sex
Latest
India blocks hundreds of sex sites in the name of 'decency'
India's government has been threatening to crack down on porn in the country, and it looks like the administration has made good on its word. The Department of Telecommunications has blocked 857 sex sites (including everything from Fleshbot's blog through to hookup site Adult Friend Finder) in the name of "decency." While the restrictions may not affect everyone -- some mobile users report unfettered access, for example -- they're definitely noticeable on at least some landline internet providers. Officials claim that India's IT Act grants them the authority to block content if it preserves "public order" and prevents sites from inciting crimes.
Ashley Madison hack threatens to expose millions of users
Ashley Madison, the dating website that purports to connect people looking for an affair, has been the victim of a hack that has exposed the personal data of its 37 million users. Krebs on Security is reporting that the perpetrators are a hacker or hackers going by the name of Impact Team. So far, only a small selection of information has been uploaded, but the group is threatening to post the entire haul unless Ashley Madison and sister site Established Men are shut down for good. CEO Noel Biderman has confirmed that the attack is legitimate and has pledged to take down compromising files as they're found online. Not that it's likely to be much comfort to the people waking up to find their personal details splashed across the internet.
Color-changing condoms could tell which VD you just got
A group of teenage inventors have struck upon a clever (albeit still very conceptual) way to alert folks to the presence of various venereal diseases before the burning starts: fluorescing condoms that light up when they encounter dangerous bacteria or virii. The team from Isaac Newton Academy in Illford, England developed the "glowing condom" concept, dubbed S.T.Y.E, as part of this year's TeenTech awards. It would reportedly operate as a normal condom does but also incorporate a sheath of molecules that attach to the diseases and set off a fluorescent reaction. The added layer would literally glow different colors when in contact with various STDs -- green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for HPV and blue for syphilis.
Realdoll invests in AI for future sexbots that move, and talk dirty
Tired of your $10,000 anatomically-correct sex doll just lying there? Well, now RealDoll, purveyors of alarmingly lifelike silicone sex partners -- and apparently not movie buffs -- plans to give them personalities. According to the New York Times, RealDoll founder and CEO Matt McMullen has hired a team away from Hanson Robotics for the new project, dubbed Realbotix, for the express purpose of animating these dolls. The team is reportedly developing an artificial intelligence system capable both of following commands and verbally responding to its user. What's more, RealDoll is also working on an animatronic head (complete with blinking eyes and movable mouth).
Space Sex: PornHub wants $3.4 million to make orbital whoopie
Despite the associated physical difficulties of boinking in orbit, PornHub recently started an IndieGoGo campaign raising funds for the world's first space-based sex scene. The online pornography clearinghouse is seeking to raise $3.4 million over the next 60 days in order to send up AV stars Eva Lovia and Johnny Sins. The crowdfunding campaign's funds will go towards shuttle transportation and video equipment with the company reportedly footing the rest of the bill. "This will be a grand experiment in learning how intercourse works after penetrating the Earth's atmosphere," Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, said in a statement.
Adult Themes: Digital sex just isn't 'sexy'
The attic room is sparsely furnished, with just a bed, a side table and a bookcase made from cheap plywood, shelves sagging from overuse. It's sufficiently cold in here that clouds of vapor peel from my lips, but the location, at least, offers the privacy I need. After balancing my laptop on some books, with the webcam strategically pointed above waist-height, I slide my trousers down and pull out the ominous, black cylinder from a bag. It's a Kiiroo Onyx, a $249 teledildonic device that, the company promises, will enable me to have sex with my significant other (or anyone else) through the internet.
Ashley Madison IPO proves Adultery is big business
It may sound like a high-end department store, but Ashley Madison is actually a hookup network for people who want some extra-marital, no-strings attached sex. As much as we pretend that the site caters to a small niche, the truth is that its parent company is struggling to keep up with the demand. That's why it's reportedly preparing to go public in the hope of raising $200 million to fund international expansion.
Daily Roundup: Net neutrality wins, digital brothels and more!
In today's news, the FCC approved its net neutrality plan, a "digital brothel" lets people have sex through the internet and Pebble smashes its own crowdfunding records. Read about all the top stories in today's Daily Roundup.
