Archive for July 2018

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

NASA study says setting off bombs over Mars isn't the best idea

Remember when Elon Musk said he wanted to nuke Mars?

As he later clarified, the idea was to create two "pulsing suns" over the poles with fusion bombs, which would release trapped carbon dioxide to thicken the atmosphere and warm the planet. Next, people would pack up their belongings, board a spaceship, and touch down on a much more habitable Mars.

This is called terraforming — altering a planet to make it more like Earth. (Yes, like in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.)

Welp, it looks like that plan has a fatal flaw, according to a NASA-sponsored study published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. There just isn't enough carbon dioxide trapped on Mars to make it work. Read more...

More about Mars, Elon Musk, Terraform, Science, and Space

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MoviePass is dying and the memes are brutal

As you've likely seen or experienced already, MoviePass is in all sorts of trouble.

On Friday, the service went down amid revelations the business ran out of money to pay for movie tickets. Service was restored on Monday, but screenings were few and far between. Then CEO Mitch Lowe said in a meeting that big summer releases like Christopher Robin won't be available to subscribers, according to Business Insider.

And so, with the company in dire straits, the internet unleashed some brutal memes.

a live look at the moviepass offices pic.twitter.com/Ib08nNd9S1

— shaye (@shayedavis) July 30, 2018 Read more...

More about Entertainment, Film, Movies, Culture, and Moviepass

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Amazon predictably cancels Echo Spot orders after they were listed for free

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Or a free Echo Spot.

Amazon has cancelled the orders of customers after the white version of the smart speaker was temporarily listed on its website for zero dollars, down from the regular price of $129.

As TechCrunch notes, the black version of the device was listed for $99, a deal comparative to its usual asking price. But of course, you can't beat a free Echo Spot.

"in stock august 24" lol pic.twitter.com/QSCQI7XJir

— Wario64 (@Wario64) July 30, 2018

Predictably, the free Echo Spot sold out quickly, leaving those who had "bought" one to hope that Amazon didn't pick up on the error. Read more...

More about Tech, Amazon, Echo, Echo Spot, and Tech

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Uber's self-driving truck program is done

Uber's self-driving truck program feels like it just took off, but after a court trial and several major leadership changes, it's been a long road to a dead-end announced Monday.

Back in 2016, Uber acquired Otto — former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski's self-driving truck startup — and Uber's self-driving truck program was born. Then Levandowski was sued for taking trade secrets from Google and bringing them to Uber in the acquisition. That was mainly about the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser and sensor technology that uses light to help the autonomous vehicles "see" the road and world around them. Read more...

More about Uber, Otto, Self Driving Truck, Anthony Levandowski, and Tech

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Barack Obama and Joe Biden got lunch together, because some bromances never die

Sometimes good things really do last.

Former president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden grabbed a quick and casual bite for lunch in Georgetown on Monday — and the libs were in love with the idea that the two still chill. Honestly, most people in D.C. were just looking for any form of distraction.

Look who stopped by @DogTagBakery for lunch today! Thank you @BarackObama and @JoeBiden for supporting our mission of empowering veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses, and military caregivers! #BakingADifference #veterans #milspouses #caregivers pic.twitter.com/bLHttsgXJF

— Dog Tag Bakery (@DogTagBakery) July 30, 2018 Read more...

More about Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Culture, and Web Culture

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WhatsApp has finally encrypted group video calling for everyone

WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that brings its features up to par with other major messaging apps: group video calls.

The app is now starting to add group video calling to its iOS and Android app, the company announced Monday.

WhatsApp has supported video calling since 2016, but calls were, until now, limited to two participants. With the latest change, the app is upping its support to four total participants.

That's a fairly modest increase, particularly compared to other services. Facebook Messenger supports group video calls of up to 50, while Snapchat supports 16 participants. Apple's FaceTime will work with up to 32 people when iOS 12 launches later this year. Read more...

More about Tech, Apps And Software, Whatsapp, Social Media Companies, and Tech

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Someone created a 250-pound gummy pizza for some unknowable reason

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to bite into a gummy pizza with a 6-foot diameter? No? Me neither, but hey, here we are.

Vat19 created was it calls the world's largest pizza, along with its own handcrafted box. Derek "The Gummy Bear Guy" and Jamie spend the first three minutes of the video constructing the mold for one slice of the pizza gummy, before filling it with different colors and flavors of gelatin.

After waiting 12 hours for the gummy to set they they pull the candy away from its mold to reveal a gigantic, wiggly slice of pizza.

"Oh snap," says Jamie, upon seeing the final product. Read more...

More about Youtube, Candy, Pizza, Culture, and Food

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U.S. states sue Trump administration over lift of 3D printable guns ban

Just days before the blueprints for 3D printable guns get released to the public, several U.S. states have jointly filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in a bid to stop the release.

Washington, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., are all joining together to seek a restraining order and an injunction to halt the release of the 3D printable gun files. They argue that these blueprints would allow criminals easy, unfettered access to firearms.

In June, the State Department reached a settlement with Defense Distributed, a nonprofit that develops digital firearm blueprints for 3D printing. The settlement would allow Defense Distributed to legally release downloadable gun blueprints as of Wednesday. Read more...

More about Guns, 3d Printing, Firearms, Trump Administration, and 3d Printed Guns

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Bursts of solar energy severed radio communication during 2017's hurricane mayhem

While three hurricanes swirled in the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans on September 6, 2017, the sun blasted off a powerful flare of energy, which soon smacked into Earth and severed radio communications across half the planet for hours.

Just four days later, another solar flare — an intense burst of radiation from the sun — hit Earth and again disrupted communications, as major storms continued to churn toward land.

This confluence of tempestuous weather both on Earth and in space was recently described by scientists in the journal Space Weather, the research led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers. Read more...

