Ethiopia’s government is among the most oppressive political regimes on the African continent, only trailing Eritrea in its population of incarcerated journalists. And with the country’s recent implementation of off-the-shelf spyware from Italian sec…
Technical
Self-destructing site shows how long it takes Google to find you
Wondering how long it would take for Google’s search engine to find your website if you didn’t promote it? About 22 days, according to Matthew Rothenberg. He recently launched Unindexed, a purposefully short-lived web community that was set to self-d…
How would you change Motorola’s Droid Ultra?
Sometimes, a musician tied down to a long contract will fire out a sub-par record to fulfill a contractual obligation to their label. In some ways, Motorola’s Droid Ultra felt like an exercise in contractual obligation rather than a handset in its ow…
Watch this solar-powered plane attempt to fly around the world
While you be heading to bed, over in Abu Dhabi, the Solar Impulse team will attempt to fly around the world, powered by solar energy alone. While the plane takes off today in March, it won’t likely return until late July, early August. The route will…
Microsoft sues Kyocera over Android phone patents
Microsoft may be taking some steps to make nice with the Android world, but the company is still willing to pick fights when its royalty payments are at stake. The Windows maker has sued Kyocera in the US over claims that Android phones like the Brig…
‘Star Trek Online’ honors Leonard Nimoy with in-game Spock statues
With the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy, multiple generations of geeks found themselves at a deep loss. It makes sense then that the folks behind Star Trek Online would erect effigies to immortalize the man perhaps best known for his role as Mr. Spo…
What to expect from Apple’s ‘spring forward’ watch event
Here’s a twist: Apple is about to hold an event where you probably know what the main attraction will be. Yes, barring surprises, the March 9th “spring forward” presentation will largely answer the remaining questions about the Apple Watch. However, …
WSJ: Google has a small team working on Android for VR
We’ve already got Android in phones, tablets, TVs and maybe even cars, but according to a new rumor, the next step could be VR headsets (beyond Mattel’s View-Master). While smartphones can already provide the brains of a VR unit for Samsung’s Gear VR…
Google’s ‘Nexus’ phone network might only be for Nexus 6 phones
This week at MWC Google exec Sundar Pichai confirmed rumors that the company plans to launch its own wireless service, but a Wall Street Journal report claims it will only work with Google’s Nexus 6 smartphone. Pichai stressed that the service would …
Splash Drone shrugs off water and launches rescue flares
When drone meets water, the videos can be amazing — except that most drones hate water and can’t even be flown in the rain. However, there’s a new product on Kickstarter called the Splash Drone that isn’t deterred by a little H20. The drone itself i…
YotaPhone 2 will come to the US via Indiegogo
The second generation of YotaPhone’s dual-display smartphone is finally coming to the US, but not in the way you may expect. In an interview with PhoneScoop, the company’s Matthew Kelly said that the e-ink display-toting device will be made available…
Bloomberg: A 12.9-inch iPad is still coming, just later this year
If you’re holding out hope for a super-sized iPad Pro, Bloomberg is still in your corner. The outlet previously reported 12.9-inch iPad production could start as early as Q1 of this year, but now says suppliers are gearing up to start production in S…
Sony’s PlayStation 4 VR headset launching in the ‘first half of 2016’
Sony’s PlayStation 4-powered virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus, has new specs and a slightly different look (seen above). Okay, it doesn’t look that different. What’s new? For one, the screen resolution is improved: it’s now 1920 x RGB x 1080…
Metallica is releasing a remastered 1982 demo… on cassette
Dust off your tape players, folks: cassettes are still making a comeback. A number of independent artists have already leveraged the classic format, and Metallica is looking to join the bandwagon. The metal act recorded the seven-track No Life ‘Til L…
Scientists take detailed pictures of the smallest known life forms
Just how small can life get? Almost unbelievably small, if you ask a team of Berkeley Lab researchers. They’ve taken the first detailed electron microscope pictures of the tiniest bacteria known to date — at a typical 0.009 cubic microns in volume, …