Gizmodo

Among the many tidbits of wisdom that Elon Musk dropped at a Tesla company investor event on Monday was the revelation that Lidar, a laser-based scanning technology that images objects in 3D, was “friggin’ stupid,” and that “...anyone relying on LiDAR is doomed.” It seemed a grandiose claim given how many autonomous…Read more...

In a lot of ways, doing a traditional review of the $2,000 Samsung Galaxy Fold is pointless. Anyone who buys one isn’t doing so because it’s a good value or a sound purchasing decision. It’s not. They’re buying one because it’s new, innovative, and exciting. Besides, pre-orders for the Galaxy Fold have already sold…Read more...

A decent level of physical fitness, a fondness for climbing, an intimate knowledge of giant old-growth tree species, and being handy with a crossbow: If you possess this most unusual of skill sets, then tree-climbing botanist may be the job you never realized you were born to do.Read more...

James Wan wants to bring Salem’s Lot to life. Director Rodney Rothman says the Spider-Verse animated world isn’t done with Olivia Octavius just yet. Get a beardy new look at Robert Eggers’ follow-up to The Witch. Plus, what’s to come on The Flash. May the spoilers be with you!

Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against drug distributor Rochester Drug Cooperative (RDC) and two of its former executives, operations manager William Pietruszewski and CEO Laurence F. Doud III, in what the Washington Post reported is the first time the feds have targeted legal painkiller wholesalers…Read more...

At least eight Lime e-scooters have been pulled from the streets of Brisbane, Australia this week after they were hacked to say sexual and otherwise offensive things. Lime calls the hack “disappointing.”Read more...

Whether you’re looking to start a podcast, or just want your Skype calls to sound better, the Blue Snowball is one of the most popular affordable USB microphones you can buy, and Amazon’s offering the murdered out black version for for $30 today, or about $10-20 less than usual.Read more...

The U.S. Navy is “drafting new guidelines” for personnel to report sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, Politico reported on Tuesday, in response to unexplained incidents in which service members had reported unknown craft in the vicinity of protected airspace or encroaching on naval and air formations.Read more...

E-cigarette fans at this point might be getting used to bad news about the chemicals found in their products. A new study out Wednesday adds another potential, if still very unclear, risk to the list. It suggests that many e-cigarette cartridges and refilling e-liquids are contaminated with toxins spewed out by…Read more...

Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn wants to reopen negotiations with Wisconsin officials over its heavily subsidized, troubled plans to build a massive facility in the state, CNBC reported on Tuesday, though the exact nature of what is up for discussion is not clear.

Guillermo del Toro has been very careful in selecting his follow-up to his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water, but that movie may now be solidified after landing one of the biggest stars in the world.Read more...

The website for the event titled I Like Scary Movies describes it as “an interactive art installation.” But what does that mean exactly? Since it’s filled with displays paying tribute to films like The Shining, Beetlejuice, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Lost Boys, and It: Chapter One, I simply had to find out.Read more...

President Trump met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey today, and according to the Washington Post, the leader of the free world spent a significant amount of time complaining to Dorsey about his perception that Twitter has intentionally lowered his follower count.Read more...

It’s official: Waymo is opening an autonomous vehicle factory in Motor City.Read more...

On Tuesday, the president of the United States began his day with his usual peripatetic stream of tweets that appear to be random but are surely formulated according to a deliberate and thoughtful plan. Amidst the ramblings, President Trump indicated that he may need a little IT help when it comes to using Twitter,…Read more...

Avengers: Endgame is everything you’ve ever dreamed a Marvel movie could be. It’s a three-hour adrenaline shot to the heart featuring mysteries solved, consequences suffered, shock, awe, and delight. Some scenes have a scope so huge, the mind reels to comprehend what you’re watching. Others are so poignant and small,…Read more...

Mozambique is still reeling from Cyclone Idai, which struck the country hard last month, claiming over 1,000 lives across the region. Now a new cyclone is on the horizon, threatening to stretch already thin resources even thinner.Read more...

Few countries on Earth have a relationship with Facebook that’s quite as complicated as Sri Lanka’s.Read more...

Actually getting your butt to the gym can often be harder than the workout itself, but there might now be a shortcut for getting a defined set of six-pack abs. Researchers at the University of Miami’s Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine have developed a new plastic surgery technique called abdominal etching that can…Read more...

Photographs taken by citizen scientist scuba divers show that female sand tiger sharks develop an affinity to certain shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina—a finding that could prove useful to conservation efforts.Read more...

The never-ending saga surrounding Apple’s newer MacBook keyboards just saw a slightly refreshing update. In a leaked internal memo, the company says that all keyboard repairs must now be done in store with a one-day turnaround. So if you’ve been putting off getting your sticky or unresponsive keys fixed, now’s the…Read more...

After over a month of private and not-so-private squabbling, the management of podcasting firm Gimlet has recognized a union composed of staffers at the company. With Spotify’s purchase of the network in February, this makes Gimlet Union one of the first organized workforces under the umbrella of a major tech firm.Read more...

Last week, a Twitter conversation between an airline passenger and JetBlue went viral after she asked about the company’s creepy facial recognition cameras. Mostly, the passenger seemed shocked to learn airlines were scanning customers’ faces at all.

Every several years, magnetic field observatories record quick changes to the position or strength of the planet’s magnetic field, so-called geomagnetic jerks. The cause of these shifts has remained a mystery.

