Thursday, October 28, 2021

Thursday Technology News and More






Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
1KTechCrunch / 1h
Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus has a new name. Facebook’s corporate entity is now Meta. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg announced the change at the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event, sharing that the new title captured more of the company’s core ambition: to build the metaverse



200+How-To Geek / 1h
Facebook held its big Facebook Connect event today, and the company announced that it’s changing its name to better focus on the metaverse it’s trying to help build. To do so, the company is changing its name to Meta. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›

TODAY



Oculus Quest 2 owners will have plenty of new games to enjoy in 2022, as Facebook (now called Meta) announced several new titles coming in the near future that could be contenders for our best VR games list. Grand Theft Auto fans will be able to enjoy GTA San Andreas in an all-new way when it lands on the Oculus Quest 2. If Resident Evil 4 VR was anything to go by, the more realistic first-person



Dell upgraded its Alienware Aurora gaming PC series in time for the 25th anniversary – as well as Black Friday deals hunting – which not only means better specs but also a brand new design. The Aurora R13 and Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 will be the first desktops in the series released with a redesigned look. This new design features 50% more internal chassis space than previous editions of each mod



Ars Technica / 13min
Enlarge / Stanley Miller with the original laboratory equipment used in the 1952 Miller-Urey Experiment, which gave credence to the idea that organic molecules could have been created by the conditions of the early Earth's atmosphere. (credit: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images) In 1952, a University of Chicago chemist named Stanley Miller and his adviser, Harold Urey, conducted a famous exp



Ars Technica / 13min
Enlarge / Facebook? Who is Facebook? My name is Meta! (credit: Facebook / YouTube ) As part of an Oculus Connect keynote presentation today , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rolled out the name "Meta" as a new corporate identity reflecting the company's "new north star—to help bring the metaverse to life." The name, which Zuckerberg noted comes from the Greek word for "beyond," is "a new company bra



IHG has just launched its latest sale on purchased points , which is being marketed as a flash sale. It’s in line with the best offers we see from the program, and could be worth seriously considering. Flash sale on purchased IHG Rewards points Through Monday, November 8, 2021, IHG Rewards is offering up to a 100% bonus on purchased points . Specifically, you can receive the 100% bonus as long as



Futurism / 17min
SpaceFlex SpaceX has flexed the “Chopsticks” arm of its massive Starship-catching tower for the first time this morning at the company’s testing facilities in South Texas, as spotted during a live NASASpaceflight stream . The “Mechazilla” tower, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk likes to call it , is meant to ensure that the space company’s heavy lift rocket called Starship and its accompanying Super Heavy



Futurism / 17min
Today’s drones offer more hands-on fun than your kid’s favorite video game. Advances in quadcopter technology have made these flying gadgets safer and much easier to control. In fact, most are flight-ready in mere minutes. Plus, drones designed for kids provide extra layers of protection to prevent curious fingers from interacting with angry propellers. A drone with camera and phone apps turns th



How-To Geek / 23min
If you need to update specific data throughout your spreadsheet, it can be time-consuming. But with a built-in tool, you can find all instances of that data and replace them at one time in Google Sheets. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



100+The Points Guy / 23min
On March 31, 2021, Alaska Airlines officially joined the Oneworld alliance . This was a major change for the Seattle-based carrier, which historically had resisted joining a major airline alliance and instead preferred individual airline partnerships . Alaska’s entrance into Oneworld meant more ways to earn and redeem miles, reciprocal elite benefits — including access to the alliance’s more than



200+Wired / 23min
Mark Zuckerberg would like you to call his troubled company something else now.



Lifehacker / 26min
Chocolate cake is never just delicious; it’s decadent . Popcorn can’t be merely tasty; it’s guilt-free . Your friend didn’t just help themselves to seconds; they feel the need to talk about working it off in the gym tomorrow. Read more...



SlashGear / 27min
Dropbox still lacks a native app for Apple’s latest Mac models running its M1 silicon, forcing users to utilize a battery-hungry version of the software operating under Apple’s Rosetta translation process. A recent tweet highlighting some posts on the Dropbox forums stirred up chaos among Dropbox users by indicating a native M1 app may never arrive, and now the company … Continue reading



"Within the next decade, the metaverse will have a billion users and host billions of dollars worth of business," Mark Zuckerberg said during an Oculus Connect event today. Oh really? Facebook... wait, no, now it's Meta , right?... is unveiling the Metaverse? And we're supposed to buy that? I have ... questions for you, Mark. Questions like: What does the metaverse look like, anyway? During Oculu



Mashable / 33min
Mark Zuckerberg wants you to be wowed. At Thursday's Facebook Connect presentation, the CEO unveiled virtual and augmented reality technology that seems designed to change a world already struggling with Facebook's effects on it . The small, often unmentioned speed bump in the way of this lofty dream? Much of the showcased tech is years, if not decades away — and may never exist at all. The vapor



Mashable / 33min
Meta , the company formerly known as Facebook, talked about the future of its VR and AR hardware on Thursday...sort of. At the Connect 2021 keynote event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a very brief overview of what's to come from the company's hardware division going forward. First up is Project Cambria, a future VR headset that Zuckerberg confirmed would be both more technically capable and more expe



Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
100+Mashable / 33min
Facebook finally has a new name: Meta. During Facebook's Connect event on Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the name change , saying he hopes, in the future, Facebook will be seen as "a metaverse company." "Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future," Zuckerberg said. He said he wanted



Mashable / 33min
Ahead of the international COP26 meeting , in which world leaders will convene in Glasgow from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 to discuss the Paris Agreement and pressing climate crisis, the United Nations has released a video urging world leaders to step up for climate change — through the voice of a species that's, warningly, no longer around. The 2-minute-long ad features the voice acting of Jack Black as



Mashable / 33min
Most people will never get to see the Blue Marble that is Earth from the perspective of space. But a new VR experience takes us pretty dang close. The makers of a VR documentary about life aboard the International Space Station are releasing a new "fully immersive" 7-minute experience called "Home Planet" that situates viewers inside the observational Copula Module aboard the ISS. The Cupola Modu



Ars Technica / 35min
Ursus maritimus Enlarge / Polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) standing upright on fjord ice at Sabinebukta Bay at Irminger Point on a summer morning. (credit: Paul Souders / Getty Images ) The Arctic is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. Because of that warming, some organisms are adapting by shifting their natural stomping grounds, and the region is seeing some species move in as



TechCrunch / 37min
Facebook ( aka “Meta” ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg today took several thinly veiled shots at Apple and the overall app ecosystem when detailing his plans for the metaverse during today’s keynote speech at the company’s Facebook Connect 2021 event. Specifically, he called out app platforms and their associated fees for “stifling innovation,” while simultaneously justifying Facebook’s plans to keep some o




TechCrunch / 37min
Sequoia hosted a private, sponsored AMA for founders in Startup Battlefield and Startup Alley at the virtual Disrupt SF last month. Stephanie Zhang, Konstantine Buhler, George Robson and Josephine Chen shared some key insights and best practices. It was good stuff, so we wanted to share. We took some highlights from the session and chatted with a couple more partners to dive deeper into what foun



Gizmodo / 38min
A group of five young climate activists are entering their ninth day of a hunger strike to demand that Democrats in Congress pass meaningful climate legislation as part of the Build Back Better agenda. Hunger strikes have a long, varied history as a tool to fight injustice and demand rights—but this climate strike is… Read more...



It’s only natural to want the best for your business, and that starts with finding the best staff possible. That’s not as easy as it sounds, though. There are a seemingly infinite number of avenues that any hiring manager can take when it comes to identifying the best prospects, and it isn’t easy to know which options will be the best for your business. That’s why we’ve tackled the hard work for



SlashGear / 42min
Today Oculus and Facebook (now Meta) teased a new VR headset called Project Cambria. This device was described as an advanced and high-end VR product that’ll bring the wearer “a step closer to the metaverse.” A single video was released about the device, giving precious little information about the way it’ll work, or what it’ll actually be capable of doing. … Continue reading



How-To Geek / 44min
Without the Rosetta emulation layer, Apple’s M1 chip wouldn’t be a success. Rosetta lets the M1 ARM architecture run x86 software without a hitch, reducing the need for developers to build native Apple Silicon versions of their apps. There’s just one problem—Rosetta emulation can gobble up RAM and power. And after a year of enjoying M1, Mac users are upset by Dropbox’s failure to release an Apple



Gizmodo / 44min
Welcome to Gadgettes , a podcast from Gizmodo’s consumer technology team where we womansplain technology. Each week, your hosts, Gizmodo reporter Florence Ion and senior editor Caitlin McGarry, will dive into key tech topics, from the devices we’re testing and reviewing to the week’s biggest tech news. Read more...



Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
The social media giant says the new name will better encompass what it does.



Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
Facebook is officially changing its name to Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today at the company's Oculus Connect event. As Zuckerberg pointed out, the word meta comes from the Greek word for beyond, which is where the CEO feels the company is going with its reinvigorated focus on augmented and virtual reality. At Connect, Zuckerberg outlined several ambitious plans for it's calling a connect



SlashGear / 49min
Facebook is rebranding, taking on the new name Meta as it tries to lead the metaverse push – and add some distance with ongoing controversy about the social network. “Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during … Continue reading



Gizmodo / 50min
André Nemec, the showrunner for Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the monstrously popular 1998 anime series Cowboy Bebop , has said many times that fans shouldn’t expect his show to be a one-to-one remake of the original. That was abundantly clear when the first Cowboy Bebop trailer dropped this week, which… Read more...



Editor’s note: This guide has been updated with the latest information. Getting a new credit card can be a great way to earn a large number of points or miles quickly, and it can also play an essential role in maximizing your everyday purchases. However, it may make more sense to upgrade an existing credit card in some instances rather than applying for a new one outright. In fact, some issuers e



We can punish bad actors - and we should - but there seems to be a combination of factors that lead American to have to deal with this issue more than others. Yet aside from lobbying for punishments, American's approach has largely been to lobby for airports not to allow vendors to sell alcohol to go any longer . It's always struck me as sort of stupid that places do this, but it doesn't seem to



Lifehacker / 55min
I am not good at carving pumpkins. I can manage a rudimentary face with a snaggletoothed smile and triangle eyes, or simple ideological symbols , but that’s it! I am, however, very good at cooking pumpkin seeds. Read more...



Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
The social network, under fire for spreading misinformation and other issues, said the change was part of its bet on a next digital frontier called the “metaverse.”



Novara, a London news group, fell victim to YouTube’s opaque and sometimes arbitrary enforcement of its rules.



