Gizmodo

Nothing has been more of a spectacle to watch than Meta’s bet on the metaverse—more specifically Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality video game platform from the company. It appears Meta isn’t ready to give up on Horizon Worlds just yet, as internal documents from the company reveal a revamping strategy of the platform…Read more...

We’re only now starting to feel the effects of an avian flu outbreak last year that decimated flocks and put a strain on egg stocks, resulting in boosted prices. But there’s good news if all you care about is the egg experience, and not where the eggs actually come from, as a vegan alternative has finally reached the…Read more...

Twitter-like apps don’t seem to be doing too hot as of late. Ever since billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought the blue bird app back in October, a wave of controversy has caused a massive decline in users. Worse still for Twitter and Musk, few seem willing to pay for features like Twitter Blue. While some users have…Read more...

It’s Jonathan Majors’ (quantum) realm. and we’re all just living in it. The amount of hype that the trailers are giving Kang the Conqueror is truly out of this world and honestly; he deserves it. We’ve got some early social reactions coming out, and people are very interested in seeing Kang show up again and again …Read more...

It is officially new smartphone season, and we’re starting this year’s corral with value. The OnePlus 11 isn’t as flashy as the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, nor does it have proprietary hardware like the AI-focused Tensor chip found in Google’s Pixel 7 lineup. It’s just a good Android smartphone that’s competitively…Read more...

A new Marvel movie is just weeks away, and that means it’s time for Marvel movie merch. As always, Hasbro is leading the charge with a new Marvel Legends wave dedicated to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and io9 has the first look at the toys from the movie.

When Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit came out in 2020, we were quick to praise the AR toy’s gameplay, but were put off by how much it cost for what was on offer. Now, developer Velan studios is back in the bucket seat again, and while it hasn’t managed to lower the cost of entry for its AR RC car tech, the new Hot…Read more...

A neo-Nazi leader and a Maryland woman planned to attack electrical substations, which form the interface between the distribution grid and transmissions systems, around Baltimore in an attempt to permanently “lay this city to waste,” according to the FBI.Read more...

Take a really close look at the reflection in the gold ring that Lego teased on Twitter yesterday and you’ll see that the company actually shared an early sneak peek at today’s big reveal: an absolutely stunning 6,167-piece recreation of Rivendell reflecting the elaborate locale we’ve seen on screen.Read more...

Getting hands-on time with the MSI Titan GT77 HX sounds like a fun time in its own right, but the secret sauce behind this specific model that’s set to hit shelves in just a few days is the 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor humming under the hood. Intel’s new 13 Gen HX series chips are billed as powerhouse mobile CPUs,…Read more...

The Multiverse Saga is about to kick into high gear. Next week, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens in theaters, officially ushering in the beginning of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It sees our heroes, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) head to the quantum realm—where they’ll…Read more...

Get ready for lift off in this look inside Space 220 in Walt Disney World. io9 was invited by Disney Parks to try out lunch at Epcot’s immersive dining experience, which simulates a trip to a space station where you can have lunch, dinner, or drinks with a view of Earth and the stars.Read more...

Wes Ball’s new Planet of the Apes movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, has been filming and adding cast members for a few months—and now, we might finally know what all those people will be doing.Read more...

For months, Getty Images has mumbled its simmering resentment over its photos being used for AI image generators. Now, the stock image site has finally turned up the heat on one of the companies crafting these AI systems.Read more...

The world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, is set to halt transfers to and from U.S. bank accounts beginning Wednesday, February 8. The company tweeted out confirmation of the USD bank transaction suspension on Monday, following early reports from multiple news outlets.

The Federal Trade Commission will not appeal the court ruling rejecting its attempt to block the acquisition of VR fitness company Within by Facebook and parent company Meta. The regulator’s decision marks a major win for Meta and draws renewed scrutiny on the agency’s capacity to successfully bring similar antitrust…Read more...

While you see a lot of games out there that can be used to run heists (Bully Pulpit Games’ Fiasco comes immediately to mind), this selection is specifically built around heists. Not games that can be used for heists or games that can be twisted to run heists, but games that have their mechanics built to pull off one…Read more...

A “crazy-looking cat” spotted by Missouri farmers in recent months turned out to be an African serval. Thankfully, the wild feline survived the harsh winter and was captured without any problems. Though it’s unknown how the animal ended up where it did, it’s now reportedly safe and sound at a nearby sanctuary.Read more...

Pakistan lifted its Wikipedia ban today after degrading the site on Saturday following the site’s refusal to remove what local government officials called blasphemous and anti-Islam content. The Pakistani government said they gave the site 48 hours to remove the “anti-Islam” information which hurts Muslim sentiment.Read more...

Nothing has made the tech industry cower quite the way ChatGPT has. While some have tried to hop on board asap, others—like Google—are attempting to compete. The tech giant has just announced its answer to the wildly popular chatbot, and it’s called Bard.

One of the solar system’s 1.1-million-plus asteroids was recently spotted by the Webb Space Telescope, from a distance of about 62 million miles. The asteroid is relatively small, making it a showcase of the new space observatory’s sharp vision.Read more...

After becoming the new hotness for fans of surreal insanity, the never ending AI-generated stream inspired by the 90s sitcom Seinfeld called Nothing, Forever has been temporarily kicked off the air. Just like some other famed comedians, the series main character “Larry Feinberg” was slapped down hard after making an…Read more...

The country of Saudi Arabia has scrounged up several billion dollars in investments from major tech companies, which are interested in building cloud computing centers in the region.

