Technology news

It was a busy week in video games. The Game Awards unleashed its “world exclusives” on Thursday, and we dive deeply into all of the announcements from that show on this week’s GamesBeat Decides podcast. On this episode, GamesBeat IndieBeat editor Stephanie Chan and VentureBeat managing editor Jason Wilson join host Jeffrey Grubb. The trio spends time trying to pick up the pieces of their lives as they catch up on Game of the Year and prepare to cover Sony’s PlayStation Ex

GUEST: The lack of diversity in tech has been front and center this past year. Large tech companies have publicly vowed to fix the problem. But how? One answer is recognizing, acknowledging, and eliminating unconscious bias from the hiring process.
Three years ago, Cockroach Labs started the effort to create a more diverse workforce by focusing on building an inclusive environment. In order to do so, we attacked unconscious bias head-on – first by elimina

Yes, Miles Morales technically exists inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the other Spider-Man hasn't made an appearance in any of those movies, and he hasn't ever gotten one of his own. Until now.
Sony's first trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse premiered on Saturday at Brazil Comic-Con, starring Morales as the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Marvel originally introduced the character in the "Ultimate" line of comics; in that alternate timeline, Morales — a black, Lat

When we last saw Jessica Jones in Netflix’s The Defenders, she escaped from the destruction of Midland Circle along with Luke Cage and Danny Rand, who all look to move on with their lives after stopping The Hand. Netflix debuted the first trailer for the next season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, showing that while Jones is trying to move on, her past is catching up to her.In the teaser, we see that Jones is back to working as a private investigator, musing that people have their secrets

Twitter Moments: sometimes they're delightful and sometimes they feel a little ... forced. 
We can promise you this, though: you will love this particular Moment, which is as simple as it is vital. Reader, this Twitter Moment is just a bunch of photos of dogs meeting Santa. That's something we can all enjoy.
SEE ALSO: Little boy uses sign language to call for help while on Santa's lap
But enough talk.My dog met Santa, and I can promise you he's picture look better then the ones of your kids

Next time you have something to sell on Craigslist, you can let your prospective buyers know that they can pay using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrencies.
Blockexplorer News spotted the feature (via Engadget and Business Insider): sellers can now check a box that says “cryptocurrency okay” when you submit your posting. Cryptocurrencies are becoming a part of the larger financial system, so it makes sense that platforms like Craigslist might want to provide it as an option for its user

Next time you have something to sell on Craigslist, you can let your prospective buyers know that they can pay using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrencies.
Blockexplorer News spotted the feature (via Engadget and Business Insider): sellers can now check a box that says “cryptocurrency okay” when you submit your posting. Cryptocurrencies are becoming a part of the larger financial system, so it makes sense that platforms like Craigslist might want to provide it as an option for its user

Even the Force can't make a snowbound plane take off.
If his tweets are any indication, Star Wars star John Boyega is stuck in snowy Atlanta just hours before Saturday's The Last Jedi premiere in Los Angeles. "Looks like no one's leaving!" he wrote. "Guess I'll start a family now...."
SEE ALSO: Your new favorite 'Star Wars' critter is less than $30 today on Amazon
"I actually NEED a pilot!" he added.Wow ATL. Looks like no one’s leaving! Guess I’ll start a family now....
— John

ANALYSIS: Apple wants to buy Shazam, we learned on Friday. The popular app can identify music, movies, TV shows, and even ads after listening to a short sample of the content in question using your device’s microphone. I suspect Apple wants to integrate this technology further into its devices, and in particular, into Siri.
TechCrunch broke the news, revealing that the deal could be announced as soon as Monday. Reuters cited its own source regarding the deal, as did Recode, which pegged th

Update 2 at 1:07 p.m. PST: The Xbox Live Status page does not load consistently, so the errors continue to affect that site as well as Xbox Live as a whole. 
Xbox Live is still having intermittent connectivity problems. Microsoft’s online gaming service went down for a significant number of people on Thursday, and people continued to complain on social media since then that they are encountering errors when trying to log into the network. This preceded the Xbox Live status page going

