Target, Taco Bell, Hy-Vee supermarkets in the Midwest, Speedway convenience stores and Jack in the Box are the latest merchants to support Apple Pay, the most popular mobile contactless payment system in the world that lets customers easily and securely pay in stores using their iPhone and Apple Watch. With the addition of these national retailers, 74 of the top 100 merchants in the US and 65 percent of all retail locations across the country will support Apple Pay

Spotify is getting ready to enable a block feature in its apps to mute artists you don’t want to hear from. Spotify is currently testing the “don’t play this artist” feature in its latest iOS app, and The Verge has been able to test the new block functionality ahead of its release soon. The feature simply lets you block an entire artist from playing, so that songs from the artist will never play from a library, playlist, chart list, or even radio stations on Spotify.

We all know that the Nintendo Switch is a fantastic little piece of hardware. However, there is a smattering of small complaints about the device. One such gripe I have heard about more than a few times is that the Switch does not offer any sort of built-in web browser. As far as I am concerned, it is totally justified to expect just about any handheld device to come with a browser.

Using historical data to train risk assessment tools could mean that machines are copying the mistakes of the past.

Inc. magazine predicts that the size of the on-demand economy will reach nearly $57 billion this year, thanks to more than 35 percent of the United States workforce choosing freelance over full-time work. The popularity of the on-demand economy, and the multitude of jobs it provides, has helped fuel an at-will workforce. It’s easy to see the appeal of this new gig-based economy — work when you want, where you want, and at your own pace. But this quasi-American dream isn’t always as appealing as marketing might suggest.

It looks like the display industry's equivalent of the personal jetpack or flying car may actually be traveling from the future into the present. The flexible OLED display, long demoed but never sold, is coming to TVs (from LG) and smartphones (from Samsung, among others). In a smartphone market that has consistently gone ape for larger and larger displays, phones that double in size once they've left your pocket could be game changers.

IN 2017, A poker bot called Libratus made headlines when it roundly defeated four top human players at no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em. Now, Libratus’ technology is being adapted to take on opponents of a different kind—in service of the US military

Uber is only gradually resuming its self-driving car program, but it's already thinking about expanding that technology to its two-wheeled services. The Telegraph has discovered that Uber is hiring for a "micromobility robotics" team that would bring "sensing and robotics technologies" to shared bikes and scooters. While the exact plans aren't clear, the newspaper believed this would lead to rides that park themselves -- important when carelessly parked scooters are a plague in some cities.

There’s a Gatorade button attached to my basement fridge. If I push it, two days later a crate of the sports drink shows up at my door, thanks to Amazon. When these “Dash buttons” were first rumored in 2015, they seemed like a joke. Press a button to one-click detergent or energy bars? What even?, my colleague Adrienne LaFrance reasonably inquired. They weren’t a joke. Soon enough, Amazon was selling the buttons for a modest fee, the value of which would be applied to your first purchase. There were Dash buttons for Tide and Gatorade, Fiji Water and Lärabars, Trojan condoms and Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Apple has quietly started selling the beloved iPhone SE again, just four months after it was discontinued with the release of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. The iPhone SE launched in March 2016 with a starting price of $400 for the 16GB model, and is “the best 4-inch smartphone you can buy, period.” The device was just as powerful as the iPhone 6s, which was released just six months prior with a starting price of $649 for the 16GB model. It had the same 64-bit A9 processor, M9 motion coprocessor, 2GB of RAM, and the headphone jack, but with a smaller screen and no 3D Touch.

After Facebook Watch, Lasso, and IGTV, the company has been quietly developing another product targeted at the kids. According to a new report, the company has spent months building LOL which is a special feed of funny videos and GIF-like clips. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch late Friday that it was experimenting with the “LOL” hub for kids. “We are running a small scale test and the concept is in the early stages right now,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The first Mac to include a graphics processing unit by Nvidia was the Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio), which was released in January 2001 and continued an Nvidia GeForce2 MX. Up to then, Apple had been using graphics cards made by ATI and this change was significant for more than just switching to Nvidia. Rather than picking one manufacturer over another, however, Apple was actually choosing to work to the industry standard OpenGL.