Daily Roundup: best wearables to buy, socially anxious gaming and more!
In today's Daily Roundup, you'll find out about the top 10 wearables you can buy right now, get the scoop on a video game for the socially anxious and read about one of the most influential samples in music. Find out about all this and more, just past the break.
Geeksphone's wearable tracks sexual performance, other boring stuff
Geeksphone, the company behind a dual-OS handset and the ultra-secure Blackphone, is trying its hand at wearables. The upcoming Geeksme band appears to be rather smartwatch-esque with a circular OLED display framed by 12 bi-color LEDs, tracking steps, distance, calories burned and sleep. It'll also wrangle calls, messages and reminders on your wrist. How does Geeksme hope to stand out? It tracks sexual performance and monitors "progress" in the bedroom. The device keeps tabs on your "ecological footprint" as well, so you're always informed about how your habits impact the environment. Unfortunately, the company isn't showing off the hardware just yet, and details (like how it monitors bedroom activity) are scarce, but it's planning to launch later this year. You can rest assured we're on the hunt for more details -- perhaps at this month's Mobile World Congress.
Adult Themes: 8 connected sex toys for your Valentine
There are many ways to tell someone that you love them. If they're not into flowers, chocolates or steak dinners, however, then you might just have to spice things up in the bedroom with an erotic device that's a little more exciting than a Magic Wand. After all, we live in a sane, mature society that can appreciate two (or more) people getting it on, don't we? Hell, when the biggest movie release on Valentine's Day is the story of a sociopath who uses BDSM to coerce a naive partner into doing whatever he wants with her, you know we're through the looking glass. That's why we here at Engadget have decided to pull together a list of the smartest, cleverest and maddest ways to tell your other halves to go fuck themselves -- in the nicest possible way, of course.
Smart Kegel exerciser can hurt women as much as it helps
If men can have a fitness device for their nether regions, women certainly can, too. Minna Life has released the kGoal, a $149 "smart Kegel exerciser" that helps you work your pelvic floor muscles (read: the vaginal area) in order to both improve your sexual performance and fight disorders like incontinence. It provides real-time feedback through sound, touch and visuals, and you'll know you're on the right track through a companion smartphone app that gauges your progress. If all goes well, kGoal should take the mystery out of Kegels -- you'll build strong muscles by developing a proper technique and setting achievable goals.
This app does pillow talk so you don't have to
Just for a second, let's imagine that your ultimate sexual fantasy is to be doused in custard while standing on a salmon as you hum the Timesteps symphony from A Clockwork Orange. It's left-field, we admit, but we won't judge. The question is, how would you go about telling your partner or partners about such a fantasy? After all, unless you're very confident about their reaction, telling them during a Saturday morning lie-in might cause howls of anger or derision. That's why a German startup has built UnderCovers, an app that is designed to help couples who, for whatever reason, might struggle to communicate their innermost desires to one another.
Daily Roundup: a new Engadget, sex ed on VHS and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
My VCR taught me about sex
Sex. The word alone still makes me giggle. But that's more to do with my status as a self-described man-child, and a proud one at that, than any real sexual immaturity. Blame my parents. They never sat me down for a serious talk about the proverbial "birds and the bees." Neither did my older brother and sister, the supposed torchbearers of all pre-teen sex how-tos. So I got my education elsewhere; from a keen bit of advanced (for the time) videocassette-recording technology called the VCR and premium cable. Timeshifting made me a man.
