Arbtr wants to create an anti-feed where users can only share one thing at a time – TechCrunch

At a time when the models of traditional social networks are being questioned, it’s more important than ever to experiment with alternatives. Arbtr is a proposed social network that limits users to sharing a single thing at any given time, encouraging “ruthless self-editing” and avoiding “nasty things” like endless feeds filled with trivial garbage. It’s seeking funds on Kickstarter and could

Knitting machines power up with computer-generated patterns for 3D shapes – TechCrunch

At last, a use for that industrial knitting machine you bought at a yard sale! Carnegie Mellon researchers have created a method that generates knitting patterns for arbitrary 3D shapes, opening the possibility of “on-demand knitting.” Think 3D printing, but softer. The idea is actually quite compelling for those of us who are picky about their knitwear. How often have we picked up a knit cap,

Funerals begin for Palestinians killed by Israel army on Land Day | Israeli–Palestinian conflict News

Funerals have begun for the 17 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces as thousands marched near Gaza’s border with Israel to mark the 42nd anniversary of Land Day.  Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip held the funeral for 30-year-old Sari Abu Odeh late on Friday. He was shot dead earlier in the day after Israeli forces fired live ammunition at protesters and used tear gas to push them back

Russian Hacker Who Allegedly Hacked LinkedIn and Dropbox Extradited to US

A Russian man accused of hacking LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring in 2012 and possibly compromising personal details of over 100 million users, has pleaded not guilty in a U.S. federal court after being extradited from the Czech Republic. Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, 30, of Moscow was arrested in Prague on October 5, 2016, by Interpol agents working in collaboration with the FBI, but he

Chinese police foil drone-flying phone smugglers at Hong Kong border – TechCrunch

Dozens of high-tech phone smugglers have been apprehended by Chinese police, who twigged to the scheme to send refurbished iPhones into the country from Hong Kong via drone — but not the way you might think. China’s Legal Daily reported the news (and Reuters noted shortly after) following a police press conference; it’s apparently the first cross-border drone-based smuggling case, so likely of

Japan Display to Raise $517 Million to Supply Apple With LCDs for 2018 Low-Cost iPhone

Japan Display is planning to raise $517 million through third-party share allocations and asset sales so it will have the funds to supply LCD screens for new iPhones, reports Nikkei. Last year, Japan Display lost business because of Apple’s shift to OLED, so the company sought partnerships to begin producing OLED displays, but with Apple planning to continue to use LCDs for some devices, Japan

Clipisode launches a ‘talk show in a box’ – TechCrunch

A company called Clipisode is today launching a new service that’s essentially a “talk show in a box,” as founder Brian Alvey describes it. Similar to how Anchor now allows anyone to build a professional podcast using simple mobile and web tools, Clipisode does this for video content. With Clipisode, you can record a video that can be shared across any platform – social media, the web, text

Google’s on-by-default ‘Articles for You’ leverage browser dominance for 2,100 percent growth – TechCrunch

When you’ve got leverage, don’t be afraid to use it. That’s been Google’s modus operandi in the news and publishing world over the last year or so as it has pushed its AMP platform, funding various news-related ventures that may put it ahead, and nourished its personalized Chrome tabs on mobile. The latter, as Nieman Labs notes, grew 2,100 percent in 2017. You may have noticed, since Chrome is a

Griffin’s PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad Now Available for Purchase

Griffin has a new wireless charging accessory available for purchase as of today, the Griffin PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad. Designed for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Android devices that support wireless charging, the PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad offers up to 15W of charging power. Griffin says Qi-enabled devices will charge faster with the PowerBlock than with a standard 5W

Huawei says it’s still committed to the U.S., in spite of, well, everything – TechCrunch

A funny thing happened the last couple of times I was briefed on a Huawei flagship product: news was breaking about some major roadblock for the company’s U.S. distribution plans. First it was AT&T backing out in the midst of CES and then it was Best Buy’s decision to drop the company just ahead of the big P20 launch (though a rep for the company told me the States were never part of its

