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Tech NewsNews
Grumpy Cat Dies at 7 Years Old
Grumpy Cat has died from complications following a urinary tract infection. She was 7 years old. Grumpy Cat, whose given name was Tardar Sauce, became an internet celebrity after her owner’s brother posted a photo of the cat to Reddit in 2012. The sourpussed feline was less than a year old at the time and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
This Robot Gardener from the 1960s Looks Like a Techno-Utopian Version of the Apocalypse
When people of the 1950s and 60s imagined the robot lawnmowers of the future, they were generally pretty small and cute. But not this guy. The May 6, 1962 edition of the Sunday comic strip “Closer Than We Think” pictured the most enormous and frankly terrifying robot gardener of all time. Illustrated by Arthur Radebaugh, … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPolitics
White House Refuses to Support ‘Christchurch Call’ That Condemns Extremism Online, Releases Absolutely Bonkers Statement
The White House has declined to endorse a non-binding response condemning the spread of hate speech and terrorist radicalization on social media. The response, dubbed the “Christchurch Call,” was written in the wake of the terrorist attacks that killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand and livestreamed on Facebook. The White House’s reasoning … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceHealth
Second Worst Ebola Outbreak in History Is Now Killing 66 Percent of People Who Become Infected
The current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has infected 1,720 and killed 1,136, giving the viral disease a whopping 66 percent fatality rate. And the situation is making public health experts on the ground increasingly nervous. It’s the second worst Ebola outbreak in history, and while more than 110 cases … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNews
New Feature Lets Uber Black Car Riders Tell Their Filthy Pleb Drivers to Shut the Fuck Up
Uber has announced a new feature that will allow some riders to properly express their disgust for their filthy, lower class drivers—all with the simple touch of a button. Starting today, Uber Black and Uber Black SUV riders will be able to select “Quiet Mode” from the app, which will inform their driver that they … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
The Buried Truth of a Key Detail Used to Defend Julian Assange
Allies of Julian Assange have been using quotes from his accusers to claim that the sexual assault charges against him are fake. One quote that’s been circulating on social media this week even says, “it was the police who fabricated the charges.” What’s the problem? The only source of the quotes is Julian Assange himself. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsAmazon
Amazon to Roll Out Automated Packing Machines, Offers $10k for Employees to Become Gig Workers
Amazon plans to introduce new packaging machines at its warehouses that could eliminate 1,300 jobs nationwide, according to a new report from Reuters. Coincidentally or not, Amazon also announced this morning that it was launching a new program to encourage some existing Amazon warehouse employees to quit and start their own businesses delivering Amazon goods. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNews
Swedish Prosecutors Reopen Rape Case Against Julian Assange
Swedish prosecutors have reopened their investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on charges of rape made by a woman in 2010. Assange skipped bail in June 2012 while in London and claimed asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he lived for almost seven years. Eva-Marie Persson, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution in Sweden, announced the … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Drop Everything and Watch This New Documentary Series About Retro-Futuristic Space Artists
Did you see those slick animations of space colonies that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos showed off yesterday? They were, not surprisingly, inspired by Gerard O’Neill’s ideas from the 1970s. And if that kind of thing interests you (and of course it does, you’re reading Paleofuture right now) then you have to drop everything this moment … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceSpace
Here’s Everything Jeff Bezos Said to Convince Humanity That Space Colonies Are the Future
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man on the planet, gave an hour-long presentation yesterday about his plans for humanity’s future living on the moon and in space colonies. It was a bit like watching a monologue from a sci-fi movie in a lot of ways. And now you can finally view the entire presentation … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
CIA’s Solution to Killing Too Many Civilians: Knife Bomb
The CIA and the U.S. military have been using a new type of missile during some drone strikes in recent years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. What makes this new missile unique? It doesn’t explode and instead deploys sharp blades, hitting targets “like a speeding anvil” from the sky. The new … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNews
U.S. Conducts Missile Test Just 10 Minutes After North Korea’s Latest Missile Launch
North Korea conducted a new weapons test overnight, firing two missiles into the sea between North Korea and Japan, according to reports from the South Korean military. The U.S. military conducted its own missile test just ten minutes later. It was the second weapons test for North Korea in the past week, following the launch … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsNews
The U.S. Military Doesn’t Know How Many Websites It Operates
The Pentagon has a lot to keep track of these days. But don’t ask the folks over there a difficult question like how many websites they manage. An official at the U.S. Department of Defense recently admitted that they have no idea how many websites the U.S. military bureaucracy oversees. Army Col. Paul Haverstick, acting … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceHealth
Pharma Companies Will Soon Be Required to List Drug Prices in TV Ads
TV ads for prescription drugs are already annoying as hell, but those drug ads are about to get even more absurd. The U.S. government will soon require pharmaceutical companies to display the price of medications during every commercial. Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, announced the proposed requirement to the Associated Press … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPolitics
Bill Gates Actually Made a Good Point About the Socialism Debate in America
Billionaires Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, and Warren Buffett were interviewed on CNBC this morning, and it wasn’t surprising to hear the three men defend capitalism. But it was surprising to hear Gates make a really good point about socialism. Or, at least a good point about how socialism is defined in the U.S. Gates pointed … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Invites Journalists to See New ‘War Room,’ Won’t Let Them Ask Workers Questions
Facebook, the social media giant that helped enable genocide and yet is still allowed to exist for some reason, had a big public relations push this weekend. And if the news stories that came out are giving you a sense of deja vu, you’re not alone. Facebook has a new European “war room” to combat election … Continued
By Matt Novak -
io9Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones Accidentally Leaves Modern Coffee Cup on Table, Inspires New Meme
If you watched Game of Thrones last night you might have spotted something a little out of place. No, there wasn’t an ewok riding a dragon or anything as cool as that. The HBO show aired a modern coffee cup that was definitely not supposed to be in the shot. The mistaken coffee cup appears … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
This Goofy Apple Computer Video From 1987 Has Futuristic Gadgets That We’re Still Waiting For
Apple Computer was an innovative and nimble company in 1987, so it makes sense that people at the tech giant would imagine a world dominated by Apple ten years into the future. And that’s precisely what it did when it released this goofy video from the perspective of the year 1997. The 1987 video, which … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
L.A. Museum Opens New Exhibit of Dystopian Vehicles From Movies Like Blade Runner and Mad Max: Fury Road
If you’ve never been to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, you have to go. And there’s no better time than this year, as the museum opens up a new exhibit of vehicles from TV and movies that looks cool as hell. The exhibit is called “Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsFacebook
Later, Losers
Facebook announced today that it is banning a number of far-right political figures on its platforms, including InfoWars founder Alex Jones, former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopolous, and InfoWars contributor Paul Joseph Watson, among a host of others. The ban extends to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook and has been getting more attention as a … Continued
By Matt Novak