Gizmodo

Edward Snowden will not be allowed to profit from sales of his book Permanent Record, after a federal judge in Virginia ruled Tuesday that Snowden should have sought approval from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA). It’s not clear if Snowden, who was previously a CIA employee and…Read more...

If there’s something you always wanted to see in a Star Wars movie, but haven’t yet, odds are it’s in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film plays like a 150-minute checklist of cool stuff and surprises designed to please as many fans as possible. That may sound great, but in the process, that densely packed…Read more...

Any protected computer system is only as safe as whoever’s in charge of it, so hopefully that person doesn’t go rogue. Here’s a clear example: The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an IT admin at Santa Clara-based Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and four others with an insider trading plot that reaped “over $7…Read more...

Research published this week shows that the blowout of an ExxonMobile-owned natural gas well in Belmont County, Ohio in February 2018 released a hell of a lot more methane than previously thought.Read more...

Email cleanup service Unroll.me has settled with the Federal Trade Commission and must delete information it gathered from some consumers after it was revealed the firm was mining and selling data from users’ inboxes, the agency announced on Tuesday.Read more...

Would you hand over your soul for the ultimate score?Read more...

Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, io9's regular column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. It’s almost the holiday season, which means it’s time to think about those last-minute gifts you forgot! Otherwise, maybe a couple of titles to bring for family game night during the holidays. Either way, here are…Read more...

The National Portrait Gallery of Washington, D.C., is currently displaying a psychological thriller of a painting: “Untitled, Jeffrey P. Bezos,” 2019. We won’t ask why the gallery would choose to display a six-by-five-and-a-half portrait of the 2019 fundraising gala honoree as it enjoys a new spate of VIP interest and…Read more...

It’s been about a year since users of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX were informed that the company’s CEO unexpectedly died, taking the password that accessed most the money from their accounts with him to the grave. And now, those clients want to know what’s inside that grave.Read more...

Shortly after Google staffers engaged in the largest mass walkout at any tech firm in the United States, the company quietly lobbied the National Labor Relations Board in the hopes it would roll back a decision that safeguarded the only way protesters were able to organize that action as quickly as they did: email.…Read more...

As we sit waiting to see (and hear more about beyond vague social media reactions) just how Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker puts an end to the Skywalker saga, many people involved in the process have been reflecting on what it means to tell a story that caters to the passion of its audiences. Elsewhere, The Last Jedi…Read more...

A comparative analysis of historical and contemporary astronomical data has resulted in the discovery of approximately 100 star-like objects that unexpectedly vanished. These strange occurrences are likely natural, but scientists say alien technology is a remote possibility.

If you want Google or Apple software running on your big screen TV as well as on your phone, you’ve got a few options: On the Apple side, the Apple TV box, and on the Google side, the Android TV platform built into sets from the likes of Sony and TCL, and also showcased very well on the Nvidia Shield TV.Read more...

Last Minute Gift Sale | REIRead more...

The original prototype of the PlayStation—a Super Nintendo with a CD-ROM drive attached, created via a partnership between Sony and Nintendo—will be auctioned in February via Heritage Auctions, the company has said. Its owner has turned down million-dollar offers for it in the past. Now the market will decide the…Read more...

2019 has truly been the year of too much. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the bizarre medical cases that made the news this year. So let’s go ahead and take a trip down memory lane, just in case you were hoping to get a good night’s sleep ever again.

Next time you feel the need to justify to a family member, friend, or random acquaintance why you drive an old shitbox instead of a much more comfortable, modern vehicle, here’s another reason for you to trot out: your old shitbox, unlike every modern car, is not spying on you.Read more...

This year’s international climate talks were the longest in the negotiations’ 25-year history, ending two days late. But despite going into overtime, the talks—known as COP25—failed to deliver any movement on the issue that was at the top of this year’s agenda (and last year’s agenda for that matter). Polluting…Read more...

Let this serve as a lesson for those who mask the smell of smoke in their car with an exorbitant amount of air freshener spray.Read more...

All around the world, conservationists and biologists have hard drives full of millions of camera trap photos. Going through these images can be laborious and time-consuming, but a new program—a partnership between Google and several conservation organizations—simplifies the process with the help of artificial…Read more...

Add a feather in prosecutors’ cap today in the arduous Samsung crackdown: Samsung Electronics’ chairman, Lee Sang-hoon, has been sentenced in Seoul to 18 months in prison for attempted union-busting activities in violation of labor laws.Read more...

All good things must come to an end. Still, the end came swiftly for Rewound, a basic music player app that lets users download skins to make their iPhones look like ye olde iPods of yore—click wheel and all. Now it appears that Apple has summarily killed the app, saying it copied the iPod’s design and could be…Read more...

For every major leap in technology, there have been plenty of face plants, ill-advised cash grabs, and just plan bad tech. So here are the gadgets and technology that absolutely screwed the pooch.Read more...

Scientists in Denmark have squeaked out an entire human genome from a prehistoric piece of “chewing gum.” Made from birch tar, the 5,700-year-old gum also contained evidence of diet and disease and is providing a remarkable snapshot of life during the early Neolithic.

