Technology news

Twitter has put its trolls on notice.
On Tuesday, Twitter released promising preliminary results from a test of its new proactive troll filtering tactic. It wanted to see if filtering (but not deleting) content from accounts that exhibited "trolling behavior" could make Twitter more of a platform for conversation and sharing, less an adversarial cesspool. 
SEE ALSO: A new study reveals how Russian trolls manipulated our Twitter conversationsToday we are introducing new behavior-based signal

Ah, LaCroix. The fruity seltzer water has an almost cult-like following on the internet. As with anything in the internet spotlight, LaCroix has attracted its naysayers, but still, hipsters and Instagram influencers everywhere stan the sparkling beverage.
SEE ALSO: Goodbye to the peak LaCroix era
If you're one of those passionate LaCroix fans looking for a way to express your love for the barely-flavored water and '90s pastel aesthetic, you're in luckPublic Space, a Los Angeles based online shop

For a film franchise that’s more than 40 years old, Star Wars has had a surprisingly hard time finding its voice lately. J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens successfully relaunched the series after a 10-year cinematic hiatus, but some fans felt it copied George Lucas’ original 1977 film too closely. The standalone Rogue One: A Star Wars Story attempted to use the fantasy world to tell a gritty wartime tale, but Disney was ultimately unhappy with the result, and writer-director Tony

Alden Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford. That's the bad news about Solo: A Star Wars Story. 
Everyone who feared Ford was irreplaceable as the iconic character was right. Ehrenreich would never be mistaken for Ford in any sense. We've seen better impressions of Ford's drawl on Saturday Night Live.
But that's also the great news about Solo: A Star Wars Story. Rather than try to mimic Ford's work beat-for-beat, Ehrenreich has found a way to make the role his own, and in doing so to show us this

If you were to stray into an in-progress screening of Solo without knowing its title, you'd be able to identify it as a Star Wars film pretty much immediately. 
We're never more than a moment away from the familiar look and feel of the franchise: blaster fire, screaming ships, delightful droids, exotic and spartan planets, the sonic warble of alien creatures, the ham-radio chatter of Imperial stormtroopers.  
SEE ALSO: 'Solo' spoiler-free review: This is not the Han you know, and that'

Once there was the dress; now there’s Yanny or Laurel.
This audio illusion, which went viral after first appearing on Reddit, has the internet torn. After all, what kind of monster doesn’t hear Yanny?
When Verge Science listened to it this morning, fighting broke out between the Yanny and Laurel factions. (Ed. note: I briefly lost my mind, as I first heard Yanny, then heard Laurel for about two hours, and now hear Yanny again. Same device, same speakers. Please send help.) Obviously

Until today, Google’s augmented reality developer platform, ARCore, was available only on Pixel / Nexus devices and a select few handsets from brands like Asus, Huawei, LG, Moto, and Sony. But an update to the list of supported devices, spotted by 9to5Google today, now shows ARCore support for Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.Prior to the update, ARCore-optimized apps could only run on Samsung devices in the midrange A series and on the S7, S7 Edge, S8, and S8 Plus. Effectively, ARCo

Actor Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, producer Susan Downey, are making an artificial intelligence documentary series on YouTube, the company announced today. The series will have eight episodes that are each an hour long and it’s set to air on the paid membership-based YouTube Red platform next year.
The series is still untitled, but we do know that Robert Downey Jr. will host and narrate the series, which will feature scientists, philosophers, and other experts in AI. YouTube says the s

Playgrounds aren't what they used to be. 
If your kid is getting bored of his school's old, rusty jungle gym, he may want to check out Slime Zone, Nickelodeon's virtual playground. 
SEE ALSO: Millie Bobby Brown repped March For Our Lives in a big way at the Kids' Choice Awards
It's no secret that VR is, for the most part, an enthusiast's world. Oculus and HTC Vive continue to release high-quality headsets, but they're too expensive, and the games aren't good enough for the general publ

