“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown,” said cult-favorite horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. While he achieved little fame and no fortune during his life (1890-1937), he’s become incredibly influential in the decades following his death. Lovecraft’s interconnected stories are linked by …

Ever since the original — a 5-inch Android “tablet” grafted onto an Xbox-style gamepad that launched in 2013 — the Nvidia Shield has been weird. Subsequent iterations became a bit more normal but the device has always embraced its geeky, gaming-centric roots while it slowly morphed into a do-it-all TV device focused on video streaming. Now playing: Watch this: Nvidia debuts …

HBO Max, the new HBO-anchored streaming service coming from AT&T’s WarnerMedia, will cost $15 a month and launch in May in the US. It will have 10,000 hours of programming: everything on HBO, plus exclusive originals and a deeper catalog of licensed shows and movies. Existing members of HBO Now — also $15 a month — can switch over to HBO Max …

Walmart may be thinking of selling its on-demand video service Vudu, according to a Wednesday report. The retailer has found it would have to heavily invest in the business to compete in a sector dominated by the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, The Information reports. In addition, Walmart reportedly feels Vudu “isn’t core to its business.”   While subscription …

Game Seven. Those are two of the best words a sports fan could hear. Wednesday night, baseball fans will be the lucky recipients of such a gift with the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals set to play the final game of the 2019 MLB season.  After the Nats jumped out to a 2-0 lead heading back to the nation’s capital, the Astros rallied off …

Lyft’s founders remain optimistic about the ride-hailing company’s future, even though the recent past has seen its share price skid by more than 40% since going public in March. CEO Logan Green has repeatedly said the company “has never been stronger.” On Wednesday, Lyft’s third-quarter earnings backed up that confidence.  The short of the story: Lyft beat analysts’ expectations, posting …

It seems like Apple is preparing to launch a trio of 5G iPhones next year, after leaving the next-generation wireless technology out of this year’s iPhone 11 lineup. The modem will be designed by Qualcomm, Nikkei reported Wednesday. The Cupertino, California, company intends to ship at least 80 million of the 5G iPhone models and “has set an aggressive sales …

Facebook’s massive advertising business and user base keep growing despite a seemingly endless list of scandals, including criticism over a new policy that allows politicians to lie in ads on the social network. On Wednesday, Facebook said that 2.45 billion users logged in to the site every month during the third quarter, an uptick of 8% from 2.27 billion monthly …

Twitter will stop selling ads concerning candidates for office, elections or political issues such as climate change and immigration, the company’s CEO said Wednesday, staking out a position that sets the social network apart from industry giant Facebook. In a series of 11 tweets, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey unveiled the changes, which will take effect next month. He argued that …

Samsung was hit hard in its third quarter by the slowdown in tech. The company on Wednesday reported a steep drop in operating profit amid ongoing weakness in the chip industry. But the company’s bottom line was buoyed by stronger smartphone sales. The South Korean electronics giant reported its third-quarter operating profit for the three-month period ending on Sept. 30 …

AT&T’s unlimited plans are getting a refresh. One day after showing off HBO Max, the wireless giant has announced that on Nov. 3 it will begin offering two new unlimited plans: AT&T Unlimited Starter and AT&T Unlimited Extra.  Unlimited Starter — which replaces the company’s current Unlimited &More plan — lowers the starting monthly price for a family of four …

Spotify is looking to bring in a new generation of subscribers with its new app, Spotify Kids. Currently in beta in Ireland, the new app will have content intended for children with the parents in full control.  Spotify Kids will be available for those with a Premium Family subscription, which costs $14.99 a month, when the app rolls out in their …

I have always thought of phone cases sort of like the way I think about socks. They’re both essential purchases, but they kind of feel like wasted money. I don’t enjoy owning socks or a phone case, but as a grown-up, I’m expected to have them. At least, that’s the way I used to feel. I recently got Totallee’s Thin …

The DJI Mavic Mini is the company’s smallest and lightest camera drone ever. It was designed with the goal of getting the weight down below 250 grams (8.8 ounces), which not only makes it safer, but means in the US you don’t need to register with the FAA. The Mini is likely to open up the world of camera drones …

Facebook agreed on Wednesday to pay a £500,000 ($644,000) fine issued by the UK’s data protection watchdog following last year’s Cambridge Analytica revelations. However, the social network made no admission of liability over the mishandling of user data. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) opened an investigation in early 2018 into the use of data analytics for political purposes. The …