Technology news

Facebook is apparently preparing to break out the emergency tool kit to deal with the 2020 U.S. election. 
These internal tools, typically reserved for use in "at-risk" countries, help to slow down the spread of viral misinformation related to an election or other major event, The Wall Street Journal reports.  Sources "familiar with the matter" say the company is ready to implement those tools if needed as the 2020 election concludes.
As part of the process, Facebook will not only slow

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge Facebook is planning for possible chaos around the November 3rd US presidential election with internal tools it’s used before in countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar, The Wall Street Journal reported.The plans may include slowing the spread of posts as they begin to go viral, altering the news feed algorithm to change what content users see, and changing the rules for what kind of content is dangerous and warrants removal. They’re strategies

It was Oct. 25, 2019 when former Vice President and hopeful 2020 candidate Joe Biden tweeted out a warning to the American public.
"We are not prepared for a pandemic," he wrote, weeks ahead of COVID-19 being named and flagged as an emerging threat. "Trump has rolled back progress President Obama and I made to strengthen global health security. We need leadership that builds public trust, focuses on real threats, and mobilizes the world to stop outbreaks before they reach our shores."We are not

Before using Notion, I used Trello, Google Calendar, Google Keep, Google Drive, Evernote, and countless other applications to keep my life on track. They were all terrific applications, but switching between them just for changes in features quickly became a chore – staying productive became a chore. 
It took me at least a year before I settled on the best productivity app. I even switched to paper agendas and bullet journaling, but my lack of art skills killed that dream. I needed so

Following a livestream on its YouTube channel on Friday, iFixit published a full in-depth breakdown of its teardown for both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. And, it confirms what we basically already knew: Both phones are almost exactly the same on the inside and out. 
For starters, the displays are interchangeable and can be swapped between the two phones (although, their respective max brightness a bit different). Considering the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro both feature 6.1-inch Super Retina XD

Chadwick Boseman stars in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom | Netflix So in between catching up with episodes of Grace and Frankie and watching the presidential debate, I tried to watch the new Netflix version of Rebecca, which is exactly the kind of flick I am usually 100 percent here for. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t able to really get into it, but I think Josh Rivera’s review really nails it: it’s kind of a boring take on the story.
It’s a beautiful-looking m

As concern mounts over the impacts of climate change, many experts are calling for greater use of electricity as a substitute for fossil fuels. Powered by advancements in battery technology, the number of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on U.S. roads is increasing. And utilities are generating a growing share of their power from renewable fuels, supported by large-scale battery storage systems. These trends, coupled with a growing volume of battery-powered phones, watches, laptops, wearabl

It is not a partisan statement in the year of our lord 2020 to say that the ongoing U.S. Election is a mess. But voters are turning out in record numbers, spending hours in line while waiting to cast their ballots — and entertaining themselves while they wait.
A group of Philadelphia voters decided to pass the time while dancing on line to "Mississippi Cha Cha Slide." The resulting video went viral on Twitter, containing the perfect mix of positive energy, patriotism, and safe pandemic beh

Today on "Only in Trump's America" we have a real doozy to share with you.
The Department of Health and Human Services has pulled the plug on a planned $250 million public service ad campaign tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the plan would've involved giving mall Santa Claus performers – as well as elves and Mrs. Claus's – early access to an eventual COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for promoting the benefits of vaccination.
The plan, which was detailed in a Sunday report from t

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Chrome OS may finally be getting a dark mode, but so far it’s only been spotted in its experimental Canary channel, Android Central reported.Before you go tinkering with Canary just be advised: Canary is Google’s “bleeding edge” Chrome OS path, which receives daily updates of features before they’ve been widely tested. It can only be accessed from Chromebooks switched into a special developer mode (not to be confused with the

Countries across the world took unprecedented action in the first few months of 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19. At its peak, one-third of the world’s population was in lockdown. Around the world, car travel fell by 50%, the number of flights plummeted by 75% and industrial activity fell by around 35%. With so many cars parked, aeroplanes grounded and factories closed, global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions fell by around 17% compared with the same period in 2019. But greenhou

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge PayPal has terminated the account of domain registrar and web hosting company Epik for violating its “risk controls,” prompting angry letters and blog posts from Epik alleging conservative bias was to blame, Mashable reported.Seattle-based Epik is perhaps best known for its support of right-wing social media site Gab. The site was banned by its hosting company, domain registrar, and PayPal in 2018, after it was discovered that the alleged shoo