TechCrunch / 58min
International travel is slowly opening up again, but that also means business and leisure travelers alike will once again have to think about visa restrictions as they take to the air. Nobody has ever enjoyed the process of applying for a visa, but Atlys promises to take the hassle out of the process. The company today announced that it has raised a $4.25 million seed funding round led by Andrees



Facebook Meta Zuckerberg•
Engadget / 59min
Facebook, the social network, will no longer define the future of Facebook, the company that will now be known as Meta . Facebook Inc. is changing the name in order to distinguish its beleaguered social network, which has an increasingly poor reputation around the globe, from the company that is pinning its future on the promise of a “metaverse.” "Our brand is so tightly linked to one product tha



Engadget / 59min
Facebook is working on a new high-end VR headset codenamed Project Cambria. The company teased the device during its recent Connect conference on Thursday. It plans to release the headset sometime next year. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it will be a separate "high-end" product from the company's $299 Quest 2 headset . It will also cost more than that device. Cambria will include capabilities



Save $15: The Roku Streaming Stick 4K 2021 is on sale for $34.99 at Amazon as of Oct. 28. That's a 30% discount. Avid TV watchers should check out the new Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which is only $34.99 at Amazon. It was released just last month, but it's already 30% off — its lowest price to date. This streaming stick plugs directly into your TV's HDMI port. From there, you can start streaming all




Amazon has been dropping early Black Friday deals throughout the month of October, and today's new batch of bargains don't disappoint. We've sorted through Amazon's early Black Friday sale to bring you the 13 best deals just below. Amazon's early Black Friday deals allow you to get a head start on your holiday shopping, and thanks to record-low prices, you can also score incredible bargains befor



Mark Zuckerberg finally lifted the lid on Oculus' next VR headset at Facebook Connect 2021 – and it's called Project Cambria. Coming at some point next year, Project Cambria isn't a Quest device (so not the Oculus Quest 3 ), but will be compatible with Quest devices, so says the company. It will arrive as part of Facebook's push to introduce multiple new mixed reality products "advancing the stat



New Bike•
Tenways is an e-bike maker which has launched its first model, the CGO 600, on Indiegogo. Priced at around $1,400 this is a relatively affordable e-bike in the scheme of things, and has plenty of features to satisfy even the most discerning of customers. Now before we get into it, it behooves me to say that there is always an inherent risk when buying into new products promoted on crowdfunding pl



Tomb Raider Lara Croft•
The Tomb Raider franchise turns 25 years old this month, and Square Enix just made a bunch of announcements in celebration of that milestone. Arguably the biggest announcements of the day are for the Nintendo Switch, which is getting two Tomb Raider games next year. In addition, Square Enix also announced plans to give away Rise of the Tomb Raider … Continue reading



Zuckerberg Peloton•
Facebook wants the Quest 2 to be known as more than a game console for your face. At the company’s Facebook Connect developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the company’s efforts to make the Quest a fitness platform for third-party apps like Supernatural and FitXR. He compared it directly to the Peloton as a connected fitness device. “A lot of you are already using Quest to stay fit,



54Gizmodo / 1h
In a truly double-take-inducing finding, geneticists recently surveyed a population of critically endangered California condors and found that two of the birds reproduced without actually mating. Read more...



tSCS Connecticut China US•
Unknown Object The US Navy still has no idea what its submarine hit in the South China Sea earlier this month. Officials announced earlier this month that the nuclear submarine USS Connecticut had sustained damage — and its crew members had reported several injuries — after colliding with an “unknown object” in the South China Sea. Now, it sounds as though military officials still have no idea wh



78Wired / 1h
Scientists used NASA’s Juno spacecraft to probe the massive storm, finding that it’s not as shallow as previously thought.



100+Wired / 1h
A new study shows that two captive birds had only maternal DNA and survived early development—a first for the critically endangered species.



The folks at Teenage Engineering had a brand new pc chassis for sale earlier today. By the time it really started trending on social networks, it was already sold out. This chassis is designed to be simple and light, but strong enough to withstand basic wear-and-tear. The version the design group had for sale this morning would’ve cost you around … Continue reading



15.2 App Privacy Report•
After announcing its new App Privacy Report at WWDC 2021 , the feature has now begun rolling out to iPhones and iPads with the release of the iOS 15.2 beta and iPadOS 15.2 beta. With Apple's App Privacy Report, the company's users can quickly see what permissions their apps have and how often they were accessed over the past week. However, the feature goes a step further by showing users which do



The first freezing night of autumn can be disastrous for your garden. Although some plants thrive in low temperatures, many others die at the merest kiss of frost. Don’t get caught out in the cold—here’s how to get ready for the first frost of the season. Read more...



Blade & Sorcery has been a strong showcase for VR, but it has a drawback: its PC-only nature has meant occasionally tripping over wires while you fight your fantasy battles. Thankfully, that won't be an issue for long. Warpfrog has unveiled Blade & Sorcery: Nomad , a stand-alone game coming to the Oculus Quest 2 on November 4th for $20. The basic concept remains the same — it's a "sandbox" brawle



Enlarge / Intel's first 12th-generation desktop processors are arriving soon. (credit: Intel) Intel's 11th-generation desktop processors, codenamed Rocket Lake, didn't impress us much . They were Intel's sixth processor architecture based on some version of Intel's 14 nm manufacturing process and the first not to use an iteration of the venerable Skylake core from 2015 . They did improve performa



Enlarge (credit: Asus) Because a gaming headset sits on your head (where you can't see it), its looks aren't all that important. But that hasn't stopped headset makers from blinging out their products. Besides, if you're on camera livestreaming or talking to your teammates, you might be looking to spice things up with pink cat ears or RGB-infused earcups . The Asus ROG Delta S Animate offers a ne



23Gizmodo / 1h
The chronicling of human evolution has proven to be an onerous and complicated task, resulting in all sorts of contradictions and inconsistencies. A group of scientists is seeking to make better sense of this anthropological mess by proposing a new species of ancestral human that calls for the reassigning of certain… Read more...



Gizmodo / 1h
UNESCO World Heritage Sites are the planet’s most iconic places and include sites from the natural and built world. But a new report from the group shows that a small but vital number of forests that have received a UNESCO designation are being irrevocably altered by human activities. Read more...



There are lot of startups now working on modular home design. Among the most interesting is Cover , a seven-year-old, L.A.-based company that says it manufactures fully complete wall, floor, and roof panels in its factory, then transports them on a standard truck and assembles them on site — without a crane. The materials it is using are lightweight steel for the building frame and aluminum for t




Twitter Spaces iOS•
Twitter announced last month it would soon introduce an option that allows hosts to record their live audio sessions in Twitter Spaces to make them available for replay. While the company at the time said the feature would launch in a “few months,” it’s not surprising that, given Twitter’s accelerated pace of development, the company is rolling out its first iteration of the feature starting toda



VSC , a public relations firm that has helped the likes of startups such as ClearCo, Poshmark and Tile craft their stories, has raised millions to invest in the companies they work with. While its bigger fund is estimated to close at $20 million , VSC confirmed that it has raised a $7 million tranche for climate tech startups to start. VSC Ventures will back early-stage companies with checks betw



All the movies or shows your contacts share in Messages appear in the Shared with You section on Apple TV. If that section annoys you for taking up space, here’s how to disable it on Apple TV. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Over the summer we saw three fantastic sign-up bonuses introduced on co-branded airline credit cards that earn Avios. This is a reminder that these offers are still going strong, so if you’re eligible and haven’t yet applied, I’d highly recommend doing so. Chase issues co-branded credit cards in the United States for Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia. All three airlines belong to the same a



GTA San Andreas Oculus•
One of the most-loved entries in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series is coming to VR. On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a port of 2004's GTA: San Andreas is in development for the company's Quest 2 VR headset. "This new version of what I think is one of the greatest games ever made will offer players an entirely new way to experience this iconic open world in virtual reality," Zu



The Marvel Cinematic Universe is thirteen years and twenty-six movies old, reaching its record-breaking level of success by delivering exactly what its audience expects, every time. Going to see a Marvel movie means buff, shirtless superheroes, fun fight choreography, comic book quips, and a big, smashy CGI battle to wrap it all up before dropping hints for the next go-round — coming soon to thea



Save $60: Stop mixing your cookie dough by hand and get a Ninja Foodi SS201 Power Blender and Processor at Amazon for just $78.99 (original price: $139.99) and save $60 as of Oct. 28. There might be nothing worse than a smoothie that hasn't been fully blended. It is an absolute must to have a reliable, strong blender in the kitchen that can break down even the toughest fruits and veggies. The Nin



Dell XPS Desktop Intel•
Dell's laptop XPS laptop line include some of the best laptops and Ultrabooks out there, such as the recent Dell XPS 15 OLED and Dell XPS 17 models. However, the company hasn't forgotten about the desktops that made it a household name, and it's back with its latest entry into its popular XPS desktop series, just in time for Black Friday . This XPS desktop is nearly 42% larger than its predecesso



GTA San Andreas Oculus•
30TechCrunch / 1h
During its big VR and AR-focused event Thursday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major new title headed to its VR platform that should turn a few heads. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is on the way to the Oculus Quest 2. San Andreas is Rockstar’s well-loved 2004 entry into the hit GTA franchise, which invites players to wreak havoc in an urban open world fashioned after cities



The video game publisher said it would spend $250 million on hiring more women and those from “underrepresented communities” and adopt a zero-tolerance harassment policy.



Mario Party Superstars MPS•
Enlarge / "Yeah, Waliuigi time!" Since the Mario Party series launched in 1998 on the N64, it has played host to over 1,000 mini-games spread across 15 titles (depending on how you count). The question behind Mario Party Superstars on the Switch is whether you can find 100 of those mini-games that are actually good . The answer is a resounding yes. By focusing on the best and most enduring mini-g



GTA San Andreas Oculus•
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the classic Rockstar Games title Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is coming to Quest 2 . The project has been in development for some time, however it was only just announced at Facebook's Oculus Connect event held on October 28. "I'm excited for gamers to experience this iconic open world in virtual reality," Zuckerberg said during the presentation. Unfor



Oculus Quest 2 users will see a new living space: Horizon Home, a more social version of the virtual living room that pops up when you slip on your headset. Instead of just being a pretty and sterile virtual environment, you'll be able to invite friends to hang out in your Horizon Home space. The idea is that you'll be able to do things together, like dive into VR videos or play multiplayer games



Gizmodo / 1h
Facebook is trying really hard to make the metaverse happen, and at its annual Connect keynote, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained what exactly that will entail. Read more...



Android 12L was revealed this week by Google, and with it, a look at the future of larger-screen Android UI. Google effectively suggested that their insight into the future of mobile devices indicates a need for more of a focus on large-screen devices. Today we’re taking a peek at what Google’s software “Android 12L” will mean for Google Pixel hardware. … Continue reading



At the Facebook Connect event, Mark Zuckerberg's opening keynote detailed the plans he has for a metaverse that combines the real virtual world that allow people to connect wherever they are in the world - using devices like the Oculus Quest 2 headset and the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses . Users will be able to create AR tags attached to real-world locations to create art and tell stories, play



At Facebook’s AR/VR-focused event Connect, the company announced a new app focused on bringing more creators into the world of building for augmented reality. The upcoming iOS app, called Polar, allows users to build their own AR filters for Facebook and Instagram powered by the Spark AR platform. Users will be able to easily create these filters in a visual way using templates — a much lighter t



The MacBook Pros are finally pro machines again. Now that the ports are back, and Apple has upgraded the power and the design, it’s your turn to upgrade the software experience. After unboxing your MacBook Pro , take some time to make some essential productivity tweaks. These little changes will go a long way to making… Read more...



FBI Chinese PAX US•
Pax Technology is a major provider of payment terminals worldwide.



Announced during the Facebook Connect 2021 event, Horizon Home, Horizon Worlds, create games, throw parties, chat with friends' avatars. Built on last year's beta. Announced during the Facebook Connect 2021 event, Oculus Home is being rebranded and improved as Horizon Home, where users can interact with each other with created avatars. The concept has been built on since a beta that was held last




I confess that I’m among the miles-and points-obsessed contingent that work at TPG. For my family, it’s often confounding and hard to understand. One of the best ways to explain it is by taking family members on trips paid for, in total or in part, with points. I have now recruited both my father and brother into my points universe. I’ve made them authorized users on my cards, and I’m rewarding t



Gizmodo / 1h
This month is huge for fans of sci-fi and fantasy books. We’ve got James S.A. Corey’s final Expanse book, Leviathan Falls ; a new collection of stories by io9 co-founder Charlie Jane Anders called Even Greater Mistakes ; and the latest Brandon Sanderson Skyward Series novel , Cytonic . Plus, new books from Marissa Meyer ,… Read more...