Just call it an interplanetary postcard.
On May 5, NASA launched two, tiny, briefcase-sized satellites (called cubesats) to Mars, but at least one of them still has an eye for Earth. One of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) cubesats, nicknamed Wall-E, snapped a photo of Earth from more than half a million miles away.
SEE ALSO: Tiny satellites named Wall-E and Eva are about to take a trip to Mars. Will they survive?
Earth appears as a pale blue speck, and to its left is an even fainter speck: our moon.&n

We don't want to leave a single stone unturned when it comes to saving you money on the tech (and accessories) that have become a part of your everyday life. This time, it's all about headphones. We scoured online reviews to discover the best headphones out there that won't break the bank, all based on what online reviewers have to say.
SEE ALSO: The best cases for the iPhone 8 Plus, according to customer reviews
A great pair of headphones can make your commute, while a crappy pair can practical

During sweltering New York City summers, the local power utility warns that for every degree you lower the thermostat, your energy bill goes up by 6 percent. 
Air conditioners in every form — from window units to central air — gulp energy. There are some 1.6 billion A.C. units worldwide, accounting for around 10 percent of the world's electricity consumption. And a new report from the International Energy Agency predicts that over the course of the next 30 years, this number wil

Netgear’s Arlo security light has a release date, after being announced late last yearalongside other products in the company’s Arlo home surveillance lineup.It retains the IP-65 weather resistance and rechargeable battery seen in all other Arlo products, but also features motion detection, the ability to change the sensitivity of detections, color temperature, and even flash red, as a warning to intruders. The Arlo light’s max brightness is a blinding 400 lumens, but saves en

When breaking into a business, one has to remember some critical steps. Secure counterfeit keys. Make sure to don a hoodie to obscure your face. Upon successful entry, break dance.
At least, that was one of the steps in this California man's burglary. 
Security footage caught a glimpse of this one burglar poppin' some moves after breaking into a law firm in Fresno, California last week. According to the Fresno Bee, the suspect, David Seale, was arrested a few days later a short distance aw

Google is rolling out a new feature to its Google Wifi router that will let you see how each individual device is doing on the network, the company announced today. The feature is supposed to help you troubleshoot what devices in your home are suffering from poor Wi-Fi coverage.
The new feature will basically run a speed test on each device and the idea is that you can then move any device that’s struggling to connect closer to your router, or move your router closer to your device, since

We regret to inform you that an audio version of The Dress has arrived on our shores.
On Sunday, Redditor RolandCamry shared an audio clip of a male voice saying...something. Honestly, we can't tell you for sure, because some people hear "yanny" and some people hear "laurel." 
It is, of course, a whole thing.
The clip has since spread to Twitter, where it's perplexing people left and right. Some people swear all they hear is "yanny." Others believe, in their heart of hearts, that the voice

A car engine probably isn't the best spot for a home, but try telling that to squirrels.
Gabe Awrey shared a photo of his friend's car engine bay last week, which was filled entirely with pinecones and other bits and pieces gathered by squirrels over an unidentified period of time.
It's rather disturbing.
SEE ALSO: Everyone needs a reminder about the important things in life, and this body cam footage does just thatDo squirrels not know about fire hazards? In their defense, it does seem like a c

The blockchain is cool and all, but, and let's be honest, it's not like it'd ever get you totally buck wild drunk. Before today, that is. 
Sure, the tech is poised to reshape the fundamental power structures of society and blah blah blah we get it; however, up until now, the supposed benefits have been more promised than delivered. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you those benefits have finally been realized — and they taste like Budweiser. 
SEE ALSO: Dispatches fro

In a move straight out of Tony Stark's playbook, Robert Downey Jr. will executive produce and host a new YouTube Red exclusive series about artificial intelligence. The yet-untitled series will feature experts in A.I. and related fields and is set to premiere on the platform in 2019.
See Also: A bunch of the original 'Avengers' got matching tattoos because of course they did
Downey's 8-episode series will touch on the current and future states of A.I, as well as the many ways it's changed the wa

Even black holes get hungry.
Astronomers have just discovered a black hole that's growing faster than any other black hole yet found in the universe. 
If the sun were to fall into this incredibly dense cosmic object, it would only take two days for the black hole to devour it, the scientists behind the new discovery have said.
SEE ALSO: Thousands of previously unseen black holes lurk near the center of our galaxy
The supermassive black hole — which is located billions of light-years a