John Mulaney will return to hosting Saturday Night Live in its final episode before the 2020 election.
The comedian announced the news Saturday night (fitting) along with musical guest The Strokes.Three things define New York City: SNL, the Strokes, and Ed Koch. Koch is dead, so they got meI am so goddamn excited. 4th time up. Wow and wow and wow pic.twitter.com/6Cl9Lmf9zO
— John Mulaney (@mulaney) October 25, 2020As noted in the tweet, this is Mulaney's fourth time hosting, and the second

The pandemic has given us the chance to rethink which type of city we would like to live in. The restrictions imposed by the virus have challenged us and forced us to rethink mobility schemes which were previously unthinkable. It has also given us the opportunity to revisit and revise the process we had already begun. In this back and forth, we have further strengthened our conviction to accelerate transformations and policies that have been put in place in the last few years, in order to

TLDR: With the Omvana Meditation app, users get help beyond calming anxiety to actually prompt real growth and improved results in your daily life. Most meditation courses and programs have the same basic purpose: to help you relax, center and find peace. Those are, of course, all very important, very worthwhile goals. However, if you’re going to put in the often significant time investment to meditate and focus and attempt to tap into your innermost self, then it might be worth getting e

Apple did the unthinkable with its new iPhone 12: It stopped including a charging brick in the box. It's supposedly better for the environment, but that's no real consolation when your phone dies and you don't have a compatible charging brick to resurrect it.
To make matters worse, the cable that comes with the iPhone 12 is Lightning to USB-C. In other words, the part that connects to your phone is the same as always, but the other end won't plug into your old USB charging brick. It's time to fi

Remember back in 2019 when many of us – a majority of Americans, at least – looked ahead hopefully to the 2020 election year and the change it promised to bring? What suckers we were.
Saturday Night Live's funniest sketch of the night and the season so far casts Kate McKinnon as a palm reader in 2019. When a group of friends show up to see what their future holds in the next year, all they get is a series of puzzling and increasingly alarming response.
The whole thing works because i

In Tales of the Early Internet, Mashable explores online life through 2007 — back before social media and the smartphone changed everything.***From its earliest days, the Star Trek franchise has lent itself to parody, fan stories and all kinds of remixing. So it was only natural that its longest-running show would play a big role in the internet's oldest memes. The original series (1966-1969) was syndicated on roughly 200 TV stations in the 1970s. This led to an explosion in fan ficti

This week, Saturday Night Live dared to ask: What if global pop star sensation Adele was a contestant on The Bachelor?
The answer, it turns out, is she'd sing a lot. Those songs tell a story here. Adele has had a lot to say in her music about heartbreak, and she apparently arrived on the set of The Bachelor already braced for more.  Read more...
More about Adele, Saturday Night Live, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Remember that time about 20 years ago on Oct. 13 when Donald Trump danced badly to the Village People and we all laughed? Well the Village People, as portrayed by Saturday Night Live players, have some thoughts on that.
The quintet of costumed singers paid a visit to SNL's Weekend Update segment for a little song and dance dedicated to their latest fan. It's not a happy song, though. The People aren't happy with Donald, and they let him know that loud and clear in a "new" song that would make We

This much can be said about Saturday Night Live's attempt to skewer the final debate showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump: It happened. Sorry folks, that's all I got.
For fans of such things, this sketch has it all: Trump's trademark dismissiveness of the pandemic (also his casual racism), Biden's folksy malarkey, Maya Rudolph playing the only competent human in the room (in this case, moderator Kristen Welker), and references to both Biden Bingo and Rudy Giuliani's Borat drama.
So if you

How many times have you been reminded about the election today? Once? Twice? Too many times to count?
With a little more than a week left to go before Election Day, announcing that you've voted early, encouraging others to make a voting plan, talking to undecided voters, or urging people to go to the polls on Nov. 3 has become somewhat of a viral challenge. 
In the five minutes I spent scrolling Instagram this morning alone I counted 23 posts — both on my timeline and in Stories &mdas

This article was originally published by Steve Schaefer on Clean Fleet Report, a publication that gives its readers the information they need to move to cars and trucks with best fuel economy, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and advanced diesel and gasoline engines. Mercedes-Benz has introduced a new electric vehicle that should be affordable for almost everyone. The eScooter rides on two wheels, carries one person and, with a 500-watt (half a kW) motor and a 280-w

