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 People are boycotting companies that endorse Donald Trump
Activists tried to block Donald Trump with their votes — and now they’re trying to do it with their dollars SEE ALSO: You will be watched by Donald Trump “Our favorite stores, the stores that we are the loyal customers of, are profiting directly from a campaign that we consider to be hateful—that we consider to be on the backs of people of color, of women, and of LGBTQ people—and it’s not okay,” Coulter explained on MSNBC in October. Read more... More about Election 2016, Donald Trump, Watercooler, and Politics Read More »There's a vagina in 'Watch Dogs 2' and Ubisoft is removing it
Watch Dogs 2 has a problem beyond its broken multiplayer features, and it's completely NSFW. Watch Dogs 2 players have found at least one female non-player character model with a fully rendered vagina. Ubisoft has confirmed the genitalia's existence to Mashable and said it will be removed in a patch within the next few days. An email from a Ubi spokesperson reads: The vagina that somehow slipped through the cracks of development was first noticed by Neogaf user Goron2000, who saw it, took a screenshot of it with the in-game camera and was subsequently banned from PlayStation Network by Sony. Read more... More about Entertainment, Sony, Ubisoft, Gaming, and Watch Dogs 2 Read More »Edward Snowden rethinks that tweet about voting third party
Edward Snowden, like many Americans, wishes he hadn't put so much faith in pre-election polls. Snowden showed himself to be a believer in The New York Times on Oct. 21, when the Paper of Record had Hillary Clinton's odds of winning the White House at 93%. Feeling confident the U.S. wasn't about to elect Clinton's rival Donald Trump, he told his American followers now was as good a time as ever to vote third party.
Sombra has arrived in 'Overwatch'
At long last, the 23rd Overwatch hero has arrived. The stealthy hacker Sombra entered the Overwatch fray on Tuesday alongside the brand new Arcade mode and Arcade-only map Ecopoint: Antarctica. All three new features were revealed at BlizzCon Nov. 4 and were available to test out on the public test region since Nov. 7. Sombra is only the second hero to join the roster since the game's release in May, but her unique skill set makes her a much bigger disruptor to the game's meta than Ana, who came out in August. Sombra can hack enemies to disable their abilities as well as teleport and turn invisible for a short amount of time. She's built for stealth offensive support, with those advantages offset by low health and weak damage output. Read more... More about Blizzard Entertainment, Entertainment, Gaming, Esports, and Sombra Read More »Apple brings back its sexiest emoji
You complained and Apple heard: The peach butt emoji is back. When Apple released the first beta version of iOS 10.2, it made the peach emoji look more like a normal peach and less like a butt. The tweak was coupled with other changes, but tinkering with the peach butt ruined sexting and flirting for all.
Thankfully, after some serious internet backlash, Apple appears to have redesigned the emoji to to once again resemble a butt as first reported by The Next Web. Read more... Here's the peach butt emoji we all know and love included in iOS 10.More about Sex, Apple, Emoji, Peach Butt, and Watercooler Read More »Hundreds of Dakota Access pipeline protests are happening
Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline are taking to the streets in every U.S. state and in cities worldwide. Around 35,000 people are expected to join in 300 actions on Tuesday to demand that the Obama administration reject the final leg of the 1,170-mile pipeline. The controversial segment would run beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Native American activists and their allies say the pipeline crossing would threaten the region's water supplies and damage sacred sites. Read more... More about Oil Pipeline, Fossil Fuels, President Elect Donald Trump, Obama Administration, and Army Corps Of Engineers Read More »It’s time to stop blaming Facebook for fake news
These are things we know to be true:
Here’s what people are getting wrong:
There is no defense for fake news. I hate it and lose my mind when someone shares it on social media (do you know how many times Facebookers buried Abe Vigoda or re-reported the death of a celebrity who died five years ago?). But I don’t entirely blame Facebook. Facebook is a terrible media source that should be questioned at every published syllable. Read more... More about Election 2016, Social Media, Facebook, Tech, and Us Read More »'Street Fighter' champ Darryl 'Snake Eyez' Lewis: Have fun, then win
LOS ANGELES — Darryl "Snake Eyez" Lewis is considered one of the best Street Fighter players in America. He's the world's top-ranked Zangief and he participated in an esports documentary from Red Bull, the company that sponsored him last July. Most recently, he competed in the North American Capcom Pro Tour Finals on Saturday, the final step before the Capcom Cup — and it's $300,000 prize pool — in December. Mashable got a chance to talk to Lewis before his CPT finals matches about what it's like being signed by Red Bull, why Asia is dominating Street Fighter V and how to be a better player. Read more... More about Capcom Pro Cup, Capcom Pro Tour, Capcom, Snake Eyez, and Street Fighter V Read More »MashReads Podcast: 'The Mothers' is an intimate coming-of-age novel
Author Brit Bennett has a rule for writing: "Whenever I am writing something that makes me uncomfortable, I want to go into the direction of that discomfort,' she said. "The discomfort is not a reason not to write it. It’s a reason to write it.” It's this rule that has allowed Bennett to write her book The Mothers, a moving and beautiful novel that tackles the complex and painful themes of suicide, abortion, religion, family and loss. The novel begins with Nadia, a girl who, after the death of her mother when she is 17, has a fling with the son of a pastor, gets pregnant and decides to terminate the pregnancy. The story then follows Nadia throughout her life, exploring how the repercussions of that decision effect not only her but also her community and her future relationships. Read more... More about Podcast, Books, Mashreads Podcast, Mashreads, and Entertainment Read More »Snapchat inks deal with Foursquare for more precise geofilters
Snapchat will soon be able to show you ads that more precisely pinpoint where you are at any given time. Snap, the company behind the ephemeral messaging app, just reached a deal with Foursquare that will allow it to use the map-based social network's extensive library of location data to power its geofilters, the place-specific graphics that users can overlay on their photos. That means the company will be able to target ads within more clearly delineated areas, potentially opening the door to a new subset of advertisers like parks, farmers' markets and smaller stores. Snapchat currently offers users geofilters that correspond to nearby cities or landmarks in addition to the sponsored placements it sells to businesses. Read more... More about Foursquare, Snapchat, Business, and Advertising Read More »Your money after Trump: Stick to your plan
No outcome is ever truly assured, as everyone in America now knows. We can’t predict what our new president will do, or Congress, or the economy or the markets. All that uncertainty, though, means it’s a good time to review your investments to see if they still match your goals. If so, you probably shouldn’t change the way you invest. Ultimately, nothing will improve your financial security as much as nailing the basics so you prosper in any upturn and insulate yourself against the unforeseen. That means saving for retirement any way you can, paying off toxic debt, building up your emergency funds and investing in a diversified portfolio with an eye to long-term results, not short-term market swings. Read more... More about Work Life, Retirement, Personal Finance, and Business Read More »Columbia University suspends wrestling team for racist, sexist text messages
For the second time in as many weeks, a men's Ivy League athletic team has been suspended for making lewd comments. Columbia University suspended its wrestling team on Monday as officials investigated a series of text messages sent by team members. Sent on GroupMe and published by independent student news site BWOG, the messages include racist, sexist and homophobic language. They span from 2014 until a few days ago. Columbia has "zero tolerance in its athletics programs for the group messaging and texts sent by several members of the men’s varsity wrestling team," according to the New York Times. (Screengrabs of the disturbing messages were posted by Bwog, a student-run campus news site.) Read more... More about Sexual Assault, Racism, Sports, College, and Entertainment Read More »Japanese factory sees crazy demand for Trump masks
In the wake of the presidential election, factories are struggling to keep up with the demand for Trump masks. One factory in particular has gone from producing roughly 40 masks a day to over 300. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Election 2016, Donald Trump, Japan, and Trump Masks Read More »How ‘V for Vendetta’ turned a British comic into an American commentary
The British comic series, V for Vendetta, is an exploration of the forces of anarchism against fascism. The 2006 American film adaptation, however, is a much more specific and politically charged takedown of U.S. Patriot Act politics. But that's only the beginning. Our CineFix series, What's the Difference, vivaciously and voraciously vanquishes the veneer of various differences between the book and the film. (Verily.) Subscribe to CineFix for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/cinefix Read more... More about Mashable Video, V For Vendetta, Guy Fawkes, Whats The Difference, and Movies Read More »Bono honored with 'ridiculous' Man of the Year award
