Technology news

Apex Legends, the free-to-play battle royale game from the creators of Titanfall, has just passed 25 million registered players after just one week since its release, developer Respawn Entertainment announced this afternoon. The milestone shows just how explosively popular the game has become in such a short time; just three days after release, Apex Legends passed 10 million players. Additionally, the game recorded “well over” 2 million concurrent players this past weekend, Respawn

LinkedIn is getting into the video livestreaming game.
The social networking website built for business professionals has started rolling out a streaming service called LinkedIn Live, as first reported by TechCrunch. LinkedIn Live will begin rolling out on an invite-only basis.Image:LinkedinLinkedIn Live will be rolled out via invite-only to select U.S. users for this initial beta phase. Users who want to try out LinkedIn Live but aren’t one of the lucky invitees will eventually be ab

Scroll through Twitter, and you'll see the trending hashtag #WomenInScience. February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science: a time to recognize the ladies making the world a better place through science and technology. 
Their success stories should really be celebrated every day, especially because science remains a male-dominated field. Less than 30 percent of the world’s researchers are women, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 
SEE ALSO: 8 ways

Since the dawn of time, people who aren't terrible have been using words to ask other people to have sex with them. What if we could do away with all that and press a fuck button instead?
A would-be product called LoveSync, which is mid-Kickstarter campaign at the moment, wants to do just that. Basically, it's two buttons — one for you and one for your partner — that you can press whenever you're interested in having sex. If your partner has also pressed their button, you'll both be

When Pixar Animation Studios first introduced the SparkShorts series in January, the studio explained that the short films came from a program of “indie filmmaking inside of Pixar.” Creators are given six months and a small budget to make their own unique projects. The latest of those shorts, Smash and Grab, just debuted on YouTube, and it may seem a bit familiar to longtime Pixar fans — it features robots with a minor resemblance to the protagonist of Pixar’s Wall-E, fr

A lack of net neutrality rules can have real-world consequences on wireless data prices, according to a new study by Epicenter.works. The new data from dozens of countries in the European Union suggest that when a country allows zero-rating programs, it ends up seeing an increase in wireless prices over time.
Zero-rating programs (like AT&T not counting DirecTV toward a customer’s data usage) can allow people to use specific apps and services without the data used going toward their m

A lack of net neutrality rules can have real-world consequences on wireless data prices, according to a new study by Epicenter.works. The new data from dozens of countries in the European Union suggest that when a country allows zero-rating programs, it ends up seeing an increase in wireless prices over time.
Zero-rating programs (like AT&T not counting DirecTV toward a customer’s data usage) can allow people to use specific apps and services without the data used going toward their m

Amazon has announced that it’s acquiring Eero, the maker of mesh home routers. Amazon says buying Eero will allow the company to “help customers better connect smart home devices.” It will certainly make Alexa-compatible gadgets easier to set up if Amazon also controls the router technology.“We are incredibly impressed with the Eero team and how quickly they invented a WiFi solution that makes connected devices just work,” Dave Limp, Amazon’s SVP of devices,

China’s top search engine company Baidu made a smart cat shelter in Beijing that uses AI to verify when a cat is approaching and open its door. The cat shelter is heated and also offers cats food and water.
Besides running China’s main search engine, Baidu also works on AI tools in general and owns iQiyi, a Netflix-like rival that uses algorithms to determine what viewers may be interested in watching next. While cat shelters ordinarily seem out of the scope of what Baidu does, the

That book you lied about reading in high school is finally coming to Hulu, and it's all thanks to director and executive producer George Clooney. 
Based on Joseph Heller’s novel of the same name, Catch-22 is a six-part limited series capturing the "adventures and misadventures" of a U.S. air squadron during World War II. The famously biting satire of military life follows protagonist Yossarian, a skilled B-25 bombardier played in the series by Girls alum Christopher Abbott, as he stru

Last May, we learned that Hulu’s spectacularly dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale would be returning for a third season, and last week’s Super Bowl gave us a tease — now, Hulu is confirming that the award-winning drama will debut on June 5th.That’s when the first three episodes of the show will arrive, assuming you’re still willing to grit your teeth and bare the torture and mutilation the series makes its women endure — in exchange for, occasionally, the ba

