- Engadget•32 minutes ago
How to Use Your Existing Phone Overseas
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Being able to use Google Maps and Translate, staying in touch with friends and family at home, having easy access
- TechCrunch•2 hours ago
Blood money
Some years ago an investor I met at a TechCrunch event invited me out for a coffee. This was before Russia was the democracy-manipulating enemy it is today, but just after Russia passed its "anti-gay law," so angry anti-Russian sentiment was exceptionally strong. Needless to say this is a
- Engadget•3 hours ago
Electric cars could store energy in their carbon fiber bodies
Electric cars typically need larger, denser batteries if they're going to meet the range expectations of people used to gas-powered vehicles, but available space and weight limit the size of that battery. While the carbon fiber with battery-friendly characteristics is slightly stronger than steel
- Engadget•7 hours ago
Amazon fixes security flaws allowing smart home hijacks
The flaws might have been far-reaching if they'd gone unfixed -- both FreeRTOS and its safety-oriented counterpart SafeRTOS are used in a wide range of devices inside and outside the home, including cars, aircraft and medical gear. Zimperium, which found the flaws, is waiting until 30 days after
- Engadget•11 hours ago
Tougher emissions rules helped cut US air pollution deaths in half
There's little doubt that air quality has generally improved in the US in recent decades, but quantifying that improvement has been difficult. The NASA- and EPA-backed report determined that American deaths from air pollution dropped by 47 percent between 1990 and 2010 to 71,000 per year. The researchers
- Engadget•12 hours ago
Facebook carried ads from mysterious pro-Brexit group for months
While Facebook might be making strides in clamping down on fake news and shady political ads, there appear to have been holes in its strategy. The UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee has published data showing that Facebook carried ads for a "hard Brexit" (that is, a UK exit
- Engadget•13 hours ago
Watch the visual effects for 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' come to life
One of the most entertaining aspects of Ant-Man and The Wasp was how the film played with the characters' shrinking and growing powers. Marvel obviously relied on CGI to turn that building into a roller suitcase and that Helly Kitty pez dispenser into a massive weapon, but we could only guess how
- Engadget•15 hours ago
Tesla's future 'dog mode' would prevent humans from panicking
Tesla already has a feature to prevent its electric car interiors from overheating. Elon Musk has signaled that he'll implement a "dog mode" in future Tesla software that would tell passers-by not to panic.
- Engadget•16 hours ago
Google Assistant may soon have a web app for lists and notes
Google Assistant might soon have its own list- and note-taking functions instead of leaning on third-party apps. The 9to5Google team has sifted through the Google search app's code to discover an unannounced "Lists and Notes" web app for Assistant that lets you jot down important information
- Engadget•18 hours ago
Lightweight gloves help you touch virtual objects
One factor that prevents virtual reality from being truly immersive is the fact that you still can't feel what you see. A group of scientists from EPFL and ETH Zurich is trying to change that by creating a pair of high-tech gloves that "provides extremely realistic haptic feedback." According
- Engadget•19 hours ago
Saudi Arabia reportedly asked Twitter employee to spy on dissidents
Saudi Arabia may have done more than use large-scale social media campaigns to stifle political opposition. New York Timessources claim the country was "grooming" a Twitter engineer, Ali Alzabarah, to snoop on the accounts of dissidents and other targets. Western officials reportedly warned
- Bloomberg•21 hours ago
WhatsApp Bans More Than 100,000 Accounts in Brazil Election
Facebook set up a "war room" to stem the tide of hate speech, false information and other damaging content during Brazil’s election this month, marking a test for the social network ahead of the November midterm elections in the U.S. While the company said it was able to thwart false information
- Engadget•21 hours ago
Lime's Gen 3 scooter is built to survive rider abuse
Lime might have lost access to San Francisco, but it does have a consolation prize: a new scooter to entice you in those cities where its shared service does operate. The Lime-S Gen 3 touts technology upgrades like a color screen (for speed, battery capacity and future parking zone alerts), improved
- TechCrunch•21 hours ago
A Twitter employee groomed by the Saudi government prompted 2015 state-sponsored hacking warning
It comes in the wake of the confirmed death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Friday, two weeks after he disappeared in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi had long been a target of a Saudi troll army, according to the report, which employed hundreds of people to stifle the speech
- Engadget•22 hours ago
Watch the 'Forza' esports championship starting at 1PM Eastern
Microsoft and Turn 10 are streaming the season-ending Forza Racing World Championship this weekend, starting with an initial pack of 24 racers on October 20th at 1PM Eastern and whittling down to the top 12 on October 21st (also at 1PM Eastern). If you'd rather watch on Twitch instead of Microsoft
- Engadget•yesterday
Still waiting for a video game developer to win a Genius Grant
Every year since 1981, the MacArthur Foundation has handed out the "Genius Grant," awarding a handful of individuals $625,000 each in recognition of their creative skills and success in their chosen field. There are absolutely no video game developers. "The grant program has basically
- TechCrunch•yesterday
Hackers breach Healthcare.gov system, taking files on 75,000 people
A government system used by insurance agents and brokers to help customers
- Engadget•yesterday
The Morning After: Netflix cancels 'Luke Cage'
Welcome to your weekend! Friday night brought a successful rocket launch and some bad news for another Marvel hero on Netflix. Also, we'll take a look at Tim Cook's request to Bloomberg, and take a ride in Audi's new A8. Bad news for Luke Cage comes on the same day Netflix premiered season
- Engadget•yesterday
YouTube video embeds now include a 'Subscribe' button
Up until now, if you saw a YouTube video you liked embedded in a website, you had to click through the video to YouTube's page in order to subscribe to that channel. Now, YouTube is making it a little easier for viewers to see the videos they want (and for channel operators to grab those subscribers
- Engadget•yesterday
HTC's standalone Vive Focus will soon get 6DoF VR controllers
While Facebook's Oculus Quest won't arrive until the spring of 2019, its seemingly beefier inside-out tracking plus 6DoF controllers may already pose a threat to HTC's Vive Focus, as well as to other Vive Wave-based standalone VR headsets -- including Pico's Neo (whose ultrasound-based