At an event known for honoring impressive women, the 26th annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards made sure to recognize a man: Bono. The U2 frontman was honored with the women's magazine's first Man of the Year award Monday night in Los Angeles. The award recognized the Irish singer's work on gender equality. In his acceptance speech Bono said, "There is nowhere on Earth women have the same opportunity as men...And unless we address this problem — both men and women together — our world will continue down this misogynistic, violent and impoverished path." Read more... More about Gender Equality, Sexism, Women Of The Year Awards, U2, and Bono Read More »Cops give brutally honest advice on how to avoid this internet scam
"If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is." The Bangor, Maine, Police Department gave some spot-on advice to local men who may fall victim to an internet scam that's been going around recently. According to the cops, the scam starts on Facebook when a person receives a friend request from a random attractive female. Once the request is approved, the woman engages in conversation and when things get sexual, the woman asks the man to "do things" in front of his camera. You can probably see where there is heading (especially if you saw that one episode of Black Mirror), but after the men engage in some sexy camera work, the woman then asks the man to send some cash, somewhere between $300 and $600, according to the police. Read more... More about Funny, Scam, Police, and Watercooler Read More »Nike’s self-lacing sneakers are on their way, but they ain’t cheap
After announcing "adaptive lacing" as its latest groundbreaking technology, Nike has detailed the price and release date for the HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Nike Mag, Fashion, Shoes, and Sneakers Read More »HTC's esports boss doesn't think VR is ready for pro gaming
LOS ANGELES — What does the future of esports hold? That was the main question considered at the esports-centric workshop hosted by Faceit and Intel on Wednesday. A roster of representatives from Twitch, Facebook, Cloud9 and more came together to discuss where they think esports is heading. One of the hottest topics of the night was virtual reality. Walter Wang, the esports boss at HTC, believes it will be some time before the new technology takes hold in the world of professional gaming. "We're really far away from esports in VR," he said. "There’s still no killer app and esports requires precision. The precision from the hardware isn’t there yet." Read more... More about Entertainment, Gaming, Intel, Faceit, and Htc Read More »Carrie Fisher slept with Harrison Ford during 'Star Wars' — and told us years ago
Carrie Fisher, a.k.a. Princess Leia, has rarely been shy about discussing her tumultuous private life. That continues with the upcoming publication of The Princess Diaries, Fisher's own journal entries from the Star Wars years that made her famous. In an extract to be published in the next People magazine, Fisher discusses the times she slept with co-star Harrison Ford, conducting a three-month affair on the set of the original Star Wars in 1976. Ford was 34 and married; Fisher was 19. "It was Han and Leia during the week and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend," Fisher told People. Her journal includes this nugget: "I looked over at Harrison. A hero’s face — a few strands of hair fell over his noble, slightly furrowed brow ... How could you ask such a shining specimen of a man to be satisfied with the likes of me?” Read more... More about Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Star Wars, and Entertainment Read More »Facebook might not detect fake news, but this Chrome extension will
As Facebook continues to roil over the idea that fake news on the social network could have had any effect on the U.S. presidential election, one Chrome extension is stepping in. The "B.S. Detector" Chrome extension, a new project released on Tuesday, claims to identify and flag fake news online. The extension identifies articles on Facebook that are from a "questionable source." The warning appears when users scroll over the article on a feed. The creator of the extension, Daniel Sieradski, said on Product Hunt that he compiled a list of well-known hoax sites that the extension flags (rather than developing an algorithm to warn users about individual articles). He said the sites run across the political spectrum. Users can submit requests to modify those settings on Github. Read more... More about Google, Chrome Extension, Facebook, and Business Read More »Smart 'spider' dress protects your precious personal space
If you crave personal space but have trouble expressing it, there's a dress out there that sets physical boundaries for you. Fashion tech designer Anouk Wipprecht created the "Spider Dress," a garment that features claw-like plastic arms which react when someone comes close to the wearer. On her website, Wipprecht describes the dress as a combination of robotics and design. It also works well with your personal bubble. Her invention is both beautiful and terrifying, which is exactly what you'd want in a dress meant to protect personal space. Richard Branson is bringing us the next supersonic passenger aircraft
Sir Richard Branson is set to reveal plans that could change the travel game as we know it. On Tuesday, the founder of Virgin Group is joining forces with Boom — an aircraft production startup — to unveil the XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator, a prototype supersonic passenger airliner. The aircraft will reportedly provide 3.5-hour flights between New York and London for the "affordable" price of $5,000. Creating affordable supersonic flight has been on Branson's radar since the turbojet-powered Concorde retired back in 2003. "I have long been passionate about aerospace innovation and the development of high-speed commercial flights. As an innovator in the space, Virgin Galactic’s decision to work with Boom was an easy one," Branson said in a press release. "We’re excited to have an option on Boom’s first 10 airframes. Through Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company, we will provide engineering and manufacturing services, along with flight test support and operations as part of our shared ambitions." Read more... More about Prototype, Concorde, Tech, World, and Conversations Read More »'Sing' for your Thanksgiving dessert: AMC is screening the musical for free
LOS ANGELES — For those who can't wait until Christmas to Sing, there'll be a hot mic waiting right after Thanksgiving. AMC Theatres is screening the musical 'toon for free on Saturday, Nov. 26, a full month before its nationwide release on Dec. 21. But set an alarm: you'll have to get in line early. Tickets will be handed out to the first 200 moviegoers at 200 select AMC Theatres locations nationwide, the cinema chain announced Tuesday. The screening starts at 10 a.m., tickets are first-come, first-served and you have to be in line to get one. Read more... More about Amc Theatres, Universal, Sing, Movies, and Entertainment Read More »Google translations get a major boost from artificial intelligence
Google just made a major upgrade to its Translate app. The company is now using a new technology called neural machine translation — which aims to make computer-generated translations more similar to those done by humans — to power its translations in seven new languages. Google says the update should make translations in those languages much more accurate and easier to understand. The company previously rolled out this technology for Chinese to English translations in September. Now, Google is using the same technology to power translations to and from English in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Turkish. These languages, along with Chinese, make up more than a third of all translations on Google Translate, the company says. Read more... More about Artificial Intelligence, Google Translate, Google, Apps And Software, and Tech Read More »Miss Universe contestant responds to accusations of racism
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following article contains images of deceased persons. A former Miss Australia has defended herself on Facebook, after a trailer for a TV series included quotes from the beauty queen that were deemed racist by many viewers. Renae Ayris, who placed 4th in the Miss Universe contest in 2012, is one of five Australia celebrities to appear on a new season of First Contact. This is a controversial Blackfella Films-produced miniseries that begins Nov 29, in which Australians with little knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures challenge their perceptions and prejudice. Read more... More about Indigenous, Australia, Racism, First Contact, and Sbs Read More »Kids riding on trains for the video views aren't thrilling cops
Many of us did dumb stuff while we were young. Such is the folly of youth. But this so-called "gang" is gaining a bunch of attention for posting their dumb stuff online. They've called themselves the Sky High Idiots, and they've been busy riding on the backs and roofs of trains in Melbourne, Australia, just for the thrills. The group are mostly masked to hide their identities, sometimes filming riding in nothing but their underwear. Despite three people having reportedly died doing the same thing in the past four years, the group won't be stopping anytime soon. Read more... More about Sky High Idiots, Trains, Video, Australia, and Watercooler Read More »This surreal image of Saturn is not a painting
Saturn is perhaps the most photogenic planet in our solar system, and a new photo taken by the Cassini spacecraft shows the world off in a big way. Bands of clouds look like they were painted on the planet in the new photo, which shows Saturn's north pole dominated by the planet's hexagonal jet stream surrounding the "hurricane-like storm" at the top of the world, NASA said in a statement. The photo, taken by Cassini on Sept. 5, shows the planet as it looks from about 890,000 miles aways. "Each latitudinal band represents air flowing at different speeds, and clouds at different heights, compared to neighboring bands," NASA said in the statement. "Where they meet and flow past each other, the bands' interactions produce many eddies and swirls." Read more... More about Space Photos, Cassini, Saturn, Nasa, and Science Read More »Twitter imagines Trump narrating 'Planet Earth' for the lulz
