Gizmodo

All good things must come to an end, and that includes the ability to use Google’s multi-room casting for seamless audio control, one of the features found to violate patents held by Sonos.

Few industries have been affected more by the covid-19 pandemic than air travel; with so few people flying for business or pleasure, airlines have taken to flying “ghost flights” to secure their takeoff and landing slots at airports.

Rabies was unusually deadly in the U.S. last year, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found, with at least five people dying from the viral illness in 2021. Rabies can be transmitted to people from infected animals and is almost always fatal without swift post-exposure treatment.

In the deep woods of Maine, the Pitney Mills Paper Company preys upon the land, emitting chemicals so toxic they cause the wildlife to mutate into monsters. Cult eco-horror movie Prophecy, which is new to Hulu this month, wants to outrage you with this storyline—but it also can’t resist giving into some major…Read more...

The self-proclaimed Cyber Ninjas behind the hoax “audit” of the 2020 election results in Arizona’s Maricopa County are scattering to the winds following a string of humiliating defeats. In what looks very much like a desperate gambit to evade $50,000 daily penalties for disobeying a court order, the firm now claims it…Read more...

Some people have declared the era of day-and-date movie releases was over, but thanks to explosive rises of coronavirus infections throughout the United States, it seems like Hollywood studios might be returning to premiering their movies exclusively on streaming services. If that’s true, then Disney will be leading…Read more...

Cloud-based scheduling platform FlexBooker suffered a large data breach recently that appears to have affected some 3.7 million people. If you’re one of those people, it’s best to act fast and protect your data because reports show the stolen information is currently being shared on some of the internet’s less savory…Read more...

Earth may have no greater adversary than director Roland Emmerich. The man seems determined to destroy the planet, or at least watch it be destroyed. Or maybe he just wants to see human civilization almost completely wiped out. Either way, he’s put more footage of the Earth getting absolutely wrecked onscreen than…Read more...

Apple Fitness+ is evolving its workouts starting Jan. 10 with guided audio runs led by trainers, similar to what you get on other apps like Peloton and Nike Run Club. The workouts, called “Time to Run,” are similar to the “Time to Walk” series Apple launched last January.Read more...

Between Bitcoin-themed superspreader events and cringey branded NFT’s, those within the crypto community have set a high bar for devising the worst ways to hawk their currency of choice. But this week, the creators of an Elon Musk-themed cryptocurrency dubbed the “Elon Goat Token” (yes, that’s actually what it’s calledRead more...

After weeks of anticipation, China’s Yutu 2 rover has finally reached an intriguing object that appeared on the lunar horizon last December, revealing it to be nothing more than an irregularly shaped rock.

Over three years have passed since Netflix announced it was teaming up with the Roald Dahl estate to bring the popular author’s works to its service. Now, finally, the first film is about to get off the ground, and the cast already has us ready to give away an entire chocolate factory to see it.Read more...

A possible cluster of a mysterious brain illness afflicting people in New Brunswick, Canada may be larger than officially reported, according to an investigation published by the Guardian earlier this week. As many as 150 people may have developed unexplained neurological symptoms dating back to 2013, including cases…Read more...

Star Trek: Prodigy might first and foremost be intended to be an onboarding for young newcomers to the franchise, but that doesn’t mean it’s unafraid to throw in some deep cut references for older fans who are watching. This week’s episode, “Kobayashi,” is certainly no exception—and how one of its most surprising…Read more...

Here’s your word scramble for the week: A gob-burning power plant that helped Sen. Joe Manchin make millions tried to pivot to mining cryptocurrency but was denied by West Virginia officials. Say that three times fast!

The current state of the world may feel rather bleak, but a new year brings new opportunities to celebrate—and right now, we’re celebrating movies. That means, like last year, every few months we’re going to let you know which major sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and genre movies are marking significant anniversaries in…Read more...

