Image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

We live in the golden age of bad non-apologies, but Kevin Hart’s response to recent backlash over resurfaced homophobic jokes might take the cake.

“Stop looking for reasons to be negative… Stop searching for reasons to be angry,” Hart wrote in his Instagram, along with a grainy video of him shirtless expressing the same sentiments.

For those playing catch up: On Wednesday, Hart was announced as the host of the 2019 Oscars. Within hours, concerns were raised online that resurfaced a litany of (now-deleted) tweets. 

One described how, if he ever saw his son playing with his daughter’s doll house, “I’m going 2 break it over his head and say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.’” Others included him using homophobic slurs against other people.

These weren’t just one-off thoughtless tweets, either. As noted by many, this joke from his 2010 stand-up special Seriously Funny echoed the same bigoted sentiments:

“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic. . .  Be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.” 

On Thursday afternoon, Hart took to Instagram to post a video and caption expressing his support for the real victim in all this: himself.  

“I work hard on a daily basis to spread positivity to all,” he declared, once again disregarding the feelings and experiences of many in the LGBTQ community. He then suggested that the people his jokes upset should, “take your negative energy and put it into something constructive.”

Well, you know what they say: The best way to show everyone you know how to “live” “learn” “grow” and “mature” is by blaming them for the consequences of your own actions.

Most infuriatingly, Hart used the same diminishing, condescending excuses from his Seriously Funny joke to try and mask the hostility of his attitude. Hiding behind his brand of happiness and posi-vibes, he finished by declaring “I live to love,” and telling everyone to “Have a beautiful day.”

Whether or not Hart at all recognizes the “negativity” of his own early, homophobic comedy remains to be seen. But we hope he has a beautiful day.

Image: lili sams / mashable

The holidays are upon us and, for Instagram users, that can only mean one thing: it’s time to make your “top nine” collage.

For those not familiar, these are the posts that inundate Instagram feeds and Stories at the end of each year, with users showing off their nine most-liked Instagram posts of the year in a single collage.

The Top Nine tool, which is created by app developer Beta Labs, is available now and has been updated for 2018. You can download the app in the App Store or Google Play Store, or make your collage on the the Top Nine website. You’ll need to use the app if you have a private Instagram account.

This year, the tool also requires users to give their email address before they can get their collage. Beta Labs founder Kevin Natanzon tells me that’s because demand has been so high in past years that the app isn’t always able to generate the collages as quickly as users request them.

Now, instead of waiting for it to load, the company will email users their collages as soon as they’re ready. You can then download the image or export it to your Instagram Story. And, if you use the app, you can also get images printed on physical items like phone cases.

Natanzon also tells me they’ll soon be re-releasing a video feature, which will let you create videos out of your posts.

But regardless of what you do with your collage, it’s a good way to find out what your most popular posts were — and to start planning for next year.

There’s no time like the present to slow the tide of a technology-enabled facilitation of discrimination aided by facial recognition. 

So, somewhat surprisingly, argues one key developer of said facial recognition tech: Microsoft. 

On Dec. 6, Microsoft president Brad Smith released an over 3,500-word blog post detailing his concerns with the aforementioned technology and calling for immediate government regulation. The post gets straight to the point, noting that as a society we can’t risk waiting any longer.

“The facial recognition genie, so to speak, is just emerging from the bottle,” reads the post in part. “Unless we act, we risk waking up five years from now to find that facial recognition services have spread in ways that exacerbate societal issues.”

When the president of what is, or at least for a moment in late November was, the world’s most valuable company publicly decries the potential future harms of a tech we should probably take note. 

This rings true especially when that very same company has a $480 million contract with the U.S. military to help it “increase lethality.” Because if facial recognition tech spooks even Smith, then the rest of us should be feeling pretty nervous right about now. 

Specifically, the blog post lays out three problems with facial recognition tech. 

First, it “[increases] the risk of decisions and, more generally, outcomes that are biased and, in some cases, in violation of laws prohibiting discrimination.” This is a very real concern, as we know that in its current form the technology has a hard time correctly identifying people of color, women, and young people. 