"Beautiful river. Beautiful. Water coming out of its gulf. Water coming out of its whatever." It's not hard to imagine President-elect Donald Trump saying that ... if he was narrating a nature documentary in a parallel universe. That musing about the Mississippi River and other hilarious tidbits have emerged from #TrumpNarratesPlanetEarth, perhaps the only funny thing after his victory at the polls. Twitter users have taken Trump's voice and imagined him narrating the actions of birds and other animals for the documentary series Planet Earth. Read more... More about Planet Earth, Donald Trump, and World Read More »This store is getting trolled hard over its Christmas ad
The Sainsbury's 2016 Christmas advert, with its cheery animation and the sweet singing voice of James Corden, has gone down a storm since it was released on Sunday. But not everyone is a fan. The advert, which at the time of writing has well over 2 million views on YouTube, centres around a man struggling to juggle work, shopping and family time at Christmas. At the end of the advert, the main character clones himself so he's able to spend more time with his loved ones, while in the background Corden sings: Read more... More about Christmas Ad, Uk, Twitter, Sainsburys, and Christmas Read More »NYC taxi driver pin-up calendar will make you want to hail a cab immediately
Ah, New York City taxi drivers. They're our best friends when we're drunk, and our worst enemies when we're sitting in traffic running late for work. Because Uber is creating less of a demand for yellow taxi drivers, a group of them have turned to a side job: modeling. That's right – the 2017 NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar is here, featuring photos of real New York cab drivers satirizing pin-up photoshoots. "The original idea came from a tongue-in-cheek calendar we made of my oldest brother as a Christmas gift to his wife/our sister-in-law back in 2012," Philip Kirkman, one half of the power couple who created the calendar, wrote in an email to Mashable. The other half is his wife Shannon Kirkman. Read more... More about Models, Photoshoot, Photography, Taxi Driver, and Calendar Read More »'The Flash' star Keiynan Lonsdale wants Barry and Wally to be a speedy team too
Fans of DC Comics know just how important the relationship between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) is for both characters, and this week's episode of The Flash brings Wally one step closer to embracing his superhero destiny. In The Flash comics, Wally originally served as Barry's sidekick, Kid Flash, before becoming his successor. He took over Barry's mantle as The Flash for over 20 years following Barry's death during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, which took the hero out of DC circulation from 1985 to 2008. In Season 3 of The Flash, Barry has been struggling to deal with the repercussions of Flashpoint, an alternate timeline he created in which his parents were still alive and Wally was a speedster known as Kid Flash. Read more... More about Grant Gustin, Keiynan Lonsdale, The Flash, Entertainment, and Tv Read More »Katie Ledecky casually waits 35 seconds for everyone else to finish college race
Katie Ledecky won four gold medals and set two world records in Rio this summer, but all she wanted was to be a college kid. The Stanford University freshman passed up millions in potential endorsement deals by choosing not to go pro, instead honoring her commitment to Stanford. Ledecky wanted the college experience — going to class, swimming with her friends, etc. But as Ledecky found out on Saturday, if you're an Olympic gold medalist swimming at the college level, part of that experience involves absolutely demolishing the competition. More about Ncaa, Rio 2016, Olympics, Swimming, and Stanford Read More »Satire or reality? Neo-Nazis declare New Balance 'official shoes of white people'
The line between parody and reality is a difficult one to define in these darkly farcical modern times, which so often feel like a trip through the wrong looking glass. Our latest exhibit: A Neo-Nazi blog declaring New Balance the "official shoes of white people." Yes, that's right — the sneakers that were once satirically associated with mainstream Caucasian sartorial sensibilities have officially been claimed. By white supremacists. When does this surreal bad trip end again? We'll get to the details soon, but first a brief look back. Remember the blog Stuff White People Like? Read more... More about Politics, Business, Sports, and Entertainment Read More »Guess which gender is more likely to be verified on Twitter? We'll wait.
The blue checkmark of a verified account has become a marker of legitimacy on Twitter. Yet, like other invented status symbols, it seems men are more likely to have one. It's difficult to determine just how many verified men there are versus women on the site — Twitter does not request gender during signup or the verification process. But data pulled for Mashable suggests men are doing remarkably better: Analysis by U.S. social analysis firm Brandwatch suggests far more men than women have been verified in Australia and the U.S. More about Trolling, Harassment, Verification, Gender Bias, and Women Read More »Grumpy man interrupts TV interview to rant about meddling young people
It's difficult to be heard in an ever-changing modern world. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. On national television. That was the case in Queensland, Australia on Tuesday, when an elderly man took his concerns about the damned pesky youth straight to the top...of a media scrum. His beloved beach on in Surfer's Paradise was being fenced off to make way for schoolies kids, A.K.A. the Aussie equivalent of the legion of public nuisances known as spring breakers. The media were interviewing a Mark Reaburn, chair of Gold Coast Schoolies Advisory Group, when the passing local man unleashed his (at times indecipherable) wrath. Read more... More about 7 News, Australia, Queensland, Schoolies, and Watercooler Read More »Trump’s America will also be a new golden age of activism
Barely a week has passed since the election of Donald J. Trump — and liberals are preparing for the fight of their lives. To defeat what they consider a radical presidential agenda without parallel in modern American history, they've already begun donating to favorite causes, coordinating protests and volunteering at an unprecedented level. Nonprofits and advocacy organizations, including the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League and Planned Parenthood, have reported a remarkable surge in financial contributions. However bleak the prospect, taking on a radical Trump presidency could galvanize a new generation of grassroots activists whose influence would be felt for decades. If organizers succeed, it could herald a golden age of civic involvement on the left unlike anything since the 1960s, when people took to the streets en masse in support of civil rights and in protest of the Vietnam War. Read more... More about U.S., Social Good, Activism, Donald Trump, and Politics Read More »'Game of Thrones' parody is out to shame your water bottle use
Recycling activism just got a GoT spin. 'Shame or Glory' is a parody Game of Thrones advertisement from the people at SodaStream. Using that scene from the HBO show, an unassuming consumer is paraded through the streets, shamed for the environmental crime of buying plastic-bottled fizzy water. According to a statement from SodaStream, over half of Australians don't even attempt to recycle their plastic bottles. What's up with that? Even The Mountain makes an appearance. And anything pioneered by that beautiful tower of goodness gets a solid "yes" from us. Can you hear the dolphins cry? Airline named the best in the world 4 years in a row is also the funniest
New Zealand is a place that's best known for Lord of the Rings and being really good at rugby, but they can sure cobble together a world-class airline too. Air New Zealand has been named the world's best airline by airlineratings.com at the site's Airline Excellence Awards. It's the fourth time in row the Kiwis have taken out the prize. The website awarded the airline thanks to its strong financial performance, in-flight innovations, operational safety, its stance on the environment and motivation of its staff. An Air New Zealand 787-9 Dreamliner. Image: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images Read more... Thousands of dead fish fill Long Island canal
It was hard not to miss — and smell — thousands of dead fish in a Long Island canal this week. Huge numbers of bunker fish washed up in the Shinnecock Canal in the Hamptons on the far east side of the New York island Monday morning. They appear to have died of hypoxia, or oxygen starvation. As a local news report explained, the fish were likely chased by other fish and became trapped in the small, overfilled area. They then ran out of oxygen and died - something that also happened in New Jersey earlier this year. Later on Monday, once the locks were opened, the dead fish were released into the bay. Read more... More about Hypoxia, Long Island, Fish, Watercooler, and Us Read More »'Overwatch' heroes receive big changes with Sombra release
Along with the arrival of Sombra in Overwatch, several heroes received some potentially game-changing tweaks in Tuesday's patch. Blizzard released the patch notes shortly after the update went live, detailing the release of Sombra, the new Arcade mode and Arcade-only map Ecopoint: Antarctica, minor bug fixes and changes to hero balancing. The patch is live for players in all regions and on all platforms. Outside of the new features, little tweaks and hero changes, the only notable change is leveling speed. Experience required to reach levels 14-100 have been reduced slightly, and after 100, it's a constant 20,000 XP. This means levels 101-123 won't move just as quickly as levels 1-23 like before. Read more... More about Esports, Gaming, Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch, and Entertainment Read More »Tony Romo gets emotional in speech about losing starting job to Dak Prescott
Starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is quite possibly the most glamorous position in all of American sports. It's not a gig you'd expect someone to give up without a fight. But longtime Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo did just that Tuesday — to an NFL rookie, no less — with a speech that left the sports world gasping for superlatives. We'll get to the speech soon. But first let's set the stage. The Cowboys drafted Dak Prescott out of Mississippi State in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was expected to study under Romo for a couple years, then perhaps take over the starting gig when he was good and ready. Read more... More about Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys, Nfl, Sports, and Entertainment Read More »Microsoft's CEO wants bots and AI in every home
While his feet may have been in Sydney, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's head was firmly in the clouds. Or rather, his own cloud — the company's cloud computing service Azure. In Australia for a Microsoft Developers conference, Nadella laid out his main theories for the digital future: Mobile-first and cloud-first. And bots. Did we mention bots? "We have a distinctive point of view when we say 'mobile first,'" he said. "It's not about the mobility of any single device, it's the mobility of the human experience across all the computing in our lives. Read more... More about Openai, Elon Musk, Artificial Intelligence, Satya Nadella, and Cloud Computing Read More »Apple had to buy many of its old products for its pricey design book
Apple's book — yes, book — Designed by Apple in California, which looks back at 20 years of Apple's product design, goes on sale on Nov. 16. And yes, it's expensive ($300 for the large copy and $200 for the small copy) just like Apple's devices. It's strange for Apple to release a book that, well, celebrates itself. As soon as it was announced, people jumped on social media to declare how Apple's lost its way. That the book shows the company has taken its eye off the ball. Steve Jobs would never have released a book! Except maybe Jobs would have. More about Book, Design, Apple, Tech, and Gadgets Read More »Trump gets ghosted by New Zealand PM because earthquakes will do that
Sitting by the phone waiting for your boo to call is a situation we can all relate to. Now replace yourself with the New Zealand prime minister, and replace your boo with president-elect Donald Trump. But in this scenario, your booty call is actually a political obligation that you can't fulfil because an earthquake devastated your South Island. Still with us? Prime Minster John Key appeared on morning television Tuesday, saying that Trump had tried to call him, either to return Key's earlier congratulatory phone call or to offer his support after earthquakes rocked the upper South Island region this week. Read more... More about John Key, Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth Ii, The Queen, and New Zealand Read More »How a Kiwi designer made a Maori-inspired premiere gown for 'Moana' star
Moana will feature Disney's first Polynesian princess, so you'd hope the film remains true to the cultures of Polynesia, both on and off the screen. For the premiere, Kiwi fashion designer Kiri Nathan adhered to Kawa and Tikanga (protocols of Māori customs and ethics) when creating a dress for the voice actor playing Moana, Auli’i Cravalho. A cobalt blue gown, it was inspired by the waves of the ocean and elements from Polynesian traditional design. In this video, Nathan and Cravalho explain each intricate design detail — an appropriate and sartorially flawless homage to Māori culture. Google's new website lets you play with its experimental AI projects
Google is letting users peek into some of its most experimental artificial intelligence projects. The company unveiled a new website Tuesday called A.I. Experiments that showcases Google's artificial intelligence research through web apps that anyone can test out. The projects include a game that guesses what you're drawing, a camera app that recognizes objects you put in front of it and a music app that plays "duets" with you. SEE ALSO: 7 reasons Google’s Assistant stomps Siri Google says the goal of the site is to make some of its machine learning technology more accessible to people who are interested in artificial intelligence but don't have the technical know-how to parse academic papers, where this type of research is typically published. Read more... More about Artificial Intelligence, Google, Apps And Software, Tech, and Apps Software Read More »Brush up on your 'Harry Potter' trivia before 'Fantastic Beasts'
This edition of What's the Difference looks at the differences between the Harry Potter movies and books. What's better than this? Maybe some chocolate frogs or Bertie Bott's jelly beans? Subscribe to CineFix for more videos. I'm gonna push through: Teacher's chant is inspiring tomorrow's leaders
The future of the United States, and the world, is in safe hands with teachers just like Jasmyn Wright around. Just a day after Donald Trump was announced U.S. president-elect, the Frederick Douglass Elementary school in Philadelphia educator recorded her class chanting an ode to black excellence and an inspiring call to "push through." The teacher told Huffington Post that "pushing through" means conquering your fear and getting through adversity. "Some things in life are inevitable, and you can't control them. However, you have control over your response and reaction to those situations. "Anybody, any religion, any race, any age, any disability, any obstacle, can push through. We are limitless," she said. Read more... More about Kids, Chant, School, and Watercooler Read More »Indiegogo's new platform lets anyone become a venture capitalist
Wannabe venture capitalists who think they have the shrewd business acumen to predict startup success now have a chance to test those skills online. A new platform within Indiegogo lets anyone buy a stake in a fledgling company and earn returns. The fundraiser site is the first major company of its kind to launch an equity crowdfunding arm after a federal rule change opened the door for small-time private investors earlier this year. SEE ALSO: SEC allows regular Americans to become venture capitalists, no Silicon Valley cred required The new regulation, which took effect in May, lets amateur backers spend up to a couple thousand dollars per year bankrolling private companies. These startups, in turn, can raise up to $1 million through this channel. Read more... More about Indiegogo and Business Read More »Bernie slams Trump during surprise speech at Dakota Access Pipeline protest
Sen. Bernie Sanders joined a rally in front of the White House on Tuesday night to speak out against the Dakota Access Pipeline project and he had a message for the new president-elect. Sanders said Donald Trump "wants this country to become more dependent on fossil fuels." "What we have to tell Mr. Trump and everybody else: We are not going silently into the night," he said. "The stakes are too high for the future of this planet." As part of an unannounced stop at the rally that started earlier in the day at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office, Sanders spoke in front of the crowd and demanded the crude oil pipeline not be built. Read more... More about Standing Rock, Water Rights, Bernie Sanders, Protesters, and Dapl Read More »Pizza delivered by drone? It's been done for real in New Zealand
Look, we'll admit we had our doubts about the wonderfully convenient idea of drone pizza deliveries. But Domino's Pizza says it's done it for real this time. The chain said it made its first commercial delivery in New Zealand to an actual, real human customer on Wednesday at 11:19 a.m. local time. And egads! The drone delivery was even approved by the country's civil aviation authority. The order was for a peri-peri chicken pizza and chicken and cranberry pizza (odd choice, but OK), and delivered to a customer in the suburb of Whangaparaoa, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Auckland. Read more... More about Drones, Drone Delivery, Drone, Pizza, and Domino S Pizza Read More »Cane toad sausages are a thing that exists because Australia
Kids learn which foods are good for you and which are deadly from their parents. Some animals however, have to go through a process of trial and error when it comes to introduced critters. That's why a group of scientists are working to teach native Australian wildlife to stop eating fatal, non-native cane toads — with cane toad sausages. Yum. The approach is known as "taste aversion conservation" and aims to teach native meat-eating animals like quolls and goanas not to eat yucky cane toads, by giving them small samples of the slimey creature. Read more... More about Quoll, Western Australia, Conservation, Cane Toads, and Watercooler Read More »The tax man knows if you're being dodgy about declaring Airbnb biz
Even the taxman has the internet, so it's best not to hide all that cash you earned on Airbnb. To help hosts figure out the confusing world of taxation, Airbnb has teamed up with accountanting firm H&R Block in Australia. As well as discounted services, H&R Block will offer users of the home and room rental service educational materials and tips for ensuring their taxes are done right. Announced in November, and first reported by Fairfax Media Monday, the Australian program follows a similar initiative in the U.S. that began in January. More about Airbnb, Tax, H R Block, Australia, and Tech Read More »Daring magpie rescue narrated by local Aussie hero
Nigel Williamson of Nigel's Animal Rescue in Victoria, Australia is the saviour of injured and trapped wildlife, offering a helping hand wherever he's needed. One such rescue he uploaded to Facebook Wednesday is so lovely it might make you cry. After several unanswered calls to "wildlife people" for help, he posted, Williamson was called in to free a trapped magpie. As Williamson approaches the bird, which appears to be jammed in the guttering of a house, he reflects with an inimitable Australian twang, "That's not a good place for you to be matey, no it's not." In another video, Williamson rescues a score of baby ducks from a drainage system. And all because he is the greatest human to ever roam this big blue spec suspended in space. Read more... More about Animal Rescue, Magpie, Watercooler, Australia, and Videos Read More »Quik-E-Mart owner casually fights off thief with baseball bat