In 1997 slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character famously screamed, “What are you waiting for, huh?” Well, if she was talking to Hollywood, they were waiting for precedent. And now, now that they have it, the character and franchise are ready for a big-screen comeback.Read more...

NASA’s Curiosity rover found a meteorite as it was trucking across Mars last week.Read more...

Mark Zuckerberg said in a recent earnings call that Meta’s next consumer oriented headset, speculated to be the Meta Quest 3, will include full color mixed reality features. This could be a major shift in the VR industry and the company’s continuing fascination with shared virtual spaces.Read more...

Even if you aren’t a big movie fan, odds are you know a bit about Michael J. Fox. Fox was one of the biggest stars on the planet in the 1980s; with a hit TV show and the main role in a mega-franchise, the world was his oyster. But a few years later, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his life completely…Read more...

In a not-so-surprising, sudden reversal, Elon Musk walked back on plans to completely end free access to Twitter’s application programming interface (API) over the weekend. The billionaire indicated that limited, cost-free API access would remain for “good” bots on the site, in a Saturday night tweet.

The AMC Theatre conglomerate is taking a new stance on ticket pricing, changing the cost for moviegoers based on standard, prime, and value seating options. The change, called Sightline at AMC, will expand to all of its roughly 1,000 U.S. AMC Theatre locations by the end of this year.Read more...

A 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in northeastern Ohio, and the local area is now at risk from the potential release of toxic substances as well as a potential explosion. The train was headed to Pennsylvania from Illinois and derailed on Friday night, NPR reported.

The Last of Us, eat your heart out. Scientists at the University of Georgia say they’ve developed a vaccine that should be able to protect against a variety of dangerous fungi. In animal studies, the vaccine prevented severe infections and deaths from three types of fungi that often cause opportunistic illness in…Read more...

Rolls-Royce Holdings is getting into the nuclear reactor business. The British aerospace engineering company says it’s developing a micro-nuclear reactor that the company hopes could be a source of fuel for long trips to the Moon and Mars.

More than a third of animal and plant species in the U.S. could go extinct while more than 40% of ecosystems are at risk of collapse, a new report from a conservation group has found.

Austin Butler and his carefully cultivated Elvis accent may still be angling for Oscar gold, but Netflix’s secret-agent spin on the King has just nabbed Matthew McConaughey as its hip-swiveling, high-kicking lead. The first teaser for Agent Elvis is here, and, well... is McConaughey just kind of doing his own voice…Read more...

Police shut down a shadowy encrypted messaging app Monday that was allegedly used by organized crime figures to facilitate the transfer of drugs, illicit cash, and firearms throughout Europe. Then they nabbed the people who allegedly coded it.

In November, Gizmodo exclusively reported that Apple harvests data about its users even after they flip the switch on an iPhone privacy setting that promises to “disable the sharing of device analytics altogether.” Since then, consumers across the country have filed at least 12 different class-action lawsuits about…Read more...

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Marvel has been dominating pop culture for 15 years, but it arguably wouldn’t be as strong a brand if it didn’t have its animation slate. Cartoons like X-Men and Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have helped define Marvel in the eyes of viewers. But for the last several years, many Marvel cartoons have focused on…Read more...

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Fans of horror inspired by Jewish folklore are having a boom time between last month’s The Offering and now Attachment—the latter arriving on Shudder just in time for Valentine’s Day. From Denmark-based filmmaker Gabriel Bier Gislason, it’s the tale of two women who fall quickly in love but soon encounter some…Read more...

More than 2,300 people have been killed and thousands more injured in Turkey and Syria after a series of earthquakes hammered the region already beset by civil war and a refugee crisis on Monday, according to the Associated Press. Rescue workers and officials said that, as evening fell, hundreds more people remain…Read more...

The maiden voyage of India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle didn’t go as planned in 2022, but the country’s space agency is ready for a re-attempt, with the rocket slated to blast off on Thursday. Meanwhile, SpaceX is hoping to launch a communications satellite on Monday.

There’s a long history of very good reasons for using an external keyboard instead of your MacBook’s, but it does put the laptop’s very useful trackpad out of reach. Instead of spending $149 on Apple’s standalone Magic Trackpad, Taliyah Huang designed and built a custom split keyboard with its own mouse and trackpad…Read more...

HBO really cares about the numbers for The Last of Us, apparently. In light of a certain football game that will likely dominate airwaves and streaming time on Sunday—during the same slot of time when The Last of Us usually gets released—the series’ fifth episode will instead premiere on streaming services on Friday,…Read more...

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is so desperate to repay its creditors that it is clawing back any and all money the company and its ex-execs used for political donations. The company has even implied it will go after charities and other nonprofits politicians said they donated FTX’s money to if it doesn’t get its money…Read more...

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A new Stephen King story makes its way to the big screen. Star Colin Farell knows how many episodes he’ll be wearing gobs of prosthetics for the Penguin TV series. Plus, meet the crew of the USS Titan-A, coming soon to Star Trek: Picard season three. Spoilers will be docking... now.Read more...

Dell is following in the footsteps of the wider tech industry and is laying off around 6,600 positions. The company is citing a reduced demand for PCs—as well as the economy—for the decision.

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular round up of the latest toy news. This week, Mondo’s X-Men: The Animated Series line continues with much jubilation, set phasers to stun with a new Star Trek replica, and Lego goes Disney for a new 100th anniversary celebration. Check it out!

The great Chinese spy balloon drama of 2023 is not over yet. As it turns out, there’s another not-a-spy balloon floating over Latin America and yes, that one also belongs to China.Read more...