Technology news

All right, look. There are a lot of things you can already do with virtual reality (VR). But now you can also use Google Earth on the Oculus Rift headset. The app came to the HTC Vive a few months ago, and now more people can try it.
Sure, you can go to beautiful places, like the middle of Paris or Devils Tower in Wyoming. But you can also search. You know, like your hometown, or your office, or the city where you used to live. Wherever, really. The important thing is the freedom you have to go

Deadpool 2 will officially be a summer blockbuster. The Hollywood Reporter reports that 20th Century Fox has scheduled the David Leitch film for June 1st, 2018. It’s also announced release dates for two other X-Men universe films: New Mutants will hit theaters on April 13th, while X-Men: Dark Phoenix is slated for November 2nd.While Fox was one of the early studios to recognize the potential in an extended superhero franchise, it’s since been eclipsed by the likes of Disney’s M

GUEST: We are in a perverse moment in the global venture capital industry: VCs are fast coming to resemble private hedge funds, and the more money they are able to raise, the worse off startups are becoming.
Capital is flowing into funds of all types, yet the rate of investment is shrinking rapidly. This could mark the decline of true venture capital by many funds as they are forced to evolve into private hedge funds or momentum investors, investing far larger amounts in much later stage pre-IPO

Now that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is starting to arrive in customers’ hands, we’re also starting to see tons of durability tests and teardown videos on YouTube. Some viewers might notice from a few videos that there is a peculiar icon on the Galaxy S8 battery that depicts a dog with a bar across it.
So what’s up with this anti-dog label? Let us explain.
Does Samsung hate dogs? What’s this sticker supposed to mean? Imgur
Quite the opposite, really! The S8 battery is not remov

Basil Harris is like a real-world Dr. McCoy. He and his small team at Final Frontier Medical Devices have created a Star Trek Tricorder, like the fictional one that Bones McCoy carried around in the TV series decades ago. And they did such a good job in their five-year journey that they recently won a total of $3 million in prizes in the Qualcomm Tricorder Xprize contest.
I interviewed Harris at an event at Silicon Valley Comic-Con, which takes place Friday through Sunday at the San Jose Convent

The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are gorgeous phones, so it’s a shame that you’re probably going to want to use a case to keep your expensive device intact. Imagine that massive display with a crack, though. I scoured the internet today in an effort to find the cutest cases for the Samsung S8 because while you have to add bulk to the phone, you also deserve to have a stylish device. Seriously, I clicked through more than 50 pages of Amazon cases to compile the cutest and most fa

Neil Young’s high-fidelity audio project Pono is undergoing a new change. In a post to Pono’s Community site, the singer informed users that after the company shut down its music store last summer, it will become a high-quality streaming audio service.The new service will be called Xstream, and comes after Pono has struggled to relaunch its music store after its supplier shut down last year, and to find an audience willing to pay a premium for its audio files.Young described Xstream

GUEST: Two months ago, Tim Cook railed against the rise of “mind-killing” fake news and pledged Apple News’s support in the battle against it. And so far, Apple News has done an admirable job of curtailing false news. But it’s done a lousy job of elevating good journalism.
Here’s why that’s an issue: Starting with iOS 10, Apple News comes as a preinstalled widget on the iPhone. Because few people customize their widgets, Apple News enjoys undue influence in sh

Auto show season marches on. The end of the New York International Auto Show signals the beginning of Auto Shanghai 2017, and this year there was no shortage of gorgeous cars with interesting designs and bizarre-looking technology. Let’s take a look at some of the major reveals from the show.
Renault R.S. 2027At first blush, the Renault R.S. 2027 is an elegant concept racecar packed with LED lights. But for a concept, it’s actually pretty timid. Whether or not that’s a good thi

The Samsung Galaxy Apps Store is the underdog when it comes to competing with the iOS and Google Play app stores. But the company does have the advantage of being the world’s biggest smartphone maker, and it embeds its app store on every smartphone it ships.
As a result, the Galaxy Apps Store is slowly gaining ground. It has grown to 24 million monthly active users (MAU) in the U.S., about four times the 6 million MAU it had in 2015. That’s not a bad result. And it’s good for d

Earlier this year, I was surprised to learn just how many details of 20th Century Women came from writer/director Mike Mills' own life. It's always fascinating when films intersect with the real world in ways that color our view of them. But the one that really messes with my understanding of the picture is White Girl, which is based on writer/director Elizabeth Wood's own experiences.
The film is already a complicated, messy exploration of privilege. And the added nuance that some of its events

While it remains to be seen what Apple is doing in the VR space (if anything), the company has made its interest in AR clear over the past year. Today, a new patent from the company has been published, further supporting rumors it is getting increasingly involved with the tech.
The patent details “a method for representing a virtual object in a real environment”. To do this, the company has devised a system in which a “recording device,” possibly an iPhone, captures

