Monday, December 04, 2023

Technology News Tuesdays, and More!

Technology News and More...



Marvel and Star Wars confirm Disney Plus shows for 2024, and it's bad news for Andor fans
100+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 17h
Disney has announced its line-up of Marvel and Star Wars shows that'll be released in 2024 – and those waiting for Andor season 2 are going to be disappointed. In a press release detailing what series will launch on Disney Plus next year, the entertainment behemoth revealed two Star Wars and three Marvel projects will make their debuts on the streaming giant. Unfortunately, where the former is co



Spotify to lay off 17 percent of its workforce, at least 1,500 people


200+Mashable / 19h
Spotify is set to cut around 17 percent of its workforce, which amounts to laying off at least 1,500 people , in the latest of multiple rounds from the company in 2023. Just days after Spotify's biggest publicity push with its year-end Wrapped , founder and CEO Daniel Ek shared news of "organizational changes" with employees and publicly in a blog post on Monday, writing "being lean is not just a


23andMe confirms hackers stole ancestry data on 6.9 million users
400+TechCrunch / 13h
On Friday, genetic testing company 23andMe announced that hackers accessed the personal data of 0.1% of customers, or about 14,000 individuals. The company also said that by accessing those accounts, hackers were also able to access “a significant number of files containing profile information about other users’ ancestry.” But 23andMe would not say how many […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reser


American Airlines & Aer Lingus Partnership, Now With Mileage Earning
400+One Mile at a Time / 49min
In early 2022, American Airlines and Aer Lingus formally launched a partnership. Now, almost two years later, the airlines have introduced reciprocal mileage earning, with more to come in the future (thanks to AwardWallet for flagging this). Details of the American & Aer Lingus partnership In late 2020, Aer Lingus was approved to join the oneworld transatlantic joint venture . This previously inc


Egypt’s Mtor nabs $2.8M pre-seed for its online auto parts marketplace
TechCrunch / 1h
Egyptian online auto parts marketplace Mtor has raised $2.8 million in pre-seed investment led by MENA-focused venture capital firm Algebra Ventures. Other investors that participated in the round include Dutch Founders Fund (DFF), Aditum Ventures, LoftyInc Capital and other local and global angel investors, the startup said in a statement. Mtor’s founder and CEO, Mohamed […] © 2023 TechCrunch. A


Fortnite is expanding its horizons with a Lego building game and a Rock Band successor
TechCrunch / 1h
The first fruit of the partnership between Fornite-maker Epic Games and Lego is due out this week — along with a pair of other games within a game that expand Fortnite’s horizons considerably. The hybrid Lego/Fortnite experience is billed as a “survival crafting LEGO adventure” and will debut this Thursday, December 7. Lego Fortnite, which […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal


Buy Hilton Honors Points With 100% Bonus (0.5 Cents Each)
2KOne Mile at a Time / 1h
Hilton Honors has just launched its newest bonus on purchased points . This is potentially in line with the best offers we see from the program, and could represent a great value for hotel redemptions. In this post I wanted to go over all the details. Promotion on purchased Hilton Honors points Through Sunday, December 31, 2023, Hilton Honors is offering a bonus on purchased points . Different me


This AI-powered plant identifier app is on sale for under £20
Mashable / 1h
TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Plantum is on sale for £15.76, saving you 66% on list price. If you're often out in nature hiking, walking, camping, or gardening, at some point you may have wondered what type of plant you were looking at. The Plantum app for iOS devices can help you answer that question quickly. And a lifetime subscription to this app is just £15.76 for a limited time. Plantum


Google's Instrument Playground offers a taste of an AI-generated musical future
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
Google has opened the gates to its latest experimental AI called Instrument Playground which allows people to generate 20-second music tracks with a single text prompt. If that description sounds familiar to you, that’s because other companies have something similar like Meta with MusicGen . Google’s version adds two unique twists. First, it’s claimed to be capable of emulating over 100 instrumen


PSA: The cheapest Tesla car won't qualify for full federal tax credit starting January 1
Engadget / 2h
With the Biden administration's continued attempt to limit Chinese battery components in US electric vehicles, Tesla has now announced that two of its models won't qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit as of January 1, 2024. As pointed out by our sister site TechCrunch , Tesla's website currently has a top banner claiming that tax credit "reductions likely for certain vehicles in 2024,"


Southwest Credit Card 75K Bonus Points Offer
100+One Mile at a Time / 4h
Link: Apply now for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Card Southwest Airlines is one of the most popular airlines in the United States, thanks to its extensive domestic route network, vouchers that never expire, and two free checked bags. The carrier’s co-branded credit cards are quite popular as well. Several weeks ago, we saw some improved limited time welcome offers rolled out on these car


Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, December 5, 2023
LifeHacker / 4h
If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for December 5, 2023 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is of medium difficulty; I got it in 4. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 5, Wordle #899! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game. How to play Wordle Wordle lives here on the New York Tim


Today's NYT Connections Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, December 5, 2023
LifeHacker / 4h
Today’s puzzle is only a little bit tricky. If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, December 5, 2023, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 5, NYT Connections #1


For $200, George Santos will gossip with you on Cameo
TechCrunch / 4h
George Santos, Republican ex-congressman, certified grifter and unlikely gay icon, is now on Cameo. Santos’ stint in Congress — checkered with a slew of criminal fraud charges, a House ethics committee probe and allegations of misspending campaign funds on expenses like Botox and OnlyFans subscriptions — ended last week when fellow representatives voted to expel […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights


Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for December 5
Mashable / 4h
Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle . As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer. If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for Dec. 5's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. Where did Wordle com


NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for December 5
Mashable / 4h
Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the e


Cruise faces fines in California for withholding key details in robotaxi accident
30TechCrunch / 4h
Cruise keeps getting kicked while it’s down. The General Motors-owned robotaxi company may face fines and sanctions after failing to disclose details of an October 2 incident — specifically that one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian 20 feet, according to a ruling from a California agency. The regulatory action comes as Cruise struggles to […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For persona


'GTA 6' trailer early drop: A timeline of the chaos
32Mashable / 5h
The GTA 6 trailer dropped earlier than expected, but what, exactly, impelled Rockstar Games to release it ahead of schedule? Here is a timeline of events, thanks, in part, to Tom Warren from The Verge. SEE ALSO: 'GTA 6' trailer: It's finally here, and it looks amazing Timeline of the 'GTA 6' trailer drama On Nov. 8 , the president of Rockstar Games, Sam Houser, tweeted that GTA 6 , one of the mos


Theme Park News From Disney, Universal Studios, and More Fan-tastical Destinations
Gizmodo / 6h
It’s approaching peak time for festive merriment, both for travelers packing for those winter trips and locals getting their holiday theme park fixes. Read more...


GTA 6 trailer leaked on X / Twitter, forcing Rockstar Games to release an official version early
23Mashable / 6h
It's been over a decade since the last Grand Theft Auto game came out so the Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 trailer release date for GTA 6 was a big deal. That is, until an anonymous leaker dropped the trailer on Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, a day early. Being that the leaked trailer was making its way across the internet, Rockstar Games clearly felt forced to release their own official versi


GTA 6: Trailer for new game revealed after online leak
1KBBC News - Technology / 6h
Rockstar Games releases the trailer 15 hours earlier than expected after it is leaked online.


Kodiak’s military prototype AV is a Ford F-150 pickup
TechCrunch / 6h
Kodiak Robotics has unveiled its first autonomous test vehicle for the U.S. Department of Defense, a Ford F-150 pickup truck that the startup has upfitted with its software and sensor stack. The DOD is using the vehicle to test autonomous surveillance and reconnaissance missions in off-road terrain, diverse operational conditions and GPS-challenged environments. Kodiak won […] © 2023 TechCrunch.


Grand Theft Auto VI trailer arrives early with a crime-crazy Florida
Ars Technica - All content / 6h
Enlarge / "Coming 2025." (credit: Rockstar Games / YouTube) Grand Theft Auto VI , like its protagonist Lucia, keeps finding itself in an awkward spot because of "Bad luck, I guess." The trailer for Rockstar Games heavily, mightily, impossibly anticipated sequel in its record-breaking series landed on YouTube Monday evening , earlier than its previously published Tuesday morning release. That's be


Scientists just revealed the colossal amount of CO2 emitted in 2023
58Mashable / 6h
Global carbon emissions are projected to go up in 2023 and are significantly higher than when nations signed the historic Paris Agreement , according to a newly released climate report. Each year, researchers at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) in Oslo, Norway painstakingly calculate how much heat-trapping carbon dioxide countries release into Earth’s atmos


'GTA 6' trailer: It's finally here, and it looks amazing
56Mashable / 6h
The long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI trailer has finally arrived, and it looks like it'll be worth the wait. Set to '80s jam "Love Is A Long Road" by Tom Petty, the 90-second trailer introduces Lucia, GTA 's first female protagonist. (Though the first GTA game technically included playable female characters , these pixellated blobs were only differentiated from men by their names and character po


Fossil-fuel emissions are over a million times greater than carbon removal efforts
MIT Technology Review / 6h
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are on track to reach a record high by the end of 2023. And a new report shows just how insignificant technologies that pull greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere are by comparison. Worldwide, those emissions are projected to reach 36.8 billion metric tons in 2023, a 1.1% increase from 2022 levels, according to this year’s Global Carbon Budget Report, r


Quordle today - hints and answers for Tuesday, December 5 (game #680)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 6h
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keep


Tesla whistleblower casts doubt on car safety
95BBC News - Technology / 6h
A former Tesla worker turned whistleblower has spoken to the BBC's technology editor Zoe Kleinman.


Star Tours' New Adventures Could Add Ahsoka and Mandalorian Destinations Next Year
Gizmodo / 6h
Season of the Force at Disneyland is returning to Disney Parks next year—and a beloved Star Wars ride will likely be getting an upgrade as part of the Star Wars attraction and experiences takeover, which annually brings new overlays, Lucasfilm merch , and galactic-themed foods. Read more...


Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer Leaked Early, Coming in 2025
400+Gizmodo / 6h
Tuesday was the scheduled day for the reveal of Grand Theft Auto VI, but someone got their hands on the trailer early . Not long after the leak showed up online, developer Rockstar Games pulled the trigger and the official trailer went live Monday evening. Read more...


[LAST CHANCE] Southwest Airlines’ Elevated Offer: Now Is Best Time
View from the Wing / 7h
Southwest Airlines' consumer credit cards from Chase are currently offering an elevated bonus of 75,000 points after a $3,000 spend in the first 3 months. Now is the optimal time to apply, as this offer can be strategically leveraged for maximum value, especially with the unique Companion Pass feature that effectively doubles the value of your points for travel. Continue reading ...


