Category Archives: Blog

When “work from home” becomes “work from the Airbnb,” you better hope the rental host has a good WiFi setup.

Now, with a new change to Airbnb’s listings, you no longer have to hope — you’ll know exactly what type of internet connection you’ll be dealing with.

On Thursday, Airbnb announced plans to include a new section on its rental listings that will show WiFi speed and quality — before you book.

Hosts can now fill out a WiFi speed check available in the app. Airbnb is using M-Lab’s download and upload speed checker, which tests the connection through the host’s mobile device. The new feature will begin rolling out in U.S. locations before going global a few weeks later.

WiFi info added by hosts will show up on the Airbnb app as part of the rental description for browsing guests.

Previously, hosts could manually post speed test screenshots showing upload and download speeds for their listing’s network. But not every listing offered this information and that’ll continue even with the built-in feature. For guests, especially those working remotely while traveling or living away from home, the change is a boon since checking on internet strength has been an extra hassle and factor in selecting and booking a stay.

Airbnb’s new WiFi check will spell out how fast (or slow) a connection is, but if you want to better understand what the numbers for download and upload speed, and latency mean, here’s a primer.

Our next Airbnb feature request? Information about outlets, nearby public stations, or home set-ups for electric vehicle charging.

“Cassie” is a robot created at Oregon State University that made history by running a 5K thanks to machine learning.

The Office successfully wrapped up its fair share of complex storylines over the course of nine seasons, but in the year 2021 fans still don’t know the identity of the infamous Scranton Strangler. Or do we?

For anyone who needs a refresher, the Scranton Strangler was a mysterious serial killer referenced within Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch during Season 6 to Season 9. There have been a number of theories (both on and offscreen) surrounding the identity of the killer, but we never got definitive closure.

Some people assumed the chaotic, constantly unhinged Creed Bratton was to blame, while others swore that the incredibly dull and largely loathed HR rep Toby Flenderson was more capable of murder. Toby eventually served on the jury for the strangler case and said he believed the man accused, one George Howard Skub, was innocent. Interesting! Then, in March 2018 the official YouTube channel for The Office posted a Making a Murder parody video titled Making A Strangler, which explored the theory that Toby was indeed the one doing the strangling.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but one theory we’d like to throw into the ring for consideration is that David Wallace, Dunder Mifflin’s CFO played by Andy Buckley, was the Scranton Strangler all along. It may seem like a bizarre theory, but even Buckley himself confessed that it sounds pretty plausible. Let’s walk you thought it, shall we?

The uncommon theory was tweeted by Mashable’s very own video producer, Jules Suzdaltsev, more than a year ago on February 15, 2020. In a thread about the workplace comedy he came right out and said it: “David Wallace is the Scranton Strangler.”

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A few days later Buckley replied to the theory by saying, “Very well could be Jules,” then sharing some thoughts of his own.

“He had it in him to just snap. Hot tub middle of the day, boozing, creating the Suck It. And what was he doing in Season 8 the 3rd or 4th to last Ep. Runs into Andy at a local Scranton Charity Dinner? Why was he in Scranton?” Buckley tweeted about his character David before saying, “Perhaps you’re correct.”

For fans of The Office who’ve been trying to figure out who the Scranton Strangler was since 2010, this is potentially a huge development. Technically the information was shared over a year ago, but we’re reporting it now because Jules just saw the tweet and is now “LOSING IT.” (We’ll give him a pass because life gets hectic and sometimes you miss things, but do not leave Office fans hanging again.)

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Since I share a workplace with Jules I messaged him and asked him to explain the David Wallace Scranton Strangler theory in a little more detail.

Here’s what Jules had to say:

My friend and I came up with this theory a few years ago, and it makes perfect sense. Wallace is essentially The Office’s Patrick Bateman, a clean-cut, unflinching multi-millionaire with a “heart of gold” who everyone likes. So why does he let Michael get away with everything, and why does he spend so much time in Scranton when he lives in Greenwich, Connecticut and works in NYC? That’s like a three hour drive!

Its simple – Michael’s branch gives him plausible deniability to be in Scranton, where he has been strangling strangers for a better part of a decade. Who would ever suspect David Wallace? Nobody, and it’s always the person you least suspect. In fact, why do you think he sent away Holly? Is it because she and Michael were getting too close, or is it because Holly was getting too close to the truth? David Wallace is a murderer and should be brought to justice.