Buy now, pay later is here to stay. A year ago, the biggest players in the space were companies founded solely to offer consumers the ability to pay in installments at the point of sale. Sweden’s Klarna, Australia’s Afterpay and U.S.-based Affirm were the top names associated with BNPL. But the landscape looks very different now that more companies recognize the opportunity and fight for a piece



Virtual reality can be a powerful teaching tool, but it's only as good as the content available for the medium. Facebook is looking to grow the availability of content for VR learning as part of its efforts to shift its focus on the metaverse , and it has created a US$150 million fund to achieve that goal. The social network has announced that it's spending that much to reach its VR learning goal



As part of its broad vision of becoming a metaverse-focused company, Facebook announced Polar, a free iOS app that makes it easy for just about anyone to create AR filters, effects and 3D objects. Think of it like an easy-to-use implementation of the company's Spark AR platform for developers. The goal is to give creators a simple tool to design custom AR effects — perhaps glowing demonic eyes, o



You can soon use an Oculus Quest 2 headset for VR workouts without it being quite so... grimy. Oculus has previewed an Active Pack for the Quest 2 that will make it easier to use the headset as part of your fitness routine. New grips for the Touch controller should keep them from flying out of your sweaty hands, while an exercise-ready "facial interface" will be easier to wipe down after an inten



Since the start of the year, Oculus Quest and Quest 2 owners have had the ability to use Messenger to chat with their Facebook friends. When using the app today, you can type out a message, send pre-written phrases or use voice-to-text to communicate. Soon, you’ll also be able to call your friends. At its Connect conference, Facebook announced it plans to bring audio calling to the platform. Late



Zuckerberg Facebook VR AR•
Here's what Facebook's metaverse isn't: It's not an alternative world to help us escape from our dystopian reality, a la Snow Crash . It won't require VR or AR glasses (at least, not at first). And, most importantly, it's not something Facebook wants to keep to itself. Instead, as Mark Zuckerberg described to media ahead of today's Facebook Connect conference, the company is betting it'll be the



Facebook wants to give creators the power to filter their own reality. At the social media giant's virtual 2021 Connect conference , it unveiled plans for a free iOS app currently codenamed "Polar" that would empower creators without coding experience to share augmented reality filters of their own creation. via GIPHY AR filters, first popularized by Snapchat and then heavily adopted by Facebook-



Zuckerberg Facebook VR AR•
45Mashable / 2h
There was an elephant in the Zoom room and Mark Zuckerberg knew it. In a call with reporters ahead of the company's 2021 Facebook Connect conference this week, the embattled social media CEO winkingly acknowledged his recently renamed company's latest bout of controversy, a two-fisted blow from whistleblower Frances Haugen's damning testimony and the coordinated journalistic effort around leaked



Save $15: As of Oct. 28, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is 30% off. You'll pay $34.99 (original price: $49.99). Whether you're streaming Dune on HBO Max or breaking out cult classics for Halloween, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K can elevate your viewing experience. The Fire TV Stick 4K comes with an Alexa Voice Remote equipped with all the usual smart home assistant trappings. You can order a pizza, ch



UFC 267 Teixeira Petr Yan•
Making just his second title title defence, Polish light heavyweight top dog Jan Blachowicz takes on former title hopeful Glover Teixeira as UFC heads back to Fight Island this weekend. Read on to discover how to find a UFC 267 live stream and watch the Abu Dhabi action from wherever you are - with ESPN+ having exclusive coverage in the US . UFC 267 time and live stream details Date: Saturday, Oc



20TechCrunch / 2h
Facebook is keen to improve the process of joining VR experiences in its Quest headset with friends. Today at the company’s Connect conference, they announced that Quest users will be able to make and take audio calls via Messenger. The functionality will be available later this year, the company says. The Quest has generally struggled with its social interfaces over the years, a surprising short



Facebook Oculus 2D Slack•
Soon you’ll be able to read incessant Slack messages without ever having to take your VR headset off. At Facebook’s Connect conference, the company showcased a new framework for bringing 2D apps into the Oculus Store so that users will have to duck out of VR less to check notifications on their phone. While a number of Facebook apps are available today, the company also shared that Slack will soo



Facebook Oculus 2D Slack•
31TechCrunch / 2h
Facebook wants to make its Quest 2 headset a productivity device for a new generation of remote workers, but in order to pull that off, it needs apps. Today, Facebook announced that they’re bringing 2D apps into the Oculus Store for the first time. The new apps which are based on the Progressive Web App (PWA) industry standard will allow users to check apps that they would have previously needed



If you've been thinking about snapping up a new Sony camera, then now could be a good time to take the plunge – Sony has started an early Black Friday deals promotion called Winter Cashback, which has slashed the price of some of its best cameras and lenses by up to £400. We've leafed through all of Sony's discounts and there are some fine deals in there, many of which are unlikely to be bettered



Battlefield 2042 Three•
EA DICE has released deep-diving details on three enormous maps coming to the all multiplayer Battlefield 2042 at launch. While today's action-packed trailer feels like it's over in a flash, it does give us a better look at some never-before-seen gameplay highlighting landmarks and characteristics of each map ahead of game's launch on November 19, 2021. The three maps showcased are named Renewal,



Edgar Wright says that he believes directors have a “duty” to make original films if they are in a position to do so. Speaking to TechRadar ahead of the release of his latest movie, Last Night in Soho, the Baby Driver filmmaker said: “I feel like it's my duty – a director's duty – to make an original film if you’ve got the opportunity to do so.” “There are a lot of rehashes and reboots [out there



The head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency conceded this week that SpaceX's Crew Dragon is safe for Russian cosmonauts to fly to the International Space Station. Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos' director general, made the announcement during a joint-press conference at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai on October 25, and marks a major shift for Russian space officials. Roscosmos's



Apple Comcast Xfinity Sky•
Sky Q has so far proven to be a fantastic hub for its customers to easily access a wide variety of streaming apps, including ITV Hub , Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video. Now, it might just become the ultimate subscription box with the addition of Apple TV Plus . Launching later in 2021 on both Sky Q and Sky Glass streaming smart TVs , Apple TV Plus hosts a variety of excellent shows that you c




NPM Roblox API Noblox.Js•
Cybersecurity researchers have once again found (and eradicated) malicious npm packages, this time delivering ransomware and password-stealing trojans on unsuspecting users. Pretending to be Roblox JavaScript libraries, the two malicious npm packages were named noblox.js-proxy and noblox.js-proxies, and use typo-squatting to present themselves to anyone looking for the legitimate Roblox API wrapp



Finding a PlayStation 5 console in stock continues to be an ongoing battle, but when it comes to PS5 games and accessories, there’s bound to be some sought-after Black Friday deals come November 26. (Not in the UK? Check out the best Deathloop deals in your region below.) With PS5 games often retailing between £70 and £60 apiece, when a deal does come around, it’s usually a good idea to act



Facebook Connect 2021•
We’re counting down to today’s Facebook Connect Oculus Quest event, and we’re starting to get a good idea of what we’re likely to see. Following leaks earlier this week that suggest a new Oculus Quest VR headset will be making an appearance, we now know that Beat Saber, the VR rhythm game for Oculus, will feature too. Beat Saber’s appearance was teased by the game’s official Twitter account , and



NRA Grief Ransomware•
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has released a statement saying that it is against its policy to discuss matters of security, a day after a ransomware gang claimed to have attacked the organization. Brett Callow, threat analyst with Emisoft , makers of a popular anti-malware solution that can thwart such attacks, was one of the first to have caught that the Grief ransomware had listed the NR



Diablo Immortal Beta•
From a rather rocky first reveal, Diablo Immortal has slowly become one of the most hotly anticipated games on the horizon – definitely from a mobile perspective, at least. And with a fresh closed beta kicking off today for Android (an iOS version is also in the works), developer Blizzard has revealed lots more to be excited about ahead of the game’s ‘early 2022’ release. For the uninitiated, thi



Diablo Immortal Beta•
Diablo Immortal is entering closed beta with a planned full release in the first half of 2022, and there are some sizeable changes coming as the developers tweak systems while they refine Diablo’s first mobile game – and first MMO. One of the biggest changes? A new event transforming one elite player into a raid boss taking on 30 player challengers. The 30-on-1 event is a new finale to Diablo Imm



Foldable display technology could have very easily been nothing more than a gimmick. When it was first announced several years ago, it certainly seemed as though that was the route it would take. Though there was talk of some interesting innovations — wrapping display technology into wallpaper and creating phones that could be folded or rolled up — it didn't seem like there was much to be excited



Barely weeks after launch, the new Apple MacBook Pro 14 is now just $1,899 thanks to Adorama's early Black Friday laptop deals - a full $100 discount and the first real price cut we've seen from any retailer so far. Not only does this early Black Friday MacBook deal beat Amazon's previous record by $50 , but it's also looking like you'll be able to secure a fairly speedy delivery too. Currently s



IBM McDonald’s AI MTL•
3KFuturism / 2h
I Said Fries! McDonald’s is partnering with IBM to implement artificial intelligence tech to take orders at its drive-thru lanes. “In my mind, IBM is the ideal partner for McDonald’s given their expertise in building AI-powered customer care solutions and voice recognition,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said during a Wednesday earnings call, as quoted by CNBC . It’s arguably the last thing we



It all started when I couldn’t remember if an apéritif was a before-dinner or after-dinner drink. (Correction: I said it was a before-dinner drink—the “per” in apéritif being reminiscent of the prefix “pre”—then my husband said he thought it was after-dinner, then I doubted myself.) Which, as someone who studied and… Read more...



Google Fi End Calls•
If you’re a Google Fi subscriber, the next time you phone someone your call may be protected by end-to-end encryption. The MVNO will start rolling out support for the privacy-minded feature to Android phones in the coming weeks. Once it’s available on your device, it will kick in automatically anytime you call another Fi subscriber. You’ll know you’re about to make an encrypted call thanks to the



Final Fantasy Remaster•
Yesterday, Square Enix announced the release date for the Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster. While we didn’t get a trailer showing off the game or its gameplay to go along with this announcement, Final Fantasy V is a known quantity by now, and we know what to expect. Even though the original SNES game never made it Stateside, Final Fantasy … Continue reading



Nikon Z9 9 AF RAW 30•
The new Nikon Z9 was revealed today as “the first flagship model of the Z series.” The company has what Nikon claims is the fastest CMOS sensor among mirrorless cameras with an image sensor of 30MP or larger (as of October 28, 2021). With this sensor, the camera is able to operate without a mechanical shutter. In addition to being … Continue reading



Pokemon Murkrow November•
Right here and now, we’re taking a peek at the most important Pokemon GO Spotlight Hours of the month of November 2021. Before we drop in on November, it’s important to note that the bonuses we’re seeking already exist in the game until the end of October. We’re talking about 2x Transfer Candy and 2x Catch Candy, of course. If … Continue reading



Raspberry Pi’s entire business is releasing tiny, low-cost computers, but at one point several years ago, the company decided it could go lower than the $30-$35 price tags we’ve seen for many of its flagships. In 2015, the company introduced the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero, which was soon followed by the $10 Zero W. Today, Raspberry Pi announced another addition … Continue reading



2022 Mercedes AMG SL•
The first Mercedes-Benz SL debuted nearly seven decades ago in Germany and was a success in both racing and sales to the public. Mercedes-AMG has launched the latest 2022 SL in the line, and the car has been completely reborn. Mercedes says its new sporty car combines genes from the original SL along with modern AMG driving performance. The car … Continue reading



Mitsubishi Outlander•
Mitsubishi has premiered its redesigned plug-in hybrid Outlander crossover SUV. The Outlander PHEV will go on sale in Japan on December 16 and will land in Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2022. Mitsubishi does plan on bringing the Outlander PHEV to North America in the second half of 2022. Mitsubishi promises the crossover will have low … Continue reading



