Geek News

Tesla is temporarily stopping production of its Model 3 electric car , amid a long waiting list and several missed targets . The company, however, says the shutdown is intended to resolve some of the problems that have contributed to the numerous delays in getting the cars to hundreds of thousands of reservation holders. The automaker said Monday it would halt production of the Model 3 sedan for 4-5 days at its Fremont, California assembly plant, BuzzFeed reported. Tesla, however, says this is part of a planned period of downtime that was similar to another shutdown in February, and it isn’t intended to have an affect on the company’s current production targets for the car. “Our Model 3 production plan includes periods of planned downtime... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2H87bos"

A broadband advisor selected by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to run a federal advisory committee was arrested last week on claims she tricked investors into pouring money into a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme, according to The Wall Street Journal . The advisor, Elizabeth Pierce, is the former chief executive of Quijntillion, an Alaska-based fiber optic cable provider operating out of Anchorage. In her capacity as CEO, Pierce allegeledy raised more than $250 million from two New York-based investment companies using forged contracts with other companies guaranteeing hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenue. Pierce resigned from Quintillion in August of last year, and she stepped down from her... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2H5ZlM0"

EverCam, a new security camera from the Anker-owned smart home brand Eufy, launched today on Kickstarter and it looks seriously impressive. The water-resistant HD recording device is billed as a truly wireless indoor or outdoor home security camera, meaning it doesn’t have to be mounted with screws or plugged into a power source. It can be stuck to any metal surface via built-in magnets (or with a single-screw mount if you really want to make sure it’s secure), and it can run for up to 365 days on a single charge. The device has already raised over $300,000 from more than 1,000 backers. Because the camera runs on a 13,400mAh lithium-ion battery from Anker, a leader in battery and smart charging tech, it stays in extremely low-power... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HunBH0"

Nexus Media News Chocolate production generates a lot of pollution. You don't have to give up chocolate to reduce carbon emissions, but you might choose your indulgence more wisely. Here are a few tips to keep your sweet tooth from… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2J0pzfa"

Google’s AIY Projects (a clever play on “DIY” and “AI” that makes no sense when you actually think about it) pair a Raspberry Pi with the accessories, software, and requisite cardboard to make your own Google Assistant smart speaker or object-recognizing smart camera. They only launched last year , but Google is already back with new and improved versions of both the AIY Vision Kit and AIY Voice Kit (as spotted by 9to5 Google ). The new kits now include a fresh Raspberry Pi Zero in the box and a preloaded SD card to make it easier to get started. Google is also now providing an AIY companion app for Android (and soon iOS and Chrome) to help with wireless setup and configuration of your new DIY smart speaker or camera — though you can still... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qGx57I"

Jailbreaking iPhones has fallen out of vogue in recent years, but this upcoming PokéCall jailbreak tweak developed by Reddit user FrozenPenguinToaster might be the best argument for jailbreaking in years. The hack transforms the dull incoming call screen on iOS into a battle from the classic Pokémon Game Boy games, right down to the iconic music . It’s surprisingly functional, too, with contacts showing up as trainers, and presenting the options to answer the call (fight) or hang up (run away). Strictly speaking, you can’t actually run away from a trainer battle in the Pokémon RPGs, but we’ll give FrozenPenguinToaster a pass for accuracy in the name of giving users an actual way to avoid calls. The tweak is still in development, but... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qCbTjL"

T-Mobile has to pay $40 million as part of a settlement after the FCC ruled that it violated the law by adding fake ringtones to hundreds of millions of calls over several years. It will also have to act within 90 days and send a compliance report to the FCC once a year for the next three years. The carrier admitted to adding fake ringtones to make customers mistakenly believe the party they called was hearing their phones ring, when in fact the call might not have been connected yet. The FCC noted in a document , “A caller may then hang up, thinking no one is available to receive the call ... False ring tones are a problem on calls to rural areas and are a symptom of the problems of impaired quality and completion of calls to rural... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2vlL7Rt"

Science A single outbreak of norovirus—or any foodborne illness—can cost quite a lot. Foodborne illness costs the U.S. more than $15 billion annually, according to USDA estimates—never mind the miserable nights spent groaning over the toilet. But how much… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2qEqRou"

