Technology news

Sometimes, you don’t want to know how the sausage is made — but sometimes you do. When KickassTorrents went down, the assumption was that it was an elaborate sting operation. Nope; it was email and iTunes purchases. The US government’s complaint, which Gizmodo dove into with some zeal, details how thoroughly foolish KickassTorrent’s leader, Artem Vaulin, was. Not only was he operating a KickasssTorrents Facebook page, but was doing so with a personal email address. How p

Two men: trauma surgeon Christian Kenfield and road safety engineer David Logan. One idea: boobs are a great safety device. The logic? Boobs.
Sculptor Patricia Piccinini consulted with these two when she created "Graham," a mutant doll who represents what humankind might look like if it evolved to be able to withstand severe car accidents. Understandably Graham's head is much larger, to keep his brain from getting jostled. Also understandably, he has a flat face with lots of fat surrounding

Over the last few months, Reddit executives have been talking enthusiastically to the press about their new plans to make the social news service into “a real business.”But behind the scenes over the past few weeks, it has been making some key personnel changes, which has caused some level of new “turmoil,” as one source described it. Management upheaval is not new for Reddit, although more recently it has had a period of executive-level stability.No longer. Sources tell

 Original post 2 p.m. PT. Scroll below for commentary and to watch the live stream with us. 
Donald J. Trump is, to put it gently, not well liked within the Silicon Valley tech industry — and not because it is the liberal bastion it’s often portrayed to be. Mary Meeker, Meg Whitman and other tech leaders are die-hard members of the Republican Party and plenty of those among the… Read More

There's a lot of things at San Diego Comic-Con that might make you want to trek across convention centers, hotels, and clamber over legions of fans — but at the top of the list is Nintendo's upcoming NES Classic. We've basically been obsessed with the mini-console since Nintendo announced it a week ago, and at the Nintendo-run "play lounge" here in San Diego we were able to see it in person (and realize that we've been right to be excited this entire time).Set up next to a full-size N

When you think of ways to move through an Airport quickly, hopping on your luggage probably doesn’t come to mind. If Modobag has its way, that will soon change. Billed as a carry-on (good luck with that), Modobag combines a motorized scooter with space for your clothes. It can reach speeds up to 8mph, has a dual-wheel braking system and dual USB charging ports. Inside, you’ll have a 200-watt electric motor powered by lithium batteries. Modobag lasts for six miles (which is based on

Roger Ailes, the controversial Fox News head embroiled in an ongoing sexual harassment scandal, has resigned, 21st Century Fox announced this afternoon. Ailes served as chairman and CEO of both Fox News and the Fox Business Network, and was chairman of Fox Television Stations Group as well. In his place, Rupert Murdoch — whose family owns both 21st Century Fox and News Corporation — will assume the role of chairman and CEO of Fox News and Fox Business Channel. His departure brin

Linksys’ Smart Wi-Fi app pairs with the company's routers to let users manage their internet more easily and from a friendlier user interface. It's not new. What is new, however, is an update the company plans to release tomorrow that includes a redesign and added functionality. The iOS and Android app now allows users to share a guest Wi-Fi name and password through either a text or email, provide guest access for up to 50 people, and prioritize bandwidth to certain devices. The app will

Our society is under attack.
The My Hitch, much like Crocs and those people who talk with their phones on speakerphone in public, is out to destroy the civility and general decency that our society needs to survive. My Hitch is a device that resembles a giant shoehorn which allows you drag your suitcase through an airport... with your butt.Yes, you are supposed to attach this device to the back of your pants and make your way through the airport like you're doing something completely normal (not

It's here! This weekend marks the first-ever Panorama festival in New York City. Three days celebrating music, art, and technology. A festival made in partnership with us!In addition to a great musical lineup that includes Kendrick Lamar, LCD Soundsystem, Sia, Alabama Shakes, and Arcade Fire (to name just a few), Panorama will also be home to The Lab, a massive interactive art exhibit made by a collective of talented and forward-thinking New York-based artists, all powered by our sponsor HP. We'

For a good portion of last night, thousands of people believed Donald Trump’s longtime speech writer didn’t exist. The conspiracy theory flashed up in the wake of Melania Trump’s plagiarism scandal, when a little-known ghostwriter named Meredith McIver stepped forward to accept responsibility for the plagiarized portions of the speech. McIver was best known for ghost-writing a number of Trump’s books, but had only a bare-bones Facebook page, and the only Twitter account i

Say you’re driving late at night and you start to feel lonely. What if your car, detecting your change of mood through an array of sensors and cameras, suddenly asked how you were feeling? Better yet, what if your car already knew how you were feeling, and offered to cheer you up?
This possible future was sketched out by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son at an event in Tokyo Thursday, according to Reuters. The eccentric tech executive, who recently announced his company’s acquisition of

The second season of Netflix's Narcos is launching on September 2nd, and today we got our first look at what the story's about. The trailer sets up an epic manhunt, with DEA agents Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pablo Pascal) on the front lines. Holbrook's voiceover — "this isn't a manhunt, it's an invasion" — implies the season will take us even deeper into the United States' infamous War on Drugs.
In fact it seems like a season of more: more gunfire, more lack

Skylake processors are old news. At its earning call today, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed the company is now shipping its seventh generation processor, Kaby Lake. As Anandtech points out, ‘shipping’ means that Kaby Lake is headed to supply chain partners for companies like Apple and HP. To that, we can expect to see it in computers soon, hopefully by the end of the year. The interesting thing is that Kaby Lake processors are long overdue. Intel struggled with Moore’s Law

