Gizmodo

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has stepped down from his role on Microsoft’s board of directors, the company announced today.

As astronomers eagerly await the opening of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, anxious operators have run tests to see how well the system might work when low Earth orbit is cluttered with satellite megaconstellations, similar to the one being built by SpaceX. Unsurprisingly, the results were not good.

The handheld laser pointers you can buy at office supplies stores are legally required to be no powerful than 0.005-watts, and most fall well below that threshold so they’re relatively safe to use. With that as a reference, you have a better understanding of just how terrifying this 100-watt handheld laser pointer…Read more...

Three years ago, ZTE pleaded guilty to violating trade sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The company was subject to a temporary ban on buying U.S. tech, which was eased following a plea deal that included forfeiting more than $1 billion in civil and criminal penalties and axing its entire C-suite of execs. Now,…Read more...

According to a report by Reuters, major U.S. internet providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon have agreed to not cancel customers’ internet service for the next 60 days due to non-payment, over potential Covid-19-related disruptions. Additionally, the companies have also agreed to waive any late fees residential or…Read more...

There’s a lot happening on social media, more than any one person can safely keep up with. Do you need to know about it? At Hall Monitor, we provide you with a digest to help you make up your mind.Read more...

Plant-based fake meats are so hot right now, and every day it seems like a new company is trying to get in on the action. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods still stand out as the two companies making faux beef that tastes the most like the real thing. So when Trader Joe’s recently announced that it would be joining the…Read more...

Our scientific knowledge of covid-19 and the coronavirus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2, is fast expanding. And while much of this research is preliminary, released on preprint servers not yet peer reviewed, it nonetheless could provide key insights about a pandemic that’s set to drastically affect the world for some…Read more...

After China, Italy has been the second-hardest-hit by the covid-19 pandemic racing around the world. In an effort to staunch the number of cases, the Italian government severely restricted travel this week in northern Italy—the pandemic epicenter for the country—before extending restrictions to the entire country.

Delivery service Grubhub has announced a temporary initiative to offset some of the impacts on independent restaurants struggling as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.Read more...

Travel might be the last thing on our minds right now (for most of us, at least)—so naturally, this is the perfect time for a popular travel line to announce some of its passenger’s most personal details might’ve been caught in a massive data breach.Read more...

Mesoamericans living thousands of years ago participated in a ballgame that carried tremendous social, political, and spiritual importance. The discovery of two surprisingly ancient ballcourts in Mexico is challenging conventional notions about the development and spread of this prehistoric pastime.

These are troubled times: a global pandemic, a collapsing stock market, and widespread anxiety and uncertainty about what happens next. But never fear, Donald Trump’s administration has a secret weapon: his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s sister-in-law’s father’s Facebook poll.

With Google having already shifted Google I/O to an online format because of covid-19, Apple has now pledged to do the same for WWDC 2020.Read more...

The U.S. Department of Defense has filed for permission to rethink some parts of the $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract it awarded to Microsoft back in October. In other words, Amazon refuses to let this thing go if there’s even the slightest chance it can wrest this deal from Microsoft’s fingers.

The Trump administration is all about giving states power—unless they’re trying to address the climate crisis. California had been working on a cap-and-trade agreement with the Canadian province of Québec until Donald Trump decided to sue the state for it last year. On Thursday, a federal judge rejected the…Read more...

Domestic cats are an ecological catastrophe, and a new study shows specifically how they enact their destruction.

After almost two years of testing, YouTube is finally moving on from the boring old Trending tab with the introduction of the new Explore tab.Read more...

Hulu has come a long way since it rolled out its live TV offering back in 2017. Its early effort was good, though not perfect. But through a flurry of acquisition deals and with additional content offerings and bundle options, Hulu + Live TV has managed to make itself one of the most attractive non-cable options for…Read more...

Earlier this week, Montblanc announced its expensive-as-hell Android smartwatch, the $1,170 Summit 2+ —with cellular connectivity, as a treat. Now the company is following that up with plush, noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones that seem like a bargain by comparison, at $595.

Many of us are now working from home for the time being, which can be both challenging and invigorating. But it can also be a pain when you have multiple devices.Read more...

President Donald Trump announced a travel ban on flights coming from 26 European countries on Wednesday, something that many public health experts believe is ineffective now that covid-19 is spreading quickly in the United States. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of President Trump’s top health experts, is defending the…Read more...

Up to 65% Off Amazon Cloud Cam + Amazon Key Lock | WootRead more...

Peter Dutton, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, has tested positive for covid-19 after returning from the U.S., according to a new statement published online. Dutton attended a high-level security meeting in the U.S. on Thursday, March 5, and there are photos of Dutton from that day with U.S. Attorney General William…Read more...

There’s a moment in this week’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars where Mace Windu dramatically leaps into a facility packed with battle droids. His lightsaber raised, he offers an ultimatum: He has destroyed thousands of their ilk, so they can stand down and be reprogrammed by the Republic or join those thousands. They…Read more...

Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless earbuds delivered one of the best audio experiences around when they debuted. But that was 2018. The competition to offer a premium audio experience in a pint-sized, long-lasting package has increased exponentially since in the year and a half since, with even Apple leveling up with…Read more...

The tumultuousdivide between full-time staff and contract workers at Facebook and Google hascome to a head recently, with this distinction now purportedly determining whodeserves to work from home amid an ongoing globalpandemic.

President Donald Trump signed the so-called “rip and replace” bill Thursday, legislation that effectively cuts off access to U.S. subsidies for companies like Huawei Technologies, ZTE, and any other foreign manufacturer that officials deem a national security risk, per a Reuters report.

The confirmation of the novel coronavirus—or covid-19—as a pandemic this week has come among a sea of event cancellations, as companies and event managers begin to wrestle with the reality of mitigating the spread of a virus predicted to potentially infect millions. In the world of entertainment, right now that’s…Read more...

Documents ordering the release of Chelsea Manning and former AntiSec hacker Jeremy Hammond were signed on Thursday by the U.S. District judge who detained them both in a Virginia jail last year for refusing to testify in the federal grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

AT&T just confirmed that it will be waiving data overage fees for all its internet customers, which means if you go over your data cap, you won’t be fined. The reason? Coronavirus, of course.Read more...

Airlines are falling on hard times: they’re facing travel restrictions, canceling thousands of flights, contending with swarms of panicked customers, and running costly ghost flights lest they lose their slots to other airlines. In the face of imminent catastrophe, an assortment of cool-headed flight attendants are…Read more...

Today is World Day Against Cyber Censorship. Launched by Reporters Without Borders in 2008, its goal is to raise awareness of how various governments around the world are censoring free speech online, whether it’s by blocking keywords on social media, removing individual articles and blogs, or in extreme cases,…Read more...

A new analysis of existing research this week suggests that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and similar 12-step facilitated peer counseling programs (TSF) really can help people dealing with alcohol use disorder to abstain from alcohol. Compared to other methods, like cognitive behavioral therapy, AA-type programs seem to…Read more...

It’s official. Disneyland in Anaheim, California is shutting down due to the new coronavirus. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, however, will remain open for the time being.Read more...

WonderCon 2020, set to take place April 10-12 in Anaheim, CA, has been postponed.Read more...

A talented photographer can snap stunning photos with even a cheap camera; expensive equipment doesn’t guarantee a beautiful shot. But that doesn’t make buying and experimenting with pricey gear, like a $39,000 fisheye lens with a field of view so wide it can see behind itself, any less tempting.

The reality of covid-19 has finally started to hit the U.S. hard. Just yesterday, the World Health Organization decided to describe the outbreak of a novel coronavirus that’s reached over 100 countries as a pandemic. Following that decision, U.S. states around the country canceled large public gatherings and the NBA …Read more...

At this point, many people are well aware of the two main strategies to slow the spread of the coronavirus: wash your hands and don’t touch your face.Read more...

The return of Westworld is nearly here—and while io9 already has a very handy guide to quickly get you up to speed so you can dive right into season three, we also wanted to look back at the most shocking, most monumentally plot-shifting, and otherwise intensely memorable moments of the show so far.

Travelers at European airports faced chaos, surging prices, and uncertainty as they scrambled to react to Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement that severe restrictions would be imposed on travel from the continent to the U.S.—made significantly worse by a series of bullshit claims made by the president during his…Read more...

Unfinished tests and complications arising from the coronavirus pandemic have forced the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos to postpone the launch of ExoMars, a collaborative mission to land a rover on the Red Planet and search for signs of life.

With people preparing to hunker down in isolation in order to avoid the spread of covid-19, it seems Discord is hoping to ease potential cabin fever by raising the limits on its Go Live game streaming feature.

A Quiet Place director and star John Krasinski has revealed that the sequel to his smash horror film, A Quiet Place 2, is being temporarily pulled from the release schedule because of coronavirus concerns—without any word about when we can expect it in theaters.

A team of technologists based in London has mobilized to amass a crowdsourced document calling itself the Coronavirus Handbook, a massive collection of resources related to covid-19 and covering everything from remote working and public advice to datasets and statistics related to the outbreak.Read more...

Russia is normally considered a bastion for cold. But it just experienced its warmest winter since records started some 130 years ago. And we can all blame climate change.

The Apple prophet Ming-Chi Kuo hath spoken, and it would appear that despite some coronavirus concerns, Apple has a few plans in store for its 2020 product lineup.Read more...

It’s been eight weeks since Star Trek: Picard began, and it’s taken its sweet time advancing its overarching plot. Instead, it has chosen to dwell upon the lingering regrets of its heroes, and the darker, more withdrawn world they all find themselves in. So it should be good news then that it decided to advance that…Read more...

One Friday night last month, some artists at the video game studio Naughty Dog were working on their latest game when they heard a crash. A large metal pipe had fallen from above them and landed right next to their desks. If it had dropped a few feet closer, the consequences might have been dire. It was late, past 9…Read more...

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