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Tech NewsChina Deploys Anal Swabs for Covid-19 Testing, Says It’s More Accurate
Health authorities in China have deployed anal swab tests to detect covid-19 in the lead up to the Lunar New Year celebrations, according to the Chinese state media outlet the Global Times, a technique that some claim might be more accurate than traditional nasal swabs, throat swabs, and antibody tests. But not everyone is convinced … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsUpdate Your iPhone and iPad Right Now
Do you have an iPhone or iPad? You should update your device right now to iOS 14.4. No, not later today or after lunch or whatever. Update now. Why is it so crucial to update your iOS software as soon as possible? As TechCrunch first reported, Apple is reporting three security vulnerabilities that “may have … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaMyPillow CEO Banned From Twitter For Claiming Trump Won 2020 Election
Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and an unofficial advisor to former president Donald Trump, was permanently booted from Twitter late Monday. Why? Lindell was reportedly spreading too many lies about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, something that can still get you banned from Twitter. “The account you referenced has been permanently suspended … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle Threatens to Block Searches in Australia But Prime Minister Says ‘We Don’t Respond to Threats’
Google threatened to block its search engine for all users in Australia if a controversial new profit-sharing proposal from the federal government moves forward, according to testimony Friday by Google’s top executive in the region. Google is upset about a plan by the conservative government—strongly backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.—that would force tech giants … Continued
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Tech NewsBiden Pick for Treasury Dept Role Worked as Advisor to Controversial Crypto Company Ripple
President Joe Biden’s pick to be the new comptroller of the currency at the U.S. Treasury Department, Michael S. Barr, used to be an advisor to the controversial cryptocurrency company Ripple, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple in federal court last … Continued
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Tech NewsPoliticsTrump Presidential Library Launches Online But Won’t Take FOIA Requests Until 2026
The U.S. National Archives officially launched the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library’s website on Wednesday, the new digital home of the worst presidency in modern U.S. history. But if you’re excited to finally file a bunch of Freedom of Information Act requests about Trump’s criminal undertakings, we have bad news. The vast majority of Trump’s … Continued
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Tech NewsTrump Pardons Ex-Google Engineer Convicted of Stealing Trade Secrets
President Donald Trump issued a full pardon for former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski early Wednesday, one of 143 people who received pardons and commutations during Trump’s last 12 hours in office. Levandowski, who helped found Google’s Waymo, was convicted in August of stealing trade secrets from Google and starting his own self-driving car company called … Continued
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Tech NewsPoliticsHow to Watch Joe Biden’s Inauguration on YouTube, Facebook, and More
Joe Biden will become the 46th President of the United States at noon on Wednesday, finally bringing the Trump era to a close. And if you’re looking for an easy way to watch the inauguration streaming live on YouTube, Facebook, and more, we’ve got you covered. The inauguration starts at 12:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 a.m. … Continued
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Tech NewsSteve Jobs Statue Proposed For Trump’s ‘Garden of American Heroes’
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been selected for inclusion in something the Trump regime is calling the “Garden of American Heroes,” according to an announcement from the White House. The garden will feature statues of Americans who have contributed to history in some significant way. And while Jobs seems like an appropriate choice, it’s not … Continued
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EartherL.A. Suspends Air Quality Rules to Cremate Backlog of Covid-19 Victims
Los Angeles County has temporarily suspended air quality rules in order to allow covid-19 victims to be cremated, according to an executive order passed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District over the weekend. The rules will be suspended for 10 days as the region works through a “backlog” of people who have died … Continued
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Tech NewsPro-Trump Extremists Got $520,000 in Bitcoin a Month Before Capitol Coup Attempt: Report
At least 22 individuals and groups, most with extremist pro-Trump sympathies, received roughly $520,000 in bitcoin a month before the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to a new report from Yahoo News. And while there’s no evidence that the Dec. 8 distribution of funds has … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaTwitter Refuses to Engage in the Peaceful Transfer of Posting
When President Barack Obama left office on January 20, 2017, all followers of the official @POTUS and @WhiteHouse accounts were transferred to newly elected President Donald Trump. But that’s not happening this year when Joe Biden takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. Instead, Biden will have to start from scratch, according to Biden’s … Continued
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ScienceHealthTwitter CEO on Banning Trump: Online Speech Can Cause Harm Offline
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey finally gave this thoughts on Wednesday about the decision to ban President Donald Trump from the platform, explaining that the move wasn’t easy and that he takes no pride in banning anyone. But Dorsey acknowledged there can be real harm from speech that happens online and he believes permanently suspending Trump’s … Continued
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Tech NewsCommerceAmazon Court Filing Includes Chilling Death Threats Published on Parler
Amazon submitted a new filing in federal court on Tuesday in response to an emergency motion by Parler to restore its hosting services through Amazon’s AWS. Parler was kicked offline early Monday after Amazon said the social media company had violated its terms of service and Parler couldn’t find another company willing to do business. … Continued
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Tech NewsYouTube Deletes Latest Trump Video, Suspends Account Through Inauguration Day
YouTube has deleted President Donald Trump’s latest video over concerns that it could inspire violence, the video sharing site announced late Tuesday. Comments are being blocked on all of the president’s remaining videos and his account has been suspended for at least the next seven days. Notably, the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden is seven … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaFacebook Warns Employees Not to Wear Company Gear In Public After Banning Trump
Facebook’s internal security team has warned employees not to wear or carry any Facebook-branded gear in public, according to a new report from tech news site the Information. The warning comes after the social media giant banned President Donald Trump from the platform following a violent coup attempt by his followers at the U.S. Capitol … Continued
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Tech NewsTwo House Democrats Test Positive For Covid-19 After Coup Attempt at Capitol
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, has tested positive for covid-19 after being forced to shelter in a secure location at the U.S. Capitol during last week’s coup attempt by loyalists of President Donald Trump. Jayapal is the second member of Congress to announce she has covid-19 after every member of the House, Democrat … Continued
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Tech NewsSocial MediaSan Francisco Prepares For Potential Pro-Trump Protest at Twitter HQ on Monday
San Francisco police are preparing for a potential pro-Trump protest at Twitter’s headquarters on Monday morning, despite the fact that most Twitter employees are currently working from home due to the covid-19 pandemic. The protest, which is being organized online at the website TheDonald.win and in private Facebook groups, was sparked by President Trump’s recent … Continued
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Tech NewsParler Forced Offline After Amazon Pulls Hosting Services
Parler has gone offline after Amazon made good on its promise to drop the controversial social media site from its AWS web hosting services. Amazon pulled the plug at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, saying that Parler wasn’t properly moderating its content and the violence being called for on the site posed “a very real risk … Continued
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Tech NewsSenator Says Computer Stolen From Capitol Office During Coup Attempt by Trump Loyalists
A laptop computer belonging to the office of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon was one of several electronic devices stolen by Trump loyalists during a failed coup attempt on Wednesday, according to a new report from Politico. The news comes as the Department of Justice tries to make an assessment of the property stolen … Continued
By Matt Novak
Matt Novak
Matt Novak is a reporter at Gizmodo covering news and opinion, with a little history thrown in for good measure. Novak started at Gizmodo in 2013 and has been writing about past visions of the future at Paleofuture.com since 2007. Novak is fascinated with the history of technology and got his start writing professionally for Smithsonian magazine. Emails telling him to "stick to tech" can be sent to [email protected].
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