December 12, 2016 at 10:16PM December 12, 2016 at 10:16PM

Panasonic’s smart shopping basket calculates your bill and bags your items Panasonic is joining the race to automate grocery store checkouts. Just one week after Amazon unveiled its cashier-free convenience store, the Japan-based electronics maker today showed off its own solution with a checkout machine that can detect items in your shopping cart, tally the bill, and automatically bag those items. As detailed by The Wall Street Journal, Panasonic’s system would use a basket that scans items outfitted with electronic tags as they’re being put inside. When a customer checks out, they place their basket on a machine where the bottom of the basket slides out. The items inside are gently dropped into a plastic bag while the customer pays the bill. The goal is to help save time rather than eliminate the need for... Continue reading…

December 12, 2016 at 10:16PM December 12, 2016 at 10:16PM

Uber employees secretly tracked politicians and celebrities, lawsuit claims Uber employees used the company’s lax tracking system to monitor the whereabouts of “high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances,” according to a declaration in a lawsuit filed against Uber by its former forensic investigator. Former forensic investigator filed suit The lawsuit was revealed today by a Center for Investigative Reporting article detailing security standards at the company. The article also cites former employees who say “thousands” of employees had access to Uber’s tracking data, as well as personal information on other employees and drivers, with few protections in place to prevent improper access and misuse. The lawsuit was filed by Ward Spangenberg, who worked on security systems at Uber... Continue reading…

December 12, 2016 at 10:11PM December 12, 2016 at 10:11PM

Trump’s pick for interior secretary could open up federal land to oil and gas drilling President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pick Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to lead the Interior Department, according to The New York Times. If confirmed by the Senate, she’s expected to open up federal land and waters to oil, gas, and coal extraction, as well as undo environmental policies approved under the Obama administration. Rodgers is the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House of Representatives. She was also appointed to serve as vice chair of Trump’s transition team. Since she was first elected to Congress in 2004, Rodgers supported legislation to open up the Atlantic Ocean to oil and natural-gas drilling and to prevent the Department of the Interior from regulating fracking, according to The Wall Street Journal.... Continue reading…

December 12, 2016 at 09:56PM December 12, 2016 at 09:56PM

The Walking Dead Redemption Club season 7, episode 8: Hearts Still Beating AMC’s The Walking Dead has an uncanny knack for manipulating its audience, but this year’s hyper-violent season premiere went too far. So far that we canceled our ongoing series The Walking Dead Quitter’s Club, and co-author Bryan Bishop swore off the show entirely. Ever since, Nick Statt has been trying to change his mind. Instead of tearing the show down, Nick’s been finding something to highlight. Sometimes it’s been a subtle change in character; others a great action scene, or a new development in a narrative arc. But every episode, Nick has sought out the things that remind us of the very best of The Walking Dead. This week, he convinced Bryan to come back. Welcome to The Walking Dead Redemption Club. Bryan Bishop: Tap-tap-tap. Is... Continue reading…

December 12, 2016 at 08:31PM December 12, 2016 at 08:31PM

Don Bradman Cricket 17 First Impressions: Day One Patch, Performance, Controls, and More: Before our Don Bradman Cricket 17 review, here’s a look at what you can expect when the game is out.

December 12, 2016 at 07:56PM December 12, 2016 at 07:56PM

Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before Microsoft has been targeting Mac users with its Surface commercials recently, and it appears they might be paying off. The software giant claims that November was the “best month ever for consumer Surface sales,” following a number of Black Friday deals on the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft still isn’t providing sales numbers, but the company claims “more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before.” Microsoft blames “the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro” and its trade-in program for MacBooks for tempting people to switch to Surface. Again, Microsoft refuses to provide numbers but vaguely claims “our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever.” Alongside the Surface sales, Microsoft is also expanding on the... Continue reading…

December 12, 2016 at 07:36PM December 12, 2016 at 07:36PM

HP Spectre x360 review: the best Windows laptop of 2016 Building a great, premium laptop is surprisingly hard. Despite the fact that every company, from Apple to Dell to Lenovo and everyone in between, pulls from the same basic parts bin — Intel processors; high-quality IPS displays; aluminum chassis; large, glass trackpads; USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 — putting all of those parts together in a competent, no-compromise laptop is a sadly rare feat. That’s what makes HP’s latest Spectre x360 so interesting. It has the same basic spec sheet as countless other laptops, and from a distance, even looks similar to many others. But in a year that’s been full of laptop disappointments, the Spectre x360’s cohesive design and lack of compromises has been a breath of fresh air. The Spectre x360... Continue reading…