Gizmodo

After recent earnings fell way short of expectations and caused its stock to fall a record 38 percent, Groupon has announced that it will stop selling physical goods and merchandise and will refocus the company around providing local experiences.Read more...

Your USB peripherals may be making your PC vulnerable to hackers. The data security firm Eclypsium reports that the majority of Windows and Linux-based peripherals use “unsigned” firmware that leaves them open to all manner of attack—ransomware, spyware, and even full-on device takeovers.Read more...

Companies say that a lot of single-use plastic items are recyclable: cups, trays, lids, cutlery, straws, stirrers. But it turns out those claims are misleading.Read more...

The advent of the personal computer wasn’t just about making these powerful machines available to everyone, it was also about making them accessible and usable, even for those lacking a computer science degree. Larry Tesler, who passed away on Monday, might not be a household name like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, but…Read more...

A Marshall Speaker, a pair of Tactronics Earbuds, an Anker Gold Box, a G2 Keychain, Asus Vivobook 15, and a Crocs sale are some of Wednesday’s deals of the day.

Patreon, the beloved subscription platform whose independent media creators would really like it to stay the course, is following what seems to be the inevitable trajectory of online payment processors and giving out small loans–in this case, cash advances for upcoming projects. This may be getting into hairy…Read more...

The Apple AirPods and their successors have been huge hits for Apple—but are you making the most out of your pair? We present to you some of the tricks and features you might not have come across yet—from using your AirPods as a remote listening system to sharing audio between two pairs of earbuds, here’s how to make…Read more...

Past Season Styles Sale | REIRead more...

Meal kit delivery service Blue Apron is “evaluating a broad range of strategic options”—phrasing that usually indicates a company is instead running out of said options—after posting dismal Q4 2019 results on Tuesday that came in below investor estimates, CNN Business reported.

More than 2,000 people have died from the ongoing outbreak of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes a disease known as COVID-19, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing the latest figures including an updated tally from China’s National Health Commission.Read more...

There’s a potential problem when you announce that a film will be getting two sequels to make the series a trilogy. The second movie could end up feeling insignificant because we already know the story will continue.

When last we left some of the biggest characters on The Walking Dead, they were pretty much screwed. It appears not much will have changed when the second half of season 10 picks up this weekend. In fact, things are only getting worse.Read more...

Following earlier reports that beleaguered game app HQ Trivia was finally shutting down for good after failing to secure funding, founder Rus Yusupov says the app may have a shot at surviving after all. Maybe.Read more...

A 22-year-old YouTuber and Instagram personality advertising “legal” money for “serious ppl only” with “no scams!” turned out to be a scammer, allegedly. Nothing is real.

SpaceX will work with space tourism company Space Adventures to send up to four people into space onboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, according to a press release.

Each month we share an avalanche of new books to feed your need to read. But there are also tons of older sci-fi and fantasy books worth your time, too—including those with the added interest of television or movie adaptations on the way. Here are eight titles you should add to your read (or re-read) list; if you…Read more...

On Tuesday, the Japanese government announced it will begin clinical trials to test treatments for the deadly new coronavirus that’s engulfed China and spread to over two dozen countries. Rather than new drugs, they’ll be studying existing medications already used to treat HIV and other viral diseases. But why exactly…Read more...

You can prevent facial recognition cameras from identifying you by wearing face paint, masks, or sometimes just a pair of oversized sunglasses. Keeping conversations private from an ever-growing number of microphone-equipped devices isn’t quite as easy, but researchers have created what could be the first wearable…Read more...

The delayed international rollout of Disney+ means that The Mandalorian’s biggest twists and turns have already been plastered all over the internet, if only so Disney can sell us on some very bad Baby Yoda merchandise while promising that the better stuff will be on the way eventually. So news that international fans…Read more...

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New excavations at a well-known Neanderthal site have revealed a previously undiscovered Neanderthal skeleton, along with more evidence that these extinct hominins may have had “flower burials” for their dead.
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Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, io9's column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. This weekend’s Toy Fair will bring all sorts of awesome gaming news. We’ve got some exciting stuff here, and be sure to be on the lookout for some reveals and announcements on io9 in the coming days. Right now, we’ve got …Read more...

On Sunday, President Donald Trump gave the command to the “gentlemen” to start their engines at the Daytona 500. Around the same time, a story broke about a Trump administration policy in which the words given in confidential therapy sessions would be used to deport children. Despite what we may want to think, the two…Read more...

In a historic vote, crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has become the first major tech company to successfully form a union, with a narrow vote of 46 workers in favor and 37 against.Read more...

Of all the things that Google’s afraid of (employee revolts! antitrust actions! diversity!) ad fraud is certainly high on the list. And now, some creative scammers have turned Google’s fraud crackdown against its own users.Read more...

Democratic presidential candidates will gather for the penultimate debate of the primary season tomorrow night, just three days before the Nevada caucus.

Google Stadia is finally getting an upgrade...sort of. Google’s cloud gaming service is coming to a whole new slew of phones and for once they’re not Google-made ones.

