Technology news

When I said “’Space Boobs in Space’ is the best thing on Prime Video,” last year, I wasn’t playing coy or trying to be funny. The film, on its own merit, is a loud-and-proud statement on body-positive feminism. And the fact it was available on one of the world’s largest streaming entertainment networks gave me hope for the future of very-low-budget, independent cinema. That hope is gone. Amazon‘s Prime Video Direct, the program responsible for bringing

The group behind the Bluetooth standard says it’s developed a new feature that’ll allow companies to track items down to the centimeter. The group is combining Bluetooth’s existing object-tracking tech with another technology, radio direction, in order to get the precise measurements. This could radically change tracking technology, like Tile’s solution for locating lost objects.
Right now, Bluetooth systems track items by measuring their signal strength — but they

TPG Telecom Ltd said on Tuesday it decided to ceaserollout of its mobile network in Australia after the country's government prohibited the use of Huawei Technologies Co Ltdequipment in 5G networks last year."A key reason for the selection of the vendor and the design of TPG's network was that there was a simple upgrade path to 5G, using Huawei equipment," the company said in a statement.TPG said it had incurred expenditures of about A$100 million ($71.66 million) in the

The United States Justice Department has charged Huawei with a series of federal crimes, the latest turn in an American crackdown on the embattled tech company.In one of two indictments unsealed today, Justice Department prosecutors accuse Huawei employees, including chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, of fraud. According to prosecutors, Huawei misrepresented its relationship with an Iranian affiliate, allowing it to continue its work with banks and officials despite American sanctions.
Two i

Facebook’s plans to merge WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger are drawing the scrutiny of European data watchdogs. The New York Times first broke plans of the merger on Friday. The Irish Data Protection Commission is asking Facebook for “an urgent briefing on what is being proposed.”
The commission, which regulates Facebook in the European Union, says it understands that the company’s plans are still in initial development and haven’t materialized yet. Stil

Apple updated its App Store guidelines last week to lay out clear rules for how developers should present in-app subscription options to users. The changes were spotted by 9to5Mac, and it appears Apple is trying to clear up a lot of the confusion that comes with downloading an app and signing up for a recurring subscription.The new rules can be found in the Human Interface Guidelines and App Store documentation on auto-renewable subscriptions, and they speak to how developers must clearly prese

On Monday, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) asked the heads of Facebook, Google, and Microsoft to pledge their companies’ support for the science suggesting that climate change has made a significant, negative impact on the environment.
The lawmakers penned the letter after news broke last week that the companies sponsored a conference, LibertyCon, which promoted climate change denialism. At the libertarian-focused conference, a speaker from the CO2 Coaliti

Google’s Play Store is currently hosting a gay conversion therapy app from a religious group called Living Hope Ministries. The app gives users access to recordings of sermons, text devotionals, and at least one podcast; there’s a section for “help,” which appears to mostly contain stories telling gay readers that their sexuality can be ignored or changed.
For New York State Senator Brad Hoylman — whose bill prohibiting conversion therapy in New York was recently s

Nvidia warned investors today that it expects much weaker sales, thanks to China’s weakened economy and slipping demand from cryptocurrency miners. Nvidia says it likely made $500 million less than previously expected during the last financial quarter — $2.2 billion in revenue as opposed to $2.7 billion.
Nvidia previously foresaw that it would do worse in Q4 thanks to a lack of demand from cryptocurrency miners, as prices of digital coins have largely rendered mining unprofitable fo

Apple’s AirPods are arguably the simplest and most seamless wireless earbuds on the market — at least for iPhone owners. That’s primarily because of the custom W1 chip that helps them communicate with iOS devices and establish near-instant Bluetooth connections. Yet the process for connecting AirPods to your Mac can be notably more annoying, often requiring a cumbersome amount of tinkering with the Bluetooth drop-down menu and sometimes even demanding that you turn Bluetooth o

It’s easy to underestimate just how important YouTube creators are to their biggest fans, but sometimes the power of watching a video is enough to stifle a panic attack.It happened to Court, a longtime YouTube devotee and dedicated fan of the popular creator collective the Vlog Squad, who recounted the story in a recent video. Court, who didn’t give a last name, is the most recent guest on Brandon Calvillo’s YouTube series “Conversations With,” where he usually int

Android Q is coming, and details about the new OS are trickling out. Earlier this week, XDA Developers published its findings about permissions in the Android Q framework, some of which has to do with better privacy for users.
The most interesting permission change could involve clipboard permissions. Right now, XDA says apps can access a user’s clipboard and read whatever’s stored on that clipboard, even if it’s sensitive information like usernames and passwords. A new permis

