Technology news

We've become largely accustomed to the perpetual maelstrom of bad ideas swirling around the Trump White House, but the latest plan responding to mass shootings reminds us that our cursed timeline can still always get darker.  
Specifically, according to the Washington Post, the White House is considering studying if monitoring individuals with mental illness via their smartphones and smartwatches can predict incidents of mass violence. This idea, which the Post notes relies on the false not

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge EA has announced that it’ll be launching a closed technical trial for its upcoming Project Atlas cloud streaming service tonight at 10PM PT / 1AM ET, allowing anyone with an EA Origin account to sign up and potentially gain access to a test of EA’s in-progress cloud gaming service. The trial will start tonight and run for two weeks.Players selected for the trial will be able to play four games: FIFA 19, Titanfall 2, Need for Speed Rivals, and

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge EA has announced that it’ll be launching a closed trial for its upcoming Project Atlas cloud streaming service tonight at 10PM PT / 1AM ET, allowing anyone with an EA Origin account to sign up and potentially gain access to a closed beta of EA’s in-progress cloud gaming service. The initial test will start tonight and run for two weeks.Players selected for the trial will be able to play four games: FIFA 19, Titanfall 2, Need for Speed Rivals,

Our phones get better at capturing images in low light every year, but as far as I know, no phone has been good enough to capture stars in the night sky. If a new leak is to be believed, Google might be the one to change that Spanish tech site Pro Android posted a what appears to be an upcoming marketing video for the Pixel 4. The video shows off some things we already know of including air gestures using Project Soli, tight Google Assistant commands, and the Pixel‘s famous Night Sight. B

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Hurricane Dorian has moved out to sea, but a gale is still raging at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In a forceful email sent to staff on Sunday night, Craig McLean, the chief scientist of NOAA, took on anonymous members of his own organization who may have “violated NOAA’s policies of scientific integrity.” McLean vowed to pursue truths in a long saga involving President Trump, Hurricane Dorian, a Sharpie, a f

There's a certain level of preparation that's become standard with hurricanes. Making sure there's enough food is typically close to the top of the list. 
This raccoon apparently neglected its hurricane prep trip to Walmart when Hurricane Dorian came rolling through Longs, South Carolina last week. Trying to scrounge up some food, it clings to a bird feeder dangling from a tree as the wind blows it every which way. 
It's not the first trip the raccoon has made to the bird feeder. Accor

Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio has endorsed a “robot tax” and the foundation of a new government agency to oversee automation. De Blasio laid out his plan late last week in an opinion article for Wired, describing it as an alternative to the universal basic income (UBI) supported by his rival Andrew Yang.
De Blasio’s plan would create a new agency called the Federal Automation and Worker Protectio

Information about your mood, sex life, and (if you're a woman) menstrual cycle is highly personal stuff; it's also super valuable to advertisers. And according to a new report, if you use certain period-tracking apps, you could be sending that intimate information directly to Facebook. 
First, some good news. A report from Privacy International, published Monday in conjunction with BuzzFeed News, found that the five most popular period-tracking apps have taken proactive measures to protect

Volkswagen isn't new to electric vehicles, but at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany on Monday, the German carmaker unveiled the first in its series of battery-powered cars based on VW's new MEB — which means "modular electric drive matrix" — platform.
The ID.3, part of a new look for the company, was finally revealed to be a hatchback plug-in car similar in size to the VW Golf and the first of several different types of electric vehicles (think a minivan, sedan, bus, and even

Gun violence is set to be a key issue discussed ahead of the 2020 election.
More than 280 mass shootings have taken place in 2019 so far, according to the gun violence research group Gun Violence Archive. And presidential candidates Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have come together to lead a conversation about the need for gun safety.
The eight Democratic candidates worked with Gabby Giffords' organi

The 2019 Call for Code challenge is coming to a close as partners IBM and David Clark Cause are set to announce the grand prize winner next month. The months-long contest solicited technologists from around the world to invent solutions to improve natural disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. And one team’s going to get a $200K cash prize and a development meeting. More than 180,000 people from around the globe participated in this year’s contest – whether through sub

As expected, a large group of state attorneys general announced on Monday a joint effort to investigate Google for antitrust violations. 
The bipartisan effort is being led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is joined by 50 additional attorneys general representing 48 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Paxton made the announcement on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, joined by others involved. HAPPENING NOW: A bipartisan group of attorneys general anno

Photo via Flickr / Nicky Boogaard The last we heard of the Icelandic budget airline Wow Air was in March 2019 when it ceased operations without warning, stranding up to 4,000 passengers at the time. According to Yahoo, the airline is now on schedule to come back in October of this year, thanks to a major investment by USAerospace Associates.Michele Ballarin, chief executive of USAerospace Associates, said in a press conference last week that Wow Air will relaunch with just two planes in operati

Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images On Monday, 50 attorneys general from US states and territories signed onto an antitrust investigation into Google, placing even more pressure on the major tech firms that are already facing intense scrutiny over their market dominance from the government.The probe, led by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton from Texas, will focus primarily on Google’s advertising and search businesses. But in remarks given Monday, the attorneys general suggested

This new Android malware may be the most twisted yet.
An interesting new type of malware has been uncovered, coded within two dozen Android apps that have accumulated hundreds of thousands of downloads in the Google Play store.
Android users who downloaded any of the apps embedded with this malware, dubbed “the Joker,” will need to check their credit card bills. Joker’s purpose, once deployed, is to sign up its victims to subscription services without their knowledge or consent

