Technology

After selling Nyan Cat as an NFT, its creator, Chris Torres, has found himself working on an even bigger event: a week-long series of auctions where classic memes are being sold on the blockchain by their original creators. Torres calls the event Memeconomy, and he’s hoping it’ll bring both recognition to the meme creators, as well as to the NFT space. The memes involved should be recognizable if you were on the internet in the early 2010s. They include: There will also be an auction of a new meme: a crossover between Twerky Pepe (a popular NFT creator) and the classic Nyan Cat. (Have you ever wanted to see thicc Nyan Cat? Now you can.) The event is already under way, and so far the first meme, Bad Luck Brain, sold for just over $37,000. Coughing Cat is currently up for auction. While the ...

Apple has reportedly denied social media company Parler’s bid to reenter the iOS App Store, saying its platform hasn’t addressed problems with offensive content. Bloomberg reported the news earlier today, quoting a message reportedly sent on February 25th. According to Bloomberg, Apple said that Parler’s latest community guidelines still didn’t meet its standards. “Simple searches reveal highly objectionable content, including easily identified offensive uses of derogatory terms regarding race, religion and sexual orientation, as well as Nazi symbols,” it reportedly told Parler. “For these reasons your app cannot be returned to the App Store for distribution until it complies with the guidelines.” Parler’s guidelines ban threats, spam, and some other categories of content. However, the rig...

AMC Theaters reported another jarring but predictable loss in its fourth quarter earnings, but the company’s CEO is optimistic that the theater chain will make it out of the pandemic alright. Revenue was down 88 percent year over year, to $162.5 million. While beating expectations, that still led to a quarterly loss of $946 million (slightly better than the last quarter, though significantly worse than the $13.5 million loss AMC reported in its 2019 fourth quarter), but AMC also has more than $1 billion in cash on hand, according to CEO Adam Aron. On the tailwinds of announcements that New York City would start to allow theaters to open, and studios seemingly preparing to head back to theaters, Aron is trying to find the positives while acknowledging the “most challenging market conditions...

The glass vial used in the first US COVID-19 vaccination has been acquired by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The museum also acquired related items including the scrubs and vaccination card of Sandra Lindsay, director of critical care nursing at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center who, on December 14th, 2020, became the first person in the US to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. “The urgent need for effective vaccines in the U.S. was met with unprecedented speed,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s Elizabeth MacMillan director, in a statement Tuesday. “These now historic artifacts document not only this remarkable scientific progress but represent the hope offered to millions living through the cascading crises brought on by COVID-19.” The announcement on Tuesday happe...

The Miami Heat has suspended Meyers Leonard indefinitely after he used an anti-Semitic slur during a Twitch stream on Monday. “The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech,” the NBA team wrote in a Twitter statement on Tuesday evening. “The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise.” In a statement apologizing for his actions posted to Instagram, Leonard says he wasn’t aware of the meaning of the slur when he said it. “While I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong,” he said. “I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed to properly seeking out...

Kia has given its next electric vehicle a name and is getting ready to pull the cover off the new car sometime within the next few weeks. Dubbed “EV6,” it’ll be the first electric vehicle that Kia is building on the new platform it’s sharing with parent company Hyundai — the same platform that Apple was reportedly interested in using to power… whatever it’s building before talks with the Korean automakers broke down. Kia released a few images of the car viewed off-angle from the sides, which reveal that the EV6 has a sort of hatchback-style shape. There’s a close-up image of a taillight, which appears to run across the entire rear of the car — a choice that’s becoming quite common in electric vehicle designs. Kia also released a video with shots of the taillight illuminating, as well...

Facebook Gaming has announced a path to partnership for streamers in its Level Up creators program, which is the site’s equivalent of Twitch’s affiliates. It’s pretty grueling, and eligibility isn’t judged on the same metrics as its Level Up program, which allows streamers to start monetizing their broadcasts. Partners, however, get a slew of benefits, including a direct line to Facebook’s support team, a private Facebook Gaming community group, partner-only invites to Facebook Gaming events, a partner badge, and more. Streamers in the Level Up program, on the other hand, are able to monetize their streams with Facebook Stars, a site currency, and fan subscriptions; they also get features like high-quality transcoding (i.e., 1080p 60fps streams) and access to beta products and features. To...

Amazon is withholding ebook and audiobook versions of works it publishes through its in-house publishing arms from US libraries, according to a new report from The Washington Post. In fact, Amazon is the only major publisher that’s doing this, the report states. It’s doing so because the company thinks the terms involved with selling digital versions of books to libraries, which in turn make them available to local residents for free through ebook lending platforms like Libby, are unfavorable. “It’s not clear to us that current digital library lending models fairly balance the interests of authors and library patrons,” Mikyla Bruder, the global marketing chief at Amazon Publishing, told The Washington Post’s Geoffrey Fowler in an emailed statement. “We see this as an opportunity to invent ...

Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 12 mini in the first half of this year, Nikkei Asia reports. Planned production of the smallest iPhone 12 model has reportedly been reduced by 70 percent or more in the first half of this year, making up the majority of a 20 percent cut in total iPhone 12 production. Some suppliers have been asked to temporarily stop producing iPhone 12 mini-specific components, while other parts are being reallocated to the Pro and Pro Max, Nikkei reports. Alongside the iPhone production news, Nikkei also reports that Apple has pushed back production for two new Apple Silicon MacBooks. Originally due to enter mass production in May or June, the laptops will now be manufactured in the second half of the year. Nikkei’s report doesn’t reveal which of Apple’s rumored ...

The European Union wants to double its chip manufacturing output to 20 percent of the global market by 2030. The goal is part of its new Digital Compass plan, announced yesterday, which aims to boost “digital sovereignty” by funding various high-tech initiatives. As well as doubling chip output, the EU also wants all households to have 5G access and gigabit internet connectivity by 2030; for “all key public services” to be available online in every member state; and for the bloc to have its first quantum computer. Funding for these and other projects will come from the EU’s €672.5 billion ($800 billion) coronavirus response fund, with 20 percent of this money ($160 billion) earmarked for tech investment. The EU’s ambition to produce more semiconductor chips is particularly notable. Maintai...

TikTok is rolling out a pop-up today that’s designed to warn users before they post a comment that might be “inappropriate or unkind.” The new feature is one of two being announced that are designed to “promote kindness” on the service. The other is Filter All Comments, so that they only appear once individually approved. The new unkind warning appears if TikTok believes a comment might violate its community guidelines. “Would you like to reconsider posting this?” the pop-up box reads, before encouraging users to “Edit” it, or “Post anyway.” Prompts like these have been explored by other social networks to cut down on bullying and harassment. Instagram rolled out similar prompts back in 2019, Twitter announced it was testing them last year, and they’ve also been spotted on Facebook. Instag...

Fifteen years since first learning to knit, Petrina Hicks has only ever made sweaters for other people. There was one cardigan attempt back in 2015, but they had to make so many modifications that the end product was frumpy and ill-fitting. Hicks didn’t have the luxury to be picky: the cardigan was the only sweater pattern they could find above an XL or XXL. “I want to be a sweater maker,” Hicks said. “I couldn’t find things that were cute. I couldn’t find things that were in my style.” Hopeful crafters pick up knitting for a variety of reasons: to adopt a slow-fashion wardrobe, to keep stress at bay during the pandemic, or to make the clothes they wish existed, controlling the color and fit to their liking. Ravelry, the largest knitting and crochet site, lists over a million designs — the...