We All Need to Help NASA Find Killer Asteroids

AP

Welcome to the NASA Grand Challenge, where everyone from government agencies to citizen scientists will compete to figure out the best way to detect and study earth-threatening asteroids.

By David Wagner

Jan 31, 2013

The Mars Curiosity Rover Is a She, Just So You Know

A note to @MarsCuriosity's 1,270,220 followers on Twitter: NASA's intrepid rover is a she. The women behind her massively popular social media presence confirmed today that "she" is the proper pronoun for referring to the Mars explorer.

Comments | 865 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 31, 2013

Why Was Twitter Down Today?

Yes, Twitter isn't working right now, and, yes, Twitter is working to fix it. While Twitter hasn't yet offered a specific reason for the disruption, it very well may be a server-capacity issue.

Comments | 4,828 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 31, 2013

The Apple Rumormongers Demand an iPad Mini with Retina Display

Rumormongering about an iPad Mini with Retina Display is sort of the perfect rumor for gadget blogs because one day between now and forever, when Apple inevitably releases said device, their predictions will come true.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

Today in Research

Should We Believe Research That Says Men Who Do More Chores Have Less Sex?

Discovered: Does sex really vanish when men do more chores?; weighing black holes; why you should get most of your eating in before 3:00 p.m.; a quarter-billion year old tapeworm. 

Comments | 2,022 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

You Can't Hate Twitter if You Don't Get Twitter

In one of the most talked-about columns on social media today, The Week columnist Matt Lewis tries to explain how he got trapped in the "prison" of Twitter's apparent decline — even though he's really just trapped himself, by way of a really bad Twitter feed.

Comments | 2,412 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

Facebook's Ads Can't Keep Up with Its Mobile Growth

The social network's latest earnings report shows why a lot of good is never enough for Facebook, especially when it comes to making money off you and your cellphone.

Comments | 690 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

What They're Saying About BlackBerry 10

After a strange unveiling of its new operating system, two phones, and a company rebranding, BlackBerry lifted the embargo on reviews of one of the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the $599 touchscreen Z10. Here's the early word.

Comments | 1,377 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

Look How Desperate the BlackBerry 10 Unveiling Event Actually Was

Not that Research in Motion was ever very cool beyond the corporate crowd, but the company's rebranding, as simply BlackBerry, came with an outward appearance not of confidence so much as outright desperation.

Comments | 3,270 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

Everything You Need to Know About BlackBerry 10

The company formerly known as Research in Motion has unveiled its hail-mary BlackBerry 10 operating system, including two new phones — the Q10 and Z10. 

Comments | 3,889 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

Samsung Just Can't Stop Beating Apple

Samsung has won the latest round of its neverending patent war with Apple — and at just the right moment in its cultural ascendance, giving the Korean gadget giant another notch on its "better-than-Apple" belt.

Comments | 1,664 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 29, 2013

Today in Research

Doctors Are Being Worked Too Hard, and That's Hurting Hospital Safety

Discovered: Physicians who see too many patients are more prone to slip up; gay men are gayer than straight guys; taking trays out of cafeterias reduces waste; new criteria for 'habitable' planets.

Comments | 1,129 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

Why Amazon's Stock Is Soaring After a Terrible Earnings Report

Amazon's earnings were filled with all sorts of misses, including a 45 percent decline in profits, and yet the stock is up around 10 percent in after-hours trading because of one good metric.

Comments | 1,291 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

Silicon Valley Wants Its Privacy Back

Silicon Valley blogger Sarah Lacy thinks the reincarnation of the Gawker gossip blog Valleywag shouldn't cover gossip because people in the tech start-up world like to keep their boring lives private, a hilarious statement since Silicon Valley has industrialized the public flaunting of people's boring private lives.

Comments | 637 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

Instagram Is a Terrible Example of Immigrants Creating American Jobs

During his immigration speech on Tuesday afternoon President Barack Obama cited the Brazilian born Instagram co-creator Mike Krieger as an example of the potential jobs and money a non-American can bring to our country, a strange choice considering how teeny-tiny the photo-sharing app industry is.

Comments | 653 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

Facebook Graph Search Still Doesn't Speak Human

Despite hiring a couple of linguists to get its new search engine to move "beyond 'Robospeak" and actually understand how people talk, Facebook hasn't actually taught Graph Search how to do that very well just yet. And that's a problem.

Comments | 1,387 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

How Video Sharing Apps Keep Porn Out

Just like Vine, pretty much any of the other "Instagram for video" platforms that have come out in the last couple of years have experienced an inundation of inappropriate content.