UK age assurance guidance for porn sites gives thumbs up to AI age checks, digital ID wallets and more
TechCrunch / 7h
The U.K.’s Internet regulator has set out draft guidance for how porn sites will need to meet a newly introduced hard legal requirement to prevent children accessing adult content. So, yep, those years-in-the-making British age checks for porn sites are finally on the way. The watchdog intends this kind of bared flesh to be safety […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


'GTA 6' trailer dropped a day early. Here's the release date window.
100+Mashable / 7h
The GTA 6 trailer just dropped a day earlier than expected. Rockstar Games announced that the trailer of the highly anticipated action-adventure game was due to drop on Tuesday, Dec. 5, but as it turns out, the video game publisher dropped it on Monday afternoon. Here is the trailer: Why did 'GTA 6' drop early? Rockstar Games dropped the trailer ahead of schedule because an X user with the monike


Don’t count on NASA to return humans to the Moon in 2025 or 2026, GAO says
Ars Technica - All content / 7h
Enlarge / A crescent Earth rises over the horizon of the Moon in this view from NASA's Orion spacecraft on the unpiloted Artemis I test flight in December 2022. (credit: NASA ) A new report from the Government Accountability Office suggests NASA's Artemis III mission, which aims to return humans to the Moon's surface for the first time in more than 50 years, could be delayed from late 2025 until


Texas sues Pfizer with COVID anti-vax argument that is pure stupid
Ars Technica - All content / 7h
Enlarge / Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (credit: Getty | Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle ) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer last week, claiming the pharmaceutical giant "deceived the public" by "unlawfully misrepresenting" the effectiveness of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and sought to silence critics. The lawsuit also blames Pfizer for not ending the pandemic after the vaccine's re


Hackers stole ancestry data of 6.9 million users, 23andMe finally confirmed
66Ars Technica - All content / 7h
Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg ) It's now been confirmed that an additional 6.9 million 23andMe users had ancestry data stolen after hackers accessed thousands of accounts by likely reusing previously leaked passwords. 23andMe previously disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that 0.1 percent of users—approximately 14,000, TechCrunch estimated —had accounts


The 'Grand Theft Auto VI' Trailer Is Here. And It’s Already Causing Mayhem
76Wired / 7h
Rockstar's hugely anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI has fans in a frenzy. The new trailer brings big Vice City vibes and big action.


Max Q: A Starlink terminal and a Kuiper terminal walk into a bar
TechCrunch / 7h
Welcome back to Max Q! In this issue: Why space parachutes are so hard, a new lawsuit alleging safety issues at Blue Origin, news from Loft Orbital, Relativity Space and more © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


Rockstar just released a trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6
100+Engadget / 7h
Rockstar has released the trailer of Grand Theft Auto VI , the next game in the blockbuster video game franchise a day earlier than expected. You can watch it here: It's been a decade since Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto V . While fans have been more than able to keep themselves busy with GTA Online and a few re-releases, they've been waiting patiently (or impatiently) for more single-p


GTA 6 trailer revealed by Rockstar Games with 2025 release
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 7h
At long last, Rockstar Games has revealed the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 , 22 months after the developer officially announced the game’s development - and notably a day earlier than it was supposed to be unveiled. Fans have finally been given their first official glimpse of the game's protagonist, Lucia, as well as the classic fan-favorite GTA location, Vice City, in full unadulterated


These Beats Headphones Are up to 50% Off Right Now
LifeHacker / 8h
Amazon has been having a great sale on Beats headphones since Black Friday, and some of them are still active despite Cyber Monday already being over. Right now, you can still nab Beats headphones for up to 50% off. That's not quite as low in price as they were for Black Friday, but it's still a great deal. Beats Solo3 headphones are 50% off If you’re still trying to take advantage of the holiday


Disney Gives Up on The Marvels
400+Gizmodo / 8h
Marvel Studios is not reacting well , at all, to having its first real box office bomb in 15 years. After years of unprecedented success, including four of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time, the studio’s latest release, The Marvels , is on the opposite end of the spectrum. After about a month in release, the… Read more...


Facebook Accused of Pressuring Harvard to Fire a Disinformation Expert
Futurism / 8h
A disinformation expert who previously ran a pioneering research center at Harvard is accusing the university of firing her — under pressure from Facebook. Best known for her work tracking COVID-19 disinformation , extremism researcher Joan Donovan is, per new court filings , accusing Harvard's Kennedy School of kowtowing to pressure from Facebook's parent company Meta after she gave a report tha


WhatsApp Will No Longer Butcher Image Quality on iOS
38Gizmodo / 8h
You no longer have to worry about sending low-quality images on WhatsApp. Well, at least on iPhone. According to WABetaInfo , WhatsApp’s latest software update for iOS allows you to send images as a document (just like on Gmail), meaning the original quality of the pictures is retained without you having to do any… Read more...