Tax Day means one thing to me: a little extra money to spend. If you're one of the lucky adults that filed your taxes on time — and happen to have gotten a refund back — we have some great deals for you to check out.
I’m most excited about Pad & Quill’s Seventh Anniversary Sale which is running now through April 28th. They usually only have sales around the holidays for a short time, so now is a great time to get some of their best-selling products including leather i

After years of delays, James Cameron’s ever-growing series of sequels to 2009’s science fiction film Avatar finally have release dates. This morning, the franchise’s official Facebook page announced that the first film will arrive in theaters in 2020, with the rest being released between 2021 and 2025.The first untitled sequel will hit theaters on December 18th, 2020, while the rest will be released on December 17th, 2021, December 20th, 2024, and December 19th, 2025. With the

Today is Earth Day, an occasion used to highlight environmental awareness and the state of our planet’s health. Climate change has become a major focus in recent decades, and while 120 nations across the world ratified the Paris Agreement a year ago, significant challenges remain in the years and decades to come. Which is to say that to think about climate science is to think seriously and passionately about the future.
Of course one group that keeps a close eye on what the future might ho

Earlier today, China’s first automated cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the country’s Tiangong-2 space station, according to Reuters. The Tianzhou-1 mission is the first such mission to the station, and is part of the country’s plan towards establishing a permanent presence in Earth orbit.The successful docking is a milestone for the country — it’s the first mission for the Tianzhou-class spacecraft, which was launched into orbit onboard a Long March 7 rock

Earlier this week, we selected the 30 games that should be included with the rumored SNES Classic. The question of our time, however, remained unanswered: which games should Nintendo avoid?This is, perhaps, the tougher question. The SNES has one of the best video games catalogs. But the classics are tucked into a cornucopia of lazy movie tie-ins, mediocre sports games, and even a handful of forgettable Mario adventures.These are the 30 games that shouldn’t (and almost certainly won’t

Earlier this week, Google unveiled a new version of Google Earth, an app that was considered amazing when it launched in 2001 but hadn’t really evolved in the same way that Google’s other technologies have. Now, thanks to this latest update, Google Earth is replete with 3D imagery, curated video content, and other features that will either make you want to book a trip to some far-flung part of the world or just appreciate the Earth right from your own latitude and longitude coordinat

As a space reporter, I spend a significant portion of my time thinking about how to escape Earth and what lies beyond this tiny world of ours. But exciting as it is to dream of walking on other planets, one thing is clear: Earth is by far the best one to live on. Or at least, it’s the easiest one to live on. We can walk outside, wearing nothing but thin layers of fabric — no pressurized spacesuit required! Our bones and muscles stay strong and functional thanks to our planet’s

Successful digital marketing and website optimization = more business. Yes, it’s a fact and that’s great… But what about hacking your way to growth as a new entrepreneur working alone i.e. a ‘solopreneur’? The phenomenon has arrived and it’s here to stay. Many of us are now cutting the costly overheads that come with operating huge offices and numerous employees. It just makes sense. So, with limited hours (and budget) working for yourself – how do you

(Reuters) – Starbucks baristas have taken to social media to complain about the coffee chain’s entry into the latest food craze: Unicorn Frappuccino.
The sparkly color-changing frozen beverage has become one of the top posts on photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram since its release on Wednesday.
But Starbucks baristas are not happy with the popularity.
Complaints have been rolling in on social media website Reddit Inc, with one barista calling the new beverage “Frap from h

Uber is on fire. It has a $68 billion market cap and countless happy riders who can readily articulate why using Uber is better than taking a cab or driving their own car, or maybe even owning their own car. And the Uber drivers get to be their own boss and choose the hours when they want to drive. What’s not to like?  Well, of late, there’s quite a bit not to like, and the fire may be burning out of control. Even if Uber overcomes the resigning and firing of key executive

(Reuters) – The U.S. Homeland Security Department’s inspector general said on Friday he was investigating possible abuse of authority in a case that triggered a lawsuit against the department by Twitter.
Inspector General John Roth described the probe in a letter to Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who had asked for an investigation due to concerns about free speech protections.
In a lawsuit on April 6, Twitter disclosed that it received a summons in March from the U.S. Bureau o

Microsoft today announced that it has begun to add features to its standard-issue Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 for Gmail account holders. Over the next few weeks, the enhanced apps will become available to people participating in the Windows Insider Program, and after that, all Windows 10 users will get them.
Gmail support in Windows 10 Mail and Calendar is not new. What’s new are nice-to-have features that have only been accessible to Outlook.com account holders and Office 365 su

Apple's secretive self-driving car project just got a little less mysterious. 
The Cupertino-based company was granted a permit by the California DMV to test cars on public roads in April, but the details on just what exactly it had planned were few and far between. We knew the permit applied to three self-driving Lexus RX540h SUVs, but not much more. 
SEE ALSO: We finally have proof Apple is working on a self-driving car
Thanks to California DMV documents obtained by Business Insider