SpaceX is getting ready to launch another Crew Dragon to send astronauts to the ISS this weekend. The fact that the Crew Dragon had a toilet aboard is something that many didn’t know until the Inspiration4 mission that sent an all civilian crew into space. On that mission, SpaceX confirmed that an alarm did go off, indicating an issue with … Continue reading



Back when Rolls-Royce unveiled the Ghost last year, it described the luxury sedan as “Post Opulent” design. Now, it’s giving the V12 car a sinister twist. The Black Badge Ghost joins the ranks of Rolls-Royce’s wildly successful Black Badge series, getting distinctive styling, an uptick in power, and a very particular appeal. You could make a solid argument that Black … Continue reading



Instagram has confirmed that it’s bringing the ability to and links to Stories for all user accounts. When Stories links were first revealed, they were only available for verified accounts or accounts with a certain number of followers. However, Instagram says over the years it has seen that the ability to share links to stories is helpful, so it’s expanding … Continue reading




Rear-wheel-drive sports cars are rare today, and one of the few you can get from a mainstream automotive manufacturer is the Toyota GR86. The 2022 GR86 is all-new, and Toyota has now confirmed pricing for the sports car. The all-new GR86 starts at $27,700 and will land dealerships in December. Buyers can choose from two different grades, including the standard … Continue reading



It’s very common for manufacturers like Apple to release new products, and fans always want to know what they look like on the inside. However, the last thing most of us want to do is tear apart our brand-new and expensive gadgets to look. Thankfully, IFIXIT has been gutting new devices for a long time, giving us a look at … Continue reading



The ESA has announced that it is planning to conduct a series of five communications tests between the Mars Express orbiter and China’s Zhurong rover currently exploring the surface of Mars. Most rovers and landers sent to Mars lack radios powerful enough to send data directly back to Earth. Instead, they rely on spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet to capture … Continue reading



Although it isn’t exactly the one Google OS to rule them all, Chrome OS has long been able to run both of Google’s preferred platforms and then some. It did take a while before it could properly handle Android apps and, even then, there are still a lot of rough edges thanks to the wide variety and quality of those … Continue reading



Mercedes-Benz has introduced a concept electric van based on its eSprinter model, demonstrating technologies that may one day make last-mile deliveries better for the environment. Called the Sustaineer, this EV concept is fully electric and designed to offer a sustainable experience in the city, including everything from a filter that helps clean the air while driving to solar panels on … Continu



Fortnite November FC•
As anticipated, November’s Fortnite Crew bundle will bring the final skin in the three-part First Shadows series. Epic has confirmed the release date, as well as the other items that will be made available to subscribers. Epic first announced its plan to release a three-part Crew series involving three different characters with the same storyline, one released per month in … Continue reading



Enlarge / Let's see, you landed on my "Google Ads" space, and with three houses... that will be $1,400. (credit: Ron Amadeo / Hasbro) The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the latest government regulatory body to take issue with how Google does business. As Reuters reports, the ACCC wants Google to show a "choice screen" to Android users, allowing them to pick a default sea



Raspberry Pi Zero 2•
Enlarge / The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. (credit: Raspberry Pi Foundation ) The diminutive Raspberry Pi Zero is getting its first upgrade in nearly five years. Today, Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton announced the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W , a new $15 product that puts the processor from the Raspberry Pi 3 into a board the exact same size as the original Zero. The new board swaps the old Zero's 1 GHz sing



GeForce Now RTX 3080•
Enlarge / GeForce Now works on all of these devices. But you'll want to double check whether your ideal combination of hardware, screen, and Ethernet connection will get you up to either 1440p resolution and 120 fps, or 2160p resolution and 60 fps. If so, GeForce Now's new 3080 subscription tier might be perfect for you. (credit: Nvidia) The prospect of buying a reasonable new GPU in 2021 remains



Odysseus Space Remco•
200+Ars Technica / 2h
Enlarge / Backdropped against clouds, the Russian Zarya module approaches Space Shuttle Endeavour and NASA's Unity module in 1998. (credit: NASA ) The sprawling International Space Station—so long a beacon of hope, unity, and technological achievement; so gleaming and bright it can be seen from a city's downtown as it passes overhead—is nearer the end of its life than the beginning. And time is r



The first major round of snowfall blanketed much of the western U.S. earlier this month — and here at The Points Guy, it has us dreaming about hitting the ski slopes . Between flying down the runs, taking in the scenery and (of course) enjoying après-ski in front of a blazing fire, there’s hardly a better activity to enjoy this winter. And if you’re seeking a perfect spot to partake in this pasti



By default, Windows 11 PCs go into a sleep mode after a certain period of time. If you’d like to adjust your PC’s sleep delay (or turn it off completely), it’s easy to do in Settings. Here’s how. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Fitbit fans and users have asked for easy access to battery indicators and other alerts for a while now, and they’re finally here. This week, Fitbit OS 5.3 arrived as a small but helpful update for the Fitbit Sense and the Versa 3, delivering several easy-to-access status indicators. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



When Flic first debuted its Smart Button, I thought that we had finally found the perfect alternative to unreliable (and annoying) voice assistants. But you need more than just a simple smart home button if you really want to ditch Alexa and Google. That’s why Flic is working on the Twist smart home controller, a smart home button with a dial that can trigger several custom events and routines. R



Gizmodo / 2h
Oh no—some of New York City’s, uhh, finest may be forced to join their rage-quitting compatriots over in Washington state and stop being cops rather than get the coronavirus vaccine, as on Wednesday a Staten Island judge ruled against the New York Police Department union’s effort to stop a mandate for municipal… Read more...



Panasonic’s GH5 was such an iconic vlogging camera that Panasonic unveiled two Micro Four Thirds successors to replace it. The $2,500 GH6 , due to arrive later this year, has major upgrades like 4K 120p and even 5.7K video. The other is the model I’m reviewing today, the $1,700 GH5 II . As the name suggests, the GH5 II is more of a refresh, with the same 20-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor. How



Lady Gaga House Gucci•
Oh to be Lady Gaga's teeny-tiny espresso cup. The Academy Award-winning actress and singer stars in Ridley Scott's upcoming House of Gucci, playing Patrizia Reggiani, ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver, in his second Scott film of 2021 ). This latest trailer showcases Gaga's central performance — Italian accent and all — as well as the film's star-studded cast, which also includes Al Pacino a



Gizmodo / 2h
There’s a big new presence slurping up power from the U.S. grid, and it’s growing: bitcoin miners. New research shows that the U.S. has overtaken China as the top global destination for bitcoin mining and energy use is skyrocketing as a result. Read more...



50Mashable / 2h
The social media world changes fast and can be fickle and faddy. While last month you might have been happy sending Snaps, making Stories, being someone's Super BFF, and keeping Snapstreaks going, this month the multimedia messaging service might seem a little passe. Simply deleting the Snapchat app from your smartphone will not close your account. If you're looking to disable, delete, and deacti



Save $303: As of Oct. 28, get a 48-inch LG A1 Series 4K smart TV for $896.99 at Amazon — a total savings of 25%. You'll also get six months of HBO Max. Want to grab a new TV before the Black Friday rush? Here's a good option: As of Oct. 28, the LG OLED A1 Series 48-inch 4K Smart TV is 25% off at Amazon. If you're a gamer or a film lover, we bet you'll like this TV. It includes: A built in game op




You might not think about what you plug your phone, tablet, or laptop into as much as you do finding something to give it power. After all, once your device is on the charger, it’s not going to die, and that’s really the main thing. But not all chargers are created equal; if you’re in the habit of plugging your… Read more...



Google Facebook Empires•
The tech giants talk a lot about the “metaverse” and cloud computing. What really powers them is selling us socks.



75Gizmodo / 2h
While all of Disney+ and Marvel’s character-specific shows have felt like studies of their interior selves , the vibe radiating from the trailers for the MCU’s upcoming Hawkeye series has been a little bit different—less “what makes Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye, tick” and more “of all the original Avengers, what… Read more...



Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information. If you’re a Star Wars fan like we are, you’ve likely been taking in all of the updates about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel for the last few years as feverishly as we have. This is set to be more than a hotel, but rather a two-night immersive experience, unlike anything Disney World has offered before begi



Bolt Expand South Africa•
22TechCrunch / 2h
The on-demand transport space in Africa has evolved since San Francisco-based ride-hailing firm Uber first set up operations in South Africa in 2013, setting the stage for its foray across the continent while radically transforming the entire taxi industry. Almost a decade later, Africa’s taxi industry is now dominated by tens of local and international tech-led ride-on-demand platforms, with the



Tim Berners-Lee created the standards for the world wide web three decades ago, setting the pathway for countless of companies to flourish at unimaginable scale. His new venture, called Inrupt, wants to fix some of the mess many of those companies have made — and it’s in the market to raise money. Inrupt is in talks with a handful of investors to raise between $30 million to $50 million at a pre-



cac-bgsu : Some ghost lore for this Halloween edition of Folklore Thursday. We don’t make the ghost rules, we just collect them. From MS 642 BGSU Faculty and Student Folklore Collection



If you make some software and sell it online, you can make lots of money. Thanks to low-cost distribution, it’s possible to write one bit of code and sell it many times, generating fat margins in the process. Throw in a larger industry trend toward recurring pricing as opposed to single-shot sales, and you have the foundation for rich software company valuations in hand. The Exchange explores sta



1KFuturism / 3h
Alien Evidence NASA’s top scientists have a provocative message for the scientific community: that they need a plan in place for when — or if — we find evidence of extraterrestrial life . James Green, the agency’s chief scientist, coauthored a new article , published in the journal Nature , urging researchers to create a framework for reporting evidence of aliens. In it, the authors stressed the



Update : I’ve added some more information to this post, including which credit cards are eligible for accruing Loyalty Points, whether the new credit card Loyalty Points system is fair, and also some FAQs. This week we’ve learned about how American is radically transforming the AAdvantage program , with the introduction of Loyalty Points. One of the interesting new opportunities here is to earn A



48Gizmodo / 3h
What goes best with fun-sized Hershey bars ? Horror movies! And while everybody knows the classics ( Beetlejuice , Hocus Pocus , The Craft , the original Halloween , etc.), sometimes you want a less immediately familiar movie that won’t just entertain you—it’ll scare the daylights out of you, too. Here are 12 movie picks… Read more...



There’s not just one way to go about earning credit card rewards. Are you looking for a card that provides the same earning rate , no matter the purchase? Or, would you rather have a card that offers bonus points on purchases you spend the most on (such as gas and groceries )? Here’s some food for thought: You may actually want to consider a credit card with a customizable rewards rate instead. A



Instagram is primarily used on smartphones, but you can also use it in a desktop browser on Windows or Mac. For years that meant only viewing your feed and messages, but it can also be used to upload photos too. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



It’s time for a new Pi. This week, Raspberry Pi announced the tiny new Zero 2 W board, and it costs $5 more than the original that debuted nearly six years ago. However, this tiny little wireless board delivers up to 5x more performance and extra features for only $15. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



Anomalo $33M Series•
87TechCrunch / 3h
As companies gather ever-growing sets of data, finding issues with that data that could impact the viability of a machine learning model becomes increasingly important. Anomalo is putting machine learning to work to help solve the data viability issue automatically. Today the company announced a $33 million Series A investment led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from Two Sigma Vent



Twitter is giving some celebrities the evil eye. You’ve probably seen them on your timeline: photo negatives of celebrities and beloved cartoon characters. It’s called the " evil be like " meme, and it takes your favorite pop culture icon and exposes their dark side — literally. Just in case you missed it, here are some examples: Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may h



SAVE $600: As of Oct. 28, the Nordictrack Comercial S15i Studio Cycle is on sale for $999.99 at Amazon and Best Buy That's 38% off its $1,599 MSRP and its lowest price to date. (Ignore the former's inflated list price.) Don't count on the Peloton going on sale this holiday season (or ever, really): The only thing the company's done for past Black Fridays is throw in a free accessory bundle with q



This one goes out to all the jocks with a giant jug of protein powder in their shopping cart. Supplements that come in jugs tend to be measured by the scoop, and they conveniently include a scoop in each package. But where ? At the bottom, usually. Read more...