Mobile World Congress is right around the corner, set to start on February 24. It’s the world’s biggest show on smartphones and mobile technology, and we’re expecting a ton of news. Leaks and rumors are rampant in the days leading up to the event, so there’s a lot of noise to sort through. Fret not; that’s what we’re for. We’ve amassed the biggest news to expect – and the news you shouldn’t. Samsung Okay, so technically Samsung is announcing

I'm walking down San Francisco's Market Street toward a coffee shop using Google Maps when giant arrows pop up on my phone.
I'm supposed to turn right on Front Street. The directions are hard to miss in the new Google Maps augmented reality mode. The large animated arrows make it clear with a glance which direction I should head. It looks something like this:Image:googleThe feature came out Monday for select "local guides" who add new locations, rate businesses, take photos, and more for Google

Tinder and Grindr are facing new scrutiny over their age verification practices after a report found several examples of children being abused after signing up for dating apps.Yesterday, the United Kingdom’s Sunday Times reported that law enforcement officials in the UK have investigated more than 30 cases where children evaded age requirements on dating apps and were later raped, according to public records obtained by the outlet. The report also found another 60 cases involving sexual e

Google is finally addressing one of the more annoying quirks of Gmail’s web interface by overhauling the right-click menu, adding a lot more options in the pop-up list that should make it way more useful.As updates go, it’s a pretty simple one: once the rollout hits your account, you’ll be presented with the above list of options when you right-click on an email, adding options to reply, forward, label, move, mute, and snooze emails — options that honestly should have be

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, tricks, guides, and advice on how to get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Spoilers have become a pitfall of modern life. They’re a first-world problem, perhaps, but still something that can ruin one of the few pleasures that make it worth facing another arduous cycle around this pitiless yellow star in the face of looming crisis, economic turmoil, personal struggles… Ahem. Yeah, spoilers suck. But as social media

Google can now help you prepare for your next HQ trivia game.
The search giant is teaming up with the creators of the popular trivia app HQ to create HQ University, a dedicated trivia game made for Google Assistant. The new game is now available in the Google Assistant app, Google Home speakers, and smart displays like the Home Hub. 
To start, all you have to say is "Okay Google, get me ready for HQ."
SEE ALSO: Google's augmented reality Maps are live for some users
No, the Google-enabled v

A month after offering a preview at CES in January, Samsung today revealed its entire lineup of 2019 QLED TVs. The company is offering a range of both 8K and 4K TVs, plus updated versions of The Frame and Serif sets, which are more focused on design and blending with home décor than on picture quality alone.And in keeping with consumer trends, the 2019 line is going bigger across the board: Samsung is offering both 75-inch and 82-inch versions of every model in the Q series. The 8K Q900

Some people's valentine is a significant other. Other people's valentine is food. If you're the latter, you should probably know that Le Creuset is having a huge Valentine's Day sale — huge as in prices nearly cut in half on some items. All of your bougie kitchen dreams just came true.
Tons of nonstick cookware, glassware, metal bakeware, and even a few of their obsessed-over stoneware items are on sale up to 40% off. Kitchen stuff this nice basically doubles as decor — no, seri

If you bought Guitar Hero Live in the US between December 1st, 2017 and January 1st, 2019, publisher Activision is offering to refund your money. The company launched a “voluntary refund program” earlier in February, around two months after it cut off access to the vast majority of Guitar Hero Live’s song library. Buyers have until May 1st to submit a claim, preferably with either a sales receipt or a credit card statement confirming the purchase.
As Polygon notes, Activision

With more than 5.6 million customers worldwide and a five-star rating on Merchant Maverick, Intuit QuickBooks is the gold standard of accounting software for small business owners. It's basically the Beyoncé of bookkeeping, as it were. 
QuickBooks owes this success to its jam-packed roster of features — features with so much potential for customization, they often intimidate and overwhelm first-time users. That's why SimonSezIT has put together the QuickBooks 2019 Master Class,

