Thursday 30 March 2017

GoTenna Pro meshing radio aspires to deploy next to rescue, fire and security teams

 Keeping in touch when there’s no communications infrastructure for one reason or another is nice for you and me, but critical for disaster response, forest fire control and military operations. GoTenna wants its new Pro device to be part of that by providing powerful, reliable, off-grid comms in a package a fraction the size and weight of existing systems. Read More

Faraday Future cancels plans to build an assembly factory in California

 Faraday Future, the would-be Tesla rival facing well-documented challenges in terms of capitalization and efforts to bring its first production vehicle to market, has scrapped plans to construct an assembly facility and “experience center” (read: showroom) in Vallejo, California on Mare Island. 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

Google’s Amazon Echo competitor and wifi router launching in UK on April 6

 Google has announced that its Google Home connected speaker will launch in the UK on April 6, along with the Google Wifi router. 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

The Matrix Voice is an Alexa for your Raspberry Pi

 Matrix Labs just completed a successful crowdfunding campaign for what amounts to an AI voice recognition system for the Raspberry Pi which allows you, a mere mortal, to make your own Alexa in your basement. Created by Rodolfo Saccoman and Brian Sanchez their first board, the Creator, fits right on top of a standard RaspPi and gives you an 8 microphone array, a temperature sensor,… Read More

Wednesday 29 March 2017

Garmin announces a new watch just for runners and those who think they are runners

 Garmin is back again with the Forerunner 935, a runner-specific sport watch with GPS, heart rate, and compatibility with the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod that offers further information about your speed, gait, and how often you double over in absolute agony as your unexercised organs scream from inside their fleshy fastnesses. The 935 also helps manage training with the TrainingPeaks app and… 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

Friday 24 March 2017

Erato’s Muse 5 wireless in-ear headphones give AirPods a run for their money

 Apple’s AirPods are probably the first really mainstream completely wireless headphones, but Erato has been making these for a while now. The company’s latest is the Muse 5, a set of in-ear buds that are cheaper than their debut Apollo 7 option, but still come with a charging case and very respectable battery life. The Muse 5’s least impressive feature might be their… Read More

Insta360 Air brings affordable, easy 360 photo and video to Android phones

 You can share 360-degree video and images in more places than ever before, but how to capture that content in the first place? Insta360 has built a bit of a name for itself creating relatively inexpensive add-ons for the smartphone you already have that’d the ability to use those devices to record and broadcast in 360. The $129.99 Insta360 Air is the company’s Android device… Read More

CubeFit TerraMat hides under your standing desk to give your feet a rest

 Back before humans invented chairs we humans stood a lot. Now, almost 100 years later, we tend to sit. However, some people still stand. For those people there is the TerraMat. The TerraMat is like a cat toy for you feet. It features a number of little bumps and ridges designed to let you stretch, exercise and massage your feet while you’re standing. It was created by two… Read More

Tuesday 21 March 2017

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will come in three colors

 Can you smell this? It’s the smell of some fresh new leaks coming from Evan Blass’ Twitter account. This time, Evan shared some renderings of the Samsung Galaxy S8 in not one, not two, but three different colors. Read More

Bixby is Samsung’s new ‘intelligent interface’ for smartphones and beyond

 Samsung is entering the voice-powered virtual assistant game a bit later than its competitors, but it says that its forthcoming “Bixby” agent will be “fundamentally different” from what’s already available, thanks to features that reduce confusion around when and where it can be used, and a general knowledge of what’s going on with your device whenever… Read More