Technology news

Logan Paul may have ended his daily vlogs, but the YouTuber is joining the growing ranks of online personalities creating and starring in their own documentary series. In a recent vlog, Paul says that he’s “actually filming a documentary about everything that’s happened this year, all the stuff that went down in January, where I was at in my life and kind of the psyche of what actually happened.”The coy mention of January is a reference to Paul’s widely criticized

We’ve known for a few months that Twitter is going to further limit third-party apps starting on August 16th when it rolls out some major API changes. But now we’re starting to see the effects of those upcoming changes, starting with the popular third-party Twitter app Twitterific, which announced an update today preparing for the removal of two major features: push notifications and live-updating tweets (via 9to5Mac).
Now, neither of those features is technically going anywhere yet

Scott Pruitt has resigned as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, amid a slew of scandals involving everything from luxury travels to rampant conflicts of interest. Second-in-command Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, will become acting director of the EPA come Monday, according to President Donald Trump.Since his appointment, Pruitt has come under fire for a growing number of scandals. He has been accused of spending way too much public money while traveling abroad, using two

After it was viciously gutted last month, many observers thought California’s net neutrality bill was a lost cause. But today, lawmakers announced that they’d reached an agreement to ensure that the legislation will move forward after all, and include tough regulatory provisions.
“This will be the most comprehensive and the strongest net neutrality protection in the United States.”
Introduced in the wake of the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality provisions, SB 822 an

MIT’s Cheetah 3 robot doesn’t need to see to run up a set of stairs, a new video from MIT shows. Even without cameras to dodge obstacles by sight, the 90-pound robot is equipped with new algorithms that help it navigate its environment by touch.We’ve seen robots climb stairs before, like Boston Dynamics’ adorable SpotMini. But Spot uses cameras. And the team behind the Cheetah 3 want it to operate without seeing the path in front of it; relying too much on vision could s

Microsoft may be working on a Movies & TV app for iOS and Android, anonymous sources told Windows Central.
Last October, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 mobile was effectively dead, and began making versions of its best Windows 10 apps for iOS and Android. Since then, Microsoft has promoted apps like its web browser Edge and the Microsoft Launcher, but left out apps like Movies & TV, which is only available on PC, Xbox, and Windows 10 Mobile browsers.
If the app were to arrive on iO

After roughly nine months since Apple’s full-screen iPhone X hit the market, Google has at last updated its Inbox email app to support the device. In a 144MB update pushed out on the App Store today, Google says Inbox now supports Apple’s pricier iPhone variant, with little else by way of changes in the update text.Effectively, this update just removes the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen so it more naturally fits the iPhone X’s display, with its funky 19.5:9 asp

Apple revealed several new numbers today in a report celebrating the App Store’s 10th anniversary, including details about subscription apps.ResearchKit and CareKit, Apple’s software tools for doctors and medical researchers, are getting used in clinical trials for conditions including physical therapy, Parkinson’s disease, and autism. The report notes that over 500 doctors and scientists have used the tools and 3 million people have participated in such trials.
We now know th

It’s taken a long time, but Belkin has finally released the first Apple-approved battery pack that features a Lightning port input for charging. In other words, instead of recharging your battery pack with a MicroUSB or USB-C cable, you can plug it in to the same Lightning cable you use for your iPhone or iPad, as spotted by MacRumors.Aside from the Lightning input, the rest of the BoostCharge Power Bank Lightning 10K is pretty standard by battery pack standards. There are two USB Type-A

For 50 years, NASA has followed a rigorous set of guidelines to prevent the contamination of other worlds while exploring the Solar System — but it may be time those guidelines got an update. That’s according to a new report from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which did a thorough review of NASA’s policies for limiting interplanetary contamination. The organization says that NASA’s much more complex space missions and a rapidly expanding priva

Apple has registered several new iPad and Mac models with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), as reported by 9to5Mac and MacRumors. In previous instances, these filings have come just a few weeks before new product announcements — but not always. Apple is expected to introduce an iPad Pro with Face ID, slim bezels, and no home button, plus several new MacBooks over the next few months. Apple’s filings in the Eurasian database cover five new iPads and five Macs.9to5Mac has a good

The European Commission has launched a public poll on whether its biannual daylight saving rules should be scrapped for good. Citizens can decide whether they want to stick with the current directive, or choose another set of rules to follow year-round rather than switching them up for the seasons.We have launched a consultation on the daylight saving time clock changes to evaluate whether or not the rules should be changed.
Share your views by filling in the online questionnaire, available in

