Technology news

Earlier today, news broke that Verizon is merging venerable tech and media brands Yahoo and AOL into a company called Oath. Since then, many people have been asking a simple question: “Why Oath?” Now, I can’t answer this question, any more than I could explain why Tribune Publishing became Tronc. But I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities: Verizon is either launching a subtle viral ad campaign for the 2017 film adaptation of Dave Eggers’ The Circle, or it’

Connected hearing aids are nothing new, but today a company called ReSound introduced the iPhone-compatible LiNX 3D, which can be adjusted remotely. This means doctors can access their patients’ hearing aids and make minor adjustments without the person having to revisit their office. The hearing aids also pair with an app for iOS, watchOS, and Android. Through the app, patients can talk to their doctors or learn more about the hearing aid they’re wearing.
Similarly to its predecesso

"I’m back with the 808 ‘cause I’m bossy.” —Kelis feat. Too Short, “Bossy”
“Fresh like, uh, Impala, uh, chrome hydraulics, 808 drums” —The Game, “How We Do”
"Got some pretty good beats on this 808 CD” —Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
“My heart’s beating like an 808” —Britney Spears, “Break The Ice”
“808, 8-0-fucking-8” —Future, “Mask Off”If yo

Google’s Marketing and Digital Research arm recently released a study on Generation Z (anyone born after 1993) titled It’s Lit: A Definitive Guide to What Teens Think Is Cool. The title alone should immediately remind you of that Steve Buscemi GIF, but the entire document contains little nuggets of painfully sincere guidance for those who, when confronted with a teen, tilt their head to one side, scratch some dandruff from their scalp, and let out a loud, adult-ish “Huh?”

The next chapter in Yahoo’s strange journey from cornerstone of the early internet to aged Verizon subsidiary is a bold rebranding. After a report from Business Insider first surfaced the news of a potential Yahoo name change, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong tweeted shortly after to confirm the details.It’s now official: after the Verizon deal closes and the telecom company gains control of Yahoo’s core web assets, Yahoo and AOL will merge to form a new entity called Oath.Billion+ Consum

Donnie Darko is a midnight movie, but I saw the 15th anniversary 4K restoration at 9:30PM at the Metrograph, a two-theater art house on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. That’s not where you want to see a movie like Donnie Darko.The building doesn’t remotely resemble a movie theater — no ticket window, no lights, no Art Deco design elements, no posters. It sits flush with the rest of the city block. The lobby sells air-popped popcorn in presorted clear plastic tubs, four diffe

Bang & Olufsen has a history of making incredibly designed (and incredibly expensive) speakers, but its newest model, the modular BeoSound Shape, might be the most striking yet.The BeoSound Shape is a wireless speaker system made up of a swarm of hexagonal panels, designed to be a quality set of speakers that fade into the background of your home. The key to that is Bang & Olufsen’s algorithm, which was developed to ensure that the sound remains centered no matter where you move in

Earlier today, Recode and several other outlets reported that Tesla is now worth more than Ford after delivering a record number of cars for the quarter. This news will no doubt lead to some celebration in Silicon Valley, which has sought to portray itself as the logical successor to Detroit as the capital of American innovation. But new research released today shows that the upstarts on the sunny West Coast — Uber, Google, and Tesla — still have a lot of catching up to do when it co

One of my best friends came to me this morning upset about comments Marvel VP of sales David Gabriel made during the Marvel Retailer Summit. Interviewed by ICv2, Gabriel claimed that diversity was turning readers away and hurting the company’s sales. “They didn't want female characters out there,” he said. “That's what we heard, whether we believe that or not.”
This is a silly assertion for a number of reasons. Yes, fans of a certain stripe can always be counted on

Google and a group of top Android phone makers have sealed a new agreement to collectively defend themselves against patent lawsuits.
The group, which also includes Samsung, LG, and HTC, have agreed to share patents covering “Android and Google Applications” on any device that meets Android’s compatibility requirements. The patents will be shared for free, and the group is supposed to be free and open for any company to join.
The agreement’s proper name is the “Andr

Last year, Alphabet’s DeepMind division captured the world’s attention by besting humanity’s top player in the game of Go. The achievement, which many experts predicted was still a decade off, showed the rapid progress being made in the world of artificial intelligence. DeepMind subsequently announced that its next goal in gaming was mastering StarCraft, a classic PC game that is a staple of competitive e-sports. Facebook also threw its hat in the ring, creating an open-source

Google is making it easier to pry phones and tablets out of your kids’ hands. With Google Wifi, you can now schedule an internet pause time during which the Wi-Fi is blocked from certain devices. The company suggests using it during dinner, your kids’ homework time, or bedtime. You can set multiple timers, tailor how often those pauses repeat (like only on school nights), and then choose the affected devices. You can even pause your gadgets for some extra device sanity when trying to