High-Performance Ultrafast Lasers That Fit on a Fingertip
Next Big Future / 8h
New high-performance ultrafast lasers are being made on nanophotonic chips. The new work centers on miniaturizing mode-lock lasers — a unique laser that emits a train of ultrashort, coherent light pulses in femtosecond intervals, which is an astonishing quadrillionth of a second. Ultrafast mode-locked lasers are indispensable to unlocking the secrets of the fastest timescales ... Read more


After a chaotic three years, GPU sales are starting to look normal-ish again
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge / AMD's Radeon RX 7600. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) It's been an up-and-down decade for most consumer technology, with a pandemic-fueled boom in PC sales giving way to a sales crater that the market is still gradually recovering from . But few components have had as hard a time as gaming graphics cards, which were near impossible to buy at reasonable prices for about two years and then cr


Google’s ChatGPT Competitor Gemini Could Preview This Week
Gizmodo / 9h
Google is reportedly set to virtually preview its generative AI competitor to ChatGPT , Gemini, as soon as this week, according to The Information Monday. The search giant hopes to catch OpenAI on its heels as the Microsoft-backed company recovers from its dramatic board kerfuffle along with the firing and re-hiring of… Read more...


‘Animate Anyone’ heralds the approach of full-motion deepfakes
TechCrunch / 9h
As if still-image deepfakes aren’t bad enough, we may soon have to contend with generated videos of anyone who dares to put a photo of themselves online: with Animate Anyone, bad actors can puppeteer people better than ever. The new generative video technique was developed by researchers at Alibaba Group’s Institute for Intelligent Computing. It’s […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For p


Why Alaska Buying Hawaiian Is A Good Deal For Customers, But A Bad Deal For Alaska
View from the Wing / 9h
Alaska Airlines buying Hawaiian is good for Hawaiian‘s shareholders, who earn a premium for their shares they have little likelihood of achieving with the carrier as a standalone. It is even neutral to good for customers. It just isn’t great business for Alaska. Continue reading ...


Audio giant Rode acquires rival Mackie to expand its focus on creators
53Engadget / 9h
Audio device leader Rode just acquired rival company Mackie, creating something of a pro audio and streaming powerhouse. Rode used to exclusively deal with pro-level audio devices, like condenser microphones, but has since turned its eye to the growing streaming market. To that end, products like Rode’s PSA1+ boom arm have become fixtures with popular live streamers. Mackie has taken a similar ro


Have an expiring perk or upgrade? Here’s how you can exchange it with other TPG readers
The Points Guy / 9h
In the spirit of holiday giving, we want to know: Do you have an expiring airline upgrade , drink voucher, lounge pass or another travel benefit you won’t be using that you could share with a fellow TPG reader before it expires? We first recommend offering your expiring certificates and other perks to family members, co-workers and friends or seeing if there’s any way to take advantage of them yo


Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones are down to an all-time low of $250
29Engadget / 9h
Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale for their lowest price to date at Target and Amazon . Typically $400, you can grab the over-ear cans for an all-time low of $250. Given their supreme comfort, terrific audio and powerful active noise cancellation (ANC), this is a chance to delight the ears of a loved one (or yourself) this holiday season. The fifth generation of Sony’s (awkwardly


Grok is Rolling Out Now and Over This Week to X Premium+ Users
Next Big Future / 9h
Grok is rolling out now and this week to X Premium+ Users. It has realtime access to the X feed. Grok can be very useful at improving and increasing your followers and engagement on X. Good summary! Note, Grok access is being opened up slowly to premium+ users over the coming week or so, prioritized ... Read more


IBM Gamechanging Quantum Computer Error Correction in 2029 for a 5000X Quantum Leap
Next Big Future / 9h
IBM has a new quantum computing roadmap out to 2033 but the critical turning point is around 2029 when IBM goes from error mitigation to error correction. Quantum error suppression and error mitigation is making a substantial difference now as is shown by peer reviewed work by Q-CTRL. The IBM projections seem to be guiding ... Read more


Explaining the Credit Card Competition Act and what it means for your credit card rewards
1KThe Points Guy / 9h
Editor’s note: This story is continually updated with new information. It’s been nearly 18 months since the Credit Card Competition Act first came on the scene, and its proponents in Congress have tried a variety of tactics to push it through. Most recently, lawmakers threatened to thwart the fiscal year 2024 spending bill if it wasn’t included, though thankfully efforts to advance the bill appea


Max announces an ASL version of 'Barbie' coming soon
Mashable / 9h
Barbie is coming to dreamhouses nationwide, as Max announces the blockbuster film will be released to streaming on Dec. 15. Even more exciting? The movie is launching with an American Sign Language version, in true "Barbie is for everyone" fashion. SEE ALSO: The rule-breaking audio descriptions of Netflix's 'All the Light We Cannot See' point to a greater accessibility triumph On Dec. 4, the comp


'Wonka' review: Can Timothée Chalamet win over the haters?
Mashable / 9h
The naysayers were wrong. Wonka is wonderful. Now, admittedly, some cynicism around Wonka was warranted. Initially sold as a prequel to Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory novels (and the movie adaptations), this seemed an unneeded origin story in the vein of such groan-worthy affairs as Solo , Oz the Great and Powerful, or X-Men Origins: Wolverine . The casting of Timothée Chalamet al


The Waning Honeymoon, 1878, George Henry Boughton
Music, Arts & Literature / 9h
laclefdescoeurs : The Waning Honeymoon , 1878, George Henry Boughton


Meta is disconnecting Messenger and Instagram chat later this month
78Engadget / 10h
Meta will soon remove a feature that lets you chat with Facebook friends on Instagram. Starting mid-December, the company will disconnect the cross-platform integration, which it added in 2020 . It didn’t provide a reason for doing so, but, as 9to5Google speculates , avoiding regulatory consequences in the EU sounds like a logical motive. Announced in 2019 , the optional cross-platform integratio


