So, why are certain celebrities suing video game companies? Well, it has a little somethin’ to do with right of publicity law. This week, we broke down Lindsey Lohan’s battle with Rockstar games, reviewed the Fire HD 6, toured the world’s most…
Technical
SpaceX’s reusable rockets get help from ‘X-wing’ fins and drone ships
SpaceX’s reusable rockets already have a few tricks up their metal sleeves, but it looks like they’re getting at least a couple more. Elon Musk has revealed that his company is testing new technologies that will assist future Falcon 9 launches,…
You can use Twitter activity to track unemployment
Governments aren’t usually quick to react to changes in demographics. They frequently have to take surveys that are not only slow, but don’t always paint a complete picture of what’s going on. Researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid have…
Engadget Daily: Google’s EU antitrust battle, Amazon’s Fire HD 6, and more!
Google’s been wrestling with the European Union over antitrust issues for a long while now. Today, though, Parliament says it’s come up with a possible solution: severing search from the rest of Google. Read on for the rest of our news highlights…
Airbnb will cover guests’ accidental injury costs
Accidents happen, and for Airbnb guests, it could take place while navigating an unfamiliar home. It would come as no surprise if people ended up arguing on who should foot the bill, so Airbnb has decided to make it easier on all its customers by…
Netflix picks up fourth season of popular A&E series ‘Longmire’
Fans of A&E’s Longmire were pretty vocal when the network announced it would part ways with the series after a massive cliffhanger at the end of season 3. Well, the show will live on at the hands of Netflix. The streaming service nabbed the rights to…
Senator Al Franken questions Uber about its privacy policy, ‘God View’
Uber’s PR nightmare of a week is getting even worse, as Senator Al Franken has joined those questioning the service about its ethics and commitment to user privacy. In a letter (PDF), Franken laid out ten specific questions for CEO Travis Kalanick to…
Engadget Daily: The Meizu MX4 Pro, why GoPro’s mid-range camera is its best, and more!
The GoPro Hero4 Black can shoot 4K at 30 fps. So why, then, does James Trew prefer the cheaper and less-equipped Hero4 Silver? Two words: the touchscreen. That’s not all we have on deck, though — read on for the rest of our news highlights from the…
Tech companies want you to have free web encryption
Ideally, you’d encrypt everything you do on the web to keep it away from spies and thieves. However, getting a security certificate to enable that encryption on your own site can be both costly and difficult — many people don’t even bother. That’s…
IBM’s new email app learns your habits to help get things done
Email can be overwhelming, especially at work; it can take a while to get back to an important conversation or project. IBM clearly knows how bad that deluge can be, though, since its new Verse email client is built to eliminate as much clutter as…
Engadget Daily: Intel’s smart bangle, Nokia’s mystery box and more!
Got a case of the Monday blues? Why not let us help out — read on for all our news highlights from the last 24 hours, including Intel’s MICA smart bangle, Nokia’s mystery device and NYC’s payphone WiFi project. See, you feel better now, don’t you? …
Carriers are testing ‘laser-radio’ for bringing broadband to rural areas
A major step forward for wireless network infrastructure could also mean faster cellular speeds for you — especially if you live out in the country. Technology Review is reporting that three US carriers are currently testing a new high-speed…
Early Apple Pay stats point to a modest but promising start
Sure, Apple was quick to tout a surge of Apple Pay registrations, but how often are people actually using the iPhone-focused payment service? A fair amount, apparently. Whole Foods tells the New York Times that it racked up 150,000 transactions in…
Court order stops Bitcasa from deleting your cloud data, for now
If you’re miffed that Bitcasa not only dropped its unlimited cloud storage option but made you migrate to a costlier limited tier just to keep your files, you’ll be glad to hear that you’re getting a reprieve. Angry customers have filed a tentative…
Nexus 6 review, Lisa Kudrow talks ‘The Comeback’ and other stories you might’ve missed
This Saturday, why not sit back, kick up your feet and let us bring you up to speed on all the latest tech news. Over the past seven days, we spoke with Lisa Kudrow about “The Comeback,” reviewed the Nexus 6, investigated the legal issues behind…