Multiple technicians with Best Buy’s Geek Squad repair service received hundreds of dollars from the FBI in exchange for seeking child pornography on customers’ computers, according to court documents reviewed by The Washington Post. These filings raise questions about how close a relationship the agency has with Geek Squad members, and whether these relationships could make some of the technicians’ searches unconstitutional.
Geek Squad employees will notify law enforcement if

MTV is reviving its popular reality show about rich teenagers, My Super Sweet 16, and for the first time, the network will cast for it via an app. Aspiring Super Sweet 16-ers can submit an entry video on Musical.ly beginning today, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Any Musical.ly users (aka “musers”) who post a video with the hashtag #MySuperSweetAudition will be considered “for a chance to move on to a second round” of casting.
Lip sync for your birthday party
It&rsqu

Belkin is expanding its Mixit DuraTek line of Kevlar fiber cables today with its new USB-C cable. Yes, it’s a USB-C to USB-C cable, which is great considering most new phones are launching with USB-C and most new laptops have at least one USB-C port.
Previously, Belkin released a Lightning to USB cable. Similar to its predecessor, the USB-C version is available in pink, gold, silver, and black. It’s four feet long and costs $29.99. It’s out now both on Belkin’s website an

The FCC has reworked one of the key requirements it put on Charter’s 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House, governing where the massive cable company expands to in the coming years.
Under the original requirement, Charter had to expand its service to 2 million additional households within five years. But half of those households had to already be served by another broadband internet provider, forcing the cable giant to compete.
The commission has now voted to change that qual

Last year, AMC’s The Walking Dead sparked an outrage. The gory season 7 premiere threw away beloved characters in the name of archvillain Negan, and audiences followed suit: by the time the midseason finale rolled around, ratings had dropped 40 percent.Now the show has returned for the second half of the season. It’s an opportunity to chart a new course, to correct the mistakes it’s made, and convince viewers that the story of Rick Grimes is still worth following. The only ques

HTC is offering $100 off its Vive virtual reality system on April 5th, celebrating the Vive’s first birthday and the launch of HTC’s subscription VR game service. On Wednesday, “new customers” can buy a Vive for $699, and any user can download a free copy of HTC’s internally made game Arcade Saga. People will also be able to sign up for Viveport Subscription, a new feature in its Viveport store, for $6.99 a month.
Viveport is HTC’s attempt to compete with Valv

Amazon is launching a new service today called Amazon Cash, which is meant to make it easier than ever for customers who don’t have credit, debit, or bank cards to still be able to shop on the popular internet retailer, as noted by TechCrunch.
The new service allows for customers to simply display a barcode at a participating retailer and deposit cash directly to their Amazon account. It’s a slightly more streamlined process than before: previously, anyone wanting to use Amazon witho

Cars have become expensive rolling gadgets, full of screens, speakers, and sensors — but are they actually good gadgets? In our new series, ScreenDrive, we'll review cars just like any other device, starting with the basics of what they’re like to use.
I tried to make it feel natural. I even tried to do it with some flair. I stuck my index finger out, drew dramatic circles in the air beneath my rearview mirror, and waited for the volume on my BMW 530i to turn up. A second passed, and

In my experience, there’s generally two types of “smart” products on the market. Either a company that makes technology products decides to try their hand at making an Android-powered bicycle or a tablet-equipped fridge, or a company that already makes a thermostat or sells furniture decides to add some smart tech to their existing product lineup.
The Lyra from Mission Bicycle Company is decidedly in the second category. It’s less a “smart bike” than one of Mi

Ghost in the Shell is a sprawling, beloved cyberpunk series starring one of the most iconic female anime characters of all time. But the buzz around its live-action adaptation has been decidedly nervous. Part of that is the usual anxiety over how Hollywood will turn weird, complex source material into a blockbuster movie. But it’s also because of the controversial decision to cast white actress Scarlett Johansson in the role of protagonist Motoko Kusanagi, renamed Mira Killian in this film

Netflix has offered users the option to download videos to watch later in its Android and iOS apps since late last year. And today that feature is finally making the jump to desktop with the addition of offline videos to the Windows 10 PC app, as reported by Windows Central.Like the mobile apps, the Windows 10 PC app does have a few limitations when it comes to downloading content. Offline downloads are only available for a seemingly random swath of Netflix’s catalog (unsurprisingly, most

The stat trackers at StatCounter have come out with their internet usage numbers for the month of March, and they have for the first time reported Android as the world's most popular operating system. Nudging ahead of the once-untouchable Windows by a tiny fraction, Android is now the world's most-used platform for getting online according to these latest figures. This represents a natural progression from the difference in devices shipped every year – more than a billion for Android versu

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the launch of the iPad. It was on this very day in 2010 when thousands of people lined up to buy a tablet that promised a new kind of personal computing, a vision Bill Gates first demonstrated 10 years prior. The iPad reviews were mixed, with few in the tech press willing to predict another home run like the iPod and iPhone before it. Most saw potential, even if they couldn't see the device’s immediate appeal beyond a media consumption device.
Here&rs