By the end of October, you might notice that doing a Google search via Safari on an iPhone or an iPad returns results with deep links to iOS apps. That's because Mountain View has given developers the power to do so — they simply have to add Unive…
Technical
Apple Watch owners can use Facebook Messenger on their wrists
The dedicated Facebook Messenger app Apple promised for its wearable's latest operating system, the watchOS 2, is finally here. So long as you've already installed the updated platform, you can start using third-party apps on your Apple Watch, incl…
California authorities need a warrant to probe your digital life
The state of California passed the "Leno bill" that would keep your private digital info, well, private from law enforcement in June. Now, governor Jerry Brown has signed it into law. The California Electronic Communications Privacy Act, co-authore…
Android founder says next major wave of computing will be AI
In a talk at Code/Mobile, Android founder Andy Rubin said that he believes the next major wave of computing will be in the realm of artificial intelligence. Rubin, who left Google to start a hardware startup incubator called Playground, said that a…
Light’s L16 camera challenges DSLRs with 16 lenses in one package
Photography startup Light has launched L16, which the company's calling a "a multi-aperture computational camera," at the Code/Mobile conference. It's named L16, because it's equipped with 16 individual lenses, though unlike bulky and heavy DSLRs,…
Samsung boasts massive third-quarter profit growth
Samsung has given us a glimpse of the earnings report it's releasing in late October, and it shows an operating profit worth 7.3 trillion won or $6.25 billion for July to September 2015. That's a 79.8 increase from the same period last year, accord…
Verizon’s customer-tracking ‘supercookies’ connect to AOL ads
In the last year it's become known that Verizon uses "supercookies" (aka UIDH or Relevant Mobile Advertising) to track what its mobile customers are doing, but now it's taking a step further by quietly linking that information to ads from AOL (the…
‘RoboHon’ is the tiny robot smartphone you never knew you needed
Watch the teaser video after the break. Skip along then come back to me. Sharp's RoboHon is so damn adorable, I can't look away from this kawaii singularity. This robot smartphone is also jammed full of skills and features. A projector, articulated a…
Apple buys an AI startup with eye on better photo management
Apple's acquired a startup with a keen focus on developing artificial intelligence systems that run locally on your device rather than at an offsite server farm. In Perceptio's case (why does every start-up sound like Aviato now?), it's using deep…
Virtual reality for mice teaches scientists about navigation
Virtual reality isn't just helping scientists understand and treat fellow humans — it's helping them make sense of their four-legged friends, too. Researchers have built a virtual maze that convinces mice they're running through hallways when the…
Easy-to-make mini brains will help medical research
If you want to study the effects of drugs or transplants on the brain without operating on the real thing, you typically have to break out some microelectronics and build a model yourself. Not exactly convenient or cheap, is it? If Brown Universi…
Rare shows the ‘Conker’ game that never was
If you know your Rare history, you probably know that Conker's Bad Fur Day began life as a tame, kid-friendly game and evolved into the foul-mouthed 'mature' title that reached your Nintendo 64. Have you wondered what that original squirrel adventu…
‘FTL: Faster Than Light’ soundtrack on vinyl looks out of this world
One of the direct results of folks helping Subset Games, the developers of FTL: Faster Than Light, absolutely demolish their Kickstarter goal was hiring Ben Prunty to score the game. And now thanks to iam8bit you'll soon be able to listen to it on…
Microsoft buys 3D physics developer Havok to boost gaming efforts
Microsoft today announced the acquisition of Havok from Intel. Havok makes a 3D physics engine and licenses it to gaming studios; its work has been featured on more than 600 titles, including popular franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Call of Dut…
Google is now Alphabet, the owner of Google
The paperwork is filed and it's official: Google has restructured itself into Alphabet. As of the close of business today shares of the old Google are now part of Alphabet, which counts Google as a subsidiary. On our end, this doesn't change much -…