Technology news

LG announced a new line of gaming monitors this week at IFA in Berlin. These UltraGear 34-inch monitors have IPS displays with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 3440 x 1440 resolution. The new UltraGear monitors are pretty standard for top-of-line gaming displays, as they sport specs similar to Alienware and Acer offerings. But these screens do mark LG’s latest update in the gaming monitor market, support both Nvidia and AMD GPU display tech, and offer an even wider resolution than previous models.

Influencers have long made money by striking deals with companies and brands to promote products on their channels and streams — in the case of more popular influencers, sometimes upward of thousands of dollars for a single post or video. According to members of the beauty community, however, some companies are now paying influencers extra money to badmouth those companies’ competitors. Makeup artist Kevin James Bennett called this practice out on Instagram, decrying it as “mo

Sony today announced the addition of 200 local broadcast stations for the big four networks — ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC — to its PlayStation Vue TV subscription service. The 200 channels are spread across select markets.With this latest batch, Sony now claims that Vue offers “more than 450” ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC stations throughout the US.
That’s not to say that all customers can access all four channels. Some Vue subscribers can only get one or two of them — a

Polaroid Originals is going to keep pumping out cameras, and today the company announced that it already has an update for the OneStep 2. That camera came out last year, and this new edition is being billed as the OneStep+. It includes some new features, like Bluetooth compatibility, two lenses, a new flash, and a bigger battery. All the changes make the camera a little more modern while still holding onto its physical, retro features that make it delightful to use.The biggest change is the add

On Monday, The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect found itself on the wrong side of Facebook’s moderation system. The group had attempted to share a new study on Holocaust awareness in America — but while the post went through fine on Twitter, it was abruptly blocked by Facebook. The Center wrote back demanding an explanation, but received nothing in response.
After two days of silence from Facebook, the company publicly called out Facebook for the misstep. “You removed our

SurveyMonkey, which helps businesses gather feedback through its survey platform, has submitted paperwork to the SEC for its upcoming NASDAQ public offering. The company plans to raise $100 million in the IPO, per the filing, though that’s likely a placeholder amount.
The company, which will list under the symbol SVMK, has yet to price its shares. Most recently, SurveyMonkeybrought in $250 million from Tiger Global, ICONIQ Capital and Social+Capital Partnership. The financing valued the co

This afternoon, President Donald Trump once again accused Google, Facebook, and Twitter of vaguely defined censorship that “may not be legal,” but said “we’re just going to see” whether the platforms should be regulated. The president was responding to a reporter’s question about a series of tweets from yesterday, where Trump called Google search results “rigged” against him. As evidence of platform bias, Trump broadly cited cases where he had los

California residents have been receiving robocalls over the past couple weeks telling them that net neutrality could slow data speeds and increase their phone bill, and encouraging them to oppose legislation that would reinstate the policy. The phone campaign generated nearly 3,000 calls to legislators, according to the group that orchestrated the phone campaign.
The group, the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), says it fights any legislation that could lead to excessive litigation

Dyson quietly released its $500 23.75-karat gold-plated Supersonic hair dryer today, and the announcement came in the form of an artfully shot video of the making-of process on its website. Set to an orchestral background, the video shows master gilder Karen Haslewood peeling off gold leaves and brushing them onto the back cover of the hair dryers, which have been painted with a red gesso. Dyson engineers were then taught these traditional hand-gilding techniques so that they can pass the produ

A Facebook ad for the smartphone app Natural Cycles promising a “highly accurate” birth control method has been banned for making misleading claims by the UK’s advertising regulatory body today.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the claims made in a Facebook ad after it received complaints about the app. The ad said the app was clinically tested and highly accurate, but the ASA’s investigation found that the ad exaggerated how effective the app is.
T

With over a year to go before Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters, Disney and Lucasfilm are releasing a new animated show to hold fans over. The first trailer for Star Wars Resistance has already launched, but Lucasfilm has also released a new featurette that introduces the series’s primary characters.The show is Star Wars’ third animated series from supervising director Dave Filoni, after The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. In the featurette, he explains that the show’s mai

Audio Technica is joining the truly wireless fray. The company long respected for its excellent balancing of price and performance is introducing two models of true wireless earbuds at IFA 2018.
The ATH-CKR7TW — a name like that really just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it friends? — is designed for optimal sound performance. It features “specially tuned 11mm drivers” and a “diamond-like carbon coated diaphragm, pure iron yoke, and brass stabilizer that contr

