Technology news

In 2015, a group of astronomers spotted one of the brightest and most powerful supernovae ever discovered — a star explosion so luminous that it was poised to reshape our understanding of stellar eruptions. But now, astronomers have taken a closer look at this “supernova” with the Hubble Space Telescope, and they say that it wasn’t an exploding star after all. Instead, they pose a much bleaker scenario: the bright event was the result of a supermassive black hole tearing

Just two weeks after it was launched, Jill Stein’s push for a recount of the presidential vote in three states has come to an anticlimactic end. According to the Associated Press, an official recount in Wisconsin, bankrolled by Stein’s fundraising, found no evidence of hacking or other irregularities and altered vote totals by only a fraction of a percent. The final results saw Trump’s lead grow by 162 votes, with fewer than 1,800 votes changing out of a total of 3 million ball

Since the Xbox One runs a universal version of Windows 10, it's easier then ever for developers to make apps for the video game console. Thus, we now have a Dropbox app for Xbox One.So yeah. If you wanted to access your Dropbox files (like pictures or movies) on your Xbox One, you can now do that. I suppose it could be useful for getting slideshows of family pictures or ripped DVDs to play on your Xbox, assuming you use Dropbox to store things like that. The app can also import content from atta

Heated insoles are nothing new. Although I haven’t used them, and would likely constantly worry about them overheating and burning my feet, they sound like they solve a legitimate problem. They keep your feet warm during winter walks or on ski trips. Yes, ski trips! Now, a European company called +T wants to bring heated insoles into the future by turning them into an Internet of Things device. Naturally.The company launched a Kickstarter this past week for its +Winter heated insoles, and

Here at The Verge, we’ve covered Apple’s iOS 10.2 update extensively. We were thrilled at the prospect of finally getting the all important “shrug” emoji, thereby rendering all annoying copy and pasting of¯\_(ツ)_/¯ obsolete. We discussed the critical update to the peach emoji, which removed its ill-advised, realistic rounding and returned it to the butt shape we all know and love.
However, I would personally like to apologize for not informing readers of

I thought the Niffler was my favorite fantastic beast, but I was wrong. This new spider species discovered in India just topped the list — mainly because it exists in our real Muggle world.Meet Eriovixia gryffindori, a spider species named after J.K. Rowling’s character Godric Gryffindor because it resembles Harry Potter’s sorting hat. This is how the three scientists who discovered the spider put it:
This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magi

There may be twice as many bird species as we thought, researchers say. We’ve just been fooled because a lot of these 18,000 birds look like each other.For a study published in the journal PLoS One, scientists led by George Barrowclough, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, looked at a random sample of 200 bird species. By analyzing their physical characteristics, like the color and size of their methods, they found that there were nearly two different species for ea

The M O S KI T O (yes, that’s how the company spells it) smartwatch is an analog watch in the same vein as wearables like the Withings Activité or Skagen Hagen Connected. But it offers an interesting extra piece of functionality in its implementation: the Moskito is designed for biking, and the watch face pops out of the wristband to be mounted on your handlebars to serve as a speedometer.The Moskito is designed for biking
The Moskito is a nicely made, well implemented solution for

Google made a really darn good keyboard for iOS when it launched Gboard in May. It integrated GIFs directly into a solid keyboard, and made it easy to share search results results with your friends. Ironically, it wasn’t available for Android. Go figure. All’s in order now, as Gboard has replaced the old Google Keyboard app on the Play Store, bringing the aforementioned GIF integration and search results. It also brings some other useful features: A dedicated number row (optional) M

A red light can be a stressful affair. Idling at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn green, your brain reminds you that you would rather do anything else. But do you have time to check your phone? Remove your jacket? Pick your wallet up from off the floor? To shift your gaze away from the light risks angry honking, or worse, from the line of cars behind you. And so you stare at the red light for what feels like an eternity.
But as I drove an 2017 Audi A4 down the Las Vegas Strip, the

The Grand Tour is still early in its first season, but the Amazon-streamed show is already setting records for most illegally downloaded, according to the Daily Mail. The publication reports that its first episode has been downloaded 7.9 million times, while episode 2 and 3 are 6.4 million and 4.6 million downloads, respectively, for a total of 18.9 million illegal downloads.That figure places it above top torrented shows like nudity-filled murderfest Game of Thrones or zombie apocalypse show Th

Netflix announced that the first eight episodes of its new series The OA will be debuting on Friday by tweeting a series of grim questions — “Have you seen death?” “Have you seen darkness?” — along with an eight-second video of a woman jumping off of a heavily trafficked bridge.Now we have an official trailer for the show, which seems to be about a young woman who went missing for a long period of time and came back to her parents with memories from an alterna

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will attend a meeting between tech leaders and President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday at Trump Tower in New York, The Verge has learned. Recode previously reported that Musk was considering skipping the event due to “critical work obligations.”
Invited attendees to the event reportedly include Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, as well as the CEOs of Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Intel, and

iOS 10.2 is now available to all users. While not the biggest iOS update in the history of the world, it includes a few neat new features. You’ll want to keep an eye out for the highly creatively named TV app, which is Apple’s all-in-one hub for streaming content. Instead of searching through several apps to find something to watch, you can simply look through a single guide. Part of the streamlining process includes a new Single Sign-On feature that allows you to access a

