Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook may have a ways to go before earning back the public’s trust, but advocates for immigrants may be able to rest a little easier after Zuckerberg’s (seemingly never-ending) congressional hearing.

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) asked Zuckerberg about the extent to which Facebook would comply with President Trump’s “extreme vetting” initiative for ICE. To which Zuckerberg responded that… it wouldn’t!

More about Privacy, Surveillance, Mark Zuckerberg, Immigration, and Cambridge Analytica

A software upgrade allowed an inmate in Kansas to tweet from jail. 

Tyler Barriss, who is currently in jail for a fake emergency call that led to someone dying, was able to access Twitter from jail on Friday because of a software fluke. He called himself an “eGod” in his tweets and threatened to commit the crime again. 

“All right, now who was talking shit?” he tweeted. 

More about Twitter, Gaming, Culture, and Web Culture

Impressed by the camera on the iPhone X? You ain’t seen nothing yet. 

Taiwan’s Economic Daily News (via MacRumors) reports that Apple may introduce at least one new iPhone with a triple-lens rear camera in 2019. 

Per the report, expect the 12-megapixel lens to boost a 6P design and 5x zoom of an unknown classification. 

For context: The iPhone 8 has one lens with 5x digital zoom, while the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have two lenses with 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. Other than that, there’s not much we know about this mysterious third-generation iPhone X.  Read more…

More about Iphone, Iphone X, Iphone Camera, Face, and Tech

It’s been months since Janelle Monae released her subtly queer masterpiece, “Make Me Feel,” and I’m still just at the beginning stages of my recovery period.

Unfortunately — or maybe fortunately — there’s no time to heal. On Tuesday, the artist released her latest music video, “Pynk.” It’s thick with queer innuendo and feminist iconography. Evidence A: The giant “pussypants” she and her fellow dancers wears throughout. Evidence B: The guest appearance of Tessa Thompson, rumored to be Monae’s partner, who actually busts out of her enormous pink vagina pants.

More about Watercooler, Janelle Monae, Music Video, Culture, and Web Culture

Warning: Spoilers loom ahead. 

Year after year, nearly every Game of Thrones season is defined by one major, sprawling battle sequence. And from the sounds of new reports, Season 8 will deliver a battle to end all battles.

And we are straight shook by what it could mean.

Watchers on the Wall reported on the now-deleted Instagram post from a Game of Thrones assistant director, Jonathan Quinlan. The post featured a letter from “The Producer Types” on the show, thanking “the Night Dragons” (aka the cast and crew) for shooting in “the cold, the snow, the rain, the mud, the sheep shit of Toome and the winds of Magheramorne.” Read more…

More about Entertainment, Game Of Thrones, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Game Of Thrones Season 8

We could tell you a lot about The Meg. Like that it’s based on a novel – actually, the first in a whole series of novels – by Steve Alten, or that the “meg” of its title refers to the megalodon, a real prehistoric creature that existed millions of years ago.

But all you really need to know is that this movie is about Jason Statham battling an enormous shark. 

Well, that, and maybe also that The Meg is the kind of movie that takes itself un-seriously enough to use “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” as a soundtrack for the Meg’s gory adventures. Read more…

More about Movies, Jason Statham, The Meg, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Mark Zuckerberg is going to testify, but the question remains as to whether or not he’ll really say anything of substance.

The CEO is in Washington D.C. this week to assure lawmakers and the concerned citizens of Facebook Nation that he knows he needs to do better, that he is going to make it all OK, and that — above all — he is listening. That being said, his prepared testimony is a bunch of recycled pablum masquerading as contrition and doesn’t suggest a good start. 

He can, and should, do better. Thankfully, we’re here to extend a helping hand. 

More about Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Cambridge Analytica, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Apple is patting itself on the back for hitting its goal of 100 percent clean energy. All of the tech company’s facilities around the world are powered by renewable energy, Apple announced Monday. That’s stores, offices, and data centers powered from solar, wind, hydrogen, and other clean energy sources.

While impressive that facilities in 43 countries are powered with clean energy, its many suppliers are still working at it. Apple has convinced nine more suppliers “to power all of their Apple production with 100 percent clean energy, bringing the total number of supplier commitments to 23.” Pegatron with iPhone factories in Shanghai and Kunshan, China, and Finisar, the U.S. company that builds parts to power Face ID and Animoji are among the nine pledge makers.   Read more…

More about Apple, Renewables, Renewable Energy, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

There are very few things that bring the internet together like the universal hatred of Logan Paul. 

The disgraced YouTuber had his Twitch debut on Sunday and was immediately barraged with explicit images of genitalia during the livestreamed game of Fortnite. 

“There are so many dicks,” one of his producers said during the stream. 

Paul, who is a 23-year-old who can read, also read a racial slur out loud during the stream when he named donor “Negros4565,” who paid him $100. He also read the username “I_S_Wallow_Cum_77” after that viewer gave him another $100. It’s common for Twitch viewers to troll players and trick them into saying racial slurs or offensive language as players often read donor names. Twitch players make money off donations.  Read more…

More about Twitch, Logan Paul, Culture, and Web Culture

iOS 11.3 isn’t even two weeks old, and it’s already causing problems. Specifically, it’s killing touch functionality in iPhone 8 models that have third-party screens. 

Users who have had their iPhone 8’s screens replaced by shops that aren’t Apple Stores or authorized retailers have been experiencing difficulty using their phones since downloading the update. Multiple retailers told Motherboard that fixing the phones requires upgrading the chip that powers the screen. 

Look, we get it. If this happened to your phone, it’s frustrating to the max. But it’s also…a tiny bit your fault. 

More about Apple, Iphone 7 Plus, Iphone 8, Right To Repair, and Tech