Lots of people weren't thrilled with Saturday Night Live for capitalizing on the presence of Irish-American guest host Saoirse Ronan with a sketch about Ireland's Aer Lingus airline.
Ronan, as it turns out, wasn't one of them.
SEE ALSO: Irish people are not impressed by SNL's Aer Lingus sketch
The sketch drew criticism for leaning on Irish stereotypes and jokes that felt to many like the show was grasping for low-hanging fruit. A social media backlash followed, because this is 2017 and nothing

In 2015, Sony Pictures announced that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would be producing an animated Spider-Man film, and earlier this year, we learned that the film would feature Miles Morales, rather than Peter Parker. Today at Brazil Comic-Con, Sony released the first trailer for the project, as well as its title: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.
The brief teaser trailer opens with a hooded figure moving through a snow-covered New York City, and stops by the grave of Peter Parker. We see a

The Star Wars universe has always been home to scores of fantastic planets, and with The Last Jedi just days from hitting theaters, Lucasfilm has released a new featurette that highlights some of the places that we can expect to see on the big screen next week.Out-of-the-way locations have long been used as set pieces for the numerous universe’s numerous planets, from Tunisia and Abu Dhabi’s deserts to California’s redwood forests to the Hardangerjøkulen Glacier in Finse

ANALYSIS: Amazon dropped something of a curveball on Friday when it announced that its voice-enabled Amazon Echo smart speakers are now officially available to purchase in more than 80 new markets around the world.
Up until now, you could only (officially) procure the speakers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India. So the news represents a huge expansion for Amazon, its Alexa digital assistant, and, of course, the Echo devices themselves.
However, there was a major

Five years ago today, a "stylish but illegal" Rhesus Macaque wearing a shearling coat was spotted in a Toronto IKEA. 
Fast forward to 2017. The world is in shambles, shearling coats are back in style, and IKEA monkey, whose real name is Darwin, is no less beloved. In fact, tons of people online are wishing a happy anniversary to the cozy fellow, who is currently enjoying a chill life at an Ontario animal sanctuary.
SEE ALSO: Dog almost learns how to successfully hula hoopPerhaps no animal h

I wish all mail was this cute.
Neil Patrick Harris posted a photo to Instagram Friday of his daughter Harper's most recent correspondence with the tooth fairy. Predictably, the letter is adorable — the seven-year-old announces that she has lost a tooth, then tells the tooth fairy, "I love you because you rock!" As someone who receives primarily Bed Bath & Beyond coupons in the mail (NOT a complaint), this sentiment has deeply moved me. 
Harper also utilized a variety of crayons to

After much fanfare, Elon Musk made it clear that he does plan to launch his Tesla Roadster to Mars on the Falcon Heavy next year — but questions remained over whether the mission is allowed. Are there any major federal hurdles SpaceX has to overcome in order to launch the very first sports car into deep space?
Musk initially said he wanted to send the car to Mars orbit, which could raise concerns about planetary protection. That’s the concept of preventing contamination of worlds in

 Uber has settled its lawsuit with a woman (Jane Doe) who accused its now-former CEO Travis Kalanick, president of business in Asia Eric Alexander and SVP of business Emil Michael of improperly obtaining her medical records after she was raped by an Uber driver in Delhi, India.
“A settlement has been reached and the Parties anticipate the case will be dismissed on or around January… Read More

With each passing day comes yet another reason to question the notion that the long arc of the universe bends toward justice. However, this year, in particular, has made it resoundingly clear that — regardless of the direction of that arc — the process by which it bends manifests with stuttering jolts and fits. Things seem one way to many people, until, for whatever reason, all of the sudden everyone realizes they're not. 
It is a similar reckoning that has befallen the do-no-wr

 Skiing has always been something of a nightmare for me. I first “learned” how to ski in middle school, and still to this day don’t really understand how to stop. I once went to a “black diamond” mountain in Minnesota (read: gently sloping Midwest hill) and had to slam myself into the ground before skiing straight into the ski chalet. I’m hardly alone in my… Read More

