The unmistakable GIFs of Echophon

Timnit Gebru, an AI ethics researcher at Google, was fired this week after sending an internal email complaining that marginalized voices at the company were being silenced. Google, for its part, claims that Gebru failed to follow Google's requirements for a paper submission and that she subsequently threatened to resign. Ms Gebru is a well-respected… READ THE REST

Scotty H created this spectrographic animation of a classic dial-up modem's startup noise. Here's a breakdown, by Oona Räisänen, of what each section concerns: READ THE REST

Apple's Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer was charged with bribery Tuesday after allegedly giving 200 iPads to local officials in exchange for concealed-carry gun licenses for Apple's security team. The Morgan Hill Times reports that others indicted included Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Rick Sung, Capt. James Jensen, and local businessman Harpreet Chadha, also… READ THE REST

If there's anything Americans love more than guns, it's grilling. Putting the two together might be the biggest no-brainer in the engineering history of the nation. In fact, it's almost amazing that it took the world's most can-do country over 200 years to come up with one of its most logical extensions ever: the GrillGun.… READ THE REST

A desktop may not seem like a place where chaos ensues. But, when you set up your computer, then start arranging all the other stuff you need on your workspace, it can all turn into a mess pretty quickly.  With a keyboard, a mousepad, wrist guards, power chargers, coasters, and more, more, more, there isn't… READ THE REST

If it felt like your phone was buzzing like a device possessed this year with loads of spam calls, spoofed numbers, and time-wasting telemarketers, you are very dishearteningly correct. This year saw a hefty 18% rise in the number of spam calls the average phone owner received, an average of over 28 each month. Just… READ THE REST