The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: why Google's innovative flagships should be your next buy
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Google's brand new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro flagship smartphones have a lot going for them: top-of-the-range specs, superior build quality, an eye-catching design, and innovative software features to transform your photo taking and video recording. If you're in the market for a new handset, then the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro really need to be on your list – presuming you want a phone that can run al


3 soundbar gift ideas for movie fans – all under $100
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
With holidays approaching fast, you’re probably looking for gifts that will bring a smile to a loved one’s face without putting too big a dent in your budget. If there’s a movie fan on your list, a new soundbar can spark happiness by vividly bringing the soundtracks of films they watch to life, and there are good options to be had at an affordable price. We’ve dug up plenty of good post-Cyber Mon


Wonka Provides Sufficent Whimsy, But It's Not All Delicious
Gizmodo / 10h
Timothée Chalamet is reason enough to see Wonka, the new musical that acts as a prequel to the Roald Dahl-inspired films Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and, if you’re so inclined, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Chalamet plays the famous title character in his formative years, passionate and optimistic about… Read more...


The Hubble Has Broken Down Again
64Futurism / 10h
Roto Scope NASA's aging Hubble Space Telescope is in "safe mode" due to a recurrent technical issue that's taken the 30-something craft offline. In a press release , the space agency admitted that Hubble automatically entered safe mode on November 29 because one of its three gyroscopes, which determine which way the telescope points, gave faulty readings. It was the third time the telescope had b


Time to Change Your DNA: 23andMe Lost Data for 6.9 Million People
55Gizmodo / 10h
23andMe, the world’s leading consumer DNA harvesting enterprise, announced Friday that hackers stole about 14,000 people’s ancestry information, as well as “a significant number of files” about other users. It turns out the word “significant” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. According to TechCrunch , 23andMe… Read more...


Mastercard launches Shopping Muse, an AI-powered shopping assistant
21TechCrunch / 10h
Mastercard is launching a new generative AI shopping tool called “Shopping Muse” that is designed to help users get personalized product recommendations. The tool is powered by Dynamic Yield, a personalization company that was acquired by Mastercard in April 2022. Mastercard says the idea behind Shopping Muse is to “revolutionize how customers search for and […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights rese


Amazon is having a massive sale on its own devices - 50% off Fire TVs, Echo, and Blink
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Amazon just launched a massive sale on its own best-selling devices, with up to 50% in savings on Fire TVs, Echo speakers, Blink security cameras, and the 4K Fire TV Stick. I've gone through today's sale and listed the best deals below, with prices starting at just $17.99. • Shop more of today's best deals at Amazon Amazon devices are rarely discounted outside of holiday sales like Black Friday,


George Santos is now on Cameo as a 'former congressional icon'
Mashable / 10h
If you were hoping to start the new year free of the dramatic machinations of ousted former Congressman George Santos, dream on. The Republican was kicked out of Congress last week and faces 23 felony charges and 22 years in federal prison. But a true grifter is always on the make, and Santos is already scheming up new ways to make money after losing his $174,000 House salary. Just before his exp


SpaceX Lunar Starship and Refueling in Orbit Might Slip from 2025 to 2027
Next Big Future / 10h
Government Accounting Office (GAO) projects the HLS (Human Landing System – AKA SpaceX Lunar Starship) development takes as many months as NASA major projects do, on average, the Artemis III mission (first moon manned landing) would likely occur in early 2027. This would be a delay from the current 2025 target. GAO analysis of past ... Read more


The Google Pixel 7 Pro Is on Sale for Its Lowest Price Ever
LifeHacker / 10h
The Google Pixel 7 Pro was recently eclipsed by the Google Pixel 8 in October, meaning, this holiday season, you'll see the Pixel 7 Pro at its lowest price yet. The first retailer to do just that is none other than Woot, Amazon's subsidiary online retailer. Until Dec. 9, or while Pixels last, Woot is selling new, 256GB unlocked Google Pixel 7 Pros for $599 (originally $999). Keep in mind that Woo


How That Viral Wedding Dress Photo Showed a Bride In 3 Different Poses Simultaneously
LifeHacker / 10h
Over the weekend, some parts of the internet were fixated on figuring out why an otherwise normal photo of a bride trying on wedding dresses turned out so bizarre. At first glance, there's nothing strange about the image—simply a bride standing in front of two mirrors in a wedding dress. However, if you look closely at the bride and both mirrors, you'll see she's striking in a different pose in a


The Best Apps for Improving Memory
LifeHacker / 10h
Whether you want to improve your memory for everyday life, school, or work, it’s kind of hard to know where to start. After all, memory is kind of mushy and not a traditional "hard skill" like coding. In general, I recommend outsourcing everything possible to your phone. Why not use your smart device to enhance your original smart device, your brain? There are many apps out there that purport to


Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser proves EA hasn’t forgotten about the game
Ars Technica - All content / 10h
Hey, remember Dragon Age: Dreadwolf ? It has been over a year since the game's title was first revealed and almost exactly five years since the then-unnamed sequel was first announced at the 2018 Game Awards . And today, just to make sure you didn't forget about the long-in-development game completely, Bioware and EA are out with yet another teaser presaging a "full reveal" planned for summer 202


Judge: Amazon “cannot claim shock” that bathroom spycams were used as advertised
26Ars Technica - All content / 10h
Enlarge (credit: zhihao | Moment ) After a spy camera designed to look like a towel hook was purchased on Amazon and illegally used for months to capture photos of a minor in her private bathroom, Amazon was sued. The plaintiff—a former Brazilian foreign exchange student then living in West Virginia—argued that Amazon had inspected the camera three times and its safety team had failed to prevent