Since World War II, Japan has struggled with a work culture that consists of excessive overtime. To curb that behavior, one firm is planning to use drones that fly around the office blasting Auld Lang Syne to get employees to realize it’s time to go home.
The system, developed by office security and cleaning firm Taisei and telecom giant NTT, will see drones patrolling the office on a scheduled flight path. The drones will also record footages of what they see during the flight to identify

Companies, hello! Hope you are doing great. Here's how not to advertise.
Wish, an e-commerce business that advertises heavily on Facebook (they're behind some of the, uh, weirder ads you may have come across), is under fire this week for its product images for plus-size tights. Rather than featuring photos of plus-size models, Wish is advertising the tights with photos of thin models stretching them across their entire bodies.
SEE ALSO: Here's how someone can track your location for $1,000
As se

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbors are a vital protection for websites and Internet services of all sizes. But thanks to a new Copyright Office rule, website owners could lose safe harbor protections if they don’t register online by December 31. And that’s not all: Hollywood lobbyists are pushing the Copyright Office to create even more hoops for website owners to jump through in order to keep their safe harbor.
Under current law, the owners of websites and onli

 Essential smartphone startup founder Andy Rubin, who took a leave of absence last month in light of allegations of an improper relationship at his previous employer, has returned to work, Recode reports. Citing sources, Recode reports Rubin’s personal leave ended Friday. At the time of his leave, Rubin said he was taking time off to “deal with personal matters.” His decision… Read More

There's a new app at the top of the App Store and it's all because of Bitcoin.
Coinbase, a popular Bitcoin wallet app, is now at the top of Apple's App Store, unseating Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube as the most in-demand software. 
SEE ALSO: Apple's most downloaded apps of 2017
That in itself might not be terribly surprising considering the cryptocurrency keeps shattering record after record. But though Coinbase, which also works with other cryptocurrencies, is for now the most popular,

Weeks after taking a leave of absence from Essential, CEO Andy Rubin has returned to work, according to Recode.Rubin took leave from his company in late November following a report in The Information about an “inappropriate relationship” prior to his departure from Google. A spokesperson for Rubin denied the allegations.
Recode notes that Essential and Rubin wouldn’t comment about the situation, but says that his return should help ease some worries about the company after the

REVIEW: Reigns: Her Majesty shows that it’s not easy being queen — but it sure is fun. It’s developer Nerial and publisher Devolver Digital’s followup to the card-based kingship simulator from 2016, which tasked players with making decisions for the realm based purely on swiping left or right.
Though the mechanics are deceptively simple, you’ll find plenty to unpack in the game. Not only does it investigate themes of power and belief, but secrets and Easter eggs are

We’re nine days into December and there’s still Black Friday deals that you can find online, including the new Amazon Echo, Google Home and Xbox One S console. Tomorrow, Amazon is expected to launch discounts on several more of its devices — matching most of its Cyber Monday pricing.
As reported on earlier this week, Best Buy is running a three-day Apple sale (ending tonight, Saturday, December 9th) which offers discounts on the new iPhones and iPad Pro. There’s also quit

I've never really been able to do the whole laughing at bad movies thing. I realize this is a little bit like saying "I don't enjoy fun," but I don't know, I've mostly just found the movies to be bad in a boring kind of way.
Point is, I'm not a huge fan of The Room. But I went to see The Disaster Artist anyway last week because it looked too fun to pass up. It really is a nice movie — and I think it succeeds largely thanks to one very smart decision: it never looks down on Tommy Wiseau. Ev

It's been a bad year for some, which means it's been an absolutely fantastic year for memes.
From Salt Bae to the countless memes mocking President Trump and his first year in office, this has truly been a magical year for coping with sadness and madness using increasingly weird comedy online.
SEE ALSO: 7 Memes That Belong in a Museum
For some these may be downright confusing, but for every ridiculous thing that happened this year, a meme was close behind helping somebody get by. 
In chrono

