IBM research is developing an AI electronic tongue inspired by how humans taste things. Read more…

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Get your therapist on speed dial, because IT Chapter Two is nearly here to retraumatise you with everything from a scary clown to how harrowing growing up is — and the first reactions are in as critics and fans stream out of the first screenings.

The overall mood is: IT Chapter One, but more. If you found yourself picking holes in the first movie, you’ll probably be frustrated again; if you loved the personal stakes and the characters, there’s that in spades here, with performances from the adult Losers to rival any “serious” drama; and the ending might make you cry.

And if it made you lose sleep, you can look forward to more of that too. Read more…

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MoviePass, the cinema subscription service that’s gone from “This is too good to be true” to “What is even going on I’m so tired” in a series of reinventions, has had another setback. 

The company left thousands of customer card details, and tens of thousands of customers’ credit card details, visible on a server that was not password protected, according to a security research firm. 

The database, which a reporter from TechCrunch observed “growing in real time,” contained more than 161 million records and counting, ranging from logging details generated in the course of a normal running day to unencrypted user details. Credit or debit card details were available, too, including card numbers, expiration dates, cardholder names, and billing addresses in plaintext. Read more…

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Facebook’s news plans are starting to take shape.

After months of rumors, the company has confirmed plans to introduce a separate “news” section in its app for which it will hire human journalists — not contractors  — to work on. It’s also been widely reported that Facebook may negotiate licensing deals with some publications.

Speaking to The New York Times, Facebook’s head of news partnerships Campbell Brown said the goal would be to “provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people.” 

While there are still few details to go on, it sounds similar to the approach Apple has taken with Apple News. A group of employees with media backgrounds, will determine which news stories appear in Facebook’s “News Tab.” There will also be some personalization based on each users’ interests and habits.  Read more…

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The great thing about the internet is that no one has to know you have a serious thing for hentai pornography. Unless, that is, the porn site you have an account on leaks your personal information. 

Over a million Luscious.net account holders faced that unexpected reality this week after security researchers announced a data breach affecting the site. According to the team at vpnMentor, an exposed database allowed would-be blackmailers or extortionists the ability to surreptitiously gather Luscious account holders’ personal details. 

Specifically, the data available included usernames, email addresses, activity logs, and location data for all 1.195 million users. Read more…

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Just when you thought all the remaining Avengers were safe, a new threat has emerged.

Sony and Disney have been unable to reach new terms in their partnership over Spider-Man, and as a result, Deadline reports, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will no longer serve as producer on future films about the webslinger. Mashable has reached out to both studios for comment.

Does this mean Spider-Man is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? 

Unclear. The report does not indicate that Spidey is out of the MCU, only that Feige will not be lead creative producer on the character’s movies going forward. Theoretically, it’s possible Sony and Disney could agree to keep making Spidey movies that are part of the MCU, just without Feige as a credited producer. Read more…

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A New Jersey woman dealt with an unsettling plush clown appearing in her backyard in the most sensible way possible — by destroying it with fire. 

Renee Jensen posted in “We Live In Bergen County,” a local community Facebook group, about her harrowing encounter with a stuffed version of Pennywise. She and her boyfriend, Alex, were sitting in their backyard when they noticed something fly “out of the sky” and land on the ground. 

“It didn’t fall,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “It like flew out of the sky without hitting any of the bazillion trees on our property.”

The mystery object was a toy of Pennywise the Clown, the iconic supernatural villain from Stephen King’s It. This version, albeit less terrifying than the depictions in the 1990 miniseries and the 2017 film, had a face covered in fake blood. It also had symbols written across its forehead in permanent marker.  Read more…

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Alright everyone, stop the presses and rev up those fryers. I’m sick and tired of the fighting, so we’re gonna settle this fast food score once and for all. I’m talking about the Great Chicken Sandwich Feud. 

Most fast food locations, chicken-themed or not, have their own fried bird. But there’s been a food fight bubbling on brand Twitter recently with every big name in the business you can think of throwing their chicken hats in the chicken ring. 

The whole thing started after Popeyes released their first-ever chicken sandwich last week, and people began debating which chain had the best chicken sandwich. In typical Twitter brand fashion, Popeyes decided to start some chicken-flavored beef, subtweeting Chick-fil-A’s appreciation post of their OG sandwich.  Read more…

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Conservative painter Jon McNaughton released his latest MAGA-related work on Tuesday. Titled “The Masterpiece,” it features Donald Trump unveiling a painting of some kind while seated in … a cathedral? A studio with really high ceilings? We are not sure.

The painting is ostensibly dry, because a cloth has been draped over it, but it’s also probably wet, because Trump is still holding the palette he used to make it. It’s unclear what the painting depicts, exactly, but we assume that’s not particularly important. 

And that hand placement on the palette! That is really something. Is that his thumb? It certainly doesn’t look like a thumb. Just some new material for your nightmares. Read more…

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Ahem. “Whoa.”

Almost 16 years ago, The Matrix Revolutions hit theaters and brought the Wachowskis’ daring sci-fi trilogy to a close. Or so we thought. Lana Wachowski is returning to write and direct a fourth movie in the series, and she won’t be alone.

Stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will also reprise their roles of Neo and Trinity, respectively. Warner Bros. Pictures exec Toby Emmerich confirmed the news on Tuesday, per Variety.

“We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana,” he said. “Lana is a true visionary—a singular and original creative filmmaker—and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe.” Read more…

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