What do we think, people? Is David Wallace actually a criminal who de-stressed in his hot tub after long days of cold-blooded killing? Or was it just Toby?

You decide.

The Airship Orchestra is an interactive art installation that just so happens to incredibly cute and mesmerizing.

The mysterious figure known as the “jetpack man” was spotted again over Los Angeles.

A pilot spotted a flying object that resembled a person wearing a jetpack on Wednesday evening near Los Angeles International Airport, where at least four “jetpack” sightings have been reported in the last year, CBS News reports. Upon the pilot’s sighting, air traffic control warned other flights to watch out for what’s since been dubbed “the jetpack man.”

“A Boeing 747 pilot reported seeing an object that might have resembled a jetpack 15 miles east of LAX at 5,000 feet altitude,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, air traffic controllers alerted other pilots in the vicinity.”

In recordings obtained by CBS Los Angeles, the figure was described as a “UFO” and “Iron Man.”

“Skywest 3626, use caution. The jet man is back, let me know if you see him,” air traffic control said. “Skywest 3626, did you see the UFO?”

“We were looking, but we did not see Iron Man,” the pilot responded.

The FBI investigated a string of “jetpack” sightings in the Los Angeles area late last year. The “jetpack man” has become something of a local legend in Southern California after multiple reports of the flying object around LAX.

In August 2020, an American Airlines pilot reported seeing a “guy in a jetpack” at 3,000 feet during his descent to LAX, and that October, a crew on a China Airlines flight reported another unidentified flying object at 6,000 feet as the plane approached the airport. The American Airlines pilot spotted the figure only 300 yards to his left.

In December of that same year, a local flight school posted footage of what appeared to be a person zipping around the Palos Verdes Peninsula using a jetpack, which is just south of LAX.

It’s unclear whether the sightings are related.

While there are a handful of jetpack manufacturers worldwide, few are for sale. It’s also unlikely that a jetpack tank could have enough fuel to reach more than a mile of altitude like the object spotted by the China Airlines crew did. JetPack Aviation, a company based in Chatsworth, California, created jetpacks that are technically capable of reaching 15,000 feet, but Chief Executive David Mayman told the Los Angeles Times that the packs can only really reach around 1,000 to 1,500 feet safely because of fuel constraints.

“To fly up to 6,000 feet from the ground, to fly around long enough to be seen by China Airlines and then to descend again, you’d be out of fuel,” Mayman said.

It’s not entirely out of the question, though. In February 2020, the aviation company Jetman Dubai announced that pilot Vince Reffet reached 6,000 feet of altitude operating one of its winged jetpacks, before deploying his parachute and safely landing. Reffet died in a training accident nine months later.

One widely accepted theory is that the “jetpack man” haunting LA skies is just a mannequin strapped to a drone. Recreational drone users aren’t allowed to fly above 400 feet, over groups of people, over restricted airspace, and especially near other aircraft.

The air traffic controller reporting the August jetpack man sighting put it best: “Only in LA.”

This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the company’s next consumer product will be its Ray-Ban smart glasses. But details for the upcoming device have been extremely limited — until now.

In a statement to Mashable, a Facebook spokesperson provided some insight as to how the smart glasses will work:

“When we refer to always-available augmented reality glasses, we’re envisioning future devices with a built-in display to provide a digital overlay.

Smart glasses—which is what we’re building with Luxottica—will rely on an external display (e.g. phone), but start to show you what it’s like to be more present in the moment.”

Essentially, the Ray-Ban smart glasses won’t act as a standalone device. Instead, they’ll work in conjunction with a smartphone or another external display.

We already knew the device wouldn’t have an integrated display, as reported by The Verge last year. But there’s been some speculation as to how they’ll operate, leading many to wonder if they’ll function the same way Snapchat Spectacles or Amazon Echo Frames do.

And based on these recent comments, it seems they might actually be much more similar to those other smart frames than we’d previously thought. As with the Spectacles and Echo Frames, Facebook’s Ray-Ban smart glasses will allow you to stay connected (to whatever device that may be) without distracting you from your current environment.

Those worried Facebook will use this device as an opportunity to gather information on its users for its Project Aria AR glasses can relax… sort of. Facebook said its “Ray-Ban glasses are completely separate from Project Aria. They will not share data.”

Whether the company will use your smart glasses data for other Facebook hardware and services remains to be seen. The company said it would “share more info on capabilities and our data policies when we reveal the product.”

