Technology news

Meet Sam. Sam is just a kid who wants to help you understand who he is. And he happens to be transgender.
The trans boy is actually a brand-new toy in development, and his creators hope he explains what it means to be transgender to children. Made up of a series of stacking dolls, each layer of the toy represents a stage of gender questioning and exploring. The Russian nesting dolls also come with an e-book to help teachers and guardians talk about gender diversity with their children and stude

Overwatch League is taking some important steps this week to ensure that it has parity between its teams in cities around the world.
The esports organization, which Blizzard owns and operates, posted a letter from commissioner Nate Nanzer today that details how the company is planning to reveal scouting information about some of the best Overwatch players to the league’s teams. Blizzard already has data on how many people are playing the game from the last couple of ranked seasons as well

AMD promised to start shipping its new generation of video cards in late June, and now here we are with Radeon Vega Frontier Edition cards in our virtual shopping carts. AMD has also filled in a few more technical details on the high-end GPU, and clarified the most important spec: price. The air cooled model is $999, while the liquid cooled version is $1499.
As Anandtech points out, it's still a little unclear who this card is for. It seems like AMD is mostly focused on content creators, and the

Lexar memory cards have been a staple of the storage industry for over 20 years, but that time seems to be coming to an end as parent company Micron announced earlier this week that it’s discontinuing retail operations.According to Micron’s statement, the company is killing the retail memory division to focus on “increasing opportunities in higher value markets and channels.” However, Micron said that it’s also looking into possibly selling all or part of the Lexar

Apple is currently driving a tricked-out, super-data-sucking car all over the world, but no one really knows why.
Details about where in the world to find the Apple Maps car are here, but beyond promising that the data will be used to improve Apple Maps (which many people believe needs improving), there’s no information about what Apple is planning or what these cars can do.
SEE ALSO: Apple iPad Pro 10.5 is Apple's best tablet
Now that we’ve spotted one of these white giants on the r

Australian police have had to suspend upward of 8,000 tickets for speeding and running red lights after learning the cameras that caught the acts had become infected with a virus. The Victoria, Australia police blamed the WannaCry virus, which spread through Windows computers last month, locking down systems and demanding a ransom be paid before they could be used again.
It’s not entirely clear that WannaCry is the right diagnosis here — police said the virus spread over USB and caus

In a Medium post today, Electric Objects founder and CEO Jake Levine announced that his digital art display company is shutting down. The hardware business will completely cease to exist while Giphy has acquired the Electric Objects iOS / Android app. The news comes less than a year after the launch of its second-generation EO2 display, which I reviewed here. At the time, I had hope for Electric Objects. In addition to revenue from the displays themselves, the company had just launched Art Club,

GUEST: Technology is rapidly changing the customer service arena. Over the past few years, automated phone calls, social media, live chat, and instant messaging customer service strategies have become commonplace. Some even speculate that chatbots and other automations may eventually replace human customer service agents. However, AI and natural language processing (NLP) technologies are not yet ready for primetime.
When used as a customer service solution, chatbots have been highly problematic

President Trump is known as a bit of an egomaniac. But would he really adorn the walls of several of his properties with a Time magazine cover feature about himself that is not real?
It seems that way.
SEE ALSO: Seth Meyers says Trumpcare is more than just bad: it's 'cartoonishly evil'
According to a report by the Washington Post, mounted on the wall of at least four of Trump's golf courses is a framed Time magazine cover, featuring his portrait, dated March 1, 2009.
There's just one tiny proble

Promise Tamang is a popular online makeup artist known for serving looks that dramatically resemble famous characters and celebrities.
The makeup guru's latest look might seem a little strange at first but if you've been on Twitter recently you may recognize the new reptilian star.Turned myself into 'Cuca' the sassy Alligator😂🐊🇧🇷
A post shared by Promise Tamang (@promisetamang) on Jun 23, 2017 at 10:10pm PDT
SEE ALSO: Woman makes her own makeup with food lying aro

This is obviously accidental, but the resemblance is stunningly close.
The George Lucas-conceived Museum of Narrative Art just got approval to break ground in Los Angeles, and the artist rendering of architect Ma Yansong's building looks a little familiar. Especially if you're a Veep fan.
SEE ALSO: British politics right now is straight out of 'Veep,' says its creator
The HBO series' sixth season, which concluded on Sunday, delivered a look at Selina Meyer's long-in-the-making Presidential Libra

Whenever we take a photo for someone, it turns out great, but when our friends take it, it's a much different story?
That feeling of frustration is probably amplified even more if you're a model who's used to having great pictures taken all the time. Just ask 20-year-old model Anthony Keeling, who bravely took it upon himself to #expose those friends on Twitter who are just not useful for taking great pics.
SEE ALSO: This app will tell you which of your photos are actually good enough to post (w

