To some, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s hard-on for crypto-justice was telegraphed when it deemed Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency Ether not a security last year. Simultaneously, the SEC hinted that tokens deployed on the network could very well be classified as such. In the movie business, they call that foreshadowing. As it turns out, a slew of cryptocurrency startups didn’t get the memo — or if they did — they simply didn’t give a fuck....

Supermassive black holes are found near the center of every galaxy, including the Milky Way. Those galaxies containing extremely energetic black holes can come alight as quasars. The new study reveals the galaxies are huddled around a behemoth black hole, 250 times more massive than the SMBH at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Encompassing this system, a vast spider web of gas and dust, 300 times the size of the Milky Way, stretches across space....

Internet users have grown by more than 330 million over the past year, reaching a total of more than 4.7 billion at the start of April 2021. That’s not the only big story in this quarter’s report though; we also cover: a huge new milestone for social media growth; fascinating insights into the world’s “favorite” social media platforms; updated stats for worldwide TikTok use; a closer look at social media motivations; and fresh updates on the world’s evolving search behaviors....

It’s lonely, I know. The great news is that you can wave your commute goodbye and you’ll no longer have to put up with peoples’ loud chewing or smelling farts other than your own. [Read: How to recover from burnout and chronic work stress, according to a psychologist] The bad news is that you’re likely to be stuck at home for some time, but don’t worry because I’m here to help....

During any language’s lifespan, many such reusable solutions are made and tested by a large number of developers from that language’s community. It is because of this combined experience of many developers that such solutions are so useful because they help us write code in an optimized way while at the same time solving the problem at hand. The main benefits we get from design patterns are the following:...

Currently, you can use the app on only one device, and that’s mostly your phone. You can use the web clientor the desktop app to chat with your friends and family, but your phone has to be connected to the internet. Last month, the company confirmed that it’s working on a feature that will let you link four devices to one account. Meaning, you can use each device independently, as long as you’re connected to the internet....

According to reports, Toyota will unveil a new all-electric SUV in the next few months. It seems there is not a confirmed date, as yet. This will be Toyota’s first all-electric vehicle, outside of China that is. Last year, Toyota took the covers off its C-HR, its battery-electric compact SUV that shares a platform with the Corolla. [Read: Why AI is the future of home security] Toyota says this new vehicle will be part of its ‘first step’ towards more battery-electric vehicles....

The painting depicts an Old Testament story in which the warrior Samson is betrayed by his lover Delilah. When London’s National Gallery bought the masterpiece in 1980, it became the third most expensive artwork ever purchased at auction. But the buyers may now be searching for their receipt. According to a new AI analysis, their prized possession is almost certainly a fake. The tests were conducted by Art Recognition, a Swiss company that uses algorithms to authenticate artworks....

To understand why this is the case, we need to understand a few things. Specifically, why and how Apple has gone about releasing the AirTags. Before that though, if you’re uncertain about the hardware or how it works, I’d advise you to watch our video on them: Now we’ve got all the context we need out of the way, let’s begin by talking about Apple’s Find My service. Find My is finally useful Before the AirTags, my experience with Find My had been uniformly bad....

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) discovered a mysterious new layer at the center of the planet: the “innermost inner core.” They suspect it contains secrets about an unknown, dramatic event in the Earth’s history. Geologists first proposed the idea of a fifth layer decades ago, but had previously struggled to detect it. The new study unearthed further evidence by analyzing changes to seismic waves as they travel through our planet’s core....

This trend of ridiculously named hardware irritated me before, but hit fever pitch recently when I was trying to buy a wake-up light. This is, as it sounds, a light that wakes you up. Effectively, they simulate the sun rising, meaning you surface from your slumber in a way that feels natural. After a bit of research, it seemed that the best brand to go for was Philips. So, I browsed the company’s website....

A US court indictment alleges that Faulk engaged in a scheme to obtain cryptocurrency and other money and property by fraud and extortion. He targeted assets owned and controlled by executives of cryptocurrency companies and investors during the period of October 2016 and May 2018. Faulk faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of the extortion charge, Faulk could spend up to two years in prison and made to pay an additional $250,000....

However, there are other ways that you can access programs and websites without having to enter a traditional password. To find out what alternatives to passwords companies or developers can use — and how they might work in comparison — I asked a panel of entrepreneurs from YEC the following question: What is a good alternative to passwords that sites or programs can use? Why would this system work better than what people are currently using?...

[Read: Many of India’s IT employees are still working from offices amid coronavirus to keep the world turning] A report from Reuters suggested that the ecommerce giant is putting new customers on a waitlist, and restricting operating hours at Whole Food outlets to clear out the backlog of existing orders. Last month, the company announced that it’s prioritizing essential items such as groceries, household staples, and medical supplies to match the rising demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic....

The new Echo device has a 4,800 mAh battery that can last up to 10 hours in a single charge. For sound, the Echo Portable Edition has a 1.5-inch speaker as compared to the 1.6-inch speaker in the Echo Dot. In India, a lot of folks use Bluetooth speakers as their primary listening device in their homes. Echo Portable Edition might be perfect for people who are looking to invest in smart devices without giving up portability....

When you control over 30 percent of the world’s cloud storage spending, you can afford to be generous. And with that kind of reach, it definitely pays for any IT professional to be well versed in how to run systems based in the AWS environment. With the training in The Premier All AWS Certification Training Bundle ($19, over 90 percent off, from TNW Deals), anyone with an eye toward handling cloud operations for a networked system can earn the knowledge and get certified....

We go into our dull, grey, boxy offices and we leave at the end of the day, never once taking the time to notice our surroundings, or asking ourselves if whoever made this building had me in mind. Probably not; most buildings nowadays are built to be cheap, fast, and accessible. But what if there was a new way of making you pay attention to the buildings around you; one that makes the architecture so bold and so invasive that we can’t help but notice it....

There’s a new Android ransomware that encrypts your files and poses as the FBI to trick you into providing your credit card information. Dubbed Black Rose Lucy, the malicious app accuses victims of storing porn on their phone, and threatens their details have been uploaded to the FBI Cyber Crime Department’s data center. It also comes with a list “legal offenses” the user has allegedly committed. None of this, of course, is true....

I’m not gonna sit here and decry current technology, quite the opposite. To this very day, there’s something magical about smartphones. I can use them to watch movies, make music, work… anything, really. Despite this, I — a caveman — still expect my pocket rectangle to do one basic thing: be a phone. And this means doing things like calling 911. Normally, this isn’t an issue, but it could be now....

A new category of apps called “Fleeceware” has been unearthed on the app distribution platform; these apps were found to abuse the Play Store policies and grossly charge users hundreds of dollars for mundane services like calculators and QR code scanners. The apps, while not outright malware, cumulatively racked up over 20 million installs. Caught in the act by researchers at security firm Sophos, the app developers exploit the free trial period to charge customers anywhere between $100 to $240 at the end of their short trial....