Antidepressant COVID•
48Gizmodo / 3h
A cheap and widely available drug used as an antidepressant now also appears to be a lifesaving covid-19 treatment. In a newly published, large-scale clinical trial, the drug fluvoxamine was shown to reduce the risk of prolonged hospitalization as well as death in high-risk patients treated at an emergency room.… Read more...



Linda Moore Contributor Linda Moore is the president and CEO of TechNet , a bipartisan policy and political network. More posts by this contributor Computer science is the key to America’s skills crisis The New Technology Policy Battlegrounds Are Getting Closer To Home Bobby Franklin Contributor Bobby Franklin is the president and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association . More posts by th




It’s phenomenal that Singapore is bringing back its Airbus A380s and even continuing the conversion of these interiors to the new first class with separate seat and bed, and the ability to take down the wall between seats for a true double bed experience. I find this to be one of the three best first class products in the world (Emirates new first, ANA first… sorry, I rank Air France fourth). Con



Persefoni Carbon $101M•
There’s nothing like an increasing level of regulations to create spaces for new startups to appear, especially in SaaS. Asset managers, banks, and other financial institutions need to calculate their financed CO2 emissions footprint in a manner that is auditable and compliant with both the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodologies. Thus, we



Nikon Z9 20 Mirrorless•
Gizmodo / 3h
For everyone who has been waiting for a true full-frame mirrorless camera from Nikon, today is the day as Nikon has just announced its new flagship cam: the Nikon Z9. Read more...



43TechCrunch / 3h
Aurora, the autonomous vehicle startup scheduled to make its debut on Nasdaq next week, is turning to a team of Pixar veterans to help make the computer simulation tool used to test and train its self-driving system more like the real world. The three-person computer graphic imagery startup Colrspace , which has been operating in stealth, is joining Aurora’s perception team. Aurora will also own



If confirmed by the full Senate, Jonathan Kanter will join other critics of Silicon Valley in top antitrust positions.



The Raspberry Pi Foundation has just released a new model called the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and it comes with a quad-core processor and an affordable $15 price tag. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



26TechCrunch / 3h
Going to the Moon is a laudable ambition, but what are you going to do when you get there? NASA and the private space industry aim to make the most of the lunar surface, and to do so they need to study the environment in the next frontier — as leaders from ispace, Lockheed Martin, and Masten Space will explain at TC Session: Space on December 14-15. The challenge of safely landing on the lunar su



SAVE $50: As of Oct. 28, Eufy's brand-new pet camera is $50 (20%) off on their website with code PETLOVE50 . Redeem the offer until Nov. 14. If you have a pet and are away from home often, you likely worry about them (and also your furniture). We share your dilemma. It's a good thing that pet cameras are a thing now, and that they're smarter than ever. Turns out that there's a new pet camera on t



TL;DR: As of Oct. 28, Shark vacuums are on sale as an early Black Friday deal of the day at Amazon. Save up to 47%. Shark RV1001AE IQ Robot Vacuum with XL Self-Empty Base — $318.99 (save $281) Shark IQ Robot Vacuum AV970 — $249.99 (save $150) Shark IZ362H Anti-Allergen Cordless Lightweight Stick Vacuum — $229.99 (save $100) It's hard to say for certain whether a Roomba or a Shark is the better ro



Save $519: As of Oct. 28, this Apple iMac 21.5-inch computer (open box) is on sale for only $579.57 at Woot . That's 47% in savings on the original retail price. It might seem like the only way to score a major deal on an Apple product is to buy refurbished. While there's nothing wrong with that (and you can certainly wind up with a near-mint condition gadget), some folks are just inherently skep



One of the best new features in macOS 12 Monterey allows you to translate any selectable text on your Mac—no need ask Google to do it for you. While translation was previously accessible via Safari, it was of limited use because it translated entire web pages only; text inside other apps couldn’t be translated nearly… Read more...



Earlier today, United unveiled a handful of new flights to London . The expansion added new frequencies to London-Heathrow (LHR) from key United hubs like Denver (DEN), Newark (EWR) and San Francisco (SFO). Further, the Chicago-based airline will resume daily flights to London from Los Angeles (LAX) and start previously announced flights from Boston (BOS). Some of these new flights are chock-full



Editor’s note: Welcome to our new TPG hotel reviews! We’re trying out some novel formats as we rate hotels around the globe, aiming to help readers decide where to stay and where to skip. We’ll still do some of our signature in-depth versions, as well as longer-form pieces for hotels we think readers will be the most curious about. For now, though, we’re going to keep things snappy and give you a



Activision Blizzard Kotick•
Following months of pressure from employees and workers , Activision Blizzard says it will no longer employ forced arbitration in sexual harassment and discrimination claims. CEO Bobby Kotick announced the policy change in a letter to employees the company shared on Thursday. Kotick said the publisher will also implement a new company-wide zero-tolerance harassment policy. In the future, any empl



Musk Democrats Tax•
2KFuturism / 4h
It didn’t come as a shock when Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized a plan to tax billionaires earlier this week over a plan to tax billionaires. The billionaire — who also happens to be the richest person in the world — has other goals in mind for his tremendous wealth: making humanity interplanetary. “My plan is to use the money to get humanity to Mars and preserve the light of consciousness,” he twe



Update 1:38pm ET: The limited-time sale at B&H Photo has ended. Black Friday has come a few weeks early for Google fans. A bunch of Google devices are on sale today at B&H Photo, including the Nest Audio smart speaker, which is only $60 right now if you go for the chalk or charcoal colors. That's $40 off its normal price and the lowest we've seen in a long time. The second-gen Nest Hub is half of



Apple Comcast Xfinity Sky•
20Engadget / 4h
The Apple TV app has reached its final frontier: your cable provider's set-top box. According to Variety , Comcast used its latest earnings call to reveal that the Apple TV app will be available on Comcast's platforms in the "coming months." Viewers with Xfinity X1 set-tops, Flex streaming hubs, XClass TVs and (in the UK and Europe) Sky Glass sets will have access to Apple TV+, in-app channels (l



App Privacy Report•
Apple has now launched a beta version of its “App Privacy Report,” a new feature that aims to provide iOS users with details about how often their everyday apps are requesting access to sensitive information, and where that information is being shared. The feature was first introduced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, amid other privacy-focused improvements, including tools to bl



As urban rental markets recover and people flock back to cities, people are once again finding themselves with plenty of new neighbors in communities which are trying to embrace a renewed vibrancy of post-lockdown life. OneRoof is building a social network for residential buildings. Unlike Nextdoor which organizes communities based on zip codes or neighborhoods, OneRoof wants to build up a presen



You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve been thinking a lot about farming — specifically what it might look like in the future. This is largely due to the recent publication of my Bowery Farming TC-1 . It’s a 12,000-word feature that really took me down the vertical-farming rabbit hole. As I allude to in the piece, there are still plenty of question marks around the technology. At the top of the list are




Gone are the days when your A/C and washer/dryer were the movers and shakers (electrically speaking) in your house. These days, electric vehicle chargers, solar power and battery storage solutions set more electrons a-dancin’. Span is one of the companies running point on adding some smarts to the process. The company today launched the Span Drive, an EV charger that is making it possible to furt



As my family’s in-house tech support center, I know that it’s easy for certain family members to get overwhelmed when their electronics aren’t doing what they want them to do. Now sometimes, their iCloud is a total mess and won’t sync and no one can figure out why, or the computer is serving up weird errors with no… Read more...



The Business Platinum Card® from American Express might come with a high annual fee, but it also has a whole lot of credit card perks. The card’s new annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees ) kicks in for both new and existing Business Platinum cardholders on Jan. 13, 2022. That means if you apply (or already applied) before Jan. 13, 2022, you can take advantage of all of the benefits while still



When you’re working on a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, locking your cells is crucial to protecting data, preventing mistakes, and more. Today, we’ll show you how to do it. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Tired of unreliable Wi-Fi? A mesh Wi-Fi router might give you the speed and coverage you need. And it just happens that Amazon is running a sale on some of the best mesh Wi-Fi equipment, including a few models with snappy Wi-Fi 6 support. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



Microfiber cleaning cloths are one of those handy accessories you always need but can never find enough of. In the wake of Apple’s recently announced $20 Polishing Cloth, we figured you’d probably be looking for more affordable options that’ll likely do a better job of keeping your gear clean. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



23Gizmodo / 4h
If there’s something strange in the neighborhood... then you should probably call 911 rather than spend $400 on this life-sized replica of Egon Spengler ’s proton pack from Ghostbusters . But if your neighborhood seems reasonably normal and you have cash to spare , this is your chance to own a nigh-perfect recreation of… Read more...



20TechCrunch / 4h
NeuraLight has launched from stealth with $5.5 million in seed funding to apply AI to advance drug development for neurological disorders. The company was co-founded by Micha Breakstone, the co-founder and former president of Chorus.ai, which sold to ZoomInfo for $575 million earlier this year. Breakstone now leads NeuraLight as the company’s CEO alongside co-founder and CTO Edmund Ben-Ami. The s



Remote Work Home•
In March 2020, companies large and small, across industries, and around the world, had to pivot nearly overnight to remote work because of pandemic-related shutdowns. In fact, over a third of US workers reported working remotely during that time, including nearly three-quarters of the highest-income workers. Digital meeting and collaboration tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack became c



Allbirds is a tech-enabled shoe company that raised a series of venture capital rounds since mid-2015, per Crunchbase data . And it’s going public. The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every morning on TechCrunch+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday. The company’s IPO would be something we’d cover regardless of how it fit into — or didn’t — a particular trend that



Sony’s drive to port some of the best PlayStation games over to the PC appears to have changed up a gear, with the formation of a new brand specifically for the PC platform. As VGC reports, observant users on Steam, Valve’s online games store, spotted that whereas all the ports of Sony’s console games previously had the publisher ‘PlayStation Mobile, Inc’, some of them have had this changed to a



There’s no stopping Jessica Cox from getting where she wants to go. Cox, who was born without arms, is a motivational speaker, recreational pilot, black belt in ATA Martial Arts and a certified scuba diver. For Cox, travel has always required some innovation and creativity. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter . (Photo courtesy of Jessica Cox.)



Anyone who has tried to book a flight in recent months has probably noticed that the choices still aren’t great. Prices are high, flight time options are limited, and layovers are long. But what if you could use that long layover to your advantage—by briefly exploring a city you might otherwise never visit. If you’ve… Read more...