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Mark Zuckerberg is planning to integrate the underlying infrastructure of Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, allowing users to message each other between apps. At its face, this move could bring some serious advantages for consumers, but lawmakers, regulators, and security experts are already beginning to question whether the benefits outweigh the consequences.
“Good for encryption but bad for competition and privacy,” Sen. Brian

Bleak survival shooter Metro Exodus is skipping Steam to launch exclusively on Epic’s game store on PC. Publisher Deep Silver made the announcement today, explaining that the latest game in the series would be available “solely” through the Epic store on PC when it launches on February 15th. Meanwhile, the previous two Metro games will also be coming to the digital shop later in the year.
“Epic’s generous revenue terms are a game changer.”
The news marks yet

After years of mounting suspicions, the United States government is making its biggest push yet to oust Chinese tech companies from American networks, and Huawei is feeling the pressure. The Trump administration is reportedly considering an order that would ban wireless carriers from purchasing Huawei or ZTE equipment, and another report said the US was pushing allies to also drop Huawei hardware. In a Senate appearance this week, American intelligence chiefs will likely cite Chinese companies&

Laundering funds with cryptocurrencies in South Korea could soon become a thing of the past if four of the country’s exchanges have their way. According to a local media report, Bithumb, Upbit, Corbit and Coinone have cobbled together to share ‘real-time’ wallet information on any suspicious activity linked to phishing attempts and pyramid schemes. It comes months after the South Korean government’s attempts to clamp down on cryptocurrency activity were met by deafe

As all pet owners — excuse us, paw-rents — can attest, there’s nothing like coming home to a wagging tail or a purring, biscuit-making ball of fluff. That being said, there’s nothing as jarring as expecting to come home to said tail/ball of fluff, only to be greeted by a few wimpers accompanied by a limp, a puddle of vomit, or — even worse — unsettling silence. 
When a pet isn’t acting like themselves, the last thing you want to be worrying about in

In science, says Princeton University physicist Paul J. Steinhardt, there are two kinds of impossible. The first kind of impossible claim is when a proposal would violate the basic laws of physics. But the second kind is simply based on assumptions that might contain a loophole. Steinhardt has spent his career chasing these “might actually be possible” claims.Steinhardt’s new book, The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter (Simon & Sch

The latest MacBook Air introduced in late 2018 is $150 off over at Google Express via hhgregg with the promo code APPLEMAC15. Once the code is applied at checkout, the price drops to $1,004, which is the lowest price that we’ve seen for this model. If you have your eye on a different model of MacBook Air, this offer code will work on a few different models, too, though the selection is beginning to dry up.If you’re looking for the best value, we suggest checking out the more expensi

Wireless charging is one of today’s biggest mysteries. On one hand, it’s everywhere. Most flagship phones support it, Apple has been working on a wireless charging matt for an age, there’s an industry standard format (shout out, Qi), and it’s cool. Despite all this, I don’t know a single person who actually charges their phone wirelessly – everyone still uses cables. So, when BIS Research put out a report claiming the global wireless charging market will be w

Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can also get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter! On my way to work, I pass two eyewear stores. They both have a large store window. The first one shows off all the major brands with models wearing sunglasses and normal glasses. They change the setup once a month to keep things lively, and in the wi

8BitDo makes some of the best retro gaming accessories around, and now the company is turning its attention toward the Sega Genesis. Today, 8BitDo is announcing a pair of products that should make playing Gunstar Heroes a lot more enjoyable in 2019.
The first is a wireless gamepad called the M30, a Sega-inspired device that features a similar layout and look as the Genesis original but comes with a few modern features. It supports Bluetooth, has built-in home screen and screenshot buttons, and

Four new iPad models and a potential seventh-generation iPod touch have been found in the upcoming iOS 12.2, while seven new iPads were found in registration info in the Eurasian Economic Commission Database, as spotted by MacRumors.
Programmer Steven Troughton-Smith found four new iPad models ranging from iPad 11,1 to iPad 11,4 while looking through the code of iOS 12.2. Two of the iPads are Wi-Fi only, and two are cellular. Troughton-Smith tweets that the new devices could be iPad minis with

Pepsi, Unilever, and Nestle plan to start offering their products through a subscription delivery service with one key twist: all of its packaging will be reusable. The service, called Loop, will launch with 25 big-name partners, and it hopes to stand out by offering a more environmentally friendly take on a subscription plan.
Loop compares its service to the milkman. Just like the milkman dropped off fresh milk and then came back for the bottles once people consumed their supply, Loop will hav

An Italian judge has reportedly ordered Francesco Firano, founder of shady cryptocurrency exchange BitGrail, to repay the $170 million worth of cryptocurrency that went “missing” early last year. Documents shared by a BitGrail victim advocacy group show Firano, who goes by the moniker “The Bomber,” must declare bankruptcy, forfeit personal assets, and return as much of the stolen digital assets as possible. The docs suggest Firano continuously bungled security matte