Gizmodo

It’s 2023 and financial crimes and their consequences have officially come to cryptocurrency. Relatively new on the laundry list of blockchain-based offenses that can lead directly to jail: insider trading. A former product manager at the crypto exchange Coinbase pleaded guilty to insider trading charges on Tuesday.…Read more...

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Microsoft reps came out swinging Tuesday in a massive press blitz, though they were acting more like an artificial intelligence-driven Terminator than any live human being. Sure, the product folks at the company’s conference held at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters and on the company blog talked with all…Read more...

Silicon Valley layoffs have become commonplace in the last several months as one after another announced they were letting staff go. This time, the latest round of layoffs will affect Zoom employees, as CEO Eric Yuan cited an unpredictable economy and the possibility of a recession.Read more...

After allegations of abuse were revealed earlier this year, Adult Swim and Hulu parted ways with Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Koala Man). Now, a new investigation by the Hollywood Reporter says that Roiland’s offbeat work ethic and flaky attention span made him a lot less important to his projects …Read more...

The Mandalorian, the show that helped launch an entire streaming service, is coming off that streaming service for one night only. With the third season of the hit Star Wars show quickly approaching, the very first episode will make its broadcast debut, airing on ABC, Freeform, and FX on February 24.Read more...

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There are arguably already too many ways to order food for delivery right to your door. You can call a restaurant. You can open up your laptop and go online. You can click through an app on your smartphone. Heck, you can summon a drone, if you’re willing to endanger your local power grid. Now, for better or worse, the …Read more...

In 2021, author Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians) released My Heart Is a Chainsaw, giving horror fans a memorable heroine in high school misfit Jade Daniels. Don’t Fear the Reaper, its sequel and the second entry in Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy, is out today—and i09 got a chance to talk to him about it.Read more...

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

To celebrate the Disney100 Funko Pop! has been adding to its parade of animation collectibles for the studio’s centennial. In this exclusive with io9, we’re unveiling two new artistic Disney movie poster releases. Take a look at the just-released Cinderella and Dumbo posters with pop figures of their stars and rodent…Read more...

The Lone Star State is charging ahead with a TikTok ban. On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott unveiled a new statewide model security plan to prohibit the app from government issued devices and networks in order to address potential “vulnerabilities,” presented by its use. Predictably, the Republican governor also used the…Read more...

Royal Mail in the UK has reopened following a cyber attack last month that has since been identified as Lockbit, a Russia-linked ransomware gang. The gang has demanded a ransom in exchange for data stolen on January 10 and threatened to release it to the public if Royal Mail does not comply, TechCrunch reported.Read more...

A Falcon 9 lit up the Florida skies Monday night in what is now a very familiar scene. The rocket successfully deployed Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus communications satellite into a trajectory that will take it to a geostationary orbit, from where it will expand the Spanish company’s coverage across the Americas, the…Read more...

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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.