Image: Extremely OK Games The excellent indie game Celeste is coming to an end. Today sees the launch of the game’s first, and final, expansion, appropriately titled Farewell. Game developer Matt Thorson, whose studio Matt Makes Games developed the title before rebranding as Extremely OK Games, designed the expansion to be one giant send-off: both for main character Madeline, and the players who’ve spent countless hours helping her traverse the titular mountain.I haven’t had a

Nico Gentry has always loved cars. "I wanted so badly to get my permit and eventually my driver's license," the 25-year-old manufacturing engineer from Orlando, Florida, told me in a recent phone call. But a neurological disorder called nystagmus that affects his eyes means he's been legally blind since birth. 
Instead of learning to drive, when he was just 14 he helped his dad build a 1970 Mustang — what he calls his dream car. "I wanted to drive my dream car. But I realized I wouldn

Volkswagen has rolled out the final version of its first affordable long-range electric car, the ID.3, at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. Coming in at “under €30,000” (about $33,180, currently), the ID.3 will come in three variants that offer between roughly 205 and 340 miles of range. The EV is slated to be delivered in mid-2020.
That “under €30,000” price tag VW is promoting applies to the base model of the ID.3, which has a 45kWh battery and offers 205 miles o

Microsoft today revealed an update for its To-Do app, now simply called To Do, that makes the app much more useful and pleasant to look at. But not everyone is happy, as the development of this app potentially signals the retirement of another. The new version To Do includes a refreshed look with new backgrounds. The app also includes a smart daily planner, lists that can be accessed from multiple devices, and integration with other Microsoft apps like Outlook, Microsoft Planner, and Cortana.&n

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Fitness trackers are popular today, and for good reason. They not only help guide exercise workouts such as running, swimming, or cycling, they can also help you and your health care professional understand your medical situations, such as detecting irregular heart rhythms. And they can help out in more day-to-day activities, such as weather reports and calendar alerts.
Shopping for a new fitness tracker can be a daunting task. There are a wide range

Climate change is a hot-button issue. From students to politicians, people everywhere are standing up to the widespread inaction over the planet's rapidly warming temperatures. 
There are around 65,000 corporate and tech Amazon employees in the U.S., and now 941 of them — comparatively a small number, but growing — have added their names to this list. 
Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of Amazon workers who came together in Dec. 2018 to push for the develop

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel sits down with New York Times reporter Mike Isaac to discuss Uber. Isaac has been reporting on the ride-sharing company for over five years, and he just released a book called Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber that lays out Uber’s rise and controversies.
The conversation covers how Uber got to where it is today, its interactions with companies like Apple and G

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge German air taxi startup Volocopter raised €50 million ($55.3 million) in a funding round led by Geely, the Chinese parent company of Volvo Cars, the company announced. The new funds will be put toward achieving Volocopter’s goal of launching a commercial air taxi service powered by its 18-rotor electric aircraft “within the next three years.”
In addition to leading this series C funding round, Geely will also enter into a joint ventu

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge For almost 25 years, Sony has made PlayStation controllers with an X as the main button. But according to a tweet from the Playstation UK account, that button should not, in fact, be called the X button. Apparently, it is actually supposed to be referred to as the “cross” button.
Triangle
Circle
Cross
SquareIf Cross is called X (it's not), then what are you calling Circle?https://t.co/dvQ19duemW— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) Septe

TL;DR: DJI's answer to the GoPro — the DJI Osmo Action — is a worthy alternative, and only $299 in the Mashable Shop.If you think of GoPro as the Apple of action cameras, then the DJI Osmo is its impressive Android competitor. Both are excellent options, of course, but the DJI Osmo Action 4K HDR Camera happens to be on sale right now, so...
Like the GoPro Hero7 Black, the DJI Osmo Action shoots incredibly smooth, stabilized 4k video at 60 frames per second, as well as slow-motion in

There’s less Bitcoin flowing in and out of cryptocurrency exchanges lately, which indicates calm from those who’ve been keen to profit from its price movements — especially when compared to levels recorded in June and July. In fact, the amount that traders have sent to major cryptocurrency exchanges is now on par with the total being taken off-exchange, reports Delphi Digital in analysis shared with Hard Fork. “It’s clear there were significant

Fall TV is the best TV. 
Pumpkin spice season is also known for going hard with new TV shows as well as those new season premiers that you were yearning for all summer. (Come back to me, Saturday Night Live.) To prep for the competition with Disney+, Netflix and Hulu September additions are to die for.
With so much new content to watch and all of the TVs on sale this week, there's no reason to wait until Black Friday to buy a new TV. Enhance your living room with a curved 65-inch Samsung TV

There's a scene in This Way Up where Aine turns the key in the door to her flat, says a brief hello to her flatmate, before seeking solace in her bedroom. She climbs into bed and watches TV on her laptop perched atop a chest of drawers. 
It's a familiar scene — but not in the sense you might think. 
British Channel 4 series This Way Up is, in the words of Aisling Bea who created and stars in the show, "a comedy about loneliness." As well as being extremely funny, the show is one

Image: Spotify Spotify is adding the ability to share whatever it is you’re listening to with a snap on Snapchat — long after other platforms like Instagram already got this same type of integration. So long as Snapchat is installed on the same device you’re using Spotify on, you’ll now see it appear in Spotify’s share menu.When chosen, Snapchat will automatically create a snap that includes song info and album art for the currently playing track. This can then be

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge If you requested money from Equifax for leaking your personal data, you’ll need to provide more information by October 15th. The Equifax settlement administrator sent an email with details over the weekend. It asks consumers to confirm that they’re actually signed up for credit monitoring, which is a prerequisite for requesting the money. If they can’t do that, they can amend their claim to request free credit monitoring. Otherwise, the