Reddit’s comparatively open nature has come back to bite it with a protest over the firing of a leading employee. Victoria Taylor was a key figure in the popular “Ask Me Anything” sessions on the site. Taylor, who used the name “chooter” on the site, was in charge of recruiting and verifying participants, both celebrities […]
A Norwegian company wants to help you get every drop of mayo out of the bottle. It’s licensing a non-stick coating from a US company that already works with glue manufacturers. The US firm, LiquiGlide, says it can coat the inside of food containers in a totally safe way. It customizes its coating manufacture process […]
The “father” of SMS (short message service) text messaging has died aged 63. Matti Makkonen came up with the idea in 1984, though it was eight years before the message was first sent. Makkonen had downplayed his status in text messaging’s development, noting that while he came up with the idea — first discussing it […]
A new gadget aims to give police and emergency workers the benefits of a drone or robot camera in a simpler and cheaper form: a high-tech throwable ball. The device, named Explorer, is classed by makers Bounce Imaging as a “tactical throwable camera.” It looks like a rubber softball, but has six recesses each housing […]
Three separate research projects could make life easier for both fixed-line and mobile Internet users. Qualcomm, Samsung and LG have unveiled work, covering fiber optic cables and rechargeable batteries. The Qualcomm Institute, based at the University of California, San Diego, says it has found a way to dramatically increase the capabilities of fiber optic cables. […]
Rival self-driving cars have avoided a collision on the streets of Palo Alto. While some reports are referring to the incident as a near miss, one maker says the cars did exactly what they are supposed to do. The news was broken by Reuters, which spoke to John Absmeier, the man heading up Delphi Automotive’s […]
What’s planned to be the first 1,000 mph car has come a step closer with the fitting of the tailfin that will keep it on a straight line. Bloodhound is now scheduled for its first public run in November. As we’ve previously covered, the British based Bloodhound project has been in the works since 2008. […]
A British man who is building a 16-bit computer by hand fears it may not fit into his house. James Newman’s machine is so big because he’s using individual transistors rather than an integrated chip. According to Newman, the idea of the project is to build a computer he can literally see working. That means […]
Google has added the ability to unsend messages as a formal feature in Gmail. It had previously been available in experimental form and still has only a limited use. The feature originally appeared in Gmail Labs, an optional setting on Gmail that lets you try out ideas Google is still developing, with the associated disclaimer […]
Google has published pictures produced by the closest thing to a computer dreaming. The pictures come from Google’s attempts to refine image recognition. That remains a subject where computers lag far behind human beings, despite having the advantages of speed, accuracy and endurance. The problem for computers is that their traditional approach of breaking a […]