Square made two small product announcements today that should make to easier for small businesses to process credit card payments. The first is an update to Square Reader, the original magstripe card reader dongle the company unveiled as its first product in late 2009. Back then, the Reader relied on the 3.5mm headphone jack of a smartphone or tablet to work with its companion mobile app.Now, Square says its new Reader has a built-in Lightning connector that allows it to work directly with the

This fall, audiences may find their options for stories about spaceflight a little confusing as there are two similarly named and styled projects on the way: the film First Man, from La La Land director Damien Chazelle, which is about the Apollo 11 mission, and Hulu’s TV series The First, from House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, which is about the first mission to Mars. Coincidentally, new trailers for both projects hit the web today, and while they’re about radically different mi

Pro-privacy search engine DuckDuckGo, which offers an alternative to surveillance engines like Google, has quietly picked up $10M in fresh funding from Canadian pension fund Omers’ VC arm. The Globe and Mail reported the news earlier this month.
It’s only the second funding round for the ten year old company — which last picked up $3M in VC all the way back in 2011, according to Crunchbase.
In a blog post announcing the investment, Omers Ventures argues that priv

After three seasons, Mr. Robot is getting ready to finish up. The show’s fourth season will be its last, according to a scoop from The Hollywood Reporter. The fourth season will air next year, and it has been expanded to 12 episodes from the initially planned eight-episode run. Centering on an Anonymous-style hacktivist collective, Mr. Robot has expanded in recent seasons to explore an intricate Chinese crime syndicate and an alternate present in which much of the conventional banking inf

Libratone, the Danish company behind the adorably bright portable speakers like the One Click, has announced sequels to its Zipp wireless speaker and Zipp Mini, and it’s adding Alexa voice support to both. The Zipp 2 has a longer battery life of 12 hours, but aesthetically, it keeps the design the same, with its trademark leather loop that lets you hang the speaker anywhere. This is useful if you’re planning to take the speaker outdoors and you want to hang it on a beach umbrella, y

The Texas GOP's attack on Beto O'Rourke backfired because, well, he's kind of hot. 
O'Rourke's campaign for Ted Cruz's Senate seat has been gaining support with young voters, thanks to his progressive platform that includes decriminalizing cannabis, single-payer healthcare, and immigration reform. 
SEE ALSO: Twitter drags CBS News for misleading headline, tweet about that viral Beto O'Rourke video
Oh, and he was in a punk band. 
The Texas GOP attacked O'Rourke by tweeting a photo

Various credible rumors, along with stray iOS 12 beta code, suggest that Apple is preparing to bring dual-SIM card support to the iPhone for the first time with this year’s new models. The belated addition of the feature would be a little surprising because Apple doesn’t seem too enamored with SIM cards in the first place. (See the virtual SIM embedded in LTE versions of the iPad and Apple Watch.) So why would Apple make the move now?
While it isn’t common in the US, dual SIM

Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen recently restored one of the original Apple-1 computers designed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak back in the '70s. The machine, which will be sold at auction, is expected to go for anywhere from $300,000-$400,000. Now's your chance to own a piece of Apple history — if your wallet can afford it.
Read the full article here. Read more...More about Apple, Mashable Video, Auction, Apple 1, and Tech

If the President of the United States blocks you on Twitter, that means he’s violating your First Amendment rights.
Donald Trump has been forced to unblock 41 Twitter users who had apparently irked the President on the social media platform. However, this isn’t a choice Trump willingly made. A federal judge ruled that the tweets posted on the President’s account are public forums and blocking a user violated their Constitutional right to free speech.
SEE ALSO: Mueller reportedl

Mr. Robot's fourth season on USA will be its last, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The final season will feature an extended run of 12 episodes instead of eight before bowing out.
SEE ALSO: With prestige TV, sometimes less is more
The striking hacker drama starring Rami Malek debuted in 2015, when it floored critics and audiences with a fresh, addictive take on the hacker trope with a twist of psychological thrill. 
Malek's breakout performance earned him an Emmy and a lifetime spot on

The Federal Trade Commission might have a renewed interest in justice for crowdfunding backers. Emails seen by The Verge show that the agency is investigating at least one crowdfunding campaign gone bad — the iBackPack — which raised more than $700,000 across both Indiegogo and Kickstarter.
The backpack’s creator, Doug Monahan, marketed the device as a Wi-Fi-enabled, battery-packed backpack that would power gadgets on the go and provide a local hot spot for wearers’ frie