An everyday hero, known only as Denise, fought off a lump-of-wood wielding thief with her own baseball bat Tuesday. Denise was working at the Coorparoo Quik-e-mart in Brisbane, Australia when the would-be armed robber marched into the store. He didn't get far before she leapt into action. In an interview with 7 News Brisbane, Denise told the reporter the perpetrator "sort of gave it to me, I just gave it to him." The business owner managed to hit the man twice, she reflected, adding that the criminal, who is still wanted by police, "will be feeling it tonight." The thief also hit her several times before fleeing the scene, leaving Denise with a bruise. Read more... More about Quik E Mart, Self Defense, Robbery, Queensland, and Watercooler Read More »Government's new anti-refugee campaign gets a dank makeover
Like that annoying kid who'd always challenge you to an arm wrestle at school, the Australian government loves talking about how strong it is. Usually in three word slogans. In this case, four. It seems like the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now wants everyone to know about what appears to his latest fave slogan: "Strong Defence. Secure Borders." Big boys. Big toys. And no refugees allowed. Sans comment from the Malc, the tough-talking campaign image appeared on Turnbull's Twitter account on Wednesday, unintentionally sparking a new era of government-related dank memes. More about Refugee Crisis, Politics, Malcolm Turnbull, Australia, and Watercooler Read More »India's futile attempt to go cashless is a reality check for our dream epayments future
One thing that's become evident from India’s surprise move to invalidate its most circulated currency bills is just how utterly unready the country is for epayments. Hundreds of millions of Indians are queuing outside banks and automatic teller machines with dim hopes of actually getting some cash. There isn't enough of it, they know, but no better alternatives are there for them. Though epayments solutions, especially mobile wallets such as Paytm and Freecharge have existed in India for a while — and are seeing a booming growth in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement last Tuesday to fight corruption by invalidating the most widely circulated currency bills in the country — Indians are learning it the hard way that epayments are currently a very poor substitute for cash. Read more... More about Business, Indians, Money, India, and Tech Read More »China, India would pick up America's clean energy slack under Trump
China and India stand to benefit if America's progress on clean energy slips under President-elect Donald Trump, energy experts say. Trump has vowed to gut U.S. climate policies that favor wind, solar and other lower-emissions technologies and instead revive the struggling coal sector. But the world's energy market is moving in the opposite direction, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday in its annual World Energy Outlook. Clean energy is projected to grow exponentially in the next two decades as countries work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change while expanding access to electricity. The shift will create millions more jobs and spur trillions of dollars in annual investment, the Paris-based IEA said. Read more... More about Cop22, Coal Power Plant, Electric Vehicles, Wind Power, and Solar Power Read More »The ugly face of India's demonetization: Dozens of deaths
India’s surprise announcement last week about invalidation of the country’s most circulated cash is quickly becoming more than just inconvenience for many. Nearly three dozen people have died in the aftermath of India’s bold, surprising move to demonetize its Rs 500 ($7.5) and Rs 1,000 ($15) currency bills overnight last week. Some of these people have reportedly died standing in the long snaking queues, while many others died because hospitals, pharmacy shops, and ambulances refused to offer services in exchange of old notes. Read more... More about Indians, Money, India, and World Read More »If 'Harry Potter' characters had modern day technology
LONDON — As the vast majority of the Harry Potter books take place in the deepest, darkest '90s, the characters don't even have computers or mobile phones, let alone the internet. It's a good job they can do magic, in fact, otherwise they'd have literally no way of keeping themselves entertained. I recently re-read the Harry Potter books, and — aside from Dudley's multiple televisions and Arthur Weasley's fascination with electricity — it struck me just how tech-free the stories are compared to today's society. Which got me thinking: what would J.K. Rowling's world have looked like if everyone did have social media and the internet? Read more... More about Jk Rowling, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Uk, and Facebook Read More »How this spoof British TV reporter's rant went viral on alt-right media
A post-U.S. election satirical video by "Jonathan Pie" (a.k.a. British comedian Tom Walker), which went viral on social media over the past week, has been widely covered by right-wing outlets as proof that their view of what liberals think about them is correct. Outlets like Breitbart, Chicks on the Right, Herald Sun, Right Wing News and conservative blog Legal Insurrection have all shared the video, which blames Donald Trump's victory on the failure of the left. Tom Walker's character is a left-wing fictional television reporter who has become an internet sensation for his "off-air", mouth-fouled tirades against the hypocrisy of British politics and media. Read more... More about President Trump, Breitbart, Trump, Jonathan Pie, and Social Media Read More »Snapchat quietly files for huge IPO, reports say
Snap, the company behind social media phenomenon Snapchat, has secretly filed for an initial public offering, multiple reports say. According to Bloomberg, Snap will seek to raise as much as $4 billion an the IPO could value the company anywhere from $25 billion to $35 billion. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters are more conservative, saying the valuation range is $20 billion to $25 billion. The IPO could happen as early as March 2017, Reuters claims. All outlets quote sources familiar with the matter. SEE ALSO: Snap's Spectacles are already up on eBay While not as big as Alibaba's monster initial public offering in 2014, in which the company raised $21.8 billion, the IPO — if it goes through as planned — would still be one of the largest in recent U.S. history. Read more... More about Ipo, Snapchat, Business, Gadgets, and Apps Software Read More »Singapore now has Wi-Fi enabled bins, but you'll have to deal with ads if you log on
Singapore's main downtown shopping street, Orchard Road, now has high-tech trash bins with Wi-Fi. You may recognise the solar-powered trash-compacting bins from the Massachusetts-based maker Bigbelly — the company has been selling them for the past decade — and the bins are in 45 cities around the world. However, the Wi-Fi capability is a relatively new add-on for shoppers on Orchard Road. They'll now be able to log onto ten different bins along a 500m (1,640 ft) stretch. Connectivity is provided by local phone company StarHub. Inexplicably, it's only available between 11am and 9pm each day, according to the Straits Times. Read more... More about Connectivity, Free Wi Fi, Bigbelly, Singapore, and Business Read More »Come all ye weary Hufflepuffs, Eddie Redmayne has inspiring words for you
For the house that values noble traits like hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty, Hufflepuff undeniably has always something of a bad rap. Yet many of us know a Hufflepuff, love a Hufflepuff, or even ARE a Hufflepuff. And Eddie Redmayne is here to say, that's OK. Turns out the British actor is not only a Hufflepuff, but a proud one, too. In a powerful PSA produced by MTV, the Fantastic Beasts star talks about the goodness of the Badgers that is so often undervalued. "At the end of the day we're going to do the right thing, and not because of the glory, but for the greater good," he declares in an emotional appeal that will make Hufflepuffs everywhere proud to be the nice guys. Read more... More about Mtv, Uk, Fantastic Beasts, Eddie Redmayne, and Hufflepuff House Read More »Muslim Indonesians tweet support for beleaguered Christian politician Ahok
Indonesians are furiously debating charges of blasphemy against Jakarta governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as "Ahok." The Christian governor, who's also minority Ethnic Chinese, is being accused of insulting the Koran, after a September speech where he reportedly said Islamic campaigners were wrongly quoting a Koranic verse to discourage voters from supporting him. He apologised later, but that didn't stop 100,000 incensed protesters from taking to the streets this month in a demonstration that turned violent. One person died and seven were injured in clashes with the police, Jakarta authorities said. Read more... More about Christians, Muslim, Indonesia, Ahok, and World Read More »Melania Trump's racy photos land Indian minister in soup
An Indian state education minister has come clean after accusations last week that he might have been watching porn on his phone at a public event. Cops say the minister was only checking out Melania Trump's photos. Karnataka education minister, Tanveer Sait, was accused last week of staring at what many could summon as pornographic photographs at Tipu Jayanti event in Raichur on Nov. 10. It turns out, Sait was only checking out pictures of to be First Lady of the United States. Footage of Sait staring at his screen were broadcast on national TV. Read more... More about Melania Trump, India, and Watercooler Read More »The 'word of the year' sums up 2016
The annual Oxford Dictionaries "word of the year" can reveal a lot about the world we live in. And this year it's very telling. Last year a "pictograph" was chosen for the first time ever. A "face with tears of joy emoji" 😂 which best represented "the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015. This year the word is "post-truth". Defined as an adjective "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief". Over the course of 2016, mentions of the word snowballed in the context of Brexit and the US presidential election. Read more... More about Oxford Dictionaries, Word, Post Truth, and World Read More »Someone created @tinycarebot to make Twitter a healthier place for you