At least 15 Palestinians killed in Land Day protests | Israeli–Palestinian conflict News

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,400 others wounded by Israeli forces as thousands marched near Gaza’s border with Israel in a major demonstration marking the 42nd anniversary of Land Day.  Mohammed Najjar, 25, was shot in the stomach in a clash east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, while Mahmoud Muammar, 38, and Mohammed Abu Omar, 22, were both shot dead in Rafah,

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro lineup is a new high-water mark in comfort and quality – TechCrunch

SteelSeries has two new Arctis Pro gaming headsets out, and they pack a lot of tech and versatility into a comfortable, visually attractive package. The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless and Arctis Pro + GameDAC are both incredibly capable headsets that deliver terrific sound, and depending on your system needs, should probably be your first choice when looking for new gaming audio gear. The

China Catches Smugglers Using Drones to Transport $80M Worth of iPhones From Hong Kong to Mainland

A group of criminals in China were caught smuggling 500 million yuan ($79.8 million) worth of refurbished iPhones from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, using drones connected via cables to transport the smartphones. Reported by the Legal Daily (via Reuters), customs officers in Shenzhen caught the group and ceased its illegal actions, arresting 26 total suspects in the process. Photo by Liu Youzhi/Southern

MacOS finally gains external GPU support – TechCrunch

The latest update to macOS provides support for external graphics card. Apple announced this would hit the OS last June at WWDC and now it’s finally here. The update allows Mac users to increase the graphical processing power through an external graphics card connected through Thunderbolt 3. Perviously users had to buy an eGPU dev kit from Apple or employ unofficial means to enable external

Twitter Introduces Easier Method for Sharing Specific Clips From Live Videos

Twitter this week updated its iOS and Android apps with a new feature called “Timestamps,” which the company said will make it easier to share brief moments from longer live videos. Previously, Twitter users had to direct their followers to specific time codes in a live video so that people knew which moment they were referring to. The Timestamps update is a direct response to that, according to

How to Get Your Mac’s Dock to Show Running Apps Only

Last week we explained how you can use a simple Terminal command to insert spaces in your macOS Dock and visibly group together app icons. In this article, we’re going to highlight another simple Terminal hack that turns the Dock into more of a straightforward app switcher by making it display only apps that are currently running on your Mac. Seeing only active apps at the bottom of your desktop

Tim Cook hits Facebook again over privacy concerns – TechCrunch

Tim Cook took a break from criticizing Facebook on Tuesday to present the next step in Apple’s big education plans. But the CEO is back at it. Sitting down with MSNBC and Recode at a town hall event, Cook was once again asked about consumer privacy in the wake of fallout over Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica quagmire. Cook interviews that while he believed self-regulation is best in the case of

FCC approves SpaceX plan for 4,425-satellite broadband network – TechCrunch

SpaceX has a green light from the FCC to launch a network of thousands of satellites blanketing the globe with broadband. And you won’t have too long to wait — on a cosmic scale, anyway. Part of the agreement is that SpaceX launch half of its proposed 4,425 satellites within six years. The approval of SpaceX’s application was not seriously in doubt after last month’s memo from FCC Chairman Ajit

Apple Releases iTunes 12.7.4 With New Music Video Features for Apple Music

Apple today released an updated version of iTunes, iTunes 12.7.4, which introduces a new music video experience for Apple Music. A music video section lets users discover new and popular music videos in the Browse section of Apple Music, and there’s an option to create Apple Music playlists for videos. Apple’s full release notes for iTunes 12.7.4 are below: iTunes now includes a new music video

Instagram reenables GIF sharing after GIPHY promises no more racism – TechCrunch

A racial slur GIF slipped into GIPHY’s sticker library earlier this month, prompting Instagram and Snapchat to drop their GIPHY integrations. Now Instagram is reactivating after GIPHY confirmed its reviewed its GIF library four times and will preemptively review any new GIFs it adds. Snapchat said it had nothing to share right now about whether it’s going to reactivate GIPHY. “We’ve been in

