Technology news

Bill Cunningham, a longtime fashion photographer for The New York Times known for taking pictures of everyday people on the streets in New York, has died. He was 87.
SEE ALSO: Met Gala 2016: See all the high-tech, high-fashion looks here
New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy says Cunningham died Saturday in New York City. The Boston-born photographer had recently been hospitalized after suffering from a stroke.
Cunningham was known for his trademark blue jacket and riding a bicycle with a sm

LJ Wilson is ready for the stage.
The one-year-old percussionist is delighting the Internet with his winsome smile and stellar drumming videos, which his parents, Shelana and Justin Wilson, post for a delighted Facebook audience.
SEE ALSO: Drummer turns traffic jam into a traffic jam sessionBoth of LJ's parents are musicians — his mom is a vocalist and his dad, a pianist — so it's no surprise that he's also taken a musical turn. But instead of mastering the walk-to-crawl transition

It's been a rough season for my Game of Game of Thrones all-animal meme team: Ser Pounce's Feral Menagerie. But as a consummate competitor, I am looking for creative options to defeat my enemies and defy fantasy-league GM and Verge Entertainment Editor Emily Yoshida, who some suspect has rigged the game against me unfairly. I won't name names, but let's just say my source believes himself to be familiar with the matter. In any event, it is clear that I must bend the world to fit m

It’s summer, which can only mean one thing. No, you shouldn’t put your headset down and get outside; you should take a look at the typically mad Steam Summer Sale and spend even more time inside your HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. It’s VR’s first full-scale sale, and there’s a lot of content to get through.
Here are the top picks for both Rift and Vive owners, along with every VR game that’s on sale until July 4 (games on general sale are included, too).
Unsurprisin

Image: Gordon Parks/Library of CongressThese photos of Harlem were taken by Gordon Parks, a young photographer for the Office of War Information who would go on to become one of the most renowned photographers of the twentieth century.Born in 1912, Parks left home at the age of 15 and bought his first camera in a pawn shop at 25. He made a living as a portrait and glamour photographer in Chicago while simultaneously capturing compassionate images of black life on the city’s South Side.His

Chances are, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
That seemed to be the case for the Freedom 251, the world's cheapest smartphone, announced in February. Ringing Bells, the Indian company behind the phone, sparked controversy when it claimed the smartphone would sell for just $4. 
SEE ALSO: The 7 things to delete first when your iPhone storage is full
Naturally, people were very curious to know how the company could sell an Android smartphone for so little, prompting th

During the Battle of the Bastards, Jon Snow's Valyrian steel sword was slightly less imposing than usual.
Game of Thrones producers were apparently too busy animating a giant to remember that when Jon Snow hoisted himself onto his horse, his floppy stunt sword would, well, flop.
Luckily, Imgur user voicesinmyhead noticed the goof while the rest of us were screaming at Rickon to run in a zig-zag.
SEE ALSO: Here's further proof that the hottest 'Game of Thrones' couple are made for each othe

GUEST: With the app evolution coming off a high, there is a wide misconception of an “app slowdown” in today’s market. The assumption is that, with download rates not as high as previous records, the app boom is over with. But this theory is wildly off course. In fact, the app economy is the fastest growing economy in the world, outpacing global markets 10 times over.
The root of this misconception comes from focusing solely on download rates. The growth of the app economy isn&

One of the first things I learned when joining the Washington, DC political workforce was from a veteran lobbyist who said "don't send an email when you can pick up the phone." The lesson is derivative of the popular adage in various professional circles that goes something like this: don't say shit in writing that you don't want to see published for everyone to see. It's the kind of thing you'd expect any skilled operative to have penciled into their pocket-sized US Constitution, but it can be

Fingerprint scanners are an excellent way to secure your smartphone from hackers (or prying partners). But as we've seen before, if someone really wanted to break into your device and steal your data, they can do it by lifting your fingerprint and printing out a mold.
What's harder to steal is a scan of your iris. No two people have the same iris pattern. And since your eyes aren't like your fingers, constantly touching things and leaving behind prints, they're even more secure as forms of biom

With the House of Representatives sit-in blowing up social media and Instagram introducing new video channels, you may have missed some of this week's latest app news.
SEE ALSO: Here's what the 'i' in iPhone means
Each weekend, we round up a few of our favorite new and updated apps. This week's list includes one that helps you manage your trips, as well as an English language speech assistant app and a game where you pilot a spaceship past obstacles.
Check out the gallery below to see our

