Technology news

Harley Quinn seems to be everywhere at this year's Comic-Con. If you walk the show floor for even a few minutes, you're pretty much guaranteed to pass a Quinn cosplayer — probably dressed in Margot Robbie's tattered Suicide Squad-style getup.Quinn may be having a resurgence thanks to Suicide Squad, but one group here at Comic-Con has been celebrating the character for years. It's an informal gathering of cosplayers who meet at each convention for an event called Harleypalooza, which i

The upcoming animated adaptation of DC's The Killing Joke is already causing controversy ahead of its release. Based on the 1988 graphic novel by Alan Moore, the original story is deemed a classic by fans but widely derided for its depiction violence against women. During the panel for the movie at San Diego Comic-Con, the creators of the movie sought to depict the film in a positive light. However, the decisions they made with the film — specifically with Batgirl — seem to have

GUEST: If you’re a web designer, you’ve been warned.
Now there is an A.I. that can do your job. Customers can direct exactly how their new website should look. Fancy something more colorful? You got it. Less quirky and more professional? Done. This A.I. is still in a limited beta but it is coming. It’s called The Grid and it came out of nowhere. It makes you feel like you are interacting with a human counterpart. And it works.
Artificial intelligence has arrived.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will debut on consoles as a bundle as early as July 26, according to a Marvel announcement at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
Marvel will sell the action role-playing games for $40 each or bundled for $60. They will launch on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Previously, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was not available on the PC.
Executive producer Mike Jones and creative director Bill Roseanne from Marvel Games said both titles will

The first trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword looks like it’s going to be absolutely nuts.
Guy Ritchie has made a name for himself with films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Sherlock Holmes, and he’s carried that same distinctive dialogue and visual style over to the Arthurian legend. Charlie Hunnam plays a rough-and-tumble Arthur who grew up in the streets, only to discover that his birthright was stolen from him.There's an incredible cast line

Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters on August 5th, and during the mega film panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. released a new, slick trailer for the film.
The action-packed trailer shows off the entire ensemble of destructive misfits as they’re assembled into their meta human task force for the really dangerous jobs — a movie about "bad vs. evil," according to Will Smith. We get to see everyone in their glory as they burn, slice, shoot, and destroy their way throug

GUEST: In February of 2016, President Obama released his Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) and with it announced the creation of a new federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Though the job has not yet been filled (job post is here), I thought the new CISO might appreciate some advice from private industry on the importance of the human element to cybersecurity once he or she settles in.To the new federal CISO:
Congratulations on your recent appointment as our nation’s f

No Comic-Con presentation is complete without trailers, and during their Hall H panel today Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures revealed the first look at the upcoming Kong: Skull Island. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and starring Tom Hiddleston, recent Oscar-winner Brie Larson, and John Goodman, the movie appears to serve as a revamped origin story for King Kong, with Hiddleston's character heading to the mysterious Skull Island on a personal mission — only to

Here at Comic-Con, director Zack Snyder debuted the first trailer for his upcoming film Justice League, and here's the shocker: it actually looks fantastic. The trailer starts with Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne, hunting down Aquaman, presumably putting together the team of warriors that Warner Bros. hopes will be its answer to The Avengers. From there, nearly all the big names get a moment to shine, including Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. (Superman himself seems to be missing, for reasons as-

Zack Snyder surprised Hall H at Comic-Con today by announcing he had something special for fans chomping at the bit for Justice League, next year's crossover epic. That special something is the first hi-res image of the entire Justice League united. Here we have the Flash, a smiling Superman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Aquaman assembled and ready to take on all comers. Consider us impressed. Justice League hits theaters next year.Continue reading…

A cache of more than 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials, leaked in advance of Hillary Clinton's nomination at the party's convention next week in Philadelphia, details the acrimonious split between the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's former rival, SenBernie Sanders.
Several emails posted by Wikileaks on its document disclosure website show DNC officials scoffing at Sanders and his supporters and in one instance, questioning his commitment to his Jewish religion. Some email

So much for secrets.
Ahead of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 announcement event on Aug. 2, we now have our first look at how the smartphone's iris scanner will work.
In a video posted to YouTube (and originally published on China's Weibo), we can see the phone detect a person's eyes and then instantly unlock the screen.
SEE ALSO: See the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in all its glory
I had to rewatch it a couple of times because the eye detection happened so quickly. As you can see in the video above, the

Warner Bros. debuted the first trailer for next year's Wonder Woman movie during its massive Hall H panel here at San Diego Comic-Con. Director Patty Jenkins took the stage to talk about the film, and how important Wonder Woman is as a character and as a superhero. And that much is clear in the trailer, as she's every bit as regal and dangerous as her comic book counterpart.
Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, follows Princess Diana of Themyscira as she joins the fight for global peace during Worl

GUEST: The artificial intelligence (A.I.) race is on, as the major tech companies offer to help save consumers valuable time with a new wave of virtual assistants and bots.
On a weekly basis, I receive multiple sales emails from chatbot companies trying to sell me bots for marketing and customer service. Allegedly, more than 285,000 chatbots have been created by various bot studios around the globe.
The recent buzz around chatbots is continuing to grow, however the team here at Teckst speak on a