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 29, 2013

$800 Sure Is a Lot of Money for an iPad

Despite the rise of the phablet and its friends, the battle of the very expensive tablets is very much upon us as Apple announced an $800, 128GB version of its iPad on Tuesday morning — less than two weeks before its enemies at Microsoft will launch a $900, 128GB tablet, the Surface Pro.

Comments | 1,555 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Today in Research

Green Tea and Viagra: A Recipe for Fighting Cancer?

Discovered: Erectile dysfunction meds and green tea team up to fight cancer; cell phone towers are responsible for many bird deaths; look at this tractor beam in action; shooting your belly full of botox won't make you skinny.

Comments | 3,367 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 28, 2013

What Old Valleywags Think About the New Valleywag

Nick Denton surprised some when he revealed he was relaunching Gawker's old tech rumor blog Valleywag this morning, as reported by Business Insider's Alyson Shontell. We asked a pair of old Valleywag editors what they think of the resurrection. 

Comments | 1,935 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 28, 2013

Indie Labels Are Really Mad at Myspace Right Now

The sleek new revamped Myspace has no problem paying major labels for the right to stream their music. But indie labels aren't seeing any of that kickback, and they're furious about it.

Comments | 1,923 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 28, 2013

The Government Is Still Trying to Spy on a Lot of Your Twitter and Google Data

On the occasion of Data Privacy Day, Twitter says it's giving away user information requested by the U.S. government... without a warrant. It's the continuation of a frightening trend that's as frightening as it is growing.

Comments | 5,124 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 28, 2013

What Twitter Can Do About the 'Human Error' Behind Its Latest Porn Problem

Twitter was quick to defend itself Monday morning after a pornographic clip briefly made its way in front of all users on the Editor's Picks of its new app, but how much of a porn problem does Vine already have?

Comments | 690 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 28, 2013

Objectify a Male Tech Writer Day Has Been Canceled

The first annual Objectify a Male Tech Writer Day has been canceled because of a number of "valid risks" with using a hashtag to prove a point about the way readers often objectify female tech writers.

Comments | 2,257 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 27, 2013

Vine Has a Porn Problem Because Of Course It Does

It's actually pretty surprising that it took everyone three days to figure out that Twitter's new cell phone camera-powered video sharing app, Vine, is perfect for porn.

Comments | 19,166 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 26, 2013

You Will Not Stop Watching Vinepeek

You might not be sold on Twitter's new short video app Vine, but we challenge you to try and stop watching Vinepeek. You won't. You'll be stuck for 20 minutes before mustering the will power to look away. 

Comments | 13,716 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 26, 2013

No, Anonymous Doesn't Have Access to U.S. Warheads

If you were skimming the news this morning, we could understand why you might be confused and thinking that the hacking collective Anonymous has access to real U.S. warheads. Stop worrying, they don't. 

Comments | 12,414 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 25, 2013

Today in Research

Cows Who Eat Flaxseeds Make More Nutritious Milk

Discovered: Omega-3s make cow dairy more nutritious; protons are just a tiny bit smaller than we thought, and that has huge implications; HIV's ancient origins; ADHD medicine is putting more people in the emergency room.

Comments | 1,518 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

Square's No. 2 Resigned Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

Keith Rabois, the chief operating officer of Square who resigned from the payment company of the future with little public explanation late Thursday, has now revealed that he left amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Comments | 1,823 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 25, 2013

Why Was Flame Retardant in Gatorade, and Why Is It Still in Mountain Dew?

Electrolytes aren't the only thing quenching your thirst when you drink Gatorade. An ingredient patented for use as a flame retardant has been in the formula until now, as PepsiCo Inc. plans to phase out the substance from Gatorade... while keeping it in other products.

Comments | 7,533 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

How Facebook Passive-Aggressively Dismissed Twitter's New Vine App

Facebook has now clarified why it blocked Twitter's new video-sharing app Vine, suggesting on its developer blog Friday afternoon that Facebook didn't think much of Vine's integration — or lack thereof — with the social network

Comments | 517 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

CBS Is Making CNET Hush Up Its News and Reviews Now

Even after a contentious fight this week to turn it around, CBS is still enforcing a made-up rule making CNET tip-toe around lawsuits and products that the media giant sees as a threat.