LONDON — In the digital age, it can be truly difficult to disconnect from social media. Whether for work or play, frequent engagement with the online sphere has become a near necessity to navigate the modern world. And sometimes, that necessity can turn into a harmful habit that causes us to neglect our own self-care. Turns out, there's a bot for that. Twitter citizen @jonnysun recognized these unhealthy tendencies in himself, and so created a bot that sends gentle nudges like "please remember to look up from your screen" and "breathe deeply please." Read more... More about Bots, Social Media, Mental Health, Self Care, and Twitter Moments Read More »Alt-right accounts suspended after Twitter anti-troll announcement
Twitter has suspended a number of accounts linked with the alt-right movement after announcing new features and policy changes in a bid to combat abuse on the platform. The alt-right is a loosely defined group of right-wingers who reject mainstream conservatism. Among the accounts that were suspended is that of Richard Spencer, head of the National Policy Institute think tank. Spencer, who had a verified account on Twitter (@RichardBSpencer), told The Daily Caller News Foundation: "This is a corporate Stalinism". Read more... More about Troll, Alt Right, Twitter, and Tech Read More »The Touch Bar MacBook Pro teardown: Nearly impossible to repair
Remember when you could open up your MacBook Pro yourself and change the disk, add more RAM or replace the battery? Those days are long gone. The folks at iFixit have torn down the 13.3-inch, Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro, and found out that the device is extremely hard to repair on your own. Besides being full of proprietary pentalobe screws, the new MacBook Pro has a battery that's glued to the case, and its processor, RAM and SSD are soldered to the logic board. Add to that the Touch Bar, which further complicates repairs, and you basically have no reason to ever open this MacBook Pro. The only thing you can hope to replace on your own is the trackpad, which appears to be the same as on the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro (also known as the Escape Edition, as it has a dedicated Escape key), and is removable without prying out the battery first. Read more... More about Teardown, Touch Bar, Macbook Pro, Tech, and Gadgets Read More »There will be three new iPhones in 2017, report claims
Apple will release three variants of its iPhone next year according to a report from the (usually reliable) analytics company KGI Securities. One of the new iPhones will have a 5.5-inch OLED screen, the report (caught by 9to5Mac) says, while the other two will have LCD displays, just like the current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The dual camera will only be offered on the larger, 5.5-inch models, while the 4.7-inch iPhone will have a single camera. The report doesn't say much about current rumors of a radically new, bezel-less iPhone. However, KGI has reported on multiple occasions that Apple will likely switch the glass-and-metal iPhone frame with an all-glass design next year. Read more... More about Oled, Rumor, Iphone 8, Iphone, and Tech Read More »Long Island canal covered by thousands of dead fish
Tens of thousands of fish have died after seemingly suffocating inside a canal in Hampton Bays, New York. The bunker fish were likely chased there by predators and got stuck after the canal gates closed. Their large number drained the oxygen in the water. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Real Time Video, New York, Fish, and Hypoxia Read More »Mark Zuckerberg's Pinterest account hacked again
For all the things tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has accomplished over the years, properly handling his personal Pinterest account isn’t one of them. For the second time this year, Mark Zuckerberg’s Pinterest account has been hacked. On Tuesday, notorious hacker group OurMine managed to get hold of Zuck’s account, and changed his bio with their signature tagline "Don’t worry, we are just testing your security." The account has been restored. OurMine has been at the limelight for hacking accounts of several top executives. In June, OurMine had claimed responsibility of hacking Quora profile of Google CEO Sundar Pichai. In the past few months, the ground also managed to breach the security of news outlets TechCrunch, BuzzFeed and Variety. Read more... More about Pinterest, Mark Zuckerberg, Ourmine, Security, and Tech Read More »The power of public shaming in Trump's America
As it turns out, the voice of the people can still, on occasion, upend the government. It's how a civic official in Clay County, West Virginia lost her job after she called Michelle Obama an "ape in heels" on a Facebook post, which Clay County's mayor commented on, approvingly. The post garnered widespread attention over the weekend after screenshots of the post were circulated on the internet. By Monday, the official was no longer employed by the county. It is unclear if she resigned or was fired. By Monday evening, the mayor of Clay County had resigned. The officials join the ranks of other infamous people who have dealt with the swift and severe consequences of the internet's patented brand of public shaming. Read more... More about Election 2016, Donald Trump, and Business Read More »How Trump won an election helped by America's anti-tech luddites
How'd Donald Trump win the White House? It’s a vexing question with a least a half a dozen good explanations. Among them: a nationalist bent, fear of change, the destruction of the rust belt, blue-collar flight to the right—each one played a substantial role. As did technology. It's supposed to be our magic carpet to a new existence. Automation, globalization, arm-chair shopping, ready-access to the history of the world and an unprecedented tap into the roiling white-water rapids of our shared public consciousness. How could you not understand your fellow humans as so many of them reveal their deepest and most personal concerns online so regularly? Read more... More about Election 2016, Presidential Elections, Election, Trump, and President Elect Donald Trump Read More »Twitter responds to a dad's desperate plea to help his autistic son
LONDON — A desperate dad has launched a Twitter campaign to find a particular model of cup for his autistic son that he says "keeps him alive." The hashtag #CupForBen has since gone viral as the internet races to find a cup that has been out of production for a decade now. Marc Carter's 14-year-old son Ben has refused to drink from anything other than a very specific Tommee Tippee cup since the age of 2.
Twitter's new abuse policy won't get rid of all my trolls, but it'll finally do something
Twitter: the world's greatest platform for breaking news, biting commentary and @Deplorable eggs telling you that you're going to burn in hell. For years, I and tens of thousands of users on Twitter have struggled to handle erratic, sometimes incessant abuse by trolls. They come in a variety of shapes and forms from pictures of fetuses to pleas to have me fired. After years of delay and non-action, Twitter introduced brand new features on Tuesday morning that will give victims more power over their trolls (without making them disappear completely) and made big bold promises to be more sensitive to abuse (without explaining how that would happen). Read more... More about Online Abuse, Twitter Feuds, Twitter, and Watercooler Read More »What the ACLU and NAACP think of Facebook's 'ethnic affinity' marketing
When ProPublica revealed that Facebook allowed advertisers to target or exclude users by their "ethnic affinity," the social network at first doubled down on defending the practice. "We are committed to providing people with quality ad experiences, which includes helping people see messages that are both relevant to the cultural communities they are interested in and have content that reflects or represents their communities," Facebook said at the time. But the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other advocacy groups were already questioning the legality of the advertising offering long before the public became aware. Conversations surrounding the use of the feature began last spring, advocates said. Facebook was sued over the feature last week. Read more... More about Aclu, Discrimination, Online Advertising, Advertising, and Facebook Read More »Trucks move entire town to make way for mine in Sweden
A small mining town in Sweden was at the wrong place at the wrong time – its buildings were standing in the way of an expanding iron ore mine. Using specially-fitted Scania trucks, an entire neighborhood of around 30 houses was picked up and towed to a nearby town. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Transport Transportation, Mine, Sweden, and Truck Read More »Test your Harry Potter knowledge before 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' this weekend
Mashed together, we call it "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Hallows." Could be a wicked spin-off, eh? Subscribe to CineFix for more videos. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Jk Rowling Read More »Jimmy Fallon loves 'Gilmore Girls' and names his top four characters
Jimmy Fallon, you adorable goofball. Like so many new viewers, the Tonight Show host has been spending his spare moments of 2016 catching up on Gilmore Girls to prepare for the show's Netflix revival. On Tuesday, Fallon listed his top four favorite characters, inviting viewers to do the same on Twitter.
He also added an "invisible five" to his list: Sookie St. James. SEE ALSO: The 'Gilmore Girls' cast is talking about favorite memories in adorable featurette Read more... BET salutes President Obama with beautiful 'Love and Happiness' concert
It's not even January yet, and everybody already misses Barack Obama. BET hosted their own celebration of the president on the White House's South Lawn last month. The party, which aired on BET on Tuesday, served as, "a love letter to the president and first lady," and included such stars and musical guests as: Jill Scott, Janelle Monaé, Common, Usher, Bell Biv DeVoe, The Roots, De La Soul, Yolanda Adams, Michelle Williams, Kierra Sheard and Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr. Footage of the event will make you cry, if you weren't already.
