Technology news

Facebook and Instagram appear to be partially down for some users around the world today. While you can open both platforms and some services appear to have been restored, users are reporting issues with sending messages on Messenger, posting to the feed on all Facebook products, and accessing other features on Facebook.com, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Even Facebook-owned Oculus VR is experiencing issues related to the outage.Earlier in the day, WhatsApp appeared to be fine for many people, but us

Apple is expected to reach deals with HBO, Showtime, and Starz in time for its March 25th event, which will mark the debut of the company’s anticipated subscription video service. Finding content partners is proving critical, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, because the vast majority of TV shows and movies on the new service at launch will be from third parties.Apple has been pouring money into original programming and has signed deals with plenty of big names — many of t

Back in January 2018, HP issued a battery recall covering 50,000 laptop batteries which had the potential to overheat and become either a burn of fire hazard. A year on, and the recall has been expanded to include a further 28,500 batteries taking the total up to 78,500.
The faulty batteries were shipped in a wide range of products or sold as accessories for those products. As the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website explains, the complete list includes "HP ProBooks (64x G2 and G

Facebook is in the midst of its biggest outage in recent memory. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have been down for users around the world for at least five hours. 
The company hasn't commented on exactly how many of its users are affected, but reports from downdetector.com, a website that tracks online service disruptions, indicates the issue is widespread, affecting users in North America, South America, and Europe. (Downdetector.com shares a parent company with Mashable.) 
Besides

When Electronic Arts’ battle royale shooter Apex Legends surprise-launched early last month, it seemed like the entire gaming community started paying attention at once. Part of the reason for the immediate surge in interest was that EA paid top Twitch streamers to promote the game. And, in fact, one of those streamers, Fortnite extraordinaire Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, may have earned as much as $1 million for doing so, according to Reuters.Ninja’s live-streaming and social

Marvel has brought on director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm a film about kung fu master and superhero Shang-Chi. It will be the first Asian-led superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Cretton is known for directing 2013’s Short Term 12 and 2017’s The Glass Castle, and his next film, Just Mercy, is due out next year.
Created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin in the 1970s, Shang-Chi is a Chinese criminal mastermind’s son who became a hero when

The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story isn't so much a Ponzi scheme documentary as it is a bitter obituary for a now-deceased conman, written by the people who hated him most.
Viewers unfamiliar with the criminal enterprises of fraudster Lou Pearlman, the blimp salesman turned entertainment tycoon behind music acts like the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, are in for a wild ride. 
Unfortunately, dedicated fans of the con artist documentary genre will struggle to find lasting value in its narra

I love a good matching outfit — and so, too, does Twitter.
On Wednesday, two CNN correspondents looked like twins when they wore seemingly identical green jackets on air. On their own, the matching jackets might inspire a "ha" or even a "hahaha." But because green coats are so easy to manipulated thanks to green screen technology, things got weirder. 
Look at what The Daily's Show Matt Negrin did to this beautiful, otherwise transitory, viral moment. This rendition of the "Big Enough"

When Netflix debuted Black Mirror: Bandersnatch late last year, it put a spotlight on interactive storytelling outside the traditional gaming industry. Bandersnatch’s “choose your own adventure” format is one method of telling these interactive stories. For another flavor, you could try Syfy’s Eleven Eleven: a virtual and augmented reality project that premiered at SXSW this week and will get a limited release in May.
Eleven Eleven is a series of six interlocking stories

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is facing criticism for promoting a fitness writer and podcaster who has spread fears about vaccines. Dorsey tweeted his endorsement of the podcaster, author Ben Greenfield, after appearing on his show, noting that he was grateful for all of the work Greenfield does to “simplify the mountain of research focused on increasing one’s healthspan.” A Twitter spokesperson alleged that Dorsey wasn’t aware of Greenfield’s views on vaccines.
Despite

Android Q has been announced, and you can now download and install the first developer preview on your Pixel device. Since this is a beta intended primarily for developers, you might want to think twice before installing it on your personal phone. Past beta phases for Android 8 Oreo and Android 9 Pie eventually became fairly stable for day-to-day tasks, but only after a few months of availability.
If you want to download the new software, you’ll need a Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 2, or Pix

