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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
744 stories archived
The floodgates are open after another Chinese company lands a reusable rocket
"We will put the booster back into service for another flight as soon as possible."
Lifeforms Can Survive on ‘Significant’ Regions of the Moon, Study Finds
The Moon was long thought to be inhospitable to life, but scientists have discovered that common Earth microbes could survive for up to a week in shadowed regions of the lunar south pole, a region targeted for future human exploration.
'I Saw a Shiny Thing': Cop Explains Why He Used License Plate Reader to Stalk Woman
Body camera footage shows police surveillance abuse is common: "We’ve told them over and over again: 'You see a hot chick, you don’t look them up in a database.'"
A fantastical journey unfolds in gorgeous Wildwood trailer
"I will tear apart this forest and bring back what it took from me."
mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in Phase 3 melanoma trial, Moderna and Merck say
The vaccine reportedly thwarted the cancer's return and spread.
Google Pixel 11 series review: Is the magic fading?
Google's new Pixels make some compromises but still manage to be good phones.
Scientists find closest star to the Milky Way's central black hole
Star, moving at 8% the speed of light, may let us measure the black hole's rotation.
Meta ran ads for an app promising to nudify female politicians
One ad featured a pornographic video with deepfake closely resembling a US politician.
In Big Walk, players just walk and talk – and find joy along the way: ‘Some stories we’ve heard are punch-in-the-gut beautiful’
After their hit Untitled Goose Game, Australian studio House House is back with a new game where your only goal is to go exploring with friends – so we took them on a big walk inside Big Walk When I arrive to meet with the tiny team at Melbourne game developer House House, they’re sitting in a circle under a eucalyptus tree. After introductions, the five of us set off into the scrub. Over the course of our hike we take a train to the beach, huddle on deck chairs in the sand dunes and climb a mountain as the sun rises. All without ever leaving our desks. Welcome to the world of Big Walk : House House’s new game after the runaway global success Untitled Goose Game , which saw millions fall in love with being a naughty goose rampaging through a bucolic village. After Untitled Goose Game’s overwhelming success, House House wanted their next game to be very different and “unusual”. Despite this, Big Walk has been an immediate success, with more than 1m downloads in the first week of release. Continue reading...
Did someone wearing Meta Glasses film you today? Are you sure?
People say they’ve been secretly filmed in their own home, at concerts and at work. Are the wildly popular smartglasses the final nail in the coffin of personal privacy? “I’ve had one person who told me that their intentions were creepy,” a man tells me over a video call, on condition of anonymity. He’s based in Los Angeles, and while we speak, he eats what appears to be tuna directly out of the can. “He said: ‘I go to strip clubs, and I want to record the strippers … Normally I put my phone in my chest pocket, but the glasses are more convenient.’” The man I’m talking to runs a business called Ghost Metas . He’s one of hundreds of vendors, easily discoverable online, who specialise in disabling the flashing LED light embedded in Meta’s smartglasses that blinks when wearers capture photos, videos and audio. After Ghost Metas disables the LED, it’s impossible for someone to know they’re being filmed. Continue reading...
Trump expected to pick conservative policy wonk Heidi Overton to lead FDA
She opposes abortion, is wary of peptides, supports limiting vaccines, vexes MAHA.
Will the future of gaming be powered by upstart indie developers?
As gaming’s biggest publishers retreat into safer bets, a new generation of independents are building an alternative from the ground up • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here During the 1990s, a new strata of independent film studios and distributors revitalised the Hollywood movie machine. The likes of Miramax, New Line Cinema and October Films challenged the ageing behemoths of the industry and pushed forward offbeat directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky and Jane Campion. The decade is widely considered an artistic high point for western cinema after the bloated mainstream excesses of the 1980s. Could something similar now be happening in games? Certainly, we have a similar setup. The big players of the games business are in various states of creative disarray: Electronic Arts (EA) has been bought out by a Saudi-led consortium , which is likely to lead to more cautious, hit-driven decisions; Microsoft bought Activision and Bethesda and then ordered waves of redundancies ; Ubisoft has cancelled several titles and is posting big losses. Those companies are also facing rising development costs, so they’re circling the wagons, focusing on legacy brands and freezing recruitment. It’s hard to imagine any left-field works of genius emerging from this imaginative quagmire. Continue reading...
