Technology news

On Thursday, 7-Eleven Japan suspended a recently-launched mobile payments feature on its 7Pay app after a flaw allowed a third party to make bogus charges on hundreds of customer accounts.The company released the feature on Monday, July 1st: it allowed customers to scan a barcode with the app and charge a linked credit or debit card. However, the company received a complaint the next day: a customer noticed a charge that they didn’t make. The app had a flaw, according to Yahoo News Japan (

It appears that Google will soon add a play button to its Chrome browser, as spotted by ZDnet and Techdows. The button will live on Chrome’s toolbar, and will allow users to play or pause a video or music that’s playing in a tab.
The feature is called Global Media Controls, and it’s currently being tested on Chrome’s Development browser, Canary. Once it’s enabled, the feature appears next to the URL field, and will highlight what is playing, even if it’s on a

Formula E, the first global all-electric racing series, has unveiled the racecar that will run in its new upcoming off-road sister sport, “Extreme E.” Dubbed Odyssey 21, the all-electric SUV made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this weekend. It has even been making runs up the famous Goodwood hill, and while it’s still just a prototype, one thing is clear: it’s an absolute unit.
I wouldn’t say that just to say it, either. The wheels alone measu

It's a big day for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but an even bigger day for royal baby Archie.
On Saturday, Meghan and Harry's son Archie was christened, and the royal family shared two photographs on Instagram so people all around the world could join in celebration. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jul 6, 2019 at 8:14am PDT"This morning, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was christened

Adam Woodworth (@ajwoodpiece on Instagram) does some cool stuff with his free time with Lego, foam, motors, and other DIY project faves, and his latest effort is an homage to the Apollo 11 landing.
The first NASA mission to put astronauts on the surface of the moon happened almost 50 years ago, on July 20, 2019. To celebrate the approaching anniversary, Woodworth picked up Lego's recently released Apollo 11 Lunar Lander set with an eye toward making some modifications.
In short: he wanted to rec

Melania Trump may have left her Slovenian hometown of Sevnica, but thanks to conceptual artist Ales "Maxi" Zupevc, her presence is still, um... looming.
On Friday, a life-size wooden sculpture of the U.S. first lady was inaugurated in Sevnica. It was commissioned by artist Brad Downey, who went to Zupevc with a vision. Zupevc carved that vision into a tree using a chainsaw, and now the world has this.Image: read JURE MAKOVEC/AFP/Getty ImagesThe wooden statue depicts Melania Trump wearing a blue

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. This is also a part of our “Beginner’s guide to AI,” featuring articles on algorithms, neural networks, computer vision, natural language processing, and artificial general intelligence.  The AI we use everyday in our phones, cameras, and smart devices usually falls into the category of deep learning. We’ve previously covered

While “Stranger Things” is one of Netflix’s biggest hits, we’ve remained immune to some of its charms.
On the latest episode of the Original Content podcast, we review the third season of the series — a.k.a. “Stranger Things 3” — giving us an opportunity to hash out our general feelings about the show.
Darrell, in particular, embraced the first season’s mix of ’80s horror and nostalgia, only to feel that season two was little more than

Many countries around the world have ageing populations and a growing prevalence of dementia. Japan, in particular, is a “super-ageing” society, with a population getting older faster than anywhere else in the world due to long life expectancy and low birth rates. In 2015, an article in The Lancet medical journal pointed out that “Japan will be at the forefront of devising ways to tackle the social, economic, and medical challenges posed by a super-ageing society.” A hig

Trouble streaming Netflix? The problem could be WiFi dead zones in your home. 
Maybe your house is a little too spacious, or the layout of your apartment just isn't conducive to a consistent signal.
One possible solution: WiFi extenders. There are a lot of things you need to consider before going down that rabbit hole, though. Luckily, we're here to help.
Do I need a WiFi extender?
If you're reading this, it's safe to assume you have problems with WiFi connectivity in your home. You're most

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Whether you’re looking for that hilarious joke you tweeted last year, or worried that some of your old tweets might contain embarrassing information, there are several ways to go about finding you old posts.  In fact, you can reacquaint yourself with the first tweet relatively easily (spoiler: it doesn’t involve scrolling through countle

