Technology news

Facebook isn't content with just governing everything you do online. The social networking giant announced plans this week to turn part of its Menlo Park, California property into a "mixed-use village" that'll be like its own town. 
The property at Facebook's corporate headquarters will contain a grocery store, a pharmacy, housing, office space, and other services that people usually access in their own, non-Zuckerberg-controlled towns.  
"Part of our vision is to create a neighborhood

The standards body for the web has approved a system for handling DRM video after a long and controversial debate — one that security researchers and open web advocates vow to continue.
The new standard is called EME, or Encrypted Media Extensions, and it allows DRM systems to hook directly into your browser. That way, Netflix and other streaming video services can protect their shows and movies without making users install annoying, often insecure plugins like Flash or Silverlight. On tha

GUEST: Bitcoin’s price could be in for a big drop, and that’s because the cryptocurrency is facing a potentially contentious upgrade to its core software in August. If you haven’t heard about the impending deadline for a “user-activated soft fork”, here’s the story:
For close to six years, the Bitcoin community has struggled to arrive at a consensus on how to scale the 1MB block size to meet growing popularity and adoption. A proposed user-activated soft fork

The internet is highly experienced in the art of Jumping to Conclusions. The latest example: Chris Evans said he missed his dog, so everyone assumed the dog was dead.
But, friends, the dog is not dead. The dog is very much alive — Chris Evans is just away from home shooting Red Sea Diving Resort.
SEE ALSO: It's Chris-mas in July. Here's how to celebrate
Still, it's easy to see how this misunderstanding came about. Here's Evans's original tweet, featuring an extremely good and nice dog pic.

That was quick.
It's been less than a week since Nevada started selling recreational marijuana and the state's dispensaries are already running out.
SEE ALSO: People lined up at midnight and took out extra cash for the first day of legal weed in Nevada
With lines out the door from the moment the new law went into effect early Sunday morning, the state's 47 dispensaries are struggling to keep up with the demand, according to the Reno-Gazette Journal.
The Nevada Dispensary Association estimates th

Shia LaBeouf was arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of public drunkenness, obstruction, and disorderly conduct after causing a disturbance at Savannah, Georgia's City Market.
According to the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (via The Hollywood Reporter), the incident reportedly began when LaBeouf asked a bystander for a cigarette. He then "became disorderly, using profanities and vulgar language" when one was not made available.
SEE ALSO: Shia LaBeouf wrote an essay whic

The sassy, comedic, and all around heart and soul of the hit TV series True Blood, Nelsan Ellis, is dead at the young age of 39. 
SEE ALSO: First Scenes Revealed From 'True Blood' Season 7: 'There's No One Left'
Details of Ellis' passing are scarce, but the Hollywood Reporter reports that the actor's manager, Emily Gerson Saines, says Ellis "passed away after complications with heart failure." 
Fans of True Blood will remember Ellis' portrayal of the character Lafayette Reynolds, who t

June is over, but Pride Month is still going. 
SEE ALSO: The history of Pride
A police officer at London's Pride march on Saturday got surprised by her girlfriend, who knelt down to propose in the middle of the celebration. My amazing friend Jane proposes to her gf dizzy at #pride - amazing pic.twitter.com/33k0VUEeId
— Lewis Iwu (@lewisiwu) July 8, 2017
She said YES!
Congratulations ❤️💍#LoveHappensHere pic.twitter.com/bAmZABMMzD
— BTP (@BTP) July 8, 20

Your future phone may never need to be charged. 
That's the exciting implication of new research out of the University of Washington, where researchers have created a mobile phone prototype that doesn't require a battery to operate.
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk sticks to Twitter bet to build world's biggest lithium-ion battery
The astonishingly efficient prototype requires just 3.5 microwatts of juice, and it employs an innovative approach to avoid the need for a battery cell. Instead, it uses ambie

GUEST: Big companies are too slow, too disorganized and too stuck under the weight of outdated playbooks and bad habits to benefit from opportunities to innovate.
That’s the picture the latest report by accelerator 500 Startups paints after surveying over 100 corporate executives that oversee innovation, including collaborating or investing in startups.
Rubbing shoulders with startups, collaborating with them in some way, or absorbing them altogether, may sound like a clever way for establ

