Gizmodo

As HBO pivots to whatever it’s trying to achieve with its messy new streaming service Max, Apple. appears to be shopping for content and talent to help make it a standout giant in quality streaming—a new HBO Now if you will. You know since AT&T seems intent on killing the real one.Read more...

Scientists have spent three decades trying to locate half of all the “normal” matter that’s supposed to exist in the universe. A new paper is claiming to have finally found this missing stuff, in a discovery made possible by measuring incoming fast radio bursts.

A substantial portion of the world’s population deals with chronic and mysterious digestive issues, the results of a large global survey indicate. More than a third of people said they recently had symptoms of a functional gastrointestinal disorder, the research found, with “functional” meaning that their symptoms had…Read more...

It shouldn’t have taken a global pandemic and subsequent quarantine to inspire a way to easily watch the same show at the same time with our friends and family remotely, but it did. Hulu is now the first major streaming service to offer a group chat feature on its platform so you can watch the same show at the same…Read more...

Two months ago, as the novel coronavirus pandemic flared, nurse Francis Gualta was called to help in England’s intensive care units. Except he’d never operated a ventilator before. He’d never had to wear full personal protective equipment. Now, after weeks of helping patients the best he can, and seeing some die,…Read more...

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop adaptation has seen its share of delays, and not just because of the novel coronavirus. Last October, star John Cho suffered a knee injury that set the production back at least seven months. But according to the adaptation’s co-writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, replacing Cho was absolutely out of…Read more...

In a press release this morning, Jason Ronald, Director of Program Management for Xbox Series X, said that the company’s next-gen console will launch with thousands of compatible games—going all the way back to the original Xbox—all thanks to backwards compatibility. Not only that, but many of those games will also…Read more...

More than a year ago, researcher Julian Dowdeswell boarded a research vessel at the edge of the Fimbul ice shelf to the east of the Antarctic Peninsula. He and six other scientists with the University of Cambridge were setting off as part of an expedition to study the ancient patterns of ice sheet retreat along the…Read more...

HBO Max was supposed to launch as the new, jam-packed streaming service of our wildest dreams—an HBO Now revamped, essentially, with all of HBO’s library plus all of WarnerMedia’s vast catalog. But despite the fanfare, HBO Max launched this week as a muddled mix of confusing brand identities that neither honors HBO’s…Read more...

Marshall Stanmore II | $280 | AmazonRead more...

The fucking murder hornets are spreading.

Up to 50% off Pop Vinyls | AmazonRead more...

A lot of bullshit has been circulating about 5G lately, specifically as it relates to the novel coronavirus. To be very clear: There is no evidence that the rollout of 5G is at all connected to the origin or spread of covid-19. But that hasn’t stopped dozens of attacks on cell towers, the proliferation of cockamamie …Read more...

Robert Zemeckis’ animated/live-action hybrid noir murder mystery broke boundaries of filmmaking technology and technique, and 32 years later it’s every bit as fresh, warm, and funny as it ever was. Starring Bob Hoskins as gumshoe PI Eddie Valiant on the trail of a sex scandal involving a Hollywood studio bigwig, Who…Read more...

In 1966, Joseph Weizenbaum created Eliza, the first psychotherapy chatbot. Eliza’s programming was relatively simple: Engage the user by detecting keywords in their statements and reflect this information back at them as an open-ended prompt. (A user might say “I’m sad,” to which Eliza could respond, “I’m sorry to…Read more...

Last year, HP released one of the world’s highest resolution VR headsets in the HP Reverb, but sadly, it was only really intended for use by enterprise customers. But for the new Reverb G2, HP partnered with Valve to create an upgraded HMD meant for both business and home users alike.Read more...

A culturally important archaeological site in Western Australia was destroyed this past weekend during the expansion of an iron ore mine. Upsettingly, the mining company responsible for the incident did so with state permission, exposing Australia’s weak and bigoted heritage conservation laws.

Since the outbreak of covid-19, Google has been working to suppress ads from profiteers peddling low-quality, high-cost PPE and health elixirs, trying to get their hands on stimulus checks and credit card information. The company started a covid-19 task force which has prioritized, among other things, thwarting…Read more...

Have you been laid off or furloughed? Are you a frontline worker dealing with new stresses or irresponsible management? Is working (or not working) from home starting to take a psychological toll? Submit a story using this Google form or send me an email with the subject line “My Covid Story” and provide as much…Read more...

The DC expanded universe gang is (kinda sorta) getting back together. Reports surfaced last night that Man of Steel and Justice League star Henry Cavill is in talks to return as Superman.Read more...

Sony and Amazon are teaming with Álex de la Iglesia for a new series of cosmic horror movies. Christopher Nolan tries to justify buying and blowing up a whole-ass 747 for Tenet. There’s a long-awaited update on the Goon movie. Plus, what’s to come on The 100, and more seaside teases for American Horror Story. To me,…Read more...

Deciding what to watch on a weekend is now an endless scroll through what’s new on Netflix rather than a quick check of movie times at your local theater. While it can be tricky to find out what’s streaming and where, and what’s new and coming soon on all the streaming platforms, there are a few ways to make it easier.Read more...

ADATA 1TB External Portable SSD | $100 | AmazonRead more...

Chinese state news outlet Xinhua has introduced a new social media character in an effort to counter criticism of China in English-language media during the coronavirus pandemic. The cartoon character is called Terry-cotta, who explains that using face masks during a pandemic is good, that China isn’t hoarding PPE,…Read more...