Considering Facebook’s track record — like that time it accidentally shared user data with thousands of developers and the infamous Cambridge Analytica incident in 2017 — you might want to hold off from buying a pair when they launch. Let’s just say that you’ll want to really read through the terms of service before deciding if you need these smart glasses.

We’ll find out soon enough later this year.

In the wake of Black Widow’s simultaneous theatrical and pay-for-stream release on Disney+, the MCU’s most deadly assassin has taken aim at a new target: Disney itself. According to the Wall Street Journal, actor Scarlett Johansson has filed a lawsuit in the state of California alleging that offering Black Widow on the Disney+ streaming service violated her contract and cost her up to $50 million in box office bonuses.

According to the lawsuit, Johansson’s original contract specified that Black Widow would receive an exclusive theatrical release and a portion of her salary from the movie was tied to box office performance. Black Widow made $158 million at the box office in its opening weekend and another $60 million in pay-to-watch downloads on Disney+; Johansson’s lawsuit appears to accuse Disney of failing to update Johansson’s contract and compensate her for streaming revenue.

The lawsuit also asserts Disney was aware that Johansson’s contract would need to be renegotiated in the event that Black Widow did not get a theater-only release. Marvel’s chief counsel David Galluzzi even wrote in a 2019 email that “should the plan [for theatrical only release] change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses.”

Johansson is far from the only party with a bone to pick with Disney over its simultaneous release strategy. The Atlantic reported that the National Association of Theater Owners released a statement pertaining to Black Widow after Disney published news of the $60 million in streaming revenue. In the statement, the association argued that simultaneous streaming releases were a net loss for all parties including Disney because of of password sharing, piracy, and the fact that the $30 fee to stream the movie was less than an “average” family would pay to see the movie in theaters. The statement concluded that “simultaneous release is a pandemic-era artifact that should be left to history with the pandemic itself.”

The trend for streaming services like HBO Max and Disney+ to release movies on their platforms at the same time they appear in theaters was controversial when first announced because many actors have similar theatrical release clauses in their contracts with the streamers. The Wall Street Journal also reported that WarnerMedia, which runs HBO Max, paid $200 million to talent in renegotiated contracts for movies on their streaming release slate — movies that include would-be blockbusters like Dune, The Suicide Squad, and The Matrix 4. Still, the unprecedented shift in power towards streaming services in the COVID-19 pandemic all but ensures that whole Johansson may be the highest profile lawsuit to be filed this early, it’s likely she won’t be the last.

Update, 7/29, 5:55 pm ET: Disney has responded to Johansson’s lawsuit with a statement via a spokesperson. From The Hollywood Reporter:

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”

Related Video: Everything you need to know before seeing ‘Black Widow’

Save $120: The HP Chromebook 14-inch FHD laptop (Intel Celeron N4000, 4GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC) is on sale for only $219.99 at Amazon as of July 29.

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When you’re on the hunt for a new laptop, always consider its primary function. Is it for work, video games, or mostly browsing the internet? If you don’t need the most powerful processor and are more budget-conscious, a Chromebook might be all you need.

On sale for its best price ever, this HP Chromebook 14-inch laptop with FHD display is now just $219.99 from Amazon. That 35% discount makes what was already a pretty cheap laptop an absolute steal — something to keep in mind if you need a new laptop for school or work.

This particular model of the HP Chromebook comes with an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC internal storage. Don’t expect to play Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on it or run video editing software. But if you mostly need it for basic tasks such as writing, browsing online, and watching videos, that’s all the power you need.

Chromebooks have come a long way to provide quality performance and low prices, and that combo hardly gets any better than a $219.99 HP Chromebook.

Explore related content:

• Best 2-in-1 laptops for the best of both worlds

• A guide to the best tablets out there

• Need a laptop that won’t break the bank? Here are the best options for under $300.

If you’ve been anxiously awaiting Facebook’s smart glasses, we have some good news for you: They’re slated to be the company’s next consumer device.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the news on Wednesday during Facebook’s second quarter earnings call, while providing some insight on the company’s upcoming product cycle.

“Looking ahead here, the next product release will be the launch of our first smart glasses from Ray-Ban in partnership with EssilorLuxottica,” he said.

While Zuckerberg didn’t provide any specifics regarding a timeframe for release, he did state that the device will look just like regular glasses. The Facebook CEO went on to explain that “the glasses have their iconic form factor and they let you do some pretty neat things.”

