Technology and Computing
is a nifty little device that makes at-home laser printing quick, easy, and relatively painless. Inventor Mason Hung stopped by the Mashable office in New York recently to give us a demo, where it became clear after just a couple minutes why Cubiio is absolutely killing it on Kickstarter. (They've just surpassed $1 million, well beyond their $25,000 goal.) Able to print on materials like wood, leather, paper, and felt, the cube-shaped laser printer is about the size of a…
Over the past couple of years, Fitbit has witnesses its signature fitness wearables slowly being eclipsed by the Apple Watch and other smartwatches like Samsung's Gear line and Google's Android Wear. It released the Blaze watch last year, which was a step up for Fitbit in terms of sophistication, but still left customers wondering when it would release a true smartwatch, complete with its own platform and apps. Well, wonder no longer. Fitbit will launch its long-teased first real smartwatch, the Ionic, in October. The smartwatch will…
We compare the Sky Soundbox TV soundbar to the best audio alternatives out there right now, to see if Sky's speaker is solid value for money. What is a soundbar? When we buy a new TV, we tend to focus on picture quality, dimensions and the asking price. However, when you get your slim new 4K telly home and get it set up, you might discover that the audio quality is rather pants compared to the visuals. That's especially true…
This year's new redesigned iPhone is all but confirmed thanks to months worth of leaks and Apple's own slip-up with the HomePod firmware that keeps revealing more and more. So we're pretty sure what the hardware will look like, but what how will iOS 11 look on an iPhone with an edge-to-edge display and a notch at the top of the screen? Visual and user interface designer Max Rudberg decided to use his design skills to imagine what it could look like, and it's got us really pumped.…
In 2018, Samsung Electronics will return to its position as the sole supplier of Apple’s next-generation A12 Systems on a Chip (SoCs), according to a report published Tuesday by The Korea Herald, which goes on to cite a “crucial deal” that was reached last month when Samsung’s co-CEO, Kwon Oh-hyun, met with Apple executives during a visit to Cupertino. The report alleges that Samsung was able to court the iPhone-maker due to the company’s decision to invest heavily in next-generation equipment that…
I’ve been following the multiple “easy” brewing systems available online for a while now and have never found one that truly spoke to me. Devices like the Minibrew seem great but price and shipping problems have always kept them out of my boozy little hands. So, rather than wait for the perfect automatic system, I decided to look at the Catalyst Fermentation System, a $199 carboy kit that promises to make brewing as easy as boiling some oats and hops and managing a…
Fujitsu announced the development of an AI processor it refers to as a Deep Learning Unit (DLU). In addition to the company's plans to build an AI supercomputer with 24 Nvidia DGX-1 systems, Fujitsu also plans to produce an AI processor delivering more than ten times the performance per watt than the competition by 2018. The fact that the company is developing a DLU isn’t surprising in and of itself. Fujitsu has more than three decades of experience developing AI and…
Who hasn't left "Pacific Rim" or "Voltron" with the desire to control a giant robot in a pitched battle for the sake of mankind? Skydance Interactive seems to think the answer is "nobody," because it released a new trailer for Archangel, an upcoming VR game that lets you pilot a war machine. "War machine" might be a bit of an understatement. You're actually tasked with controlling a six-story-tall mech through what Skydance Interactive described as an "action-packed, story-driven shooter" in which…
Google Fiber's chief executive officer Gregory McCray has stepped down after only five months in the role. Google's parent company Alphabet is on the hunt for a replacement, but as McCray was only hired back in February, the company may have been left flat-footed in the search for a stable chief to oversee the high-speed broadband service. "We are committed to the success of Google Fiber," Alphabet CEO Larry Page said in a statement. "The team is bringing gigabit connections…
The high number of viewers trying to watch Game of Thrones' seventh season premiere caused global outages of streaming services from HBO and Foxtel. Customers tuning into Foxtel's streaming service Foxtel Now on Monday night to watch the season premiere were, instead, met with an error message. According to InternetOutages, complaints against Foxtel started at around 6.00pm and grew exponentially as the 8.30pm encore broadcast time arrived. More than 3,600 complaints have been recorded in the last 24 hours. Foxtel, which…
According to 9to5Mac, the violation relates to section 4.2.1: Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and indicate that integration in their app description. For example, the HomeKit framework should provide home automation services; and HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app. In other words, using VPN or root certificates to remove ads being displayed in apps is not using the "APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes" and are,…
Datacentre operator Metronode has announced plans to invest more than AU$150 million into the expansion of its facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, and Wollongong. The funds will be used for the construction of three new data halls in Derrimut, Melbourne; Silverwater, Sydney; and Unanderra, Wollongong. Melbourne's 8MW development is in the final stages, the company said, while the Unanderra expansion is slated for completion by November. Metronode counts NSW Government GovDC as a major tenant in Unanderra, having consolidated 160 datacentres into…
Quantum cybersecurity firm QuintessenceLabs (QLabs) has picked up AU$3.26 million in funding from the Australian Department of Defence to continue the expansion of its quantum key distribution capabilities and develop an Australia-specific solution. It is expected the solution will protect defence and other critical Australian government systems from "malicious cyber intrusion and disruption", and enhance the resilience of defence networks, both locally and abroad. "The solution will resolve eavesdropping issues impacting secure communications, protecting those communications both from current attacks…
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has welcomed a new supercomputer to its Canberra campus, with Dell EMC sending the new Bracewell system live earlier this month. The new large-scale scientific computing system is expected to expand CSIRO's capability in deep learning, further its artificial intelligence (AI) progress, and allow for the exploration of virtual screening for therapeutic treatments, traffic and logistics optimisation, modelling of new material structures and compositions, machine learning for image recognition, and pattern analysis.…
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has announced the availability of Samsung Pay to customers with an eligible Visa credit or debit card, making ANZ the only bank in Australia to offer four payment solutions across both Android and iOS. Samsung Pay, which launched in Australia with American Express early last year, is available wherever near-field communication (NFC) payments are accepted, and is compatible on Samsung devices such as the Gear S3 smartwatch and the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus smartphones. "It made sense…
The Neuroon Open is one of several wearable devices that promises people mastery of their dreams. Wearable technology is invading the dreamworld. Four companies say they’re bringing products to market that will encourage lucid dreaming—the phenomenon in which sleepers become aware that they’re dreaming and can sometimes seize control of the dream narrative. It’s an enticing prospect and the companies have easily raised money in Kickstarter campaigns. Whether any of the devices will work well enough to catch on as…