Geek News

Crisis on the Planet of the Apes is Now Available on Steam and is 33% off!* 5 years since its outbreak, the Simian Flu has wiped out half of humanity. You are an ape with advanced intelligence, captured and held prisoner in a remote scientific facility. Climb, jump and shoot through the chaos of an apocalyptical world to escape with your fellow apes and return home. *Offer ends April 16 at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2GWEYzU"

Animals Dinosaurs stomped all over this remote Scottish island and left the prints to prove it. Why are researchers so interested in dinosaur footprints anyways? They aren’t quite as visually striking as complete dinosaur skeletons, but scientists can get a lot of… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2Eom2om"

Technology Consider choosing what DNS service you use. Don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds. There is a small, simple step you can take right now that promises to make your online browsing faster and more private. via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2EnhNJC"

Twitter has defended its handling of misinformation and abuse in the aftermath of this week’s shooting at YouTube’s headquarters. In a blog post titled “Serving the Public Conversation During Breaking Events,” trust and safety VP Del Harvey laid out how Twitter tried to provide “credible and authentic” information about the attack, even as some users spread hoaxes about the shooter’s identity. Harvey writes that Twitter doesn’t have a system for verifying information accuracy, reiterating Twitter’s stance that it isn’t an “arbiter of truth.” However, it watches for deliberate misinformation that violates rules against harassment, hate speech, spam, or violent threats. Harvey says that after the shooting, Twitter “suspended hundreds of... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2Ix08Sk"

Facebook began speaking with hospitals last year about the possibility of matching anonymized user profiles with health data in an effort to improve medical care, according to a CNBC report exposing the program . Facebook confirmed its work to CNBC but said it had hit “pause” on the program last month — presumably following the Cambridge Analytica scandal — to focus on “doing a better job of protecting people’s data” and being clearer about how it’s used. The plan had been to get hospitals to share anonymized medical information — such as health issues and age, but not name — and match it up with anonymized Facebook accounts that appeared to belong to those same people, according to the report. It would then somehow use insights from... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GANqFz"

The much-anticipated Supreme Court case US v. Microsoft — which could have decided the extent of American jurisdiction over foreign servers — is now, for all intents and purposes, dead. On March 30th, the Department of Justice moved to drop the lawsuit as moot, and today, Microsoft filed to agree with the motion . While the Supreme Court has yet to officially drop the case, it’s a foregone conclusion that they will. Both the government and Microsoft agree that the newly passed CLOUD Act renders the lawsuit meaningless. In US v. Microsoft , federal law enforcement clashed with Microsoft over the validity of a Stored Communications Act warrant for data stored on a server in Dublin. The CLOUD Act creates clear new procedures for procuring... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GA694i"

Since people can store personal data in blockchains, the technology could fall under the purview of the upcoming European change to privacy law. But blockchain technology may be fundamentally incompatible with Europe’s new privacy rules, Washington, DC think tank Coin Center said today in a new post . The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect on May 25th this year, more than two years after it was first signed into law. Under the new rule, if an EU citizen requests that their personal data be erased from a company’s records, the company will have to obey. But with blockchain, a complete erasure of any stored personal data might not be possible, experts told The Verge . “Modifying data on a blockchain is very hard,”... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2EmUoIj"

Space Think keeping a desk plant alive is tough? Try farming in Antarctica. Lettuce on the moon might sound like the name of a prog-rock song, but that’s the eventual plan. This morning, Germany’s Aerospace Centre DLR announced that their… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2EnAJI8"

Facebook is adding a new augmented reality feature called target tracking, which lets people launch AR experiences by pointing their phone at an image. Target tracking is in a closed beta for developers, but Facebook users can check out simple, animated experiences on posters from Ready Player One and A Wrinkle In Time. They can also get the experience by scanning a QR code. A toolkit for developers should be released publicly later this spring. This is a very standard augmented reality feature, similar to the “living pictures” made by some high-tech novelty printers . But Facebook is claiming that its system will work more smoothly and consistently than other AR platforms, and that will be simple for people to turn their posters or... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2q8sxaC"

