Gizmodo

The universe has no shortage of oddities, and researchers at the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab have observed another one in the form of a particular binary star system. The system, called CPD-29 2176, will eventually trigger a kilonova, a celestial event in which two neutron stars collide in a massive…Read more...

Big deviations in the source material for adaptations can be a scary thing. The history of movie/TV adaptations is littered with examples of where this has gone horribly wrong. Every now and again the right combination of magic comes along that sees such changes not only succeed, but manage to transcend the original…Read more...

Preparations for the crewed Artemis 2 trip to the Moon are in full swing, with NASA rolling-out various fixes, upgrades, and new technologies to support the mission, which could happen as soon as 2024. Among the more exciting developments are a gigantic new hydrogen fuel tank and an updated escape system that harkens…Read more...

One of the main defenses used by those who are bullish on AI art generators is that although the models are trained on existing images, everything they create is new. AI evangelists often compare these systems to real life artists. Creative people are inspired by all those who came before them, so why can’t AI be…Read more...

The HP Envy 16 is a laptop aimed at creators who want a more affordable alternative to other premium models. While this laptop may seem like just another workhorse offering from HP, it’s actually a machine you can have a little fun with. With a stunning 16-inch, 16:10 4K display with touch capabilities, high power…Read more...

Into every generation a powerhouse is born, one who will save us from the plague, bring knowledge to children, and defeat demons like Jolene. Country legend Dolly Parton is that chosen one—who without whom we would not have gotten Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as it it turns out.

PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada, the author of the worst tech layoff email in recent months, wants you to know that she’s sorry. She refused to use the word “layoffs” and quoted Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps not right thing to do when laying off 7% of your employees.Read more...

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An Arctic front has frozen much of Central Texas, and it’ll probably linger there for another day.Read more...

Tesla’s big, bold billion-and-a-half-dollar bet on bitcoin’s “long-term-potential” is starting to look more and more like a dud. The company, at the behest of CEO Elon Musk, purchased $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency back in February. Now, according to new fillings with the SEC, the company says it walked away…Read more...

Historical finds of elephant remains alongside stone tools have long prompted speculation among researchers that early humans or other hominin species may have relied on the massive mammals for food.Read more...

If there’s one thing M. Night Shyamalan is great at, it’s keeping the audience guessing. Shyamalan’s best films almost always center on some big mystery, or reveal by the end that it was a mystery all along. To that end, his new film Knock at the Cabin is right in the filmmaker’s wheelhouse. The film succinctly and…Read more...

On the long and ever-growing list of streaming services, NBC Universal’s Peacock managed to stand out for more than its silly name. The online home of cable classics like Parks and Rec and The Office distinguished itself, not just through its wide array of programming and user-friendly interface, but also through its…Read more...

Barely a single day has passed since James Gunn and Peter Safran revealed their slate of upcoming DC Universe films, but already one of the highest-profile titles may have an equally high-profile director. James Mangold, currently putting the finishing touches on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is reportedly…Read more...

An artificial intelligence tool used by a child protective services agency in Pittsburgh is under scrutiny for its alleged racial discrimination against families. The Associated Press first reported on the concerns following an investigation revealing transparency issues and potential bias caused by the AI algorithms…Read more...

It’s the time of year when Samsung trots out the latest in its flagship lineup of smartphones at its annual wintertime Unpacked event. This year’s Galaxy S23 flagships are merely incremental updates to Samsung’s smartphone portfolio, but they’re still quite promising. The Galaxy S23/S23+ even received a slight…Read more...

Samsung has introduced the third generation of its Galaxy Book laptops to coincide with the arrival of the new Galaxy S23 smartphones. Like the three smartphone offerings, each Galaxy Book 3 model has its own special marketing sauce. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro Ultra is the “ultimate” tier in the lineup, while the Book 3…Read more...

Samsung has officially revealed its flagship lineup for the year. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, S23, and S23+ will go on sale on Feb. 17. Each phone starts at a different price point, with the Ultra being the ultimate model. The Galaxy S23 and 23+ will also pack punches of their own, and they’re looking more refined compared…Read more...

Earlier this week, Google announced that user accounts for its cell network service, Google Fi, had been compromised. The breach appears to have been the result of the hack on Google’s service provider, T-Mobile, which suffered a massive breach earlier this month that impacted some 37 million customers.Read more...

Though there are notable exceptions—Jordan Peele’s Get Out is the biggest recent example—the Academy Awards tend to give horror a very wide berth. Horror fans have learned not to care much about what Oscar says, but it still stings, especially when outstanding performances get overlooked.

Layoffs are ravaging the tech industry due to the wildly abstract threat posed by “the economy,” but Intel is taking a different approach. Instead of laying off thousands of its workforce, the company has seemingly decided to make sweeping pay cuts from 5% to 25%.

A case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy—more colorfully known as mad cow disease—has been detected on a farm in the Netherlands. It’s the first time that an infected cow has been reported in the country in over a decade. Authorities say the cow should not pose a threat to human health, but they’re looking for other…Read more...

Let’s get streaming! Welcome to the latest edition of io9's streaming column the Nerd’s Watch, where we pare down the enormous lists of new films and television shows arriving on all your favorite streaming services into the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles we think you’ll like most.