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said on Wednesday that it will recall nearly 865,000 vehicles that do not meet US emissions standards, after settling claims that it manufactured vehicles that emitted more pollution than legally allowed.The voluntary recall of 2011 through 2016 model year Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles will be implemented throughout the year, the US Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday. The agency said it would continue to investigate non-compliant FCA vehicles,

The next version of Android is here... sorta.
Like clockwork, Google's released the first beta version of its mobile operating system, Android Q, for developers. The new version of Android is available to download for all Google Pixel owners — that's for Pixel 1, 2, and 3 — and includes a number of updates ranging from improved security to with the most notable being support for foldable devices.
SEE ALSO: Crappy in-display fingerprint readers are ruining new phones
One of the bigges

It's been zero days since our last internet incident.
If you haven't been able to post a status about your lunch, give your friend's OOTD a like, or check if your star sign is getting dragged on meme accounts, it's been a rough day for you. 
Facebook and Instagram have been experiencing issues across the globe on Wednesday, with both websites and the apps being intermittently down, and some features not functioning for many users. Facebook-owned WhatsApp has also been experiencing problems.

A fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash this weekend has prompted President Donald Trump to ground all U.S. airplanes of a similar model.
Boeing launched an investigation on Tuesday after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday. The aircraft — a Boeing 737 Max 8 — was  the same model involved in the fatal Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October.
President Trump at a White House panel made the announcement about grounding both Boeing 737  Max 8 and 9 plan

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular home consoles among gamers of various skill levels. While the games available are fun and interactive, they also cater to anyone who just wants to have a good time — no matter who they are or how old they might be.
One of the reasons why the Nintendo Switch is so fun is because of its wide variety of accessories and gaming peripherals that go with the console itself. Although the Nintendo Switch is plenty fun on its own, it could be even

Amazon added support for Apple Music to its Echo speakers back in December, letting users pick Apple’s service as their preferred music source. Now, that same option has come to Amazon’s Fire TV streaming boxes and sticks. Starting today, you can play tunes from Apple Music on the TV screen using Alexa in the US. (Amazon says Apple Music compatibility will come to Echo and Fire TV devices in the UK sometime in the next few weeks.)If you’ve already set up and linked your Apple

Google is extending the software lifespan of its original Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones beyond what was originally promised. Today, in addition to kicking off its Android Q beta, the company made a surprise announcement: the Pixel and Pixel XL, first released in 2016, are eligible to run the beta release. Google isn’t directly confirming whether that means the devices will get the final, consumer version of Q, but I’d say it’s a very good assumption.Google came to the decisio

Google has released the first preview of Android Q to developers today in what’s become the annual tradition of an early March look at the next major version of Android. As is usually the case, today’s release is really meant for developers only. Most of the bigger, front-facing changes that will affect users likely aren’t here yet, although Google says that the new update will bring some interesting changes, like better privacy controls and native support for foldable phones.

It’s been three years since the release of indie classic Hyper Light Drifter, and today developer Heart Machine has revealed its next title: a new game called Solar Ash Kingdom, which got an early teaser trailer over at IGN.
Details are slim on the new title, but the teaser trailer does show off a new 3D art style that’s a radical change from the crisp pixel art of Hyper Light Drifter. Some things, though, never change, and Solar Ash Kingdom appears to be sticking to the same cyan a

Beware, for this post is dark and full of spoilers for Game of Thrones Seasons 1-7.Valar morghulis, friends. You've just entered Mashable's Citadel, where we are Rewatching for the Throne, dissecting Game of Thrones season by season to prepare for the final six episodes beginning on April 14. 
SEE ALSO: Everything to remember from 'Game of Thrones' Season 1
Here are all the best Season 4 theories, unanswered questions, unresolved plots, and forgotten tidbits you need to remember before win

President Trump announced on Wednesday that the US would temporarily ban all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 jets from flying, following nearly every country in the world that has ordered that the airplane be grounded since the deadly crash in Ethiopia on Sunday.More than 40 countries have grounded the 737 Max 8 after it was involved in two deadly crashes, one in Indonesia last October and the more recent one in Ethiopia. But until now, the US Federal Aviation Administration allowed the plane to fly, an

Welcome to Cheat Sheet, our breakdown-style reviews of festival films, VR previews, and other special-event releases. This review comes from the 2019 SXSW Interactive Festival.
There’s an entire subgenre of horror cinema about the fundamentally terrifying nature of pregnancy. And countless films hinge on teenagers, especially teenage girls, inviting certain doom by having premarital sex. The horror-comedy Snatchers, which debuted at this year’s SXSW, combines both tropes — the