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is attempting to overturn a US copyright provision that can stop people from doing anything from remixing videos to fixing cars. In a lawsuit filed today, it argues that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s rules against circumventing copy protection — designed to stop people from pirating copyrighted works — places unconstitutional limits on free speech.
The EFF filed suit on behalf of Johns Hopkins computer science researcher Matthew Green

Divergent: Allegiant hit theaters earlier this spring, and may be the series' last appearance on the big screen. Variety revealed that Lionsgate is repositioning the franchise for television with plans to release the final installment, Divergent: Ascendant, as a TV movie followed by a spinoff series.
Based on the book series by Veronica Roth, the Divergent series takes place in a dystopian society where citizens are sorted into five different affiliations based on their personalities. It fo

Nintendo's value is soaring like an uncaged Zapdos from the success of Pokémon Go, but some small business owners are also reaping benefits from the game. The owners of a number of restaurants and retailers labeled as pokéstops have claimed an uptick in interest, and others, like this coffeeshop owner who drops lures all day long to attract more customers, have found ways to outright exploit the game's mechanics for personal gain.
Our favorite of these creative business o

San Diego Comic-Con is officially in full swing, and Google is getting in on the action with a new feature meant for comics fans. The company just announced that Google Play Books now supports a feature called Bubble Zoom, which uses machine learning to detect text bubbles in comic panels and increase their size with just a tap. With it, Android users on phones and tablets can enjoy full page layouts without sacrificing readability. Continue reading…

The anticipated ship date for the rumored Apple car has been pushed back by a year to 2021, according to a report from The Information. Prior reports had claimed 2020 was the timeline for initial production.
There are so many rumors about the Apple car floating around at this point, it’s easy to see how you might have wondered if it was launching this fall. But building a car from scratch is a fantastically difficult proposition, especially for a company as detail-obsessed as Apple. Where

The new Moto Z and Moto Z Force don’t come with a headphone jack; instead they’ve got a USB-C port and an adapter. But apparently Lenovo isn't totally committing to a jack-less future. The company’s Moto Z Play will reportedly come with a headphone jack. Here’s an image of what it might look like:
#Lenovo The clearest image of #MotoZ Play
Via @techdroider pic.twitter.com/vwHidrWk4B
— The Malignant (@the_malignant) July 20, 2016Here’s another one: MotClub

Last week Nintendo announced a surprise piece of hardware: the NES Classic Edition, a tiny version of the classic console with 30 games built right in. It's a device fueled primarily by nostalgia, and this new video shows that Nintendo isn't backing away from that idea at all, with a vibe that feels pulled right out of the '80s. It has everything: gaudy fonts, lots of pink and purple, retro-futuristic grids, and an aggressive voice saying "Now you're playing with power!" It doesn't provide

Ted Cruz’s career-defining heel turn on last night’s Republic National Convention broadcast was a perfectly timed twist befitting prestige television drama. Twitter users collectively dubbed the speech the Ted Wedding, a reference to Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding, a notorious moment of political and literal violence in which one family misguidedly enters the house of would-be allies only to be stabbed and sliced and bludgeoned to death. But what Cruz enacted was an inversion of

The end of a game development cycle is often grueling. It’s the point where most of the game itself is complete, but the creators need to spend time fixing the little details, polishing bugs, and generally rushing to get the finished product ready to release. Jonathan Burroughs, who previously worked on games ranging from Kinect Sports to House of the Dead: Overkill, knows the feeling all too well.
But for his next game — Virginia, the debut title from indie studio Variable State &md

Two years ago, a Chinese startup called Cheering Tech released the Case Remote, a wireless controller that lets you operate your DSLR from your smartphone or tablet. Now the company is back with the Case Remote Air, a smaller version of the controller, with a couple new features.The Case Remote Air matches the features set on the standard remote: full access to camera settings on most Cannon and Nikon DSLRs; live-streaming to iOS and Android apps; the ability to remotely set parameters and

We just published a huge interview with Mark Zuckerberg. It's a long and in-depth conversation that revolves around the successful first flight of Facebook's solar-powered drone, Aquila, and goes on to discuss Facebook's plans for the next 10 years — from virtual reality, to promoting 5G internet, to Zuckerberg's toast-making robot (yes, really). You can read the whole thing right here, but we wanted to pull out a handful of big points Zuckerberg made throughout the course of his

Police in Michigan have a new tool for unlocking phones: 3D printing. According to a new report from Flash Forward creator Rose Eveleth, law enforcement officers approached professors at the University of Michigan earlier this year to reproduce a murder victim’s fingerprint from a prerecorded scan. Once created, the 3D model would be used to create a false fingerprint, which could be used to unlock the phone.
Because the investigation is ongoing, details are limited, and it’s unclear

Nestlé’s Nespresso system is a simple, at-home system that lets you make espresso at home using prepackaged pods to simplify the process and save you a trip to your local high-end coffee store. Hopsy is a craft beer service for the Bay Area that offers quick and easy delivery of growlettes (32-ounce, half-size growlers) from local breweries.
On the divide between Keurig and kegerator
Now, Hopsy wants to combine those two business models, with the announcement of the Hometa

It has been eight years since the App Store opened, and Walt and Nilay are here to discuss the use of smartphone apps today. Walt deleted tons of apps, and it seems to have turned out for the best. With smartphone users downloading an average of zero apps a month, has the glamour of using apps faded away? And if so, what is the next step for smartphone software? Also, Nilay reads a review from Walt about the time the Apple App Store first opened.
We love your feedback on the topic

Edward Snowden thinks about phone security a lot more than the average person. And with good reason, as the world-famous whistleblower revealed methods of government data collection on phone calls, and even from his exile in Russia, still remains a major advocate for digital privacy.
Snowden, together with hacker Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, announced today at the MIT Media Lab a design for a case-like attachment to modify an iPhone, allowing you to monitor if and when the radio transmitters with