and … Continued
- ScienceHealth
Why the Flu Kills Young, Otherwise Healthy People
As one of the worst flu seasons in years continues to sicken people across the U.S., one of its most striking aspects are the untimely deaths it’s caused: A 21-year-old bodybuilder; a 12-year-old boy; a 40-year-old marathoner. Infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised people are always at higher risk of dying from the flu, but how … Continued
By Ed Cara - EartherEnvironmental Justice
The Embattled Atlantic Coast Pipeline Is Almost a Done Deal
In North Carolina, the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one step closer to reality, after the state Department of Environmental Quality issued the 600-mile long natural gas pipeline project a necessary water quality permit on Friday. The 401 water quality certification was the last major hurdle for the interstate pipeline, which will cross from West … Continued
- Tech NewsDesign
How the MacBook Air Changed Laptops Forever
When Apple launched the MacBook Air at the end of January 2008, it was an overpriced marvel of design and tech. The laptop, a silvery sliver of machined aluminum, was .76 inches at its thickest and weighed less than three pounds. In an impractical but effective on-stage demonstration, Steve Jobs unveiled the the $1,800 computer … Continued
By Liz Stinson - io9
Carrie Fisher’s First and Only Grammy Win Was Bittersweet
During last night’s Grammy award ceremony, the late Carrie Fisher won a much-deserved Grammy for the audiobook recording of The Princess Diarist, her memoirs based on the diaries she kept while filming the first Star Wars. Fisher beat Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bruce Springsteen, and Shelly Peiken, who were also nominated … Continued
- ScienceAnimals
New Species of African Titanosaur Solves Cretaceous-Era Mystery
Say hello to Mansourasaurus shahinae, a 14,000-pound titanosaur that rumbled across the African landscape during the final days of the dinosaurs. Its discovery is answering a long-standing mystery about dinosaur evolution at a time when Earth’s continents began drifting further and further apart. New research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution shows that Cretaceous-era dinosaurs … Continued
- io9Television
Parenting Advice From Ash vs. Evil Dead‘s Blissfully Crude Hero Is Just as Funny as You’d Expect
We’re under a month away from Ash vs. Evil Dead season three, which will continue the blood-soaked adventures of macho horror icon Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) and his merry band of Deadite-fighters. This time around, Ash’s long-lost teenage daughter will be joining the team and io9 has an exclusive preview. In this video from Starz—part … Continued
By Cheryl Eddy - Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
US Government Considers Nationalizing Part of 5G Network, But Trump’s Own FCC Chairman Objects
The Trump regime is considering a plan to nationalize at least part of the 5G wireless network that’s currently being developed by American telecom companies, according to a report by Axios. And while Reuters says it has confirmed the basics of the report (while noting it’s mostly just an internal spitballing session that hasn’t reached … Continued
By Matt Novak - Earther
It’s Time to Stop Analyzing Donald Trump’s Climate Change Beliefs
On Sunday night, the president talked with Piers Morgan about his climate change views and the Paris Agreement. The widely–reported results were not good. They were also wholly unsurprising and we need to stop pretending like they are. In fact, we need to stop asking the president what he thinks about climate change. https://gizmodo.com/piers-morgan-interviewing-donald-trump-on-climate-chang-1822497121 I … Continued
By Brian Kahn - io9Television
Star Trek: Discovery Offers an Unsubtle, Messy End to Its Mirror Universe Saga
The thing about Discovery is that it’s good in everything but the writing. So this episode’s extended action sequences and few long expanses of dialogue served to make “What’s Past Is Prologue” one of the most watchable episodes to date. Every word out of Lorca’s mouth continues to be mind-bogglingly gross, though. Listen, I stand … Continued
Katharine Trendacosta