Category Archives: Blog

China, the largest gaming market, has not approved any video game licenses for at least four months due to President Xi Jinping’s recent government shake up (read: power consolidation), reports Bloomberg.

Although China is notoriously stringent with media censorship, this game licensing freeze is taking the vetting process one step further.

Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that officials are concerned over sex and violence displayed in these games, and it’s been impacting games across all platforms: console, online, and even mobile.

The National Radio and Television Administration (the agency that grants game licenses) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (the agency that lays out game registration procedures) command the game approval, and both are tightening the process after undergoing personnel changes and restructuring earlier this year. Read more…

More about China, Government, Video Games, Block, and Tech

What’s the only thing better than going on shopping spree to Sephora and buying things you definitely don’t need? Having a shopping spree delivered right to your house and spending way less than you would in the store for the same amount of stuff.

That’s right, ya’ll, we’re talking about beauty subscription boxes. These are a clutch way to discover new brands and decide if you like a product before buying it at full price, especially when you’re too lazy to return stuff to the store (raises hand). The best part is that these boxes are always valued significantly more than what you’re paying — so you could end up paying $25 for a box that contains $150 worth of stuff. One tiny item at the store is usually $25. Who’s gonna say no to finessing the system like that? Read more…

More about Beauty, Makeup, Subscription Services, Mashable Shopping, and Shopping Fun

This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.

We’ve all tried our hand at making shapes out of pancake batter — a first initial perhaps, or maybe a crude version of a dog that bears closer resemblance to a Rorschach test.

But making a pancake that actually resembles anything other than a pancake is difficult. Sometimes the batter is too runny, sometimes your pan is too hot, and sometimes your design gets destroyed when the time comes to flip. But pancake artists have all this down to a science. Read more…

More about Youtube, Art, Pancakes, Hard Refresh, and Culture

“We need to destroy the—oh, fuck you, Ruffalo.” 

Even if you’re not typically a sucker for exclusive bonus content, this super gag reel clip could have you sprinting to the nearest Best BuyAvengers: Infinity War‘s 4K UHD Blu-ray edition features behind-the-scenes giggles with your favorite superheroes. And Vision has never been funnier.

This is the second clip of the Infinity War gag reel released. The first featured Chris Pratt juggling, amongst other shenanigans.

It may be $22.99, but those screaming goats make the Blu-ray seem kinda worth it. And, of course, you could always spring for the more costly SteelBook version. But that’s gotta be your call. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Marvel, Bloopers, Blu Ray, and 4k

Instagram says it is “aware that some people are having difficulty accessing their Instagram accounts” and that it is investigating the “issue” that’s caused hundreds of users to lose access to their accounts.

The blog post comes one day after Mashable reported that hundreds of accounts have been hacked in recent days.

The company did not comment on how many accounts have been affected, but its latest statements suggest that it is widespread. In a blog post published Tuesday evening, the company urged users to revisit their security settings and enable two-factor authentication on their accounts.  Read more…

More about Tech, Instagram, Social Media Companies, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Twitter has taken action against Alex Jones.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed Jones’ personal account has limited functions after he posted a tweet that violated its rules. The company, however, stopped short of suspending the account.

“We aren’t suspending the account but requiring he delete a tweet which contained a broadcast in violation of our rules,” the spokesperson told Mashable.

Jones can’t tweet, retweet or like content, but can still browse the site. The timeout will last for 7 days.

The offending tweet, according to BuzzFeed reporter Ryan Mac, contained a Periscope video in which Jones told listeners to get their “battle rifles” ready for antifa and the mainstream media. Read more…

More about Tech, Twitter, Politics, Infowars, and Alex Jones

Welcome to the song of the summer. 

Even if you don’t vibe with Doja Cat’s “Mooo!” it’ll probably be stuck in your head well into 2019. The intoxicating beat, juxtaposed with catchy declarations like “Bitch, I’m a cow” and “I’m not a cat, I don’t say meow” creates a bop that you can’t help dancing along to. 

The music video’s green screen magic rivals John Mayer’s “New Light” — while his featured the artist awkwardly dancing with zebras, Doja Cat’s “Mooo!” shows her enthusiastically munching on a burger in front of the Microsoft default background.  Read more…

More about Twitter, Music, Memes, Culture, and Web Culture

Read more…More about Mashable Reels, Sn Reels, Fortnite, Tech, and Gaming

In Manhattan’s Flatiron Plaza on Monday, children gawked and construction workers tiptoed in curiosity around transportation company Workhorse’s product showcase of two futuristic vehicles: the first electric pickup truck, and the Surefly octocopter drone.

Workhorse is a midwestern transportation company that specializes in electric trucks, particularly for commercial (not personal) use. It gained attention this past May when it achieved manned flight of its SureFly hybrid helicopter. With eight propellers that provide balance, it’s designed more like a drone than a traditional helicopter — so it’s better described as a personal drone octocopter. Also, octocopter is pretty fun to say, so that’s what we’re going with, OK?! Read more…

More about Drones, Electric Vehicles, Helicopter, Tech, and Transportation

It was late Saturday night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and an extremely stoned man was trying to bribe his way into the city’s hottest cryptocurrency party — and it wasn’t working. 

To get to that point, he’d have already waited in a line for 30 minutes just to ride the elevator up to room 6116 in the hotel’s Forum Tower. It was clear he was past ready to start celebrating — this was Saturday night at the DEF CON hacker convention, after all — and someone else was footing the bill. 

That would be Monero, the popular privacy-focused cryptocurrency that’s been on a wild ride since it was released in 2014. It had skyrocketed in value from around $1 in the summer of 2016 to a high of almost $500 in January of this year, before falling back to about $80 today — making a host of early adopters incredibly wealthy in the process.   Read more…

More about Blockchain, Def Con, Cryptocurrency, Monero, and Tech