Apple releases iOS 11.3 with new Animojis – TechCrunch

Apple just released an iOS update for your iPhone and iPad. 11.3 introduces a ton of bug fixes but also a bunch of new features. If you forgot about Animjois, today is your lucky day as Apple is adding four new Animojis — a dragon, a bear, a lion and a skull. But that’s not all. Apple already shared a preview of iOS 11.3 a couple of months ago. There’s a big ARKit update to ARKit 1.5. It can

Google Play audiobooks get Smart Resume, bookmarks and Assistant routines support – TechCrunch

Google Play Audiobooks is getting a major update today that adds a number of new features to the service that were sorely missing when it launched earlier this year. None of these are groundbreaking, but they’ll help Google reach feature parity with some of its competitors while injecting a bit of its proprietary smarts into the process, too. Maybe the most useful new feature in today’s release

Venezuelan prison fire leaves nearly 70 people dead | Venezuela News

Anguished relatives of at least 68 people killed in a riot and fire in the cells of a police station jail in the Venezuelan city of Valencia have gathered outside to demand explanations.  A fire reportedly broke out at the detention centre after inmate began setting mattresses alight in an attempted jailbreak early on Wednesday morning, local news media reported. Many reportedly died due to

Microsoft’s Meltdown Patch Made Windows 7 PCs More Insecure

Meltdown CPU vulnerability was bad, and Microsoft somehow made the flaw even worse on its Windows 7, allowing any unprivileged, user-level application to read content from and even write data to the operating system’s kernel memory. For those unaware, Spectre and Meltdown were security flaws disclosed by researchers earlier this year in processors from Intel, ARM, and AMD, leaving nearly every

Apple Releases New 11.3 Software for the HomePod

Alongside iOS 11.3, watchOS 4.3, and tvOS 11.3, Apple today released a new 11.3 software update designed for the HomePod. This marks the first software update that’s been released for the HomePod since it became available for purchase in February. The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 11.3, but you can also manually update and check your

ARKit-Only Apps Exceed 13M Global Downloads Since Launch as Games Remain Most Popular Category

Since ARKit debuted within iOS 11 on September 19 last year, iPhone and iPad owners worldwide have downloaded and installed more than 13 million ARKit-only apps. The data comes from Sensor Tower, which broke down the most popular categories of augmented reality apps fueled by ARKit, the top 10 free and paid apps, highest grossing apps, and more. Games remain the dominant category for ARKit-only

Apple macOS Bug Reveals Passwords for APFS Encrypted Volumes in Plaintext

A severe programming bug has been found in APFS file system for macOS High Sierra operating system that exposes passwords of encrypted external drives in plain text. Introduced two years ago, APFS (Apple File System) is an optimized file system for flash and SSD-based storage solutions running MacOS, iOS, tvOS or WatchOS, and promises strong encryption and better performance. Discovered by

How to Hide and Remove System Preference Panes in macOS

In macOS, the System Preferences app located in the Applications folder is where you can adjust various settings to customize your Mac. Most system preference panes are native to macOS and cannot be removed – although they can be hidden. In this article, we’ll show you how it’s done. Occasionally, third-party apps installed on your Mac will insert their own preference panes in the bottom row of

Security flaw in Grindr exposed locations to third-party service – TechCrunch

Users of Grindr, the popular dating app for gay men, may have been broadcasting their location despite having disabled that particular feature. Two security flaws allowed for discovery of location data against a user’s will, though they take a bit of doing. The first of the flaws, which were discovered by Trever Faden and reported first by NBC News, allowed users to see a variety of data not

2018 Lincoln Navigator – TechCrunch

Michigan saw a historic amount of snowfall in 2018. And it’s not done. It’s snowing as I write this and it snowed nearly every day since I took delivery of this burgundy 2018 Lincoln Navigator. Excuse the dirty car shown in the photos. That’s life in the Midwest: half the year it’s impossible to keep cars clean of salt and grime and, to me, that’s the best time to review a vehicle. I’m happy to