Streaming apps are trying to bundle their way out of customer disenchantment
Ars Technica - All content / 10h
Enlarge / Michael Keaton in The Flash , which is streaming on Max. (credit: YouTube/Warner Bros.) Streaming services are on thin ice with many customers. With price hikes becoming a norm for streaming services, subscribers are reconsidering the value of streaming apps and whether subscriptions are worth the cost. In a bid to mollify disgruntled customers and make their packages seem more economic


Orcas Attacked a Great White Shark and Ate Its Insides. Again.
21Gizmodo / 10h
A great white shark carcass that washed up near Portland, Australia, in October was killed and eaten by orcas, according to researchers who studied the fish’s remains. Read more...


Microsoft Excel Has New Functions for Data Aggregation
How-To Geek / 10h
Microsoft Excel now offers GROUPBY and PIVOTBY aggregation functions, which make it easier to collect and organize data into compact summaries or tables. Plus, a new PERCENTOF function allows you to quickly return percentages from raw data. These functions are still in beta and are currently limited to Microsoft 365 Insider builds.


Monday only: Earn up to 4 miles per dollar on Apple purchases, but not on iPhone 15 models and Apple Watch Series 9
300+The Points Guy / 10h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information. In the market for an Apple device? If so, now is a good time to buy the Apple products that have been sitting in your shopping cart. Several airlines offer bonus miles for purchases made on Apple’s website for a limited time (Note: These bonuses do not apply to the iPhone 15 models and Apple Watch Series 9, in


ChatGPT says that asking it to repeat words forever is a violation of its terms
71Engadget / 10h
Last week, a team of researchers published a paper showing that it was able to get ChatGPT to inadvertently reveal bits of data including people’s phone numbers, email addresses and dates of birth that it had been trained on by asking it to repeat words “forever”. Doing this now is a violation of ChatGPT’s terms of service, according to a report in 404 Media and Engadget’s own testing. “This cont


A Y Combinator-backed startup called Velt wants to make more apps collaborative
TechCrunch / 10h
Online collaboration has become routine thanks to productivity apps like Google Docs and team design platform Figma, among others, but there are still hosts of internet-connected applications where users cannot interact with colleagues, add notes or otherwise collaborate with one another. That’s something a new startup called Velt wants to fix with the launch of […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights


Spotify Is Screwed
100+Wired / 10h
Spotify is the world’s biggest music streamer but rarely turns a profit and just cut 17 percent of its workforce. Its business model looks increasingly precarious.


How to Reset Your Windows PC for a Fresh Start
22LifeHacker / 11h
Resetting your Windows PC can be a good way to clear out old junk files and help troubleshoot technical issues your computer is experiencing. In the past, you used to have to rely on physical disk media and ISO files to reinstall Windows. Now, though, Microsoft has made it much easier—you can reset your PC to get a fresh start , directly from the operating system and without completely reinstalli


The US government has suffered a whole load of data breaches we never even knew about
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
In the decade between 2014 and November 2023, the United States government and its various entities and endpoints suffered exactly 1,283 data breaches. In those breaches, 201,184,801 records were affected, costing the government - and thus the average taxpayer - more than $30 billion, new research has claimed. The report from Comparitech noted 2019 was the biggest year for breaches, as that year


Verizon subscribers can get Netflix and Max for $10 a month
38Engadget / 11h
Verizon confirmed Monday it’s offering a previously rumored bundle of Netflix and Max streaming subscriptions. The pairing of the rival services is the first of its kind, giving the wireless carrier’s myPlan subscribers a 41 percent discount over buying the two ad-supported plans individually. The offer will be available starting on December 7. The bundle will include the ad-supported Netflix and


Samsung Galaxy A55 leaks reveal mid-range phone's S24-like design
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
New images and specifications have leaked for Samsung’s upcoming mid-ranger, the Galaxy A55, revealing the device may be taking some design cues from another future smartphone, the Galaxy S24. If you look at the renders provided by MySmartPrice , you’ll notice the edges around the smartphone are made out of polished metal just like what the S 24 is slated to have . The A55 even has a similar form


You can slide into someone's DMs on Strava now
Mashable / 11h
It's not that I don't like flirting on the internet. I love a cheeky email or a Spotify blend playlist . But a new horrible opportunity for flirting has entered one of my social media platforms, and it might ruin me completely. You can now slide into someone's DMs on Strava. Strava, an app that tracks your workouts, announced its new messaging feature today . The entire purpose of adding DMs to t


Klarna freezes hiring because AI can do the job instead
59Mashable / 11h
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski is betting so big on AI that he's instituted a hiring freeze. "There will be a shrinking of the company,” said Siemiatkowski per The Telegraph . "We’re not currently hiring at all, apart from engineers." Last May, 10 percent of the fintech company's staff was laid off during a period of economic downturn for the tech industry. This time, however, Klarna isn't pl


Best smartwatch deals at T-Mobile this week
Mashable / 11h
The best T-Mobile smartwatch deals at a glance: BEST SAMSUNG DEAL Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (40mm, 16GB) free with new watch line (save $349.99) BEST APPLE DEAL Apple Watch SE 2nd gen (40mm, 32GB) free with new watch line (save $299.99) BEST GOOGLE DEAL Google Pixel Watch 2 (32GB) $199 with new watch line (save $200.99) Whether you're seeking in-depth stats on your marathon training journey, hoping