When AT&T announced it was rebranding part of its 4G LTE service as 5G E, or 5G Evolution, everyone knew it was bullshit. AT&T’s service hadn’t magically gotten faster, and all the other carriers cried foul. But only Sprint had the guts to sue AT&T over its misleading claims.Read more...

When it comes to worrying about the environment, it’s hard to pick just one issue. On the one hand, you have the sixth mass extinction underway. On the other, there’s climate change fueling a whole raft of problems. Oh, and don’t forget toxic air pollution. So much horrific chaos to choose from!Read more...

So long as cryptocurrency exists, so too will the extraordinary lengths to which thieves will go to try to steal it. Unfortunately, that also includes preying on weak private keys, a method that has evidently made one crypto bandit filthy rich with millions in swiped Ethereum.Read more...

Convenience isn’t easy. In the old days, you’d have to sign for packages, and then, as rules relaxed, you could count on packages getting stolen off your porch. Now Amazon has a whole host of different high tech delivery options. Starting today, that includes the option to give Amazon package-toting strangers access…Read more...

Alphabet’s Project Wing has gained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct commercial drone flights in Virginia.Read more...

That kids (and adults) in America love their sugary drinks is no secret. But a new study out this Monday suggests that sodas and sports drinks are fully replacing water for some kids. It found that one in every five children are not drinking water at all, and that these children end up getting more calories from…Read more...

“Hi! I see you, but I’m focused on the reading right now. I can chat during the next break!” This message popped up on the stream from Ryan Blake Hall, better known as Storyteller Mars on Twitch.Read more...

A New York teen’s life was made miserable because of mistaken identity cases caused by Apple’s facial recognition software, according to a $1 billion lawsuit filed against Apple on Monday.Read more...

Another month, another wild heat record. Vietnam set its all-time national high temperature over the weekend with the mercury cracking 110 degrees Fahrenheit. So yeah, global warming. It’s still happening.Read more...

Kohl’s announced this morning that it will start accepting Amazon returns at all 1,150 of its stores starting in July. There’s no extra charge for the service.

While streaming services have cut down on the amount of downloading most of us have to do nowadays, and built-in browser downloaders can do the job for the casual web surfer, if you’re transferring a serious amount of files on a regular basis then a dedicated download manager is worth a look.

The death of short-form video platform Vine—a wonderful, barely functional and totally unmonetizable comedy playground, may she forever RIP in peace—was the mile marker that ended fun internet and began the era of chore internet.

A 1,500-year-old chunk of fossilized human poop found at a former rock shelter in Texas contains evidence of an ancient hunter-gatherer who consumed an entire rattlesnake—including a fang. Archaeologists have never seen anything quite like it.

The next time you find yourself worried about the robot apocalypse, remember that after years of development this little robot couldn’t even fold laundry.Read more...

Andy Muschietti gives us a look at James McAvoy in It: Chapter 2. Gotham reveals its final endgame. Jerome Flynn teases his Dark Tower TV series role. Filming on the Star Trek Picard series has begun. Plus, what’s to come on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. Spoilers, assemble!

Just a few months ago, Razer refreshed its baby 13-inch Blade Stealth with a new design, updated specs, and a lovely pink colorway. Now, it’s the big boys’ turn for new improvements, including updated components for both Blade and Blade Pro, and an all-new chassis for its 17-inch flagship.Read more...

It might feel like Nvidia has been focused on it’s priciest graphics cards over the last few months, with announcement after announcement related to its ray tracing whizzbang 20-series GPUs, but today the company acknowledges that not all people looking for a gaming device want the best of the best. Sometimes good…Read more...

The best part about last year’s MacBook Pro was the 8th-Gen H-Series processor Apple elected to put inside. The H-Series is meant for beefy laptops or bulky workstations, so finding it in something as thin and light as a 13-inch MacBook Pro was a welcome change of pace—mainly as it meant the MacBook Pro was leagues…Read more...

Anytime a new wave of components hits the market, computer makers (and gamers) start counting down the days until they can put those parts in actual systems. So to coincide with the launch of new processors from Intel, new graphics cards from Nvidia, and new availability of some AMD chips, Asus revamped almost every…Read more...

On Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke at a company investor day focused on autonomy, relaying news that Tesla had switched to a self-driving computer designed by in-house engineers and dropping some big promises about what, exactly, the future of its Autopilot feature and autonomous driving will look like.

Airline seats are getting smaller, the wifi sucks, and you’re pissed to even get on a plane. But the airlines hear you. At least that’s what they’re saying.Read more...

Two Google employees who helped to organize a labor walkout estimated to involve 20,000 workers in protest of the company’s mishandling of sexual harassment and assault cases in November 2018 have claimed Google retaliated against them, according to Wired.

Facebook has picked up another government official—this time a legal adviser to Donald Trump’s State Department who once helped craft the much-maligned Patriot Act—to beef up its team, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The second episode of Game of Thrones final season brought with it a sense of calm before the storm—unless you so happen to be A Song of Ice and Fire theorist, because the episode’s use of a particular element from the books might have got your head spinning a little bit.

Families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will now have a new, non-drug, treatment available to manage the condition: a medical device attached to the forehead that sends mild shocks to the nervous system.Read more...

The European Parliament has voted by a significant margin to streamline its systems for managing everything from travel to border security by amassing an enormous information database that will include biometric data and facial images—an issue that has raised significant alarm among privacy advocates.Read more...