Gizmodo

“Social license to operate” is one of the life-bloods of brands. Reportedly coined by Canadian mining CEO James Cooney in 1997 after a disaster, the concept is basically how much the public is willing to embrace (or at least put up with) how an industry operates.

After much speculation, Apple finally announced its third keynote event this fall: Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Nov. 10. Previous events focused on the Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone, so this one is all about the Mac—or at least that’s what everyone’s betting on. And while we’re still short on concrete details, a…Read more...

Science fiction has long existed to warn us about the dangers that await us, but sometimes it’s also there to remind us of how good things could be—and how beautiful they can look.Read more...

If the ballot measure Proposition 22 passes in California, tech companies will have undermined years of work towards securing fair compensation for gig workers, and—with a record $206 million poured into the effort—will send a resounding message that laws are written solely by those with the deepest pockets.

After nearly four years of national chaos and months of palpable fear, anxiety, mass death, economic collapse, and far too many tweets, Election Day 2020 is upon us. The day of reckoning has arrived. And the Gizmodo team will be suffering through it with you right here.Read more...

Before swiftly deleting the tweet, Anthony Scaramucci informed the world of his decision to cast his vote in favor of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, on New York’s Working Families ticket. Neat!

The day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. It’s the day I marked on my calendar months ago, the one that prompted me to buy my favorite snacks and a six-pack and to text my boneless friends that I love them. Maybe you commemorated the day early and will spend today in nervous observation. Maybe you’ll take…Read more...

Mission operators have been unable to send radio transmissions to the Voyager 2 space probe since mid-March, but a recent test of newly installed hardware is a good sign that upgrades to NASA’s Deep Space Network are proceeding as planned.

I desperately want a Remarkable 2. It looks so slim and so lovely, and my colleague Andrew will not shut up about the writing experience on it. But the Remarkable 2 is a $450 device that’s just good for writing by hand and marking up documents. The 13.3-inch Onyx Boox Max Lumi can do all of those things, and play…Read more...

Earlier this year, Apple very subtly teased that third-party music services would be coming to the HomePod. Well folks, that time has come. The HomePod (and the new HomePod Mini) will now let you use another music service other than Apple Music. No, it’s not Spotify—it’s Pandora.Read more...

Real-life robots are still relatively primitive compared to those featured in science fiction, but that hasn’t stopped us from building bots that can take care of most of our physical needs. (Yes, including that.) In Japan, there’s even now a robot that can simulate going on a walk and holding hands with your…Read more...

Most families looking for a distraction from all the chaos of 2020 have brought a new pet into their lives. Little did my family know that we’d be taking a different route when Sideshow Collectibles sent its new Mandalorian life-sized the Child (aka Baby Yoda) replica to join our brood. Life with a Force-wielding…Read more...

More than 1 million U.S. residents are living without running water, and many of them live in large, wealthy cities, new research shows.

As stores run low on plywood barricades, guns fly off the shelves, and the president plans not to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, social media companies have begrudgingly developed contingency plans for election day and the confusion that’s sure to follow. Belying most of these policies are the likely…Read more...

In case this election wasn’t stressful enough, a confusing, controversial ballot measure in California is creating a rift among civil liberties advocates over whether the legislation is truly good for people’s privacy—or a half-step in the wrong direction.

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You probably use your smartphone to get from point A to point B, but have you fully explored all the features and options available along the way? Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze all have navigation modes that are smarter and more versatile than you might have realized. From changing direction mid-route to avoiding…Read more...

With just hours to go until the 2020 general election gets underway, Twitter has slapped a “disputed” label on one of President Donald Trump’s tweets, limiting users’ abilities to interact with content the platform has deemed “misleading about an election or other civic process.”

The human workers whose jobs restocking the shelves at Walmart were nearly rendered obsolete by a sophisticated fleet of robots dealt a surprising retaliatory blow to the robots on Monday by, somehow, rendering them obsolete first.

Apple TV will be available on the next-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles at launch. This is a big deal.Read more...

As far as big tech media companies go, Spotify’s algorithms have largely avoided scrutiny. But we’re entering a new era for the music streaming giant’s relationship with the algos. People are slowly gaining awareness of Spotify’s potential for emotional surveillance—a model for personality profiling that does for…Read more...

Heads up for folks catching a train, plane, or bus in the New York or New Jersey area: Starting today, the Port Authority is implementing a $50 penalty for travelers caught without a face covering within their facilities.Read more...

I know there’s a lot going on, but pause for a moment and consider the Caribbean. Hurricane Eta is a monster bearing down on Central America, cranking up from a tropical storm to a major hurricane in 24 hours. Nicaragua—where it’s expected to make landfall—faces “catastrophic” conditions, as do the surrounding…Read more...

Apple’s Q4 earnings report could have been an unmitigated disaster, considering the hatchet job the year 2020 has been on consumer spending, but the official numbers released last Thursday tell the story of a fourth fiscal quarter that was actually—luckily?—pretty meh overall for the tech giant. But a modest,…Read more...

Tech funding usually happens in one of two ways. In one scenario, a software or service product— think Twitter — usually sells equity to venture capitalists who expect some kind of return on their investment. Hardware products usually go the crowdfunding route, building up a list of pre-orders that they can then use…Read more...

This election cycle, the climate crisis is on Americans’ minds. In an October poll from the New York Times and Siena College, 58% of people surveyed said they were “very concerned” or at least “somewhat concerned” about climate change, and potential voters in swing states expressed worry about its effects in their…Read more...

Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked a trove of classified National Security Agency secrets to journalists, never quite made it to Ecuador. His attempt to avoid extradition and prosecution by U.S. authorities hit a snag in Russia back in 2013 where he claimed political asylum…Read more...

Free-floating planets are not bound to any star, having been dumped from their original home systems. New research describes the smallest rogue planet discovered to date, in an astronomical achievement that took an Einstein-inspired technique to new extremes.

You’re probably spending more time at home right now, and maybe you’re looking for a new streaming service to try—preferably without paying, at least until you decide to commit. Netflix and Disney+ have ditched their free trials, but there are plenty of other music and movie streaming services you can try out without…Read more...

Tuning into Byron “Reckful” Bernstein’s recent daily Twitch streams, you wouldn’t immediately suspect something’s amiss. He’s front and center, playing World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, League of Legends, or any number of other games. Fans frequently make playful remarks, use emotes, and laugh at or with him. But the…Read more...

Houston, we’ve got allergies. Or rather my wife has allergies and I’m suffering the consequences secondhand. After introducing her to my good friend Claritin over the weekend—and after she fell asleep due to its famously “non-drowsy” effect—it became abundantly clear we need to finally shell out the money for a decent…Read more...

In case you couldn’t guess by the name, the Panasonic SoundSlayer is a soundbar for gamers. Specifically, gamers who might be living in cramped spaces but aren’t keen on settling for their TV’s dinky speakers or buying a potentially complicated setup.Read more...

Reader, how do you flaunt your opulent wealth within the four walls of your own home?Read more...

This weekend, highways from Texas to Kentucky to New Jersey were overrun with Trump-supporting caravans. They tried to run a Joe Biden campaign bus off the road, held up traffic, shut down a bridge, and generally pissed people off and intimidated them. It’s perfectly emblematic of the Trump era, particularly the…Read more...

With its two-toned black-and-white color scheme and swooping, curvy sides, the PlayStation 5 features one of the most divisive designs in console history. This has led many gamers to dream up ways to customize the PS5's design, with one company even releasing pre-orders for aftermarket side panels...until Sony shut it…Read more...

Well, it’s the time of year (or every four years) when you might find yourself needing new ways to keep yourself relaxed. Some people do yoga, others take up hobbies like knitting or building complex Lego sets. I like to drink.

A man’s rare intolerance to the cold almost killed him post-shower. In a recent case report, doctors describe how he developed a severe allergic reaction to the cold air he encountered after stepping out of a hot shower—serious enough to merit a trip to the emergency room and a stay in intensive care.Read more...

After Apple’s September event for Apple Watch and iPad and an October event for iPhones, you’d be forgiven for assuming Apple was done launching stuff for the year. But you would also be wrong. Next Tuesday, Nov. 10, Apple is hosting yet another online event—and while we don’t know exactly what’s on deck, it’s a good…Read more...

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that he would be self-quarantining over the coming days after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

As the pandemic stretches out before us with a long winter ahead, it’s clear that work-from-home will remain the status quo for millions. So any advances to make our video chat hell a little easier to navigate are welcome. With that in mind, Zoom is adding the option to integrate Otter.ai’s live caption system with…Read more...

The Dadaists, especially Marcel Duchamp, tended to embrace acts of chance when it came to their art. One of his pieces, The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even was on glass and partially shattered, which allegedly delighted Duchamp. In this context, the accident involving a metro train outside of Rotterdam that…Read more...

As the world starts to slowly cede control of everything to artificial intelligence, there’s bound to be some growing pains. When a Scottish soccer team upgraded their stadium with live-streamed games courtesy of a ball-tracking, AI-powered camera, they failed to realize that, to a computer, a referee with a shaved…Read more...

It looks like a keyboard—and it is. But it’s also a computer.Read more...

Seems like just yesterday we were all adjusting to the concept of “lockdown,” but it’s now become a full-on lifestyle. Fortunately, the output of new sci-fi and fantasy books is one thing that hasn’t slowed down—and November is full of adventures in deep space, chaotic kingdoms, other dimensions, and beyond.

Neill Marshall wants to bring back Dog Soldiers. Nicolas Cage is fighting theme park robots in a new look at Willy’s Wonderland. A new Green Lantern could sit at the heart of HBO Max’s cosmic DC Comics show. Plus, the final end arrives on Supernatural, and what’s to come on Star Trek: Discovery. Spoilers now!

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Perhaps there is a world, in a distant galaxy, where I am being paid $6,000 a word to write this introduction. In that world, I’d almost certainly feel compelled to make it as long as possible—to ruminate at length on the philosophical implications of the multiverse, perhaps even write detailed breakdowns of the…Read more...

President Donald Trump, an existential threat to the safety and security of the United States, told a crowd of supporters that he’ll wait until after the election to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci. Trump falsely suggested the coronavirus pandemic was not a real concern for Americans at a rally near Miami, Florida, on Sunday,…Read more...

Huawei has apparently lost all hope, or patience, that it will ever free itself from U.S. sanctions, which have effectively choked off its access to much-needed chips. The company is purportedly getting ready to do something about it. The solution: build its own chip plant.Read more...

In trying to avoid accusations of anti-conservative bias, Facebook has reportedly been bending the rules for high-profile Republicans. Sources told the Washington Post that Facebook has held off on punishing President Donald Trump’s family members and other conservative groups and personalities who repeatedly violate…Read more...