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Weekly rewind: Foldable phones, backpack hearts, growing human organs in pigs

top tech stories 06 12 2016 backpack heart header
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In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on 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 apps for keeping track of the Euro 2016 action to how we’re growing human organs inside pigs, it’s all here.

Alphabet wants to beam high-speed Internet to your home

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Google has been laying down fiber cables for four years, but parent-company Alphabet is already thinking about a future where you don’t have to dig “up your garden” to get high-speed internet access. In another moonshot project, Alphabet wants to wirelessly beam it into your home. Why? It’s cheaper, and apparently the technology today makes it viable, according to Alphabet’s Chairman Eric Schmidt at the annual shareholder meeting.

Read the full story here.

While awaiting a transplant, this guy lived with an artificial ‘heart in a backpack’ for 555 days

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For more than a year, Stan Larkin was a heartless man — literally. The 25-year-old had his heart removed while awaiting transplant and was sustained using a backpack-encased artificial heart. Larkin not only survived 555 days with this portable heart, but he also thrived, returning home from the hospital and even playing basketball with the device.

Read the full story here.

Time to change your Twitter password: 32 million accounts may have been hacked

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Mark Zuckerberg, Katy Perry, Keith Richards, Tame Impala, Drake, Tenacious D, oh, and Twitter founder Evan Williams. What do they have in common? They’ve all had their Twitter accounts compromised in recent days, that’s what. And late Thursday it emerged the apparent hack could be serious. Like 32-million-accounts serious.

Read the full story here.

Gooaaal! Don’t miss a single goal with the best Euro 2016 apps

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The next World Cup is still two years away, but the Euro Championship is the next best thing for soccer (fùtbol) fans. The battle commences on Friday, June 10, as 24 teams from across Europe meet in 51 matches to decide who is the best on the continent. And if you want to keep up with every corner kick, save, and sliding tackle, below are some of the best Euro 2016 apps to do it.

Read the full story here.

Transparent sound takes on a whole new meaning with this directional glass speaker

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Considering how long the concept has been around, speakers haven’t changed all that much. And it turns out that there is plenty of room left to innovate, as we’re beginning to see more companies exploring the idea of directional sound. That said, until now, we’ve never seen the idea demonstrated in such a striking manner. On Wednesday, Turtle Beach unveiled the HyperSound Glass speaker, a fully transparent pane of glass that emits sound.

Read the full story here.

Mark Zuckerberg will answer your questions in his first Facebook Live Q&A

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Mark Zuckerberg is doing his bit to promote his company’s push into live-streaming by hosting a Q&A on Facebook Live. In a short video post that was shared from his account on Wednesday, the Facebook founder and CEO announced the live chat broadcast in a rather quiet fashion. The clip features a simple typed-out message on a black background stating the time and date of the event. The Q&A session kicks off at 11.30 a.m. PT on June 14.

Read the full story here.

The Tesla effect: 90 percent of new cars may track your driving by 2020

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As the owner of a Tesla Model X discovered last weekend, the company records every driver action. You can’t claim vehicle error when the data shows otherwise. And most newer cars have vehicle “black boxes” that, just as in aircraft, keep a record of vehicle activity. No other car companies today track data as extensively and stream it continuously via a dedicated wireless connection in the way that Tesla does with all its vehicles, but that’s about to change, according to a report in MIT Technology Review.

Read the full story here.

Lenovo’s foldable phone prototype snaps onto your wrist like a slap bracelet

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Foldable displays and smartphones are typically associated with manufacturing giants like Samsung and LG. Add another player to that list: Lenovo. The company just demoed a prototype foldable tablet and phone at its Tech World convention in San Francisco. YouTuber Meghan McCarthy demoed the prototypes, and by no means are these the final products — there aren’t even names for these devices yet. However, the prototypes look intriguing.

Read the full story here.

UC Davis biologists are trying to grow transplantable human organs inside of living pigs

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The World Health Organization calls the shortage of transplantable organs “virtually a universal problem” due to legal and sociocultural factors in countries around the globe. Developed countries may meet demand better than the rest, but even so, patients here are still underserved. United States scientists are now attempting unconventional means to meet this growing demand – with researchers from the University of California, Davis injecting human stem cells into the embryos of pigs.

Read the full story here.

Last month, for the first time ever, the UK generated more energy from solar than coal

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The United Kingdom just passed a huge milestone in its renewable energy program – in May, for the first-ever calendar month, the U.K. generated more solar power than coal power. The difference wasn’t slight either. In fact, about 1,336 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity came from solar compared to the 893GWh generated by coal, according to research by analysts at Carbon Brief. That means a renewable source created over 50 percent more of the country’s power than coal.

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…
The best Fitbit devices in 2023: 6 best watches and trackers
The Fitbit Sense 2 in moss.

If you’ve been thinking of buying a new fitness tracker, you have a wide selection of options to choose from. Fitbit is a name you're bound to have heard of, as it's one of the top brands in the fitness industry, with more than a dozen varieties of fitness trackers and smartwatches to suit different needs.

With that number of devices to choose from, it's not hard to see why people might become overwhelmed when choosing between them. Thankfully, there are definitely Fitbits that excel in certain areas, and as such, it's not too hard to narrow down your choice to find the best Fitbit for you. We've done a bit of the work for you here by gathering some of the best Fitbit options around, breaking them down, and pointing out what makes them so special.

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These Sennheiser All-Day OTC self-fitting hearing aids are $500 off
A man wears the Sennheiser All-Day Clear OTC hearing aid while on a hike.

A less-considered piece of tech that can go a long way toward helping the hard of hearing better interact with the world is a hearing aid. Right now you can save big at Best Buy on the Sennheiser All-Day Clear over-the-counter hearing aids. They would regularly cost $1,500 for a pair, but this deal sees them marked down to $1,000, which makes for $500 in savings. Free next-day shipping is available, and you can even pick the hearing aids up at your nearest Best Buy within one hour in many areas.

Why you should buy the Sennheiser All-Day Clear OTC hearing aid
Sennheiser is one of the more sought after brand names in consumer audio, and it’s almost always in consideration to be one of the best speaker brands. With the All-Day Clear hearing aids Sennheiser has taken all of that audio know-how and produced its first over-the-counter hearing aids. They’re made for those with mild to moderate hearing loss who are looking for a better hearing experience. They come ready to wear and combine clear, vibrant hearing performance with seamless connectivity. The All-Day Clear hearing aids have advanced sound processing technologies for better hearing and a range of customizable settings for a personalized experience.

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Is the Facebook algorithm bypass a scam? Or is it a hack?
The viral Facebook algorithm bypass post is nonsense.

Here we go again, folks. It's not uncommon — especially at this time of year for some reason — to start seeing all kinds of people posting the same thing on Facebook. Something about somehow "bypassing the Facebook system" or about how you hereby disallow Facebook from doing something that you absolutely allowed it to do by using Facebook in the first place.

No, it's not a Facebook hack. No, you're not telling Facebook to do anything. Or not to do anything. And, no, someone who posts this sort of stuff isn't deserving of mockery. In fact, this isn't new at all. Meta (nee Facebook) itself addressed it as far back as 2019.

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