More about Space, Science, Radio, Noaa, and Space Weather

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MoviePass is down again. Is this the end?

ThatEscalatedQuickly Dot GIF.

It's been a whirlwind few days for MoviePass subscribers. There was the Thursday service outage, the Friday revelation that said outage was due to financial difficulties, the Saturday hype-pology, and continuing headaches all weekend.

Now, on Monday afternoon, the service is acting funny once again, and in a way that suggests larger troubles for the company. Users attempting to look up screenings are reportedly finding very few options to choose from.

Even in the busy borough of New York City's Manhattan, Mashable entertainment editor and MoviePass subscriber Erin Strecker found only two theaters with screenings available: The Landmark at 57 West and Cinépolis Chelsea. Read more...

More about Entertainment, Film, Moviepass, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

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NYC gets its first e-bikes, with Jump bikes in the Bronx and Staten Island

Back in April, New York relinquished its unreasonable ban on electric-assist bicycles within the city. And now the first bike-share fleets featuring e-bikes have arrived.

Jump Bikes, which ironically started in New York City, finally arrived in the Big Apple after riding into San Francisco; the nearby beach town of Santa Cruz, California; Washington, D.C.; and other cities more recently.

This weekend the e-bikes available through the Uber app (Uber acquired Jump earlier this year) were newly rentable in Staten Island, and on Monday, the bikes made a debut in the Bronx. Jump still also has its own standalone app, which lets you rent bicycles for $2 for 30 minutes, the same price via the Uber app. Read more...

More about Uber, New York City, Lyft, Jump, and Bike Sharing

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Twitter asks researchers to help make site less toxic

Twitter just began the hardest part of its cleanup effort.

The company announced Monday that it had selected academic partners who will help study "healthy conversation" as part of its ongoing effort to make Twitter less toxic.

The researchers will tackle some of Twitter's toughest problems. One group, led by Leiden University political science professor Dr. Rebekah Tromble, will study echo chambers, "uncivil discourse," and intolerance. The goal, according to Twitter, is to "develop two sets of metrics: how communities form around political discussions on Twitter, and the challenges that may arise as those discussions develop." Read more...

More about Tech, Twitter, Social Media Companies, Tech, and Social Media Companies

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AI can predict your personality simply by scanning your eyes

Eyes really do tell a story.

Using machine learning, earlier this year scientists discovered a connection between people's personalities and their eye movements. They then deployed artificial intelligence to track and analyze the eye movements of 42 students. They announced the results last week.

Of course, the scientists found a correlation, because why wouldn't AI figure out how predictable humans are?

The new technology can detect four of the "Big Five" basic personality traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism. It could not judge openness to experience.

The good news, according to one of the researchers, is that this finding could improve how humans and machines interact. If the machine can interpret what a person is like, the thought is, it can act accordingly. Read more...

More about Artificial Intelligence, Personality, Eyes, Tech, and Innovations

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Beyoncé's next 'Vogue' cover will be the first shot by a black photographer

Beyoncé herself took the reigns of this year's biggest issue of Vogue.

As HuffPost reports, the singer pretty much replaced Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, securing control over the cover, certain photos, and captions in this year's September issue, the most anticipated issue of the year.

According to HuffPost's sources, she has not granted an interview for this issue — there was no interview for her Vogue September 2015 cover, either — and instead opted to pen the captions on photos of herself featured in the magazine. Read more...

More about Beyonce, Vogue, Culture, Celebrities, and Web Culture

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This country needs Jimmy Carter's impeccable cardigan collection now more than ever

Like many of you, I'm feeling nostalgic for certain parts of America's political past: checks and balances, leaders who could spell, and President Jimmy Carter.

Don't @me with all of your "But Jimmy Carter wasn't a good president" defenses. I took AP U.S. History too, and I don't care about long gas lines. Jimmy Carter is a kind soul with a superior intellect who cared deeply about America's humanitarian leadership in the world. Fact!

Plus, he had an impeccable cardigan collection — one the puts our current leadership to shame.

More about Nostalgia, Jimmy Carter, Sweaters, Culture, and Politics

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If you hurry, you can get 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for 99 cents on Amazon and finally bang out your summer reading list

Good news for those who've been procrastinating getting started on their summer reading lists: Amazon's giving you a fresh incentive with some generous Kindle Unlimited deals.

Right now, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for only 99 cents —OR— up to 40% off unlimited reading for either 12 or 24 months. That means that for forking over a buck, you have unlimited access to over a million books, (including thousands with Audible narration) and a giant selection of popular magazines that you can read or listen to any time on any device for three whole months.

And for those who're in it for the long haul, the 40% off discount will have a one-year subscription cost $80.32 (plus tax), while two years will cost $143.86. Read more...

More about Amazon, Kindle, Subscription, Mashable Shopping, and Shopping List

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Amazon has the Apple Airpods on sale for less than $145

It's rare, but it happens every once and a while. Amazon has a sale on a product from Apple! Right now, you can save $14 on the new Apple Airpods. These are the tech company's new wireless earbuds that seamlessly sync to any iOS device, Apple Watch, or Mac via Bluetooth.

Usually retailing for $159.00, Amazon is offering the Apple Airpods for just $144.99. It's not much of a savings, but a savings is still a savings. If you're looking for the best deal on these wireless earbuds from Apple, now is your chance!

The pair is really easy to set up and use, too. Just take them out of their handy carrying case, place each one in your ears, and the Apple Airpods will instantly connect to your device like magic. They deliver high quality and rich audio with dual beam-forming microphones to filter out any ambient noise in the background. The microphones also let you make phone calls and to use Siri with ease. Just double-tap either AirPod to activate the voice assistant. Read more...

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