Facebook discloses more video metrics errors — and promises to do better
Facebook videos are already so abundant on your news feed, and executives have said that your feed could become all video within the next five years. Despite the abundance, Facebook has struggled to accurately report the reach and success of these videos to advertisers and publishers. Back in September, a Wall Street Journal report revealed an error that inflated average viewing time by more than 80 percent. On Wednesday, after an apparent two-month audit of its platform that involved a review of more than 220 metrics, Facebook admitted to several more errors in its calculations, which it summarized in a lengthy blog post. Read more... More about Media, Business, Video, Facebook Newsfeed, and Facebook Video Read More »'Beauty and the Beast' trailer beats out 'Star Wars' and 'Fifty Shades' for most views in 24 hours
It's a tale as old as YouTube: The first full Beauty and the Beast trailer shattered first-day records with its Monday release and became the biggest online trailer debut ever. Disney's trailer racked up 127.6 million views in its first 24 hours online, and trended on Twitter and YouTube. It doesn't hurt that the film's star Emma Watson has immense online clout — 27 million views came from her Facebook page. Beauty and the Beast surpassed online views for Fifty Shades Darker, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Captain America: Civil War and its own May teaser, bookending the top five. Read more... More about Views, Trailer, Youtube, Emma Watson, and Disney Read More »The 3D-printed 'super bike' could be a bigger deal than you think
At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, Divergent 3D is showing off a bold new "super bike" design, the Dagger. The motorcycle definitely looks like a showstopper — but the parts it's built out of and the platform that produced it are what really make it special. The Dagger (which was finished just the day before going on display at the show) sits on a 3D-printed chassis. The printing process produces a carbon fiber structure that Divergent 3D claims is 50 percent lighter than traditional motorcycle materials, so the frame would be significantly more efficient on the road. It's also stronger too, so that efficiency doesn't come at the cost of rider safety. Read more... More about Auto Show, Los Angeles, Motorcycles, 3d Printing, and Tech Read More »Where I see myself in 10 years if 'Fantastic Beasts' is good vs. if it is bad
As a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, I must admit that I have mixed feelings about the upcoming Fantastic Beasts series. While I remain excited for the first film, I cannot seem to shake the feeling that this series could, in fact, be bad. To help myself, I've decided to plot out the next 10d years of my life. Two timelines, diverging from one catalyst: the Fantastic Beasts movie. If Fantastic Beasts is bad:First 24 hours after viewing a bad Fantastic Beasts: Wow, I will be upset. I will be boiling mad. When the midnight showing ends, I’ll approach the ticket booth and ask the 16-year-old behind the counter if they sell any tranquilizers. They probably won’t have them. After rage walking around the movie theater lobby, I’ll call my parents and say something like, “What a stain on the legacy of the original,” to which they’ll reply “What time is it?” Read more... More about Movies, Fantastic Beasts, Humor, Harry Potter, and Watercooler Read More »Play 'Zelda' IRL with an 'escape room'-style tour in 2017
What would it be like to play a Zelda game in real life? Nintendo will let fans answer that question in 2017 with an "escape room"-style puzzle called "Defenders of the Triforce." The eight-city U.S. tour — described by Nintendo as the "first wave" of events — will kick off in San Francisco on Jan. 31. Defenders of the Triforce is a creation of Scrap, the Kyoto-based company behind a number of other popular "escape room" games. Most of Scrap's events have lived in California — specifically, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles, as well as Toronto — but this one will travel wider. Read more... More about Gaming, Zelda, and Entertainment Read More »Jaguar could become Tesla's closest competitor — with this fancy, all-electric SUV
Jaguar has released its electric concept car, and while it looks a little bit like a cross between a Dodge and a Tesla, the expected range is pretty awesome. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Tesla Motors, Jaguar, Real Time Video, and Real Time Read More »These spellbinding photos taken by an astronaut will leave you breathless
LONDON — British astronaut Tim Peake has quite literally seen a side of the world that few will ever glimpse. Fortunately, there are cameras, and Tim's a nice guy. In a new book titled Hello, Is This Planet Earth? he shares images taken on board the International Space Station during his historic six-month Principia mission. "It's impossible to look down on Earth from space and not be mesmerised by the fragile beauty of our planet," Peake said in a press release, "During my mission I became determined to share this unique perspective." Read more... More about London, Uk, Nature, Space, and Photography Read More »Fullscreen's winter slate features Bret Easton Ellis series, Andrea Russett talkshow
LOS ANGELES — Bret Easton Ellis is making his directorial debut on Fullscreen this winter. Fullscreen announced this week that the American Psycho author's first series The Deleted will launch on Dec. 4. The show, which stars Madeline Brewer, Amanda Cerny and Nash Grier, follows members of a cult in Northern Washington who escape to Los Angeles and go off the grid. When escapees begin disappearing, they're driven to find each other for protection as nefarious cult leaders hunt them down. It is among the handful of fresh content offerings from the digital entertainment company, which has been working to attract viewers to its SVOD service. Read more... More about Online Video, Youtube, Streaming Services, Jack Dean, and Fine Brothers Entertainment Read More »Hayes Grier launches book with immersive app
LOS ANGELES — Like many digital influencers, Hayes Grier knew he wanted to write a book. After all, books by Vine and YouTube stars — most of which are autobiographies — have risen to bestseller lists thanks in large part to their fervent fanbases. But Grier, 16, felt he hadn't lived enough of his life to warrant a whole book. That's why with Hollywood Days with Hayes — which launched on Tuesday — the social media star chose to tackle the fiction genre. He did however base the main character, of the same name, on himself. But it takes place on the fictional set of his first ever movie. "I feel like there are still a lot of crazy experiences left for me in the future," Grier told Mashable. "But this is my first book and I wanted it to be fictional. I don't have enough to tell about my whole life yet." Read more... More about Hayes Grier, Vine, Youtube, Books, and Online Video Read More »David Blaine freaks out Drake and Steph Curry in his new special
Today we are gathered to remember Aubrey "Drake" Graham, who was spooked out of his mind by David Blaine. During last night's premiere of David Blaine: Beyond Magic on ABC, the magician freaked out Drake, Dave Chappelle and Stephen Curry in one fell swoop. Warning: if it frightened Drake, it might frighten you too. It's also pretty gross. Blaine says that he'll be able to conjure up a creature small enough to fit into the palm of Drake's hand. And, disturbingly, he follows through. Here's hoping that frogs never appear in one of Champagne Papi's champagne flutes ever again. Read more... More about Dave Chappelle, Stephen Curry, Michael, Illusion, and Watercooler Read More »Kristin Wiig and the SNL cast give the #MannequinChallenge new life
Once again, a large group of people are standing as still as possible and somehow finding joy in it. This time, it's the cast of Saturday Night Live. Former cast member Kristen Wiig is hosting this week and rather than a typical spot to promote the show, the crew decided shared their impressive attempt at the #MannequinChallenge while giving us all a sneak peek of what goes on behind the scenes. While our patience for the #MannequinChallenge is wearing thin, it's nice to see Leslie Jones give it a try. All the ways 'Fantastic Beasts' fits into the sprawling Potter-verse
NEW YORK — For fans who have been poring over Pottermore for years, the tale of Newt Scamander — not to mention American magic in general — is highly familiar. For those whose knowledge begins and ends with a few books and movies, you're going to need a little boning up before Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the latest addition to the Harry Potter universe that comes to movie theaters this weekend. Even if you've never read a word about the Boy Who Lived or seen any of the movies, this primer is all you'll need. Read more... More about Jk Rowling, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Harry Potter, Entertainment, and Film Read More »Banksy is now being used as a logo for the French far-right
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has publicly unveiled her logo for the 2017 presidential campaign during a press briefing at her new Paris headquarters. The offices at Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré — just 2 km from the presidential residence the Élysée — are decorated with cult pop figures like Clint Eastwood, Einstein and the Rolling Stones logo — all featuring a blue rose, the Le Pen symbol. Perhaps surprisingly, though, the Front National (FN) HQ walls also featured a popular mural of British street artist Banksy, "Rage, Flower Thrower," which shows a man wearing a kerchief and baseball cap throwing a bouquet of flowers (blue, in the Le Pen version). Read more... More about Fn, Paris, Banksy, Marine Le Pen, and World Read More »New 'Heroes of the Storm' hero Varian enters the fray
The High King of the Alliance may have met his (supposed) end in World of Warcraft, but his legend lives on in Heroes of the Storm. Varian Wrynn joined the Heroes of the Storm roster on Tuesday, becoming the first multi-class hero in the game. With three heroic abilities instead of the usual two and a unique talent tree, Varian can be built over the course of a match to be either a Warrior or an Assassin. Varian is a melee hero which excels in close-quarters combat. His melee attack can be hastened with the trait Heroic Strike. He can slow down retreating enemies with a short-range ability Lion's Fang. He can use Parry to cancel out basic attacks for a short amount of time and Charge enemies to slow them down and deal a little damage. Read more... More about Esports, Gaming, Blizzard Entertainment, Heroes Of The Storm, and Entertainment Read More »Incredible timelapse captures the speedy repair of Japan's enormous sinkhole
Well, that was quick. Just days after a massive sinkhole swallowed a huge section of a main road in Fukuoka, Japan, the street has reopened for cars and pedestrians. Working around the clock, workers filled the 6,200 cubic meters of the road with sand and cement, and deemed it safe, again, for travel. Watch an impressive timelapse of the city's swift reconstruction above. Japanese factory sees crazy demand for Trump masks
In the wake of the presidential election, a Japanese factory is struggling to keep up with the rising demand for Trump masks. It has gone from producing roughly 40 masks a day to over 300. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Japan, Election 2016, President Elect, and Real Time Video Read More »Some other dude named Mike Pence is owning his @mikepence Twitter handle
Governor Mike Pence, a.k.a. the Vice President-elect of the U.S., doesn't own the @mikepence Twitter handle. That's because someone else already grabbed it. And it's a dude who fervently does not support the Vice President to be. Not-famous Pence's perfect pinned tweet, using a quote from Office Space character Michael Bolton, says it all:
Twitter's first Mike Pence has been a member of Twitter since April 2007, while the VP-elect's two accounts were created in Aug. 2008 Feb. 2009. Read more... More about Watercooler, Twitter, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Conversations Read More »This Chrome extension will warn you when you visit a fake news site
A week after the presidential election, the fight against fake news is finally ramping up. A new browser extension will warn readers when they arrive at a website known to produce fake news or hoaxes. The pop-up or banner alerts readers that "the information on this site might be false or misleading." The site Breitbart, with a warning imposed by the Fake News Alert extension. Image: screenshot/breitbart The "Fake News Alert" Chrome extension, created by New York magazine journalist Brian Feldman, joins the B.S. Detector Chrome extension launched Tuesday that identifies hoax news articles on Facebook. Read more... More about Facebook, Breitbart, Chrome Extensions, and Business Read More »UFO-like solar houseboat may be key to autonomous life at sea
A company called Jet Capsule has designed what it's calling the 'U.F.O. 2.0,' an "Unidentified Floating Object" that is solar-powered and imagines an entirely autonomous life on open waters. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Ocean And Sea, Solar Panels, Innovation, and Boat Read More »Kendall Jenner talks Instagram detox on Ellen
We finally have our answer. After much speculation, Kendall Jenner revealed why she deleted (for a whopping 48 hours thus far) her famous Instagram account on Wednesday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I just wanted to detox," she explained to the daytime host, "I felt like...I just wanted a little bit of a break." I would wake up in the morning and look at it first thing. I would go to bed and it was the last thing I would look at. I felt a little too dependent on it." Though the 21-year-old has only been off the app for two days, Jenner seems to already be benefitting from the break. "It's kind of really nice to be away from it," she explained, "I'm away from my phone so much more — you start to engage in real life." Read more... More about Interviews, Social Media, Instagram, Ellen Degeneres Show, and Ellen Degeneres Read More »TOMS extends its social good mission to Apple Watch straps and fueling solar power
In the world of "buy one give one" social enterprise companies, TOMS — one of the first companies to conquer the space — reigns supreme. The company, known for its stylish shoes and accessories as well as its emphasis on social good initiatives, just released a new line of products: Woven watch bands made for the Apple Watch. Sales of the straps benefit TOMS' Give Time initiative, which aids the organizations SolarAid and Solar Sister and help provide solar energy to underdeveloped nations in Africa. TOMS will donate the equivalent of one year's worth of solar power for each watch band sold. Not only are these watch straps a feel-good purchase, they're quite dapper to boot. Read more... More about Buy One Give One, Social Good, Toms, Supported, and Apple Watch Read More »Critics weigh in on the 'Gilmore Girls' revival
It's almost Thanksgiving, and in the year that almost destroyed us and the month that still might, Americans everywhere could use a little more Gilmore. Netflix's four-part miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life debuts at the end of the month, and early reviews look promising for the Stars Hollow squad. SEE ALSO: Kelly Bishop on Emily's emotional journey and the joys and struggles of a 'Gilmore Girls' revival The good news: Gilmore Girls is back and as comfortable as your favorite blanket. Jeff Jensen, Entertainment Weekly: Chris Harnick, E! News: Dave Nemetz, TVLine: Read more... But Nostalgia easily turns into rose-colored glasses, which not every critic favored:More about Reviews, Netflix, Gilmore Girls, Television, and Entertainment Read More »'Overwatch' pro uses Sombra in a tournament, dies immediately
You should probably wait a little bit longer than 24 hours to use a brand-new Overwatch hero in a professional tournament. At OGN's South Korean Overwatch Apex tournament, player Kim "Esca" In-jae jumped into a game on Temple of Anubis as the brand new hero Sombra, marking the first time the hero has been played in a professional competition. SEE ALSO: 'Overwatch' heroes reimagined as Pokémon Esca's team Lunatic-Hai was on the attacking side against Mighty Storm. Esca's hero choice was a surprise to the on-air talent, and Esca quickly demonstrated why you shouldn't play as heroes the same day they come out. Read more... More about Blizzard Entertainment, Sombra, Overwatch, Esports, and Gaming Read More »Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande to end 'Hairspray Live' show with special duet
LOS ANGELES — Vocal powerhouses Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande will end NBC's Hairspray Live! with a duet. The news was announced during a press junket for the televised musical on Wednesday. The show, filmed on the Universal lot, airs live on Wednesday Dec. 7 on NBC. Hudson and Grande, who play Motormouth Maybelle and Penny, respectively, will sing "Come So Far (Got So Far To Go)." The song was originally sung by Queen Latifah in the 2007 film. The uplifting musical comedy delves into the issues of racial segregation in Baltimore in the 1960s, a storyline which director Kenny Leon (The Wiz Live) feels is more relevant post-election. Read more... More about Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Musicals, Tv, and Nbc Read More »Amazon's Black Friday deals just kicked into high gear
Amazon is insisting on doing Black Friday and Cyber Monday on its own terms, stretching the promotional period that typically lasts a few days into a nearly two-month-long extravaganza. The Black Friday section of the site has been live since November 1 — but now the deals are really heating up. From Nov. 16 until Dec. 22 (for the worst procrastinators out there), new deals will be posted on the site as often as every five minutes. The first batch includes many deep discounts on Amazon devices (the full list is below). If you already have an Alexa-enabled device (the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire TV, or Fire tablet), there are even more savings to be had. Just ask Alexa each day, “Alexa, what are your deals?” and you'll have access to 70 voice-exclusive offers. Read more... More about Shopping, Thanksgiving, Alexa, Black Friday, and Amazon Read More »Workers in Sweden can now report mansplaining using a dedicated hotline
In Sweden, many people who experience mansplaining in the workplace now have a devoted outlet for their frustrations. On Monday, Swedish union Unionen launched a hotline for workers fed up with receiving unsolicited, condescending lectures from their male colleagues. The line, which is reportedly staffed by "a gender expert and a group of feminist politicians, comedians and scientists," will provide both active listening and advice — as well as further information for people confused about what the term "mansplaining" means. More about Sweden, Feminism, and Watercooler Read More »Snap has a fourth color of Spectacles traveling the world
Snap's Spectacles are having quite a limited rollout. The video-camera glasses are only being sold via a vending machine that is appearing in select locations in the U.S. So far, the so-called Snapbot has made just three stops. First, on Thursday it appeared in Venice,California near Snap's headquarters. It traveled up the coast to Big Sur, California on Sunday, and it spent a few hours near Tulsa, Oklahoma on Route 66 (by the Blue Whale of Catoosa) on Tuesday. When you arrive at a Snapbot, you're able to choose between three colors: black, teal and coral. But there's a fourth color of Spectacles that is available and even tougher to acquire. Read more... More about Business, Snap Inc, Snapbot, Spectacles Set Up, and Spectacles Read More »These kids have a blast jumping on a bouncy, flooded field
These New Zealand kids had a blast running around a local race track after a downpour left the grass water-logged and bouncy. They're seen jumping from grassy island to island, which are sometimes called 'lawn blisters,' on a field that's transformed into a kind of naturally-occurring waterbed. Seems totally delightful. Artist sends Trump a strong message by drawing colorful selfies of marginalized people
In a time of heightened fear for at-risk communities, Chicago-based illustrator Tyler Feder is using her art to help others celebrate their identities. Feder started a hashtag campaign on Instagram called #DrawMeTyler, through which marginalized people can request simple, free renderings of their selfies in praise of who they are. She launched the project after the election of President-elect Donald Trump, who built much of his campaign on harmful rhetoric targeting marginalized communities. For Feder — who describes herself as a "ball of anxiety with bangs" — feelings of fear and uncertainty were at an all-time high last week as the results of the election rolled in. Read more... More about Hashtag, Instagram, Art, Illustrations, and Social Good Read More »Planned Parenthood confirms thousands have donated in Mike Pence's name
Mike Pence is about to get 20,000 pieces of unexpected mail coming his way. In protest of the vice president-elect's track record when it comes to women's health, Indianapolis Star reports that 20,000 people decided to shower Planned Parenthood with love and donated to organization in his name. As a congressman, the pro-life politician worked on a federal level to defund Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides basic and affordable healthcare for women. As governor of Indiana, Pence managed to shut down a Planned Parenthood clinic that was also the sole provider of HIV testing in Scott County—a move that many believe sparked an outbreak of the disease in the region. Read more... More about Vice President, Donations, Planned Parenthood, Mike Pence, and Watercooler Read More »Try not to cry while watching TBS's 'Search Party' make a fan's dreams come true
On paper, TBS' Search Party is a comedy about a group of four 20-somethings who are searching for a missing college acquaintance, but on a deeper level, the new show is a look at young adults who are trying their hardest to find meaning and purpose in their lives. In honor of the show's premiere, TBS launched the #InSearchOf campaign as a celebration of all the big and little things we’re looking for every day. In Mashable's exclusive video above, watch an NYU student get what she's #InSearchOf after attending a Search Party screening for the school's students. NYU has a special significance for the series: Search Party was made possible because the show’s co-creators, Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, met executive producer Michael Showalter while they were students in NYU’s graduate film program, where Showalter was their college professor. Read more... More about Tbs, Search Party, Entertainment, and Tv Read More »Donald Trump's press-dodging should freak you out, and this is why
On Tuesday night, president-elect Donald Trump ditched the press for a trip to New York steakhouse 21 Club. It's the second time it's happened in the last week, the first being when Trump refused to allow a press pool to accompany him on his trip to Washington, D.C. to discuss transitioning into the White House with president Barack Obama. Both incidents send an unmistakable sign to reporters covering him that the heavy-handed media tactics of his campaign will rage on under Trump's upcoming presidency. So why should you care? More about Donald Trump, White House Press Pool, Media, Business, and Politics Read More » | ||||
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