Not all heroes wear capes. In the case of two individuals accused of hacking a digital billboard to play pornography, the garments of choice appear to be more hoodie-like.
According to Michigan's Auburn Hills Police Department, at 10:49 p.m. on Sept. 28, the two individuals pictured above broke into a small building underneath a digital billboard on the side of I-75. Once inside, they somehow managed to hack the billboard and used it to play pornography.
Drivers, needless to say, were surprised and delighted at the unexpected sight.
The video reportedly ran for about 15 to 20 minutes before it was eventually shut down. Read more...
Show appreciation for your kind and generous digital overlord.
Facebook is set to launch its latest feature, news tab, this fall — setting up yet another political battle over what media outlets are or aren't promoted by the tech giant. While the company has taken great pains to emphasize that it will be different this time around, one thing remains eminently the same: Not all participating publishers will benefit to the same degree.
That's because, as the Wall Street Journal reports, only roughly 25 percent of the 200 participating publications will receive any monetary compensation from the tech giant in exchange for allowing Facebook to populate its news tab with their content. The remaining 150 will apparently be doing it out of the kindness of their digital media hearts. Well, that and the hopes of raking in that sweet, sweet incoming web traffic. Read more...
Reddit is taking bullying and harassment on its website more seriously.
In a post on Monday, Reddit announced that it was broadening its policies when it comes to threats made on the site. Specifically, the social news sharing website has significantly revised what constitutes as bullying and harassment.
According to the new policy, Reddit defines behavior in violation of these rules as “anything that works to shut someone out of the conversation through intimidation or abuse, online or off.” This is a huge update from the previous rules that defined bullying and harassment as putting an individual in “fear of their real life safety” or so that a user “no longer feels that it's safe to post online.” In the announcement, the company points out the inadequacy of a policy that set a “high bar of users fearing for their real-world safety to qualify.” Read more...
Google and Levi's are once again teaming up to launch a line of tech-infused denim jackets.
The new Levi's Trucker Jacket is infused with Google's Jacquard technology. It's pretty much the same concept we saw in 2017, but with some notable upgrades. The underlying tech behind the jacket still relies on a Bluetooth-enabled "tag" that clips into the jacket's left cuff, which acts as a touchpad so you can control your music and a handful of other apps by swiping on it.
The new bluetooth tag is much smaller than the previous Jacquard jacket.
Image: levi's
But the tag itself is now much smaller than the previous version, and there's very little to make the "smart" part of the jacket look different than the rest of it. That said, you can definitely feel that there's more inside the sleeve cuff than meets the eye (the tag will trigger vibrations for some kinds of notifications), but it's still fully washable just like the previous jacket. Read more...
With many associating social media "likes" to popularity, Facebook's plan to test hiding "likes" may help prevent the social pressure of those "likes." Read more...
Arrr, you can no longer share links to The Pirate Bay on Facebook.
“Your post couldn’t be shared, because this link goes against our Community Standards,” reads Facebook’s notification, which pops up when users attempt to share a link to The Pirate Bay. The ban extends to Facebook Messenger as well.
According to TorrentFreak, which first noticed the update, The Pirate Bay wasn't blocked from Facebook just a few weeks ago, even though the social media company was cracking down on other torrenting sites.
Happy last day of September, all — it's officially the last day that anyone can roast you for watching Hocus Pocus "too early."
Freeform's 31 Days of Halloween kicks off midday on Oct. 1, and you can expect plenty of horror flicks from AMC and FX in the coming days. (AMC's FearFest officially starts on Oct. 13.) Netflix and Hulu will also undoubtedly curate Halloween-themed collections for you to compare your options in one place. Pro tip: Watch Marianne on Netflix. Even Stephen King recommends it.
Binge-watching in the dark is a must, but getting a 4K TV is what will really make those jump scares pop. Millions of pixels and HDR contrast ensures that you're able to decipher the dark scenes and won't miss that brief flash of Michael Myers' face in the corner. Plus, Dolby Atmos sound support is the closest thing you'll get to someone *actually* breathing down your neck. Fun! Read more...
Is it just us, or does this Monday feel way busier than the last one? And the one before that. Bottom line: There’s a lot to get done today, so let’s just cut to the chase this week so you can spend your lunch break shopping (and also eating lunch, we guess).
As per usual, we scoured the web for all the best deals on laptops and tablets for this week — and also as per usual, we found some really good ones. The new Galaxy Tab with an included S Pen, HP laptops, and Acer devices are all on sale, plus a bunch more.
Get scrolling through this list and pick your favorites ASAP so you still have time to get your work done today. Go! Read more...
Jeff Bezos is looming over San Francisco. Literally.
A group of animal rights activists mounted a 15-foot tall version of the CEO's head atop the 24th Street San Francisco Whole Foods Monday morning, calling attention to the Amazon-owned chain's work with factory farms allegedly engaged in animal abuse. What's more, a second contingent has chained themselves together inside a San Francisco Amazon office located on Sansome Street.
The group responsible for the protest, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), explained to Mashable over Signal that this is just the latest effort to bring the issue of animal abuse to the attention of Bezos. An activist working with DxE, Priya Sawhney, also confronted the CEO on the stage of the re:Mars conference in Las Vegas in June. Read more...
TL;DR: This 65-inch LG OLED 4K smart TV is on sale for only $1,469 on the Dell website. It's normally $3,297, so you'll be saving a total of $1,828.
If nothing else, last week's Emmy Awards gave everyone a chance to find out which TV shows they should have been watching instead of getting caught up in reruns on Netflix. (I can't be the only person who binged both seasons of Fleabag in a single evening after seeing Phoebe Waller-Bridge clean up at the Microsoft Theater, right?)
Well, whether you plan on catching up on last year's top shows or diving headfirst into the new fall TV season, just know that a 4K OLED TV will take your viewing experience to the next level with crisp details and vivid contrast between darks and lights. Read more...
TL;DR: The portable Foreo Luna go brush is a must-have in any busy person's skincare routine, and it's on sale for $59.40 on Amazon — a savings of $39.60.
Our skin lives for summer — lazy days by the pool don't require any foundation. But as we go back to a more caked-up makeup routine as the tan wears off, that golden hour glow seems to get harder to reach.
You can't prevent the dry air or frigid temperatures, but you can control how they affect your skin. A deep cleaning facial brush is a must over irritating makeup wipes (and way better for the environment, BTW).
The Foreo Luna go is the portable version of the best-selling Luna 2 — just smaller and perfect for taking everywhere you go (goodbye, nights of accidecanlly sleeping in your makeup.) It retails for $99 at Foreo's site, but you can save a whopping 40% and get it for $59.95 on Amazon. Read more...
Your workspace can seriously affect productivity levels. You might not consider its impact, but your computer monitor is center stage on your desk — a screen cluttered with icons and open tabs could have a negative influence on your work.
If that resonates with you, it’s time to get a better monitor. The Dell UltraSharp 34-inch curved USB-C monitor is a great place to start, and it's currently $300 off. (Plus, it comes with a $100 dell gift card.)
This monitor is a good size and its curved nature makes it incredibly immersive by improving your field of view, reducing reflections, and creating near-uniform visual focus. You don’t have to move your eyes as much, meaning you can work comfortably for longer. Eye strain? Not in this house. Read more...
TL;DR: The Alexa-compatible Echo Voice Remote gives you a "plan B" for when you don't feel like shouting at your smart speaker — grab one for $10 off on Amazon.
Picture this: It’s bedtime. “Alexa, turn the lights off,” you shout into the next room, begging for the sweet release of sleep. But you get no response. Ignored yet again. Defeat has never had such a bitter taste. Now, you have unravel yourself from your comforter and walk over to your smart speaker to plead with it so you can finally rest your weary head.
Sounds like a bad situation, doesn’t it? Ensure it doesn’t happen to you with the Alexa Voice Remote — it’ll only set you back $19.99 and will gain you a “plan B” for every smart speaker mishap. Read more...
If you've ever worked at a store that keeps TV screens running when the store is closed, then you've probably envisioned this nightmare scenario.
The promotional screens for an Asics store in Auckland, New Zealand was hacked at some point in the wee hours of Sunday morning and displayed porn for all passersby to, uh, enjoy.
One witness told the New Zealand Herald that the video ran for a few hours Sunday morning. Another witness, however, said the video had been running from 1 a.m. until 10 a.m., when employees showed up for work. That's nine hours total.
The store manager issued an apology, claiming the screens were hacked but not by a current employee. He told the Herald, "Screens were immediately turned off to the units immediately when they turned up for work on Sunday. Clearly this is an embarrassing situation, and Asics has apologized through our website and also by email to our customer database." Read more...
The Wi-Fi Alliance, the worldwide network of companies that brings you WiFi, announced this month that it would start offering WiFi 6 certifications to device manufacturers. That's all well and good, but what does that actually mean? Read more...
Through its development of fast, efficient, and cheap tablets, Amazon has opened the door to plenty of customers who want to use a tablet to assist with their everyday activities. Whether it's to browse the web, watch videos, or entertain the kids, Amazon Fire tablets are here to help.
Each edition of the Fire tablet is incredibly cheap, which is achieved through Amazon subsidizing the cost with ads on lock screens. The All-new Fire 7 costs just £49.99, dropping even lower than that during sales.
Don't let the affordability fool you though, these plucky little devices are fully capable of performing the vast majority of tasks that you'd expect from a tablet. The Fire HD tablets can even go one step further, and double up as a smart home device when you enable the 'Show Mode'. Read more...