The number of our fellow Americans lost to the novel coronavirus pandemic soared into the six figures on Wednesday afternoon, with the updated tally on the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine tracker now listing 100,396 confirmed deaths across the country.

Beast of Prey, a new horror short from filmmaker Danny Donahue, runs just around three and a half minutes, and it’ll hook you in immediately. Amid a snowstorm, a woman barricades herself in a bathroom and frantically tries to figure out what she should do about the thing on the other side of the door.Read more...

General Electric is no longer in the light bulb business, the company announced on Wednesday.

Elon Musk was set to launch humans (NASA astronauts) into space today, but the flight was delayed due to weather. The next potential windows are this Saturday and Sunday. We don’t know how that’s going to go. But look at this suit!

Next week, every Star Wars fan will wish they were a kid again.Read more...

The chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, is much likelier to end up facing prison time in the United States after her legal strategy to avoid extradition from Canada suffered a massive blow on Wednesday.

New Zealand continues to be one of the few success stories during the covid-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, health officials announced that the country’s sole remaining patient hospitalized with covid-19 was discharged. The good news is more validation of the country’s aggressive strategy to try eliminating the disease…Read more...

If there’s one thing Apple prides itself on, it’s design. (The company even published a $300 coffee table book about how iconic its products look.) But while they certainly are distinctive, whether you like these designs is another matter. Generally speaking, Apple knows how to make pretty products, but there’s one…Read more...

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington dismissed a lawsuit that claimed major tech companies including Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Apple worked together to “intentionally and willfully suppress politically conservative content” online. According to Bloomberg, the federal appeals court said nonprofit group…Read more...

When the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs hit Earth, it struck at an angle that maximized its destructive potential, according to new computer simulations of the catastrophic event.

Since the beginning, Quibi has been adamant that its streaming video service is a mobile-first endeavor. However, after launching right as The Pandemic was gaining steam—which made the idea of watching short videos on a phone or tablet during your daily commute seem like quaint nostalgia from a before time—today Quibi…Read more...

Regardless of his motives, knowledge of the subject, or consideration of the national security implications involved, President Trump on Wednesday elevated his position on Americans’ privacy rights above that of the Democratic Party—the most powerful members of which have dedicated several months now to undermining…Read more...

HBO Max finally launched today. While it’s too early yet for a full review (stay tuned) it’s not hard to get a quick look at what’s on offer and make a decision or two if you have very specific streaming needs. What’s clear is that if you are a fan of the decades of content made from the DC Comics universe, you should…Read more...

TCL makes everything from air conditioners to soundbars to washing machines, but here in the U.S., unless people are talking about TCL’s cheap TVs, no one really cares. Look, I get it, TCL doesn’t have the same kind of draw or recognition as other electronics giants like Apple or Samsung. But at the same time, TCL…Read more...

Vaping’s potential harms may extend beyond the lungs, a new study published on Wednesday in Science Advances suggests. Looking at the mouths of young healthy vapers, the study found evidence of drastic changes to the oral microbiome—changes that could raise their future risk of gum disease.Read more...

Your web browser is full of secrets. I typically spend my time poring over new features I can unlock via pages like chrome://flags and about:config, but it’s also nice to take a little break and play the hidden games that come packed into the most popular browsers.Read more...

First, there was Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Then there was Star Wars Rebels. Then, miraculously, there was Clone Wars again. The story of Ahsoka Tano has been closed and reopened many times over her growth into one of Star Wars’ most beloved heroes. Her story is one that’s far from over, whether that’s in the upcoming…Read more...

Well, that escalated quickly. In a bizarre turn of events, a tropical storm formed suddenly on Wednesday morning immediately prior to making landfall in South Carolina.

Fans looking to blame something or someone that the American version of The Office hasn’t returned need only look to the stars. In the seven years since that show’s end, its creator and executive producer Greg Daniels has been working almost solely on shows with space or sci-fi themes. His latest show, Netflix’s Space…Read more...

The day has finally arrived. This afternoon, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon and fly to the International Space Station. You can watch this historic launch live right here.

In high school, I had an intense love affair with my graphing calculator, a silver transparent TI-83 Plus. Not only did it help me with my math homework, it was also a handy way to play classic games like Tetris and Snake during class and still look like I was paying attention. Now, it appears that Texas Instruments…Read more...

The outdoors were never made for people of color. Since the forced removal of indigenous people to create today’s national parks, white people have dominated outdoor activities in the U.S. While the racist history around who has access to parks and wilderness has contributed to the current lack of diversity in green…Read more...

The “Snyder Cut” is real? Well, sorta—the version of Zack Snyder’s vision for Justice League hitting HBO Max next year is not a fabled, long-awaited mythical cut fans believed sat untouched in a vault somewhere for years. The cut we’re getting has turned into an even grander project than even that, and it’s coming at…Read more...

Twitter quietly added fact-check links to two of Donald Trump’s tweets last night, and the president responded with the only way he knows how: nuke! the! site!

Astronomers were abuzz last week following the discovery of an active asteroid in Jupiter’s orbit, in what was thought to be a new type of celestial object. Follow-up investigations have revealed it to be a regular comet, albeit one in a misleading orbit.Read more...

Insurance companies have issued some of the loudest calls for climate action, and they rely on hard data to make their assessments. But a new report from Media Matters for America finds that major insurers are top sponsors of Fox News’ coverage of highly misleading pandemic coverage, using tactics it honed through…Read more...