The Barbie Fashionistas line offers over 100 looks to reflect a variety of appearances and identities, and the collection is about to get even more inclusive in 2019. 
Mattel announced Monday that new dolls will rock a braided hair texture and have a more realistic body type (think smaller bust, less defined waist, and sculpted arms). Barbies in this line will also include different types of ability, such as a prosthetic limb and wheelchair use. 
"As a brand, we can elevate the convers

Wendy Marshall is gearing up for Valentine's Day by literally eating hearts. 
The Adult film performer posted a four minute, 20 second video of herself devouring a massive slab of raw steak on Facebook on Saturday, adding an occasional shimmy after tearing off chunks with her teeth. 
It's ... something else. 
According to her ViralHog description, Marshall has been eating raw beef since she was two-years-old.
"This is a normal routine," the description says. "The ending result is

YouTube’s creators have long blamed the growing burnout issue within the community on the platform’s algorithm, but a new video testimonial from YouTube’s product manager says that’s not always the case.Todd Sherman, product manager at YouTube, dug into data for hundreds of channels that took two-week breaks — a pretty lengthy time off for a full-time YouTuber. Sherman suggested the data proved a couple of interesting details, specifically when it comes to vlog-typ

Thursday is Valentine’s Day. Go out for dinner, take a walk together, and maybe exchange a gift or two. If you’re coming up empty on the latter part, we’ve got a few gift ideas that you can enjoy together. Then again, today’s deals make for giftable goodies in a pinch, too.
Perfect for a Windows or macOS computer in dire need of speed, SanDisk’s Ultra line of SSDs are slightly discounted today — enough for them to match their lowest prices yet. If 500GB is al

Reddit has received a $150 million investment from Tencent, the Chinese tech giant behind WeChat and League of Legends, sparking fears of censorship from Reddit users. The investment was first rumored last week, and led to Reddit users posting photos and memes banned in China in protest of Tencent’s involvement.
The protests have centered around two images in particular: Winnie the Pooh, whose likeness is largely banned because users have mocked its resemblance to President Xi Jinping, an

Google is expanding its efforts to design its own smartphone and data center chips by building a new team of engineers dedicated to the project in Bengaluru, an up-and-coming semiconductor site in the capital of the south Indian state of Karnataka, according to a report from Reuters. The new team, which Reuters says includes at least 16 engineers and four recruiters and will likely continue to increase in headcount, is the latest sign that the tech industry’s biggest players are trying to

Marvel Studios and its parent company Disney have been pulling back on their association with Netflix, ahead of the launch of Disney’s own streaming service. As Netflix loses its licenses to stream Disney films, and cancels its interconnected Marvel shows (so far: Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil, with The Punisher and Jessica Jones still awaiting word), Marvel is apparently forging a stronger connection with Hulu. News came out of the Television Critics Association uprights today that

Whenever I feel like I want to gouge my eyes out and sell them on Etsy, or bang my head up against a wall so many times I break the entire wall down, I turn to Twitter, the angriest platform on the internet.
I'm not alone here, surrounded by the rage-tweeters and takedown artists of the world. Even Cher's emojis have been on a downward trend for the past two years.
Still, there are refuges of warmth and kindness. There are raccoon stan accounts. There's Sister Helen Prejean, the death penalty ac

Better late than never.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to form the American AI Initiative, the White House Office of Science and Technology (WHOST) announced Monday. The order tasks federal agencies to cooperate on advancing research and development in AI, as well as considering legislative frameworks for its governance. As Reuters points out, however, the order does not specify a source of funding for the initiative.
Besides a one-day listening session on AI that the WHOST

Google Fi is taking a big step into retail today, with Best Buy now selling SIM cards for the MVNO at over 500 of its stores. The Fi SIMs cost $9.99 each at purchase, but you’ll be credited $10 toward your service within a week of activation. Here’s the link where you can check to see if your nearest store is selling them yet.For now, Best Buy is only selling the Talk and Text SIM cards. If you’re looking for data only — for a tablet, perhaps — you’ve still g

Ariana Grande’s album thank u, next set two new records on Apple Music when it debuted last Friday: the most first-day streams of a pop album, and the most first-day streams of a female artist. Unfortunately, neither stat comes with specific figures, but the record-breaking accolades speak to more than just Grande’s success as an artist — they also speak to Apple Music’s quickly growing subscriber base.
Apple Music has been growing, fast
Apple has released streaming stat

