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Amazon’s facial recognition technology, Rekognition, continues to cause controversy.

In documents recently obtained by BuzzFeed News, we now have a behind-the-scenes look at how Orlando police have been using the technology. After the city let the original pilot program expire after public outcry, Orlando started a second pilot program with an “increased” number of face-scanning cameras. 

Amazon’s Rekognition is described broadly as a visual analysis tool. But, deployed by law enforcement, it can scan faces caught on camera and match them against faces in criminal databases. The ACLU called the technology "primed for abuse in the hands of governments" and warned that it “poses a grave threat to communities, including people of color and immigrants." Read more...

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Yes, Apple can still keep a secret.

Certainly, there have been all sorts of leaks and rumors about the new products Apple is poised to unveil at its Oct. 30 event, which begins at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. But what took many by surprise when the invitations hit reporters' inboxes was the choice of venue: Instead of a location at its Cupertino, California, headquarters or somewhere in the Bay Area, Apple chose the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.

That seems apt, since what Apple will likely unveil is of great interest to creative professionals: new iPad Pros and Mac hardware. Specifically, two new iPad Pro models (small and large) with edge-to-edge displays and a new Apple Pencil. On the Mac side, the iMac line is due for a refresh, and there may also be a true successor for the MacBook Air on deckThere's a bunch of other stuff Apple is overdue to catch us up on as well. Read more...

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Some cats are born to walk the runway. Well, maybe only one cat. But it's definitely this one, who crashed a runway at a Vakko ESMOD International fashion show in Istanbul.

No one seems to know how the cat accessed the runway, but she really made the most of her time there. She rolled around, she strutted a little, she licked her butt, she tried to get a model to hang out with her — all the good stuff. (The model ignored her.)

Here's footage of the cat's shenanigans. Please watch. Also, please book this cat for more shows. She is clearly a natural and deserves an illustrious career. Read more...

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Finding the perfect gift for the man in your life can be difficult. What if he doesn't like it? What if he doesn't need it? What if he already has it? These are just a few questions that might race through your head when trying to pick out the perfect gift.

While you may be tempted to get your guy something he needs, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Get him something he really wants instead and watch his eyes light up as he unwraps your gift. 

Whether you're buying a gift for your husband, father, brother, cousin, or best friend, we rounded up the best products that will make him light up — no matter the occasion. Whether he enjoys the finer things in life like whiskey and watches, needs a good solution to a tech problem at home, or just wants more Funko Pop figures and Deadpool t-shirts, we’ve got you covered. Read more...

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Are you one of those people who loves being scared — but, you know, in that not-quite-real way? There's nothing like the thrill of watching a scary video. And YouTube has plenty of them that are short and free and will totally satisfy your adrenaline craving. 

Plus, watching on YouTube beats spending a ton of money to watch the latest horror flick on the big screen through your fingers.

In the spirit of Halloween, we've scoured the creepier corners of YouTube to gather some of the spookiest videos and web series out there. Take a look for yourself, or maybe with a friend or two. These just might give you nightmares for days.  Read more...

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“It's not like in the movies. It's better, because it's real.”

From a small mountain of adorable, quotable moments to the iconic and timeless dreamboat that is Peter Kavinsky, Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before gave us all a lot to love this past summer. 

Now, in the heart of October 2018, the gift of protagonist Lara Jean Covey keeps on giving. This paradigm of effortlessly sophisticated teenage fashion—seriously, has the Peter Pan collar ever looked this good on anyone?—is inspiring dozens of fabulous Halloween costumes and author Jenny Han is taking notice. 

Han published the film's source material, also titled To All the Boys I've Loved Before, as a YA novel in April of 2014. She later executive produced Netflix's adaptation of the high school love story and, with help from costume designer Rafaella Rabinovich and actress Lana Condor, brought Lara Jean to life.  Read more...

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No tricks here, Netflix subscribersJeopardy is coming to Netflix, and it's happening on Oct. 30.

Details are slim at presentJeopardy is already available for streaming on Hulu, but only the three most recent seasons. A tweet confirming the show's imminent arrival on Netflix suggests a slightly different approach here.

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The world is filled with a wide variety of good dogs, but some are harder on their toys than others. You know the type: they take less than five minutes to turn a brand new stuffed animal into a cloud of torn cloth and stuffing.

It can be a challenge to pick the right gift for these dogs knowing that you're going to be shelling out money that leads to a big mess for you to clean up. 

I know this from first-hand experience. 

So, what can you do to get something your high-energy, toy-tearing pup will enjoy for more than just one romp, while also being easy on your wallet? We've run down 15 solid options. Read more...

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Ever since The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was announced by Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the question of how and when the two shows — both starring characters from Archie comics — would cross over. 

Now that Sabrina’s entire first season is out on Netflix, that question has been answered in a way that makes literally everything else about both shows way more complicated than it has to be. 