We first heard that Neil Gaiman's epic novel America Gods was being made into a TV series last year, and now we finally have a look at what the adaptation looks like. 
The trailer for the series about a war between old and new gods and the struggle of an ex-con (Shadow Moon, played by Ricky Whittle) caught in the crossfire, was revealed during this week's Comic-Con.
However, the brief trailer doesn't reveal much other than a glimpse of the show's visual style and overall tone. But we do ge

The upcoming Rio Olympics have been plagued by the specter of possible trouble in the city, from pollution, to Zika virus, to security concerns, but none of that matters because, as usual, puppies fix everything. 
At least that's the message the NBC Olympics social media team transmitted this week when it posted a series of photos to Instagram and Facebook featuring your favorite Olympic athletes snuggling with the cutest puppies on the planet. 
SEE ALSO: Researchers will conduct Zika

GUEST: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv may be the most well known Israeli cities, but a new one is quickly gaining international acclaim. An ancient-made-modern city in southern Israel, Be’er Sheva, has become the center of Start-Up Nation’s quickly growing cybersecurity arm.
A major push by the government and private sector has transformed the desert town into a high-tech center with a special emphasis on cybersecurity. Dozens of startups have joined multinationals such as EMC/RSA, Lockheed-

Toys-to-life game-toy hybrid sales have weakened this year, forcing Disney to shutter its Infinity line. But Warner Bros. is still investing in its Lego Dimensions product, and it unveiled a series of expansion packs for release on November 18.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) unveiled the upcoming Wave 7 expansion packs for the Lego Dimensions video game, which work with accompanying toys.
The expansion packs open up new adventure worlds and multiplayer acti

When Facebook unveiled its chat bot platform for Messenger in April, Omar Siddiqui felt like a new industry was born. His company, Kiwi, adapted a platform called Sequel to create conversation game character bots to interact with game characters.
The San Francisco company made its platform available to other developers, and thousands are now playing around with how to make characters come alive and appear more immersive to players. This is just the latest character-and-story focus for Kiwi, whic

Leonard Nimoy was so familiar that you’ve probably seen his legacy, even if you never watched an episode of the original Star Trek. In Spock, he created the prototypical Vulcan, logical and detached to a fault, but also full of deep and complex emotion — particularly toward his friend, Captain James T. Kirk. He created the Vulcan salute, and made the word “fascinating” a cultural touchstone. But the less obvious facets of his life — his youth in Boston, his family s

Since the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Chuck Wendig has been working to explore the post-Return of the Jedi era with his Aftermath trilogy. During the Star Wars publishing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, he dropped a few cryptic hints as to what we can expect in the trilogy's final installment, Aftermath: Empire’s End, and how it ties into the new films.
During the panel, Wendig told con-goers that the first draft of Aftermath: Empire’s End has been turned in to his ed

GUEST: I don’t know about you, but I’m going to avoid visiting Brock in Suplex City
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 over the last 30 days.The gaming industry continues its slow summer spend on TV, but that sure hasn’t hurt the digital res

I blame Pokémon Go for the frustration that took a good chunk of my work week. Well, Pokémon Go and 3D printers. 
Let me back up. 
On Monday, my colleague Raymond Wong posted a story about a 3D-printed Pokédex. It’s awesome. Maybe one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen. Because Mashable HQ has a 3D printer, RayRay and I thought it would be fun to print one for ourselves. 
SEE ALSO: A 3D-printed finger might unlock a phone and solve a murder

Niantic Labs’ John Hanke will be delivering a fireside chat for AR/VR day (augmented reality/virtual reality) at GamesBeat 2016. Get a ticket here!GUEST: Like any cultural phenomenon, Pokémon Go is one hundred percent polarizing. You’re either on your phone right now reading between PokeStops or you have no interest in playing the game.
Regardless of what side you choose – or what team you’ve joined – as a brand leader or marketer, there are major learnings y

To say Twitter became a bit hectic this week is an understatement. Arguments and taking sides went on for the entire seven days, to varying levels of bitterness. 
From Trump vs. Hillary to Taylor vs. Kanye to Ghostbusters vs. Hordes of Angry Dudes, Twitter has become as much of a battleground as ever. But things weren’t all bad, as people got good news from My Chemical Romance and even happily married their re-tweeters (in one specific case).
SEE ALSO: Obviously ‘Pokémon

The dream of piloting a Star Wars X-wing fighter is now a reality thanks to Hot Wheels. The company unveiled its X-wing Fighter Carship this week at Comic-Con and the fully operational race car is as cool as it sounds. 
Featuring a 2.0 liter 16-valve double overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine, the car is designed to mimic the look of a Star Wars Rebel Alliance fighter ship, except this one is earthbound and doesn't come with lasers to take down enemies of the Force. There are no plan