Intel claims AMD is selling snake oil with its Ryzen 7000-series chips
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
The rivalry between Intel and AMD runs deep, with the two companies constantly vying to take the best processor crown. But few people would have expected the aggression contained in a new playbook presented by Intel , which insinuates that AMD is selling “snake oil” to unsuspecting customers. The claims were made in a slide deck dubbed “Core Truths,” the main argument of which is that AMD’s CPU n


6 air fryer gifts to make the holidays easier and tastier
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
The holidays are here, which means peppermint hot chocolate drinks, sparkling holiday lights, and the arduous search for the perfect gifts. If your loved one lives in the kitchen, wants to expand their abilities there, or simply doesn't have time to whip up home-cooked dinners, now is the perfect time to get them something that they’ll love using. To that end, we’ve gathered what we think are som


The Marvel and Star Wars Shows Coming to Disney+ in 2024
Gizmodo / 11h
The year 2023 was a fairly huge one for Marvel and Star Wars shows on Disney+ . Marvel brought us Loki season two , What If...?, and Secret Invasion . Star Wars gave us The Mandalorian season three and Ahsoka in live-action, as well as Bad Batch, Visions, and Young Jedi Adventures in animation. Will 2024 live up to that… Read more...


Is the Hilton Surpass Amex card worth the annual fee?
The Points Guy / 11h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. In our opinion, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card is well worth its $150 annual fee (see rates and fees ) if you’re a Hilton loyalist, as it offers valuable earnings rates and automatic Hilton Gold elite status . Hilton Gold status includes complimentary breakfast, room upgrades and boosted


The Ups and Downs of Marriott’s Elite Ambassador Program: A Tale of Service, Layoffs, and Revival
View from the Wing / 11h
Marriott has the most exclusive top elite tier with published earning criteria. The Ambassador level requires not just 100 nights in hotels but also a minimum of $23,000 in spend, nearly impossible to achieve in many parts of the world with low hotel rates. Yet for three years the Ambassador level didn't even come with Ambassador service. Marriott eliminated dedicated Ambassadors during the pande


Atomic Industries closes $17M seed to exascale America’s industrial base
TechCrunch / 11h
In 2014, investor and entrepreneur Peter Thiel infamously posed the distinction between companies that deal in “atoms” versus those that deal in “bits.” In its crudest terms, the former category includes businesses focused on things like hardware and manufacturing; the latter, software and financial services. Just shy of 10 years on, the distinction now strikes […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights r


A Raclette Party Is Exactly What You Need This Winter
LifeHacker / 11h
I haven’t met a winter food tradition I didn’t like—gingerbread cookies, plum pudding , roasting chestnuts on the not-so-open fire of my oven—but it’s possible that I’ve finally met my favorite: the raclette dinner. The winter tradition of griddling Raclette cheese is interactive, satisfying, communal, and a treat for cheese fans. Make a night of it with family and friends this holiday season and


AI invades ‘word of the year’ lists at Oxford, Cambridge and Merriam-Webster
TechCrunch / 11h
Few would disagree that 2023 was, in the world of technology at least, dominated by artificial intelligence. The dictionaries have taken note in their “word of the year” lists, and notably all the AI-related words they highlight are, in fact, existing words that have been appropriated and regurgitated with new meanings. A little on the […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use


Amazing: Chase Freedom Unlimited Double Rewards Bonus
One Mile at a Time / 11h
Link: Apply now for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Several weeks ago, we saw an absolutely amazing welcome bonus rolled out on the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® . If you don’t yet have this card, this should absolutely motivate you to apply, as we’ve never seen a more lucrative welcome bonus on this product. I wanted to post a reminder of this, as it’s anyone’s guess how long this will sti


redlipstickresurrected:Lawrence Sterne Stevens (American,...
Music, Arts & Literature / 12h
redlipstickresurrected : Lawrence Sterne Stevens (American, 1884-1960, b. Pontiac, MI, USA, d. Norwalk, CT, USA) - Illustration for The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury for Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine, December, 1952, Drawings: Ink on Paper


Gmail’s AI-powered spam detection is its biggest security upgrade in years
35Ars Technica - All content / 12h
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | pagadesign) The latest post on the Google Security blog details a new upgrade to Gmail's spam filters that Google is calling "one of the largest defense upgrades in recent years." The upgrade comes in the form of a new text classification system called RETVec (Resilient & Efficient Text Vectorizer). Google says this can help understand "adversarial text manipulatio


Amex Improves Business Gold Earning And Benefits, Will Raise Annual Fee In February
View from the Wing / 12h
American Express just announced a refresh American Express® Business Gold Card. It comes with 4x Membership Rewards points-earning in new categories; up to $395 in statement credits at select merchants; new 3x points-earning accelerator categories; and an increased annual fee. Continue reading ...