When it comes to farming, termites are OG. By searching through cliffs in southwestern Tanzania, researchers have discovered fossilized "fungus gardens" created by termites 25 million years ago, reports The Washington Post. And the scientists are not kidding about this — the gardens revealed that these ancient termites cultivated fungus by arranging them along a complex plan and feeding them pellets of plant material. Because of this, the researchers say this is the oldest physical ev

There's no better place to get engaged than a Pride parade — the festivities are already built in.
Such were the philosophies of two Metropolitan police officers, who each proposed to their partners (one of whom is a fellow police officer) during this week's London Pride celebration.
One of them even halted a parade to pop the question. Talk about a grand gesture.
SEE ALSO: 6 ways to be a better straight ally at Pride events
Since the Metropolitan LGBT Network (a staff association for LGB

GUEST: In a not-too-distant future, autonomous cars, driven largely by AI systems, will hit the road in large numbers.
But getting autonomous vehicles on the road is only half the battle. That’s because, even after the cars are out there, system operators will need to frequently update their software models and deploy updates to their fleets. While we can all get away with updating our smartphone apps only once every few months for fun, autonomous cars aren’t Angry Birds, and their s

One of the most promising indie games coming for Microsoft’s platforms is Tacoma, the latest from the creators of Gone Home at the Fullbright Company. I got a good look at the PC and Xbox One game at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s an original work that draws on some memorable space adventures such as 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Tacoma is a circular space station more than 200,000 miles from Earth. Something has gone wrong, and a malfunctioning artificial intelligence, Odin

The systems that automatically enforce copyright laws on the internet may be expanding to block unfavorable speech. Reuters reports that Facebook, Google, and other companies are exploring automated removal of extremist content, and could be repurposing copyright takedown methods to identify and suppress it. It's unclear where the lines have been drawn, but the systems are likely targeted at radical messages on social networks from enemies of European powers and the United States. Lead

SkySlide, the stomach-dropping glass slide suspended 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles, is finally open for business. 
Don't look down.
One AP reporter mustered up the courage to try to SkySlide herself (so did Mashable's Josh Dickey, BTW), and — surprise — it looks just as exhilarating as we thought.
SkySlide is part of SkySpace LA, a four-level experience that also includes a panoramic, open-air observation deck.
After a great deal of practice, baby goats successfully jump

GUEST: In the 21st century, it’s hard for large corporations to create disruptive breakthroughs. Disruptive innovations are coming from startups – Telsa for automobiles, Uber for taxis, Airbnb for hotel rentals, Netflix for video rentals, and Facebook for media.
What’s holding large companies back? Four things:
1. First, companies bought into the false premise that they exist to maximize shareholder value – which said “ke

Hello, world! Welcome to my first weekly installation of Gadget Thirst Trap, the website edition. Some of you might know that I publish a Snapchat show every Friday under the same name. (Watch it!! Learn how to use Snapchat if you don’t know how yet!!) In it, I show you three gadgets from this past week that’ll make you super thirsty. Confused? Don’t be! Let me show you what I mean. Here are this week’s gadgets that had me begging for a sip of liquid:Generic (Amazon)These

Want to learn to talk like you’re from Kansas? Pick up Elsa Speak. It’s an app that uses machine learning to teach the pronunciation of a Midwestern accent.
”We chose a Midwestern accent because we talked to a lot of speech therapists and they said this is the most commonly understood accent that people should learn,” Elsa founder Vu Van told VentureBeat.
Using machine learning, Van plans to extend Elsa to other accents. The same app that Van used to reduce her

For a filmmaker with such a particular, peculiar sense of humor, New Zealand writer-director Taika Waititi has helmed a surprisingly wide range of projects. He’s directed commercials and PSAs, and an charming Oscar-nominated short film (Two Cars, One Night) about two bored kids hanging out together in a parking lot. He’s directed projects with his longtime comedy partner Jemaine Clement, including episodes of Clement’s TV comedy / band spinoff Flight Of The Conchords, and the a

Welcome back to The Verge’s weekly musical roundup. I’m Jamieson, I’m still your host, and we have an anniversary to celebrate: I published my first group of weekly jams on the site just over a year ago. That’s insane! Time flies when you’re sifting through tons of new music every day, I guess. I still look forward to picking and writing this column every week, and I hope it’s introduced you to a few new artists and sounds you might’ve left undiscovered