This is unexpected: The Woods, an upcoming found-footage horror filmis going to be a direct sequel to the 1999 horror blockbuster The Blair Witch Project. The revelation was unveiled during the film's initial screening at San Diego Comic Con, which coincided with the film's real title: Blair Witch.
Blair Witch picks up years after the events of the first film when one of its characters discovers footage that appears to show Heather Donahue, his long-lost sister and lead character of th

Pokémon Go is easy enough for anyone to pick up, but if you want to catch 'em all, you'll need to master the art of throwing Poké Balls.
For the most part, catching a Pokémon in the game is as simple as throwing a Poké Ball straight up at the monster and hoping it doesn't escape. You can also throw a curve ball at Pokémon, but that's a more advanced technique.
SEE ALSO: You shouldn't be ashamed of playing 'Pokemon Go' and loving it
To get the perfect straight t

It's the height of Comic-Con season, and as anyone who's been to the convention knows, there's nothing quite like it. 
SEE ALSO: 'A Hundred Thousand Worlds,' an exploration of modern geek culture, is our next MashReads pick
Con-goers have seen the unique environments created where fans and creators meet, and while nothing can replace experiencing it firsthand, Bob Proehl's new book A Hundred Thousand Worlds comes incredibly close.
A peek inside the world of conventions and both the film/tel

Evan Blass, better known as @evleaks on Twitter, is notorious for posting leaks and details on new Android phones and iPhones in advance of their official reveals.
In a tweet sent out on Friday, Blass claims Apple will announce this year's iPhones the week of Sept. 12. The iPhone 6S was announced on Sept. 9, which makes it possible Apple may stick to a mid-September announcement and ship by the end of the month.
SEE ALSO: The iPhone 7 sounds like it will be totally boring
Read the tweet carefull

It's no longer enough to just sell a premium smartphone — even for a lot less than Apple and Samsung — with excellent performance and decent enough cameras.
People are demanding more. They want something beyond the phone experience. 
SEE ALSO: Alcatel's $250 Idol 3 is a Nexus by another name — and that's great
Some companies like LG, Lenovo and Google think the next big thing for phones is modularity. Samsung thinks it's mobile VR. So too does Alcatel, the TCL-owned compan

You may soon be able to order a Slurpee without having to leave your home. Drone startup Flirtey recently partnered with convenience store chain 7-Eleven to make the first commercial delivery to a private residence in Reno, Nevada earlier this month.
The delivery took place on July 11th when Flirtey flew an autonomous drone a mile from a 7-Eleven location to a private home in Reno. According to 7-Eleven, the initial delivery included a chicken sandwich, donuts, coffee, candy and Slurpees. The go

You may soon be able to order a Slurpee without having to leave your home. Drone startup Flirtey recently partnered with convenience store chain 7-11 to make the first commercial delivery to a private residence in Reno, Nevada earlier this month.
The delivery took place on July 11th when Flirtey flew an autonomous drone a mile from a 7-11 location to a private home in Reno. According to 7-11, the initial delivery included a chicken sandwich, donuts, coffee, candy and Slurpees. The goods were pac

You need to know what time the train leaves and where it's headed. Thankfully, there are a variety of apps to help you do that.
But wouldn't it be great if the apps told you what you really needed to know? Which train car is too crowded? Which line is going to randomly go express?
SEE ALSO: The 'Subway Idiot' is back, and he's running for love
Here are some features we'd love to see added to transit apps. Read more...
1. A notification stating which train car has a loose bottle rolling around.

You need to know what time the train leaves and where it's headed. Thankfully, there are a variety of apps to help you do that.
But wouldn't it be great if the apps told you what you really needed to know? Which train car is too crowded? Which line is going to randomly go express?
SEE ALSO: The 'Subway Idiot' is back, and he's running for love
Here are some features we'd love to see added to transit apps. Read more...
1. A notification stating which train car has a loose bottle rolling around. Y

Many people believe that marketing and advertising on social media all but guarantees a direct cause/effect relationship with success. Create product or content, share the content on social networks, profit. Right? Wrong. Even with great source material, most content goes nowhere on the web without a carefully constructed plan. The strategies and techniques to market your goods and services are anything but intuitive, and knowing how to launch, run, and optimize your campaigns from the outset i

"Wah wah wah. Get over it Ray." 
That's the response I expect to hear from all the apologists who think that smartphones without headphone jacks are NBD.
I'll agree to disagree. The headphone jack and loss of it on the devices we use the most is a very big deal. A massive deal. A deal of epic proportions that will have ramifications on not just phones but the entire consumer electronics world.
NBD my butt.
SEE ALSO: Video shows possible new iPhone 7 without headphone jack
The 3.5mm headphon

Netflix just started streaming the third season of its animated comedy BoJack Horseman, and it has announced that it has renewed the animated comedy for afourth season.
The show follows the exploits of BoJack Horseman, a washed-up actor in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist. The latest season, which began streaming on July 22nd, dealt with BoJack coming to terms with earning an Oscar nomination for his work in a major film, and fallout that quickly followed.
The show's rene