Will AI give you the job? Automated hiring tools spark discrimination and secrecy lawsuits
A rise in lawsuits over AI use in employment decisions is raising questions about how companies hire and fire For the last four years, Erin Kistler has applied for thousands of jobs at companies like Paypal , Microsoft and Netflix , only to find her résumé disappear into a black hole. A product manager with nearly 20 years of experience, Kistler believes she was qualified for every role, yet she never received a single interview. Now, Kistler is suing Eightfold AI, the Silicon Valley maker of hiring software used by hundreds of companies, including those where she applied, in a class action lawsuit . The case, filed in January in California court, is one of the first to argue that automated screening functions as an undisclosed consumer report or applicant dossier, ranking job applicants on their likelihood of success without giving them the chance to see or challenge the results, according to Kistler’s legal team. Continue reading...
The Blood of Dawnwalker – save your family while becoming what you hate
Human by day, vampire by night, Coen has difficult choices to make – beginning here in the 1300s, his adventure could span centuries in upcoming sequels The Blood of Dawnwalker could be the start of an epic saga. Created by some of the talent behind The Witcher 3, this dark fantasy role-playing game takes place in the 14th century in the fictional land of Vale Sangora, a Carpathian valley of wetlands, mountains and forests cut off from the rest of the world and under the rule of a vicious vampire clan. The developers envisage Dawnwalker as a trilogy. And because protagonist Coen is half vampire himself, that trilogy can skip across time, culminating in the modern day. Continue reading...
Shares in humanoid robot firm Unitree surge 600% on Chinese stock market debut
Company’s robots have gained global fame via videos of them performing martial arts and as dancers for pop stars Unitree, the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker, has made a spectacular entry on to China’s stock market, with its shares surging by more than 600%. The Chinese company’s robots have gained global fame via viral videos of them performing martial arts , running at Olympic speeds and serving as backup dancers for pop stars. Continue reading...
"Sabotage": Experts, lawmakers blast RFK Jr. for destroying healthcare research
US healthcare is broken. Under RFK Jr., the research agency working to fix it is, too.
Ukrainian drones overwhelm Russian tanks’ new active protection system—for now
Tanks with defensive tech for shooting down drones are still proving vulnerable.
OpenAI announces slowing pace of development after hack by rogue agent
Firm said it was overhauling its research and training and will require greater safety parameters of AI after hack OpenAI on Tuesday said it had slowed down the pace of its AI development while it overhauled its research and training systems. The company’s researchers were caught unaware last month when an AI agent under testing hacked another AI firm. Continue reading...
Against all odds, SpaceX finally tugs Starship into port after 24 days at sea
"A team of SpaceX engineers is on their way to conduct additional analysis on the vehicle."
Social media on trial as $200bn case against Facebook and Instagram begins
Twenty-nine US states are seeking huge damages, claiming Meta’s platforms were addictive by design In 1994, more than 40 US states came together to sue one of the most powerful industries on earth: big tobacco. The suits brought together diverse claims centred on tobacco companies’ misleading advertising and contribution to a mounting public health crisis. They ended in a negotiated settlement with the US government, in which the companies agreed to pay more than any industry ever, and the states agreed to drop a large portion of their claims. Continue reading...
Disney sues FCC and its chair, escalating fight against Trump's chief censor
FCC demands "total capitulation" in Trump censorship campaign, Disney suit says.
‘Can’t enjoy your pint’: Wetherspoons customers welcome ban on loud phones
Patrons at two of the chain’s London pubs were all for Tim Martin’s ban on playing music or taking calls on speaker The terrace of the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons pub in Leicester Square was full of people enjoying the warm weather and chatting between tables – without a TikTok video or speakerphone call in earshot. At Wetherspoons, the convivial atmosphere can no longer be punctuated by rude customers taking phone calls on blast, or playing videos without headphones after Tim Martin, the owner of the pub chain, banned both actions on his premises . Continue reading...
Peacock raises prices by 18 percent after becoming profitable
Peacock's quarterly profitability isn't guaranteed.
The United States is about to wake up to the threat from China's space program
One big question: Will China assert territorial rights where its rover explores?