July Fourth brought along a bunch of good deals on tech, and fortunately, most of them are still happening. Below, we’ve rounded up the week’s biggest price drops on a few 4K TVs, gaming tech, and more.Looking into the very near future (just over a week from now), Amazon Prime Day 2019 will be underway. Expect to find even more sales when it starts on July 15th. We’ve put together some tips on how to spot the good deals from the not-so-good ones yourself. But don’t worry,

Birds just want to have fun.
Some birds define "fun" as flying around and pecking at some seed. Others, like the parrot in the video above, think it's fun to hang out with dogs and spend the afternoon barking!
The video, taken in Roodepoort, a city in South Africa, shows a fierce parrot mingling with a group of dogs and flawlessly mimicking their barks.
According to the video description, the parrot's owner describes the bird as "a child in the house." The parrot has reportedly been a member of

A University of California, Los Angeles professor faces a maximum sentence of 219 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of smuggling chips with military applications to China.Convicted on 18 counts
Yi-Chi Shih, an electrical engineer and adjunct professor at UCLA, was found guilty last month by a Los Angeles jury, officials said in a statement this week. He was convicted on 18 counts, including making an illegal export and multiple fraud charges.Shih and another defendant, Kiet Ahn Mai,

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is having quite the year.
Since becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2018, Ocasio-Cortez has set out to find her footing in American politics. So far this year she's made a fair number of profoundly eloquent speeches on the House floor, gotten real about climate change by sponsoring the Green New Deal, publicly challenged several of Donald Trump's actions, and more. 
SEE ALSO: 7 of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's most inspirational speeches
But she's a

This is Ode To..., a weekly column where we share the stuff we're really into in hopes that you'll be really into it, too.In 2019, escapist beach reading ain't what it used to be.
Sure, you could bring a tangled whodunnit or a twisty YA romance paperback on your summer vacation. But with the world on fire, millions of species winking out of existence, and climate change barreling towards us like the unwanted approach of September, those kinds of reads may start to feel a little bit like literary

Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Stranger Things 3.In the final moments of Stranger Things 3, the unthinkable happened. 
With the fate of Hawkins at stake, Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers — known to many shippers simply as "Jopper" — entered the secret Russian facility under Starcourt Mall in hopes of once again sealing the metaphysical gate linking Earth to the Upside Down. 
At first, all seemed fine.
The pair descended into the chasm of enemy territory sur

In 2008's The Dark Knight, Batman figures out a way to access every single cell phone in Gotham, covertly using their microphones to help track down the Joker. This technology is deemed so obviously unethical that his gadgets guy, Lucius Fox, essentially quits on the spot, protesting, "It's too much power for one person." 
Ultimately, though, Batman does prove himself worthy of wielding it — not by using it for good, which he does, but by having Lucius destroy it immediately after. It

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups & venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I struggled to understand WeWork’s growth trajectory. Before that, I noted some thoughts on scooter companies’ struggle to raise new cash.
Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to [email protected] or on Twitter @KateClarkTweets. If you

Welcome to CHEAP, our series about things that are good, but most of all, cheap. CHEAP! Summer’s here. That means a few things: sunshine, chilling in the park, cold brews, and hanging out with your friends. Although this is a beautiful picture we’ve painted, there’s something missing. Something big. Something like a Nerf battle. Maybe even something like a kickass Nerf bow battle like you’re a modern day Robin Hood? If you’re unfamiliar with Nerf (I mean, is this e

Not started watching Stranger Things on Netflix yet? Lucky for you, season three was released a couple of days ago, giving you a total of 25 episodes to start your binge-watch.
Why suffer from flat audio coming from the TV though, when you can get this Samsung Harman Kardon soundbar for $949.99, saving you 44% off the listed price. It also comes with a wireless subwoofer, giving you that extra oomph in action-packed scenes.
Got a soundbar already? Well, Home Depot is currently offering up to 25%