How can Nintendo be so good about building hype and so bad when it comes to delivering on that hype?
A lot of us want to buy a Super NES Classic Edition, but the sad truth is: only a fraction will actually be able to do that. Unless you actually know someone at Nintendo, you're stuck relying on a right place/right time scenario to work out in your favor.
SEE ALSO: Nintendo promises "significantly more" SNES Classic consoles after 2016's NES Classic debacle
As much as I don't want any of you swoo

Attention world: Do not hit Britney Spears with lip-syncing accusations ONE. MORE. TIME. She's so over it. 
The iconic singer whose posters decorated lockers in the '90s and fashion statements inspired many glorious Halloween costumes through the years is well aware of all those lip-syncing accusations made about her over the course of her career. And she wants everyone to know they piss her off.
SEE ALSO: Katy Perry's demo of 'Passengers' before Britney Spears recorded it leaked online
Acc

An alleged NSA hacking tool has again surfaced to haunt the world.
Organizations across the globe — including Boryspil International in Kiev, Ukraine, a Russian oil company and an advertising company in the United Kingdom — have stalled out on Tuesday as a type of ransomware known as Petya has locked up their computers, demanding bitcoin in exchange for the return of those computers' functionality.
SEE ALSO: Step inside the secretive class that turns people into hackers
The tool the

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.
Kickstarter has created a wave of opportunity for entrepreneurs. From video games, to 3D printers, to VR headsets, the crowdsharing platform has become a hotbed for innovation, helping to launch upwards of 127,000 successful campaigns over the years.            
SEE ALSO: Take your avocado obsession to the next level with these products
But

A company called Token is launching its first product today: the Token Ring. It’s a fingerprint-sensing ring that’s designed to unlock and authenticate everything, including your car, house, and computer. The ring is NFC- and Bluetooth-compatible so it can work as a payment device or as a ticket for various transit systems. Most of that functionality is still to come, and in certain cases, requires additional hardware.The ring itself is available in six sizes and includes a battery t

The global app economy is expected to more than quadruple in size within the next four years.
That's according to a report released this week from research firm App Annie, which estimates the current $1.3 trillion market could grow to a whopping $6.3 trillion by 2021. 
That value encompasses advertising, in-app transactions, and other forms of mobile commerce as well as sales of the apps themselves. 
SEE ALSO: The mobile online shopping revolution is definitely coming—but nobody'

Summertime means finding creative ways to beat the heat and this kid seems to think playing with the garden hose will be a great way to stay cool.
That is until he actually tries it. His reaction is just too funny and too adorable. Even though he's maybe not having the best of times, we can enjoy his experience. 
Maybe he'll try to keep his eyes closed next time.  Read more...
More about Summer, Cute Kids, Funny Kids, Garden Hose, and Culture

This week, Travis and Stewart interview Damien Mahoney, who tells us everything we need to know about user-generated content, machine learning, AI, and what the future holds for consumer engagement.
In the news, we discuss the marketing implications of Amazon’s intention to buy Whole Foods, a new study that offers hope for competing ecommerce vendors, and blockchain for advertising.By listening to this episode of the VB Engage podcast, you will hear:
Welcome to VB Engage episode 57! [00:10

Are you tired of that awkward moment when you ask Siri to check if it's National Awkward Moments Day and your iPhone leaves you in a lurch?
Apple's AI assistant is tasked with answering your questions and keeping track of your busy schedule, but Siri can't always keep up with all the events jamming the packed-out pop culture calendar. The blind spot for fabricated social media events, aka hashtag holidays, is apparently so glaring that Apple is searching for a real person to add some expertise t

If tree-covered skyscrapers act like enormous air filters, this cluster of buildings will be a clean air oasis.
China has broken ground on a "forest city" in the southern city of Liuzhou. The development, which will span two-thirds of a mile along the Liujiang River, involves blanketing offices, apartments, hotels, and schools with more than a million plants and about 40,000 trees.
SEE ALSO: How drones are helping to plant trees
The verdant towers will help soak up urban air pollution, produce c

While Apple and Samsung race to be the first company to perfect a fingerprint scanner that resides under a smartphone's display, a Chinese company called Vivo has already done it. 
Vivo is launching the technology jointly with Qualcomm at Mobile World Congress Shanghai on Wednesday, but Vivo shared key details, images and video exclusively with Mashable prior to the announcement. 
SEE ALSO: Oppo and Vivo replace Xiaomi and Lenovo on the top smartphone makers list
First, let's look at w

Handmaids in red robes and white bonnets stood in front of the Capitol Tuesday to protest the latest iteration of the GOP health care bill that's up for a vote in the senate.
SEE ALSO: Why 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes are the most powerful meme of the resistance yet
The protesters — clad in uniforms from Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale — are demonstrating against a struggling senate bill that would overhaul Obamacare.
The vote has been delayed until after the July

