Technology news

Amazon Go is heading to Chicago and San Francisco, according to a report from The Seattle Times, marking the first expansion of the online retailer’s cashier-less grocery store from its initial Seattle location.Per The Seattle Times, Amazon has posted job listings for store managers at upcoming locations in Chicago and San Francisco. An Amazon representative later confirmed that the company is planning to open Amazon Go stores in those cities, although no timetable or date has been announ

In case you had any doubts that original content is a big priority at Netflix,Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos estimated that 85 percent of the company’s total spending is going to new shows and movies.
That’s according to Variety, which reported on Sarandos’ remarks today at MoffettNathanson’s Media & Communications Summit 2018 in New York. He also said Netflix has a 470 originals scheduled to premiere between now and the end of the year, bringing the total up to a

Team 10, the social media incubator of Jake Paul, is in turmoil. Founded as an “influencer squad” for the prominent YouTube star, it’s included both longtime friends like Chance Sutton and his current girlfriend, Erika Costell. Team 10 members collaborate and even all live together with Paul. “I formed it because I wanted to start a crew,” Paul told Forbes in 2017. “If you look at the biggest people on social media right now, it’s the Kardashians. My go

Panasonic has announced the Lumix TS7, a new sub-$500 point-and-shoot camera, which also doubles as a rugged camera for the most adverse conditions. The TS7’s core attributes include waterproofing to 102 feet, MIL-STD 810F certification (surviving drops at 6.6 feet), is dustproof, shockproof, and freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.I haven’t had any hands-on time with the TS7, but specs-wise it seems to show promise. A 20.4 megapixel sensor shoots up to 10fps, or 4K video at 3

Google just slashed the prices off of Drive’s paid cloud storage plans. In the process, it also introduced a new storage product that just makes the whole shindig more confusing. Say hello to Google One. Up until now, Google Drive represented your available storage across your Google account, including Photos, Gmail, and whathaveyou. Google gives you 15GB of storage for free, but if you want more space, you have to pay up. Current Google Drive plans are as follows: 100 GB: $1.99/mo 1 TB:

The Xbox One may be getting a new controller built to help those with disabilities get into gaming. If it’s real, it needs to catch on, because its design could not only help multiple gamers who might otherwise struggle, but it could start a trend with the rest of the industry. The controller itself features oversized A and B buttons, along with several impressions near the top which appear to represent different functions, as well as an LED light which might indicate you can program it w

A lot of money — about $140 billion — is lost every year in the U.S. healthcare system thanks to inefficient management of basic internal operations, according to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association.
While there are many factors that contribute to the woeful state of healthcare in the U.S., with greed chief among them, the 2012 study points to one area where hospitals have nothing to lose and literally billions to gain by improving their patient flows.
The pr

Engineers inside Tesla wanted to add robust driver monitoring systems to the company’s cars to help make sure drivers safely use Autopilot, and Tesla even worked with suppliers on possible solutions, according to The Wall Street Journal. But those executives — Elon Musk included — reportedly rejected the idea out of worry that the options might not work well enough, could be expensive, and because drivers might become annoyed by an overly nagging system.Tesla considered a few

The Amazon Echo and Google Home are amazing devices and both have advantages over the other. In my home, we use the Amazon Echo and have them around the house and outside. I have the original in the living room, a Dot in bedrooms, my office and outside, a Tap in my woodworking workshop and Spots in the kids’ room (with tape over the camera). They’re great devices but far from perfect. They’re missing several key features and the Google Home is missing the same things, too.
I po

Nintendo is releasing a gold and red Famicom Mini in Japan that comes preloaded with 20 games that are based on manga, as spotted by Kotaku. The Famicom is the original Japanese version of the NES, first released in 1983. The news today comes along with the announcement that the NES Classic will be back in stock on June 29th.
The special edition of the Family Computer will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, which prints beloved serial manga titles like One Piece

Netflixtoday announced that it will release a second season of Lost in Space, the big-budget sci-fi program that debuted in April.
More Danger, Will Robinson. Lost in Space Season 2 is coming. pic.twitter.com/SBEbJaKUIi
— Lost In Space (@lostinspacetv) May 14, 2018The series is a revamp of the original show from the 1960s. Season One, which included 10 episodes, follows the Robinson family on their journey from Earth to Alpha Centauri. Along the way, they stumble across extraterrestrial li