Nokia Q3 Chip Shortage•
Strong demand for 5G equipment saw Nokia increase sales by 2% during the third quarter of 2021, however the company has warned that the industry-wide chip shortage could have an impact moving forward. The Finnish firm said rising revenues in its network infrastructure (up 6%) and cloud and network services (up 12%) divisions offset challenges elsewhere. It added that healthy margins demonstrated



Do you want a do-everything multicooker, but don't need an Instant Pot ? You're in luck. Amazon is selling Ninja's OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 for $119 , a 41 percent discount on the regular price, as part of a one-day sale. This may be the best Ninja cooker deal yet — there was a Prime Day deal last year for a less-capable (if larger) 9-in-1 model that still cost more. Buy OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 at Amazon



Twitter Blue Labs Features•
Twitter is rolling out a new feature called ‘Labs’ for Twitter Blue , its premium subscription service. Labs will give Twitter Blue subscribers early access to features that Twitter is testing as a part of that bundle, which is currently only available in Canada and Australia. Now, Labs subscribers now have the ability to upload videos that are up to 10-minutes long from their desktop. Standard u



Intel and Google Cloud have announced that they are working together to create a new category of chips, one that Intel hopes will find large scale acceptance in the broader cloud computing market. To that end, while Intel is working on the new chip, called Mount Evans with Google, Reuters reports that the chip will be offered to other cloud vendors as well. The Mount Evans chip, which Google and



Aer Lingus 2022 Shannon•
Aer Lingus has announced its planned transatlantic schedule for 2022, and there are some surprises in there… Aer Lingus’ transatlantic flights next summer Aer Lingus has revealed its summer 2022 transatlantic schedule, and it contains flights out of three European gateways. The carrier’s biggest hub is in Dublin (DUB), and from there the airline will be flying to the following transatlantic desti



Apple Joins Imec Belgium•
It may not be a household name, but one of the more important players in the semiconductor industry is Imec . It’s a nonprofit research organization that has been around since 1984 and frequently works with companies like ASML, currently the only manufacturer in the world that makes the EUV lithography machines necessary for making 7nm, 5nm and 3nm chips . On Thursday, the organization announced



Wright Last Night Soho•
Perhaps the best way to describe the experience of watching Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho is to say that it really does feel like spending a boozy evening in the titular London district. That's meant as a compliment, but also a warning. This is a film that wants you to feel intoxicated by its relentless energy, one that bludgeons you with neon and nostalgia until you find yourself stumbling o




Tired of watching masked killers reanimated for another reboot? Scared to sit through one more Stephen King re-imagining, or believe that Freddy, Michael and Ghostface should be laid to rest once and for all? Then our guide to the 10 best horror movies to stream and how to watch them should thrill you with a collection of original, provocative, and downright disturbing titles as judged by critics



Hinge Health , the San Francisco-based company that offers a digital solution to treat chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, like back and joint pain, closed on $400 million in Series E funding to give the company a $6.2 billion valuation. Tiger Global and Coatue Management, which co-led the company’s $300 million Series D round back in January, are back again to lead this one. They are joine



45Gizmodo / 5h
When Star Trek: Prodigy was first revealed as a “kid-friendly” show , certain fans decried that they did not need a “dumbed-down” entry to get into Star Trek when they were young. A blessing then, that this next generation doesn’t have that either : instead, they’re offered something smart, fun, and perfect for them,… Read more...



Editor’s note: TPG paused providing ratings on airline reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so for some time to come. However, we may occasionally rate certain airlines that have brought service levels back to pre-pandemic standards. TPG Rating 91 100 Pros Best-of-the-best ground experience, recently refreshed amenities, faster-than-ever Wi-Fi, impeccable service. Cons Sea



Riot Amazon Prime Gaming•
Amazon is offering another solid batch of games to Prime Gaming members at no extra cost next month. Remedy's excellent Control: Ultimate Edition (which includes both DLC chapters), Rise of the Tomb Raider and Dragon Age Inquisition are the big-name titles you'll be able to claim starting November 1st. The lineup also includes Rogue Heroes, Liberated, Puzzle Agent 2, Demon Hunter 2: New Chapter,



Buying a grandparent tech as a gift can be tricky, but as long as you know what they need and don’t mind helping with setup, you can find some excellent high-tech gifts to improve their lives. Here are some gift ideas for those in your life. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



American Airlines Flight•
After another flight diversion following a flight attendant assault, I have to wonder why is it that so many passenger incidents – this one seemingly worse than most – seem to occur on American Airlines? They’re much larger than Spirit, to be sure, carrying far more passengers. But why do they have more inflight crazy than Delta, United and Southwest? I don’t know. There are several hypotheses I’



The new MacBook Pro models with Mini-LED screens have run into further controversy around the notch , with Apple having to introduce what seems to be a quick workaround for apps that run into trouble with said notch. As spotted by @Jatodaro on Twitter, there are scenarios with some apps where details put in the top bar which runs alongside the notch, can actually end up being placed in the area w



Electric vehicle charging companies depend on reliable internet access to sell electricity to customers, track usage data, authenticate users and receive over-the-air updates. If a WiFi connection is unreliable, drivers could find themselves in a sticky situation. “If the phone loses service, the charger loses service, the environment loses service or the server is down, the charging session neve



If you’re spending this Halloween at home, the following 13 relatively new video games will creep you out after the last trick-or-treaters have rung your bell. There’s something for everyone, whether you like jump scares, eerie atmosphere, or multiplayer murder. Read more...



One of the most divisive design decisions Apple has made recently is the MacBook Pro’s notch. Apple has come up with a temporary solution for apps that don’t play well with the notch, but it’s far from an ideal solution. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Smart lights are some of the coolest, most useful smart home products you can buy. The biggest issue is that sometimes you want to take your smart lighting with you, and you can’t … most of the time, anyway. With Govee’s StarPal lights, that changes. Read This Article on Review Geek ›



Sending a bottle rocket into the world of ice hockey broadcasting, it's all change for the 2021/22 season with streaming service ESPN Plus making a play to NHL fans in the US. With the teams back to playing a full season for the first time since the pandemic, the à la carte streaming service's comprehensive coverage means ice hockey fans in the US are spoilt for live NHL on ESPN Plus. ESPN Plus:



EU UK Europe Nvidia Arm•
Regulators have "serious doubts" about the technology giant's $40bn takeover of British company Arm.



Gizmodo / 5h
Once a respected brand when it came to DSLR alternatives , Canon is now slapping the PowerShot label on all sorts of gimmicky experimental cameras, including the new PowerShot PX : a sort of security camera-meets-AI-powered photographer that promises to automatically capture the best possible photos and videos of an… Read more...



Cybersecurity researchers have helped patch several vulnerabilities in an extremely popular WordPress plugin , which could have been exploited by any visitor to undertake a number of actions against affected WordPress websites, such as exporting sensitive information. The vulnerabilities, discovered by WordPress security experts Wordfence , existed in the OptinMonster plugin that boasts of a user



After several pandemic-related delays, World of Hyatt peak and off-peak pricing is officially here . Any new award stays booked for travel from March 1, 2022, onward are now subject to the new redemption tiers. As a recap, Hyatt award redemption rates now vary in price across dates, in some cases quite significantly. A Category 3 hotel could cost 9,000 points one night (off-peak) and 15,000 point



Robot vacuums can be expensive, and if you want one with a base that automatically collects dirt, it'll cost you even more. But now you can get one of Shark's most advanced models for the lowest price we've seen. The Shark IQ RV1001AE robot vacuum with clean base is 47 percent off, bringing it down to $319. That's more than $280 off its normal price and the lowest we've seen it — not to mention t



Lynne Benioff Salesforce•
Marc and Lynne Benioff announced a $200 million donation this morning to combat climate change and encourage others to take action. Marc Benioff’s company, Salesforce , threw in $100 million more for a total donation of $300 million. The Benioffs’ portion is divided into two tranches, with $100 million going to the Benioff Time Tree Fund and the other $100 million going to Time Ventures, the coup



When you have a credit card with an annual fee, you have a couple options to consider if you barely use it: cancel the card outright, or downgrade to a lower-tiered card. Since credit cards can be debt traps, you might think that canceling the card is the best option, and that’s certainly a good reason to do it...but… Read more...




53Gizmodo / 6h
Ghostface strikes in a new look at Scream ’s return. The latest Stephen King adaptation rounds out its cast. Get a tiny glimpse of the new Paranormal Activity . Plus, new looks at what’s next on Legends of Tomorrow , Batwoman , and Creepshow . Spoilers away! Read more...



IBM McDonald’s AI MTL•
100+Engadget / 6h
McDonald's might not be the only restaurant experimenting with AI-based order taking in the near future. Restaurant Dive reports McDonald's is selling its McD Tech Labs to IBM in order to "further accelerate" work on its automated voice ordering systems. The deal will help apply the technology to a wider variety of countries, languages and menus, McDonald's said, while bolstering IBM's Watson-pow



Thousands of pitch decks, and only a handful of winners. Such is the math of the VC industry right now, what with an explosion of startups and dreams of glory launching every year. VCs are overwhelmed with pitches, which means that crafting the perfect deck and connecting with a reader in the few seconds you have their attention is critical. So what do you do to build a deck that can’t be ignored



Nvidia GeForce Now•
Nvidia GeForce Now just took a big step forward, and now all gamers out there can pre-order its recently revealed new top-tier streaming service. Previously, the RTX 3080 subscription was only available in early access to Founders and Priority members (in the US and Europe), but now anyone can jump on the bandwagon and pre-order the faster streaming offering . As the name suggests, the RTX 3080 m



Raspberry Pi Zero 2•
Nearly six years after the launch of the miniscule Raspberry Pi Zero , its makers have launched its successor, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. A couple of years after introducing the $5 Zero, the Raspberry Pi Foundation debuted the $10 Zero W, which added wireless and bluetooth capability to the miniscule single board computer (SBC). “But where our larger products have grown steadily more powerful ove



31Wired / 6h
The mind behind iconic titles like Nier: Automata and Drakengard tells WIRED about his inspirations—and how AI plays a role in the future of game design.



200+Wired / 6h
Kathryn Yu’s homework is the best thing you’ll read this week.



Nikon Z9 20 Mirrorless•
61Engadget / 6h
Nikon has officially unveiled its new flagship mirrorless camera, the $5,500, 45.7-megapixel Z9 with 8K 30p video and up to 20 fps RAW burst shooting speeds. It's Nikon's first camera to use a stacked sensor with built in memory that allows for very fast readout speeds. In fact, Nikon is so confident in the electronic shutter that it has abandoned the mechanical shutter entirely, so the Z9 is the



AWS Alchemy $250M NFT•
100+TechCrunch / 6h
Exactly six months after raising $80 million at a $505 million valuation, blockchain and Web3 development SaaS startup Alchemy has raised $250 million in a Series C funding round that values the company at $3.5 billion. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led the financing, which was extremely competitive with a number of large venture firms clamoring to not only back the company, but lead the investment,



Brazilian grain trading marketplace Tarken secured $3.5 million in a seed round, co-led by Monashees and Maya, to continue developing its technology that connects grain buyers and sellers and operates an artificial intelligence tool for commodity pricing. Joining them was Gilgamesh Ventures and individual investors, including Kavak founder Carlos Garcia, Ualá founder Pierpaolo Barbieri, Zap VivaR



Transit planning app Moovit is now featuring Bird’s shared e-scooters and e-bikes in its app. As of Thursday, Moovit users in 65 cities across 12 countries — including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — will be able to locate nearby Bird vehicles in real time, gauge how long it will take to walk there and see the



Rad Power Bikes VanMoof•
Fat tire e-bike manufacturer Rad Power Bikes just raised another $154 million. The Series D raise from existing investors, which brings the company’s total funding to $329 million, comes just eight months after Rad raised $150 million. The Seattle-based startup aims to use the funds to boost investments in product and technology innovation and beef out its distribution network, according to found



Barcelona-based mobile keyboard software maker, Fleksy , has bagged a $1.6 million Series A to cement a pivot to b2b for its white-label SDK for Android and iOS. The round is led by Spanish asset management firm, Inveready, with follow on funding from some of the startup’s existing investors: SOSV and Simile Venture Partners. The Series A brings the team’s total raised to date to just under $3M (



Yugabyte SQL $188M•
Today’s world is run on data, and the amount of it that is being produced, managed and used to power services is growing by the minute — to the tune of some 79 zettabytes this year, according to one estimate . Today, a company called Yugabyte , which has built an open-source distributed SQL database model to help handle all that volume, is announcing that it has raised $188 million at a valuation



62Lifehacker / 6h
Mayonnaise is made of eggs, and is often used in dishes that features them, especially hard-boiled eggs. From the Mayonegg to deviled eggs, the combination is loved (and hated) by many. Read more...



