Tens of thousands of touch controllers shipped with labels like ‘Big Brother Is Watching,’ and ‘The Masons Were Here.’ Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bj98jd/facebook-accidentally-shipped-vr-devices-with-secret-messages-saying-big-brother-is-watching…
Tag: Motherboard
Facebook and YouTube Clamped Down on a Game About Selling Weed
The makers of ‘Weedcraft Inc.,’ a game about selling weed in the age of legalization, couldn’t buy ads on Facebook, and YouTube videos featuring the game were demonetized. Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mb8jvb/facebook-and-youtube-clamped-down-on-weedcraft-inc-a-game-about-selling-weed…
Why Tens of Thousands of Perfectly Good, Donated iPhones Are Shredded Every Year
A single electronics recycler has had to destroy 66,000 iPhones in the last three years because of the iPhone’s Activation Lock. Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43jywd/why-tens-of-thousands-of-perfectly-good-donated-iphones-are-shredded-every-year…
YouTube Gives a New Home to Racist Views on IQ
The topic of IQ has been making a resurgence on YouTube not only as a good way to measure intelligence, but as a tool that can be used to promote scientific racism. Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43jgkb/youtube-gives-a-new-home-to-racist-views-on-iq…
Silk Road 2 Founder Dread Pirate Roberts 2 Caught, Jailed for 5 Years
For years, the arrest and case has been kept under-wraps. Friday, a court sentenced Thomas White to 5 years and 4 months for his role in running a huge dark web drug marketplace. Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/9kx59a/silk-road-2-founder-dread-pirate-roberts-2-caught-jailed-for-5-years…
Big Tech Lobbying Gutted a Bill That Would Ban Recording You Without Consent
The Illinois Keep Internet Devices Safe Act would have empowered average people to sue big companies for recording them without consent, but industry association lobbying defanged it. Source: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ywyzm5/big-tech-lobbying-gutted-a-bill-that-would-ban-recording-you-without-consent…
Everything We’ve Learned from NASA’s Study of Identical Twin Astronauts
A year-long experiment involving Mark and Scott Kelly found that long duration space trips affect genes, eyeballs, and cognitive abilities. 
How Amazon Helped Cops Set Up a Package Theft Sting Operation
Internal documents obtained by Motherboard detail the planning of an anti-package theft operation that used fake Amazon boxes rigged with GPS location trackers. 
Reddit’s Data Hoarders Are Freaking Out Over All Those Black Hole Hard Drives
Sure, imaging a black hole for the first time ever is exciting, but posters on Reddit’s /r/datahoarder subreddit are focused on the data. 
We Need to Completely Redesign Curbs
Crowded curbsides cause a huge amount of traffic and congestion in our cities. Could “flex zones” help? 