Apple doesn’t offer an official Apple Music web player, but it does offer web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which allow other people to create their own. The first one we’ve seen was Play Apple Music, which hit the web last month. That one had a design rather reminiscent of Google’s Material Design …

Facebook is making yet another attempt to win back teens to its platform — this time, with memes, TechCrunch reported Friday. Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch it is privately testing a hub for memes on its platform, called LOL. Facebook said a small number of U.S. users are testing the app, which replaces its Watch section for videos in the app. Facebook told TechCrunch it does not have plans to roll out LOL in Watch and is still determining whether it will become a feature in Facebook's app or a separate app entirely.

What's unusual isn't the size of the cuts but the timing, Nikkei sources noted. Contracts would normally be renewed every month between August and mid- to late January, so dismissals before the end of the year are "quite different," one source said. Similar layoffs are happening at other companies in the iPhone supply chain, such as at fellow assembler Pegatron, which began terminating monthly contracts in November.

I am really sad about Facebook. I got involved with the company more than a decade ago and have taken great pride and joy in the company’s success … until the past few months. Now I am disappointed. I am embarrassed. I am ashamed. With more than 1.7 billion members, Facebook is among the most influential businesses in the world. Whether they like it or not–whether Facebook is a technology company or a media company–the company has a huge impact on politics and social welfare.

Pitched internally as an answer to the competitive threat posed by Facebook, project “Emerald Sea” eventually became Google+. I remember Joseph Smarr and Chris Messina writing back in 2011 something to the effect that ‘sharing on the web was broken,’ which was what first gave me the sense that this team wasn’t only interested in building a Facebook killer. They wanted to use Google’s strengths in processing information to reinvent what it meant to share information on the web.

An under-development drone powered by a hydrogen fuel cell beat its hour-long flying time target in recent testing, staying aloft for over 70 minutes with a 5 kg payload. Dubbed Project Rachel, the British drone is a collaboration between engineering firm Productiv, UAS videography company BATCAM and fuel cell provider Intelligent Energy, with support from Innovate U.K., a group set up with British government money to stimulate growth by providing grants to business ventures with new ideas.

YouTube already frowns on challenges and pranks that put people at risk, but it's making that policy more explicit in light of the recent rise of Bird Box-inspired dares. The service has updated its guidelines to directly ban all challenges and pranks that are dangerous or harmful, including activities that cause "severe emotional distress" for kids or make any target think they're in "serious physical danger."

The baby boomers have entered their golden years and medical advances are helping people to live longer; the combination is leading to an aging U.S. population. Statistics tell the story clearly. In 2000, slightly more than 12 percent of the U.S. population was over the age of 65. By 2020, that number will be close to 17 percent and by 2050 it will likely reach 22 percent. Our society must find ways to financially support this segment of the population for more years than ever before as life expectancy increases.

I flew across the country to Portland to experience the Adapt BB, Nike’s new self-lacing, Bluetooth-enabled sneakers, but the guy showing me around campus is wearing a pair of Zoom Flys that refuse to stay tied. Within 10 minutes of tying them, they’re untied again, flailing all over. I hate when people point out my untied shoes, but his feel intentional. Of course I notice the laces. Of course I point them out. He laughs and swears he’s not doing this on purpose, that Nike hasn’t deliberately set up my visit with a scene out of an infomercial fail.

The whole multiple-camera zoom thing started with the iPhone 7 Plus back in 2016. Phil Schiller mistakenly calls it Optical Zoom even though it’s actually just switching between multiple cameras that have lenses with different focal lengths. Saying that switching between multiple cameras is “Optical Zoom” is completely incorrect and that should be obvious to anyone who knows what optical zoom means. Apple has once again spread their reality distortion field and is perpetuating incorrect information to sell products.

The one thing no one expects on a job interview is North Korean hackers picking up on the other line. But that’s apparently exactly what happened to a hapless employee at Redbanc, the company that handles Chile’s ATM network.

The head unit, made with help from Lockheed Martin (which designed the F-35) is way more than a protective shell. Built around a custom-fitted insert based on a 3-D scan of the pilot's noggin, it combines noise-canceling headphones, night vision, a forehead-mounted computer, and a projector---not so different from the one in your office's conference room---that displays live video on its clear visor.

