/Technology/ Last Updated: Thu, May 2nd, 2024 @ 6:05pm EDT

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Benj Edwards, Ars Technica

Want to Buy a Decommissioned Supercomputer? Here’s Your Chance

There’s still time left to bid for a 145,152-core Cheyenne supercomputer that was once the 20th most powerful computer in the world.

Mashable

Apple Watch feature becomes first digital health tech to receive this FDA approval

The FDA just gave the Apple Watch a historic first approval for a digital health tech device.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Apple Watch – or more specifically its atrial fibrillation (AFib) feature – has received its approval as a qualified device in the Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program. The feature helps detect abnormal heart patterns and has previously been credited for saving users' lives.

SEE ALSO: Apple Watch...

Mashable

'I was kinda trapped': Watch a Cybertruck try to eat a guy's finger

The Tesla Cybertruck is, famously, a vehicle with a reputation problem. This video of a Cybertruck owner appearing to have his finger almost cut off by his truck's motorized front hatch is not going to help.

Tweet may have been deleted

It was discovered early this year in the days just after the Cybertruck's debut that the "frunk" (front trunk) was disturbingly capable when repurposed as a food slicer. Where competitor vehicles with automatic hatch closures would...

The Verge

Quentyn Kennemer

Seagate’s 2TB Xbox Storage Expansion Card gets its best discount yet

Seagate’s speedy storage expansion cards are a necessary evil and expensive without these periodic sales. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

If your main gaming platform is the Xbox Series X or S and you have a particularly deep library, bring it in for a hug. The markups on its proprietary storage cards are exorbitant, but regular discounts are starting to make them a little more affordable. For example, Seagate’s 2TB Storage Expansion Card is on sale for $226.76 (down from...

The Verge

Emma Roth

FCC asks for more money to help telecom providers replace Huawei and ZTE gear

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

The Federal Communications Commission is asking for more funding to help internet service providers rip and replace equipment made by Huawei and ZTE. In a letter to Congress, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel says the government has only allocated $1.9 billion to reimburse providers, which is $3.08 billion less than the $4.98 billion the FCC estimates it will need.

After designating the China-owned Huawei and ZTE as...

The Verge

Chris Welch

Apple’s earnings show that, yeah, it’s really time for some new iPads

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Less than a week ahead of its much-anticipated iPad hardware event, Apple shared its Q2 2024 earnings today, and the numbers paint a predictable picture for the increasingly dated tablet line. iPad revenue fell substantially yet again (by 17 percent year over year) amid the longest-ever wait for new models — something Apple is days away from finally rectifying. At the same time, iPhone sales tapered off a bit (down 10 percent), while the company’s...

Engadget

Will Shanklin

Microsoft’s latest Windows security updates might break your VPN

Microsoft says the April security updates for Windows may break your VPN. (Oops!) “Windows devices might face VPN connection failures after installing the April 2024 security update (KB5036893) or the April 2024 non-security preview update,” the company wrote in a status update. It’s working on a fix.

Bleeping Computer first reported the issue, which affects Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2008 and later. User reports on Reddit are mixed, with some commenters saying their...

ReadWrite

Suswati Basu

The five best AI apps for students in 2024

Artificial intelligence in education is becoming increasingly common. So much so, that tech giants like Meta have already rolled out virtual reality headsets in some classrooms across the world. Consequently, there are already a multitude of AI apps geared towards students, helping them sail through their studies.

According to a Tyton Partners report, nearly half of college students are using AI tools. The study, sponsored by plagiarism software Turnitin, was conducted in September and...

Gizmodo

James Whitbrook

One of Star Wars' Weirdest Edits Is Now a Very Fun Game Card

Over the years, the Star Wars saga has been taken under the knife and chopped and edited—for better or worse—many times, even beyond the Special Editions of the ‘90s. And yet one of the weirdest tweaks is still one of the most recent: the bizarre rally cry of “maclunkey!” when Greedo goes to shoot Han Solo in A New…

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Gizmodo

Andy Kalmowitz, Jalopnik

Do You Love Elon Enough to Put Your Finger in the Cybertrunk?

There’s been a lot of talk about the Tesla Cybertruck having a deep desire to chomp people’s fingers off with its power frunk latch, but no one has been brave enough to stick their fingie in there and find out what happens… until now. So far, we’ve only seen various vegetables and dummy hands get crunched by the…

Read more...

The Verge

Emma Roth

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke labor laws by saying workers are ‘better off’ without a union

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated labor laws when making “coercive statements” about unions during interviews conducted in 2022, a judge for the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday.