Venus Rising's internal alpha has started
Venus Rising, the MMO "where intense battle meets passionate lust," has launched its internal alpha. Foxysoft's ancient Rome-based title exceeded company forecasts for paid subscriptions over its first 10 days, and the game's initial alpha is expected to conclude either on May 15th "or at 500 total users." Foxysoft founder and CEO Alex Allen says that the firm is "relying on [its] users to really dive in and tell us what they want from the game experience for the beta release in Q4." The full press release is embedded after the break. [Source: Foxysoft press release]
If you have lots of rubbing alcohol, Lick app may just improve your love life
Sometimes people lack certain skills in life, skills that may affect their love life. The question is: how far would you go to gain those skills? Would you lick your iPhone to improve them? Even knowing where your phone has been? Lick is an important app that forces you to answer that frankly disgusting question. Love is a battlefield after all, and everyone knows war is hell. Lick is a web app that wants you to get busy with your phone. You can view the site here, but the true meat of its content is only available via touch screen devices. After you pull it up on your iOS device, navigation is controlled via licking your screen. Once inside, Lick offers up three separate levels of "tongue training." Level 1 is flicking a light switch up and down as many times as you can, level 2 requires you to turn the crank of a pencil sharpener in a circle, while level 3 is sort of a freestyle session where you aim to keep a ball in the air. Again, all using your tongue. On your iPhone. Which -- let's be honest -- you probably also use in relatively unsanitary places. We're trying to be classy about this, so think about where you clear most of your Instapaper queue. Yeah, that place. So in the interest of promoting public health, here's how to practice safe licking: Method 1: Place saran wrap over your screen. Get to business. Method 2: Rubbing alcohol. Lots and lots and lots of rubbing alcohol. Get the 90% isopropyl alcohol from your local pharmacy. Put some on a paper towel. Clean your screen. Repeat until the voice in your head stops screaming "what are you doing?" Get to business. Then clean your screen again with alcohol. Then probably consider contacting a priest or a therapist. If all this sounds absolutely insane to you, perhaps you should watch this trailer. Maybe we're slowly licking our way to the future. Either way, please for the love of God clean your phone first if you try this. Or at least use protection.
Vine bans pornographic material, says artistic nudity is okay
Consider it an unspoken, but universally true rule: if it can be used for porn, it will be. Texting, Snapchat, Skype and video streaming technology have all fallen to mankind's more base desires, and now, Vine has too. According to a post on the Vine blog, the company has determined that a small percentage of its users are posting videos that "are not a good fit" for its community. In response, Twitter has changed its terms of service to ban sexually explicit Vines, specifically prohibiting videos of sexually provocative nudity, obviously aroused genitalia, sexually graphic art or animation and clips of sex toys being used erm.. as intended. That said, the company doesn't want you to think it prudish -- nudity in natural, artistic or documentary context (such as unclothed models in an art class or nude protesters) are A-OK, as are the swaying hips of any fully clothed erotic dancer. "We don't have a problem with explicit sexual content on the internet," the company wrote. "We just prefer not to be the source of it." Fair enough, but if we were to guess, we'd say the move has more to do with upsetting App Store policies than maintaining a squeaky clean community.
Rent a New York City apartment by the hour for... well, it's up to you
Sometimes, New York City can be unbearable. Sometimes, you just need a break. Breather wants to offer you that break, in a variety of "beautiful, practical spaces" that are available by the hour. Think of it like a rentable, temporary office. Sound good? Head right here to check it out! ... Okay, are those folks gone? Now let's get down to what this is really about: rentable sex spaces. That's what we're talking about here, right? Gothamist arrived at the same conclusion as us, and asked Breather's City Manager Packy McCormick what gives. He claimed that, during a months-long beta period, there were no signs indicating Breather being used as such. "It just doesn't happen," he said. In fairness, the spaces aren't exactly strewn with mood lighting and waterbeds; they have standard office fare (WiFi, desks, power outlets -- unsexy stuff) and get cleaned after each use by Breather staff. We got on the phone with CEO Julien Smith for more; he spoke with us from his mobile phone in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood -- no coincidence, as that's where Breather is headed in the "next couple of months." NYC service will also expand out from Manhattan into the outer boroughs in the same time frame, with plans for Boston and other major cities in the future.
UK porn filter blocks League of Legends update for 'sex' in file name
The anti-pornography firewall run by the UK's four top internet providers has blocked the latest League of Legends update because it happens to contain the letters "s," "e" and "x" in a row in two of its file names, The Guardian reports. The filter dings the following two files, forcing the update to fail with a "file not found" error (emphasis added): XerathMageChainsExtended.luaobj VarusExpirationTimer.luaobj Reddit user LoLBoompje first reported the file error, and The Guardian says that the only recourse for those affected is to contact their internet providers and switch off the filter. The firewall is a new program and this problem should be contained to anyone who has signed up for a new ISP this month only.