Applenow has 55 self-driving cars registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, compared to 27 earlier this year and just three last year. That means Apple has the second largest fleet of self-driving cars in California, Mac Reports first pointed out.
Apple now has more cars registered than Waymo, which has 51, according to the California DMV. General Motor’s Cruise, however, leads the pack with 104 vehicles. In total, the DMV has provided to 53 companies permits for se

The White House last week proudly announced the formation of a committee to advise the president and Federal government on AI. It’s a shame that it’s a total sham. Sure, the US is forming the committee, that part’s real. Here’s a link to the official document announcing the panel, including remarks from Trump’s top “science adviser” (sarcastic finger quotes, his degree is in political science) Michael Kratsios. And here’s a direct quote from that

A horror anthology series by Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Pacific Rim and some incisive design critiques about UFOs, is on its way to Netflix. Titled Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, it will feature horror tales selected by del Toro, who will also write and direct some episodes. The series is the first horror anthology for Netflix.
According to Deadline, del Toro will be teaming up with his Shape of Wate

BlackBerry has had a bumpy ride the last few years, but the brand is still alive and kicking thanks to a partnership with Chinese manufacturer TCL. Now its gearing up to launch a new device: BlackBerry sent out invites to a June 7 event, where it will announce the successor to last year’s KEYone. 🔑2⃣ 👀 pic.twitter.com/t4ZF9yGfhH — BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) May 11, 2018 The invite is sparse on details, other than to say BlackBerry is hosting an event in New

Facebook data on more than 3 million people who took a personality quiz was published onto a poorly protected website where it could have been accessed by unauthorized parties, according to New Scientist. In a report exposing the potential leak, New Scientist says that the data contained Facebook users’ answers to a personality trait test. While it didn’t include users’ names, in many cases it contained their age, gender, and relationship status. For 150,000 people, it even co

Google is rolling out new changes to its storage plans that include a new, low-cost storage plan and half off the price of its 2TB storage option, the company announced today. It’s also converting all Google Drive paid storage plans to Google One, perhaps in part because you’ll now have one-tap access to Google’s live customer service.
Google One will get a new $2.99 a month option that gets you 200GB of storage. The 2TB plan, which usually costs $19.99 per month, will now cos

Actor Margot Kidder died on Sunday at the age of 69 from unspecified causes. The star of popular ‘70s horror films like Black Christmas and The Amityville Horror, she is best known for her iconic role as Lois Lane in the Superman film series of the 1970s and ‘80s alongside Superman star Christopher Reeve, where she defined the role of the Daily Planet’s ace reporter for a generation.One of the most popular and bankable female stars for nearly two decades, Kidder struggled with

Most of the time, people want to sweat less. But the very liquid that we try so hard to avoid producing is a goldmine of data — and researchers want to harness it to do everything from combat stress to keep our phones more secure.
Sweat contains a mix of chemicals that not only tell us a lot about our current state, but is extremely distinctive to each of us. In other words, it can be a real giveaway, and there’s almost no chance of chance of any two people having the same sweat pro

Remember Project Jacquard? Two years ago, Googleshowed off its “connected” jean jacket designed largely for bike commuters who can’t fiddle with their phone. The jacket launched this past fall, in partnership with Levi’s, offering a way for wearers to control music, screen phone calls, and get directions with a tap or brush of the cuff. Today, Google is adding more functionality to this piece of smart clothing, including support for ride-sharing alerts, Bose’s

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, a newly released mobile game set in JK Rowling’s magical universe, is not inherently a bad game. On paper, a Hogwarts RPG where you can take classes, sling spells, make friends with fellow students, and experience a new Harry Potter story is a great thing. The issue with the game isn’t that premise; my biggest problem with Hogwarts Mystery is actually Fortnite.
This will take some explaining. Three or four years ago Hogwarts Mystery would have fit com

Smart Compose, the experimental autocomplete feature in the new Gmail on the web that Google announced at its I/O conference last week, is now available for testing.
Smart Compose is an AI tool that promises to automatically finish your sentences for you, using what it has learned about how people typically write. Based on my experience so far, it’s not quite as good as Google’s demo made us believe it was, but it’s still quite useful and will likely save you a f

Japanese gamers and manga aficionados and every combination thereof will get a treat this summer with the release of a NES Classic Edition loaded with games from the pages of Weekly Jump. The beloved manga mag is celebrating its 50th anniversary and this solid gold Famicom is part of the festivities.
There’s basically no chance this Jump-themed NES will get a release in the US — first because hardly any Americans will have read any of these manga (with a couple exceptions) and second