What’s the best way to keep our screens clean? The first, and obvious answer, is to keep our hands themselves free of grime. But there may be another option: self-cleaning coatings created by materials scientists. Recently, Anish Tuteja , a materials researcher at the University of Michigan, developed a clear, smooth coating that repels all liquids and can be applied to any surface. (The research was published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces .) There are other repellent coatings, of course, but their abilities are limited. Take, for instance, a Teflon pan. “If you put a drop of water on it, it beads up, but if you put cooking oil, it’ll spread,” says Tuteja. “That’s what happens on most surfaces.” The material his team... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2EOyiP3"

Google plans to resume accepting advertisements from alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers following a lengthy period of review, Reuters reports . Google originally stripped rehab-related search terms of advertising on its AdWords platform last September, following an investigation from The Verge detailing how misleading ads from disreputable treatment centers were gaming Google’s algorithms to boost incoming patient numbers. Google says ads will now be vetted directly by Portland, Oregon-based LegitScript, which monitors online pharmacies for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to prevent abuse and unauthorized selling of prescription medications. According to Reuters , the new rules apply to in-person rehab facilities,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2JOFRJm"

When headphone jacks were withheld from smartphones by our all-knowing corporate overlords, we were promised a wireless future as compensation. But in addition to battery life hassle, subpar audio quality, and pairing woes, Bluetooth headphones have one more major drawback: they aren’t Koss Porta Pros. Koss’s Porta Pro headphones are the greatest headphones ever invented. ( Please pay no attention to Vlad .) They’re lightweight, breathable, don’t block out outside noise, and sound amazing — not just for the price. Amazing. Full stop. Also, there are these little foam pads that put all the pressure on your temples so that your ears don’t get crushed. They’re also really easy to break, because the wires that run into each ear are exceedingly... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2vidRup"

Health And every little bit counts. In a study out this week researchers analyzed data from nearly 500,000 people who were enrolled in a long term health study in the United Kingdom and found that exercise… via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2EQirQf"

Amazon warehouse workers are forced to pee in bottles or forego their bathroom breaks entirely because fulfillment demands are too high, according to journalist James Bloodworth, who went undercover as an Amazon worker for his book, Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain . Targets have reportedly increased exponentially, workers say in a new survey revealed over the weekend, and as result, they feel pressured and stressed to meet the new goals. Workers who pick up products for delivery at a warehouse in Staffordshire, UK use bottles instead of the actual toilet, which is located too far away, Bloodworth reported. They are afraid of being disciplined for idling and losing their jobs as a result, he added . Bloodworth told The Sun i... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qBuNGQ"

Technology Download the latest podcast and catch up on everything tech you missed last week. Download the latest episode of our podcast! via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2JQCIsD"

On Friday, China’s version of Twitter, Sina Weibo, banned all content containing homosexuality from its platform. But after a weekend full of online protests, Weibo has reversed its decision, clarifying that it’s not targeting gay content anymore. Weibo wrote in a post on Monday, “This time, the cleanup of anime and games won’t target gay content. It is mainly [meant] to clean up content related to pornography, violence, and gore. Thank you for your discussions and suggestions,” as translated by WhatsonWeibo . The original announcement from Weibo on Friday said the platform was launching a clean-up campaign for the next three months and would remove all pornographic, violent, or homosexual photos, videos, text posts, and cartoons. Weibo... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HtTYWf"

In response to recent concerns about Facebook’s handling of user data , Bumble has announced it will drop its Facebook login requirement for users. The dating app will allow users to log in and register for an account using a phone number beginning tomorrow, according to a new report from Wired . The decision comes days after Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress to answer questions surrounding the recent Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal . The London-based dating mining firm, which was hired by the Trump campaign in 2016, improperly obtained and used Facebook data to target potential voters. In the wake of the scandal, Facebook launched new privacy tools and shut down a product that allowed third-party data providers to target... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qzlA2G"