Starting today Pokémon Go players will have to do some more work to catch ‘em all. Developer Niantic has announced that a slate of new pocket monsters are now available in the game, including the likes of Pichu, Togepi, and other pokémon pulled from the second generation Pokémon Gold and Silver.
No specific number of creatures was revealed, but Niantic says that you’ll only be able to capture them by acquiring and hatching eggs from pokéstops. In addition

Apple’s new TV app is now out on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for everyone in the US. The app offers a central location for people to browse through movies and TV shows available to stream, both from apps they subscribe to and from their iTunes’ purchase history.
The TV app is a nice addition for the iPhone and iPad — it’s not like anyone was using that old Videos app — but it’s a much bigger deal on the Apple TV. The new TV app is essentially a brand-new in

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I got into an UberPool hoping for the off chance that we don’t get paired with anyone on the short ride between Brooklyn neighborhoods. As suspected, no such luck. Worse, the person we were matched with used a pickup address that was about 400 feet away from where she was actually standing, and brought another person to the carpool when she only requested one seat. This forced our driver to figure out how to add a second rider to her party, then cancel on the

Following up on its announcement a few weeks ago, Instagram will be rolling out Live video in Stories to everyone in the US starting today. As a recap, you just need to swipe into the Stories camera mode and tap on the Live button. Live video disappear once you’re done recording, in the ephemeral way of today’s day and age. You can also check out some of the best ongoing footage by tapping on the “Top Live” section of the Explore tab. The feature will be r

Gboard, the fancy keyboard Google released exclusively on iOS earlier this year, is now effectively coming to Android, too. As Android Police and 9to5 Google point out, a Google Keyboard update is adding key Gboard features, including an integrated search function, an emoji search tool, and new shortcuts. It’s currently available only as an APK from Google without detailed release notes, although it should make its way over to the Play Store soon. For now, Android Police is keeping a runni

Twitch chat could soon be a lot friendlier: today the streaming service is introducing a new automated tool that’s designed to create a “positive and inclusive chat experience.” The moderation tool is called AutoMod, and according to Twitch it uses a combination of machine learning and natural language processing to both block content deemed inappropriate and flag potentially troublesome content for review by a human mod later on. (Such comments will be held in a publishing que

Facebook is introducing 360-degree video into its live broadcasting product, starting tomorrow with a broadcast from National Geographic from the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. At 3PM ET tomorrow, eight scientists will emerge from 80 days of isolation and it will all be captured in 360 degrees. Who is going to tell them about the election???
The research station is funded by the Mars Society, a group devoted to making that planet habitable in the likely event that we destroy this one. Sin

Facebook has introduced its two biggest updates to video in a little over a year: live-streaming and 360 degree footage. It was only a matter of time until it combined the two. Simply called Facebook Live 360, it’s exactly what you’d expect; you can watch a video in real time (or close to it, anyway), while also being able to scroll around it with your mouse or change the angle by moving your phone around. The feature launches tomorrow, December 13, at 12 PM PT with a feed from

Grabbing an UberPool is a lot cheaper than a regular cab, but getting stuck waiting for the next carpool rider to get on can be a pain. That might now be a thing of the past. Riders will now get additional notifications to help them be out on the curb in time. They will see real-time updates telling them to be ready outside in time for their driver to pick them up without unnecessary delays. In the same vein, drivers will now have a countdown timer so they can know when to move on, in

Availability issues aside, the NES Classic Edition is an almost ideal retro-gaming machine. It’s simple to use, boasts an impressive lineup of 30 games, and includes a satisfying replica of the NES’ original rectangular controller. But the device comes with one clear drawback: while the controller is great, its wire is far too short, making it a challenge to play in many living rooms.
Thankfully, two different third parties have come to the rescue with wireless controllers designed f

The nominations for the upcoming Golden Globes have been announced, and they’re doing much to show how great 2016 was for genre television. Game of Thrones, Westworld, and Stranger Things all came away with nominations for Best TV Drama, along with nods for either Best Actress or Supporting Actress. Women are driving some of the year’s best, most daring TV, and they’re getting the recognition they deserve.
In addition to the Best TV Drama nods, Winona Ryder and Evan Rachel Wood

Organizations dedicated to women’s health and reproductive rights say they are ready to fight President-elect Donald Trump in order to preserve and protect women’s rights. Trump poses several dangers to women’s health, advocates say: the promised repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the appointment of one or more Supreme Court Justices, and the threat of defunding Planned Parenthood, making it harder for women to seek care.
Trump will be sworn in on January 20th, 2017, and for wo

Panasonic is joining the race to automate grocery store checkouts. Just one week afterAmazon unveiled its cashier-free convenience store, the Japan-based electronics maker today showed off its own solution with a checkout machine that can detect items in your shopping cart, tally the bill, and automatically bag those items.
As detailed by The Wall Street Journal, Panasonic’s system would use a basket that scans items outfitted with electronic tags as they’re being put inside. When a