A few years ago, a company named Panono came by The Verge offices to show us a strange black and green ball. It looked like a kids toy, but it was embedded with 36 cameras that, when thrown in the air, would snap a 360-degree panorama / selfie from way up high. It was a neat idea, but it’s apparently failed to pan out in a really big way.
After raising $1.25 million in a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of 2014, Panono has only shipped around 400 cameras, according to DPReview. It&rs

Critics are loving Spider-Man: Homecoming for many reasons, one of which is the highly praised decision to avoid Spidey's tired origin story. You know, the same one we've been subjected to in two prior reboots released since 2002. 
In that spirit, we'd like to remind you of the following: letting a big, venomous spider climb up your arm will not make you Spider-Man. In other words, do not be like the man in this video, who lets the extremely poisonous Brazilian Wandering Spider scuttle aro

No, the Apple iPhone rumors are not done. You will take your iPhone rumor medicine, and like it. 
Actually, you might not like this one. 
SEE ALSO: This isn't the iPhone 8. But it's probably really, really close.
In a late night Twitter message on Friday, John Gruber, an Apple-focused writer and podcaster who occasionally comes up with early info on the company's products, delivered some new details around rumors of the iPhone offering wireless (inductive) charging. 
"I've heard t

Wine: saving everyone's flight experience in more ways than one. 
A Delta flight devolved into a nightmare on Thursday when a man tried to force open an exit door midair, the Washington Post reported.  The day was saved thanks to resourceful flight attendants armed with glass bottles.
SEE ALSO: Dear Silicon Valley VCs, your trite sexism apology blogs of self-regard are not enough
Joseph Hudek IV, age 23, was flying first class on a 5 p.m. flight from Seattle to Beijing. At one point, h

Scientists have discovered a new species of toad in the Great Basin of northern Nevada — just in time for its possible disappearance. A geothermal energy plant could be built in the valley where the toad lives, destroying its habitat and spelling doom on the species.The new toad, called Bufo (Anaxyrus) williamsi, has an olive-colored body “with small, diverse and irregular black flecks,” as well as rust-colored warts. It lives in wetlands fed by thermal springs on the western e

GUEST: At Pixonic, we went from thousand-dollar ads to million-dollar monthly marketing budgets. This article will lay out some of the concepts and solutions we use in marketing our game, which may be helpful for you as you make your free-to-play game bigger. We didn’t start with those principles, we spent tens of millions of dollars while trying and adjusting different approaches.
Here’s what we learned.
Cohort analysis: effectiveness from A to Z
To assess ads’ effectiveness,

It's fairly common practice for government ministers to briefly sub in for world leaders at summits like G20. What's less common — and more controversial — is for the unqualified children of world leaders to take their parents' seats.
Anyway, guess what happened! Ivanka Trump, who, as you'll recall, "tries to stay out of politics," did exactly the opposite at a G20 session on Saturday. 
SEE ALSO: Ivanka Trump's Starbucks order is the well-done steak of Starbucks orders
Ivanka, w

Akron, Ohio, like many legacy cities, experienced a rougher-than-average blow with the economic downturn. But with the help of a new generation of entrepreneurs, the city is also rebounding at a stronger rate than some of its neighbors. Here’s a look into what makes Akron’s entrepreneurship scene stand out and which local programs are supporting its growth.
1. You don’t have to carry a hockey stick
For decades, the word “entrepreneur” has been associated with highly

When Birdman director Alejandro Iñárritu premiered his new virtual reality installation piece Carne y Arena at the Cannes Film Festival this year, it was celebrated as a new high-water mark for the medium. Created in collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic xLab, the project drops participants inside a harrowing run across the US-Mexico border — highlighting both the horrifying steps those seeking a better life for their families are willing to take, as well as the ter

When Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu premiered his new virtual reality installation piece Carne y Arena at the Cannes Film Festival this year, it was celebrated as a new high-water mark for the medium. Created in collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic xLab, the project drops participants inside a harrowing run across the US-Mexico border — highlighting both the horrifying steps those seeking a better life for their families are willing to take, as

Those flight delays might not actually be the result of inclement weather — for some trying to leave New York this week, it was turtles. 
About 40 turtles caused delays at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Friday when they interrupted takeoffs while migrating for a nesting ritual — aka turtle sexy time — the New York Daily News reported. 
SEE ALSO: This adorable baby turtle blob is bringing hope to Southeast Asia
Apparently, this isn't that unusual.