The "unpopular opinion" meme is ironically popular.
Twitter is the ultimate platform for people to voice their divisive opinions. So, when this meme gave people the opportunity to stir the pot for no reason, it caught on pretty quick.  
While a lot of these threads debate serious topics, the more lighthearted Twitter trolls took the trend in a different direction.
These are the best hot takes that, if you really think about them, are neither “hot” nor “takes”.
There'

YouTuber Casey Neistat says he's done with social media... on his phone at least.
"I have a bonafide, proper, no sarcasm, proper addiction to social media," Neistat said in his most recent video. "I can't have a conversation, I can't sit through a movie ... I can't drive my car more than a couple of blocks without thumbing through social media." 
Calling out his own "mindless scrolling," Neistat said he's been losing time and health while getting stressed out over Instagram and Twitter. &nb

Arrested Development’s fifth season doesn’t necessarily have to be its last. One of the most beloved, influential sitcoms of the 2000s has returned from the dead (or the near-dead) twice before: first when Netflix aired new episodes in 2013, seven years after Fox canceled the show, and then again in 2018, after creator Mitchell Hurwitz reconvened his busy cast, in hopes of satisfying the many fans disappointed with his more ambitious, experimental fourth season. The first eight epis

Google is reportedly shifting employees from its laptop and tablet hardware teams to other divisions within Google and Alphabet, according to Business Insider. The move is attributed to “roadmap cutbacks,” and is expected to impact “dozens” of employees outside of manufacturing roles, which suggests that Google may not be expanding much beyond its current lineup of the Pixelbook laptop and the Pixel Slate tablet. Google declined to comment.
The BI report says impacted em

If you’re nostalgic for the original PlayStation console, Sony’s mini PlayStation Classic is cheaper than ever today at B&H Photo. It started at $99.99 when it hit shelves in November 2018, but it’s now down to $36.99, which might be cheap enough for you to see past the shoddy emulation seen in a few of its included PS1 titles.
Also at B&H Photo, the $749 Samsung Galaxy S10E includes Samsung’s Wireless Charger Duo, which can charge two Qi-compatible devices at th

Facebook and Instagram appear to be partially down for some users around the world today. While you can open both platforms, it looks like you can’t send or receive messages on either platform, and you can’t post new content either.We tested multiple accounts at The Verge, and found that Messenger couldn’t load at all on desktop, although the mobile app was working. Instagram was worse: posts weren’tloading, Instagram Stories were down, and direct messages and the button

Scanning your face on a screen to get into the subway might not be that far off in the future. In China’s tech capital, Shenzhen, a local subway operator is testing facial recognition subway access, powered by a 5G network, as spotted by the South China Morning Post.
The trial is limited to a single station thus far, and it’s not immediately clear how this will work for twins or lookalikes. People entering the station can scan their faces on the screen where they would normally have

For every artist who thinks their mixtape is fire, there's an audio engineer sitting behind the booth with their head in their hands. 
Sometimes they're trying out a "totally new and original" sound. Maybe they're just riffing absolute nonsense before the track officially starts. Either way, we can all agree that engineers put up with lot in the name of artistic genius. 
Caitie Delaney, a writer on a little show called Rick and Morty, posted a series of videos on Twitter showing that t

Trying to load Facebook?
You might have to wait for awhile. The social network is down for many people and Instagram, also owned by Facebook, is behaving strangely as well. To complete the trifecta, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp is also having issues.
“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email. 
At around 11

Google Assistant now has native support for smart blinds. The update was first spotted by Android Police, which points out that although native support for blinds has technically existed for certain brands like the Lutron Caseta and Neo Smart Blinds, but an official API hadn’t yet been implemented. The Google Assistant documentation for developers now has a section for blinds, which should help more brands add smart functionalities compatible with Google Assistant.
The documentation reads

Some HP laptops continue to suffer from faulty batteries that may cause “fire and burn damage,” according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. As noted by CNET and Tom’s Hardware, the HP recall was first initiated in January of 2018 and then expanded in January of this year, but that most recent development failed to make headlines because the government shutdown interfered with the CPSC’s ability to communicate the expansion.“This recall expansion was pre