Spotify will be announcing news about changes in its mobile app at an event next week, according to an invite the company sent out. The event will feature presentations from chief R&D officer Gustav Söderström, vice president of product development Babar Zafar, and global head of creator services Troy Carter. Rumors have swirled around the April 24th event since the initial invitation went out a couple weeks ago . At the time, it only instructed recipients to save the date for a news announcement, leading to guesses that it could have to do with updates to the app , or the company’s potential hardware pursuits . Now that the new flyer confirms the event will be about the mobile app, there are a couple of options with what could be debuted.... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J2D8L1"

Google has partnered with 3D laser scanning nonprofit CyArk to help preserve historical sites around the world that are at risk of irreversible damage or total erasure due to human conflict and natural disasters. The joint effort, called the Open Heritage project , will use CyArk’s laser-scanning technology to capture all the relevant data at a historical site needed to re-create it virtually, so it can be preserved and explored online either on a computer, through a mobile device, or while wearing a virtual reality headset. “With modern technology, we can capture these monuments in fuller detail than ever before, including the color and texture of surfaces alongside the geometry captured by the laser scanners with millimeter precision... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2J0XrIK"

Today's Deal: Save 25% on Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem !* 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 Wednesday at 10AM Pacific Time via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2HwxsMe"

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA / イースVIII-Lacrimosa of DANA- is Now Available on Steam! Ys returns with a brand new adventure for the first time in 8 years! Adol awakens shipwrecked and stranded on a cursed island. There, he and the other shipwrecked passengers he rescues form a village to challenge fearsome beasts and mysterious ruins on the isolated island. via Steam RSS News Feed "https://ift.tt/2HDCPqL"

Samsung is fixing last year’s Chromebook Pro by releasing a new model of the computer that is virtually identical, save for one crucial difference: a backlit keyboard , via SamMobile . The new model features exactly the same specifications as the original. It has the same design, the same 12.3-inch, 2400 x 1600 pixel display, and the same Intel Core M3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and $599.99 price tag. The lack of a backlit keyboard was always a strange omission given the Chromebook Pro’s relatively premium placement in the Chromebook pantheon, so it's nice to finally see the feature, even if it’s almost a year late. Unfortunately, only the Chromebook Pro seems to be getting the new keyboard; the slightly cheaper Chromebook... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2HEgs4B"

The US Department of Commerce just announced a ban on American exports to the Chinese smartphone maker ZTE. That means American companies like Dolby and Qualcomm won’t be able to export any parts to ZTE for up to seven years. The loss of Qualcomm is particularly damaging, as it severely restricts ZTE’s options for devices in the US market. The Commerce Department says ZTE failed to uphold a plea agreement after it pleaded guilty last year to illegally shipping US equipment to Iran and North Korea. Part of the deal was that ZTE would reprimand and deny bonuses to the employees who had acted illegally. But the company didn’t meet this part of the deal. It gave full bonuses to those employees and only fired four senior staffers while... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2IVGa3R"

Health Wellness is for everyone. The app Rolling Strong is just one of several efforts to bring self-care and wellness practices to everyone. But there are some obstacles in the way. via Popular Science "https://ift.tt/2qCWBur"

A new study titled Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies has found that more than half of Android apps directed toward children under 13 potentially violate the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as reported by The Guardian . Additionally, the study — led by researchers at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California, Berkeley — says the apps that are improperly collecting and sharing data are all included in Google’s Designed for Families program. The study looked at 5,855 child-directed apps, and the researchers said they “Identified several concerning violations and trends.” According to the study, 4.8 percent had clear violations surrounding sharing location or contact... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2qAMmYb"

It was supposed to be the laptop that saved the world. In late 2005, tech visionary and MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte pulled the cloth cover off a small green computer with a bright yellow crank. The device was the first working prototype for Negroponte’s new nonprofit One Laptop Per Child, dubbed “the green machine” or simply “the $100 laptop.” And it was like nothing that Negroponte’s audience — at either his panel at a UN-sponsored tech summit in Tunis, or around the globe — had ever seen. After UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan offered a glowing introduction, Negroponte explained exactly why. The $100 laptop would have all the features of an ordinary computer but require so little electricity that a child could power it... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "https://ift.tt/2JQw2dS"