Although virtual pet devices like Tamagotchis strive to simulate the responsibilities of caring for a real animal, the stakes are low, and there are no real consequences if your pixelated pet passes away. That’s not the case with this conceptual smartwatch. There’s a real life living organism inside it, and if it’s…Read more...

The Federal Trade Commission took historic action against the medication discount service GoodRx Wednesday, issuing a $1.5 million fine against the company for sharing data about users’ prescriptions with Facebook, Google, and others. It’s a move that could usher in a new era of health privacy in the United States.Read more...

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Jason Bateman will direct Bad Robot’s new supernatural western, The Pinkerton. Get a new look at Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Dexter revival is dead, long live... young Dexter? Plus, what’s coming on Quantum Leap. Spoilers, away!

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

As much as Netflix account holders were dreading the day the company finally cracked down on password sharing, the streaming giant’s first taste of what it has in store for users was both confusing and concerning. Folks online were dumbfounded by some unverified reports that Netflix’s password sharing would require…Read more...

In That Self-Same Metal, her debut fantasy novel, author Brittany N. Williams draws on her own background—she’s a classically trained actor who knows her way around a sword—to help bring her young protagonist to life. io9 has an exclusive excerpt to share from this Shakespearan tale today.Read more...

Height limitations have always been a challenge for some amusement park guests, as safety features on thrill rides aren’t designed to accommodate every rider. But Mario fans flocking to Universal Studios Hollywood this month for the opening of Super Nintendo World may find themselves unable to enjoy the park’s most…Read more...

A bill in the Massachusetts state legislature, proposed by Democratic state Representatives Carlos González and Judith García, to create the Massachusetts Incarcerated Individual Bone Marrow and Organ Donation Program, which the legislation’s sponsors say “would restore bodily autonomy to incarcerated folks” and also…Read more...

Surfing the web is one of the great joys of modern life. With the click of a button you can know who starred in that TV show you like, what to name your child, or how to tell if your cat wants you dead.

Unprecedented layoffs have put tens of thousands of highly qualified computer nerds out of a job, but there’s apparently one place they can always turn to if they get really desperate: the dark web! A recent report from security firm Kaspersky shows that some job postings on darknet crime forums offer absurdly…Read more...

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind viral text-generator ChatGPT, has released a new AI tool intended to help manage the mess wrought by its previous creation. Unfortunately, it’s not very good.

Ten years ago, Hasbro announced something akin to a disturbance in the Force—and Star Wars toy fans’ wallets: The Black Series, a brand new line that would bump the iconic heroes and villains of the galaxy far, far away up to 6" scale for the first time (and away from the 3.75" scale Star Wars changed the game with).

It feels like the last month of gaming news has been a whole decade. Remember the OGL 1.1? That happened less than three weeks ago! For those of you who don’t pay attention to Dungeons & Dragons (teach me your ways), you can check out our explainer here. Otherwise, here’s some incredible games as we gear up for Zine…Read more...

A new rebrand is in the works for Paramount after CEO Bob Bakish announced the company is merging Showtime and Paramount+. As part of the merger, Paramount+ will be rebranded as Paramount+ With Showtime, which will be overseen by Tom Ryan. Meanwhile, Chris McCarthy will continue to oversee network operations for…Read more...

Not to be left behind in any trend-chasing, Hollywood is scrambling after the promise of artificial intelligence. In this case, one movie is banking its premise on the promise of AI-driven deepfake tech.Read more...

It’s February, traditionally a month for romance—but 2023 is also bringing a bumper crop of frights! There are several big horror titles out this month, including Stephen Graham Jones’ sequel to My Heart Is a Chainsaw and author Matt Ruff’s return to Lovecraft Country... as well as all the sci-fi and fantasy your…Read more...

The European Space Agency has released its image of the month for January, and it is (perhaps unsurprisingly) a stunning shot from the Webb Space Telescope.Read more...

Starlink, the satellite-based internet service from SpaceX, has an active presence on the continent of Africa, with the company announcing yesterday that Starlink is now available in Nigeria.

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are returning to the app game with a new innovative startup since leaving the ‘gram in 2018. Artifact is a new social media platform that will provide a feed of articles and facts aimed to create a dialogue between users to discuss things of interest.Read more...

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During the press event where DC Studios rolled out its planned projects for the future of the DC Universe, new co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran outlined what to expect—and also what not to expect. The latter includes any chance of seeing Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s cancelled Batgirl movie.Read more...

If by some miracle you had a great 2022, you’re not alone. At least two of the world’s biggest oil corporations thoroughly rocked last year. In fact, for ExxonMobil and Chevron, 2022 wasn’t just a good year—it was the best one ever.Read more...

Hope you got the chance to test out Twitter’s CoTweet feature, as the company suddenly dropped the ability for Twitter users to co-author tweets Tuesday.Read more...

After its first two episodes, everyone knew The Last of Us was good, but episode three really put things on a whole new level. Titled “Long, Long Time,” the extended flashback beautifully told the love story of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), two men who fall in love and prove that good things are…Read more...

Welp, it’s official: New York City has been snow-free for the longest time in its recorded history this winter. On Monday, January 29, the city surpassed the previous date of the longest amount of time without snowfall in a winter season, beating out a record set in 1970.

The 28th flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia ended in disaster on February 1, 2003, while it was 27 miles above the state of Texas, marking the second catastrophic mission of NASA’s shuttle program. Twenty years later, the tragic event serves as an important reminder of the dangers posed by space exploration—and…Read more...