Next, “the widespread use of this technology can lead to new intrusions into people’s privacy.” We’ve seen what this looks like in China, with automated facial recognition tech being used to identify and publicly shame jaywalkers. 

And, lastly, “the use of facial recognition technology by a government for mass surveillance can encroach on democratic freedoms.” This we know  to be true, as the tech can identify individual protesters at, say, a march. Even, potentially, if they’re masked. 

This is not the first time Microsoft has asked the government to regulate the sector. The company issued a similar call in June. However, this time around, Microsoft is also asking its competitors to not wait for the government to act. “We and other tech companies need to start creating safeguards to address facial recognition technology,” Smith writes. 

Notably, Smith doesn’t think the technology is all bad. He writes that it has been used to find missing children, and even to help diagnose a rare disease. Still, according to Smith, it clearly needs some serious and immediate checks. 

Perhaps Smith, in addition to this lengthy call for regulation, can do us all one more favor and send his blog post directly to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Maybe Bezos, whose company has its own controversial facial recognition program, will take the concerns of a fellow rich man more seriously than those of the organizations that have spoken up against it. 

But no point in holding your breath — it’s unlikely the blue hue of your oxygen-starved face will pose any problems to the algorithm identifying you in the crowd. 

Image: lili sams / mashable

If Instagram looks a little off to you right now, you’re not alone: the app is experiencing a strange glitch that is messing with users’ feeds.

The issue is causing bars to appear over images, making them look like they are the product of a scrambled VHS tape or some strange new filter. The source of the problem is unclear, but it appears to be fairly widespread, with confused and upset users taking to Twitter to complain.

The good news is that Instagram has confirmed it’s an issue on their end, which means there’s nothing wrong with your phone. The bad news is it’s not clear how long it will take for the company to come up with a fix. 

“We know this is frustrating and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible,” the company wrote on Twitter.

In the meantime, it looks like some users are actually enjoying Instagram’s odd new aesthetic (it’s like using the Glitché app, but for free).

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips dominate mobile — you’ll find them in almost every Android phone and tablet — and now they’re ready to invade Intel’s main turf: PCs.

On the third day of its annual Snapdragon Technology Summit, the world’s largest mobile chipmaker unveiled the Snapdragon 8cx system-on-a-chip (SoC). It’s created with a 7-nanometer process, similar to Apple’s A12 and A12X chips, which are in the iPhone XS/XS Max/XR and new iPad Pros.

Qualcomm previously tested the PC waters with the Snapdragon 835 and 850 chips, but now it’s ready for a full assault on Intel’s territory. This could very well be the beginning of the end to Intel’s vice-like grip powering PCs.

The new “Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform” (as it’s officially called) is significant because Qualcomm’s designed it from scratch just for PCs — specifically, thin-and-light laptops and 2-in-1s that are meant to be always-on and always-connected.

While it shares many of the fabrication techniques from Qualcomm’s mobile-first chips past, present, and future (hello, Snapdragon 855), the 8cx chip has many elements and features that meet the more demanding tasks of PCs.

Built for PC needs

For example, laptops usually have larger screens with more pixels to push. So Qualcomm included a beefier Adreno 680 GPU (that bests even the new 855 chip’s Adreno 640), capable of outputting to two 4K HDR displays.

The Kryo 495 CPU has eight cores and a larger cache for better multi-tasking performance. Because, you know, PCs users are juggling more apps and more Chrome tabs than on Android phone or tablets. Qualcomm says the 8cx chip offers comparable performance to an Intel U-series processor running on 15 watts (found in laptops like Dell’s XPS 13) and up to 3x faster than Apple’s latest MacBook Air, which uses a lower-powered 7-watt Y-series Intel chip. 

Qualcomm says it’s optimized the 8cx chip to get more CPU and GPU performance with greater power efficiency. Windows 10 is supposed to run up to 2x faster than on the Snapdragon 850 chip and 3.5x faster than on the 835. At the same time, the 8cx is up to 60 percent more power efficient.

Other geeky tidbits, like support for faster LPDDR4x 2,133MHz memory configurable up to 16GB and ultra-fast NVMe SSD storage read/write speeds, will surely sate PC power users.