When Disney announced Disney Genie in 2019, I was ecstatic. A trip-planning service that would take the guesswork out of where to go, what to do and when to do it at Disney World and Disneyland ? Sign me up! Disney Genie launched Oct. 19 and I convinced my husband it was important that we wake up at 4 a.m. on the following weekend to fly to Orlando and spend a full day at the Magic Kingdom tinker



Apple first made its Private Relay anonymizing service available on iPhone and iPad with iOS and iPadOS 15. With the release of macOS Monterey, Mac users can use it, too. The feature isn’t on by default, so here’s how to enable it—and why you might want to. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Dolby Atmos Mercedes-Benz•
Mercedes-Benz has spent nearly a century establishing itself as one of the most exclusive names in the auto industry – but the brand is preparing to turn up the volume on its luxury label even further. The German carmaker has announced plans to introduce Dolby Atmos in a range of its top-end models from next year, beginning with the Mercedes-Maybach and S-Class. Mercedes says its in-car Dolby Atm



The post appeared first on Popular Mechanics .



A few years ago, a young man from California’s technology scene began popping up in the world’s leading developmental biology labs. These labs were deciphering the secrets of embryos and had a particular interest in how eggs are formed. Some thought if they discovered that recipe, they would be able to copy it and transmute any cell into an egg. Their visitor, Matt Krisiloff, said he wanted to he




DeFi Cream Finance•
Hackers have stolen about $130 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Cream Finance, by exploiting a bug in their flash loaning system to siphon away all Ethereum -based tokens on the platform. This is Cream Finance’s third hack this year alone. The decentralized finance ( DeFi ) platform allows users to loan and speculate on cryptocurrency price variations. The latest incident was first det



If you walk the aisles of your local drugstore, you’ll see bottle after bottle of multivitamins marketed specifically for kids. That has a tendency to give the impression they are commonly needed, but the American Academy of Pediatrics ’ recommendation is that a healthy child who is eating a well-balanced diet does not… Read more...



Oh, the saga of my multiple foiled attempts to get to French Polynesia. Fortunately, this time there’s a happy ending to tell you about. I was first booked for Tahiti in March 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down international borders. I was able to cancel the trip and get refunds and credits, and I figured I’d just rebook a few months later. Ha. As you can imagine, the second trip I pl



United Daily London•
A couple of weeks ago, United Airlines announced a bunch of new international routes . Well, the airline is back today with even more new international flights. This includes one new route, and additional frequencies on three existing routes. United adds flights to London United Airlines has announced five additional frequencies to London as of the spring of 2022, meaning that the airline will op



Tesla Sentry Mode Live•
30Mashable / 6h
Tesla's Sentry Mode is a feature that has the car monitor its surroundings and record footage if anyone or anything comes too close to your car. A new feature that came with the software update 2021.36.8 expands on this, allowing users to remotely see through Tesla's cameras when in Sentry Mode from their Tesla iOS app. "You can now remotely view your car’s surroundings when parked to confirm the



Lady Bird and Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein is usually making us laugh. But her most recent role as Monica Lewinsky in drama American Crime Story: Impeachment is a serious one because it explores the impeachment of Bill Clinton. " Impeachment is not only a drama, but it's someone's real life," Feldstein told Seth Meyers on Late Night on Thursday. "Monica was a producer on the show. So it was a



36Mashable / 6h
The Guttmacher Institute has created an interactive map showing how far people may have to travel for an abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court significantly weakens or overturns landmark abortion case Roe vs. Wade . It's pretty grim. Working from an assumption that the 26 states considered most likely to ban abortions will do so if given half the chance, the Guttmacher Institute (a research and poli



Breast Cancer Years•
Paging Dr. Internet , we need a diagnosis. In this series, Mashable examines the online world's influence on our health and prescribes new ways forward. I realized I might have gotten ahead of myself when I followed #BaldIsBeautiful on Instagram. Later, comparing the cost and efficacy of chemo cold caps — at 2 a.m. on my iPhone — I knew I had. Earlier this October, I faced a breast cancer scare a



From our stacks: Illustration from “Dennison’s Bogie Book. 13th Annual Edition. A Book of Suggestions for Decorating and Entertaining at Hallowe'en, Harvest Time and Thanksgiving.” Boston: Dennison’s Mfg. Co., 1925.



Television and monitor reviews often talk about blooming or the halo effect and whether a particular model suffers from it. Here’s why blooming occurs and how you can spot it on your monitor or TV. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Microsoft Data Algae•
Microsoft has published new information about its efforts to make its cloud data centers more energy-efficient and less water-hungry. The company is embarking on various research projects, all with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and offsetting all historic emissions by 2050. In addition, Microsoft has now committed to reducing data center water consumption by 95% by 2024. Detailed in



Nikon Z9 20 Mirrorless•
Mirrorless cameras have come a long way in the last few years – and the Nikon Z9 is the latest flagship to push them forward into exciting new territory. (Looking to jump to our first impressions? Check out our hands-on Nikon Z9 review ). A 45.7MP full-frame camera that can shoot 8K/30p video, the Nikon Z9 is packed with innovations that we haven't seen in any Nikon cameras before – or, in some c



Wearable augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) tech was once little more than the subject of sci-fi movies and video games, but in the past few years, they’ve exploded into life. It’s predicted that AR/VR will completely revolutionize not just shopping and entertainment, but how we communicate, socialize, and interact with the world around us. While Facebook’s Oculus and Google Glass are the



The $103 million verdict shows just how silly U.S. patent law has become, since the patent is for “send[ing] trays through a checkpoint and us[ing] two carts to move the trays back and forth” including “use [of] a cart to move trays from the end of the checkpoint back to the start.” Continue reading ...



Grant Lee has been living in slide decks for most of his career, but it wasn’t until he was doing some advisory work last year that relied heavily on slides that he aimed to reimagine the format. “Slides were built for a different era of work,” he told TechCrunch. “They were more of a visual aid. You had to have a presenter because they have little standalone power without the person.” Previously



20Lifehacker / 7h
In case you’ve been living under a boulder, there’s a “new” social media giant on the scene called TikTok. Whether you use it a lot, a little, or not at all (but maybe you kind of want to), there are plenty of anecdotal myths surrounding the functioning and audience of TikTok—and we’re here to debunk them. Read more...



United Daily London•
If a visit to the U.K. is on the agenda, United Airlines will likely have a flight for you. The Chicago-based carrier unveiled a big London-focused network expansion Thursday morning, with five new flights taking off by next spring. Perhaps most noteworthy is that the airline is moving forward with its plans to launch a new nonstop from Boston to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). The airline first



N!CK’S Swedish $100M•
100+TechCrunch / 7h
Swedish food tech company N!CK’S is taking on the world, one healthy ice cream pint at a time. The company on Thursday announced $100 million Series C funding toward creating additional healthy snacks and ice cream products that have a proprietary blend of sweeteners and ingredients, but with a fraction of the calories and no added sugar. Kinnevik, Ambrosia and Temasek co-led the round and were j



Nintendo has released a free demo for Metroid Dread , which is available to download now from the Nintendo Switch eShop. The demo is available in all regions, so everyone can try it out. It's great to see such a high-profile game like Metroid Dread get a demo, as more players can see if it’s worth the $60/£49.99/AU$$79.95 asking price before making a purchase. It also serves as a nice early Hallo



Google hasn’t given up on Android tablets. Even though, looking at the last few years, it probably should have. I’m ( half ) joking, but bigger-screened Android devices have felt like an afterthought for a while, as iPads or Windows-powered hybrids cleaned up at the high-end, and cheap devices for families and workplaces offered a mostly smartphone experience with more screen real estate. Enter A




Microsoft Store 11 10•
Microsoft is looking to speed up the migration to Windows 11 by forcefully installing its suitability checker app on user's machines. BleepingComputer spotted that the latest Windows 10 update includes a force install for PC Health Check, a tool that evaluates a user's machine to suss out its suitability for upgrading to Windows 11. The new KB5005463 update doesn't mention PC Health Check in its



Europe Ericsson EU•
5G is “fundamental” in European efforts to achieve its climate targets but the slow rollout of next-generation networks could jeopardise progress, a study by Ericsson has warned. The UN says global emissions need to be halved by 2030 if the world is to stay on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Organisations and governments around the world are currently taking steps to reduce their ca



66Wired / 8h
Researchers trained an algorithm to answer questions about human values. Some of the responses are troubling.



23Wired / 8h
In the game, you start as a lowly atmospheric scientist and you have to click “write grant” and wait.



25Wired / 8h
We break down how to install the latest version of Apple’s desktop operating system, including some perks that will only work on M1-powered Macs.



IHG Rewards has just become the latest hotel program to announce plans to extend elite status for a second year in a row, following Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy . IHG Rewards extending elite status by 12 months IHG Rewards will automatically be extending all members’ elite status through February 2023, which represents a 12 month extension. This applies to all active Gold, Platinum, and Spir



Microsoft is working on an update for email service Outlook that will help users eliminate mistakes from their messages. As per a new entry in the company’s product roadmap, Outlook will soon benefit from Microsoft Editor functionality on mobile platforms. “This feature brings the goodness of Microsoft Editor to Outlook mobile,” Microsoft explained. “We’ll offer users spelling, grammar and refine



One of Windows 11’s most exciting features is the ability to install Android apps. You can finally use some of your favorite mobile apps on your desktop PC. How did Microsoft make this happen? Let’s take a look. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›



Australia could be next to mandate a choice screen in a bid to break Google’s dominance of the search market. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is recommending it is given the power to “mandate, develop and implement a mandatory choice screen to improve competition and consumer choice in the supply of search engine services in Australia”. A new report by the country’s comp



Welcome to Thanks, I Love It , our series highlighting something onscreen we're obsessed with this week. From the moment she emerged from a spiked time machine with a bold red lip and a familiar face, Doom Patrol watchers knew Madame Rouge (A.K.A. Laura De Mille) would be up to some delightfully deranged mischief. How could she not be? You don’t cast Michelle Gomez for anything less. With a dange



Colin Kaepernick Black•
Ava DuVernay's Netflix series about Colin Kaepernick is almost here, with Colin in Black and White landing on the streaming service tomorrow. The Selma and When They See Us director worked with the former NFL quarterback and activist to create a limited series about his life, with narration from Kaepernick himself. Kaepernick's rise to activism gained global attention when he took a knee during t



The Chinese government wants e-commerce sites and retailers to take it easy on text message and email promotions for the upcoming Singles' Day event. Reuters reports that the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) held a meeting on October 25, with the country’s e-commerce giants, namely Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, JD.com, Meituan, and Pinduoduo Inc. MIIT explained in a s



Raspberry Pi has introduced a new version of its tiny wireless Zero W board , the Zero 2 W , with much improved performance, added features and a slightly higher $15 price tag. It uses a mildly downclocked version of the same Broadcom BCM2710A1 SoC die used in the $35 Raspberry Pi 3, along with 512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM. With that, it delivers a significant performance boost over the original Zero ,



Apple Music PlayStation 5•
Apple Music has arrived on the PS5 , making it the first console to support the company's music streaming service . For the past six years, PlayStation users have been limited to Spotify if they wanted to choose their own music to soundtrack their gaming session. Before or during a game, you can now launch the Apple Music app by pressing the PS button on your controller to access the Control Cent



