Technology
Tech news, gadgets, and innovation
Xbox is a disaster
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the bleak state of the video game industry, follow...
NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon...
White House deletes thousands of web pages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US
The US Department of Energy reportedly deleted about 6,000 pages related to energy conservation as a historic heatwave tears across the country. The deletion wa...
Matic’s robot vacuum is getting a $250 price hike in September
The Matic is our favorite robot vacuum by a pretty comfortable margin. If you’ve been thinking about buying one, you may want to plan on doing it sooner than la...
Flatbush Zombies’ Erick the Architect misses his BlackBerry keyboard
Erick the Architect is a founding member of, and the primary producer for, the legendary Flatbush Zombies. He's toured the world, performed on Kimmel and Fallon...
Hey number pad lovers, this is a keyboard we can finally agree on
I know a vocal group of people who swear by the number pad on their keyboard. And yet, for years I haven't cared about using one - until I put my hands on the E...
The square-ish phone that I wanted to love
The Ikko MindOne Pro is delightfully small. I keep calling it a square phone, which isn't quite right; the screen is square, but the phone itself is slightly re...
The fanfiction community is at war with AI — and itself
Over the past week, a new fanworks movement has kicked off, with the aim to root out authors using generative AI. But the detection methods being implemented ar...
Qi fan fan
Despite my initial skepticism, I'm now sold on wireless Qi chargers that add integrated fans to keep your phone cool while charging. I figured they'd be too lou...
Amazon quietly updated 2023’s Fire HD 10 tablet with 4GB of RAM
The Fire HD 8 that launched in 2024 was the last new addition to Amazon's budget-minded tablet lineup, but the company has quietly updated the Fire HD 10 that d...
While you’re watching the World Cup, the feds may be watching you
It's a big year for America. It's the semiquincentennial, otherwise known as America250, and the United States is cohosting the World Cup. But spectators at the...
This slim camera has a transparent LCD screen for a viewfinder
Despite the fact that smartphones have become impressively capable shooters, standalone point-and-shoot cameras are enjoying a renaissance. The tiny Kodak Charm...