The quality and speed at which videos can now be faked using neural networks and deep learning processes promises to make the upcoming presidential election even more of a nightmare. But by exploiting something overlooked in current deepfake techniques, researchers have found an automated way to spot fake videos.
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular roundup of the latest in rad merchandise that’s draining our wallets. And this week, it’s even worse. We might be a month away from San Diego Comic-Con, but that just means it’s time for companies to tease us with the cool things that we can’t get without going...and still …
It’s no fun being a fan of retro gaming if you grew up a fan of Sega consoles. Emulators and game-bundled throwback consoles have been notoriously bad, but recently things have improved—as long as you’re a Sega fan happy to throw money at your passion. The $190 Mega Sg console plays classic Sega games flawlessly, and…
You can get a very capable smartwatch for a few hundred bucks now, as long as you’re not overly concerned with aesthetics. Following luxury watchmakers like TAG Heuer, Garmin’s new MARQ line strives to finally bridge the gap between stylish analog timepieces and less stylish smartwatches. But with a price tag ranging…
Slapping the term STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) on a toy, even one with questionable educational value, has become a popular way for companies to convince parents a product is worth buying their kids. That’s rarely the case, but amongst all the noise there are a few companies producing toys…
There are few activities that can turn the polite and civil discourse of a family gathering into a shouting match faster than a game of Monopoly. The latest edition replaces the designated banker with an intelligent, voice-activated top hat that handles all of the game’s financial transactions, giving players an…
Take a moment to think about all the street signs that blur past as you’re driving. Stop signs, speed limits, and traffic warnings all add up to a massive amount of infrastructure for a city that’s challenging and costly to maintain. But piggybacking on Google’s hard work, scientists have found a clever way to…
Remember how the Wii’s groundbreaking motion controls helped Nintendo sell over 100 million consoles? Well, it turns out it wasn’t actually the first Nintendo console you could play by flailing around a joystick. Thanks to a third party accessory called the Hot Stik, the original NES had rudimentary motion controls…
Competition is great for the consumer, but it also means you end up having to keep tabs on umpteen different subscriptions for services like streaming music, movies, and even games. In an effort to ensure none of them get forgotten along the way, it appears as if iOS 13 will include some handy reminders about who…
A lot of amazing technologies developed at universities or corporate R&D labs never see the light of day because they’re just too expensive to turn into consumer-ready products. But by copying how bats navigate the world at night, researchers have come up with a way to see hidden objects around corners using cheap…
It’s not terribly surprising that there’s only been a handful of Jurassic Park John Hammond action figures to date. When it comes to old men with lots of money, Tony Stark gets most of the attention. But 26 years after Jurassic Park stomped through theaters, Mattel is blessing us with a truly excellent Hammond figure…
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's weekly gathering of all the action figures tempting our wallets on the internet lately. This week: a very tall dinosaur, D23 shows off an exclusive Woody, and Terminator: Dark Fate is already kicking off its merch cycle with a very badass Sarah Connor. Check it out!
Photoshop has long been one of the primary sources of manipulated photos and imagery, so in an attempt to counter the fake news epidemic, Adobe has also started developing tools that can both detect when an image has been manipulated, and reverse the changes to reveal the original.
After launching a little over a decade ago, it didn’t take long for Kickstarter to become more than a place for amateur inventors to sell their ideas to the public. It soon became fraught with failures, scams, and over-promises of countless products’ capabilities and worth. To help improve the reputation of the site, …
You’d assume it would go without saying that operating any kind of machinery or vehicle after a few drinks is a dumb idea—even if it’s one navigated by remote control. But as reported by the BBC, this week, Japan’s parliament has passed a law making it illegal to pilot a drone while intoxicated. If you’re going to…
The wide-angle camera lenses that have become more prevalent in smartphones are great for capturing shots of large groups of people—assuming you’re not one of the people near the edges or corners of the photo whose face ends up getting unflatteringly warped. Computational photography researchers have come up with a…
It won’t be long before smartphones ditch every last physical button, but is that necessarily a good thing? Fewer components in a device means more profit for manufacturers, but users are left having to learn awkward touchscreen gestures to compensate. Researchers at Columbia University are bringing back the button…
Be forewarned: the civil, polite, and respectful discourse that accompanies many online games could potentially devolve into something childish, even bordering on vulgar, with Nyko’s new Sound Pad. It’s a keyboard-like accessory that attaches to a controller allowing players to trigger sound effects in a game’s voice…
Nintendo didn’t give us any new hardware during its E3 2019 presentation today, so you’ll instead have to lust and drool over Bill Paxton’s latest creation. He reinvented the clamshell Game Boy Advance, but with the guts of a fully-functional Wii packed inside, allowing the portable to run a huge list of games,…
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