Six years ago, James S.A. Corey, the pen name for Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, launched their The Expanse series with Leviathan Wakes, spinning out the story of a solar system rife with political divisions, an interplanetary conspiracy, and the crew of a space ship called the Rocinante. In the years since, the story has stretched into multiple installments and a major television series. Last year, Abraham and Franck told The Verge that the last three books would be “one big plot arc comin

Ever wondered what Luke Skywalker was up to between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens? Well, Mark Hamill and noted Star Wars superfan Stephen Colbert have the answer: He was trying to get into a bar.
A really delightful sketch from Friday's Late Show features Hamill as a middle-aged Luke and Colbert as a condescending Cantina maître d'. Unfortunately, Luke's galaxy-saving reputation has not preceded him to the bar, and he can't convince Colbert to let him in. 
Dad jokes &mdash

Lots of kids will be gifted connected toys this holiday season, and while I'm all for spoiling children, I also suggest thinking about the risks that come with an internet-connected plaything. Many of these devices connect to the web or rely on companion apps, and most of them collect data about your child. Beyond security vulnerabilities, the way these companies treat data is worth considering.
Mattel's Hello Barbie, for example, lets kids talk to their doll. The doll can carry a simple convers

Production has ended on MGM’s forthcoming digital show, Stargate: Origins, and to celebrate, it’s released a new behind-the-scenes featurette that shows off a bit of what to expect when the show debuts next year on the studio’s dedicated streaming service for the franchise, Stargate Command.Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan, the show will serve as a prequel to the 1994 film Stargate and the 1997 TV show Stargate SG-1, which kicked off the larger television franchise. It will fo

Affectiva, one in a series of companies to come out of MIT’s Media Lab whose work revolves around affective computing, used to be best known for sensing emotion in videos. It recently expanded into emotion detection in audio with the Speech API for companies making robots and AI assistants.
Affective computing, the use of machines to understand and respond to human emotion, has many practical uses. In addition to Affectiva, Media Lab nurtured Koko, a bot that detects words used on cha

LOS ANGELES — Breathe. Just breathe. 
On Saturday night, the wait will finally be over — at least for the hundreds of guests (including your humble scribe) gathered at the Shrine Auditorium in Downtown L.A. for the world premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 
After that, I will enter Star Wars reviewer exile, unable to publish anything beyond vague tweet-length impressions of the movie until the review embargo lifts next week — at a time that has already got us making

I've attended church with my family for my entire life, but I've noticed a stark change in the last few visits to our non-denominational Christian congregation: A startling number of people around me spent the sermons glued to smartphones and tablets.
Even my dad, a classic Midwestern disciplinarian, pulled out his iPhone and put it on his lap for easy access right as I was turning mine off for the first time that week. He and the others that I spotted through some good old-fashioned pew snoopin

Chances are you’ve seen this tomato-sorting machine before. Video footage of it goes viral on a semi-regular basis, as with this clip above, tweeted by @MachinePix this week. As mechanical contraptions go, it’s impressively fast and unnervingly precise. It’s sorting tomatoes, but it looks like the fingers of God flicked damned souls straight into hell.It is also, according to Jim Frost, product manager at Tomra, the company that makes the thing, old hat. “We’ve been

The most romantic place I’ve ever been was a grassy hill overlooking a campground. It was late evening; lit-up tents and cabins dotted the valley that sprawled before us. In the distance, stood a black mountain range, the bright edges of the northern lights peering out from behind. I was surrounded by the warm night, a waxing gibbous moon, a canopy of stars.
At least, that’s what it felt like. In reality, I was sitting in the corner of a New York City office, wearing an Oculus Rift h

The world was a very different place 10 years ago. Barack Obama had just been elected, the stock market had crashed, and The New York Giants won the Super Bowl.
Despite all that, it was a solid year for Hollywood. The studios churned out classics for all ages that are still worth re-watching today. Here is just a sampling of the ones celebrating their 10th birthday this year. 
SEE ALSO: Netflix is getting serious about making movies: 80 to come in 2018
1Twilight
Name a better love story.&nb