Facebook comment threads are about to get quite a bit more crazy. A new camera button is rolling out that allows users to reply to posts with a picture. It's a simple feature, but it's one that hasn't been available on the social network to date. Facebook hasn't yet officially announced the new...
Leave your animated GIFs at the door
With less than two weeks until Google shuts down Reader, Feedly has completed the rollout of its Cloud sync service, transitioning all users over to its servers. Announced on June 3rd, Feedly Cloud not only ensures that Google Reader users can...
FBI Director Robert Mueller has admitted that the Bureau uses aerial drones to conduct surveillance within the domestic United States. During his testimony at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier today, Mueller bluntly told Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that the FBI uses drones, but does so "in a very, very minimal way, and seldom." Later, after being pressed by Sen. Diane Feinstein...
The European Commission and officials in several countries are asking Google executive Eric Schmidt whether Google is equipped to deal with the privacy implications of its Glass heads-up display. In an open letter, privacy commissioners from Israel, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as a representative of the EU's privacy-focused Article 29 Working Party, raised questions about Project Glass' privacy policy and asked whether they could test its capabilities first-hand.
"To date, what information we have about Google Glass ... largely comes from media reports, which contain a great deal of speculation, as well as Google's own publicizing of the device," wrote the officials. Though Google has created guidelines, the letter called them merely a first step, noting that they "appear to be largely related to...
Is Google equipped to handle the fallout from facial recognition and a wearable camera?
Apple TV users can finally watch HBO and ESPN without resorting to troublesome workarounds. The small media streaming box now has official support for HBO Go and WatchESPN, the former of which was said to be in the works six months ago. Three other content providers are being added to Apple TV as well, including Sky News, Crunchyroll, and Qello. Though the Apple TV's low price point and tight...
Fan favorites finally arrive
It was a long time coming, but Rdio finally launched its streaming movie and TV service Vdio in April — though it was only open to those who were already paying for an Rdio subscription. Today, the shackles come off: anyone can now create a Vdio account using their email address or Facebook login and start buying videos. The service is still only available to customers in the UK or the US,...
The largest association of doctors in the US has voted to change its definition of obesity, in a move that could catalyze major changes in insurance coverage, research funding, and public perception of the condition.
In a vote held yesterday by the American Medical Association (AMA) at their annual conference, association delegates agreed that obesity — primarily characterized by a body mass index above 30 — ought to be treated as "a disease, requiring a range of medical interventions." Research increasingly indicates, as the AMA noted, that obesity is a complex condition whose...
The film industry is obsessed with prequels, but there's one tiny problem: they rarely work. We know the eventual fate of the characters, so there are no stakes. We want to know more about iconic heroes, but seeing their backstory kills gravitas and mystery. From Star Wars to Prometheus, the landscape is littered with films set in familiar worlds that never come together — and often harm the originals they’re working from.
That’s the environment Monsters University is walking into. A follow-up to 2001’s Monsters, Inc., it’s a test not only of prequels but of Pixar Animation Studios itself. A good-natured callback to the...
Back in March of 2011, Japan suffered its worst nuclear disaster ever as the Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered a series of equipment failures and meltdowns due to a massive earthquake. It was the largest-scale nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 and caused the shutdown of all but two of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors. More than two years later, it looks like Japan's nuclear power plants will soon be coming back to life under tighter...
The majority of the country's reactors currently lay dormant
The latest software update for Sony’s PlayStation 3 appears to be locking up some people’s systems, leaving them unusable. Polygon reports that Version 4.45 of the PS3 firmware was just released on Tuesday, but already, 23 pages of responses related to the issue have been posted to the...
Warner Bros. has just released the first trailer for the The Lego Movie, an upcoming film based on the popular building blocks. Directed by Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the movie thrusts an ordinary Lego figure, mistakenly identified as "the MasterBuilder," into...
Tesla is recalling some Model S vehicles manufactured between May 10th and June 8th 2013. In a PSA on the company's website, Tesla founder Elon Musk notes that an incorrectly welded mounting bracket for the left-hand latch of the rear seats "could...
The strange tale of John McAfee keeps getting stranger. In a video posted to YouTube last night, the antivirus software founder and part-time fugitive callously sends up the program he helped create. Framed as a four-minute instructional video, "How To Uninstall McAfee...
"The only thing you can't have in this perfect world of total pleasure is your 30th birthday . . . Logan is 29. Welcome to the 23rd Century. Welcome to Rapture. We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."
Microsoft is planning to refresh its Surface RT with a Qualcomm processor. Existing Surface RT devices use Nvidia's Tegra 3 chipset, but Bloomberg reports that a refreshed version will ship using Qualcomm processors, while Nvidia continues to be a supplier for "some versions." The switch to Qualcomm, which appears to be for unannounced Surface RT devices, will likely come into effect later this year.
Nintendo will launch its first game with a free-to-play business model later this year. Speaking to IGN, veteran designer Shigeru Miyamoto said that the title could be shown off "relatively soon," and would be based on the 3DS game Steel Diver.
Following last year’s first expansion into Europe, Netflix is stepping into another nearby market: The Netherlands. Later this year, the low-altitude nation will be getting access to Hollywood fare, local and global TV and films, and Netflix’s own original series like House of Cards and A...
As first books go, Dr. Adam Rutherford probably couldn’t have chosen a vaster topic: an investigation into both the origins of life itself, and...
The US and Russian governments have agreed to repurpose a Cold War-era hotline in a new pact that they say will prevent any chance of cyberwar between the two countries. As a part of the agreement,...
Since The Guardian and The Washington Post published a series of leaked documents, companies named as participants in the PRISM surveillance program have attempted to set right what they call...
Until now, saving attachments from a Gmail account to Evernote has meant either forwarding them to a special email address or dragging them into an open Evernote client. Today, the company released...
Chipotle is letting its customers know a little more about their burritos by opening up about the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within its ingredients. The Mexican-themed fast...
Despite the fact that the rather experimental fecal transplant procedure has been recognized through a number of studies as a reliable cure for the...
Dish Network has pulled out of the competition to buy third-place US wireless carrier Sprint after months of back-and-forth with competitor SoftBank. After seeing the Japanese operator table a buyout offer in October 2012, Dish countered with its own surprise bid in April, leading to some heated exchanges in the media. Reuters reports that Dish will instead focus on acquiring Clearwire Corp....
Nvidia has announced plans to license out its graphics technology to other companies in an effort to take advantage of the huge market for smartphones, tablets, and other devices as its core PC business continues to shrink. According to a blog post published by the company, Nvidia will start by...
