Gizmodo

On November 30, 2016, around 100,000 people all over the world logged online and played a video game. Together, they surely would have frustrated Albert Einstein.

After breaking up with his boyfriend, Jesus Echezarreta changed the password on his Ring smart doorbell—twice. Still, his ex-boyfriend was able to download video from the home security device as well as remotely ring the doorbell in the middle of the night. The company says it fixed the security flaw that made this…Read more...

Ebola has once again resurfaced. On Friday, the World Health Organization reported that there have been at least 34 suspected cases of the viral disease and 18 deaths since early April in the Bikoro District of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But Ebola’s resurgence, hardly unexpected, can’t help but bring…Read more...

U.S. lawmakers are raising concerns over the Amazon Echo Kids Edition, a hands-free, voice-controlled hockey puck of a device that reads bedtime stories, plays Disney tunes, and programs our offspring to be tactful and courteous when interacting with artificial intelligent machines—a useful survival skill to impart in…Read more...

Life comes at you fast. On Tuesday, news broke that Facebook formed a blockchain division. Now it there is word that the company is looking into creating its own cryptocurrency.Read more...

Three people were reportedly injured in Texas when a family tried to feed two homeless “kittens” they had recently rescued. After doing further research online, the family determined the wayward felines were actually bobcats and turned them over to animal care services.Read more...

On a recent spring evening, a group of mothers at D.C. General Family Homeless Shelter were enjoying the weather, chatting outside near the building’s entrance. Two young boys whizzed past on scooters, colorful lights flashing. Across the street on the playground, kids shrieked, playing catch and chasing each other…Read more...

After Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month, Facebook braced for another barrage of questions, this time to be delivered in writing. Asked about everything from potential legislation to claims that Facebook had censored conservative outlets, Zuckerberg repeatedly stalled,…Read more...

With its bright white spine, The Frighteners called to me from my shelf of old DVDs. “Rewatch me,” it seemed to say. “People forget that I’m the movie that made The Lord of the Rings possible. I’m so much more than a VFX ghost story. Trust me. Bring me back to life.” So I did, and the alluring DVD did not tell a lie.Read more...

AT&T wants its employees to know that it is so, so sorry that it hired Michael Cohen, President’s Trump’s longtime attorney, whom federal prosecutors are now eyeballing over a $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, among other potentially shady business dealings.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company has been busy digging a giant tunnel under Los Angeles, and it’s reportedly nearly done and ready for some human passengers. Musk announced on Thursday that the company “will be offering free rides to the public in a few months.” That is, if they get government approval.

At a time when we’re all waiting with bated breath to find out if our four major wireless carrier choices will become three, Verizon is funding a new low-cost “competitor.” Visible is a startup that’s offering unlimited data, minutes, and messaging for just $40 per month. Of course, it has some caveats.Read more...

A new study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that it took more than $40 million over a 15-month period to screen nearly every blood donation sent to the American Red Cross for the mosquitoborne Zika virus. The report found that the massive effort—which went into effect following Zika…Read more...

One of the most interesting tidbits of news to come out of Microsoft’s Build developer conference earlier this week was the company’s upcoming Your Phone app, which attempts to bridge the gap between mobile and desktop messaging by letting you send and receive texts (along with some more advanced screen sharing and…Read more...

Android P is here, for those who want it, with a compatible device and the patience to put up with a few extra bugs and crashes. We’ve been playing around with the beta OS on a Pixel 2, and these are the most promising features we’ve come across so far—including a few hidden goodies Google hasn’t mentioned yet.Read more...

Earlier this week at the Google I/O developer festival, the company debuted Duplex, its eerily accurate human voice system that impersonates a bumbling intern making calls on your behalf. According to Google, Duplex is able to schedule appointments and book restaurant reservations by making actual phone calls for you.…Read more...

It’s been more than six months since the Cassini probe plummeted to its demise, but scientists are still releasing incredible images from two-decade mission to Saturn.Read more...

A case in which a Missouri sheriff is accused of illegally tracking citizen’s cellphone location for personal reasons is putting the spotlight on a little-known service that allows police to gain people’s location data with little oversight. The complex scheme involves the practices of telemarketers, inmate call…Read more...

At 78 feet tall, and churned by a fierce storm, it’s the largest wave ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand scientists report.Read more...

A father-son duo in India were arrested after allegedly convincing a businessman to spend 14.3 million rupees (about $213,000) on their phony Space Age tech. Authorities say the pair was previously arrested for allegedly selling “naagmani,” a mystical medicine that comes from snakes—making them literal snake oil…Read more...

Spotify just revamped its free tier, which means you get more than ever before without actually having to pay anything—(some) on-demand playlists on mobile, unlimited skips (on a few playlists), and personalized recommendations to more accurately reflect your tastes. So does it make Spotify Premium a waste of money?Read more...

Boston Dynamics, the company voted most likely to spawn the Robopocalypse, has released a pair of new videos showcasing the latest abilities of its synthetic creations.Read more...

An eye blink is over in less than a second, which means you can’t possibly be missing much while your eyes are closed, right? But it’s estimated that humans can blink over 28,000 times a day, and as much as 10 percent of our time awake is spent with our eyes closed. So it turns out you’re actually missing a lot by…Read more...

I’m standing in the middle of my living room, but my view is of the deck of a ship. I can hear my actual dog as he pants on the sofa I pushed against my wall so I could spin my head to explore my virtual surroundings. He’s obscured by the Oculus Go strapped to my face. I take a step forward in my living room, and sigh…Read more...

