Kids are device-hungry nuts these days. Seriously, WTF happened to Sesame Street and a book before bedtime? But we digress.

Technology has changed a lot since you were small. Your kids have probably mastered the features on your iPhone better than you have due to constantly asking to play with it. And when you do eventually get it back, it’s a sticky mess covered in slobber and other unexplainable slimes. But in the age of touch screens and constant connectivity, there’s not really a way to say “no” without feeling like a parent from the dark ages. Even the animals in Zootopia have smartphones. (Yes seriously.) Read more…

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U.S. troops deployed overseas will have to remember to turn off the GPS tracking services on their favorite wearable fitness device. It’s an order.

The U.S. Department of Defense has issued an order for any troops in warzones or stationed in overseas military bases to immediately disable all GPS tracking devices. This includes phones, smartwatches, fitness wearables, and any sort of device with a geolocation service. 

The order comes as a result of a recent Pentagon review of GPS tracking devices and fitness apps which found that those apps had revealed the movements of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Syria. Read more…

More about Wearables, Fitness, Military, Geolocation, and Fitbit

Incase you’ve been dabbling with the idea of turning your house into a full-blown smart home (we know, once you’ve experienced Alexa it’s hard not to imagine all the possibilities), now is definitely a good time to test out some products since Amazon is selling a bunch of our favorites for up to 20% off.

The sale covers all of the necessary gadgets that will allow you to control anything from lights, security cameras, baby monitors, your front door, and more — from wherever, whenever. 

Below are just a few of our favorite deals, but you can check out the entire smart home sale here.  Read more…

Take 20% off using code SMARTHOME20 at checkout:

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Not bad, I kept thinking to myself. I usually talk through my thoughts and today was no exception while using NordVPN. I was hopping around proxy servers on Chrome without any drops in speed. This is what using a virtual private network (VPN) should feel like. I noticed a similar experience on my Android phone where I didn’t have to sacrifice speed for privacy. Read more…

More about Reviews, Vpn, Nord, Tech, and Consumer Tech

League of Legends developer Riot Games has been accused of fostering a culture of sexism, Kotaku detailed in a lengthy report Tuesday.

Kotaku spoke to nearly 30 current and former employees at Riot Games to paint a picture of the kinds of things that women face at Riot Games and its “bro culture,” including comments about women’s looks, women’s ideas being dismissed, and a lack of opportunities for women at the company.

According to employees who spoke to Kotaku, the 12-year-old company behind League of Legends has a certain idea of the kind of employees it wants: dedicated gamers. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen in the broader tech industry, men in power tend not to consider women to be as serious about this stuff as they are, no matter how passionate they actually are about gaming or tech at large. Read more…

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Sacha Baron Cohen shows no mercy to his interviewees — except, perhaps, for one very notable exception.

At a panel for the Television Critic’s Association on Monday, Showtime entertainment president Gary Levine revealed that the Sarah Palin interview, one of the most anticipated segments of Who Is America?, might not even make it to air.

When asked when the Palin episode would air, Levine started throwing caution to the wind. “There are several people who have thrown themselves in front of buses that may not be headed their way,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Politics, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sarah Palin, and Showtime

Pretty much everyone saw this coming. 

A forthcoming report from the FCC’s Office of Inspector General reportedly dispels earlier dubious claims from the FCC that its comment system was hit by a distributed denial of service attack in May of last year. It turns out, after all, that the commission’s site was likely brought to a crawl not by malicious hackers or pranksters but by — gasp — concerned citizens trying to make their voices heard in support of net neutrality. 

“The Inspector General Report tells us what we knew all along: the FCC’s claim that it was the victim of a DDoS attack during the net neutrality proceeding is bogus,” reads a statement from FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “What happened instead is obvious—millions of Americans overwhelmed our online system because they wanted to tell us how important internet openness is to them and how distressed they were to see the FCC roll back their rights.” Read more…

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InfoWars host Alex Jones may no longer be able to publish content on YouTube and iTunes, but the companies haven’t removed his content entirely.

That’s because these bans so far haven’t extended to InfoWars’ mobile app, which remains available in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.

Both app stores have policies prohibiting hate speech and harassment — the same reasons the companies cited for removing Jones’ podcasts and YouTube channels in the first place.

In fact, not only is the InfoWars app still available in both stores, it appears to be thriving.  Read more…

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Calling all nightmare collectors and scream queens. It is time to reconvene—American Horror Story: Apocalypse is nearly upon us.

If you still have the resounding failure that was AHS: Cult freshly seared into memory, you may be hesitant to check back into Ryan Murphy’s hellscape anthology. Luckily, the first teaser for Season 8 features a promising return to the dark and twisty… minus the Cheetos.  

Per tradition, the teaser doesn’t reveal much beyond the established apocalyptic theme. However, the overall atmosphere, graphics, and anachronistic soundtrack are giving strong Murder House vibes. And that makes sense considering the confirmed Murder House and Coven crossover set to unfold this season. Read more…

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This is You Won’t Regret It, a weekly column featuring recommendations, tips, and unsolicited advice from the Mashable culture team.

PSA: Your skin deserves any and all TLC you can possibly give it.

As someone who dealt with oily skin and severe cystic acne for most of his teenage years, skincare was, and still is, an absolute obsession of mine. The search for a routine or product that works for you takes a lot of trial and error, but when you do it’s one of the best feelings ever.

But something I found that works for almost all skin types is a regimen that consists of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. Whatever little things you want to use in between are totally great and all, but in my opinion, toner is easily one of the most underrated steps in any skincare routine. Read more…

More about Skin Care, Skin, Skincare, Skin Care Routine, and Toner