They say you "can't take it with you" when it comes to money after death, and we now know that that applies to music as well. At least in the case of Prince it does. 
Six of The Purple One's music videos appeared on an official YouTube channel over the last 24 hours, directly countering a stance he took on the digital distribution of his music when he was alive.  
SEE ALSO: Prince's secret energy investment could help solar startups under Trump
Hits including "When Doves Cry," "Baby I'

Think you'd never be tempted to turn to the Dark Side of the Force? Hm. That's cute. Say hello to Lightsaber Baby.
After receiving a cool new lightsaber, Lightsaber Baby (her actual name is Zelda), was so thrilled that she began to chase her older brother around the house with it. Wouldn't we all?
And even though she had the blue saber and not the red, she didn't exactly stay Zen like a Jedi.
SEE ALSO: A Star Trek vs. Star Wars argument got so heated the police got involved
Behold the photo evid

If we're being honest with ourselves, Instagram is really good for only two things: food and celebrities. 
Checking up on our favorite stars "candid" moments and seeing what our foodie friends are consuming are the two peaks of content in the vast mountain range that is Instagram. So what happens when they're combined? We've seen it before with @celebsonsandwiches, but why limit yourself to bread when ramen exits. 
Enter @celebrities_in_ramen, your new favorite account. 
SEE ALSO:

It’s pretty clear from Baby Driver’s trailers (and title) that it’s going to be a heist movie with tons of car chases in it. One thing the trailers don’t really let on, however, is that it’s also — kind of, sort of — a musical.
There isn’t original music in here or characters regularly bursting out into song and dance. But the movie’s big hook is that music starts from second one and doesn’t let up until the whole film ends. It’s

Venture capitalist Dave McClure is done. This one's important. VCs come and go all the time, but McClure is out at 500 Startups, the Mountain View, California-based venture fund and startup accelerator he helped cofound in 2010. 
Seven someodd years later, and McClure's finished there. There was no posh gig elsewhere. His ouster wasn't a performance-based result, either. As reported by the New York Times, McClure's on the skids because he allegedly sexually assaulted at least one woman and

Amazon isn't the only one experimenting with drone delivery. 
A man in South Carolina escaped from a maximum-security prison after wire cutters were delivered to him — apparently by drone, according to officials. 
Jimmy Causey, who was convicted for kidnapping in 2004, used a smuggled cell phone to arrange delivery of wire cutters via drone, the Associated Press reported. Then, he cut through four fences and left a dummy in his bed to trick guards. 
SEE ALSO: This little rob

VB EVENT: “If you’re not doing AI today, don’t expect to be around in a few years,” says Japjit Tulsi, VP of engineering at eBay, “It really is that important for companies to invest in — especially commerce companies.”
Tulsi will speak next week at MB 2017, July 11 and 12 in SF, MobileBeat’s flagship event where this year we’ve gathered more than 30 brands to talk about how AI is being applied in businesses today.
eBay is working to sta

GUEST: Crowdfunding is the hot new topic in the startup world. Since the passage of regulations allowing companies to source funding from Main Street American investors, startups have been flocking to crowdfunding platforms to secure capital. But what makes a crowdfunding campaign successful? The most obvious answer is a large social following — a crowd of loyal fans that would invest their hard-earned cash in a seemingly great idea. We expected this to be the case, and we analyzed the soc

Amazon Prime Day is almost here, and if you’re serious about finding the best deals, admittedly you’ll probably refrain from shopping this weekend and see what Amazon has to offer (like big discounts on its own devices). In two days, at 9PM ET on July 10th, the mammoth online retailer will begin launching hundreds of thousands of new deals every five minutes or so. Of course, we’ll be sure to bring you the best of what’s worth buying, so make sure to check back (and sign

