How do things work? To find out, we observe them and we take them apart. But not everything is easily observed, and until recently some things couldn’t be taken apart. Read More
Amazon’s Alexa passes 15,000 skills, up from 10,000 in February
Amazon’s Alexa voice platform has now passed 15,000 skills — the voice-powered apps that run on devices like the Echo speaker, Echo Dot, newer Echo Show and others. The figure is up from the 10,000 skills Amazon officially announced back in February, which had then represented a 3x increase from September. Read More
HP’s Spectre x2 finds its spot as one of the best Windows tablets, for what it’s worth
The Spectre x2 is what a Surface Pro would feel like with HP’s design cues and a few better specs for the dollar. In fact, most of the Spectre x2’s drawbacks stem from having to squeeze so much into its frame, which is better than having glaring software issues. Nearly free of stutters under heavy workload, Windows 10 remains a smooth experience. Specs of a svelte slate The… Read More
The Printrbelt lets you print multiple objects on, well, a belt
A month ago I brought you the Blackbelt, a belt-driven 3D printer with an “infinite Z” meaning you can print really long objects or multiple objects in the same print job. Now there’s a new printer on the block, and it looks like it’s blowing the Blackbelt out of the proverbial 3D printing water. Read More
Andy Rubin’s Playground Ventures is raising another $15M
Artificial IntelligenceAugmented RealityFundings & ExitsGadgetsHardwareMobileStartupsTCVenture Capital
Playground Ventures — the VC fund co-founded by Android inventor and former Google exec Andy Rubin that sits alongside an eponymous incubator/startup studio and is making some big bets in areas like artificial intelligence and new generations of hardware– is raising more money. A Form D filed with the SEC notes that Playground Ventures is in the process of adding another … Read More
Adobe: Echo Dot now leads voice speaker sales
In the nascent connected speaker market, consumers appear to be gravitating toward the more affordably priced Amazon Echo Dot, according to new e-commerce sales data released this morning by Adobe. Overall, Adobe’s report paints a picture of a respectable market for voice devices, but one it says is “not massive” yet, adding that the devices are “not quite a… Read More
What each model of the iPhone added to the game
It was 10 years ago today that Steve Jobs announced the long-rumored iPhone to a crowd of tech lovers excited to a fever pitch. We’ve already looked at the history of the iPhone going back to the Newton, but 10 years of iPhone have brought us more than a dozen devices, each of which brought something new and important to the smartphone game. Let’s go through them, shall we? Read More
Pornhub now supports interactive toys, proving porn paves the way
Pornhub, an adult content site, has announced compatibility with interactive sex toys like the Kiiroo Onyx – essentially an articulated sex jar – and the Fleshlight Launch – also essentially an articulated sex jar. Certain pre-coded videos played on Pornhub will send signals to these wireless devices, recreating the action on screen with motors and actuators. The company… Read More
Japan’s SNES Classic gets Famicom look and tweaked game selection
Everyone’s excited about the SNES Classic Edition, what with its twee 90s look and fantastic selection of games. But as with its NES predecessor, the Japanese version of the device is significantly different, outside and in — here are the differences between the two. Read More