Taylor Hatmaker
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Curious 23andMe twin results show why you should take DNA testing with a grain of salt
If you’ve ever enthusiastically sent your spit off in the mail, you were probably anxious for whatever unexpected insights the current crop of DNA testing companies would send back. Did your anc
Coinstar machines will start selling Bitcoin at the grocery store
You know those machines at the grocery store that transform your gallon jug of spare change into more usable currency? They’re about to start selling Bitcoin . To make this impulse shopping drea
Tesla will end its buyer referral program for ‘adding too much cost’
At the end of the month, Tesla will end a long-running referral program that offered incentives for existing Tesla owners to help drive sales. In its recent iterations, the referral system gifted new
US will reportedly seek criminal case against Huawei for stealing tech secrets
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, U.S. federal prosecutors are preparing a criminal indictment against Huawei for stealing trade secrets. The report, which cites sources with kno
New FAA proposal would let drones fly over people and at night without a waiver
Companies impatient to make drone deliveries a viable reality should have a win to celebrate soon. On Monday, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced in a “sneak preview” that he
Democratic texting platform Hustle lays off a big chunk of its staff
The company behind a texting platform that powered more than 1,300 Democratic campaigns has slashed its staff in the lull following the 2018 midterms. Hustle co-founder and CEO Roddy Lindsay, a former
That GoFundMe to build a border wall is issuing $20 million in refunds
A Trump-inspired GoFundMe campaign that raised $20 million ostensibly to build a wall on the southern U.S. border will refund every cent. Run by Brian Kolfage, a veteran with a track record of questi
Reports raise video privacy concerns for Amazon-owned Ring
Amazon -owned smart doorbell maker Ring is facing claims that might give some smart home enthusiasts pause. Recent reports from The Intercept and The Information have accused the company of mishandlin
Research finds heavy Facebook users make impaired decisions like drug addicts
Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring the idea that there’s more to “social media addiction” than casual joking about being too online might suggest. Their paper, ti
This cool tool deletes the background from images so you don’t have to use Photoshop
If you’re tired of firing up Photoshop for lightweight image editing tasks, this little tool is good news for you. Called Remove.bg, it can clear out the background of an image in seconds, no la
Here’s how to play a game from Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch episode
If you’ve gone down the rabbit hole with Netflix’s latest Black Mirror release, there’s (at least) one more Easter egg out there. As some intrepid Reddit users discovered, you can ac
People lost their damn minds when Instagram accidentally went horizontal
Earlier today, when Instagram suddenly transformed into a landscape-oriented Tinder-esque nightmare, the app’s dedicated users extremely lost their minds and immediately took to Twitter to be vo
Reid Hoffman denies direct knowledge of funding disinformation in the Alabama Senate race
One of Silicon Valley’s prominent billionaires is in hot water after funding deceptive social media campaigns with echoes of Russia’s own political playbook. Reid Hoffman, who co-founded L
Fortnite players report queue issues as Epic experiences a ‘minor service outage’
Epic Games is having its own Christmas hangover. On Wednesday, a number of Fortnite players reported long queues that time out and problems logging in to Fortnite’s servers. The company is aware
Defense Secretary James Mattis steps down
The man who led the Department of Defense for the first two years of the Trump administration will wrap up his tenure early next year. Retired Marine General James Mattis will leave his post by Februa
Slack shuts down accounts belonging to Iranian expats and users who visited Iran
A number of Slack users report that they have suddenly lost access to their accounts with no warning in what appears to be an aggressive implementation of U.S. sanctions on Iran. In some cases, users
Facebook defends allowing third parties access to user messages
In a new blog post, Facebook VP of Product Partnerships Ime Archibong addressed the company’s latest user privacy controversy. The rebuttal is the second round of Facebook’s pushback again
Using Facebook’s latest privacy stumble, lawmakers push for strong FTC oversight
Lawmakers are again unhappy with Facebook after the latest big story again portraying Facebook’s failure to protect the private data of its users. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that th
Washington, D.C. Attorney General sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal
Facebook users might have already moved on to the company’s next notable outrage, but the company is still answering for its privacy missteps from earlier this year. Washington, D.C. Attorney Ge
How Fortnite’s dance moves sparked new lawsuits against Epic Games
A growing cluster of actors, musicians and viral internet stars have Fortnite in their crosshairs. The smash hit third-person shooter is free to play but generates mountains of revenue through in-game