The previous iteration of HP’s premium convertibles did nearly everything right. They had an eye-catching design, a wide range of components, solid build, you name it. But sadly, those highlights were often drowned out by a clunky touchpad experience that left people feeling frustrated. But now, HP has returned to fix…Read more...

A cable is a cable is a cable, right? Not quite. While there shouldn’t be any difference from one USB cable over another—it’s mostly the protective covering around the cable and a bunch of marketing—some have found that their Pixel 4 smartphones get fussy depending on which USB cable you’re using to charge them. Pick…Read more...

Kevin Feige is already hyping up Marvel’s next Avengers-level crossover. There’s potentially good news for Picard on the way. Taika Waititi pitches a bigger, bolder and brighter Thor movie for Love and Thunder. Plus, a few more snippets of The Rise of Skywalker footage, Rick and Morty’s New Year return, and Damian…Read more...

At 19, Kathryn Spiers was hired on as one of the youngest Google security engineers in the company. Less than two years later, she’s been abruptly terminated for what she believes is her involvement in internal activism.Read more...

Lifewit Bathroom XL Bath Mat | $23 | Amazon | Clip coupon and use promo code GV89ZC6GRead more...

TV journalists for Australia’s ABC News went outside to deliver the 7pm broadcast in the capital city of Canberra today, but it wasn’t because the weather was pleasant. Bushfires near the city set off indoor smoke alarms at the TV studio and interrupted the evening broadcast.

PowerA Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch (Gray) | $17 | Amazon

It’s almost here: The end of the Skywalker saga that began its stealthy takeover of pop culture all the way back in 1977, and has since changed both sci-fi and blockbuster movies forever. The Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker world premiere has just ended, and critics are sharing their (spoiler-free) reactions now!

Today in extremely bad decisions: The Department of Defense as well as the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and XVIII Airborne Corps uploaded the same glossy, artificially colorized headshot of reviled war criminal and Waffen-SS officer Joachim Peiper to Facebook on Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported.

Amazon has barred third-party stores on its Marketplace platform from using FedEx ground or home shipping for Prime deliveries, the Wall Street Journal reported, saying that the company has performed poorly in getting packages to customers. In an email to sellers, the Journal wrote, Amazon said that the ban will…Read more...

The Rick and Morty faithful know what it means to wait for new episodes—and are on familiar turf again, now that the first half of season four is over. This might be why the first five episodes leaned so hard into fan service. But they also elevated the show’s signature blend of juvenile humor and flat-out brilliance.Read more...

The idea of a Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie has had fans salivating for years, but it might be time to finally put the idea behind us.Read more...

Boeing will halt production on its infamous 737 MAX plane nine months after authorities grounded the passenger airliner following crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that took 346 lives.Read more...

It’s hard not to look at the news every day and wonder if your life has somehow forked into an alternate reality or dimension than the one you were familiar with. Not helping the matter are the recently revealed best illusions of the year, including Frank Force’s winning Dual Axis Illusion which can look like it’s…Read more...

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4 and Xbox One) | $40 | WalmartRead more...

What the hell is going on over at American Gods?Read more...

Australia just can’t seem to catch a break. Bushfires have been ravaging the country for more than a month. Australia ended 2018 with a record-breaking heat wave, and it appears this year will end the same. And in the process, the country could see its hottest day ever recorded.

This week, Netflix finally launches its highly anticipated fantasy series The Witcher. If you’re not familiar with either the source material or just why people have gotten so excited about a white-haired Henry Cavill in a bathtub, you’re probably not sure what all the fuss is about or why this is so exciting. Allow…Read more...

The potential dangers of long-term vaping have largely been hypothetical, but a new study out Monday provides the first real evidence that it can increase the risk of chronic lung disease in humans. And while the risk may be much higher for those who smoke traditional tobacco cigarettes, it’s amplified in people who…Read more...

Money talks, and that’s why environmental activists—and, more specifically, indigenous peoples—have been pressuring banks for years to stop throwing their money toward fossil fuel extraction projects. Finally, major banks are starting to listen. Goldman Sachs announced Sunday that it’s finally listening and won’t fund…Read more...

Forever Roll Starter Kit | $30 | CharminRead more...

Tom Cruise is supposed to be an ally. This megawealthy superstar is supposed to, at the very least, understand how movies and television are viewed and support us nerds who want everything in widescreen with a perfectly calibrated rec.709 picture and zero motion smoothing. Why has he forsaken us?Read more...

We don’t know exactly what’s going on with Julian Assange’s health, but a growing band of doctors has called on the Australian government to negotiate his transfer out of a maximum-security British jail to a hospital in Australia.Read more...

To my surprise, this year from hell has actually gifted the climate movement with some celebratory strides.

Researchers in Turkey have uncovered modified Neolithic human teeth that were worn as pendants, perhaps in a necklace or bracelet, in a rare and perplexing archaeological find.

Software updates are supposed to improve security or make things run a bit smoother or faster. However, a recent change to Chrome on Android is causing some serious problems for both users and app developers.Read more...