Dota Plus: * Adjusted the Hero Level XP and Shard reward curve to make earlier levels more easily attainable, with the total XP to reach Level 25 (and total Shards rewarded) remaining the same. Users' total earned XP for each hero thus far have been remapped to the new level and users were granted any missing shards that they may have missed in the new curve. * Common relics are now available for direct purchase for 5000 shards each, in addition to the existing random roll option. via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2q7uhQH"

Google is expanding YouTube TV to support Firefox, as spotted by YourTechExplained , marking the first browser to work with Google’s over-the-top streaming service that isn’t Chrome (which you’ll recall is also owned by Google.) The added Firefox support comes from a quietly updated support page noting the change, although sadly it just seems that only Firefox is getting the update from Google for now — there’s no word on Safari, Edge, or other browsers getting Google’s blessing to work with YouTube TV at this time. YouTube TV costs $40 per month ( after a recent price bump ), and also has apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, and Roku , in addition to Chrome and Firefox on browsers. Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2IwSIyB"

Mophie has announced a new wireless charger, the Wireless Charge Stream Pad Plus , via MacRumors . It’s essentially an updated version of the Wireless Charging Base that the company announced in partnership with Apple when the iPhone maker first launched the iPhone X and iPhone 8 with wireless charging last year. Like the Wireless Charging Base, the Wireless Charge Stream Pad Plus is a Qi-based wireless charger, but unlike the earlier version — which has the hallowed position of being one of the two chargers that Apple sells in its stores — the updated version offers a full 10 watts of wireless charging, instead of the 7.5W maximum that the Wireless Charging Base offered. That boils down to allowing faster charging on devices like... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2q9UQ7Q"

Facebook has a lot of problems right now, but one that’s definitely not going away any time soon is fake news. As the company’s user base has grown to include more than a quarter of the world’s population, it has (understandably) struggled to control what they all post and share. For Facebook, unwanted content can be anything from mild nudity to serious violence, but what’s proved to be most sensitive and damaging for the company is hoaxes and misinformation — especially when it has a political bent. So what is Facebook going to do about it? At the moment, the company doesn’t seem to have a clear strategy. Instead, it’s throwing a lot at the wall and seeing what works. It’s hired more human moderators (as of February this year it had... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GB1mzh"

Save 75% on The Long Dark as part of this week's Weekend Deal*! The Long Dark is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster. Welcome to the Quiet Apocalypse. *Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2H9HLDn"

Delta and Sears said today that a data breach may have leaked the credit card information of hundreds of thousands of customers, as first reported by Reuters . The breach occurred at an online support service company, [24]7, which powers both Delta and Sears’ online chat platforms. Last year, [24]7 suffered a malware attack from September 27th to October 12th, but the company only informed Sears and Delta in mid-March this year about the breach, according to Sears. Delta said in a statement that “it is our understanding” the incident occurred from September 16th last year. Customers who made online purchases from Sears and Delta during that time period could have had their credit card information compromised. Sears estimated “less than... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GZisXa"

Telling the family that dinner’s ready or reminding the kids it’s time for bed won’t require as much shouting if you’ve got a smart home with Echo speakers scattered around. Today Amazon announced a new feature called Alexa Announcements, which will let you simultaneously broadcast a voice message to every Echo in the house. Users already had the intercom-style ability to carry on two-way conversations between rooms , but the one-way Announcements function is meant for the kind of grand pronouncements that you want everyone to hear. They’ll play back on all supported devices, which include the Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Spot, and Echo Look. You send an Alexa Announcement by saying “Alexa, announce that...” followed by... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GWx35v"

Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want to run Facebook on his own anymore. In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, he told Recode he was “fundamentally uncomfortable” making some policy decisions. Later, he outlined an idea for an independent Facebook “supreme court” that could review decisions about community standards. And in his giant manifesto last year, he called for a “large-scale democratic process” for running Facebook. “We are committed to always doing better, even if that involves building a worldwide voting system to give you more voice and control,” he promised. Zuckerberg has long talked about Facebook as a new kind of nation, and his comments have played into a larger debate over how to give users a stake in the... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2q4bw1h"