Venezuela’s currency, the Bolivar, is worthless due to hyperinflation that shows no sign of stopping. Venezuelan citizens are starving, forcing them to resort to rationing the little bit of food they have and stealing food that they can find. The crisis is constantly evolving due to the failed policies of the Maduro regime, but with the help of the blockchain, the situation could become stabilized, saving the families of the nation.

Longer life times, larger ranges and faster recharging—developments such as electric mobility or the miniaturisation of electronics require new storage materials for batteries. With its enormous storage capacity, silicon would potentially have decisive advantages over the materials used in commercial available lithium-ion batteries. But due to its mechanical instability, it has so far been almost impossible to use silicon for storage technology.

A federal appeals court has upheld a landmark patent judgment brought by VirnetX against Apple, affirming a $440 million judgment in a years-long patent dispute. On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Apple's efforts to overturn a 2016 verdict that imposed $302 million in damages. That figure has since risen to encompass enhanced damages, interest, and more. Many would dub the Nevada-based VirnetX a "patent troll," as it has no meaningful source of income outside of patent litigation.

Microsoft is set to debut a new Xbox Insider build for select Xbox One owners, packing a refined on-screen keyboard. Rolling out to Skip Ahead and Alpha rings of the test program, the addition falls under the console's next planned feature update, internally codenamed "19H1." While details on the Xbox One's next OS refresh are limited, today's release focuses on a revamped virtual keyboard. Dubbed the "Mini Keyboard," its redesign aims to condense occupied screen space, paired with adaptive positioning.

It doesn’t matter if we buy them less often, we’re all going to continue to buy smartphones. The congregation of loyal iPhone users will continue to grow, which means Apple’s biggest challenge isn’t mobile – it’s Mac.

A router that's also a speaker. A mirror that’s also a lamp. A picture frame that charges your smartphone. Welcome to the hybrid gadget revolution! It’s a little bit Swiss Army knife, a little bit Island of Doctor Moreau. Convergences have long been a staple of progress, from multitools to kitchen implements to every other As Seen on TV striver. Surely some medieval archer fashioned a backscratcher out of a bow. But over the past year or two, the combinations have come more quickly and grown both increasingly outlandish and outrageously useful. For that you can thank—or curse, depending on your tolerance for novelty—a confluence of factors.

A California judge has ruled that American cops can’t force people to unlock a mobile phone with their face or finger. The ruling goes further to protect people’s private lives from government searches than any before and is being hailed as a potentially landmark decision. Previously, U.S. judges had ruled that police were allowed to force unlock devices like Apple’s iPhone with biometrics, such as fingerprints, faces or irises. That was despite the fact feds weren’t permitted to force a suspect to divulge a passcode. But according to a ruling uncovered by Forbes, all logins are equal.

Come one, come all and behold the future of space travel: steam power! No, seriously; half a century after the world's first manned space mission, it seems that interplanetary travel has finally entered the steam age. Scientists at the University of Central Florida (UCF) have teamed up with Honeybee Robotics, a private space and mining tech company based in California, to develop a small, steam-powered spacecraft capable of sucking its fuel right out of the asteroids, planets and moons it's exploring.

According to a new report from supply chain blog Macotakara, Apple could be in the process of developing a revised iPod touch. Further, the report says the 2019 iPhone might make the jump to USB-C, just like the 2018 iPad Pros. The report is rather vague, with Macotakara citing supply chain sources. Details on what changes a new iPod touch might feature are unclear at this point, but it is long overdue for an update. The 6th generation iPod touch was released in 2015 and for $199 with 32GB of storage.

The next time you hop on a ferry, take a look at the captain’s bridge. There may not be a human at the helm much longer. Ships around the world are beginning a transformation into autonomous machines, leveraging the same advances in artificial intelligence that are shaking up the automotive world. In 2017, Ugo Vollmer and his friend Clement Renault were working on self-driving cars in Silicon Valley when an article on autonomous shipping caused them to make a sudden change in direction.

Apple may have had to replace as many as 11 million iPhone batteries under its heavily discounted $29 replacement program, according to John Gruber over at Daring Fireball. According to Gruber, Apple would typically expect to perform between one and two million replacements during the same period. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently cited the program, alongside a slowdown in the Chinese economy, as one of the reasons for the the company’s slashed earnings outlook for Q1 2019.