This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.
For those of us who love a relaxing episode of the Joy of Painting, let me introduce you to the Bob Ross of the video game world.
MalMakes is a YouTube channel dedicated to recreating gorgeous scenes from video games on canvasMallory Georg, the artist behind the account, is a high school art teacher with an affinity for gaming.
SEE ALSO: All the

League of Legends developer Riot Games has responded to allegations of toxic workplace culture with an extensive apology this morning, a move that acknowledges the massive and vocal criticism from current and existing employees that erupted following an investigation from Kotaku earlier this month. The apology comes one day after former employee and software developer Barry Hawkins posted a personal blog post, one of many to emerge in the past three weeks, outlining why he left the company afte

Bird released a new set of tools for cities that are struggling to manage the influx of shareable electric scooters flooding their streets — a phenomenon that the Venice, California-based startup helped create almost a year ago. The tools, which Bird calls its “GovTech Platform,” are intended to assist cities in better integrating e-scooters into their overall transportation networks, the company says. But it will only be applicable to Bird’s scooters, not those from oth

Is your smart home actually kinda dumb? Time to fix that.
The Amazon Echo Show is on sale for $129.99, marked down from $229.99. Imagine all the great stuff you can buy with that extra $100!
At its core, the Echo Show offers all the functionality you'd expect out of Amazon's Echo devices. Link it up to your WiFi and you'll be able to get the news, weather, and music, like with any other Echo home assistant. It's the Echo Show's video display screen that makes this device a total game changer.
SE

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, known for flying by Pluto in 2015, has finally spotted its next target at the edge of the Solar System. On August 16th, the distant probe captured its first images of the space rock it’s currently zooming toward — an icy body nearly 20 miles across that’s been nicknamed Ultima Thule. It’s a major milestone for the New Horizons team as they prepare the spacecraft for its rendezvous with Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day 2019.
The N

Yesterday, President Donald Trump tweeted that Google search was artificially promoting“left-wing media” writing negative stories about him. Trump promised that the situation “will be addressed,” and his economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the White House was “taking a look” at whether Google needs to be regulated. Later, he issued more veiled threats, saying that web platforms “better be careful” as they’re “treading on very, very trou

You should be happy when you meet a hoofed friend. Especially if that friend is a goat. 
Because, it turns out, goats can read human moods and are more drawn to people who look happy. 
SEE ALSO: A Baby Goat-Sheep Hybrid Is Your New Favorite Animal
According to a new study recently published in the journal Open Science, goats prefer "positive human emotional facial expressions." That's smiling faces, to you and me. 
Researchers set goats free to explore a closed-off test area with

Alongside the announcement of its brand new Sonos Amp today, Sonos has also revealed an expansion of its developer program. On September 6th, the company plans to “fully open up to all potential partners,” granting third-party apps and connected home interfaces greater control over Sonos devices and its platform. “Hopefully in a year, we’re gonna be discussing all these interesting and innovative integrations that are coming out,” Lidiane Jones, Sonos’ VP of

Amazon has issued a statement defending itself from criticism by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is preparing a bill that will tax companies for money spent on their employees’ food stamps and other low-wage benefits. Amazon claims Sanders has made “misleading statements about pay and benefits” at the company, and it says it’s encouraging employees to contact Sanders with their positive experiences.
The statement repeats several of Amazon’s previous comments about

VR technology continues to bridge the gap between gaming and reality. Sometimes that gap becomes a little too close for comfort and you are left shrieking and grasping at thin air. All from the comfort of your living room.
If that sounds like your sort of thing (and let's be honest who doesn't like to throw themselves around their home in terror?) then there is a bundle offer that may be perfect for you. 
Game are currently offering the PlayStation®VR starter pack, Firewall Zero Hour, R

There's no shortage of personalized stickers and avatars to choose from on your mobile device: Apple Memojis, Snapchat Bitmojis, and the list goes on and on.
Now, Google is launching its own version. Google's Gboard (a keyboard extension for iOS and Android) is launching Minis, a sticker version of yourself with two distinct drawing styles.
SEE ALSO: How to use the iPhone’s most useful, most overlooked feature
The most diehard Google fans might remember selfie stickers in Allo, one of the