How to Stop Worrying and Love Twitter's New Two-Factor Verification

Reuters

Twitter has added two-step verification to increase its security after all the recent hacks into high profile media accounts, but you should go sign up for it right this minute — because everyone's vulnerable to password attacks these days, even if the new cellphone hiccup seems cumbersome.

By David Wagner

Jan 22, 2013

How the Viral Neanderthal-Baby Story Turned Real Science into Junk Journalism

When Harvard geneticist George Church sat down for a casual interview with a German magazine, he wasn't trying to send out the message, "Mad Scientist Seeks Lady To Give Birth To Neanderthal Monster."

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 22, 2013

Why Sergey Brin Was Really Riding the Subway in Google Glasses

So a guy spotted Google's founder wearing Google's Project Glass glasses, and the photo went viral. But the not-so-incognito ride still begs the question: What was he doing underground in robot glasses that only work with Internet? Here are some conspiracy theories, and answers.

Comments | 11,725 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 22, 2013

What the Future Without Passwords Will Look Like

The movement to kill the password is already underway, with the brains at Google experimenting with new authentication technologies for email, reports Wired's Robert McMillian. But what about beyond our Google lives?

Comments | 4,483 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 22, 2013

Verizon's Massive Loss Reveals Scope of Damage from Hurricane Sandy

Verizon reported a quarterly loss of $4.23 billion, or $1.48 per share, up from losses of $2.02 billion, or 71 cents per share a year earlier, in part because of losses and damages related to Hurricane Sandy.

Comments | 1,343 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 21, 2013

Today in Research

Quadruple-Helix DNA Exists, and It Might Be Giving Us Cancer

Discovered: Some of our DNA is four-stranded, and that's not a good thing; the brain's selfishness center; men who can't smell don't have much sex; hearing loss foreshadows mental decline.

Comments | 13,151 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 19, 2013

How Kim Dotcom's Mega Differs from MegaUpload

Last we checked in with Kim Dotcom, he was sounding a lot like a Bond villain and promising to "change the world" with his MegaUpload sequel. Take a look around you. Does anything feel different? Is your world changed? Because his new service Mega launched today. 

Comments | 4,800 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 18, 2013

Today in Research

Consider the Lobster's Pain

Discovered: Those crustaceans you're eating probably do feel pain after all; sleeping sickness carried by animals; let's look for aliens on moons instead of planets; new tick-transmitted disease.

Comments | 5,887 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 18, 2013

D.C. Taxi Cabs Will Finally Have to Take Credit Cards

District cab drivers will be forced to start accepting credit cards soon, according to a new decree from the D.C. Taxicab Commission. But the change won't come in time for Obama's second inauguration.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 18, 2013

Publisher of Harper's Googles Wrong

In his essay all about the evils of Google, Internet curmudgeon and Harper's publisher John R. MacArthur reveals that his googling skills need some improvement.

Comments | 3,366 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 18, 2013

Has the Samsung Galaxy Hype Replaced the iPhone Rumor Mill?

Samsung will soon release a new phone for its popular Galaxy line-up, and the rumor-mongers can't stop talking about the specs and designs of their dreams — actually, they're starting to sound a lot like the Apple crowd.

Comments | 4,421 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 17, 2013

Today in Research

Personal Genomes Could Soon Be Public Information

Discovered: Even your DNA won't be private anymore; a rock harder than diamonds; the depression gene remains elusive; ancient sea creatures straight out of Dr. Seuss.

Comments | 18,236 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 17, 2013

How Many Users Does Instagram Really Have After the Ad Scandal?

Instagram released new numbers Thursday that show there's still devotion, but is there real growth to track since Facebook's $1 billion acquisition last year? Or a real drop-off since Instagram's sell-out move last month?

Comments | 2,931 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 17, 2013

Why Google Isn't Scared of Facebook's Graph Search

Facebook may have just released a major search product that many are saying "declares war" on Google, but Google CEO Larry Page doesn't sound all that worried about the new competition. Because who said Facebook and Google couldn't get along?

Comments | 1,605 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 17, 2013

Energy Secretary Steven Chu Will Soon End His Experiment in Washington

The Nobel-winning physicist brought an empirical focus to the Department of Energy. But after struggling to solve the formulas behind Beltway politics, the star scientist will reportedly step down.

Comments | 1,214 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 17, 2013

Te'oing Isn't the New Tebowing, It's the New Eastwooding

Yes, there's a tumblr and a hashtag for the invisible-girlfriend photo, and, yes, it's an early candidate for meme of the year. But just because it sounds like "Tebowing" doesn't mean it is. 

Comments | 3,558 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 17, 2013

Prosecutor Stands by Seeking Jail Time for Aaron Swartz

Responding to criticism that U.S. Attorney of Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz was too harsh in her prosecution of Aaron Swartz, late on Wednesday night, Ortiz issued a statement in which she defended her office's decisions as "appropriate" to the case and the belief his alleged actions merited jail time.