The OnePlus 6 is coming officially on Wednesday, which leaves room for a few last-minute leaks that give us a good look at the phone. New renders spotted by WinFuture from Amazon Germany show the OnePlus 6 in its Mirror Black color.The new photos show the OnePlus 6 will have a notched display and a thin bezel on the bottom that’s slightly obscured by the phone’s dark wallpaper. On the back, there are vertically mounted dual-cameras, a flash, and a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Fro

Do you want random Tinderusers to see where you’ve been? Uh, no? Well, great news: an upcoming Tinder feature called Places will allow for just that. According to screenshots detailing Tinder Places uncovered by The Verge, the dating app is developing a feature that tracks your location via its app, then shows potential matches where you’ve been. The idea is to allow people to come across their real-life missed connections, similar to how the dating app Happn works today.
There are s

Googleis revamping its consumer storage plans today by adding a new $2.99/month tier for 200 GB of storage and dropping the price of its 2 TB plan from $19.99/month to $9.99/month (and dropping the $9.99/month 1 TB plan). It’s also rebranding these storage plans (but not Google Drive itself) as “Google One.”
Going forward, you’ll also be able to share your storage quota with up to five family members.
That by itself would be interesting, given how easy it is to max out 10

As the Cambridge Analytica scandal keeps creeping down on Facebook like a mudslide, the company has been trying to preemptively oust the other skeletons in its closet with app audits. Now it’s announced it may have snagged up to 200 more potentially problematic apps — and it won’t say what they are yet. The details: Facebook’s VP of product partnerships, Ime Archibong, announced it’s promised investigation into third-party apps was “in full swing.”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single, foul-mouthed young girl in possession of riches must be in want of viral fame.At (allegedly) nine years old, viral star Lil Tay made headlines last week for getting her mother, Angela Tian, fired over her profanity-laden videos. If you haven’t heard of Lil Tay by now, consider yourself lucky. As the (repeatedly) self-anointed “youngest flexer of the century,” the kid does everything from revving “her” Ferraris t

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single, foul-mouthed young girl in possession of riches must be in want of viral fame.At (allegedly) nine years old, viral star Lil Tay made headlines last week for getting her mother, Angela Tian, fired over her profanity-laden videos. If you haven’t heard of Lil Tay by now, consider yourself lucky. As the (repeatedly) self-anointed “youngest flexer of the century,”the kid does everything from revving “her” Ferraris to

The NES Classic sold like hotcakes when it first went on sale back in 2016. And then, for reasons unclear, Nintendo decided to stop selling it. Sure, it had the SNES classic to sell as well, but why discontinue a product that was selling so well? The last we checked, Nintendo sold 2.3 million units in the few months it was on sale. Well, that’ll soon be a concern of the past. Nintendo announce yesterday the SNES classic will be available to buy once more starting June 29, following a prom

HBO’s science fiction drama Westworld isn’t just known for its talented cast and its philosophical musings about the nature of reality. It’s also become famous for its reveals, from mind-bending bombshells that link two characters to simple pieces of backstory that bring new insight to a storyline. Watching Westworld is like peeling an onion, one layer at a time.
That’s why for the show’s second season, I’ll be diving into one particular spoilery revelation f

The slow, steady march of Monster Hunter continues with news that a live-action film based on the Capcom game series is in the works. According to Variety, the film will go into production in September, and it’s being helmed by director Paul W. S. Anderson and will star Milla Jovovich — both of whom worked on the long-running Resident Evil movie series, which is also based on a game from Capcom. The new movie will reportedly feature a $60 million budget and is being filmed in South

Netflix will bring its reboot of Lost in Space back for a second season. It announced the news today via Twitter with a brief teaser video, though it declined to share a release date.
Lost in Space premiered earlier this year as a reimagining of the 1960s family science fiction show (not exactly the film featuring Matt LeBlanc). The show stars Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins, Mina Sundwall, Taylor Russell, Ignacio Serricchio, and Parker Posey as the ruthless Dr. Smith (not to menti

It’s been six months since FCC chairman Ajit Pai officially began the rollback of the Title II net neutrality order — and progress has been slow. The new rules finally entered the federal register in February, and they’re already facing a number of legal challenges. While some net neutrality advocates dig in for a prolonged court battle, there’s a separate front opening up in Congress that could prove far more effective. On May 16th, the Senate will vote on a Congression