Amazon is improving its parental control dashboard to allow parents to adjust FreeTime settings like screen time limits, bedtime curfews, whitelisted apps, and more from any web browser. Previously, those controls could only be changed from the actual kids’ edition Fire tablet. Now they can be accessed and updated from any smartphone or PC that a parent has access to. They can also enable or disable the web browser remotely. The Parent Dashboard lets parents remotely keep an eye on the content — apps, games, videos, ebooks, etc. — their children are using on the company’s kid-oriented tablets. It provides daily, weekly, and monthly activity reports, which help parents feel reassured about what their kids are seeing and how they’re... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2JnIhys"

Add Crusader Kings II to your account for FREE starting now until Saturday at 10AM Pacific*! Once you add the game, it will remain in your account permanently, so don't miss out on this opportunity to own this great title! Additionally, save up to 50% on DLC's and Expansions for Crusader Kings II as part of the Weekend Deal**! *After Saturday, Crusader Kings II will be available for 75% off for the rest of the weekend. **Discount offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2q9b2Gj"

Olympus’ Pen E-PL9 has been out in Europe since last month, and now it’s finally making its way to the US today. Like the European release, the US launch of the Olympus Pen E-PL9 will offer white, black, or brown colors, sold either as just the body for $599.99 or in a $699.99 kit that includes a 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 EZ lens, 16GB memory card, and a camera bag. The Pen E-PL9 is an updated version of the 2016 E-PL8 model in Olympus’ Pen Lite series of pocket mirrorless cameras. It looks to improve on the older model with additions like a larger grip, pop-up flash, and the ability to record 4K video at 30 fps. The E-PL9 also offers a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor and features the same TruePic VIII processor from the company’s flagship OM-D E-M1... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2GDrmGm"

Today's Deal: Save 30% on Forts !* Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are! *Offer ends Saturday at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2GAEZKD"

Environment Scientists now think it might put young brains at risk. It’s increasingly clear that the effects of air pollution aren’t constrained to body parts below the shoulders—they can hurt the brain in a whole host of ways, many of… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2GDVTnB"

Gym-goers trying to book a class online may find themselves out of luck today. MindBody, a software that services fitness brands like ClassPass, Pure Barre, SLT, and Flywheel for online scheduling and class management, is down due to a system-wide outage . Users trying to book or access reservations will instead need to contact their gyms directly, whether that means picking up a phone or interacting with a human in person. The service appears to have been down since around 8AM ET, taking down the MindBody website and showing an error screen for other apps that use the platform. MindBody currently services studios across the US and the UK for fitness classes and spa appointments. There’s no word yet on when MindBody will be back up,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2q7WpDT"

Apple’s long-awaited update to the 2013 Mac Pro won’t be released until sometime next year, the company confirmed in an interview with TechCrunch . We’ve known since a press roundtable in April 2017 that Apple was “completely rethinking” the Mac Pro , in the words of marketing chief Phil Schiller. Now, we have confirmation that the product is arriving next year after some speculation that it could make an appearance this year at a fall hardware event typically reserved for MacBook announcements. “We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product. It’s not something for this year,” Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac hardware product marketing, told T... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2EmnhV1"

Technology We have a lot to learn from folks who resist the latest gadgets. When people hear “Appalachia,” stereotypes and even slurs often immediately jump to mind, words like “backwards,” “ignorant,” “hillbilly” or “yokel.” But Appalachian… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2JliEhH"

Nintendo’s upcoming Labo cardboard accessories for the Switch look really fun. But if you can’t wait another few weeks to build your own cool Switch gizmos — or rightfully recognize that Lego is a far superior building material than corrugated paper — you can get started on your DIY projects a little earlier with Lego Switch accessories ( via MotherBoard ). The Lego Switch accessories come from YouTube vmln8r , who took a 3D-printed Switch accessory rail (like how the Joy-Con controllers attach) and modified it so that he could attach Lego Technic pieces instead. From there, the sky is the limit: vmln8r used Lego pieces to build a functional stand for the Switch (instead of Nintendo’s terrible one), a controller grip, a steering wheel... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2uUaXM6"