We’re not exactly sure what those “pretty neat things” will be as far as features and specs go. But that’s not stopping Facebook from hyping the product as an instant “classic.”

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Last year, the social media giant told The Verge “that the device will not be classified as an Augmented Reality (AR) device, and it will not have an integrated display of any kind.” That report goes on to note that the glasses may look similar to Snapchat’s Spectacles or Amazon’s Echo Frames — both of which blend in fairly well with everyday attire.

That earlier statement echoes Zuckerberg’s last words on the subject during Wednesday’s call. Before moving on to other topics, the CEO said he was “excited to get [the smart glasses] into people’s hands and to continue to make progress on the journey towards full augmented reality glasses in the future.”

While these “smart glasses” aren’t considered to be full AR, the project is still part of Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) — the company’s R&D outfit for XR technologies. So, any data and feedback gathered by these smart glasses could help contribute to Project Aria, the lightweight AR glasses Facebook is currently testing.

It remains to be seen when exactly in 2021 Facebook plans on launching these Ray-Ban glasses. But considering we’re more than halfway through the year already, it’s likely the company will release them very soon — perhaps in time for the holiday season.

The internet has changed the world in myriad ways — it has reshaped politics, retail, media, to name a few things — but it has entirely redefined the way people waste time.

If the internet was ever good for anything, in fact, my goodness it it fantastic for wasting time or killing boredom.

But not all time wasting is created equal. For instance, your’s truly spends countless hours scrolling through Twitter. That might be bad for me, in the long run. But wouldn’t it be nice to switch up your habits instead of mindless scrolling?

The internet is vast and filled with dozens of websites to help you kill time. We did the work of finding some great place you might not know about. So next time you want a new way to pass the time online, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 15 of the best sites to waste time.

1. r/eyebleach 

This subreddit collects pure things that’ll lift your spirits when you’ve simply had enough internet for the day. It’s eye bleach, as in, it washes out your eyes from the bad stuff. 

2. Map Crunch

If you’re someone who loves seeing the world, Map Crunch will bop your around random Google Street View locations across the globes. Just tap the green “Go” button to be transported to a new location.

3. Window Swap

This site is kind of mundane, but fascinating nonetheless. Window Swap is exactly what it sounds like. You get transported to a random view out someone else’s window. (It is not live, so you’re not being that creepy.) It’s kind of cool to see the view and imagine living whatever life (and window) you’re dealt. Also, the ambient sounds that accompany the view are oddly soothing. 

4. Scream Into The Void

Honestly, this one is for those days you just need an impossibly dumb outlet. Scream Into The Void lets you type frustrations, and then you hear a scream, and the words you type get sent into “the void.”

5. Oregon Trail

This site provides a healthy dose of nostalgia for ’80s and ’90s kids who got to play Oregon Trail on days a substitute teacher took over the classroom. It looks and plays exactly how you remember the 1990 version of the classic game, and will definitely kill some time. 

6. Google Earth

If you can’t tell, I love maps and scrolling through the vast web of imagery Google has created. But Google Earth is especially cool because the massive tech company created ways to explore famous places in-depth. You can get lost virtually traveling to places like ancient Roman, iconic sports stadiums, or use the “I’m feeling lucky” button to randomly jump across the globe.

7. Autodraw

Autodraw allows you to freehand a doodle and then the site guesses what you were attempting to draw. It’s pretty fun for both the artistically gifted and those who can’t drawn anything (like myself). 

8. Quick, Draw!

This site is a lot like Auto Draw, but gamified. You try to draw a random object and then see if your image was good enough for Google’s neural network was able to guess what it is. 

9. Histography

I am a huge history fan. This massive, interactive timeline of history is dangerous and fun, because it will pull up Wiki pages for all sorts of historical events. Good luck not going down countless rabbit-holes. 

10. The Useless Web

This is exactly how it seems. You go to this website, click a big button then get redirected to a generally useless website. It might kill a few minutes of time, however, with the sheer oddness on display from some of the sites. Sometimes you’ll get a simple game to pay, other times you’ll see a man get slapped with an eel. 

11. GeoGuessr

It’s a lot like Map Crunch, except you play a game. You attempt to guess your location based on a random Street View and get a certain number of points based on how close you were to the correct answer. Unfortunately, you do need to create an account to play, but a free one lets you play a certain number of games per day. 