200+Mashable / 9h
Like text with your images? Live in a U.S. market with more than two AMC theaters? You're in luck. Hundreds of AMC locations just started offering "open caption" screenings of all new releases. This is, of course, a win for accessibility advocates, and for foreign movie buffs who want the subtitling experience to be less of an afterthought. But it's also a win for a lesser-known group of visual e



Love Life W. J. Harper•
The best and worst thing about any TV anthology is its ability to reset and start from scratch. This leads to everything from consistently masterful storytelling (the episodic Little America ) to pale recreations of greatness ( American Horror Story in perpetuity). With its second season, HBO Max's Love Life introduces a new protagonist and perspective, realizing something close to its true poten



We know you're here to find out about the best VPNs for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, but first we should explain that the Fire TV Stick is, well, a little stick that you can plug into your HDTV to stream over 10,000 apps, games, and Alexa skills, including Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix , and more. You can also use it to gain access to millions of websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Red



How can you best protect your identity and data when online? The simple answer is with a virtual private network, or VPN. This is the easy part covered, but how do you select a VPN that works for you? We know the decision process can be tough, so we've tried to help you out. We have compared the best VPNs (both paid and free) to help you find something that ticks all of your boxes. But first, we



Intel’s Core i9-12900K has only just been unveiled, and it’s already breaking world records on the performance front. As Tom’s Hardware reports, the freshly revealed Alder Lake flagship processor managed to set three new records when pushed hard by Tom’s resident overclocking expert Allen ‘Splave’ Golibersuch – and that’s just for starters, no doubt. Splave overclocked the Core i9-12900K to 6.8GH



COP26 Glasgow Climate•
Thousands of delegates will amass in Glasgow, Scotland, in the coming days for the annual UN climate conference, where they’ll spend two weeks squabbling over a lengthy list of action items that add up to a single question: How much faster will the world move to prevent catastrophic warming this century? If history is any clue, it won’t be by much. After 25 such summits over the last three decade




LinkedIn Upwork Fiverr•
LinkedIn has unveiled new feature looking to help freelancers and businesses find each other easier as remote working grows more popular. Called Service Marketplace, the premise of the feature is quite simple - it will let people advertise themselves for short job opportunities, or gigs, instead of long-term, full-time engagements. By doing so, LinkedIn is directly going against the best freelanc



Instant Pots are extremely popular kitchen appliances that allow you to cook some of your family favorites like stews, casseroles, and tender ribs. They offer a multitude of cooking methods and can speed up cooking times, too. So it's no surprise, you’ll find one of the best Instant Pots in more than a quarter of US homes, according to research by Kerry , a food science and nutrition firm. A vers



Papua New Guinea NG•
22Gizmodo / 9h
Papua New Guinea’s government finance office has been hit with a ransomware cyberattack and the hackers are demanding bitcoin, according to Bloomberg News . And while many of the specifics surrounding the attack are still unclear, it’s becoming obvious that hackers won’t just target the wealthiest countries and richest… Read more...



Navigating your way around Microsoft Teams could soon get a lot easier thanks to a new upgrade in the works. The video conferencing software has announced that it is working on an update that should "declutter" the Microsoft Teams user experience, making the software easier to move around in. "Tab actions are moving", the official entry to the Microsoft 365 roadmap states, adding that this will "



Twitter Blue Labs Features•
Twitter has rolled out Labs for its Blue subscription service, which will give its paid users early access to select experimental features. At the moment, one of the first two Labs experiments available to subscribers will give them the capability to upload videos up to 10 minutes long, which is much, much longer than its standard limit of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. That is, so long as they upload



Little Devil Inside•
Sony's latest State of Play event may not have been its most exciting to date, but it did finally give us our first in-depth look at the upcoming Little Devil Inside. Little Devil Inside was first announced for PS5 with a trailer during Sony's Future of Gaming event in 2020, offering an intriguing but confusing look at the action-adventure. Following the announcement, we didn't hear all that much



Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner has confirmed that the Disney Plus series will deal with a major plot point from Marvel's comics: Clint Barton will experience hearing loss during the show. "Hard of hearing, yeah," Renner confirmed to talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. "That was implemented, which is great. We used the comics a lot for the look and basis of the show." This had been largely speculated by fan



Following a successful pre-order stage, both the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are now available to buy. Whether you're in the UK or US, there are plenty of retailers stocking both phones with some even offering next day delivery. Both of these new handsets from Google stand out as great competitors to both Samsung and Apple's flagship phones. Go for the more affordable Google Pixel 6 and you'll only



Netflix 2 Savage He-Man•
Spoilers follow for Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 1 and 2. The first trailer for Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2 has landed online – but has the next entry in Netflix's He-Man reboot already ruined its major plot points? On Wednesday, October 27, Netflix unveiled the first look at Revelation Part 2. And, judging by its footage, it looks like the second part of Netflix's He-M



The best coffee makers let you enjoy barista-worthy coffee at home. They’re always among the most popular items on Black Friday , as they can be a costly purchase, and a good coffee machine deal is welcome any time. In the UK, Amazon has slashed 21% off the price of the De’Longhi Dedica Style EC685, reducing it to just £149.98 from £1899.99 . This is the same price we saw on Black Friday and Cybe



Samsung Galaxy Ultra•
The Samsung Galaxy S22 range is inevitably going to be compared to the iPhone 13 range, as Apple is Samsung’s biggest smartphone rival. But there’s at least one area where the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra might have a substantial lead over any iPhone. According to Ice Universe (a leaker with a good track record), the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s peak brightness is higher than the peak brightness of any



73Mashable / 10h
Remember a couple of months back, when that photo of Dan Levy and Paul Rudd out at dinner together went viral, and everyone made the same point about Rudd's seemingly eternal youth ? Well, Levy remembers it too. And during his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, the Schitt's Creek star was quick to agree with the masses. "Look at his face," says Levy in the clip above, as Kimmel holds



Mashable / 10h
Musicians are a unique category of artist and, as a result, have unique needs when it comes to building a website. While indispensable to anyone who wants the world to know about their music, features like built-in players and subscription services are not often front of mind for coders and template designers — many of the most popular templates on Squarespace do not have them at all. Building a



Mashable / 10h
TL;DR: The Ultimate Gaming Effects Bundle is only $69.99 as of Oct. 28. Twitch is basically a playground for gamers of all walks of life. Despite a few data breaches here and there, the platform continues to grow every year. And the most popular streamers can pull in tens of thousands of viewers daily and make some big bucks in the process. If you’re new to the wild world of live video game strea



Mashable / 10h
TL;DR: Venetio Microfiber IMOP is only $48.99 as of Oct. 28. Sometimes those stick-on mop pads just don't get the job done when it comes to dealing with a messy kitchen. But instead of taking it all the way back to basics with a traditional mop and bucket, there are options that will make your life easier, while actually cleaning your kitchen in the process. With the Venetio Microfiber IMOP , the



Mashable / 10h
TL;DR: The blockchain-powered Ucam is on sale for $87.99 (regularly $139) as of Oct. 28 — that's 37% off. The outside world is unpredictable, to say the least. It’s hard to protect yourself and your family from the chaos that awaits outside your front door. But, within your own walls, you’re in charge of what happens. And with the Ucam Private Home Security Cameras by IoTex , you can help keep ev



iStock Canva Video•
Mashable / 10h
TL;DR: iStock's online video editor is free as of Oct. 28. Think about these metrics for a second — there was more video content streamed on the web over the past 30 days than everything broadcast by the big 4 U.S. television networks over the past three decades. Americans spend about 5.5 hours a week watching video content on their smartphones alone. Those are just two statistics confirming what



Tesla Sentry Mode Live•
Engadget / 10h
Tesla has long hidden hints in its code that it's giving owners live view access to its EVs' Autopilot cameras — now, the automaker is finally rolling out the feature. Its latest software update includes a feature called Sentry Mode Live Camera Access, which will allow owners to remotely view their car's surroundings when parked. Sentry Mode is Tesla's integrated surveillance system that uses a 3



Pikmin Pokémon Go Niantic•
New game wants to encourage people to get walking, again, but this time planting virtual flowers.



Iran Petrol Stations•
Tuesday's attack crippled a system that lets motorists buy subsidised petrol, causing long queues.




Snoop Dogg Dre GTA•
Rapper-turned-game-streamer Snoop Dogg is today’s unlikely herald of (possible) GTA 6 news. The West coast star has revealed that his old Death Row records buddy Dre Dre is back in the studio, recording new music for an undisclosed Grand Theft Auto game. “I do know he’s making great f*cking music," Snoop told Rolling Stone , when asked what Dre was up to. "And some of his music is connected to th



Dragos Raises $200M•
20TechCrunch / 10h
Dragos has raised $200 million in Series D funding at a valuation of $1.7 billion. The investment, which Dragos says is also the largest funding round achieved by an industrial cybersecurity firm, was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and BlackRock. The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s global expansion and support customers in key growth markets including electric, oil and gas, ch



Sony Million PS5 Year•
Engadget / 10h
Sony's PlayStation 5 sales remain relatively steady and strong, despite widespread supply shortages, with 3.3 million units sold in fiscal Q2 compared to 2.2 million last quarter . That brought total sales up to 13.4 million units, Sony announced . Game sales were also up significantly at 76.4 million units compared to 63.6 million in the previous quarter, due in large part to third-party sales.



Redmi Note 11 120W•
What's likely to be Xiaomi's last tech launch of the year is about to begin: the Redmi Note 11 series has been confirmed to debut on October 28 at 4am PT / 7am ET / midday BST / 10pm ACT. This is a China-only launch, though the devices shown off will likely come to a global market before too long. You can watch along via the company's Weibo channel , but since it's only for one country, the langu



Update: UK retailer Game has just confirmed on Twitter that it will have a number of PS5 consoles and bundles available to buy later this morning. Going by previous stock drops we expect them to be available from any time between now and 11am. Take yourself over to the PS5 store page at Game and when consoles are available you'll be entered into a queue. If you've been keeping tabs on the latest



Africa Stitch Nigeria•
33TechCrunch / 12h
Two months into 2021, South African fintech Stitch came out of stealth and raised $4 million in seed funding, allowing it to begin to make inroads into Nigeria some months ago . Today, Stitch formally announced the expansion into Nigeria and a seed extension of $2 million to go with it; the total seed investment now stands at $6 million. Investors in the round include existing backers Raba, First



Some people and businesses seeking to use solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles find they can’t because utility equipment needs an upgrade.



Janeway Star Trek Prodigy•
Engadget / 12h
This post contains moderate spoilers for the first episode and slight spoilers for episode two of ‘ Star Trek: Prodigy .’ How do you make a series that can draw in newcomers while still appealing to long-time fans? In the case of Star Trek: Prodigy , you set it in a place where the United Federation of Planets has little to no presence — the Delta Quadrant — and make your cast a bunch of misfit k
YESTERDAY



Another anonymous Facebook employee has detailed how the firm allegedly handles child abuse images.



Tiger King 2 Joe Exotic•
Following an insubstantial date announcement teaser released last month, Netflix has finally dropped the first real trailer for Tiger King 2 , the highly anticipated follow-up to Tiger King, the worldwide smash that introduced us to some of the most eccentric real-life characters to ever grace (or disgrace) our TV screens. The docuseries followed the exploits of several strange and unsavory figur



Bolt Expand South Africa•
22TechCrunch / 12h
Estonian on-demand transport firm Bolt is set to roll out electric taxi options in South Africa four months after introducing e-bike food delivery services in the country. Bolt’s plan follows the introduction of a ‘green category’ – which lets riders hail an electric or a hybrid vehicle. This come


Backblaze
Posted by at