The chip supports second-generation USB-C 3.1, but not Thunderbolt 3, which is a technology developed by Intel.

Enhancing PCs with mobile’s strengths

But rivaling Intel’s performance with smaller and fanless silicon (Intel has struggled to release a 7-nanometer chip) aren’t the only advantages Qualcomm has over its leading competitor. The Snapdragon architecture was designed for mobility and the wireless lifestyle it enables.

As such, battery life on 8cx-powered laptops should be much better than on Intel-powered machines, and it has support for Quick Charge 4+. Qualcomm says PCs with its 8xc will have “multi-day” battery life.

The integrated X24 LTE modem allows for always-connected cellular connectivity. Despite phones and tablets having built-in cellular connectivity for years, laptops are just adding them in now. Part of the reason has the incompatibility of LTE modems with Intel chips, which would’ve drained battery life a lot quicker. However, Qualcomm’s expertise integrating LTE modems into the same silicon on mobile gives it a leg up on in this area.

Similarly, Qualcomm’s Aqstic audio tech allows for better wireless audio and improved hands-free voice commands with voice assistants such as Alexa and Cortana.

Eating Intel’s lunch

Intel’s remained the undisputed supplier of processors for PCs for decades. But that time could be coming to an end.

The work Qualcomm has done for mobile has changed the way we all live, work, and play. Mobile’s been transformed and now the chipmaker’s taking its knowledge it’s gained and bringing it to PCs.

There’s a huge opening for the company to disrupt Intel’s rule. If Intel can’t deliver power and energy-efficient chips, then Qualcomm will. 

But Qualcomm’s not the only one using its mobile chip expertise to give Intel a kick in the pants. Apple’s widely rumored to be working on MacBooks powered by the company’s A-series chips instead of Intel processors. Intel might have scoffed at being unseated years ago, but now it’s starting to look like the company’s completely out of touch with future technology trends.

With mobile chips like Apple’s A12X Bionic are rivaling performance from a 15-inch MacBook Pro, there’s a big opportunity for Apple to dump Intel altogether in the future as its silicon gets even more powerful and more power-efficient. Windows PC makers won’t dump Intel overnight, but Qualcomm’s 8cx and its successor will inevitably make it harder for them to ignore.

Intel’s backed itself into a corner. It missed the mobile revolution and it might miss the next-generation of portable laptops and 2-in-1s because of Qualcomm and Apple’s chip innovations. If it doesn’t do something drastic soon, it won’t be doing much except powering really high-end machines.

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Can you believe it’s already the end of 2018? YouTube is celebrating its biggest creators with a collaborative video featuring over a hundred vloggers in YouTube Rewind. 

The video opens up with Will Smith at the Grand Canyon, a throwback to his wild birthday jump from September. With the power of rewind, he takes a school bus on a wild adventure. The group of creators dance out a remake of BTS’s viral “Idol” video, act out the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, conduct a science experiment, and film a massive mukbang. 

Even the Walmart yodel boy makes an appearance!

Sitting around a campfire, the YouTubers highlight channels who discussed mental health and other sensitive topics.

“It takes so much bravery to be that vulnerable and I am so proud of this community,” Gabbie Hanna says in the video. 

Keep an eye out for YouTubers like Molly Burke, Liza Koshy, Simone Giertz, and dozens more in this year’s YouTube Rewind. 

Image: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

GoFundMe, the world’s largest social fundraising platform, released its annual “Year in Giving” report for 2018, which includes data about the most generous U.S. states and cities, global trends, and best of all, the top fundraisers by the numbers. 

The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, founded to provide legal support to people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment in the workplace, raised $22 million to become the largest GoFundMe campaign of all time. 

The top 10 fundraisers of 2018 collectively raised $58 million. Nearly two-thirds of people who donated to GoFundMe campaigns were first-time donors. Not only were people eager to give, they were also quick. A fundraiser for the Humboldt Broncos, a hockey team in Canada involved in a fatal bus crash that killed 16 people and injured 13 others, received 1.9 million views in the first 24 hours. 

We’ve included below all 10 of the top campaigns from 2018. Although the year is almost over, you can still donate to Time’s Up and many other causes (denoted by an asterisk) on this list. As always, consider these tips to donate wisely and safely. 