12. Flight Radar

Quite simply, Flight Radar lets you see every aircraft that’s currently in the air. And while the map is a bit of an illusion — planes fly in a three-dimensional sky, not a 2D landscape — it is quite interesting to see how many aircraft pack the sky. Kill some time by seeing where folks are jetting off to in real time. 

13. Radio Garden

Radio Garden lets you listen in to different radio states around the world. Take a tour around the globe and hear what kind of music different folks enjoy.

14. r/AmItheAsshole

The premise of this subreddit is simple. People share stories and ask commenters if they’re the asshole in the situation. Yes, some of the tales are almost assuredly fake, but they’re still enjoyable to read. 

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15. McMansion Hell

Picture Zillow but for all the strangest houses. Writer Kate Wagner critiques strange, often poorly designed homes. You can lose hours on the site reading Wagner’s commentary on houses built by folks with more money than sense (or taste). 

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Bored still? We’ve got this list of 50 more websites to browse around.

Useless Websites

1. Find the Invisible Cow

An Internet version of the hiding game Hot and Cold.

2. Cat Bounce

It’s simple. You (harmlessly) bounce virtual cats.

3. Hacker Typer

Hollywood-style hacker code. Pound on your keys and freak out your boss.

4. Pointer Pointer

What’s the point of this? Yeah, I don’t know — just embrace the weird.

5. Staggering Beauty

Make the worm dance with your mouse. (Warning: Flashing images.)

6. Bees Bees Bees

This site reveals Oprah’s secret plans.

7. Shady URL

Changes URLs to look like viruses.

8. Don’t Even Reply

A collection of emails from awful people.

9. Shut Up and Take My Money

A shopping website of stuff you don’t need, but you really want.

10. Just this giant Wikipedia list of dogs

Space dogs? Check. War dogs? Check. Famous dogs? Check annnnd check.

11. Drive Me Insane

Turn on the lights (or a disco ball) in someone’s home from your computer. The site has been running since 1997.

Educational Websites

12. Astronomy Picture of the Day

Stunning photographs of space.

13. Duo Lingo

Learn a new language for free.

14. Hubski

A forum of good ideas and conversations.

15. Lizard Point

Browser-based educational activities.

16. Music Theory

Learn the language of music.

17. Sleepytime

A calculator that tells you exactly when to wake up for a good night’s sleep.

18. Code Academy

Step 1. Learn to Code. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit.

19. What Should I Read Next?

Suggests books and authors based upon your interests.

20. OnRead

Free e-books.

Creative Websites

21. Weave Silk

Draw stunning symmetrical images with the click of a mouse.

22. I Need a Prompt

An idea generator.

23. This is Sand

Draw things with sand.

Gaming Websites

24. Pokemon Showdown

A Pokémon battle simulator to waste hours on.

25. SNES Party

This site allows you to upload ROMs (legally obtained, _of course_, unless you’re a bad person) and play with friends within your browser. Pick a game, share a link to your room, and you’re set.

26. Sporcle

Brain games.

27. Poptropica

An interactive online RPG.

28. TagPro

Multi-player online capture the flag.

29. Cookie Clicker

Click for cookies and level up.

30. Foddy

A running game using your keyboard skills.

31. HabitRPG

A habit building app that treats your life like a game.

32. Flash by Night

A collection of addictive games.

Music Websites

33. Party Cloud

Automatically syncs music, now you’re a DJ.

34. You are Listening to

Syncs police scanners from different cities with ambient music.

35. Incredibox

Create your own music with just a few clicks.

Mood Websites

36. A Soft Murmur

Set the mood with weather sounds.

37. Rainy Mood

Sometimes, the sound of rain is soothing.

38. Good vs. Evil

When doing good in the world feels too hard, just vote for good. It won’t change the world, but you the distraction can be nice, even for a moment.

39. Free Rice

Each questions answered correctly translates to 10 grains of rice donated to a hunger charity.

Utility Websites

40. Do I Have a Dead Pixel?

Find out.

41. Da Font

So. Many. Fonts.

42. wallhalla

You probably need a new desktop background.

43. Retail Me Not

Deals and steals.

44. Mint

Tracks how you spend your money.

45. Taste Kid

Explores your tastes and preferences.

46. Addictive Tips

Tips to improve your digital experience.

47. Lifehacker

Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that need improvement.

48. Instructables

DIY everything.

49. Snopes

Dig deeper and find out the truth.

50. Interface Lift

Stunning photography and backgrounds for all of your devices.

This post was updated in August 2018, and again in July 2021.