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…
Facebook needs you to fill its News Feed, Oculus Rift, and Gear VR with 360 content. So today it put all the hardware and software designs of its Surround 360 camera on Github , after announcing the plan in April. Thanks to cheeky instruction manual inspired by Ikea’s manuals, you can learn how to buy the parts, assemble the camera, load the image-stitching software, and start shooting 360 content. Essentially 17 cameras on a UFO-looking stick, the 360 Surround camera…
Nintendo’s upcoming NX console is slowly taking shape, but a new report provides a lot more specificity than we’ve seen in the past, claiming the still-secret gaming hardware is actually primarily a portable console – albeit with some modular features that could make it more versatile than most handhelds. According to new info from Eurogamer , the NX core system will be a “high-powered” portable device, with its own built-in display. Flanking the display will be two detachable controller sections,…
Logitech has a new device called the Pop Home Switch , and it’s a bit different from their usual offerings. A company known for Universal Remotes encrusted with physical keys, touchscreen displays and all manner of interaction options is instead going for single-button simplicity. The Pop is a broad button about the size of your palm, which connects to a hub that plugs directly into an outlet via Bluetooth LE. The hub has the real smarts, with support for a…
To say there are a lot of molecules out there is kind of an understatement. So searching for one or two in particular is like looking for a needle in a galaxy-spanning haystack. Fortunately, the science of machine learning and the irrepressible need for humans to swipe left and right on things make the search a lot easier, as Harvard and MIT researchers have found. The molecules they’re looking for are blue organic phosphors, a critical component for organic light-emitting…
Pizza Hut is giving you more than just grease in your next pizza box: The maker of fine savory Italian pies has created a playable DJ interface out of cardboard using partner Novalia’s printable electronics tech. And so I must retire, and become the greatest pizza-based DJ the world has ever seen. My beats are delicious and unexpected, like jalapeño with pineapple. Currently booking six months out, get in touch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently visiting China. According to Reuters , he used this opportunity to announce that the company would build a new research & development center in China before the end of the year. Other than that, we don’t know much. It’s unclear what engineers in China will work on, but it’s safe to say that they might be better positioned to work on Chinese standards, such as weird wireless technology standards. The team would be well-located…
Samsung’s all set to steal the smartphone spotlight tomorrow at its big Unpacked event , but LG’s kicking August off with an important announcement of its own. The electronics giant will attempt to send a shock to its struggling mobile device wing with the launch of the V20 , a new flagship that will be the first handset to ship with Android 7.0. LG’s still keeping plenty under wraps about the device, which is set to ship in Q3. We…
Awair , the IoT product that sits in the home and measures the quality of your air, has today announced integrations with a number of other platforms to improve the experience. The company behind Aawir, Bitfinder, has teamed up with Nest, the Amazon Echo, and IFTTT to offer users new ways to interact with the data gathered from air quality monitor and more seamlessly automate their other connected-home devices to take over some of the heavy lifting. With Nest, for…