Scientists have uncovered the biggest evidence yet that water may be spewing from the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa — a revelation that was buried deep within the archives of a long-dead NASA spacecraft. In 1997, the Jupiter probe Galileo flew near a geyser when it passed close by Europa, collecting data that went overlooked at the time. But now, the rendezvous has been unearthed 20 years later, and it provides scientists with their first up-close measurement of one of Europa

Microsoft is reportedly working on a new Xbox controller for accessibility. The controller includes two oversized A and B pads, a d-pad, and the usual Xbox button and navigation controls. Windows Central reports that the new Xbox controller, designed for accessibility, will likely be unveiled at E3 next month. An image of the controller has leaked online thanks to Twitter user WalkingCat.
The leaked image shows what looks like programmable A and B pads, with a three-light LED indicator that we

European security researchers have found an alarming new vulnerability in the most common forms of email encryption. The attack, described in a report published Monday morning, lets bad actors inject malicious code into intercepted emails, despite encryption protocols designed to protect against code injection. Implemented correctly, the malicious code could be used to steal the entire contents of a target’s inbox.
The vulnerability affects two of the most common email encryption protocol

Republic Wireless is finally launching Relay, its LTE and Wi-Fi equipped walkie-talkie for kids that’s meant to offer a cell phone alternative for parents who want the ability to keep in touch with their kids, without the dangers of a full-fledged smartphone.You’ll be able to pick up a single Relay for $99, a pair for $149, or three for $199, although you’ll also have to pay $6.99/month for service for each Relay. There’s also a free Relay app for both iOS and Android th

Continuing the musical bent of Deadpool 2’s promotional circuit, Ryan Reynolds made a surprise appearance on the Korean singing competition show King of Mask Singer over the weekend. In a shocking twist, he’s actually a pretty solid singer.
In the clip, reports the Daily Dot, Reynolds belts a cover of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie dressed in a sparkly unicorn mask and matching cape, winning over audience members with a rendition so clear and straightforward it edges

E3 is next month, which means that you can expect a flurry of game announcements over the next few weeks. Following a handful of leaks over the past few days, today Bethesda is kicking things off with the official reveal of Rage 2, the sequel to an oft-forgotten 2007 first-person shooter from Doom creator Id. For now, though, the name is all we really know. The debut trailer doesn’t show actual gameplay, but instead features live-action footage that shows a world that looks like Mad Max d

TiVo is ready to launch integration with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Today the company announced that its series 4 (Premiere), 5 (Roamio), and 6 (Bolt) DVR boxes are receiving an update that will let customers instruct an Alexa-enabled device in their living room to perform core functions like changing channels, launching a streaming app, skipping commercials, and more through voice commands. Alexa can also control playback and pause, fast forward, rewind, or jump back 8 seconds in th

Sometimes you know right away when your Uber driver is awesome. Or maybe they quickly reveal themselves to be rather creepy. For those times, Uber will let you rate your driver and leave comments in the middle of a trip. Wait to rate no more.Uber is framing the change as a burning desire to hear your feedback. “You’ve got places to go and things to do, and we never want to miss an opportunity to listen and improve,” the company says in a blog post.Seems likely Uber is also try

Last week we reported on Tinder’s in-the-works location-tracking feature that’ll help users connect with one another in the real world. A user who’s participating in that test sent The Verge additional screenshots over the weekend that explain how the service works and looks. We’ve previously only seen Spanish-language screenshots.
These pages explain how Places works:The Verge
As we reported before, the feature will highlight places users have visited, although not in r

Facebook has published an update on its investigation into “apps that had access to large amounts” of data that it announced back in March in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and after investigating thousands of apps, the company has announced that “around 200” apps have been suspended.
It’s not clear that any of those apps have actually abused their access to Facebook user data, but Facebook has some concerns and is suspending them from working “

HP is updating a bunch of its Elite series PCs today, and the highlight is a slightly reworked EliteBook x360. The new model looks almost identical to the old one, but HP says it has a 10 percent smaller overall footprint — the bezels around its display are noticeably thinner on the sides and bottom, which is a nice improvement. But the big step up here is the addition of LTE. HP’s data sheet on the device doesn’t make it clear if this comes standard, but either way, this is o