TL,DR: Get the Powerbeats3 on sale for $77.99 as of Oct. 25, and finally get through a workout without your earbuds falling out. Not an AirPods fan when it comes to exercise? Here's one alternative — the Powerbeats3.
With an impressive 12 hours of battery life per charge, secure-fit ear hooks, and sweat and water resistance, the Powerbeats3 make life and fitness simpler. They'll stay in place no matter how intense your workout gets, and they'll stay strong when the sweat drips down. I

TL;DR: Invest in your ponytail with a pack of Terra Ties: 100% Organic and Biodegradeable Hair Ties for $10.99, a 26% savings as of Oct. 25.It's always nice to have an extra hair tie on deck. Want a biodegradable option? Consider switching to Terra Ties.
These hair ties are made of natural rubber and organic cotton, are black (so they go with everything), and are dyed with all-natural dyes. The rubber/cotton combo makes this pack of ties extra thick and durable, so rest assured they're less like

Virtual reality (VR) has the power to take us out of our surroundings and transport us to far-off lands. From a quick round of golf, to fighting monsters or going for a skydive, all of this can be achieved from the comfort of your home. But it’s not just gamers who love VR and see its potential. VR is used a lot in psychology research to investigate areas such as social anxiety, moral decision-making and emotional responses. And in our new research we used VR to explore how people respond

TL;DR: Keep your clothes clean with a two-pack of the FurZapper® pet hair remover for $12.99, a 13% savings as of Oct. 25. How many hours of your life have you spent brushing pet hair from your couch, clothes, blankets, and every other surface of your home? If the answer is too many to count, you need a real solution to the problem of never-ending pet hair and dander.
Luckily, there actually is a solution that can free you from this cycle. The FurZapper pet hair remover is one of the ea

If most of your day is spent in a web browser or using Google apps, you might want to consider a Chromebook, which has gained a ton of popularity as an everything-you-need, nothing-you-don't sort of computing experience.
Chrome OS is Google's alternative to Windows. It basically works like a complex version of the Chrome browser, but in the form of a desktop. Sure, it may be less capable of things like graphic design, music production, or gaming, but for those looking for something simple for di

The holidays are about to roll around (even though it was clearly just February, right?), which means that you need to figure out what to use as stocking stuffers yet again. Might we suggest a Funko Pop! or two?
These cute little figurines are a joy to own — and they're all designed after our favorite pop culture icons. Here, we've rounded up 21 Marvel figures on sale as of Oct. 25, so you can gift your loved one a little Ant-Man or Hulk.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Thanos
Thanos isn't exactl

SAVE 49%: A 15-month subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £5.31 per month as of Oct. 25, saving you 49% on list price.We hate to break this to you, but there are absolutely loads of shows and films on American Prime Video that aren't available in the UK. Geo-restrictions are to blame, and the only way of bypassing these blockades is to use a VPN.
Most of the leading VPN providers claim to be able to unblock the leading streaming sites like Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+, but Expres

TL;DR: The Complete GameGuru Bundle is on sale for £22.98 as of Oct. 25, saving you 85% on list price.Every video game fan, at some point, has dreamt of making their own. It's just a fact. But, of course, there are quite a few obstacles to such a dream. Fortunately, a lack of programming skills doesn't have to be one of them. With the Complete GameGuru Bundle, even complete coding novices can create their very own 3D video games.
Designed for gaming enthusiasts without programming or desig

Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images Samsung Electronics has announced the death of its chairman, Lee Kun-hee. The company says he died on October 25th with family including his son, vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong, at his side. He was 78.
A cause of death was not given, but Lee had been incapacitated for many years after suffering a heart attack in 2014, causing him to withdraw from public life. Jae-yong, also known as Jay Y. Lee, has been widely assumed to take over upon his fath

Lee Kun-hee, the long-time chairman of Samsung Group who transformed the conglomerate into one of the world’s largest business empires, died today at the age of 78, according to reports from South Korean leading news agency Yonhap.
The story of Samsung is deeply intertwined with the history of its home country, which is sometimes dubbed “The Republic of Samsung.” Lee, the son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, came to power in the late 1980s just as South Korea transitioned fro

Welcome back to Human Capital! As many of you know, Human Capital is a weekly newsletter where I break down the latest in labor, as well as diversity and inclusion in tech. It’s officially available as a newsletter, so if you want this content when it comes in hot Fridays at 1 p.m. PT, subscribe here. 
Since the election is coming up, this edition focuses heavily on California ballot measure Proposition 22. The TL;DR is that gig companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash really want to ke