techsigma

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TechShop shuts down all U.S. locations, declares bankruptcy A bit of sad news for the maker community today: TechShop is shutting down nationwide. Founded in 2006, TechShop is (or, I guess, was) pretty much heaven for the adventurous do-it-yourself’er.

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Facebook teen-in-residence defects to Google and launches “Lies”

At age 17, Michael Sayman was Facebook’s youngest employee ever. Having already launched 5 apps, he wowed Mark Zuckerberg, earned a demo spot on stage at Facebook F8 conference, and scored a full-time engineering gig as the social network’s go-to teen. Over the past three years, he helped Facebook try to crack the middle school market with apps like the now defunct Lifestage.

But in August he…

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Free-to-play 'Diablo'-style RPG 'Marvel Heroes' will be shut down, Disney confirms

Marvel Heroes is done.

Maybe it was inevitable when the 2017 launch of the console version, Marvel Heroes Omega, prompted cries of outrage from a PC community that had supported the game since 2013. But Disney confirmed in an email that the game is going away.

SEE ALSO: One of Marvel’s greatest talents is moving to DC

“We regret to inform our Marvel Heroesfans that we have ended our…

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Zyl is a photo management app with a few AI-powered tricks

Meet Zyl, a smart photo app to view, manage and share all your photos. Formerly called Comet, the French startup is now using deep learning to go beyond the endless grid of photos and replace the default Photos app on your phone.

While Zyl started as an app to create collaborative photo albums, the app has expanded beyond this simple social feature to take care of everything you’d do after…

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Apple's Animoji might not need the iPhone X's fancy cameras to work

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More about Apple, Iphone, Iphone X, Animoji, and Tech

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Firefox Quantum vs. Google Chrome: Which browser is faster?

Firefox Quantum is here. Firefox’s new web browser is the most interesting thing to happen in the browsing space in a long time, and, yes, it will let you run all the tabs you want. But there’s one obstacle standing in Firefox’s way to greatness, and that’s Google’s browsing behemoth, Chrome.

Since its debut in 2008, Chrome has cemented itself as the web browser of choice for anyone who knows…

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Black Friday will be the biggest mobile shopping day ever in the U.S., forecast claims

A new report from App Annie predicts that time spent doing mobile shopping via apps will grow 45 percent in the U.S. during the week of Black Friday, compared to the same time two years ago. The firm also expects revenue generated through apps to break new records this season, and says consumers will spend over 6 million hours shopping in the top 5 digital-first apps on Black Friday alone.

App…

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The Plaza Hotel's offering a very pricey 'Home Alone 2' experience

Though a sizable portion of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York follows a child running from a pair of incompetent escaped convicts, most of it is just fun, relatively low stakes hijinks in and around The Plaza. 

Twenty-five years later, the New York hotel wants to give its guests a real Kevin McCallister experience, minus his brush with murder. 

SEE ALSO: People are decorating their pineapples as…

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An Earth-sized world 11 light-years from home may be our next best shot to find alien life

Eleven light-years away, an Earth-sized world orbits a cool, red star, and it may be just right for life.

The planet, known as Ross 128b, completes an orbit of its star, Ross 128, about once every 10 days, according to new research published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. 

While a 10-day orbit might bake a world around a sun-like star, Ross 128 isn’t at all like the sun. 

SEE ALSO:…

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Lucky 'Star Wars' fans got a surprise visit from Mark Hamill during a tour at Disneyland

When taking a Star Wars tour at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, you expect to see some pretty great things.

You might expect to see some familiar sights, like some kind of Star Wars action set pieces or some Jedi-related memorabilia. But the last thing you might expect to see is Luke Skywalker, himself.

SEE ALSO: There’s going to be a brand new, non-Skywalker Star Wars trilogy

In a Twitter…

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'The time is right'—a startup wants to get 100 progressive women elected to Congress

'The time is right'—a startup wants to get 100 progressive women elected to Congress

After election results this November, we’re starting to see what happens when people outraged by their politicians’ sexism and transphobia run for office. 

A new platform, built by a Google Politics alum and founding members of the Obama White House U.S. Digital Service, wants to make sure we don’t lose that momentumProject 100 is a tool to help progressive women get elected—and to help voters…

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Bluetooth exploit may have impacted 20 million Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, says security firm Remember BlueBorne, the vulnerability that allowed hackers to infiltrate an estimated 5 billion gadgets using only a Bluetooth connection? 

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'StarCraft' Twitter account fires shots at EA

The StarCraft Twitter account turned up the heat on Tuesday, throwing shade at games with microtransactions and pay-to-win systems, likely alluding to the recent controversy over Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

SEE ALSO: EA’s ‘Star Wars’ PR disaster finally pushed gamers into open revolt against loot boxes

StarCraft 2went free-to-play Tuesday after seven years, allowing people to play the game’s first

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Faux Hyperloop company has a plan for super-fast transport without any vacuum tubes

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More about Hyperloop, Hyperloop One, Brogan Bambrogan, Boring Company, and Arrivo

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Tom Hanks is killing it on social media

Tom Hanks shares with us his unique view of the world with his wholesome and witty social media posts. Read more…

More about Twitter, Celebrities, Instagram, Techsigma Video, and Tom Hanks

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Daisy Ridley's workout is one of Jedi caliber

Daisy Ridley prepped for months before shooting for Star Wars to convincingly play a Jedi apprentice.

This involved lightsaber training, weightlifting, cardio, and everything in between. Read more…

More about Celebrities, Techsigma Video, Fitness, Celebrity, and Star Wars

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A 'medicane' forming in the central Mediterranean will take aim at Greece with wild winds, rain

Severe weather has been hammering parts of the south central Mediterranean this week, with heavy snow falling in the Alps, torrential rains in lower elevations along with powerful winds, and high waves affecting Italy, in particular. 

Deadly flash flooding has also occurred in Greece, as the low pressure area sitting to that country’s west vaults moisture northward around its eastern periphery.…