Skype can now let you talk to people who speak another language, even if you call them on their telephone. Its automated voice translation will, from an upcoming edition of Windows 10, work even if one party isn’t using the Skype software. The voice translation works on nine languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, […]
A Minecraft player has built a working Atari 2600 console within the game’s digital world. But ‘working’ comes with a big caveat. It’s not the first time somebody has taken advantage of the fact that building blocks in the game can be functional as well as decorative. In 2014 one player created a working one-kilobyte […]
The next generation of Bluetooth has been confirmed. Boosts to speed, range and capacity could mean improvements to both smartwatches and home gadgets. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, an industry body, has now officially adopted the Bluetooth 5 specification. The first devices to use the technology are expected early next year. It’s the first completely […]
Apple is usually a name that we associate with sleek phones, trendy computers, and poor design choices (rest in peace, headphone jack…) but most of us don’t associate it with cars. That might change in the near future, and Tesla might find some serious competition as Apple die-hards set their sights on an Apple-brand autonomous […]
Samsung has won a key Supreme Court victory in its battle with Apple over iPhone patent infringements. It could make for what some see as a fairer system for tech patent disputes. Way back in 2012, a jury concluded that Samsung phones had copied key design elements from the iPhone. That ruling has been upheld […]
Amazon now lets you quite literally “upload” a truckload of data to its servers. Its new service Snowmobile transfers your data via the physical highways rather than the Internet. The service is aimed at companies with spectacularly huge amounts of data to upload, to the point that even a fiber connection isn’t practical. Amazon already […]
Amazon plans to build physical grocery stores with no cashiers and no checkouts. Customers at the Amazon Go store will simply load up their bags and walk out the door. The first store, in Seattle, is already being used by Amazon staff as an experiment, with a public opening planned for early next year. Customers […]
Virtually every counterfeit Apple charger in a recent test posed a safety risk. The problem is not with reputable third-party chargers, but rather those falsely marketed as being produced by Apple themselves. The test was carried out by US safety research firm UL on behalf of a British consumer watchdog. It purchased a total of […]
One of the biggest (if most authentic) problems with the NES Classic has been fixed with a new third-party gadget: a wireless controller and adapter. While the Classic captures the look and feel of the original NES console, the wired controller is on such a short cable that it can make it difficult to set […]
The Internet Archive is to build a back-up copy in Canada. The site’s staff said it was a response to fears of greater online restrictions in the US following the election result. While the announcement did not specifically name president-elect Donald Trump, it said: On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration […]