A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top tech stories, from the tiniest cellphone to the fastest hyperloop system — it’s all here.
‘The Last Jedi’ is unlike any Star Wars film, and that’s what makes it so Star Wars
“There’s a glorious, quintessential scene in Rian Johnson’s $200 million epic, The Last Jedi, that — as someone who grew up watching the original films dozens of times before I could even understand them — hit me like a ton of bricks.
No, it wasn’t the shocking moment Vice Admiral Holdo takes out an entire battalion with a kamikaze jump to lightspeed. It also wasn’t when Snoke is stunningly disposed of by Kylo Ren’s masterful lightsaber Force push. It wasn’t even Luke’s defiant relishing of freshly squeezed, green alien milk in front of Rey, a scene which seems to have affected so many Star Wars geeks so strongly (most of whom, by the way, will happily choke down cow’s milk — have they ever even seen a cow?!).”
Read: ‘The Last Jedi’ is unlike any Star Wars film, and that’s what makes it so Star Wars
2018 Ford Mustang: Performance, specs, features, prices
The question to answer when choosing a 2018 Ford Mustang isn’t, “Do you want to go fast?” but rather, “How fast is fast enough?” From the 301-horsepower EcoBoost model, to the 460-hp Mustang GT, to the 526-hp Shelby GT350R, your pony choice depends on how far you want to turn the go-fast dial and how wide you’ll open your wallet.
Read: 2018 Ford Mustang: Performance, specs, features, prices
Ledvance gives the world the first Apple HomeKit-enabled smart light bulb
In a major step forward for smart home-enabled consumer electronics, LED manufacturer Ledvance is furthering its long-standing Sylvania brand by launching the Sylvania Smart+ Soft White A19 filament bulb, which lands in markets complete with full Apple HomeKit compatibility.
Unlike competing products that are emerging into the smart home market, the Sylvania Smart+ bulbs can be directly controlled using Bluetooth via Apple’s Siri intelligent personal assistant and Apple’s Home app — without buying a separate hub or smart socket or requiring a Wi-Fi router to function accordingly.
Read: Ledvance gives the world the first Apple HomeKit-enabled smart light bulb
Eat our dust, Elon Musk. Virgin’s Hyperloop One sets crazy new speed record
Virgin’s Hyperloop One has set a new speed record with its hyperloop pod transportation system, leaving Elon Musk’s efforts to this point in the dust.
The magnetic pod achieved speeds up to a jaw-dropping 240 miles per hour — or 351 feet every second — at DevLoop, the world’s first full-scale hyperloop test site in the Nevada desert. That’s 48 miles per hour faster than its initial tests last summer, and 20 miles per hour faster than the previous record set by Musk’s hyperloop pod. If you’ve ever wanted a preview of what it’s like to travel at hundreds of miles per hour in a hyperloop, check out the video above.
Read: Eat our dust, Elon Musk. Virgin’s Hyperloop One sets crazy new speed record
Salomon’s S/Lab Shift bindings match uphill capacity with downhill performance
Ski touring is a popular backcountry sport quickly gaining notoriety around the globe, but it’s not without its limitations. These limitations are attributed to ski equipment, which is most effectively designed to serve one primary purpose as opposed to meeting all the needs required by dedicated ski tour participants — until now.
Salomon’s new S/Lab Shift bindings will change the way you think about ski touring, offering a product that performs equally well during uphill ascent as it does for shredding lines down the mountain.
Read: Salomon’s S/Lab Shift bindings match uphill capacity with downhill performance
No, those aren’t giant hands — the Tiny T1 is the world’s smallest mobile phone
As hard as it may be for younger readers to believe, there was a time before “phablets” became a thing, when cellphone companies were in a race against one another to see who could create the world’s smallest handset. Jump forward a decade and a half, and that particular fed has gone the way of nu metal, “bullet time” effects, and personalized ringtones — but one company wants to bring it back, and they’ve created the “world’s smallest mobile phone” to show just how serious they are.
Read: No, those aren’t giant hands — the Tiny T1 is the world’s smallest mobile phone
Pepper is everywhere in Japan, and nobody cares. Should we feel bad for robots?
Pepper the robot has consistently hit headlines since its introduction several years ago. The humanoid robot is a surprisingly regular sight in Japan, despite being a rarity in the U.S. and Europe. Created by mobile technology mega-corp SoftBank, we were pleased to see Pepper on duty not only in SoftBank’s many stores, but helping out the public in other places too.
Read: Pepper is everywhere in Japan, and nobody cares. Should we feel bad for robots?
More regulations are coming as EU rules that Uber is not simply an app
Uber’s year of trials and tribulations is not over yet, and not getting any better. On Wednesday, December 20, the Court of Justice of the European Union determined that Uber is not simply an app or a tech platform, but rather a transport service. As a result, the company must comply with the transportation regulations of the EU’s member states, and cannot assert that its services fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the more lax ecommerce guidelines.
Read: More regulations are coming as EU rules that Uber is not simply an app
From Trump haircuts to lawn mowers, ‘Sounds Fun’ is an Alexa game about noises
When comedian Mike Epps was a kid growing up in Indianapolis, his family didn’t have a lot of money for things like toys or games. So, to amuse himself, the star of Next Friday and The Hangover learned how to make realistic noises with his mouth. Taking a cue from his inspiration, actor Michael Winslow of the Police Academy movies, Epps would recreate sounds like tea kettles and weed trimmers. He would play jokes on his friends by walking up behind them and making the hiss from spray can that sounds as though he were spraying the backs of their heads.
Read: From Trump haircuts to lawn mowers, ‘Sounds Fun’ is an Alexa game about noises
