Skip to main content

Weekly Rewind: Tinder gets political, edible spoons, and more

Political Tinder
Image used with permission by copyright holder
In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from the best of Microsoft Build 2016 to the best April Fools jokes, it’s all here.

Stories: 1-5

Laugh it up! The 30 best April Fools’ Day tech jokes of 2016

zuckerberg-hm-collection-720x480-c
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This year’s techy April Fools Day jokes were particularly good. April Fools is a day of jocular japes, full of laugh-out-loud moments, gut-busting guffaws, cheeky chuckles, and hernia-causing hilarity. The trauma we feel when it’s all over makes us wish life was this amusing every single day, and not just once a year. Sit down, make sure your surgical corset is tightly secured in case of any unexpected side-splittage, put that coffee aside (because you don’t want to spit it all over your keyboard, right?) and enjoy our pick of 2016’s April Fools’ day pranks, jokes, and wicked wheezes.

Read the full story here.

From Windows to AI, here’s everything Microsoft Announced at Build 2016

build2015_satya-nadella_final_print-1200x0
Image used with permission by copyright holder

From Windows 10 updates to plans for artificial intelligence, Microsoft’s Build 2016 Keynote had a little bit of everything. There were demonstrations of new features coming to Windows 10 and Xbox One; details of new tools coming for developers; and more than a few grand declaration of our AI-enhanced future. If you happened to miss the live stream of the conference, we have you covered. Read about everything that happened by clicking the link below.


Read the full story here.

Who’s your presidential sweetheart? Tinder gets political with ‘Swipe the Vote’

Political-Tinder-0001
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re still undecided on which candidate you want to run the United States, the popular dating app Tinder is offering a new feature that lets you swipe left or right on certain issues, such as if you want to “keep same-sex marriage legal” or “abolish the death penalty.” Each one of these cards offers more contextual information when you click on them.

Read the full story here.

The $35,000, 215-mile Model 3 is the final step in Tesla’s ‘Secret Master Plan’

Tesla unveiled the Model 3 — the EV for the everyman on March 31. The most accessible vehicle in Tesla’s catalog, the $35,000 sedan aims to bring affordable electric commuting to the masses with a base range of 215 miles and a targeted safety rating of five stars in every category. Let’s run down the basics, most of which we already knew. The Model 3 looks like a squished Model S with a flat front fascia and a snub trunk. It’s projected to go on sale at the end of 2017 for a pre-incentive base price of $35,000. After a federal tax credit of $7,500 is applied, the price drops to $27,500. Other local incentives could lower the price further.

Read the full story here.

Watch out, Netflix: Fullscreen’s $5/month video service is coming in April

you’re in fullscreen

Subscription video on demand services are becoming a dime a dozen, but Fullscreen is looking to stand out among the many when it launches next month. The media company announced today that its new video streaming service will launch on April 26. Fullscreen’s ad-free VOD service will start at a lower price point than competitors such as Netflix, YouTube Red, Hulu, and HBO Now — the monthly fee will be $5 per month, reports Variety.

Read the full story here.

Recommended Videos

Stories: 6-10

Want to live forever? Ray Kurzweil thinks that may be possible very soon

Inventor Ray Kurzweil sees immortality in our future

When rock band Queen asked us “Who wants to live forever?” back in 1986, we interpreted it as standard lyrical rhetoric. But now, three decades and what feels like light years in technological, medical, and scientific advances later, the answer to that age-old question may have changed. And according to Ray Kurzweil, the famous American inventor who has been described as the “rightful heir to Thomas Edison,” we’re nearing immortality.

Read the full story here.

Is this a joke? Smell Dating service lets you find your soulmate by sniffing sweaty t-shirts

Smell Dating

If you thought Tinder was a sign of a dating apocalypse in the digital age, just wait until you hear about Smell Dating. The company claims that it will send you a t-shirt that you wear for three days straight before returning it, and in exchange you’ll receive assorted swatches of t-shirts worn by other Smell Daters just like you. If your nose and someone else’s nose agree that you’re a match, Smell Dating will facilitate an introduction.