Amazon invests a great deal of time, money, and resources optimizing its massive logistics network, and nearly as much effort ensuring it has near-zero liability for the “independent contractors” it pays to handle deliveries through its Flex program.Read more...

Filed last night in California’s Northern District Court, a new, wide-reaching lawsuit accuses The Ridesharing App That Isn’t Uber of unjust enrichment, misrepresentation of its fee structure, and unfair competition.Read more...

Yesterday, the White House announced the creation of a new committee that will coordinate federal efforts related to artificial intelligence. The move makes sense given the rapid rise of AI, but the new group better be prepared to tackle all that AI has to offer—both the good and the bad.Read more...

More rumors tease a wild story for Hawkeye in Avengers 4. The Punisher and American Gods offer some intriguing casting for their second seasons. Han Solo screws up in a new clip from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Plus, what’s to come in the season finale of Arrow, and another wild Deadpool 2 promo. Spoilers, away!Read more...

If you want to keep track of your summer weight loss goals, Anker’s ultra-popular Bluetooth smart scale is back on sale today.Read more...

Australia’s Liberal Party government has announced that it will soon be illegal to purchase anything over $10,000 AU ($7,500 US) with cash. The government says it’s, “encouraging the transition to a digital society,” and cracking down on tax evasion. But not everyone is happy with the move.Read more...

Cleveland.com and WKYC got their hands on documents revealing a portion of Cleveland, Ohio’s failed pitch to Amazon to land the company’s planned second headquarters. The records reveal the city was prepared to throw some substantial incentives at Amazon if it decided to call Cleveland its new home.Read more...

The Expanse will need to find a new home, because Syfy has chosen to end its relationship with what’s widely regarded as one of the best science-fiction shows on television.

The Federal Communications Commission summoned all of its regulatory strength Thursday and dropped a record $120 million fine on a notorious robocall operator who placed nearly 100 million spoofed calls. It’s just a shame that the punishment probably won’t accomplish anything.Read more...

Alexa, a voice assistant that is pretty okay at setting alarms most of the time, may soon be equally mediocre at providing medical advice. Amazon is reportedly building out a team dedicated to expanding Alexa’s health and wellness capabilities.

Several news outlets have claimed that scientists have created a “cloaking device” like those seen on Star Trek, but that’s not quite what happened. The cloaking devices on Star Trek bend light to render an object invisible, and the new device merely deflects sound. The technology also isn’t so new, as others are…Read more...

Supercars occupied a tiny niche at the fringe of the car market, but that hasn’t stopped them from capturing our imagination. In fact, it may even be part of why they do. Supercars adorn bedroom posters and find their way onto desks as scaled-down toy models. So, of course, it’s always fun to think about what they’d…Read more...

Sitting with a friend in a bar in mid-March, a former Cambridge Analytica employee said he was having a beer when someone texted him Facebook’s announcement that it was kicking the data firm off its platform “pending further information.” “I just remember thinking, ‘Oh my God,’” he told Gizmodo. “This is going to be…Read more...

The Food and Drug Administration’s crusade against irresponsible stem cell clinics is heating up. On Wednesday, the agency announced it was seeking permanent injunctions against two of the most prominent clinics in the US. The injunctions, if successful, would bar the clinics and specific doctors there from performing…Read more...

A team of computer science students has embedded subliminal audio signals into music, allowing them to secretly seize control of devices that respond to voice commands.Read more...

Indie publisher Devolver Digital is releasing a new Super Nintendo game that looks to raise awareness of video game development crunch, with all its profits going to a mental health charity.

You probably haven’t experienced the crippling anxiety of thinking about increasing your Klout score in quite some time. As of May 25, you won’t have ever have to do it again.Read more...

The New York Police Department is testing out a device called the “Skim Reaper” in an effort to hinder credit card fraud.Read more...

The outlook for Kilauea volcano took a turn for the worse this week, when the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) warned that the dramatic draining of the summit crater could herald an “explosive” eruption.

Leprosy is one of the oldest known diseases to afflict humans, yet its origin is mired in controversy. A new study, in which 10 strains of the disease were detected in the remains medieval Europeans, is now complicating the picture even further by pointing to western Europe as a potential launching point for leprosy.…Read more...

In Searching, a teenager goes missing and her father searches for her by digging deep into her computer. Simultaneously, it’s every parent and every teenager’s worst nightmare: a missing child, and your Dad looking at your emails.Read more...

ABC’s Inhumans was originally planned to be a full-length movie—until it got stuck in development hell and was repurposed into a less-than-stellar television show, becoming the kind of monumental disappointment that Marvel executives probably have nightmares about. But the studio has a great opportunity to cash in on…Read more...

By combining satellite radar with seismic data, an international team of researchers has re-assessed the effects of North Korea’s most recent nuclear test at Mount Mantap, offering disturbing new estimates for the strength of the device used and its influence on the mountain itself.Read more...

There was a very brief moment after Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon sent out a cryptic tweet about the show’s future when fans were all but certain that the cult hit might not be returning for a fourth season. Turns out, though, that’s not the case.Read more...

It turns out we may have Mercury’s orbit wrong. Not by much, but by enough that a future mission can measure it, test Albert Einstein’s landmark theory of general relativity, and further refine its mathematicsRead more...

There are typically two approaches to taking usable photos in low-light conditions. You can either use a slow shutter, which requires a tripod to eliminate blur, or electronically increase the sensitivity of a camera’s sensor, which introduces ugly noise artifacts. But there’s now a third approach that takes advantage…Read more...