Technology and Computing
Wireless charging has been growing in popularity over the past few years, but it is still quite limited. The main convenience offered is no longer having to plug a cable into the device that needs charging, but you still need to position each device accurately on a charging pad and a bigger or multiple pads are required for charging more devices. Energous is hoping to relax the rules of wireless charging with the WattUp Mid Field transmitter. As Liliputing reports, the transmitter…
At CES next week, expect booth after booth of smart devices — and a host of approaches to their security. You know, locks, cameras, appliances, doorbells, electrical outlets — anything you can put a sensor on. Many of these will be made by brand-new companies, hoping to capitalize on the mania for devices that can talk with each other. The chatter between all those gadgets — known collectively as the internet of things — is going to be cacophonous. Machina…
A hard drive is a hard drive, unless it gets a makeover from a French industrial designer, in which case it becomes an expensive work of art that just happens to store data. It’s a strategy that LaCie has been pursuing since the 1990s, and now Western Digital is doing it, too. The new My Passport and My Book drives will come in six bright colors chosen by the designer and brand strategist Yves Béhar (Okay, he’s Swiss, not French).…
Are you ready for a hurricane situation or other emergency weather? Looking for the perfect camping radio that will last for years? Be the prepared one in your group with this no-hassle, sure-fire emergency radio and flashlight. Two minutes of cranking nets you at least 20 minutes of lights on or radio. With its compact design, 3-LED flashlight, and 5-way charging (hand crank, solar, USB, AC and DC), and retractable antennae, you’ll never be left in the dark. The high-quality…
Apple just released the fourth beta for the next iteration of iOS, tvOS, macOS and watchOS. In particular, there’s a groundbreaking addition in this release. The company has updated or redesigned over a hundred emoji. Apple has shared a few of them on its website, and there are many different changes. First, some existing emoji will receive more gender options. For instance, you’ll find new female athletes: Some existing emoji have been redesigned. And, yes, the gun is gone. Apple…
DeepMind may be a master at one of the most complex games on Earth, but can it handle the day-to-day energy concerns of a Google datacenter? Yes, as it turns out, and with a vengeance. The power needs of a datacenter depend on lots of factors, from demand to the weather, and adjusting to or predicting these variables in order to achieve maximal power efficiency can be difficult indeed. Google has been applying machine learning to the problem, building a…
Growing up, I can remember spending a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to be frozen in carbonite, the way Han Solo was after being betrayed by Lando on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. I never imagined it might feel like you were a fridge, but a new video on Adam Savage’s Tested YouTube channel has me thinking differently. The concept of the video is simple enough: Can you turn a standard, boring fridge into a…
Powerful sensors and software have made autonomous cars impressively aware of their surroundings — but it isn’t just obstacles, pedestrians, and other cars that a vehicle’s AI needs to watch out for. It also needs to know what’s going on inside itself, and researchers from Fraunhofer are hard at work making that happen. “We are expanding sensor technology to the entire interior,” said Fraunhofer’s Michael Voit, who manages the research group, in a company blog post . “Using depth-perception cameras,…
Bitfinder, the company behind the Awair air quality monitor, has today announced the close of a $4.5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from Samsung Ventures. Bitfinder first launched on the scene as an R/GA accelerator (powered by TechStars) company in February of 2015 . The company launched the Awair air quality monitor, which doubles as both a clock and a monitor. It can measure temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and more. Awair…
Samsung is looking to sell its own refurbished devices in order to make money on its premium smartphones a second time around, according to Reuters . The company will introduce a refurbished device sales program “as early as next year,” according to Reuters’ source, and will use inventory provided by customer who sign up to a year upgrade program in markets where it’s offered, including South Korea and the U.S. Selling refurbished devices to give them second life as revenue…
Soon cars, drones, phones, and almost anything with a battery are about to get a boost from a new MIT spin-out,SolidEnergy Systems . The company promises to double the battery life of basic lithium ion batteries and will also offer smaller batteries with the power of bigger cells. Why is this technology important? Because it is better than current battery tech and can maintain a energy density of 400 Wh/kg, it’s non-flammable, and it can be manufactured inside existing factories.…
A few days ago we reported that a group of hackers at the HOPE Conference in New York told the world that they had cloned the last TSA Master Key. These keys, which were leaked in a Washington Post article, are a bit of security theatre coupled with a lot of poor engineering. Xmas believes, however, that personal security is important and he wanted to tell us how they cracked the keys and how you can protect yourself in the…