Kickstarter launched its Hardware Studio program last year in partnership with Avnet and Dragon Innovation. The idea was to help small teams navigate the world of hardware manufacturing and, ultimately, get them to actually deliver their crowdfunded product to backers. Today, the crowdfunding platform is debuting four new badges that’ll show up on some of these Hardware Studio projects, particularly ones that are part of the studio’s Connection program, which is more competitive for

Ecuador’s intelligence program reportedly spent millions of dollars on an elaborate security and surveillance network around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Guardian and Focus Ecuador reported details today on “Operation Hotel,” which began as “Operation Guest” when Assange took refuge in Ecuador’s UK embassy in 2012. Operation Hotel has allegedly covered expenses like installing CCTV cameras and hiring a security team to “secretly film and monito

Forgotton Anne (not a typo) launches today on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it feels like a game that Hayao Miyazaki would make. (If it weren’t for his infamous dislike of technology, of course.) The game’s art has a distinctly Studio Ghibli vibe, with locations that feel both magical and lived-in, and characters who move in a way that is warm and human. But the resemblance is more than just how the game looks, as Forgotton Anne also has a premise that calls to mind animated classi

Remember sitting around the lunch table in 5th grade, sipping Nesquik and bargaining for someone else's strawberry Go-gurt in exchange for a couple of your Lunchable crackers? We thought we could recreate that blissful innocence and happiness again by eating all of our favorite childhood foods — because surely they still hold up decades later. 
We were wrong. They are disgusting.  Read more...More about Health, Mashable Video, Nostalgia, Healthy Eating, and Junk Food

Canal+, a French cable provider, has sidelined its own cable box in favor of partnering with Apple to provide its more than 5 million subscribers with the Apple TVs instead, according to French tech news site Next INPact. Now, subscribers to Canal’s cable service will be able to access channels through the over-the-top myCanal app on a leased 4K-capable Apple TV, which will cost €6 per month in addition to any TV package. For those who want to stick with satellite service, they can d

HTC is the latest to hop onto the blockchain bandwagon, with the company announcing plans to make a new blockchain-powered Android phone, as first reported by TheNextWeb. The company is naming it Exodus and giving it a universal wallet and hardware support for cryptocurrencies and decentralized apps.
To start with, the Exodus phone will have support for bitcoin, ethereum, and other major networks, with more partnerships expected to come later on. HTC envisions a native blockchain network that u

Brooklyn Nine-Nine recently getting cancelled by Fox and miraculously picked up again for a sixth season by NBC has really brought the world together.
Enemies cast aside their differences, strangers befriended one another on the internet, and old friends reunited to save the beloved police comedy. But that's not all. 
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Hamill, Seth Meyers, Guillermo del Toro, and Sean Astin started a freaking group chat about it.
NO BIG DEAL.
The hours of heartfelt pleas and tweets t

Digitization has more or less sent filing cabinets, Rolodexes, microfiche, card catalogs, and other forms of analog record-keeping into the great office space in the sky. There’s a good reason for that: Important records should be easily accessible, and digitization makes searching, copying, and sharing them effortless. So why are you still taking notes with a regular pen and pad when the Rocketbook Wave Smart Notebook exists?
SEE ALSO: This $15 online course actually makes SQL sound excit

It may have seemed excessive for Mission: Impossible Fallout to ban Henry Cavill from shaving his now-infamous mustache for Justice League reshoots, but the actor assures us in a new interview that shaving was not an option. 
SEE ALSO: Henry Cavill pays tribute to his moustache in a glorious Instagram video
“When we decided to go for the mustache, I certainly wasn’t expecting all the events to unfold as they were going to unfold,” Cavill told Empire.
He's referring to the

Learning you're the subject of a subtweet sucks. 
Learning you're the subject of a subtweet shared by a celebrity, however, is kind of delightful in its own weird way.
SEE ALSO: The mute button is Twitter's most underrated feature
For example: This Twitter user who claims he and his sister are the subject of a subtweet from Rainn Wilson, also known as Dwight Schrute from The Office. 
The tweet in question is right here.rainn wilson just subtweeted me and my sister wtf pic.twitter.com/0