Hide 3D paintings anywhere with AR app Artopia – TechCrunch

Public places may soon be filled with secret pieces of art unlocked by looking through the lens of AR, if Artopia’s cheerily creative app catches on. It essentially lets you geocache your 3D scribbles so anyone else can find, appreciate and share them. Artopia, currently in beta for Android and iOS, is a straightforward combination of AR painting and real-world discovery. You make your art by

New Sixth-Generation iPad vs. 10.5-Inch iPad Pro

Support for the Apple Pencil was one of the major differentiating factors between the fifth-generation iPad and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, with Apple Pencil connectivity limited to Apple’s more expensive flagship tablets. Now that Apple Pencil support has been built into the sixth-generation iPad, which costs just $329, the Apple Pencil is far more accessible and there’s less separating Apple’s

It was not consent, it was concealment – TechCrunch

Facebook’s response to the clutch of users who are suddenly woke — triggered to delve into their settings by the Facebook data misuse scandal and #DeleteFacebook backlash — to the fact the social behemoth is, quietly and continuously, harvesting sensitive personal data about them and their friends tells you everything you need to know about the rotten state of tech industry ad-supported business

We go butt-on with the Blix Komfort Prima electric bike

Blix is a new European ebike brand that melds high style, faux leather, and a really nice electric drive train to create a $2,500 ebike that might be too pricey for some but hits most of the buttons when it comes to a fully augmented bike ride. The bike, called the Blix Komfort Prima, runs about 60 miles per charge on Eco mode and essentially adds small boost to your regular pedaling. It includes

Syrian civil war map: Who’s in control where |

Since March 2011, fighting has killed an estimated 465,000 Syrians, wounded one million more, and forced about 12 million people – or half the country’s prewar population – from their homes. Eastern Ghouta, an area east of the capital Damascus, has been the focus of a fierce offensive by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in recent weeks, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths, including 215

Tim Cook on What He Would Do in Mark Zuckerberg’s Shoes: ‘I Wouldn’t Be in This Situation’

“I wouldn’t be in this situation” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Recode‘s Kara Swisher in an interview where he was asked what he would do right now if he was Mark Zuckerberg. Cook went on to say that Facebook should have self regulated to prevent the massive data collection scandal it’s now embroiled in, but the time for that has passed. “I do think that it is time for a set of people to think deeply

Waze officially launches its ad program for small businesses – TechCrunch

With the launch of Waze Local, Google-owned navigation app Waze is offering small businesses a way to market themselves to consumers  on the road. Waze has allowed larger brands to buy ads for years, and it’s been beta testing Waze Local since 2016. “It’s been a gradual strategy,” said Matt Phillips, who leads the Waze Local team. “We wanted to get it right.” He added that the key is

Facebook Details Revamped Privacy Tools to Put Users ‘More in Control’ of Their Data

Following revelations that emerged last week about Facebook’s misuse of user data, the company today said it has “heard loud and clear” that it needs to make it easier for users to know how to control their own privacy settings and data. These updates to Facebook mobile and on the web “have been in the works for some time,” according to Facebook chief privacy officer Erin Egan, “but the events of

Build your own PC inside the PC you built with PC Building Simulator – TechCrunch

Considering we’ve got simulators for everything from driving a junker (x2) to moving into a neighborhood with a bunch of hot dads in it, I suppose it was only a matter of time until someone made a game where you assemble your own PC. It’s called PC Building Simulator, as you might guess, and it looks fabulous. I’ve built all my PCs over the years, including my current one, which I really should

Nvidia stuns by driving a car in real life through virtual reality – TechCrunch

Today at Nvidia’s GTC conference the company unveiled a wild technology demo and it’s straight out of Black Panther. Simply put, a driver using virtual reality was remotely controlling a car in real life. “He’s not with us,” Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, said pointing the driver on the stage. “He’s looking at this virtual world through live video.” The driver was sitting on the stage of the

Arm chips with Nvidia AI could change the Internet of Things – TechCrunch

Nvidia and Arm today announced a partnership that’s aimed at making it easier for chip makers to incorporate deep learning capabilities into next-generation consumer gadgets, mobile devices and Internet of Things objects. Mostly, thanks to this partnership, artificial intelligence could be coming to doorbell cams or smart speakers soon. Arm intends to integrate Nvidia’s open-source Deep

Comparing Apple, Google and Microsoft’s education plays – TechCrunch

Today’s Apple event in Chicago was about more than just showing off new hardware and software in the classroom — the company was reasserting itself as a major player in education. The category has long been a lynchpin in Apple’s strategy — something that Steve Jobs held near and dear. Any ’80s kid will tell you that Apple was a force to be reckoned with — Apple computers were mainstays in

Apple introduces a cheap 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support – TechCrunch

Apple is holding a press conference right now in Chicago. And the company unveiled a brand new device — well, sort of. Apple is going to sell a brand new 9.7-inch iPad that works with the Apple Pencil. Before today, only (more expensive) iPad Pro models could take advantage of the Pencil. Today’s new iPad will cost $329 for regular consumers. Schools can buy it for $299, just like the previous

Everything Apple Announced at Today’s Educational Event in Under Three Minutes

Apple held its first event of 2018 this morning in Chicago, Illinois, at the Lane Tech College Prep High School. The event’s unusual location was due to the fact that it focused on education, marking Apple’s first education-oriented event since 2012. The main draw of the event was a new low-cost iPad with Apple Pencil support, but Apple also announced several other education-focused initiatives

Google Play Movies & TV becomes a one-stop shop for everything that streams – TechCrunch

With the explosion of streaming services now available, it’s becoming more difficult to figure out not just what movie or TV show to watch next, but where you can actually watch it. Google today is rolling out its solution to this problem with a significant revamp of its Google Play Movies & TV app and an update to the Google Play Store itself that will show you which streaming services have the

Ethereum falls after rumors of a powerful mining chip surface – TechCrunch

Rumors of a new ASIC mining rig from Bitmain have driven Ethereum prices well below their one-week high of $585. An ASIC – or Application-specific integrated circuit – in the cryptocurrency world is a chip that designers create for the specific purpose of mining a single currency. Early Bitcoin ASICs, for example, drove adoption up and then, in some eyes, centralized Bitcoin mining in a few

Apple doubles down on book creation with iPad app – TechCrunch

Apple’s ebook creation tools – first launched in 2012 – have long played an interesting if minor role in the ecosystem. While Amazon has the indie book world sewn up with Kindle Direct Publishing, the desktop-based iBooks Author has always been the multimedia alternative and a favorite for folks creating one-off texts. Although there are no clear numbers (the last announcement happened in

Huawei’s P20 is a shiny, extravagant phone – TechCrunch

Huawei just unveiled its brand new flagship phone — the P20. It’s a solid, well-designed Android phone with a shiny design, an iPhone X-like notch and some extravagant features, such as not one, not two but three cameras on the back of the P20 Pro. I played with the phone for a few minutes yesterday, and I would consider it one of the most polished Android phones out there. It’s a good successor

Yuri Gagarin’s death: Three tales for his crash | Russia News

Yuri Gagarin, feted as a Soviet national hero for being the first man in space, was killed in a plane crash 50 years ago but the details of his death remain shrouded in mystery and tales. For the first time in Soviet history, a day of national mourning was declared for someone who was not a head of state. At the time, wild rumours surrounding Gagarin’s death were circulating around the Soviet

Apple’s “Pencil” now works with its iWork toolkit – TechCrunch

Apple is bringing its pencil to the masses. The pencil tool will now work across Apple’s suite of iWork tools — including the popular Pages (document creation) Numbers (its spreadsheet app), and Keynote (for presentations) apps — on the low-cost iPad that Apple first brought to market last year. At an event today in Chicago, Apple announced its latest iPad, in a bid to challenge the dominant