How do you top a music video with Don Cheadle? 
You can't, if we're being honest, but that doesn't mean Kendrick Lamar's latest offering isn't fantastic. 
The Compton rapper dropped the music video for his track "Element" Tuesday afternoon in a cinematically gorgeous portrait that brings the DAMN. track to life. 
In the video, directed by Jonas Lindstroem and The Little Homies, Kendrick appears in a white blood-spattered tee, followed by a series of moving images depicting everyt

ANALYSIS: Capping a tumultuous year for the music-streaming pioneer, Pandora is losing founder and CEO Tim Westergren as well as its president and chief marketing officer. The departures signal a larger influence of SiriusXM, which recently bought a 19 percent stake in the company, and leaves the money-losing company’s fate uncertain.
Westergren cofounded Pandora and has served as an executive and board member since 2000. He returned to the role of CEO in March 2016 amid concern that his p

Twitter has suspended accounts of music lifestyle/news publication The Fader along with several other music-centric blogs.
On Tuesday morning, Twitter users began posting the hashtag #FreeFader to show support for the publication and confusion about the account's absence on the social platform. As the day went on, other sites such as 2DOPEBOYZ, Hip Hop N More, and Pigeons and Planes — a publication owned by Complex — also revealed their accounts had been suspended.
SEE ALSO: Twitter

After thousands of infections, the new Petya ransomware has run into its first major problem, as a German email provider has blocked the email account the virus was using to manage ransom demands. Victims should be advised not to pay into the wallet, since it’s unlikely the attackers can successfully decrypt systems at this point.
The problem is caused in part by Petya’s unorthodox method for collecting ransom payments. Most ransomware programs create a unique wallet for each infecti

Ubisoft has revealed a new Assassin’s Creed game, Rebellion, for mobile. The free-to-play, strategy role-playing game is coming “soon” to iOS and Android devices. Assassin’s Creed is a series of stealth-based action games for consoles and PC, and the franchise has sold over 100 million games.
But a successful mobile release could bring in a lot of money. We’ve already seen Fallout, another triple-A game series known for console and PC releases, strike it rich on mob

A snake wrangler was called in after a woman discovered a snake inside her home in Durban, South Africa. What was initially believed to be a harmless intruder was anything but.
Turns out it was an 8-foot black mamba, an extremely venomous snake known as one of the most deadliest and fastest snakes in the world, capable of killing a human with a small amount of venom. 
Fortunately, the snake wrangler was a total pro, and he calmly and successfully removed the slithering killer. 
So why

I'm getting a real 10 Cloverfield Lane vibe from this teasing first look at Somerville, the mysterious first game from Jumpship.
But what is Jumpship? It's an indie studio founded by Chris Olsen, who dreamed up the concept for Somerville. Giving the project a little added juice is Dino Patti, the co-founder and former CEO of Limbo and Inside developer Playdead. Patti joined Jumpship to help shepherd Somerville into being.
The game itself remains a mystery. This teasing first look suggests some

Google appears to be bringing some big new features to Chromebooks, starting with a still-in-development model codenamed “Eve.” The two biggest additions are support for a fingerprint sensor and the Google Assistant. But the device is also expected to have improved trackpad tech and one of Intel’s Kaby Lake processors.
The details come from the site Chrome Unboxed, which has been closely tracking Eve’s progress through public comments left by Chrome OS developers. The sit

Remember as a kid how you could just ask your friend to ask your crush's friend if they liked you? Why can't dating still be that easy?
Well for this guy, he found a way to cushion any potential rejection blows. 
Twitter user, @GHINA, posted screenshots of a very peculiar three-way group chat. The first message is from a guy professing his true feelings for Ghina, which makes it very confusing as to why there is a third member of the chat. 
Turns out, the young hopeless romantic added

GUEST: You probably know that by 2022 an estimated 5 million jobs worldwide will be lost to AI-enabled automation technologies. You probably also know that Oxford University says that 47 percent of American jobs are at risk of being automated, and you probably know two or three more harrowing statistics along the same lines.
But did you know that AI is able to spot genetic diseases that human doctors can’t detect? Or greatly reduce power consumption using smart energy grids? Or educat

Zillow caused a whirlwind of controversy yesterday by issuing a fiercely worded cease and desist letter to Kate Wagner, who operates the popular McMansion Hell Tumblr blog. The letter accused Wagner of copyright infringement and walked right up to the line of claiming that using Zillow’s real estate photos for architecture criticism is a crime. Really!
The letter scared Wagner into pulling the blog down entirely and asking Twitter for help. She told us yesterday that McMansion Hell is her

