Category Archives: Blog

It’s a match made in data heaven.

After days of rumors, Google announced Friday that it would be acquiring wearables pioneer FitBit for $2.1 billion. In an industry where warring tech giants are battling for user loyalty, it’s a big deal. 

“It’s not every day a deal like this happens,” Forrester analyst Frank Gillett told Mashable over the phone.

The acquisition could have far-reaching ripples in business, showing that Google is seriously ready to compete with Apple in health and wearables, and up its presence in our lives wherever we go. But, if you’re a FitBit user, what does it mean for you? Read more…

More about Google, Data, Fitbit, Tech, and Health

Apple is a notorious Black-Friday-skipper. When it comes to great deals directly from the company: Zip. Nada. You’re not going to find much of anything. 

But because they list so many of their products with major retailers (ieWalmart, Amazon, Best Buy — you know, the usual suspects), those sellers are able to offer some pretty sweet opportunities for you to get the Apple device you’ve always wanted. Well, the older ones at least. Don’t expect to see an iPhone 11 Lightning Deal at any point.

Thanks to the team at BestBlackFriday.com, we have some insights on what we might see this year in terms of doorbuster deals on Apple products (note that Apple never does an official “ad preview,” so these are mostly educated guesses using data from years prior — aka good data!).  Read more…

More about Apple, Iphone, Macbook, Black Friday, and Mashable Shopping

Kohl’s might not be the first place you think of when shopping for gadgets, but the retailer’s Black Friday ad scan shows some pretty sweet tech deals.

Amazon’s new Echo Show 5 will be $49.99 ($40 off), for example, plus you get $15 in Kohl’s Cash. In our review, we found it to be an affordable little smart display that brings Alexa voice commands to your desk, shelf, or nightstand, so this discount will make it even more enticing.

If the Google Assistant is your voice-based robot of choice, the Google Nest Mini will be $29 ($20 off) on Black FridayOur review found it to be the most affordable Google Assistant smart speaker you can buy, even though it’s not a huge step up from the previous model. Read more…

More about Gaming, Amazon Echo, Kohls, Mashable Shopping, and Culture

Ping! It’s time to get a mammogram. Now, if only your boss would give you time off.

Earlier this week, Facebook launched a new healthcare feature called Preventive Health for users in the U.S. When you search for Preventive Health in the Facebook mobile app, it will surface recommended screenings based on your age and sex, as well as other preventative health measures like flu shots. 

The tool gives recommendations for nearby Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), allows you to set appointment reminders, and mark when tests and appointments are completed.

Facebook also took great pains to articulate that your activity in the Preventive Health tool won’t be shared with advertisers. But is that enough for people to trust Facebook with their sensitive personal health data? And while its nearly 2 billion users are enticing to healthcare professionals, there are questions about whether Facebook can actually make a difference.   Read more…

More about Facebook, Healthcare, Tech, Health, and Big Tech Companies

Instacart shoppers are, once again, fed up. 

In a scathing open letter directed at the company’s founder and CEO, Apoorva Mehta, a coalition of independent contractors voiced their frustration both with Instacart’s pay policies and its tipping structure. And they’re doing more than just typing: The gig-economy workers are staging a three-day work stoppage to drive home their concerns. 

According to the letter, at the time of this writing signed by 212 shoppers, starting Sunday, Nov. 3, and running through Nov. 5, the shoppers — Instacart’s term for the independent contractors who fill and deliver grocery orders — will fill no orders. This will be the fourth such work stoppage in four years, and follows on Instacart’s much-derided (and later backtracked) changes to its tipping structure.   Read more…

More about Gig Economy, Instacart, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

Developed by Knewkey Rymek in Hong Kong, Rocksete is an all-in-one keyboard/typewriter pairing option for your tech. Read more…

More about Tech, Mashable Video, Keyboard, Typewriter, and Rocksete

Kim Kardashian West is known for Getting The Shot. 

Whether it’s squeezing into a latex dress for the Met Gala or the breaking the internet with her butt, Kim will go to hell and back to get a good photograph. Her kids, though, are another story. 

Kardashian West shared family photos of herself, her husband Kanye West, and her kids dressed as characters from The Flinstones for Halloween on Friday. But something was a little… off. 

More about Photoshop, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Culture, and Web Culture

With blind spot detection becoming a norm for cars, 14-year-old Alaina Gassler used just consumer electronics to solve the issue many drivers face. Read more…

More about Tech, Transportation, Mashable Video, Invention, and Blind Spot

Based off George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon will center on the Targaryen family. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Mashable Video, Hbo, Game Of Thrones, and Tv Shows

YouTube channel Grandpa Kitchen has announced its beloved star Narayana Reddy passed away on October 27. The 73-year-old resident of Telangana, India, rose to internet fame through his popular cooking videos, in which he prepared ridiculously large portions of food.

Reddy’s outsized meals weren’t a simple pursuit of internet notoriety, but a reflection of his equally outsized heart. The results of Reddy’s cooking went straight into to the mouths of hungry orphans, while the proceeds from his YouTube channel are reportedly donated to charities.

“Our goal is to provide basic necessities like food, clothing, school supplies and birthday gifts to orphans,” states Grandpa Kitchen’s Patreon. Read more…

More about Youtube, Food, Cooking, Obituaries, and Grandpa Kitchen