While characters on Sabrina name-dropped Riverdale High as early on as Episode 2, it took until Episode 7 for a real Riverdale character to show up in the flesh. Ben Button, who has primarily been a background character on Riverdale for its first two seasons, makes a cameo as Miss Wardwell’s pizza delivery boy. The way his scene ends, with the evil Wardwell luring him into her house with the intention to eat him, is meant to emphasize the cannibalistic nature of the Greendale witches...but there’s one big problem with that.  Read more...

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Video games suck at blackjack. 

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a convenient target, being the latest and most high-profile offender. But video game blackjack hasn't ever been done right in my recollection. And it's because every game gets a central component wrong: The key to blackjack, the thing that makes it interesting, is the betting. Not the rules.

So let's talk first about those rules, the absolute basics of blackjack. How each card works, what the goal is, how a typical hand flows.

Blackjack basics

The objective in blackjack is to get a set of cards whose sum is 21. Less than that is OK. More than that is a bust — a lost hand. Numbered cards, 2 through 10, count as the number printed on the card. Face cards also count as a 10. Ace can be either a 1 or an 11, whichever you choose. So if you have a 9 card and two Aces, you have a 21: 9 + 11 Ace + 1 Ace. That's great. Read more...

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If you've opened Google.com on your phone lately, you might have noticed it looks a lot different.

That's because Google's personalized news feed is now rolling out to mobile browsers. The feature, which we first saw last year, delivers a mix of news stories, YouTube videos, sports scores, and other content Google has determined you're most likely to be interested in at that moment.

Google has launched similar features in the past: most notably, Google Now, the company's original personalized news feed, was available through the Google app and Android phones. Read more...

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Oh baby, baby it's a wild world.

It's hard to get by just upon a smile, so we're here to offer you something a bit more substantial: A photo of Cat Stevens and a cat celebrating National Cat Day.

I believe this is what one might call the definition of purrrfection. (Sorry. Had to.)

"Happy #NationalCatDay to all the cats and kittens," the legendary musician and coolest cat around tweeted on Oct. 29, aka National Cat Day.  Read more...

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Last year, Waze successfully integrated Spotify directly into its navigation app. Now, the company is building a more full-featured audio player.

The Waze Audio Player is launching for beta-testers Monday and rolls out more widely to all Waze users on Nov. 14. The feature allows drivers to listen to and browse music, audiobooks, radio, and podcasts without ever leaving the popular traffic app.

Upon its initial release, the Waze Audio Player will support eight different audio services: Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, NPR, Scribd, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify. Read more...

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Viral Hog shared a video on Monday of a man attempting to shoo a cat off his car by kicking his windshield. Of course! Always the right way to go about something like this.

Naturally, things did not go as planned.

One kick wasn't quite enough to get the cat to move, so he gave the windshield another forceful kick, resulting in a sizable crack.

"I was resting in the car when a cat approached the front windshield," the man — whose identity is concealed — told Viral Hog. "I wanted to scare him with my foot but apparently, I hit the glass way too hard and the glass broke." 

Probably best to just get out of the vehicle and shoo the cat in the future. Or better yet, just let the little fuzzball hang out if you're not in a rush to go anywhere. Read more...

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We’ve entered some profoundly unfamiliar planetary territory.

Amid a backdrop of U.S. politicians still questioning whether the changing climate is attributable to humans (it is), it's quite likely that we’ve actually boosted Earth's carbon dioxide — a potent greenhouse gas — to the highest levels they’ve been in some 15 million years. 

The number 15 million is dramatically higher than a statistic frequently cited by geologists and climate scientists: That today's carbon levels are the highest they've been on Earth in at least 800,000 years — as there's irrefutable proof trapped in the planet's ancient ice. Read more...

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Does the mere thought of having your vocabulary skills tested make you kakorrhaphiophobic? Follow-up question: Do you even know what "kakorrhaphiophobic" means? Didn't think so. 

Well, fear not: You can easily improve your command of the English language — not to mention your self-esteem and your job prospects — with the Award-Winning Vocabulary Builder Bundle, a set of two programs designed to improve your communication skills.

You'll begin your training with Vocab1, a software program that aims to double your vocabulary through contextual learning in the form of fun games. It includes access to a database of over 520 million words, which you can pick and choose from to build customized word lists. Those lists can then be printed out in the form of worksheets and flashcards for convenient, on-the-go vocabulary drills.  Read more...

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You Won't Regret It is a new weekly column featuring recommendations, tips, and unsolicited advice from the Mashable culture team.

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A lot of people have already extolled the value of using an actual alarm clock instead of the alarm clock on your phone. I, however, was skeptical. Why would I buy a thing (one that might take up an outlet, no less) when I already have a version of that thing on my phone?

Then I found my old digital alarm clock in a plastic bin under my couch. I was going to put it back in the bin, but I needed to use the bin for sweaters, so I decided to put the clock on my bedside table instead of back in the bin. It was a whole thing! Read more...

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