Help survivors of sexual assault and harassment connect to legal resources. 

People rallied behind the families of the Canadian hockey team who suffered from a devastating bus crash. 

These funds provided relief and financial support to the victims and families of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

These donations went to the March For Our Lives Action Fund, which helped fund the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., and the Broward Education Foundation. 

Humans of New York photographer Brandon Stanton teamed up with French social media star Jérôme Jarre and his humanitarian organization, Love Army, to build homes for Rohingya refugees.

After a mass shooting in October, people donated to support survivors, victims’ families, and the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. 

Ari Fuld, an American Israeli, was stabbed to death in September by a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank. This campaign raised money to support his wife and four children.  

Carter, a 6-year-old, was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome, a fatal brain disorder that currently has no cure. Donations will go to the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation, which funds Carter’s clinical trial. 

Anthony Borges was shot multiple times during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. This campaign supports his recovery. 

This fundraiser was created to support Tia Coleman, who lost nine family members during a major boating accident this summer.

Wednesday night (December 5) in New York City, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at the Ally Coalition’s fifth annual Talent Show to sing “Delicate.” This is notable for a number of reasons: 1) Swift was not listed as a scheduled performer at the gig, which also featured Lana Del Rey, Bleachers, Haley Kiyoko, and more; 2) the venue where it happened, Town Hall, has a capacity of roughly 1,500 people, making one of the most intimate Swift performances in some time; and 3) she sang it alongside Kiyoko, someone who’d previously used Swift’s career to contrast with her own struggles within the music industry as a queer artist.

“I’ve had several music industry execs say ‘You’re doing another music video about girls?’” Kiyoko told Refinery29 in March. “I was like, um, yeah… Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains.”

Swift responded quickly on Tumblr, saying, “We should applaud artists who are brave enough to tell their honest romantic narrative through their art, and the fact is that I’ve never encountered homophobia and she has. It’s her right to call out anyone who has double standards about gay vs. straight love interests.”

That’s all ancient history though, because the pair’s team-up on an acoustic “Delicate” was accompanied by plenty of smiles and a power that comes from that kind of unexpected collaboration. Kiyoko takes the harmonies and it sounds good. Watch fan-captured video of the performance below.

The event also featured Lana Del Rey performing all new cuts from her upcoming Norman Fucking Rockwell album, including two we’ve previously heard, “Venice Bitch” and “How to Disappear.” The other two, “Hey Blue Baby” and “I Must Be Stupid for Feeling So Happy,” made their live debuts, as per Billboard.

“Me and Jack [Antonoff] wrote a couple of country songs just for fun, so we thought we’d play them,” Lana reportedly told the crowd, referencing her producer for the upcoming LP. Antonoff was there, too, and his sister, Rachel, hosted the event. Check out one of those new cuts below.

Find out more about the Ally Coalition right here.

A monk seal in Hawaii was photographed with an eel stuck up its nose — and it is your new spirit animal.

The photo of the adorable and mildly uncomfortable-looking seal with an eel dangling from its nostril was shared by the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, which works with the NOAA Fisheries to conserve and protect the Hawaiian Monk seal population, according to Newsweek.

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Apparently, eels getting stuck in seals noses happens occasionally, but no one is certain as to why.

“We have reported on this phenomenon before which was first noted a few years back. We have now found juvenile seals with eels stuck in their noses on multiple occasions,” the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “In all cases the eel was successfully removed and the seals were fine. The eels, however, did not make it.” 

It’s sad to hear that the eels didn’t survive after being removed from the seal’s nose, but considering they chose to enter the seal’s nose without permission, they’re really the architects of their own demise here.

“Hawaiian monk seals forage by shoving their mouth and nose into the crevasses of coral reefs, under rocks, or into the sand. They are looking for prey that likes to hide, like eels,” . “This may be a case of an eel that was cornered trying to defend itself or escape. Alternatively, the seal could have swallowed the eel and regurgitated it so that the eel came out the wrong way. We might not ever know.”

Regardless, we’re happy to hear this sweet, vaguely irritated monk seal has been returned to its normal, eel-less state.