There’s not a moment of wasted space in “Why We Fight,” as The Expanse delivers a penultimate entry that moves everyone into position for next week’s finale. The main thrust of the episode is Avasarala’s full-court press to get Drummer’s help in the fight against Marco, but there are several other big moments along…Read more...

It turns out the millions of machines that require single-use plastic coffee pods aren’t great for the environment, and Keurig is finally getting roasted for it.

Building an elaborate model railroad looks like a legitimately relaxing and rewarding hobby, but if you don’t have an entire basement to dedicate to a sprawling countryside layout, take inspiration from Peter Waldraff who builds micro-scale railways hidden away in pieces of furniture and other unassuming pieces of…Read more...

The Dear David viral tweet adaptation has found its cast. Chris Miller teases the scope and confidence of Across the Spider-Verse. New Scream material catches you up on the past movies, while offering a glimpse at the latest release. Plus, what’s coming on the DC/CW shows, and a look at the final end of Attack on Titan…Read more...

With the three major chipmakers launching new processors and graphics cards for laptops, CES 2022 was poised to be a huge event for PCs. Now that the dust has settled on the event, we’re pleased to say it exceeded our expectations. Laptop makers came to play this year, showing off interesting new devices that are more…Read more...

The White House and U.S. Postal Service are “finalizing” the plan to mail Americans free covid-19 tests to their homes, according to a new report from the Washington Post that cites anonymous sources. But the website where people will be able to request the free tests still hasn’t been announced and its absence isn’t…Read more...

After announcing the OnePlus 10 Pro earlier this week, OnePlus has been slowly dribbling out more details about its upcoming flagship phone. Now we know what the OP10 Pro’s rear cameras have to offer, and we’re a little underwhelmed.

Google’s smart speakers and Android devices are a major part of its vision for a connected ecosystem, which could be in jeopardy after a trade court’s ruling today.

Season two of Star Trek series Picard is set to arrive on Paramount+ next month, but the show’s still in production, keeping to a schedule structured to film seasons two and three back to back. Or it was in production until this week, when the sci-fi show temporarily ground to a halt for exactly the reason you’re…Read more...

Those of us who are serial podcast listeners know how the ad drill goes. A short audio clip will pop up right before, during, or after your show to tell you about a revolutionary product, service, or sale. Some of you might skip through a particularly long ad, or just speed through all ads. However, it’s not going to…Read more...

Senator Tim Kaine and I have something in common: We were extremely unwise to drive through the state of Virginia on Monday, when the combination of winter storms and the traditional regional practice of doing nothing about them screwed us both over for over 20 hours.

After formally announcing the formation of Comic Book Workers United late last year—the first specific union to support workers within comics publishing—workers at Image Comics have voted to officially certify their union in the results of a secret ballot.

Why bother piecing together accessories from different manufacturers for your smart home when you could buy the whole system outright? That seems to be the idea behind the Masonite M-Pwr smart door, which comes with an integrated video doorbell and smart lock built right into the frame.

It wasn’t that long ago—in fact, it was during the recent Planet-Sized X-Men—that Marvel’s mutants decided to terraform Mars and transport the sentient island of Arakko as a sort of second home for mutantkind, especially those who were already living on the planet. But nothing ever stays rosy for the X-Men, whether…Read more...

As we mark the one-year anniversary of America’s right-wing temper tantrum that almost cost us the Republic, many Americans are probably wondering just how we can prevent such a terrible, violent event from ever happening again on U.S. soil. Well, according to the Washington Post, those in the data science community…Read more...

Red supergiant stars are quiet and calm before exploding into Type II supernova—but not this one. The observation is important because it suggests some supergiant stars experience significant internal changes before going supernovaRead more...

Cyber Ninjas, the questionably ninja-like company that failed to prove Donald Trump’s bullshit claims that he lost the state of Arizona during the 2020 elections thanks to voter fraud in Maricopa County, may have consigned itself to the dustbin of history for now. But before you forget about it entirely, the county’s…Read more...