Comments | 2,089 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

Of Course Apple Is No Longer the World's Most Valuable Company

Apple's terrible, horrible, no good, historically bad day on the markets Thursday has spilled over into Friday, with Apple ceding back to Exxon Mobil the title of the most valuable company in the world.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 25, 2013

Peak Schadenfreude Consumes Ruling on Obama Recess Appointments

President Obama violated the Constitution by filling three National Labor Relations Board seats in the midst of a Senate recess, according to a court ruling issued today. "Told you so," says every conservative on Twitter.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

Latest French Revolution on American Words Is a Brilliant Ban of 'Hashtag'

Following its snobbish tradition of doing away with longstanding Internet-related terminology, the French government is replacing "hashtag" with "mot-diese" — to which we say... bravo​!

Comments | 2,647 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

At Davos, Marissa Mayer Gets Real on Privacy

Instead of the usual song and dance about how privacy is important to companies in the business of selling our data, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave a refreshingly honest take today at the World Economic Forum on how privacy actually works .

Comments | 6,207 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

Apple's Child-Labor Problem Runs Deep

In a multi-layered, Foxconn-sprinkled update on its working conditions in Chinese factories, Apple has released a report that claims to have found no underage workers in "any of our final assembly suppliers." But Apple's supply chain goes much deeper.

Comments | 3,429 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 24, 2013

Facebook Is Already Trying to Break Twitter's New Toy

Twitter launched a new product called Vine on Thursday, one that's as confusing as it is intriguing -- just like Twitter itself was when it started. Unsurprisingly, Facebook wants nothing to do with it.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 24, 2013

Today in Research

Wolves Evolved into Dogs by Feasting on Carbs

Discovered: Carbo-loading is why we have cute dogs; dung beetles follow the stars; research to resume on H5N1 avian flu; look at this newly discovered Brazilian bird before it goes extinct.

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

What Microsoft Won't Say About Surface

Sales figures for its new tablet were perhaps the most conspicuously absent part of the software giant's on-target earnings report after the markets closed on Thursday. Here's why.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 24, 2013

J.J. Abrams Will Direct New 'Star Wars' — but Ben Affleck Almost Did?

One of the choices was obvious, and the other was, well, Ben Affleck, but Disney and Lucusfilm executives have apparently chosen King of the Nerds J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode VII.

Comments | 7,003 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 24, 2013

Joe Biden's Google Hangout Takes on Assault Weapons and the NRA

The vice president's key message was about "gun safety," but he also had some choice words for gun-rights advocates.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

Six Seconds Is the New 140 Characters: Measuring Up Twitter's New Vine App

With its new video sharing app, Twitter has once again dictated the length of our online expression, allotting a maximum six seconds for its new embeddable clips. Is that such a good thing?

Comments | 1,990 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 24, 2013

How Obama Could Nix the Keystone Pipeline (and Why He Won't)

President Obama will be confronted with the first big policy decision of his second term where environmentalists and business interests are at odds: the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Despite promising to act on climate change in his inaugural address, all signs point to the controversial project going forward.

Comments | 1,671 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

Mark Zuckerberg, Secret Republican?

Facebook announced Thursday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg will host his first political fundraiser at his home for... New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Is the world's most famous young exec actually a conservative wolf in a Silicon Valley hoodie? Time for an investigation.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

Nostalgia Will Not Save Fading Tech Giants

The latest great idea in saving big-old tech companies is to remind people of a better era.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 24, 2013

How Shakespeare and MLK Got Encoded in DNA

Could the library of the future replace bookshelves with petri dishes? New research into the possibility of storing information in DNA has already preserved words by Shakespeare and Martin Luther King in genetic material.

Comments | 5,690 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

Why the End of the Apple Bubble Is Bad for Everyone

Apple's tanking stock doesn't just mean a lot of lost money for Apple employees and tech traders, but the rest of us, too. It is very likely that either you or your 401k has some Apple shares.  

Comments | 4,945 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 23, 2013

Google Wants to Own the Airwaves, Now

As if Google's launching a free Wi-Fi network in New York City earlier this month wasn't curious enough, now the search giant is asking the FCC for a license to create an "experimental radio service."

Comments | 3,104 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 23, 2013

Today in Research

You'll Never Guess Who Is Most Likely to Claim Reverse Racism

Discovered: The predictable race and political affiliation of "reverse racism" victims; car crashes are more deadly for the morbidly obese; ADHD on the rise in high-income minority communities; plain labeling could cut smoking rates.

Comments | 6,725 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 23, 2013

Inside the Eastern European Cybercrime Network That Brought Down NASA

Today federal authorities charged three men with building and disseminating a virus that crippled NASA computers and brought in tens of millions of dollars for cybercriminals. The new court documents detail the inner workings of Eastern Europe's cybercrime market. 

Comments | 1,418 Views

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