Gadgets & Tech – Spoken Edition

Wherever mass tragedy strikes, there will be vulturous hucksters looking to take advantage of people’s fears. The outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus in China and other countries is no exception. Medical quacks are already trying to sell the very bad idea of swallowing silver to ward off the virus—something that’s more likely to turn you into a real-life smurf than cure anything.

While the European Commission might be better known as a force that cracks down on some of the egregious practices of stateside companies, today the folks across the pond laid out an ambitious plan to bolster their own tech prowess—ethically.

Researchers have identified a potential issue with sensors used in some older Tesla models that misinterpreted speed signs to read the speed limit as 50 miles per hour greater than the sign stated when a piece of electrical tape slightly obscured one of the numbers.

When we think about the most dangerous places online, chances are, phrases like the “dark web” might bubble to the top of those conversations. But it turns out that one of the most dastardly domains isn’t full of literal garbage and porn—it’s just... a domain. And now you can buy it for yourself. “Corp.com” is just one of the many innocuous-sounding domains that were bought out by entrepreneur Mike O’Connor in the mid-1990s.

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony is having a problem driving the price down on this year’s PS5. The console is expected to launch later this year, but Sony is struggling to get the cost of manufacturing below $450 per unit. According to Bloomberg the challenge currently is sourcing key components for the PS5 at a reasonable price. DRAM and NAND flash memory appear to be the components Sony is having trouble getting cheap.

Until now, the majority of us might have simply hung up on robocallers. However, there’s now a way to get back at the companies who torment you with endless robocalls that ask you for your information or try to sell you stuff. The solution is called Robo Revenge, a service that lets you sue the unwanted caller for up to $3,000 per call.

I hereby stan for Honorable United States District Judge William Alsup, the California sharpshooter who gives tech companies a piece of his mind, and us some delightful reading in the court documents. This week, for example, when denying Apple’s motion to dismiss a consumer fraud complaint, he devoted two full paragraphs clarifying his position that Apple’s position is dumb. Now he has a few overdue words for DoorDash.

Scientists in Brazil say they’ve made a mysterious discovery. They claim to have found a virus made of genetic material never before seen elsewhere. But you likely have nothing to fear from this virus: It seems to only hunt amoebas. The find is detailed in a paper released last month on the preprint website bioRxiv. R esearch showcased on bioRxiv hasn’t yet gone through peer review , a nd the data on the virus’s genetic structure, or genome, hasn’t been made public yet .

Gizmodo provides information and articles related to technology, design, and social trends. A SpokenEdition transforms written content into human-read audio you can listen to anywhere. It's perfect for times when you can't read - while driving, at the gym, doing chores, etc. Find more at www.spokenedition.com

Gizmodo provides information and articles related to technology, design, and social trends. A SpokenEdition transforms written content into human-read audio you can listen to anywhere. It's perfect for times when you can't read - while driving, at the gym, doing chores, etc. Find more at www.spokenedition.com