Alex Garland has covered a lot of ground in his career—from authoring novels to screenwriting and directing. You might have noticed that he leans toward sci-fi; his directing debut, Ex Machina, dealt with artificial intelligence, and its follow-up, Annihilation, focused on alien life. Devs, his new television…Read more...

A Logitech gaming headset sale, a Harry Potter LEGO set, and a discount on cozy waffle knits lead off Tuesday’s deals of the day.

Microsoft is finally bringing three of its obligatory products under a single, unified app for Android—meaning users who use all three apps will no longer be required to install all three individually.Read more...

There’s no denying the engineering and building skills of YouTube’s The Practical Engineer. But it’s the “practical” claims we feel the need to question because as impressive as this invention is, does anyone actually need a handheld blaster that can hurl playing cards at speeds over 120 miles per hour?Read more...

The deepfake hits just keep on coming. Following an excellent reimagining of Back to the Future where Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox are replaced with Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland, another talented deepfaker has put Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving into Office Space, creating the fourth Matrix film we really…Read more...

Batman strikes in new footage from Harley Quinn’s season finale. New Black Widow art gives us our best look yet at Taskmaster. Ronald D. Moore teases the new Battlestar Galactica project’s connections to his reboot. Plus, a new look at Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. To me, my spoilers!

Liu Zhiming, the 51-year-old director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, China, died at 10:54 AM local time Tuesday morning after being infected with coronavirus, according to the Wuhan Health Commission. Multiple Chinese state media outlets like the People’s Daily and Global Times reported Liu’s death yesterday but…Read more...

Holy hell, that is fast.

On Monday, the U.S. flew in more than 300 Americans after they spent almost two weeks stuck on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had seen hundreds of its passengers test positive for COVID-19, the official name for the coronavirus. However, among the people that came back to the U.S. were 14 passengers that…Read more...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who with a net worth of $130 billion is currently the world’s richest man, announced that he was creating the Bezos Earth Fund on Monday. The fund is a $10 billion global initiative that aims to fund “any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.”Read more...

Weird controllers! I love ‘em! And so does the YouTube channel Stop Skeletons From Fighting. They recently released a video going over some of the dumbest, weirdest and most expensive controllers ever made.Read more...

In its latest dystopian stab at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the Chinese government has employed two of the biggest tech giants in Asia to help it roll out a nationwide color-based tracking system to keep tabs on those suffering from coronavirus symptoms, according to a new Reuters report.

The past few episodes of Doctor Who had slowly begun to unravel a lingering problem with this latest iteration of the show: too many people at the TARDIS console, leading to narrative setups that take too long to get going, or leave some of our heroes behind to really get there. Ahead of its season finale however, the…Read more...

How phones track location is changing – if you’ve upgraded to the latest Android 10 or iOS 13 updates, you may have noticed more prompts around what apps can do with data about your whereabouts. Here’s what those new prompts mean, and how you can get your phone’s location tracking settings set up in a way that you’re…Read more...

With continued competition from Apple as cheaper iPads are now gaining support for the Apple Pencil, Wacom has followed up on its $650 Cintiq 16 from last year with the even cheaper $400 Wacom One. As with larger Cintiq displays and tablets, the Wacom One is a secondary display, not a real tablet with a dedicated OS,…Read more...

You begin to wake up from stasis as your lander descends to Pluto’s surface. You strain to locate the Sun in the sky as you peek out the window; you finally spot it at the zenith as you wipe your eyes. Though brighter than anything else in the sky, the Sun is now 40 times farther than it was when you were on Earth,…Read more...

There are countless questions the novice exerciser should be asking themselves before their first day at the gym. I have no idea what those questions are, but I do know that, in exercise as in everything else, it is important to cut corners and maximize one’s leisure time. To that end, for this week’s Giz Asks we’ve…Read more...

Anker 60W 2-Port USB-C Charger | Amazon | $35 | Promo code KINJAPDC2Read more...

These are some of the best words on the Internet: Happy three-day weekend! We hope you’re enjoying the time off. Does anyone else feel like February has flown by? When I was younger, I used to think that only “older” people said things like “time sure flies by.” Now, I want to eat my words every time I say the same…Read more...

Authorities in Puerto Rico reported this week that hackers had targeted more than four million dollars in government funds in recent months. The attack unsettled lawmakers on the island, who criticized the vague explanations given by the government at a time when Puerto Rico is in a financial crisis.Read more...

Is the vehemently pro-Buttigieg account @easychinedu actually a staffer for the Democratic candidate trying to curry favor with minority voters? Or is it just the latest in a series of troll attacks on the 2020 presidential nominee?

Before Peter Jackson’s movies, the visual identity of Lord of the Rings was the territory of artists and animators. And few created a vision so iconic, and so loosely related to the actual books, as Barbara Remington.Read more...

Samsung’s proclaimed that it has “done the impossible” with its Galaxy Z Flip, that the smartphone even “bends the laws of physics.” But now a new durability test video has us questioning whether its screen really is made of that ultra-thin glass that’s supposed to set it apart from the company’s other bendable phone,…Read more...