Comments | 1,391 Views

By Jen Doll

Jan 17, 2013

Manti Te'o and the New Burden of Internet Truth

Truth and the Internet are strange bedfellows these days, and it's much easier to lie to a large audience online than in person. Has social media made us more gullible? Or was it always this hard to tell distanced falsehood from human reality?

Comments | 4,828 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 16, 2013

Evidently, Fecal Transplants Are All the Rage These Days

Medicine is a mysterious thing sometimes. The unmistakeable efficacy of using fecal transplants to cure tough bacterial infections counts as one of those times.

Comments | 3,165 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 16, 2013

Today in Research

Racial Segregation Raises Lung Cancer Risk for African-Americans

Discovered: Racial separation corresponds with more lung cancer; barnacles have gross sex; social interaction is genetic in ants; Facebook is more memorable than books for many people.

Comments | 735 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 16, 2013

The 'Snow Fall' Effect Has Arrived at the White House

If it looked like the White House was taking a (fancy multimedia) page out of the New York Times's digital playbook with its interactive, "Snow Fall"-style new page on gun violence, well, get used to it — the web is proliferating with smooth, graphic-fueled pages, from long-form journalism and beyond.

Comments | 2,508 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 16, 2013

You Can Use Facebook for Free Cellphone Calls Now

If you were disappointed by Graph Search, take heart: Facebook just added a free phone-call option to its Messenger mobile app for U.S. users, a feature that seemed trapped in Canadian testing grounds ... but might just become Skype for the masses.

Comments | 3,793 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 16, 2013

AT&T Finally Gives FaceTime to (Almost) Everyone

After complaints from users and consumer advocacy groups, AT&T has announced that anyone with any kind of data plan can use Apple's FaceTime feature over data services with a compatible iPhone.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 16, 2013

More People Miss the Old Windows Start Menu Than Microsoft Would Like to Say

New numbers indicate that 1.5 million have now downloaded Pokki, just one of the many Start Menu replacements out there. And that may be a lot bigger chunk than Microsoft will let on.

Comments | 1,433 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 16, 2013

Why Facebook's Graph Search Can't Give Users What They're Looking for... Yet

Despite all the laudatory praise for the idea of Facebook's new "third pillar," and despite nine years' worth of user data, early reviews indicate that Graph Search doesn't actually give great answers, and that the social network may have a data problem.

Comments | 345 Views

By Jen Doll

Jan 16, 2013

Media Diet

Jason Pontin: What I Read

The editor in chief and publisher of MIT Technology Review turns to his iPad after saying good morning to his wife, but the last thing he looks at before going to sleep is a hardcover book.

Comments | 4,656 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 15, 2013

Maybe Pot Doesn't Make Teens Dumb After All

Discovered: Lighting up might not lead to dumbing down; playing music can put you on a natural high; black carbon is twice as bad as we thought; evidence that obesity is inherited.

Comments | 4,375 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 15, 2013

The Privacy Guide to Facebook's New Graph Search

From a new set of opt-out options to just how much of your preferences are now searchable — and sellable — here's everything you need to know about protecting yourself from the many advances of the new product Mark Zuckerberg claims is "privacy aware."

Comments | 4,033 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 15, 2013

A Guide to the Finger-Pointing After Aaron Swartz's Suicide

Giving proof to the caution of experts who say that no suicide has a simple explanation or single cause, as more details have emerged, the roles of the players in the federal prosecution of Aaron Swartz, and their alleged contributions to his suicide, has become much more complex.

Comments | 3,416 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 15, 2013

Galactic Empire Mocks White House's Refusal to Build a Death Star

Over on the official Star Wars blog, the Galactic Empire Public Relations team reports members of the Empire are laughing at the "obvious cowardice" the White House displayed by not agreeing to start construction on a Death Star by 2016.

Comments | 1,922 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 15, 2013

Did Google's StreetView Car Run Over This Donkey?

Google Maps has encountered a full-on roadkill scandal, and they're not taking this one, uh, lying down.

Comments | 14,469 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 15, 2013

Facebook Has Built a New Kind of Search

Expanding the Facebook experience to what he called its "third pillar," CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced that the social network was banking big on a friend-optimized new product it calls Graph Search.

Comments | 5,863 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 15, 2013

So What's Facebook Big Reveal Today?

Expectations are both extremely low and impossibly high under the "masterful" shroud of secrecy leading up to this afternoon's event, but everyone seems to have a relatively educated guess. Here's a reality check on the three big rumors.

Comments | 2,700 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 14, 2013

Aaron Swartz Isn't the First Hacker to Commit Suicide in the Face of a Federal Investigation

Few people close to him doubt that an overzealous federal prosecution team contributed to Aaron Swartz's suicide last Saturday. And quite tragically, he wasn't the first to find himself in that position.

Comments | 8,449 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 14, 2013

Today in Research

The Year's Worst Case of the Mondays, According to Science

Discovered: the most depressing day of the year; the problem with dieting after age 75; the truth about chimps; the dingo might not even be Australian.