Tesla Has Quietly Built a New Vehicle That Riffs on the Cybertruck
Futurism / 12h
Cybercart Tesla's long-awaited delivery event of its much-hyped Cybertruck was a bit of a dud, from a poorly rehearsed and downright half-assed presentation by CEO Elon Musk to the reveal of disappointing specs and much-higher-than-expected prices . But the EV maker may have buried the lede with its presentation. Audience members of the delivery event got a tour of the company's Giga Factory in A


Windows 12 release date window leaked — but we're skeptical
36Mashable / 12h
Windows 12 could be coming as early as June 2024 if leaks are to be believed. This is good news for PC and laptop manufacturers looking to bounce back from dwindling hardware sales that boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The leak comes from a report by the Tawainese-based business newspaper The Commerical Times . The publication wrote that Microsoft would drop Windows 12 in June 2024. Additiona


Best phone deals at T-Mobile this week
Mashable / 12h
A quick look at the best T-Mobile phone deals this week: BEST IPHONE DEAL iPhone 15 (128GB) free with new line on qualifying plans or eligible device trade-in (save up to $829.99) BEST SAMSUNG DEAL Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 (256GB) free with new line or eligible trade-in on Go5G Plus or Go5G Next plan (save $999.99) BEST GOOGLE DEAL Google Pixel 7a (128GB) free with new line on most plans or trade-i


The makers of pro photography app Halide venture into video with Kino, due this February
24TechCrunch / 12h
Lux, the startup and makers of the popular pro photography app Halide and others, is venturing into video. The team today announced its plans to debut a new app, Kino, arriving in roughly two months’ time, that will allow iPhone users to work with video in a more professional capacity. The news follows advances in […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


On Doctor Who, David Tennant and Catherine Tate Are Literally Everything
100+Gizmodo / 12h
If Doctor Who’s triumphant return in “ The Star Beast ” was a romp in Russell T. Davies’ hallmark style to prove that Doctor Who can really still feel like its recent past, then “Wild Blue Yonder” is a similarly triumphant attempt to prove that Doctor Who can still be weird, chilling, and inventive as it ever was. But… Read more...


IBM Launches Quantum System Two Building Block Quantum-Centric Supercomputing
Next Big Future / 12h
IBM Quantum System Two is the building block of quantum-centric supercomputing. IBM Quantum System Two is the bedrock for scalable quantum computation. It is now operational at IBMs lab in Yorktown Heights, NY. It is 22 feet wide, 12 feet high, and today features three IBM Quantum Heron processors. It combines cryogenic infrastructure with third-generation ... Read more


You Need Leak Detectors in Your Home, and More Than You Think
LifeHacker / 12h
Water is humanity’s frenemy. Sure, the stuff is necessary for life and it’s fun to go swimming in, but water is also tirelessly seeking to destroy your property . When you think of the threat that water poses to your existence you might think of drowning and hurricanes, but in many cases the real threat is coming from inside the house; water damage makes up almost a quarter of all insurance claim


New Chrome update shows you which sites are slowing down your PC, and it's about time
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
A new addition to the desktop Chrome browser lets you to see each tab's memory usage, which could help you track down which sites are slowing down your laptop. Following the introduction of Google Chrome’s new Memory Saver mode earlier this year, Google has now rolled out a feature that reports memory usage on individual tabs when you hover over them in your browser. The feature is now available


5 Bluetooth speaker deals still running that make ideal gifts for music lovers
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
There are a ton of novelty Bluetooth speakers that make for great Christmas gift ideas , but if you're not sure whether that bauble-shaped speaker will sound any good then you might want to pick from one of our tried and tested models below. We've rounded up five of our favorite portable speakers that we've reviewed here at TechRadar. Most are in our best Bluetooth speakers guide, but we've also


The Beyhive gets in formation for Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' film: The best reactions from opening weekend
Mashable / 12h
Beyoncé knows how to put on a silver-studded show — IRL or in the theater. This weekend, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé hit number one in its opening weekend in the U.S., according to Deadline , grossing $22 million at the box office. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Godzilla Minus One fell to numbers two and three, respectively. While most fans were psyched about the show,


TikTok's Ticketmaster integration expands to users outside the US
28Engadget / 12h
Back in August, TikTok teamed up with Ticketmaster to allow artists to sell tickets to live events directly through the social media app. The service, however, was exclusive to the US, until now. TikTok just announced the partnership with Ticketmaster now extends to more than 20 countries throughout North America and Europe, in addition to Australia and the UK. The tool only applies to artists of


Global Entry mobile app: The complete guide
500+The Points Guy / 12h
Editor’s note: This post was updated with new information. Global Entry is getting even easier and faster to use. At more than a dozen U.S. airports, travelers can now bypass the Global Entry kiosks and instead verify their arrival in the U.S. on a smartphone using the program’s new mobile app . U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler programs, r


You Don't Own the Digital Shows and Movies That You 'Bought'
200+LifeHacker / 12h
The way we purchase movies and TV shows has changed a lot since the invention of home video. In fact, these days, many of us don't buy anything at all, and stream all our content instead. Still, there are plenty who prefer to buy their entertainment, with a subsection happy to do so digitally. After all, with disc-less devices like Apple TVs and Fire Sticks all the rage, it's the most convenient


Mac users are being targeted again with dangerous malware - here's what to know
3 TTPs•
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
Hackers are tricking macOS users into becoming a part of a proxy botnet by offering them pirated commercial software, researchers have revealed A new Kaspersky report has uncovered dozens of premium programs being offered for free online - but bundled with the installation files are proxy trojan installers malware . In total, Kaspersky uncovered 35 programs, including image editing software, vide


Toyota unveils two EV crossover concepts arriving by 2025
30Engadget / 12h
Toyota said Monday it plans to expand its European lineup of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to six models by 2026. The automaker revealed two new concepts for its upcoming EV fleet, including a “close-to-production” Urban SUV and a Sport Crossover scheduled for a 2025 European launch. Toyota,