Pop quiz: What’s the most popular meat in Europe and Asia? No, it’s not beef; that’s just the most popular meat in the U.S. It’s pork, by a wide margin.

Which is why the Bay Area-based scientists at Impossible Foods, makers of the incredibly beef-like Impossible Burger, put pig-based products in their sights next. Impossible CEO Pat Brown has made it his mission to replace as many meat products as possible — the target audience is meat eaters, he says, not vegetarians or vegans. Specifically, the meat eaters Brown would encounter at trade shows in South East Asia. (The rapidly expanding company is now open for business in Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore).  Read more…

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U.SCustoms and Border Protection somehow just managed to get even more handsy when it comes to your most intimate data. 

Starting today, the branch of the Department of Homeland Security will start collecting DNA from people it detains at the U.S. border. And yes, according to a privacy impact assessment published by DHS, kids as young as 14 are subject to the new program.

The agency, asserts the DHS, will only collect DNA from people who are in custody and “subject to fingerprinting.” This means that, should you be fortunate enough to breeze through the border as a U.S. citizen, your DNA will not be added to the FBI-maintained database where the records will end up.  Read more…

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Hyundai is working on flying taxis for Uber. 

At CES in Las Vegas on Monday, the companies announced a prototype concept for a new plane meant to eventually pick up passengers who order flights through Uber Air’s flight-sharing service. Uber Air is supposed to take off from Dallas, Los Angeles, and Melbourne as soon as 2023. The service is meant for longer commutes.

“It’s taking Uber to the sky,” Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, which operates Uber Air, said at a CES event. As he explained, Uber isn’t about to start making air taxis. So Hyundai can build the crafts for them. 

“The day when Hyundai air taxis are taking Uber passengers through the skies is closer than you think,” Allison said. Read more…

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As we kick off 2020, big tech companies are undoubtedly feeling the pressure of an election year and the responsibilities their platforms have in the dissemination of information. Even the microblogging service Tumblr has plans to engage with its community.

On Monday, Tumblr announced a new digital literacy initiative in order to “help empower its community and the next young generation of internet citizens recognize suspicious online activity and behavior.”

The World Wide What initiative aims to educate Tumblr’s user base on topics such as disinformation and fake news, cyberbullying, and authenticity. The program was created in partnership with a UK anti-bullying nonprofit called Ditch the Label. The initiative includes a six video digital literacy series as well as a Tumblr blog hosting other relevant memes, photos, and links. Read more…

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On the second day of 2020, awash in the possibilities of a new year — nay, decade — my iPhone pinged with a notification that came from out of the blue.

“Use this iPhone to reset your Apple ID password?” an official, gray Apple pop-up said beneath an exclamation point icon. I clicked on the notification and it asked if I wanted to “Allow” or “Don’t Allow.” 

Why was my phone trying to get me to reset my password? I hadn’t initiated anything, but this notification from Apple looked legit. 

Only two days into the new year, and it sure seemed like hackers were already trying to break into my Apple account.  Read more…

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What if your PC games were as portable as your Switch? That’s the idea of Dell’s new UFO concept, which crams a full gaming PC into a portable handheld device. 

Dell is showing off the Alienware-branded concept at CES as an early look at what its portable gaming PC might look like. The handheld device has an 8-inch display with removable controllers similar to the Switch’s Joy Cons. 

But though the form factor looks similar to a Nintendo Switch, Dell executives were quick to point out that it’s a full Alienware PC. The current iteration has 10th-gen Intel Processors, though none of the UFO’s specs are finalized. Read more…

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We’re only a few days in, and 2020 is already shaping up to be the year of flexible displays. And smartphone makers aren’t the only ones experimenting with bendable screens. 

Dell is the latest company to take a stab at new form factors, with two new experimental concepts: the Ori, a foldable tablet concept, and Duet, a dual-screen laptop prototype.

Both are still just experiments for now, and Dell executives were quick to caution that they’re in the early days of understanding new form factors, but the prototypes offer an intriguing look at how traditional laptop makers are thinking about adapting to new materials and designs. Read more…

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Folks, we’re six days into 2020 and the clowns are already showing themselves. A U.S. congressman shared a fake image of former President Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. 

Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, tweeted the Photoshopped image on Monday. As CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski noted, the original photo is of Obama shaking hands with former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh. 

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Typically, it’s the winners who capture our hearts on awards night. 

But at the 77th Annual Golden Globes on Sunday, presenter Kate McKinnon stole the spotlight with her moving introduction of Carol Burnett Award honoree Ellen DeGeneres. Recalling DeGeneres’s decision to come out on Ellen in 1997, McKinnon emphasized the impact DeGeneres’ bravery has had on LGBTQ visibility and acceptance.

“[DeGeneres] risked her entire life and her entire career to tell the truth, and she suffered greatly for it,” McKinnon noted, referencing the cancelation of DeGeneres’s sitcom a year after going public with her sexuality. Read more…

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It might be over forever, but Fleabag‘s reign continues with a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. 

Writer and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted the award by thanking BBC and Amazon — plus one more big name.

“Personally I’d like to also thank Obama for putting us on his list,” she said, referring to the President’s list of his favorite films and TV shows of 2019. “As some of you may know he’s always been on mine,” she finished with a grin.

“If you don’t get that joke, please watch Season 1 of Fleabag really really quickly!” she added. 

In Fleabag‘s first season, the main character’s boyfriend dumps her after catching her masturbating to an online video of Barack Obama speaking. It’s nice when things come full circle! Read more…

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