Comments | 1,669 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 14, 2013

HP Starts Layoffs for the Company That Brought It Down

Well you had to see this coming, sadly: HP has decided to do a little housecleaning at Autonomy, the company it acquired that it claims led to that huge $8.8 billion loss still shaking the tech giant.

Comments | 1,635 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 14, 2013

Can We Trust CNET Again After a Scandal This Shady?

The influential tech site watched its editorial integrity spiral out of control Monday, with staffers quitting and editors were left to explain themselves in the wake of explosive new charges over its annual CES awards — a scanda that goes to the top of its corporate umbrella, and could shake the entire ecosystem of online tech journalism.

Comments | 6,524 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 14, 2013

When Apple's Rumor Economy Turns Against It

Apple used to use its secrets to its advantage, letting the rumormongers do all the hyping, but now that the whispers have less gushing things to say, rumors no longer help the company's stock price.

Comments | 795 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 14, 2013

Aaron Swartz's Legal Troubles Were Getting Worse in the Days Before His Suicide

Though mental health experts caution that there is rarely ever one lone reason for suicide, information is emerging about how legal troubles were mounting for Internet activist Aaron Swartz in the weeks before his suicide on Friday. 

Comments | 26,615 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 13, 2013

Harsh Reaction After Aaron Swartz's Death Prompts MIT Investigation

After the initial emotional outpouring over Aaron Swartz's death, those close to Swartz are heaping the blame on MIT and the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's office. One of those two will look at what role they may have played in Swartz's death. 

Comments | 4,166 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 12, 2013

Tech World Saddened by Death of Internet Activist Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz was one of the earliest members of the Reddit team, helped build the first RSS program, and was by all accounts a genius at a very young age. Swartz committed suicide on January 11. He was 26 years old. 

Comments | 4,451 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 11, 2013

Today in Research

Fossils Suggest 'Hobbits' Once Walked the Earth

Discovered: Scientists dig up Frodo fossils; autistic people hear music better; babies' brains foretell adult diseases; Deepwater Horizon cleanup could hurt coral all over again.

Comments | 10,077 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 11, 2013

Why We Hate the Word 'Phablet' So Much

We have reached Peak "Phablet": This week the term for the popular (and quite awkward) devices was called "horrible," "stupid," and "worst word of the year" (to which we're about two weeks in). Even linguists agree.

Comments | 5,345 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 11, 2013

The Cord Cutter's Guide to CES

For cord-cutters, the television makers at the Consumer Electronics Show gave us a lot of complex sorta-solutions to what is (on paper) and easy-to-solve problem.

Comments | 1,316 Views

By Joseph Gallivan

Jan 11, 2013

Surveying the Swag of CES 2013

At CES there's a fantasy that the makers of the 4K TVs, waterproof camcorders, or even just phone cases glittering on display are going to give it away for free. You can see it in the eyes of the conference-goers as they linger in front of displays, wait to touch something wonderful and new.

Comments | 4,311 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 11, 2013

The Truth About That Snake on a Plane, According to Science

We all got to witness the freak occurrence of an actual snake on an actual freakin' plane this week. And while news of the scrub python quickly spread from the side of a Qantas flight to YouTube, actual scientists are pretty used to this sort of thing. Seriously. We asked a real-life snake detective.

Comments | 5,001 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 11, 2013

Why Amtrak's New Wi-Fi Upgrade Won't Fix Amtrak's Terrible Wi-Fi

Amtrak has announced plans to test an upgrade of its notoriously inconsistent onboard Wi-Fi to faster 4G networks, but because the fix still uses Wi-Fi from a wireless company on a moving train, the best commuters can hope for is very fast Internet... very occasionally.

Comments | 4,693 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 11, 2013

Would You Pay $100 to Send Mark Zuckerberg a Facebook Message?

Facebook is testing some "extreme" prices for a new feature that puts users' Messages inbox up for sale, beginning with that of its CEO, whose attention can be yours for, well, a hundred bucks.

Comments | 1,019 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 11, 2013

Update: Apple Never Denied the Cheap iPhone Rumor After All

Reuters has withdrawn a report, which quoted an interview with an Apple executive a Chinese paper that seemed to debunk multiple reports this week that the company was developing a phone that could be available for as little as $99 by the end of 2013.

Comments | 2,904 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 11, 2013

New York Times Closes Environment Desk on Same Day 'Extreme Weather' Hits Front Page

Talk about mixed signals. On the very morning The New York Times signaled its plans to reassign its nine environment desk journalists to other sections, the paper ran a chilling photo of "extreme weather" above the fold on A1. 

Comments | 1,456 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 11, 2013

CBS Puts CNET in an Ethically Questionable Spot at CES

CNET was put in an awkward situation Thursday when their parent company CBS forced them to pull one of their nominated "Best of CES" products because of an impending lawsuit.

Comments | 10,691 Views

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