Professional camera maker RED announced the world's first holographic phone — the Hydrogen — on Thursday to the surprise of phone geeks everywhere.
The Hydrogen is already generating plenty of excitement among RED's rabid fanbase, and yet we don't even know much about the hardware.
SEE ALSO: The world's first glasses-free holographic phone is coming, and it's not from Apple
RED still hasn't revealed any details about the phone's processor, battery life, storage capacity, or even its

If you'd like your signature scent to lean toward an "unsettling childhood memories" vibe, it's your lucky day: perfumer Serge Lutens has released a perfume meant to evoke the sensory experience of losing a baby tooth. 
The scent is called Dent de Lait, which translates to "baby teeth" in French. And no, it doesn't literally smell like teeth. Kathleen Hou at The Cut reports that rather, it smells like a "warm, powdery, milky hard candy," with a strong metallic twinge at the finish.
SEE ALSO

The internet collectively went insane when Snapchat introduced its new Maps feature at the end of June. 
The update lets you see where your friends are on a virtual map. It can also give you some indication of what they're doing, like sleeping or listening to music. So, naturally, everyone was all up in arms about this info being out there.
But have we all forgotten about a little app called Venmo?
SEE ALSO: The 'Third Thumb' prosthetic for anyone makes me really want an extra finger
That's

Companies like Tequila Works, the maker of games such as Rime and Deadlight, are trying to put the gusto in game development in Spain.
The country has more than 480 video game companies with about 4,460 employees, according to a 2016 white paper by a Spanish tech university and several government groups. Spain has had a major exit, with New York-based Take-Two Interactive buying Spanish mobile game company Social Point for $250 million. Spain was also the No. 2 country in game job post

The upcoming SNES Classic Edition will be the first official video game console to emulate a number of the Super Nintendo’s most beloved games. This exhaustive breakdown by Digital Foundry of the Super Nintendo hardware explains why a handful of technically impressive games — like the original Star Fox — never appeared on Nintendo’s Virtual Console services, and the role supplemental cartridge chips played in the life cycle of the 16-bit hardware.
Hosted by John Linneman,

It's a sad but true fact of life: We must permanently cast away everyone in our lives who does not have air conditioning, no matter how much we may love them.
Regardless of the bonds that unite us, be they familial or otherwise, nothing is worth spending even one full minute in a room that is higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This is something that we all agree on.
SEE ALSO: 1940s: Classic New England summers at Cape Cod's Provincetown
Of course, it still isn't easy, removing loved ones from yo

A host of niche ad blockers are helping web surfers trade annoying ads for cats, art, and inspiration.
The tools are part of a burgeoning cottage industry of blocking software birthed by a popular frustration with disruptive digital ads in recent years.
But where most of their ilk simply scrub pop-ups and promos from your screen, a handful of developers have tried to set their services apart by taking it a step further: They want to turn the lemons of online ads into lemonade.
SEE ALSO: Facebook

Smartwatches have a battery problem. Much like smartphones, they don’t last long enough, and everyone ends up charging them all the time. In an attempt to fix this, Sequent looked toward the automatic movements in traditional watches to create a kinetic battery system for its smartwatch.Sequent’s eponymous smartwatch uses a self-charging battery system that charges as you move around, much like an automatic movement does in a standard watch (but through a much different process). It

GUEST: Nintendo continues to push its Switch hybrid console and its party-pleaser game, Arms. And you’re seeing this all over your TV.
GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from 10 million smart TV screens, to bring you a monthly report on how gaming brands are spending. The results below are for the top five spending gaming industry brands in June.
Advertising spend slipped again in June for the gaming indust

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.
Cars have made a lot of technological progress over the last 20 years. They can speak multiple languages, function as internet hot spots, and even star in their own Pixar franchise. But there’s one basic thing they still haven’t mastered: limiting distracted driving.
SEE ALSO: Finally, a way to turn your smartphone into a universal remote
Whether you’re using your car’s