In advance of the upcoming release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Target has gone Nintendo crazy. According to its senior vice president of merchandising, Scotty Nygaard in a statement, it’s all about the experience. Experience counts—it’s what keeps guests coming in and coming back to our stores. So we’re delivering the fun like only Target can, giving generations of Mario fans a shopping trip they won’t soon forget. If it’s experience you want, it’s experien

Hailo Technologies LLC, a company whose name resembles that of app-enabled cab service Hailo, today filed a lawsuit against larger competitor Uber, alleging that Uber infringed on its 1999 patent of an “automated vehicle dispatch and payment honoring system.”
Southern California law firm Cotman IP submitted the suit in U.S. District Court for California’s Central District on behalf of Hailo, which left the American market in 2014 and more recently merged with Daimler’s My

Get out your VHS cassette players, because it’s almost time for some schlocky horror … wait, I’m being told that murder thrillers now come out digitally.
Friday the 13th: The Game is getting ready to launch on Steam as well as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for $40 on May 27. This online multiplayer survival arena puts players in control of Jason or one of a handful of young campers who must evade the unstoppable serial killer. Developer IllFonic and publisher Gun Media also

The list of celebrities coming out as cannabis users is growing like a weed.
Anne Hathaway appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Thursday, which just so happened to be the unofficial stoner holiday 420. While on the show, Hathaway played a game called "Plead The Fifth." The game is simple, Cohen asks her three questions, she has to answer two of them, and one she can plead the fifth. 
In the very first question, Cohen brings up a rumor about Hathaway being a stoner, and as

One of the best things that Nintendo added to Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U is its blistering-fast 200cc racing tier, and now that the Deluxe version of this game is out soon, I’m going to attempt to conquer this mode once and for all.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe launches for Switch on April 28, and we still love the racer even if it hasn’t added a ton of new stuff. In my opinion, it’s the best Mario Kart ever made and an absolute must-have for anyone who didn’t own Nintendo&rs

Say hello to Steve. 
Steve isn't a person. Steve is actually the unofficial name of a mysterious purple streak of light observed by some social media savvy skywatchers keeping an eye out for the northern lights. 
SEE ALSO: I am so unreasonably jealous of this view of the southern lights
The Alberta Aurora Chasers — a Facebook group devoted to the northern lights — caught sight of Steve in photos taken of the curtains of the auroras (and decided to name him). 
The one i

A drone-sailboat-submarine-Bond villain’s wet dream could be the key to getting an unprecedented look at the world’s oceans — and all it needs is sun and water. The Submaran 10 is a hybrid device created by marine tech company Ocean Aero. It can function both as a sailboat-like water done and as a submarine. Importantly, it doesn’t need any external fuel. It’s powered by the solar and wind power. An article on FOX News which describes the Submaran fo

Earlier today, Windows Central leaked a document detailing Microsoft’s grand plan to take on the Chromebook. The company is reportedly releasing a variant of its main OS called Windows 10 Cloud or Windows 10 S, which can only run apps downloaded from the Windows Store. These can be legacy apps, mind you, but they can only be downloaded from the official Windows Store. In doing so, Microsoft is able to better regulate which apps users download and emphasize software optimized for low

An Albert Einstein chatbot on Facebook Messenger is a window into how the chat service could be used as an educational tool — at least when it comes to simple facts. The chatbot is intended to promote National Geographic’s new show Genius, which is about Einstein. And it does that, with a constant stream of gifs and pictures from the show. The conversation was also bookended by references by both the show and a March for Science happening on the National Mall in D.C. this

Welcome, lab rats of the future.
Google wants 10,000 of you in the United States to be their test dummies for four years so they can understand a lot more about health and the human body. And by Google, we mean Google's parent company, Alphabet, which owns Verily, the company conducting this study. Stay with us now. 
SEE ALSO: Google Scholar might finally be Google's way back into China
Project Baseline, as the mission has been dubbed, "is the quest to collect comprehensive health data and

Mercedes-Benz is giving drivers an even smarter luxury experience and adding some AI assistant power to its newest vehicles.
All Mercedes-Benz models from 2016 and 2017 are now compatible with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, taking the smart home experience out on the road.
SEE ALSO: Lynk & Co's sedan concept boasts free internet
The AI assistants will allow drivers to do things like remote start their car using a voice command from the comfort of their kitchen or adjust their smart

Jeremy Corbyn has officially made the beautiful transition from leader of the Labour Party to leader of the Meme Party.
On Thursday, the internet trolled the Labour leader yet again after a very special cartoon image of Corbyn dabbing — yes, dabbing — was posted by a fan account to Twitter.
SEE ALSO: 10 things you need to know about Jeremy Corbyn's big Labour Party speech
The image featured the British politician's memorable quote from an interview on Thursday, about the rebellious p