In a world with many blockchains and hundreds of tradable tokens built on top of them, entire industries are automated through software, venture capital and stock markets are circumvented, entrepreneurship is streamlined and networks gain sovereignty through their own digital currency. This is the next phase of the internet. Read More
Waymo CEO John Krafcik is delivering the keynote address at the North American Auto Show’s Automobili-D conference Sunday, and he’s revealing a lot about the new Alphabet company’s progress and tech. Waymo, which began life as Google’s self-driving car project, has built all of its own sensors for use on its latest test vehicles, self-driving Pacifica minivans. Use… Read More
Uber is opening up in an area where it might make sense competitively for it to stay more closed off: The ride-hailing company’s new Movement website will offer up access to its data around traffic flow in scores where it operates, intended for use by city planners and researchers looking into ways to improve urban mobility. The basic idea is that Uber has a lot of insight into how… Read More
According to Ben Jealous the former CEO of the NCAAP, a partner at Kapor Capital and a surrogate for Bernie Sanders during the election, the correct response is to “resist” Trump. That’s because, Jealous argues, Trump is “all over the place” and thus, like other “fickle” dictators in history, definitively untrustworthy. Read More
This year’s CES displayed a pretty broad mix in terms of production areas, with plenty of representation for categories ranging from wearables, to health, to VR and beyond – but the clear winners were two companies, and both succeeded primarily through partnerships than by direct demonstration of their own consumer products. How Nvidia won Of the two, Nvidia had a much more… Read More
Samsung’s CES presence was extremely light on mobile content this year, but the hardware giant did manage to sneak in a little bit of mobile news before the week was out. Yesterday, the company finally dropped the long awaited iOS version of its Gear S app, which brings iPhone and iPad compatibility to its line of wearables – namely the Gear Fit 2 band, along with its Gear S2 and… Read More
With rumors swirling that Twitter may (or should) sell, it’s time to ask: Is that for the best? Will it maximize what Twitter can — and should — become? In short, no. Twitter doesn’t need to sell. Instead of going external for a shot in the arm, the networking brand should work internally — get creative with offerings and tweak current features. Read More
It’s reassuring to know that, jaded as I am, every so often, I can still stumble across a service that makes me think: “At last! I’ve waited years for this to exist!” So I’m exceedingly pleased to tell you all about AirWander, a web site built for peripatetic travel junkies like me; one which — at last — allows you to easily search for, and book… Read More
August launched a new device this week at CES. “That’s five products shipped within 24 months,” explained CEO Jason Johnson during an on stage interview with TechCrunch earlier today. “I don’t know if you’re going to find too many companies that have our retail presence and a customer base that ships that many products in that time.” It’s a lot for… Read More
The complexity of seeking a cure for cancer has vexed researchers for decades. While they’ve made remarkable progress, they are still waging a battle uphill as cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Yet scientists may soon have a critical new ally at their sides — intelligent machines — that can attack that complexity in a different way. Read More
These companies had a very special CES experience as they all pitched in front of multiple groups of judges on stage at the Sands Expo. The startups were competing for $50,000 and being named the winner of the Hardware Battlefield. After many deliberations, our judges narrowed the list down to four finalists: wearable device for pregnant mothers Bloomlife, smart sensors for construction… Read More
Just in time for the Golden Globes Awards on Sunday, Apple released a brand new ad showing off what you can do with the Portrait mode that works with the iPhone 7 Plus and its two cameras. As a bonus, the ad was shot in Greece and now I want to go to Greece. The beginning of the ad looks like a movie segment more than anything else. It starts with a couple of ambiance shots and then you can see… Read More
The greatest hope of retro gamers and the greatest fear of Nintendo have been met simultaneously: The immensely popular NES Classic Edition has been hacked and its 30-game library augmented with new and even homebrewed titles. Read More
URB-E is a foldable electric scooter that first launched in prototype-form back at CES in January 2014. Last year we checked out a version that could carry an adult up to 20 miles at a speed of 15 MPH. While we liked the vehicle, we though the $1,499 price point was a bit too prohibitive for it to truly become mainstream. So now the company is back with a much more affordable version, that… Read More
Smartphones are able to shoot astonishingly high quality video these days, but ultimately, the lenses and sensors built into your phone are too small to get a decent shallow depth of field effect. Beastgrip is about to launch a Depth of Field adapter that makes it possible to use high-end SLR lenses with your smartphone — with impressive results. Read More
My favorite thing, hands down, about the Griffin Connected Toaster is the slider on the app. On one side is an icon of a white piece of bread. On the other, is one that’s all black. Sure, a smart toaster is the epitome of connected appliance ridiculousness, but there’s something to be said for being able to micromanage the level of bread toastedness to such a microscopic level. It… Read More
Hugh Behroozy is obsessed with symmetry — so much so that they wanted his company’s name is even symmetric.
And that’s why the Aivia, a combo subwoofer/speaker, is slanted — so it will fit seamlessly against a wall and not jut out because of a charging cable. The speaker also has a screen built into it, which may seem like an odd decision to make for a startup. But… Read More
Checking your blood alcohol content with a breathalyzer while out with some friends might just be a party trick — but if you really wanted to know it to figure out whether or not you should have another drink, it might be awkward to pull one out. So that’s why Evan Strenk started Milo Sensors, a company built around wearable sensors that detects various chemicals in your body based… Read More
Crowdfunded on Kickstarter last year, Lofelt’s wrist-mountable subwoofer is shipping to its backers as we speak. Basslet will be available to order on February 7 for $199. I tried it out at CES and am eager to share some first impressions. Read More
VR is a tricky medium to do well, but Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band VR might just be the perfect fit. The game has always been about making players feel like they’re real rock stars, living in an alternate reality where they chased their dream and actually did master the guitar and make it big. Virtual reality finally gives Rock Band players the chance to feel real stage presence,… Read More