Last week TechCrunch reported that Reddit was raising $150 million from Chinese tech giant Tencent and up to $150 million more in a Series D that would value the company at $2.7 billion pre-money or $3 billion post-money. After no-commenting on our scoop, today Redditconfirmed it has raised $300 million at $3 billion post-money, with $150 million from Tencent.
The deal makes for an odd pairing between one of the architects of China’s Great Firewall of censorship and one of America’s

Four years after the release of the iPad mini 4, Apple might finally be close to releasing a successor, according to new reports from Mac Otakara and DigiTimes (via MacRumors). They’re not the only ones expecting a return from Apple’s miniature tablet. Last month, Bloomberg also reported that we could see an updated iPad mini this year, and this was further corroborated by iPad mentions in iOS 12.2’s code.However, despite the developments we’ve seen from the standard iPa

iPhone cables — you either break them, or you lose them. 
Apple users know the ceaseless pain of having to fork out money for subpar charging wires. Some of you probably even have a quarterly budget set just for replenishing your cable stock.
Frankly, that's ridiculous, and it has to stop.
And that's why the Mashable Shop is having deals on a bunch of third-party cables that will last you years. Whether you're on the hunt for a wire that can take a bullet, or one that glows in the dar

Thirteen years after a heated battle resulted in over-the-counter approval for emergency contraception, the product is finally shedding some of its stigma, and college campuses are leading the charge toward normalization.In the fall of 2018, Yale’s Reproductive Justice Action League proposed a new plan to improve the health and wellness of its student population: emergency contraception vending machines. They wanted to join the dozens of other college campuses where emergency contraceptio

With only a few days until Valentine's Day, now is your chance to upgrade your old HD TV for a new 4K one, so you and your partner can have some real "Netflix and Chill" time at home.
We found great deals on 4K smart TVs from top manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, LG, RCA, and more. We took all the hard work out of finding a good bargain and scoured the internet to find the very best 4K smart TVs of various shapes and sizes.
For Valentine's Day this year, stay in, avoid the crowds at restaurants,

According to comments from a Google engineer on code in the Android Open Source Project, Google is working on a new “2019 Pixel.” Well, duh, of course Google is working on new smartphones for this year. But what’s interesting, as XDA Developers discovered over the weekend, is that the new handset should have better support for dual SIMs. That could mean that the Google Pixel 4 could work better on two different cellular carriers’ networks simultaneously instead of having

We all knew Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were monsters. But hey, it turns out that they're actually heartless monsters.
Remember Ser Pounce? The cute, little "proper fellow" of a Game of Thrones kitty that popped up in Season 4 to kill the mood as Margaery Tyrell tried to bond with Tommen Lanni— ahem, Baratheon?
Yeah, well, the cat's dead.SEE ALSO: Kit Harington kept that Jon Snow crypt statue from the trailer, obviously
Cersei apparently killed him in a horribl

Military veterans treated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs will soon be able to access their medical records on the iPhone Health Records app, Apple announced today. It’s the latest major collaboration between Apple and a health care system, and a sign of the company’s growing interest in the world of electronic health records.
Electronic health records are a famously contentious sector of the health care system. For many patients, the tangled evolution of e-health technolog

While Russia has deftly used the internet to advance its own interests, it is apparently concerned about other countries deploying its own tactics, so it is preparing to "disconnect" from the internet, ZDNet reports.
Average Russians would not lose internet access; the plan would instead change how internet traffic is handled on the back-end.
The move has been in the works for years, and is intended to seal Russia off from incoming cyber attacks. ISPs in the region are now preparing to test a sy

As great as TVs are today, the audio leaves a lot to be desired. Most speakers are built into the back or bottom of a flatscreen TV, which aren't ideal locations for quality audio.
That's why you need to invest in a soundbar.
SEE ALSO: 10 of the best Bluetooth speakers in the UK: Sony, Bose, JBL, Ultimate Ears, and more
Besides delivering generally better audio, a soundbar can become the foundation for turning your living room into a personal movie theater. But with all the options available, wh