Uber employees used the company’s lax tracking system to monitor the whereabouts of “high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances,” according to a declaration in a lawsuit filed against Uber by its former forensic investigator.
Former forensic investigator filed suit
The declaration was revealed today by a Center for Investigative Reporting article detailing security standards at the company. The article also cites former employees who say “thous

Nothing’s more frustrating than being hungry, and simultaneously being unable to decide where to go eat with your significant other. You want Italian, she wants Mexican, and neither party will budge. Thankfully, there’s a site that promises to be the ultimate culinary tiebreaker. It’s called Hangry, and it’s a bit like restaurant roulette. Once you give it access to your location, it’ll show you a random restaurant that’s in close proximity, with the idea bei

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pick Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to lead the Interior Department, according to The New York Times. If confirmed by the Senate, she’s expected to open up federal land and waters to oil, gas, and coal extraction, as well as undo environmental policies approved under the Obama administration.
Rodgers is the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House of Representatives. She was also appointed to serve as vice chair of Trump’s transiti

AMC’s The Walking Dead has an uncanny knack for manipulating its audience, but this year’s hyper-violent season premiere went too far. So far that we canceled our ongoing series The Walking Dead Quitter’s Club, and co-author Bryan Bishop swore off the show entirely.
Ever since, Nick Statt has been trying to change his mind. Instead of tearing the show down, Nick’s been finding something to highlight. Sometimes it’s been a subtle change in character; others a great a

I’ve got a question for you. Let’s imagine you came into a large sum of money – say, $4.8 million. What would you do with it? Would you use the cash to go on a spending spree? Would you pay off debts, or invest the money in shares or property? One sticky-fingered thief managed to embezzle over $4.8 million from his employer, and then went on to spend $1 million of it on Game of War in-app purchases. Game of War is a mobile strategy game where people build their own empires. Th

It took a few years, but Microsoft’s Surface line has finally taken off. But while most people think of Microsoft’s tablets, laptop, and now desktop, when it comes to the Surface, the company’s giant Surface Hub isn’t doing too shabby. The company isn’t sharing the exact number of units sold, but says that its 55 and 85-inch computers have seen their best sales numbers yet. In the nine months since the devices became available, the company has shipped units out to

This morning, NASA attempted to launch eight small satellites to space on board a Pegasus XL rocket, manufactured by private spaceflight company Orbital ATK. But, a host of problems pushed the agency to abort the launch just before the launch window closed at 9:19AM ET. Now NASA will try again tomorrow, as long as the issues that affected today's launch are resolved.
Called the CYGNSS mission, the satellites are meant to study various aspects of tropical storms and hurricanes from orbit, in orde

Microsoft has been targeting Mac users with its Surface commercials recently, and it appears they might be paying off. The software giant claims that November was the “best month ever for consumer Surface sales,” following a number of Black Friday deals on the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft still isn’t providing sales numbers, but the company claims “more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before.”
Microsoft cites “the disappointment of the new MacB

 Microsoft Ventures today announced two steps that point to how the tech giant’s VC arm wants to get involved in artificial intelligence in a big way. First, it’s now going to pursue investments through a special fund dedicated to AI startups that focus on “inclusive growth and positive impact on society.” Second, it is the first announced backer for Element AI, a… Read More

Building a great, premium laptop is surprisingly hard. Despite the fact that every company, from Apple to Dell to Lenovo and everyone in between, pulls from the same basic parts bin — Intel processors; high-quality IPS displays; aluminum chassis; large, glass trackpads; USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 — putting all of those parts together in a competent, no-compromise laptop is a sadly rare feat.That’s what makes HP’s latest Spectre x360 so interesting. It has the sa

Sports fans who appreciate the absurd rejoiced last month when ESPN announced it's making a "30 for 30" documentary about the short-lived XFL football league. 
Now the film's first trailer is here — debuting right here, on Mashable — and it looks fantastic. 
SEE ALSO: In Trump's America, NFL players are targeted with racist messages
Take a look below at the initial trailer for This Was the XFL, which focuses on the ethos behind the league as well as the factors that contrib

LONDON — The gender pay gap is often talked about as one average figure that affects all women in the same way. 
SEE ALSO: Why women in the UK just walked out of work
But it's not as simple as that. The gender pay gap differs from person to person, and depends entirely on a person's profession and industry. 
The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) has built an interactive tool so people can find out the specific pay gap for their particular job. 
The tool —  

Once bitten, twice shy.
Bollywood is arguably the worst hit when bilateral relations between India and Pakistan turn sour. But Shah Rukh Khan, whose upcoming film 'Raees' features Pakistani actor Mahira Khan, has made sure that his 2017 production will not meet with the same fate as his friend Karan Johar’s 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' (ADHM) did in October.
SEE ALSO: Pakistan enforces blanket ban on Indian content on its TV and radio channels
Khan met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj