Author Archives: Carol Edwards

In case you needed another reminder of the potentially terrifying downside of having a Wi-Fi-connected security camera in your home, consider this: it’s surprisingly easy for hackers to gain access to them.

Hackers have created software that essentially streamlines the process, and are selling and sharing it on internet forums, Motherboard reported. The exploit is possible not because of any one vulnerability in Ring’s software, but rather how it takes advantage of insecure passwords in order to get into the accounts in question. 

This is much more than a theoretical vulnerability. There have been reports all around the country of people encountering strangers on the other end of their in-home security camera.  Read more…

More about Tech, Amazon, Cybersecurity, Ring, and Tech

We’ve all done it: you start a movie only to realize partway in that it’s actually terrible. If you’re streaming on Netflix or somewhere else, this is no big deal because you can just switch to something else. 

But if you’ve paid to rent the movie, it’s much more of a bummer. Now, not only do you have to find something better, you’re also out the rental fee. 

Walmart-owned streaming platform Vudu has a solution: “rental redo,” which gives users a 30-minute window to bail out on movie rentals without having to pay the fee. 

“Rental Redo is just like having a gift receipt for your movie,” the company explains. “If you decide your rental is not for you within the first 30 minutes, we’ll give you a ‘redo’ so you can find another movie to fit your mood.” Read more…

More about Tech, Walmart, Vudu, Tech, and Consumer Tech

On the one hand, Fortnite x Star Wars is such an outlandish and untested idea, you have to admire the sheer chutzpah of Epic Games. On the other, the actual technical experience sucked for an awful lot of people.

First, the good: J.J. Abrams debuted a new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker clip inside Fortnite on Saturday. The reveal was preceded by an epic sky battle between the Millennium Falcon and some pursuing TIE Fighters. All the while, a whole, entire fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers sat higher up in the sky watching everything unfold.

After the Falcon fended off its attackers and landed, Abrams popped out of the ship – literally, a Fortnite avatar of the famed filmmaker – to vamp for a little while before revealing the clip. Geoff Keighley was there, too, dressed in a Stormtrooper skin.  Read more…

More about Star Wars, Epic Games, Fortnite, Star Wars The Rise Of Skywalker, and Entertainment

Good news, green bubbles: Google has finally flipped the switch on an update that makes texting on Android more like iMessage. 

If you live in the U.S, Google’s Messages app should now officially support “chat” features like read receipts, typing indicators, and better support for photo and group messages. The update is the result of a years-long effort by Google to ditch SMS, which was created decades before the first smartphones changed how we think about text messaging.  

Google announced in November that it was upgrading its Messages app to support Rich Communication Services (RCS), a newer standard that allows messages to be sent via Wi-Fi, along with all the other “chat” features you expect from a messaging app in 2019. But Google being Google, this update wasn’t actually available to everyone until Thursday.  Read more…

More about Tech, Google, Android, Imessage, and Tech

It’s official: Taylor Swift is 30, flirty, and thriving.

The singer celebrated her milestone birthday on Friday, and spent the night singing at iHeartRadio’s 2019 Jingle Ball and celebrating with friends.

After her performance, radio host Elvis Duran came on stage to present Swift with a giant cat-covered birthday cake, and he asked all the fans in Madison Square Garden to sing her “Happy Birthday.”

The cake has three cat faces on it, which likely signifies Swift’s own cats: Benjamin Button, Olivia Benson, and Meredith Grey. Aww. Duran’s three-tiered cat cake was gorgeous and genuinely impressive, but it wasn’t Swift’s only cat cake this birthday. Read more…

More about Taylor Swift, Iheartradio, Jingle Ball, Culture, and Music

If you’re looking for news, J.J. Abrams does admit here that “we don’t really get into Midichlorians in” Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Congrats to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for landing that scoop!

The stars of the final chapter in the so-called “Skywalker Saga” (aka the reason Star Wars exists) spent a little time recently putting them all through a “Just One Question” gauntlet. The result is a hilarious mix of skewered Star Wars stereotypes, fresh (and less-than-fresh) takes on tired gags, and  – the real highlight – an epic Star Wars explainer for anyone who’s never seen these movies. Read more…

More about Star Wars, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Star Wars The Rise Of Skywalker, Entertainment, and Star Wars

Google sees everything. Well, almost everything.

On Friday, the company revealed in a blog post that Google Earth now covers more than 98 percent of the world, and has captured 10 million miles of Street View imagery.

To put those numbers in perspective, Google shared that the distance of 10 million miles would wrap around the globe more than 400 times, and that Google Earth lets users browse more than 36 million square miles of satellite imagery, aka A LOT.

“While these stunning photos show us parts of the world we may never get a chance to visit, they also help Google Maps accurately model a world that is changing each day,” the post reads. Read more…

More about Tech, Google, Google Maps, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson are back, baby.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, who played the beloved on-screen couple in 1978, recently reunited for a Grease sing-along in Florida. 

It’s been more than 40 years since the two starred in the iconic musical rom-com together, and they got back into costume for the first time since making the movie for the exciting fan event.

On Friday, Newton-John shared a photo of her and Travolta looking cool as ever, walking hand-in-hand at the event. Needless to say, we got chills and they instantly multiplied.

More about Musical, John Travolta, Grease, Entertainment, and Celebrities

It’s yule log season, people, which means it’s time to sit in front of your screens and stare at some crackling fires on a loop.

Instead of watching one of the many yule log videos that feature real fireplaces, consider breaking tradition and watching Lego’s Festive Fireplace. It’s cute as hell, and streaming live on YouTube 24/7.

The video features a gorgeous Lego living room complete with a cozy chair, decorated tree, and stunning fireplace made from bricks. The flames peacefully crackle and shift back and forth, but if you watch long enough you’ll see some members of the family pop in to decorate, roast marshmallows, or play with their toys. Read more…

More about Youtube, Lego, Yule Log, Culture, and Web Culture

Essentials Week spotlights unexpected items that make our daily lives just a little bit better.

Here’s a bad situation: You’re strolling outside in the cold, perhaps on your way to a doctor’s appointment or a performance of The Nutcracker, and you realize your lips are a little chapped. You reach into your coat pocket for some Chapstick. It’s not there. No worries; you’ll use the tube in your bag. You unzip the back pocket of your bag (best pocket for Chapstick — easy access) and root around in there. No Chapstick. God. Your lips will never feel moisture again.

Due to life being unpredictable and harrowing, it’s impossible to feel prepared most of the time. Plans change, people change, and seasons change, and there’s no way to anticipate the thousands of ways in which things could go wrong for you every single day. But there’s one tiny way you can always be prepared, a way that’s as inexpensive as it is luxurious. Place a tube of lip balm in every single one of your bags and every single one of your jackets, never to be moved. It will change your life. Read more…

More about Beauty, Essentials Week, Culture, and Work Life