Indie game studio Pixowl had a nice hit with its The Sandbox, a user-generated content game where you can create just about anything with pixel art. It was downloaded more than 16 million times and generated $5 million in revenue since 2012. Now the San Francisco company is following it up with with The Sandbox Evolution, and it has already been downloaded a million times in three days.
The sequel to the 2D pixel-art world-building game has debuted on iOS and Android. Pixowl is pitching the game

Leah Reich was one of the first internet advice columnists. Her column "Ask Leah" ran on IGN, where she gave advice to gamers for two and a half years. During the day, Leah is Slack’s user researcher, but her views here do not represent her employer. You can write to her at [email protected] and read more How to be Human here.
Hi Leah,
I'm really hoping you can help me work some things out. I've just come out of a four-year relationship with a man who I still love and just can't seem to

GUEST: That was the question that was floating through my head in early June, after I attended a panel focused on the differences between the New York and Silicon Valley startup ecosystems. I spoke to a partner at Bessemer (we’ll call him Bob) who was on the panel, and he succinctly summarized what I had understood was the message: if you’re an entrepreneur, you should only pick New York for personal reasons. Your chances of success, both in terms of growth and raising funding, are e

The market is flooded with Bluetooth earbuds, but not all are created equal, and quality is hardly a guarantee. Check out four great offers on high-caliber Bluetooth audio options from TNW Deals, featuring a variety of options to suit your earbud needs. Acesori A.Buds Bluetooth Aluminum Earbuds: $29.99   Earbuds have a nasty habit of refusing to stay put. It seems no matter the brand or bud design, they’re always falling out while involved in any serious activity. But finally, someon

GUEST: Body-slams, pink dreamers, and first-person shooters.
GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, which measures TV advertising in real-time, to bring you a monthly report on how gaming brands are spending their ad dollars and which are generating the most digital response. Below are the top five most engaging gaming industry brands from May 16 through June 15.We saw quite the shake-up this month in terms of response to gaming TV ads. Former champion Bethesda Softworks slipped down the ranks i

The success of the Tesla Model S has spurred established German luxury carmakers to plan numerous plug-in electric models of their own. But could Silicon Valley carmaker Tesla Motors soon gain an Italian rival as well? Maserati could eventually get an all-electric model as parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reluctantly embraces electrified powertrains.
FCA is considering an electric version of its Maserati Alfieri sports-car concept, CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a recent interview

Like most people spending the majority of their time on the internet, I'm not happy. I don't wake up happy, I don't smile much during the day, and I don't go to bed wishing the whole merry world good night. But yesterday, dear friends, I experienced true existential joy, the sort of primal exaltation typically reserved for religious experiences or astonishingly great sex — and it was all thanks to a supercar.
My ridiculously fortunate job has me at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

(Reuters) – A German court on Friday handed publisher Axel Springer a partial victory on Friday in its fight against so-called ad-blockers, which users can install on computers or mobile devices to prevent advertising from being shown.
The court said ad-blocking provider Eyeo should not charge Axel Springer for putting it on its “white list” of publishers and advertisers it exempts from blanket blocking by consumers.
Springer, which depends on advertising to pay for its publica

(Tech.eu) – Here’s an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:
1) There’s no getting around it: the biggest world news item this week (the people in the UK voting to leave the European Union in a referendum) will have a major impact on the technology industry in both Great Britain and the EU. It’s too soon to say actually how big an impact, but we’ll obviously be watching this closely in the coming months and years.
2) We’ve got a Eur

(Reuters) – French telecoms company Orange said on Friday it plans to maintain several group offices in the United Kingdom, which employ about 900 people, despite Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
The company said it was not present in the British telecoms consumer market and that the referendum vote had no direct impact on its financial exposure and balance sheet.
Britain’s decision to exit the European Union in a referendum on Thursday sent markets tumbling on Frida

Co-working robots are the near future of work. As long as we still need humans somewhere on the factory floor, we need robots that can safely operate next to those humans. The most famous example of a co-working robot is Rethink Robotics' Baxter. But, of course, co-working can't be a category of one, and this new Tend.ai thing looks promising.
Basically, with Tend.ai you buy a regular robot arm, and attach a regular webcam to it, and then you let Tend.ai supply the smarts. Specifically, Tend.ai

Microsoft plans to stop manufacturing its entry-level Surface 3 tablet by year's end, the company announced today. The Surface 3 first launched back in May of 2015 as a more affordable 2-in-1 designed to attract students and those who might have gravitated more toward an iPad instead of a full-blown laptop. Quite a few sites dedicated to Microsoft and Windows news noticed of late that stock for the device has been running low, and ZDNet confirmed the company would be winding down