Skip to main content

Weekly Rewind: SpaceX’s future, Samsung Galaxy S8, and a Tonka truck for grownups

spacex fcc application global wifi gigabit usa ses 9 launch
SpaceX Photos/123rf
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 10 tech stories, from how Samsung plans to bounce back with its Galaxy S8 to the best movie soundtracks ever — it’s all here.

Samsung punches back

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Digital Trends flew to Seoul, South Korea in early March and crisscrossed the country to learn how Samsung designed its new phone, the Galaxy S8. We learned how the mega manufacturer planned to continue pushing the envelope — and how it would ensure that nothing like the Note 7 fiasco ever happened again. Read on to see what else we picked up on our journey.

Read the full story here.

From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Interstellar,’ these are the best movie soundtracks of all time

Image used with permission by copyright holder

To celebrate these cinematic musical masterpieces, we’ve put together a list of our 30 favorite film soundtracks of all time, in no particular order. Whether you’re a lover of the purpose-composed epics that propel your favorite films’ plot points, or a follower of the perfectly assembled song compilations that color their overall tone, you’ll find something to love below.

Read the full story here.

Toyota turns the HiLux pickup into a Tonka truck for the young at heart

Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the most brutally disappointing aspects of growing up is realizing the Tonka trucks you played with as a child aren’t street-legal. Members of Toyota’s Australian division must feel the same way, because they’ve worked day and night to transform the indestructible HiLux pickup truck into a real-life, full-size Tonka that starts and drives.

Read the full story here.

Elon Musk heralds ‘huge revolution in space travel’ after Thursday’s historic mission

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It was one giant leap for SpaceX on Thursday evening when it successfully completed the first reflight — and landing — of an orbital class rocket. Elon Musk and his team have completed numerous rocket launches and landings over the last 16 months, but bringing a Falcon 9 rocket back home for a second time takes the development of its reusable system to the next level, as it continues in its quest to drastically reduce the cost of space travel.

Read the full story here.

More room to reply: Twitter excludes usernames from its 140-character limit

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Twitter’s defining feature is the 140-character limit it imposes on tweets and retweets. It forces a level of succinctness that is sorely lacking from — ahem — unfettered social networks. But it’s also quite annoying sometimes, especially when you’re trying to reply to someone. Since Twitter’s inception, usernames have counted against the limit. But no longer. On Thursday, the company announced usernames will no longer count toward the 140-character maximum.

Read the full story here.

Our favorite fun kitchen gadgets from the Home and Housewares show

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you live in a place with limited kitchen space, you might want to stop reading. At the 2017 International Home and Housewares Show, we saw a bunch of kitchen gadgets and goodies that we wanted to take home, though not all were more functional than fun. With limited counter space, you might not have room for a device devoted to nut-milk making, but something else in our roundup might be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

Read the full story here.

Lucasfilm: How we made ‘Rogue One’ look and feel seamless within the Star Wars saga

Image used with permission by copyright holder

While fans were reticent at first about a new series of films set inside the Star Wars universe but outside the main episodes, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story quickly proved that George Lucas’ epic space opera was much bigger than the story that played out across the first seven films. We spoke to Doug Chiang, a Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director, who served as the co-production designer on Rogue One, about the process of integrating the latest entry into the Star Wars universe.

Read the full story here.

Silicon Valley Warriors: Draymond Green discusses technology’s growing influence on the NBA

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Golden State Warriors superstar Draymond Green sits in the top 10 in the NBA this season in assists but now, the enigmatic forward wants to help people off the court, as well. Digital Trends recently caught up with the popular Warriors player to talk technology’s influence on the NBA, how he plans to use tech to help people, and how Golden State’s specifically used it to reach NBA supremacy.

Read the full story here.

Snake oil, or black magic? Windows’ new Game Mode is a bit of both

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Creators Update for Windows 10 has a host of new features, including the highly-anticipated “Game Mode.” Microsoft claims Game Mode will optimize your PC to deliver smoother performance while running demanding games. It’s not the first time a company has made that kind of claim, but Microsoft has a home field advantage here, so it might have a better chance at actually juicing your PC to get the most out of its hardware.

Read the full story here.

Why is the Pixel’s camera so good? Google explains it, and what’s next

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Last year, DxO Mark named the camera inside the Google Pixel the best smartphone camera yet, and new insight from Alphabet is showcasing just where the tech behind that camera came from, and where it’s headed next. In an article for the Graduate Series exploring the tech that comes out of the X research division, Google says the camera tech inside Pixel was actually initially intended for Google Glass.

Read the full story here.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
It begins. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra rumored to get a notch
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra render both front and back

What we feared is already happening. After Apple released the new MacBook Pro with a notch, we assumed it would only be a matter of time before we saw this ugly design flourish filter out to other devices. And sure enough, where Apple goes, everyone else follows. Now, Samsung is prepping the launch of the next-gen Galaxy Tab 8 Ultra, complete with a notch.

The Galaxy Tab S8 was leaked a few days back, and it revealed a familiar design with slim bezels and a big display. This year, the company is also rumored to be launching an Ultra variant, which will have an even larger display -- and according to leaked renders -- a notch.

Read more
Leaked Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 renders show sleek design similar to the S7
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7.

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab S8 has just leaked in new renders. Coming from prominent leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, more commonly known as OnLeaks on Twitter, these renders look a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 that preceded it.

Despite Android's lackluster reputation in the tablet market, Samsung has worked hard to build up a respectable slate of tablets. These include both the Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE in recent times. With high-resolution displays, stylus support, and clean design, these tablets manage to match and rival the iPad on a pure hardware basis, though the available app library and screen optimization need work.

Read more
Nomad’s new iPhone case and Apple Watch band may be its coolest yet
Nomad Glow 2.0 Sport Case and Apple Watch Sport Band in daylight.

Though the world of Apple accessories is a dime a dozen, one of the better brands that you can buy is Nomad. Nomad has a variety of amazing leather Apple Watch bands and cases, as well as non-leather options, too. In August 2023, Nomad released a one-of-a-kind Glow in the Dark Apple Watch band that sold out in about 12 hours.

Since that Glow in the Dark band was a limited edition, no one was sure if Nomad was going to re-release it, and this explains the high resale prices you’ll find on eBay. But Nomad just released the Glow 2.0 Apple Watch Sport Band as well as a new Glow 2.0 Sport Case for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. And, yes, they're just as wonderful as before.
The new and improved Glow 2.0

Read more