Read the full story here.

To help us understand CTE, Harvard developed TeamStudy for ex-NFL players

chargers-vs-cardinals-nfl-football
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The sports world is known for its acronyms, but CTE is one abbreviation that sports players, coaches, and fans alike dread hearing. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease, has become nearly synonymous with the NFL these last several months. And now scientists from Harvard have developed an app to show ex-NFL players just how much of an effect their careers have had on their health. It’s called TeamStudy, and medical researchers hope that the platform may help us better understand what makes these athletes tick.

Read the full story here.

Sleep with the fishes (and sharks) in Airbnb’s underwater aquarium bedroom

aquarium-de-paris-shark-airbnb-970x647-c
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If Airbnb has its way, “sleeping with the fishes” might soon become more than just a euphemism. Earlier this week, the company kicked off a contest that will put three winners to bed in a glass enclosure underneath the Paris Aquarium. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, the sharky sleepover will also be hosted by Fred Buyle, a record-breaking freediver and dedicated shark lover.

Read the full story here.

To reduce plastic waste, this Indian startup thinks we should start using edible spoons

India Innovates Episode 4 - Edible Cutlery

What happened to your eating utensils after your last meal? Chances are you probably left it behind, or threw it away in a nearby trash can if it was made of plastic — but now, thanks to a new product from India-based startup Bakeys, you could soon be eating your spoons just as easily as you ate your lunch. Edible Cutlery, as its called, is an upcoming line of plant-based eating utensils that are totally safe to eat.

Read the full story here.

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…
Motorola might be making a foldable unlike any we’ve seen before
A side view of the Motorola Razr Plus 2024, showing the phone half-folded.

What do tiny motors, shape-shifting metal, and powerful sensors all have in common? They're part of a potential Motorola foldable phone. Foldable phones are nothing new, but their design and capabilities have come a long way since the days of the original flip phone. And now, 91Mobiles spotted a patent filing from Motorola that suggests an interesting design unlike anything we've seen before.

According to 91mobiles, the patent is titled "Autonomous form factor control of a foldable mobile device."  Don't worry, you won't be tested on that. It basically boils down to a phone that can adjust its hinge position to help keep the user in the center of the frame, similar to Apple's Center Stage feature — except this is controlled through hardware, not software.

Read more
Someone made a transparent iPhone 16 Pro, and it looks phenomenal
See through glass shell on an iPhone 16 Pro.

In the past couple of years, transparent aesthetics have truly arrived on the scene. From phones and earbuds to handheld consoles and even laptops, it seems everyone wants to follow the trends — except Apple, of course. Industrial design, and everything. Go figure!

But that won’t stop some enthusiasts with the right tools and enough guts from prying open a pricey new iPhone and giving it a transparent makeover. The latest in a series of daring Apple adventures comes from Phone Repair Guru, which has given a transparent spin to the otherwise frosted color glass back of the iPhone 16 Pro.

Read more
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days iPad deals: Savings still available!
Best Prime Day Deals

Update 10/10/24: Prime Big Deal Days may officially be over, but we're continuing to see some great Prime Day pricing at Amazon. If you happened to miss out on the sales event, we've updated all of the best Prime Day iPad deals that remain.

The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales event brought some pretty impressive iPad deals. Now that it's ended there are still some stragglers, so here we’ve focused on the best Prime Day iPad deals. These Prime Day tablet deals were some of the best we've seen all year, and some of the special discounts remain. While the sales event may have Amazon in the name, other retailers also have their own sales, and that means we’ve looked at many different retailers to find the biggest savings on many different iPad models. Below, you’ll find some of the best Amazon Big Deal Days iPad deals.
Apple iPad (9th Generation, 64GB, Wi-Fi) -- $199 $329 40% off

Read more