TL;DR: Simply name your price to get access to this 20-course programming bundle. Coding is one of the most important skills you can possess in the tech industry, and it often pays extremely well. What you might now know, however, is that you don't need to break the bank to master it.
With this 20-course programming track, you can start the career you've always wanted for much less than traditional education. And by "much less," we mean you can actually choose the price altogether.
When you

TL;DR: You can get the highly efficient Roomba 805 Robotic Vacuum on sale for just $209.95 — saving you $240 dollars — when you shop this refurbished deal.Ok, admit it. When you saw Tom Haverford's DJ Roomba for the first time, you definitely wanted one. Then you saw the price tag and immediately retreated.
Well, good news. You can get your own floor-cleaning robot for under $215 this weekend— more than half off original retail value — by purchasing a certified refurbishe

TL;DR: Save up to $1,200 on a slew of 4K TVs by Samsung, including the the 65-inch model for $1,099, the 75-inch model for $1,849 and the 82-inch for $2,599 with code SAVE400.Summer gets so much hype as the time to do all the stuff you've been talking about all year, but feeling the need to have plans 24/7 quickly gets overwhelming. Sometimes, you just want to sit at home and have a damn movie marathon.
You deserve some down time, and a 4K TV is a perfect way to distract you from FOMO. The PCMag

Isn't it weird how your keys, phone, and wallet always wander away from their designated spots as soon as you need them most? It's like they know.
To make matters even more frustrating, it turns out all those misplaced items can legitimately cost you: One study estimates that we waste 2.5 days every year looking for our lost belongings, and spend a collective $2.7 billion each year replacing said belongings when our exhaustive searches eventually come up dry (because they always do).
SEE ALSO: W

Away from the limelight of the press and the frenzy of fundraising, a tech startup in India has achieved a feat that few of its peers have managed: going public.
IndiaMART, the country’s largest online platform for selling products directly to businesses, raised nearly $70 million in a rare tech IPO for India this week.
The milestone for the 23-year-old firm is so uncommon for India’s otherwise burgeoning startup ecosystem that, beyond being over-subscribed 36 times, pent up dem

In some ways, the Nintendo Switch can already provide one of the biggest benefits of cloud gaming: the ability to sling a game from a big TV to a portable device and carry it anywhere you go. But Nintendo isn’t pretending that capability is enough to weather what could be a sea change in how games are developed, played and sold.
When Nintendo executives were asked at this year’s annual meeting of shareholders what they thought of cloud gaming — the idea that video games can be

Cloud gaming — however a company chooses to define that — is shaping up to be a big part of the next generation of consoles and other platforms. But Mario creator and Nintendo veteran Shigeru Miyamoto says his company won’t be so quick to jump on the bandwagon.
Speaking to shareholders at Nintendo’s annual general meeting, Miyamoto and other executives addressed a variety of issues, among them what some interpret as a failure to keep up with the state of the industry. Son

Law enforcement officials have identified and interviewed the woman who was recorded licking ice cream and then returning the tub to a supermarket freezer.
The viral video posted on Twitter on Jun. 29 shows the young woman licking Blue Bell ice cream while the person recording the video goads her on. 
Twitter users expressed their horror at the unsanitary act. On Jul. 1, Blue Bell thanked consumers for alerting the company of the tampering. 
"We take this issue very seriously and are c

Stranger Things is known for its commitment to incorporating '80s pop culture into the show, and the latest season brings in a beloved musical icon.
The series gave a shoutout to Weird Al Yankovic in two subtle Season 3 shoutouts. In the second episode of the season, science teacher and A.V. club supervisor Mr. Clarke jams out to the parody king's "My Balogna," a cheeky jab at The Knack's "My Sharona." 
In the next episode, Dustin dons a vintage Weird Al shirt — he's clearly a fan.#St

When AMD announced its next-gen Navi-based Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT graphics cards last month, the news was just slightly underwhelming because the prices didn’t necessarily make them the obvious alternative to Nvidia’s rival chips.
But just two days before their July 7th launch date, AMD has taken the drastic step of dropping the prices on these new GPUs.
The Radeon 5700 XT, previously listed at $450, will now cost $400, and the Radeon 5700, previously $380, will be priced at $350