Apple just released a new video ad on its YouTube channel for the Apple Watch Series 2. There are two interesting things about this ad. It’s a colorful, cheerful clip that wants to turn the Apple Watch into a pop culture symbol. And it focuses on the fitness features of the Apple Watch, proving that Apple thinks about the device as an activity tracking device first and foremost. Apple… Read More
NASA tests robotic tools to crack the surface of icy moons
While the Mars rovers are searching the red planet for water over the next decade, there are whole moons full of the stuff just waiting for us to come visit. At least, that’s the theory. But missions to Europa and Titan are still hypothetical, so in the meantime NASA is toying with ideas about how a lander would get through the miles of ice that lie on top of these extraterrestrial oceans. Read More
For those about to tune, we salute you
The first Roadie tuner was a miracle in a plastic case. This little device connected to your phone and then turned the machine heads (the little tuning knobs) on your guitar to exactly the right position. It worked wonderfully. Now the Roadie 2 intends to tune your guitar all night and tune your guitar every day. The Roadie 2 and the Roadie Bass are standalone tuners with an app component… Read More
A UK entrepreneur takes flight by attaching miniature jet engines to his limbs
A YouTube collection of grainy video clips highlights the progress Gravity founder Richard Browning has made toward his outlandish dream over the past year. Each seems more terrifying than the last, with multiple jet engines attached to his limbs in various configurations, as he hovers a few feet from the ground. Read More
Facebook opens up 360-degree live streaming to all
Facebook just made live streaming 360-degree video relatively easy, provided you have the equipment to capture the content. Users of devices like the new 2017 model Gear 360 just announced at the S8 smartphone launch, or the Insta360 Nano (for iPhone) and Air (for Android), or a host of higher-end models designed for pros, you can go live and broadcast an immersive feed for your audience.… Read More
Android co-founder’s new smartphone confirmed to run Android
The new smartphone from Andy Rubin, which will be the debut product of his new company Essential, will indeed run Android for its operating system. It looked that way from the tiny peek at the corner we got from Rubin’s tweet earlier this week, but now Google’s Eric Schmidt has confirmed it’ll be one of a few “phenomenal new choices for Android users coming very… Read More
Netgear announces two new Orbi routers
I’m a huge fan of Netgear’s Orbi routers. They offer some of the easiest setup, highest speeds, and best coverage of any of the so-called mesh wireless systems including Eero and Luma. Now Netgear’s original monstrous routers are being joined by a few cousins.
The original kit, called the RBK50, came with a AC3000 Wi-Fi base station and a satellite and covered 5,000 square feet. Read More
Windows has a heart of trash
I did a bad thing. I opened a bad file and it borked my PC. So as part of the grand tradition of frustrated tech bloggers calling on enormous companies to conform to their expectations, here is my rant on how terrible computers are — Windows ones, this time anyway — and how they ought to be. Read More
ESA shows off sweet new renders of the Exomars 2020 rover
Late last year the European Space Agency doubled down on its Mars mission, dedicating half a billion euros to the next phase of its Exomars 2020 program — and now we are seeing the benefits of that enormous investment: a pretty awesome new render of the rover they plan to deploy to the Martian surface. Read More
Between robots’ ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ zones, a sort of robot friend zone proposed
It goes without saying that working with robots and heavy machinery is more than a little dangerous. While better practices and ethical companies are still less common than they should be, smarter robots are another, parallel solution. German research outfit Fraunhofer suggests an intuitive model for human-robot collaboration in industrial settings. Read More