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Weekly Rewind: How to live longer, Game of Thrones teaser, Zuck’s fortune, and more

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In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories you may have missed. Everything from Mark Zuckerburg’s new charity to babies named after Instagram filters — it’s all here.

New Game of Thrones Season 6 Teaser Shows Definite Signs of Snow

 

HBO is still getting a ton of mileage out of the controversial (spoiler alert!) presumed death of Game of Thrones‘ Jon Snow. After being stabbed several times in the season 5 finale, the beloved character is ostensibly expected to be dead, but we don’t know for sure. Thanks to a new season 6 teaser, released today, a surge of uncertainty has swelled again. The teaser feeds the confusion, dedicating over half the video to Snow’s image before a voiceover from ESP phenom Bran Stark says, “They have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Read the full story here.

Basking in the glow of new parenthood, Zuck says he’ll give his fortune away

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Basking in the glow of new parenthood, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan said they plan to give away 99 percent of their fortune to good causes over their lifetime. Yes, that’s a lot of money – the value of their Facebook shares currently stands at around $45 billion. However, the plan to transfer the shares over time won’t affect Zuckerberg’s status as controlling shareholder of the company. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has big plans to help with education and other good causes.

Read the full story here.

You could stay forever young (or young for a long time) with this diabetes drug

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We can’t live forever yet, but we may be getting closer to living a bit longer. Thanks to a new anti-aging drug, scientists believe they may have found a way to stop the body from falling victim to the perils of old age, including degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The hope is that the drug would not only allow people to live longer, but would also allow its users to maintain a relatively high level of health, making their extended years feel more like a gift than a burden.

Read the full story here.

Drake crowned as 2015’s most streamed Spotify artist, but Ed Sheeran’s still the king

Ed-Sheeran
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Spotify has released its annual year in music list, naming Drake the most-played artist of the year. The Canadian rapper pulled off the victory with a whopping 1.8 billion streams across 46 million listeners up to this point. That said, Ed Sheeran still reigns supreme as Spotify’s most streamed artist of all time, with over 3 billion streams to his name to this point. The stats come from the mountains of data Spotify collects from its throng of 75 million listeners.

Read the full story here.

Baby names inspired by Instagram filters are surging in popularity

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Looking for a unique name for your newborn? A new survey by BabyCenter has found that Instagram filters are a popular source for baby names, according to Time. Anyone who uses the popular photo-sharing app will recognize its filter titles, among them Ludwig, Juno, Amaro, and Valencia. Well, as Millennials are now starting families, it turns out that these are now serving as inspiration for baby names for both boys and girls. Lux is the most popular on the list.

Read the full story here.

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Next page: 5 more tech stories you might have missed this week

New kicks with a click: ShiftWear sneakers change designs on the fly

Feel like changing the color or tone of your kicks? Want to add some funky design that only you would come up with? ShiftWear aims to make that a reality with its “badass sneakers” that can display custom designs on a whim, using an E Ink display and an app. The New York-based startup is undergoing an Indiegogo campaign to raise $25,000 to finalize its prototype. The idea is to be able to choose different colors or designs and apply them to the E Ink display on the outer portion of the shoes.

Read the full story here.

These new Japanese noodles are low-cal, gluten-free, and … made from trees

Omikenshi-Co-celleat
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Gluten-free dieting is all the rage, and alternatives to gluten products are getting more and more creative. Case in point? This new type of noodle they’re making in Japan. It’s gluten-free, fat-free, contains almost no carbohydrates, and is partially made from tree pulp. The producer of this pioneering new pasta, Omikenshi Co, is actually one of Japan’s leading textile manufacturer, and created the noodles by adapting one of its industrial textile manufacturing processes.

Read the full story here.

Are dating apps to blame for the rise in HIV among young Asian men?

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The caution tape around dating apps like Tinder, Grindr, and a host of other similar players in the space is growing brighter, bolder, and more morbid as more and more data emerges regarding their effects. Studies show that the availability of hook-ups in the digital age comes at a price. The United Nations published a new report that claims, “The explosion of smart phone gay dating apps has expanded the options for casual spontaneous sex as never before,” leading to a “hidden epidemic” of HIV among young Asian males.

Read the full story here.

Android co-creator Andy Rubin may want to build an Android phone

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Android co-founder Andy Rubin is rumored to be interested in building a smartphone that uses the operating system he helped create. Whether he heads up a new company to do this, or provides one with support through his own startup incubator, isn’t known, according to a report by The Information. Staff for the project have apparently been scouted, although there is no confirmation a company has been started either with Rubin at its head, or behind it.

Read the full story here.

Grab this now: Cult mobile game Monument Valley is free on iOS for the first time

Cult gaming phenomenon Monument Valley is available for free through the iTunes App Store right now, reduced to zero from its usual $4 selling price for the very first time. Why is this a big deal? Because it’s one of the best puzzle games available for any mobile operating system, and the chance to pick it up for absolutely nothing isn’t to be missed. Monument Valley‘s design and music are gorgeous, and it’s a game you can play over and over again. You have to bend your mind to get past the higher levels and help the silent princess.

Read the full story here.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The Kindle Paperwhite just got a rare discount for Presidents’ Day
An Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 on a table.

Amazon rolled out several Kindle deals for Presidents' Day, including this gem: the ad-supported Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 at 16% off, bringing it down to a more affordable $135 from the e-reader's original price of $160. The $25 in savings may not look like much, but you still wouldn't want to miss it because a discount for this device rarely happens. The offer will only be available for a limited time though, with stocks possibly running out even before the holiday arrives, so hurry with your purchase if you want to take advantage of this bargain.

Why you should buy the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 received an impressive 4.5 stars out of 5 stars in our review, catapulting it to the top of our list of the best Kindles. The first thing that you'll notice about the e-reader is its sharp and high-contrast e-ink screen that makes reading extremely comfortable to the eyes, especially since it also has glare-free properties. The 7-inch display also has adjustable warmth that you can customize depending on the time of day, and since the device is ultra-thin and waterproof, you can bring it with you wherever you go.

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Tired of downloading terrible apps? This Google Play Store update will help
A person holding an Android phone while on a bike. The display shows the Google Play Store.

The Google Play Store has an estimated 3.3 million apps available, but they most certainly are not all created equal. Some are no longer updated, some don't work the way they're meant to, and others are just plain terrible — but a new update to the Play Store could make finding the diamonds in the rough much easier.

This update is already live for some users, but it's still rolling out to others. When browsing the Play Store, warnings will appear just below the app information and provide a high-level overview of its performance. For example, it might warn that an app is frequently uninstalled, or the app might not get as much engagement compared to others, according to Android Authority.

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TikTok returns to Apple, Google app stores in U.S.
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The TikTok saga continues. Apple reinstated the popular app to the App Store on Thursday evening, and a short while later Google followed suit and put it back on the Play Store. The move came after Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly sent a letter to the tech giants assuring them that they will not face any penalties in relation to a law that banned the app in the U.S. last month.

Both Apple and Google removed TikTok from their respective U.S. app stores on January 18, the day before the law banning the app went into effect. Then, on January 20, newly elected President Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day reprieve from the ban to give his administration “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.”

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