Category Archives: Blog

Tech contractors aren’t going to take it anymore. 

That message was sent loud and clear by a group of Google contractors in Pittsburgh who today successfully voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers. The contractors, not directly employed by the tech giant but doing work on the company’s behalf, voted 49 to 24 in favor, according to CBS Pittsburgh. 

The 80 employees of HCL Technologies, a self-described “next-generation global technology company” that does work on Google’s behalf, alleged their direct employer applied anti-union pressure in a United Steelworkers press release. 

“Over the past few months, management has implied — and in some cases outright told us — that it’s better to just be quiet than fight for what’s right,” HCL worker Johanne Rokholt is quoted as saying in the release. “Today we have proved that we are not willing to do that.” Read more…

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

The Lyft app was overhauled more than a year ago to focus on shared rides. Now it’s got a new look for all the other ways you can get around with Lyft: bike-shares, e-scooters, car rentals, and even the city bus. 

Lyft’s new look brings all your available travel options to the home screen starting Wednesday. While we’re used to seeing only cars driving around, in the coming weeks users will see other options sitting on the map. If you live in a city where Lyft runs a bike-share program, you’ll see nearby bikes to rent. Same with e-scooters, rentals, and nearby buses or trains.

“The redesign will drive people in the direction of non-driving options,” Caroline Samponaro, Lyft’s head of micromobility policy, said in a phone call this week. Read more…

More about Uber, Lyft, Scooters, Ride Hailing Apps, and Apps And Software

King watched “Doctor Sleep,” which has an October release date, in advance. And the author made sure we knew his opinion about it. Read more…

More about Twitter, Movies, Books, Mashable Video, and Stephen King

The product can be worn or used to help you out if you need a quick charge. Read more…

More about Tech, Fashion, Mashable Video, Bracelet, and Charger

It’s OK if you missed this in the flood of Apple TV+ original series announcements: Oprah’s Book Club is being reborn on the platform, no doubt bringing with it a new list of culture things you need to catch up on because everybody else is talking about them.

The benevolent multimedia mogul’s lit picks are famously powerful, but the Club itself has been a bit intermittent, with only 10 books selected overall since its 2012 relaunch on her own channel, OWN. The last was Michelle Obama’s blockbuster memoir Becoming in November 2018.

Her latest fave likely wouldn’t have needed her stamp of approval to be a big damn deal, but it sure can’t hurt.  Read more…

More about Oprah Winfrey, Ta Nehisi Coates, Apple Tv, Entertainment, and Science Fiction

Facebook wants to know what you’re going to do before you do it, and the company is well on its way toward making that (admittedly creepy) dream a reality. 

Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s vice president of VR and AR, announced Monday the acquisition of “neural interface platform” CTRL-labs. The stated goal of the acquisition is to build a wristband that “captures your intention” by reading electrical signals sent through your body. 

It’s all in the ostensible name of “empowering you with control over your digital life,” and, coming from a company that has repeatedly misled users regarding matters of privacy and personal data, sounds a tad bit sketchy.  Read more…

More about Facebook, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

After a year of extreme melt, Arctic sea ice ended up dropping to its second-lowest level on record — a mark only surpassed by melting in 2012.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced Monday that the Arctic’s minimum sea ice extent for 2019 — meaning the smallest area of Arctic ocean covered in sea ice before cooler fall temperatures begin to rebuild the ice — was the second-lowest in the 40-year satellite era. This sea ice extent, a clear indication of a rapidly warming planet, was over 2 million square kilometers (811,000 square miles) below the average minimum extent measured in previous decades. Read more…

More about Science, Arctic, Global Warming, Arctic Sea Ice, and Climate Change

Just in time for the U.N. Climate Summit, Sony has some PlayStation news for the planet Earth: The PS5’s energy efficiency will see some exponential improvements.

In a Monday post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan starts by running through improvements made over time with the PS4’s power consumption. He then reveals how those efforts will be taken further with the technically announced PS5.

An improved standby feature (which lets players step away from the console mid-game and come back later) on the console will draw just 0.5 W of juice. That’s a big drop down from the PS4’s standby feature. According to a 2014 report from the National Resources Defense Council, a PS4 in standby mode has a power draw of around 8 W. That number rises a bit if you’re charging controllers as well. Read more…

More about Sony, Un Climate Summit, Playstation 5, Entertainment, and Gaming

Using math, technology, and real-time choreography, Alan Turing and company created a dance routine that showcases the line blending of the real and imaginary worlds. Read more…

More about Tech, Mashable Video, Artificial Intelligence, Dance, and Math

Well-curated lists can be incredibly useful, but they’ve always been buried in Twitter’s app.

Now the company is putting lists front and center, with an update that lets you pin specific lists you follow to your main timeline. With the change, which Twitter has been testing since July, you can simply swipe left from your main timeline to see tweets from lists you follow. The update is rolling out now to Twitter’s iOS app and will be “coming soon” to Android.

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