Pictures of Huawei’s upcoming TalkBand B5 have leaked, confirming that once again, the company is trying to sell folks on the concept pioneered with the original TalkBand B1 back in 2014: a wearable that combines smart watch features with a pop-out Bluetooth headset in a single device.The leak, via the ever reliable Evan Blass on Twitter, doesn’t reveal much about the upcoming device. But given that the previous model, the TalkBand B3, was released back in 2016, presumably Huawei ha

At E3 last month, attendees were able to get their first real hands-on time with Anthem, the new sci-fi action game from Mass Effect studio BioWare. For those who weren’t in attendance, the developer has just released a lengthy, 20-minute-long video showcasing just what was in the demo. You can get a good look at how the co-operative missions work, as well as a glimpse at the slick jetpack-fuelled action. There are also a lot of space bugs.The one thing the video doesn’t show, thoug

If you’re in need of an unlocked Android phone that won’t cost you much at all, the original Google Pixel comes recommended if stock Android software and a quality camera are at the top of your wishlist. While the Snapdragon 821 hardware inside is a bit outdated and the 1080p display isn’t top of the line, the camera is top-notch and still holds up with some of 2018’s flagships if you can deal with some lens flare.This 128GB model in the Very Silver color variant is heav

Microsoft is releasing its Xbox One July dashboard update to all users today, and the main new feature allows Xbox owners to start games that are downloading quicker. FastStart, originally unveiled at E3, prioritizes the files a game really needs to start while it continues to download the rest of the title in the background. It requires a download speed of at least 20Mbps, and will be available for a “select number” of popular games that are available on Xbox Game Pass.
“You

This week HQ Trivia rolled out a new feature that rewards players for playing multiple games in a row. It’s called “Streaks,” and it’ll be pretty familiar to anyone who has played a mobile game in recent years.
Streaks is pretty simple. You play multiple games in a row, you get extra lives. Similar to opening up Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and getting a few bells or furniture items just for continuing to play the game. It’s a clear strategy for player retention as

Beyerdynamic has a new studio-grade USB microphone called the Fox. It’s priced at $179, which is competitive with similar products from Blue, Apogee, Rode, Shure, and other companies. The Fox is available for preorder today and starts shipping on July 16th.Beyerdynamic is marketing the mic towards musicians, sure, but also podcasters, video game streamers, and other users who are looking to step up the audio quality of their work with a plug-and-play device that’s relatively portabl

Apple may be moving away from using Intel’s modems in future iPhones, with a new report from Calcalist claiming that the Cupertino company has notified Intel that it will not be using the chipmaker’s 5G modems in its 2020 product lineup (via 9to5Mac.)
As a result, Calcalist’s report also notes that Intel has since stopped development of that 5G modem — code named Sunny Peak — given that Apple was expected to be the “main volume driver” for the modem. In

If you’ve ever wanted a GIF to complete the masterpiece that is your Tinder profile, your time is now. The company announced today that it’s officially rolling out Loops, or looping two-second GIFs that’ll play in iOS users’ profiles. The update is coming to the US, Western Europe, and some countries in Asia and the Middle East. The company initially tested the feature in Sweden and Canada. Users can edit their loops within the app, and with the update comes the option t

Apple is expected to launch larger iPhone models later this year, and they may arrive in a variety of colors. 9to5Mac reports that reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting that Apple’s rumored 6.5-inch OLED iPhone will launch in black, white, and a new gold color. The rumored 6.1-inch LED iPhone will also reportedly debut in grey, white, blue, red, and orange variants.
If the report is accurate then Apple is introducing at least four new colors for its 2018 iPhones, an unusual step for

The European Union has rejected controversial legislation intended to reform online copyright. 318 MEPs voted against the draft law, compared to 278 in favor. The legislation now returns to the drawing board, before being sent for a second vote in September.
The draft law, known as the Copyright Directive, was intended as a simple update to copyright for the internet age. But it attracted substantial criticism for the inclusion of two key provisions: Articles 11 and 13. The first, Article 11, w

Chinese telecom Huawei released a response today to the Federal Communications Commission’s move to ban telecoms from using critical infrastructure funds on equipment and services from China.In March, the FCC voted to open public comment on a proposed rule that, if approved, would ban telecommunications companies from accessing the Universal Service Fund to purchase equipment from Chinese-based telecom companies. “A critical element of our national security is the security of Americ

Microsoft is planning to introduce a dark mode to its Outlook.com web mail service. While the software giant introduced a temporary dark mode for Halloween last year, Microsoft has been working on a new dark mode for Outlook.com for the past few months. Microsoft has started teasing that the new dark mode will be available soon.
“One reason for the delay is our insistence that we deliver the best Dark Mode of any leading email client (you’ll understand when you see it, I guarantee),