Technology

Qubit Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has become the latest victim of a high-value theft, with hackers stealing around $80 million in cryptocurrency on Thursday. The value of cryptocurrency stolen makes this the largest hack of 2022 so far. Qubit Finance acknowledge the hack in an incident report published through Medium. According to the report, the hack occurred at around 5PM ET on the evening of January 27th. Qubit provides a service known as a “bridge” between different blockchains, effectively meaning that deposits made in one cryptocurrency can be withdrawn in another. Qubit Finance operates a bridge between Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network. Analysis produced by CertiK, a blockchain auditing and security company, suggests the hacker was able to exp...

Last weekend, it felt like everyone I knew was sending me the same link. “The Problem With NFTs,” a long video essay by the Canadian media critic Dan Olson, ricocheted around all corners of the tech world since it was uploaded on Friday. (It now has 2.6 million views and climbing.) Over 138 meticulously researched minutes, Olson traces the history of the 2008 financial crisis, the creation of Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the rise of NFTs and DAOs, and reaches the conclusion that what we have taken to calling “Web3” is effectively beyond saving: the technology is too broken, and its creators too indifferent to its failures, for it to ever to live up to the promise of its most starry-eyed backers. Few of Olson’s criticisms are entirely new, and on my Twitter timeline this week, I saw many crypt...

China has released its plans for space exploration over the next five years, detailing ambitious goals that include strengthening its space infrastructure and developing a next-generation spacecraft for carrying people to space. The country is also researching how it could possibly land people on the Moon in the coming years. The roadmap, detailed in a new white paper released today, would continue China’s ambitious progress in the realm of aerospace. Over the last few decades, the country has placed significant emphasis on expanding its space capabilities, increasing the frequency and scope of its launches, and pushing into new areas such as the robotic exploration of Mars. China has also mounted a long-term campaign of lunar exploration that entails sending a series of landers and rovers...

Waymo filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles to keep driverless car crash data from being made public. The autonomous vehicle operator, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, claims that such data should be considered a trade secret. The news of the lawsuit was first reported by the Los Angles Times. California’s DMV oversees the largest autonomous vehicle testing program in the country, with over 60 companies permitted to operate test vehicles on public roads. Only a handful are approved to operate fully autonomous vehicles without safety drivers at the wheel, and even fewer have been approved to deploy vehicles for commercial purposes. Waymo is seeking to keep private information about how it handles certain autonomous vehicle emergencies Waymo i...

Earlier this week, Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify after falling out with the platform over its hosting of Joe Rogan and COVID misinformation. So now, of course, rival streamer Apple Music is courting Young and his fans, sending out tweets, playlists, and even push notifications to brand itself as “The home of Neil Young.” It’s all a bit of theatrical silliness, of course. Neil Young is a legendary songwriter, yes, but his presence or absence won’t decide the fate of this or that streaming platform. He’s no Kanye or Taylor Swift. Instead, Apple is simply indulging in the time-honored corporate tradition of inserting itself into a relevant news cycle while the going is good. The company’s not been subtle about it either. It even placed a playlist of Young’s music at the front of it...

With more than 2 billion users, WhatsApp is already one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. But its largest markets are all outside of the US. Now, Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp that recently rebranded to Meta, is hoping to change that. Starting this weekend, Meta is kicking off the first-ever US marketing push for WhatsApp, focusing on the privacy offered by the app’s encryption. The first TV ad will air Sunday during the AFC Championship Game, comparing unencrypted messages to a stranger opening your physical mail. Similar ads touting WhatsApp’s privacy will soon start appearing on billboards around the country and online. The goal of the marketing push is to get more people in the US to switch to WhatsApp by highlighting the app’s security relative to other texti...

If you’re looking to pick up a TV ahead of the Super Bowl, Samsung is currently discounting many of its QLED TVs, matching their lowest prices ever. Normally, the 75-inch model of the Samsung QN85A QLED TV costs $2,999.99 but is currently on sale at Samsung and Best Buy for $1,999.99. This massive, slim-bezel display features amazing visual fidelity and also includes a variety of other handy features. The Tizen OS grants access to most major streaming services and a number of helpful apps, and the TV features built-in support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to control playback or find your favorite show with ease. The already excellent picture quality is enhanced even further thanks to HDR10+ support, a 120Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync compatibility for superior gaming ...

Fortnite hasn’t been available on iOS since Apple yanked it from the App Store in August 2020, but I’ve been able to play it on my iPhone once again thanks to a closed beta on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service. While it’s not quite as seamless an experience as using a native app, this GeForce Now loophole works a lot better than I expected. With this closed beta, you’ll be playing a mobile-optimized version of the game. If you’ve tried Fortnite on iOS or Android before, the layout should feel familiar — the experience is well-designed for touch, with easy-to-navigate menus and large (though finicky) onscreen controls. This GeForce Now version also supports controllers, and I’ve played most matches with my iPhone plugged into my Backbone One. The graphics aren’t amazing, but if that...

A Google-produced coloring book may have just offered the first official mention of the Pixel 6A, the rumored affordable followup to last year’s flagship Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, Droid-Life reports. The coloring book was sent out alongside a Nest Audio smart speaker to members of Google’s Pixel Superfans group, which was launched last year to provide a “VIP experience for Pixel lovers” including access to “limited-edition swag.” Images of the coloring book shared by Droid-Life show a variety of black and white sketches of Google devices like phones, smart displays, and security cameras in need of some color. A table-of-contents lists a “Pixel 6A,” a phone which Google has never publicly mentioned. Unfortunately, turning to pages 6 and 7 doesn’t show the phone. The book’s content’s page mentions ...

In an interview with tech website Protocol, 19-year-old college freshman Jack Sweeney revealed that he received a DM from Elon Musk on Twitter requesting that he take down his private-jet-tracking Twitter account named @ElonJet. “Can you take this down? It is a security risk,” messaged Elon. “I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase.” Sweeney responded,  “Yes I can but it’ll cost you a Model 3 only joking unless?” When asked by Musk how much he makes from the account a month, Sweeney revealed that it yields no more than $20 USD, to which Musk offered him $5,000 to delete the account. “Any chance to up that to $50k? It would be great support in college and would possibly allow me to get a car maybe even a Model 3,” Sweeney responded. Musk said he would think it over but has yet...

Phone accessories brand CASETiFY announced on Wednesday the launch of NFT Your Case, a digital store that allows collectors to authenticate their NFTs. The new project allows people to display NFTs on their phone cases. To verify NFT ownership, users can connect to their wallet, choose an NFT art to print on the case and purchase through the brand’s dedicated NFT site. The platform uses MetaMask and WalletConnect to link to a user’s digital wallet and verify NFT ownership. Each phone case will feature a printed QR code linked to the NFT’s origin and metadata alongside a printed image of the NFT itself. Certain blue-chip NFT projects, like Bored Ape Yacht Club, will come with a blue verified camera ring. All other non-verified NFT projects come with the brand’s signature black camera ring. ...