The ruling, which stems from a complaint filed in October 2022, cites three instances in which Jassy commented negatively about unions. During an interview with CNBC in April 2022, Jassy said employees are “better off” not forming a union. Jassy...

The Verge

Joanna Nelius

When notifications remind us of things we’d rather forget

Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images

My breaking point with promotional emails and desktop alerts finally happened a few weeks ago. I woke up at 7AM to an automated Legacy.com email with my friend’s death-a-versary in the subject line. The email itself was annoying enough, but what it said made it a cold, thoughtless annoyance: “Being remembered matters. The flowers you sent last year were a comforting gesture of sympathy and support.”

I didn’t send flowers. I...

Mashable

‘Why is my iPhone alarm so quiet?’ Apple says a fix is coming.

"Why is my iPhone alarm so quiet?" is a question that seems to be gaining traction on Google.

At the end — or, in this case, the beginning — of the day, we really only need our phones to do one thing. For many iPhone users, that didn't happen this week.

First reported by Today on NBC, folks around social media noticed this week that their iPhone alarms were were too quiet or not playing at all. I can say personally that mine didn't go off on Thursday morning.

According to The Guardian,...

Mashable

A parent's guide to Skibidi Toilet: What is it and why is it so popular?

If you have a child under the age of 14, the word "Skibidi" might ring a bell. But for many parents, this word and the YouTube series it comes from can be a bit perplexing.

Our quick guide to the phenomenon answers all your basic questions about Skibidi Toilet and its appeal to young people.

What is Skibidi Toilet and who created it?

Skibidi Toilet is an animated video series created by Georgian animator Alexey Gerasimov. Installments are posted as YouTube Shorts and later compiled into longer...

Mashable

Rabbit R1, Humane Ai pin guts exposed in new teardown video

The Rabbit R1 and the Humane Ai pin are two AI-focused devices that have intrigued many tech enthusiasts, but after influencers and reviewers got a hold of these gadgets, the critical reception was disastrous.

Journalists with early access to the Humane Ai pin dragged it to hell and back for its disappointing performance, with YouTuber MKBHD's scathing critique arguably putting the final nail in its coffin. And the Rabbit R1, released to some members of the press and early adopters at a...

Engadget

Will Shanklin

Audible is testing a cheaper plan in Australia

Audible is testing a cheaper subscription tier in Australia that sounds like an answer to Spotify’s audiobook push. Like the more expensive plan, the new Standard membership gives you one free title per month. But, similar to gaming services like PlayStation Plus, you lose access to the books you claimed under the plan if you cancel.

As reported by Bloomberg, the Audible Standard plan costs AUD 8.99 (US$5.90) per month, significantly lower than the AUD 16.45 monthly cost of the Premium...

Engadget

Lawrence Bonk

Huawei has been secretly funding research in America after being blacklisted

Chinese tech giant Huawei has been secretly funding research in America despite being blacklisted, as reported by Bloomberg. The cutting-edge research is happening at universities, including Harvard, and the money is being funneled through an independent Washington-based research foundation, along with a competition for scientists.

Bloomberg found that Huawei was the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since 2022 and attracted hundreds of proposals from...

Engadget

Lawrence Bonk

Two of our top Anker power banks are back on sale at all-time low prices

Some of the best and brightest Anker power banks are on sale via Amazon and directly from the company. These deals include the 20,000mAh Prime portable charge, which is down to $90 from its usual price of $130. That’s a discount of 31 percent and matches a previous record low.

Anker products are all over our list of the best power banks, and we named the Prime charger as the best ultra-premium product on the market. Unfortunately, ultra-premium also means ultra-expensive, though $90 is a...

The Verge

Umar Shakir

FDA qualifies Apple Watch’s AFib history for use in clinical studies

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The Apple Watch’s atrial fibrillation (AFib) history feature, which records and alerts the wearer’s relevant heart events, has been qualified to join the FDA’s Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program — a first for a “digital health technology.” That means the Apple Watch is now usable in clinical studies that need estimated data on how much time the wearer spent in atrial fibrillation while wearing the device, 9to5Mac reports.

The...

The Verge

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

After 16 years, Ecobee is shutting down support for the original smart thermostat

The Ecobee Smart Thermostat will lose its smarts on July 31st. | Image: Ecobee

Ecobee is discontinuing support for the very first smart thermostat. As of July 31st, 2024, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat and the Ecobee Energy Management System (EMS) thermostats will no longer be able to be controlled remotely or use any smart integrations. Basically, anything that requires an internet connection will stop working. They will still continue to control your HVAC in the same way a non-smart...

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