DirecTV Now has announced a whole host of new features rolling out to devices today, bringing DVR support, a new interface, more concurrent streams, and better local channel options to customers and helping bring the over-the-top service more in line with offerings from competitors like Hulu and YouTube TV.First up is the DVR features, which DirecTV Now has been testing in a limited beta, which are now getting rolled out to all customers to try (although DirecTV is still keeping the beta label

Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle will join forces this June for a landmark comedy tour that will stop in Boston, Houston, and El Paso and yes, tickets are on sale now. 
The tour will run for seven dates and marks Jon Stewart’s return to stand up after a — wait for it — twenty-two year hiatus from the format. His last high-profile stand up was Jon Stewart: Unleavened, which aired on HBO in 1996. HBO also announced in 2017 that Jon Stewart would perform two stand up specials f

What's better than one Amazon Echo? Two Amazon Echoes. And the only thing better that two of these smart devices would be getting them both on sale. Save big when you buy multiple devices with these Echo bundle deals on Amazon today.
SEE ALSO: 9 of the best noise-cancelling headphones for flying
The Amazon Echo typically costs $99.99. When you add two Amazon Echoes to your cart, you'll automatically get $30 off for a total of $185.06 on your order. When you add three of the speakers to your cart

Twitter may not care about desktops apps, but third-party developers still do. And today, Tapbots is releasing a new version of the best Twitter client around: Tweetbot. Tweetbot 3 for Mac adds a handful of new features, including a dark mode, improved timeline management, and other design tweaks. And perhaps more importantly, Tapbots says that none of Twitter’s planned API changes should result in the app being shut down or substantially degraded.
Tweetbot has been around since 2012, and

MemSQL, a company best known for the real-time capabilities of its eponymous in-memory database, today announced that it has raised a $30 million Series D round, bringing the company’s overall funding to $110 million. The round was led by GV (the firm you probably still refer to as Google Ventures) and Glynn Capital. Existing investors Accell, Caffeinated Capital, Data Collective and IA Ventures also participated.
The MemSQLdatabase offers a distributed, relational database that uses stand

Everybody seems to love Wi-Fi. So do I. After all, who doesn’t want to have seamless internet access, across different devices, while roaming around their house? But this apparent ease of installation and usefulness can make your Wi-Fi network slow and vulnerable to attacks. To help you out, here’s how we can improve the overall state of our home Wi-Fi networks. Better router placement The placement of a wireless router is very important in deciding whether it’ll cov

Twitter will begin using a wider range of signals to rank tweets in conversations and searches, hiding more replies that are likely to be abusive, the company said today. Comments from users that have often been blocked, muted, or reported for abuse will be less visible throughout the service, CEO Jack Dorsey told a group of reporters. “We are making progress as we go,” Dorsey said.
Twitter already ranks tweets in search and in conversations. But until now, it has not taken negative

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War.
Avengers: Infinity War is an epic payoff for a decade of onscreen comics fandom. Over the past 10 years, Marvel Studios has released 18 films that lead up to the plot of Infinity War: The Incredible Hulk, three Iron Man movies, three Captain America movies, two previous Avengers movies, three Thor movies, two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Black Panther. All of them have plot threads that collide in

  HTC is developing a new android phone that will be powered by blockchain technology. The phone, named Exodus, will feature a universal wallet and a built-in secure hardware enclave to support cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications. HTC has roped back the creator of its virtual reality headset Vive, Phil Chen, who will be responsible for all blockchain and cryptocurrency related initiatives of HTC including Exodus. The company plans to create a native blockchain network with all

About a dozen Google employees reportedly left the company over its insistence on developing AI for the US military through a program called Project Maven. Meanwhile 4,000 others signed a petition demanding the company stop. It looks like there’s some internal confusion over whether the company’s “Don’t Be Evil” motto covers making machine learning systems to aid warfare. Worst killer robots ever: Google isn’t developing weapons for the government, at least n