GPS Rollover is today. Here’s why devices might get wacky
The Global Positioning System time epoch is ending and another one is beginning, an event that could affect your devices or any equipment or legacy system that relies on GPS… Read more »
Category: Gadgets
MIT’s ‘cyber-agriculture’ optimizes basil flavors
The days when you could simply grow a basil plant from a seed by placing it on your windowsill and watering it regularly are gone — there’s no point now… Read more »
Apple sells wireless charging AirPods, cancels charger days later
“Works with AirPower mat”. Apparently not. It looks to me like Apple doesn’t treat customers with the same “high standard” of care it apparently reserves for its hardware quality. Nine… Read more »
Mars helicopter bound for the Red Planet takes to the air for the first time
The Mars 2020 mission is on track for launch next year, and nesting inside the high-tech new rover heading that direction is a high-tech helicopter designed to fly in the… Read more »
Mobileye CEO clowns on Nvidia for allegedly copying self-driving car safety scheme
While creating self-driving car systems, it’s natural that different companies might independently arrive at similar methods or results — but the similarities in a recent “first of its kind” Nvidia… Read more »
How to watch the live stream for today’s Apple keynote
Apple is holding a keynote today on its campus in Cupertino, and the company is expected to talk about new services. Don’t expect any new device, today’s event should be… Read more »
Apple could charge $9.99 per month each for HBO, Showtime and Starz
The Wall Street Journal has published a report on Apple’s media push. The company is about to unveil a new video streaming service and an Apple News subscription on Monday…. Read more »
Apple could announce its gaming subscription service on Monday
Apple is about to announce some new services on Monday. While everybody expects a video streaming service as well as a news subscription, a new report from Bloomberg says that… Read more »
Gates-backed Lumotive upends lidar conventions using metamaterials
Pretty much every self-driving car on the road, not to mention many a robot and drone, uses lidar to sense its surroundings. But useful as lidar is, it also involves… Read more »
The 9 biggest questions about Google’s Stadia game streaming service
Google’s Stadia is an impressive piece of engineering to be sure: Delivering high definition, high framerate, low latency video to devices like tablets and phones is an accomplishment in itself…. Read more »
Camera maker Insta360 raises $30M as it eyes 2020 IPO
Insta360, one of the pioneers in making 360-degree cameras, just raised $30 million in a Series C+ funding round from Chinese investors, including Everest Venture Capital, MG Holdings and Huajin Capital…. Read more »
Apple updates iMac Pro options
While Apple refreshed the iMac lineup this morning, the default iMac pro that you can buy for $4,999 remains the same. But Joe Rossignol from MacRumors spotted some changes in… Read more »
Intel and Cray are building a $500 million ‘exascale’ supercomputer for Argonne National Lab
In a way, I have the equivalent of a supercomputer in my pocket. But in another, more important way, that pocket computer is a joke compared with real supercomputers —… Read more »
Tiny claws let drones perch like birds and bats
Drones are useful in countless ways, but that usefulness is often limited by the time they can stay in the air. Shouldn’t drones be able to take a load off… Read more »
Opportunity’s last Mars panorama is a showstopper
The Opportunity Mars Rover may be officially offline for good, but its legacy of science and imagery is ongoing — and NASA just shared the last (nearly) complete panorama the… Read more »
SpaceX makes history by completing first private crew capsule mission
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has safely splashed down in the Atlantic, making it the first privately built crew-capable spacecraft ever to complete a mission to the International Space Station. It’s… Read more »
Apple could launch augmented reality headset in 2020
According to a new report from Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5mac), a reliable analyst on all things Apple, the company has been working on an augmented reality headset and is about… Read more »
Leica’s Q2 is a beautiful camera that I want and will never have
Leica is a brand I respect and appreciate but don’t support. Or rather, can’t, because I’m not fabulously rich. But if I did have $5,000 to spend on a fixed-lens… Read more »
Sonos refreshes Sonos One with better components
Sonos is launching the most minor of minor updates. The company is launching a revision to its flagship speaker, the Sonos One. Sonos is calling this new speaker the Sonos… Read more »
Koala-sensing drone helps keep tabs on drop bear numbers
It’s obviously important to Australians to make sure their koala population is closely tracked — but how can you do so when the suckers live in forests and climb trees… Read more »
Pokémon Sword and Shield to land on Nintendo Switch this year
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have unveiled the next Pokémon game in the main series. The new game will come in two variants later this year — Pokémon Sword and… Read more »
The Shadow Ghost turns cloud gaming into a seamless experience
French startup Blade, the company behind Shadow, is launching a new set-top box to access its cloud gaming service — the Shadow Ghost. I’ve been playing with the device for… Read more »
Prototype prosthesis proffers proper proprioceptive properties
Researchers have created a prosthetic hand that offers its users the ability to feel where it is and how the fingers are positioned — a sense known as proprioception. The… Read more »
Ubiquitilink advance means every phone is now a satellite phone
Last month I wrote about Ubiquitilink, which promised, through undisclosed means, it was on the verge of providing a sort of global satellite-based roaming service. But how, I asked? (Wait,… Read more »
Qualcomm’s new 4G, 5G platforms to bring improved telecommunication to vehicles
Qualcomm today announced new 4g and 5g chipsets for connected vehicles. The chip maker sees the advanced communication platforms powering the next wave of in-vehicle experiences and telematics features including… Read more »
Xiaomi announces its first 5G phone, the Mi Mix 3 5G
Xiaomi doesn’t want to miss the 5G bandwagon — the company just unveiled its first smartphone that comes with a 5G modem at a press conference in Barcelona. The Mi… Read more »
Watch Microsoft unveil the HoloLens 2 live right here
Microsoft is set to announce a brand new hardware device at MWC in Barcelona — the new HoloLens headset. The conference starts at 6:00 PM CET (5:00 AM GMT, 12:00 PM… Read more »
Watch Xiaomi announce new 5G and foldable phones live right here
It’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which means that Xiaomi is about to announce a lot of phones. The conference starts at 10:30 AM CET (9:30 AM GMT, 4:30 AM… Read more »
Watch Huawei’s MWC conference live right here
While Huawei isn’t going to show the P30 at Mobile World Congress, the company says it is going to “reveal the unprecedented”. Like other manufacturers, Huawei has been trying some… Read more »
This robotics museum in Korea will construct itself (in theory)
The planned Robot Science Museum in Seoul will have a humdinger of a first exhibition: its own robotic construction. It’s very much a publicity stunt, though a fun one —… Read more »