When Star Trek: Prodigy went on hiatus late last year, it left off by blasting our newly united kid crewmates aboard the Protostar quite literally, with a technological reveal that left our heads spinning with all sorts of questions. Apparently not quite done with spinning our heads, the show’s return has already…Read more...

CES 2022 was expected to be the technology industry’s first big hurrah post-pandemic, and while the Omicron variant made some of the largest companies and most of the press (including Gizmodo) back out of in-person attendance, there was still a lot to see.Read more...

In the grand tradition of many a subscription-based food service before it, Taco Bell has announced a new way for customers to “live más:” by purchasing a pass that’s good for one taco per day for 30 days.Read more...

A snowstorm currently picking up steam over the U.S. South is now set to impact the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The worst of it will thankfully miss areas hit hard earlier this week by a storm that shut down a huge swath of I-95 and trapped motorists for more than 24 hours.

A new year means new things—so many new things, across comics, TV, books, games, and films—to look forward to. But even with so many things promising us they’ll actually release this year (we’ve been burned by the past two years, to no one’s surprise), here’s a few of the things that the io9 staff is looking forward…Read more...

As protests erupted across the massive Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the government resorted to extreme measures, enforcing a wide-scale internet blackout lasting at least eight hours, blocking news and social media access in the former Soviet state. Eventually, scenes of chaos and burnt vehicles…Read more...

Imagine a future scenario in which a dangerous new virus is detected in chimpanzees. To prevent this virus from spreading to humans, biologists decide to deliberately infect scores of wild chimps with a transmissible vaccine—an infectious, lab-grown virus that immunizes, rather than harms, its host. The chimps, now…Read more...

We know for a fact that Roland Emmerich’s latest sci-fi disaster movie will be loud and dumb, as per the director’s oeuvre. But will it be fun? This newest Moonfall trailer suggests that maybe—just maybe—it might be, and if so, it’s all going to be because of John Bradley.

When a dog hears a language different from its owners’ native tongue, its brain activity is noticeably different compared to when it hears a familiar language. Those are the findings of a new study that scanned canine noggins using MRI, and they’re yet another indication that dogs are adept at recognizing the nuances…Read more...

Tom Holland is already playing one of the most famous characters in all of pop culture, but at one point he tried, and failed, to play another. In an new interview, Holland admitted that he once pitched the people who control the rights to James Bond on an origin story with him in the lead.Read more...

A year ago today, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy were fleeing for their lives as a violent mob swarmed the halls of the U.S. Capitol. With their personal safety at risk, the two most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill at last stood up to Donald Trump. In a heated phone call, McCarthy, the House minority leader,…Read more...

The European Space Agency has released a video of the Webb Space Telescope separating from the rocket that launched it from Earth. The video may be the last view we’ll have of the $10 billion telescope, which is currently heading for a destination 1 million miles away.

In the year since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, plenty of people have done what they could to try to prevent a disaster like this from happening again. Fences were erected, security personnel braced for more violence, tech companies made... more algorithms meant to predict where mass riots could happen.…Read more...

For most people living in the U.S., last summer felt unbearably hot in a new way—and new statistics on last year’s heat waves back that up. According to federal data analyzed by the Washington Post this week, 80% of Americans live in a county that had at least one day of “abnormally high” temperatures in 2021.Read more...

Later this year, it’ll have been a decade since Arrow hit The CW, establishing the first elements of a whole DC universe on the small screen that would change the face of superheroic TV as we know it. Now its transformation might reach an altogether different end, as the broadcast network that played home to Arrow, …Read more...

Researchers were able to identify 74 species of animals by looking for DNA in air samples collected at two zoos. The experiment shows that free-floating DNA could be used to track wild animals, including endangered or invasive species, without needing to observe them directly.Read more...

io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird” by Maria Dong. You can read the story below or listen to the podcast on our website. Enjoy!