Mattel is to release an Internet-connected Barbie that can remember and repeat a child’s comments. And, yeah, I think we all know where this is going. The $75 Hello Barbie toy will include both speech synthesis and speech recognition, powered by a battery that lasts an hour between charges. The batteries are in Barbie’s legs, so […]
The Federal Aviation Authority has published draft rules to allow the routine commercial use of unmanned drones. But a key restriction means plans for delivery services will have to remain on hold. The rules would mean that unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds could fly without special permission or licensing. However, the operator would […]
You knew it was just a matter of time. Women have to carry the babies and give birth and take birth control, and us guys do little in the whole process. Truth is, we get to do the fun part, and all the awful parts get delegated to the female. Well, that is about to […]
Not sure if any of you recall, but last year, HBO worked out a deal with some rappers and had them drop a mix tape based around Game of Thrones. For the uber-geeks who don’t know what a mix tape is, it is basically an underground album, in this case, with all songs being based […]
Facebook is adding a new option to let you nominate somebody to manage your account after you die. It’s designed to make it easier to turn your page into an online memorial. At the moment, once Facebook learns a user has died (and has seen supporting evidence such as a death certificate or obituary) it […]
Officials in three major cities say phone thefts have dropped dramatically since the introduction of “kill switches” to remotely disable a lost or stolen handset. The figures comes from New York Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman (pictured), San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and London Mayor Boris Johnson. They make up the leadership of the […]
If you’ve got the new Raspberry Pi 2, be careful about photographing it. Unfortunately it appears exposure to a xenon camera flash can shut the mini-PC’s power off. Several users noticed the effect and discussed the possible causes on user message boards. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has now confirmed the cause and diagnosis was correct […]
Headlines suggest Dutch chimpanzees have learned to grunt with a Scottish accent. But the findings don’t quite back that out, and exactly what has happened may not be quite so simplistic. Christian Science Monitor reported on the experiment at Edinburgh Zoo in the United Kingdom. There a group of chimpanzees raised in the Netherlands moved […]
Many have wondered, many have spoken about it, but few know. Can sleep deprivation get so bad that it actually kills someone? All I can tell you before you read the article is, if you have sleep deprivation, stop reading now. This is NOT going to bring you any peace of mind (which might be […]
The first Ubuntu smartphone goes on sale next week. But it’s more of a publicity drive than a serious launch. The Aquarius E4.5 from Spanish manufacturer BQ normally runs on Android, but a new model will run on a version of Ubuntu developed by Canonical. Rather than go on full sale, a limited number will go […]