Staring up at the night sky can give you a sense of galactic FOMO, since none of the celestial bodies bother to update their Twitter accounts. What if, however, you could keep track of the ongoing drama from your phone? That’s the idea behind…
Technical
Leap Motion’s latest motion tracking tech can see your joints
The Leap Motion controller is a curious little motion sensor, but it isn’t always easy to use. The hand-sensing tech has a tendency to lose sight of your fingers are and almost every application that uses it has its own learning curve. Soon, that…
GE helps old wind turbines increase power production by lengthening their rotor blades
Building new fleets of windmills isn’t the only way to meet increasing demand for breeze-based energy, it seems. General Electric plans to get more renewable energy out of some of its existing turbines by lengthening their blades. You see, shorter…
Uber shows defiance following pressure from London’s black cabs
Uber’s used to taking heat from traditional taxi organisations that’d rather the new breed not muscle in on their turf; including in London, where black cabbies are expected to protest against the car service next month. Even Hailo, which for years…
Human ‘suspended animation’ trials to start this month
The researchers behind it don’t want to call it suspended animation, but it’s the most conventional way to explain it. The world’s first humans trials will start at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, with 10 patients whose injuries would…
Marbel’s electric skateboard doesn’t look like an electric skateboard
Big wheels, heavy motors and enormous batteries: electric skateboards certainly have a type. It doesn’t have to be that way — the latest motorized deck to hit Kickstarter almost looks like a normal longboard. The Marbel Board claims to be the…
US considers blocking Chinese nationals from hacking conferences
Following its decision to charge five Chinese officials for allegedly stealing trade secrets, the US is apparently ready take further action. Reuters reports that the US government may impose visa restrictions on Chinese computer experts, stopping…
Instagram is the latest social network to hit Iran’s blacklist
Iran’s top officials may use social media, but the country’s general populace isn’t allowed to join them. The nation has already banned Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, and yesterday it reportedly added Instagram to the naughty list. According to the…
Milan building will pioneer smog-eating cement
When the Milan Expo opens next year, the centerpiece building will be a masterpiece of sustainable engineering. Designed around the idea of an urban forest, the new Palazzo Italia will generate its own electricity, and will be clad in materials…
Google+ for Android gets flatter and faster with new update
Google+ loyalists, your time has come. Your social network of choice already has automatic photo journals, and now its Android app has gotten a hefty makeover to go with it. The update rolled out within the past few days — it’s aimed at making the…
HP’s 7 Plus is a $100 Jelly Bean tablet
Cheap Android tablets are a dime a dozen these days, but HP’s targeting the budget market with its own $100 slate. The 7 Plus, a low-end 7-inch tablet, isn’t going to blow you away with performance, but it should be perfectly sufficient for email,…
Hailo’s HQ trashed by Uber-hating London black cab drivers
London’s black cabs are in a league of their own, so when Hailo, an app specifically designed for those vehicles, announced that it was becoming a fully-featured Uber rival, things got a little heated. In fact, disgruntled drivers have vandalized the…
DARPA flaunts wearable display with Oculus-like head-tracking
DARPA has long sought a heads-up display to give soldiers situational awareness without distracting them, and it looks like technology has finally caught up to that ambition. It recently unveiled a new ULTRA-Vis prototype at its DARPA Demo Days,…
Yelp will soon let you add video to your reviews
Yelp is about to let you to catch the vibe of your favorite eateries with video as well as pictures, according to Business Insider. Provided that you’re an elite user, you’ll be able to upload 3-12 second clips as early as June, and all users will be…