When they're not trolling each other or posing for disgustingly adorable Humans of New York posts, you can find Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds being the perfect citizens they are at their local CPR class.
The two posted pics on the 'gram of them at a class over the weekend where they learned how to give CPR to babies and toddlers—and now they're sharing their experience with the hopes that you too will learn how to perform some good ol' Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. 
SEE ALSO: 'Human

Intersection, the company behind the free gigabit-speed Wi-Fi hot spots that have popped up around New York City over the last few years, has launched a new network of the kiosks in London. The network is called InLinkUK, and the kiosks are called InLinks. (In New York, the service is called LinkNYC.) Intersection is working with telecom provider BT and outdoor advertising company Primesight to replace over 1,000 pay phones in major UK cities with InLink kiosks starting today.Some of the InLink

The head of the studio that made Prey and Dishonored is stepping down and leaving parent company ZeniMax Media.
Arkane Studios president Raphael Colantonio is exiting the studio he cofounded in 1999, according to a blog post on the company’s website. The developer, who is responsible for games like Arx Fatalis before working on Dishonored and Prey under ZeniMax’s game publishing division Bethesda, said he plans to reflect and spend time with his son. Harvey Smith, the director of Dis

Pandora just announced its co-founder Tim Westergren has stepped down as CEO, and now the streaming provider tells Billboard that it’s ending operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia and New Zealand were Pandora’s only international operations, meaning it will now only exist in the US. A Pandora spokesperson told Billboard that the decision came after heavy analysis, and that operations in the two countries will discontinue in the next few weeks. "While our experience in th

Let's all be horrible for a second and pretend that Justin Trudeau isn't a prime minister but an international sex symbol — nothing more, nothing less.
In those circumstances, it's particularly strange to image why Trudeau chose to be featured in Delta's latest inflight magazine. This man is GQ and Esquire and Seventeen Magazine on a bad day.
He's no mediocre American airline. He's *Justin*. Asterisks attached.
SEE ALSO: Please stop sharing photos of Justin Trudeau at Pride, it's making th

FEATURE: The Game Devs of Color Expo (GDOC) gathered in Harlem for the second year in a row this weekend to celebrate and showcase diversity in games. The one-day event coincided with LGBT Pride weekend in New York City, which seems fitting because GDOC’s mission statement is to create an inclusive safe space where people of color from all intersections of identity can share their work.
Chris Algoo, one of the organizers, said that the idea of hosting a conference sprang from the conv

In the second episode of Syfy's new exploitation grindhouse gorefest Blood Drive, a fat Elvis impersonator (named Fat Elvis) is murdered and turned into meat to feed the customers at the Pixie Swallow diner. Poor meaty Elvis is hung upside down from the kitchen roof like a pig. The camera sits in the next room, where a grunt mops the floor to get rid of earlier bloodstains. Meanwhile, a waitress bustles in and out of the kitchen door, which swings back and forth, giving the audience teasing glim

Samsung plans to release a “fandom” edition of the Galaxy Note 7 that is ostensibly safer to use. The company was hit hard by around 3 million recalls of the Note 7 last October after multiple phones caught fire due to defective batteries that were prone to overheating. Samsung ended production on the device and began a months-long quest to get the device out of users’ hands as it worked out refunds and tried to repair its image.This new refurbished edition, to be called the Ga

On the heels of Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo comes a much-needed (and overdue) revamp for Yahoo Mail. The new Yahoo Mail is visually much cleaner and more minimal, with increased space between UI elements. Because people love customization, you can also now skin Yahoo Mail in a variety of color themes, with some changing in response to the time of day. There are also new stationary opinions, and the ability to use Twitter’s emoji set from their open-source library.
Search has been

Facebook has announced that it now has over 2 billion monthly active users. That’s up from the 1.94 billion total that the company cited as part of its most recent earnings report in May. Mark Zuckerberg shared the news directly, and Fast Company has a story on Facebook’s constant efforts to keep pushing growth upward. “It's an honor to be on this journey with you,” Zuckerberg wrote. Facebook’s other apps are faring well, too: Messenger has over 1.2 billion monthly

The theme park simulation game Planet Coaster has received another free update, and it’s the biggest one yet.
Planet Coaster launched on PC last November. It has over 700,000 owners on Steam, according to Steam Spy. Since its launch, studio Frontier Developments has supported the game with big, free updates of new content. While it doesn’t earn money from these, it helps keep the community happy and spread good will, which can translate into more sales.
The summer update notably adds

Twitter suspended music and news publication The Fader’s account this morning, prompting an outpouring of confusion expressed with a #FREEFADER hashtag.Three other popular music blogs — 2DOPEBOYZ, Hip Hop N More, and the Complex-owned Pigeons and Planes — have also been suspended. One possible reason: Many music news accounts tweeted footage from the BET Awards on Sunday night and the NBA Awards on Monday night.Update: Pigeons and Planes editor in chief Jacob Moore told The Ver