Skip to main content

Weekly Rewind: Emmy madness, yet more 'Pokémon Go,' and a moon photobomb

top tech stories 07 16 2016 wr 7 15 head
Image used with permission by copyright holder
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 this year’s Emmy nominations and the Pokémon Go craze to Line’s highly anticipated IPO, it’s all here.

HBO dominates Emmy race while FX and Netflix gain ground

WR_7-15_10
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The who’s, what’s, and where’s of this year’s Emmy nominations: did your favs make the cut? Last year’s Emmy Awards dished out the typical expected wins, alongside some disappointments, surprises, and outright shutouts. Leading the pack in nominations this year is (as usual) HBO, thanks to series like Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, and Veep.

Read the full story here.

Bizarre incidents involving Pokémon Go start to pile up

WR_7-15_01
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As the Pokémon Go craze spreads ever wider, here are some pro tips on what NOT to do while playing; don’t play Pokémon Go while driving, don’t stop your car in traffic to pop out and catch a Pokémon, don’t wander down dark alleys in the bad part of town and get jacked while playing.

Read the full story here.

Google is hosting its first Indie Game Festival in September

WR_7-15_02
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google is getting serious about gaming. The tech giant just announced the first-ever Google Play Indie Games Festival, which will take place on September 24 in San Francisco, and will highlight 30 of the best indie games available, (or to be available) on the Google Play Store. Interested in taking part? You can submit your own games for consideration for the festival simply by heading to this website.

Read the full story here.

GoPro LiveVR shows 360-degree view of motorcycle race from rider’s POV

WR_7-15_03
Image used with permission by copyright holder

For racing and virtual reality fans, GoPro has a new video that should excite both camps. The video tells the story of professional father-and-son motorcycle racers Randy and Dakota Mamola, and how both used the latest camera technologies to capture a high-speed bike ride, giving viewers new perspectives of the sport. The video also gives a behind-the-scenes demonstration of GoPro’s LiveVR technology and how it can be applied to live broadcasts of motorsports.

Read the full story here.

Sun-powered Solar Dogger promises perfectly cooked hot dogs in just 10 minutes

WR_7-15_04
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With summer in full swing, few things are as satisfying on a warm afternoon than a perfectly cooked Hebrew National. What if you could utilize the natural energy of the sun to grill your dogs? This endeavor is exactly what the folks at the Cincinnati-based GoSun — the team behind the successful GoSun Stove and Grill — intend to deliver with the aptly named Solar Dogger; a fuel-free, solar-powered hot dog cooker that’s capable of producing superbly cooked hot dogs in just 10 minutes.

Read the full story here.

The Moon photobombed NASA’s images of Earth … again

WR_7-15_05
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Moon must find photobombing funny. Last week, for the second time in less than a year, while a NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite was trying to observe the Earth’s atmosphere, the Moon swung in for a brief but remarkable interruption. “For the second time in the life of DSCOVR, the Moon moved between the spacecraft and Earth,” Adam Szabo said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

Grindr is successfully convincing gay men to get tested for HIV, study shows

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s not all fun and games on the dating app scene — there are lives being saved too. As these apps continue to rise in popularity, everyone from politicians to companies to researchers are taking advantage of this new trend in love. Now, a new study suggests that Grindr could be an effective medium for getting black and Hispanic men to try home HIV testing kits.

Read the full story here.

Line messaging app goes public with year’s biggest tech company debut

WR_7-15_07
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Line Corporation, maker of the popular Japanese messaging app Line, arrived on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Thursday morning in what turned out to be the biggest market debut of a tech company this year. Trading under the ticker symbol “LN,” Line opened at $42. Despite suffering a slight dip, it ended the first day at $41.58, up 27 percent from its IPO price. Overall, that gives Line a market value of approximately $8 billion, CNN reports.

Read the full story here.

YouTube to offer a live 360-degree look at the Republican and Democratic conventions

WR_7-15_08
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Both the Republic National Convention and Democratic National Convention are right around the corner, and while the important news from each will circulate in a number of ways, that isn’t enough for hardcore news junkies. YouTube has a solution to this problem, as it announced in a blog post on Thursday that it will offer live-streaming coverage of both conventions, just as it did in 2012.

Read the full story here.

Turn studio flats into spacious one-bedroom apartments with this amazing robotic furniture

WR_7-15_09
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When it comes to studio apartments, renters and owners tend to sacrifice want for necessity and functionality to get the most out of a typically diminutive space. To help studio apartment-goers get the most out of their tiny abodes, an MIT Media Lab spinoff by the name of Ori has just introduced an innovative new line of robotic furniture geared towards getting the most out of small spaces.

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…
Visible just made its unlimited 5G plan better than ever
Visible wireless phones and plans featured

Digital wireless service provider Visible has announced upgrades to its premium Visible+ phone plan. The highlight is a new Global Pass feature that allows Visible customers to use their phones in 140 countries worldwide.

The Visible Global Pass offers unlimited talk and text services, along with 2GB of high-speed data, for a flat rate of $10 per day. Visible+ members can also enjoy a free Global Pass usage day every month. The activation process can be done through the Visible app.

Read more
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the Wear OS smartwatch I’ve been waiting for
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

The OnePlus Watch 2 -- the company's first Wear OS watch -- has entered a market that Samsung dominates. However, OnePlus' popularity as a smartphone brand can be expected to bring small, yet meaningful changes that benefit not only OnePlus users, but all of the Wear OS segment in general.

For almost a decade, Samsung and Apple have predominantly been the default options if you want a smartwatch that is actually useful and goes beyond flashy features. With Samsung shifting gears and migrating from its own Tizen OS to the (relatively) more universal Wear OS platform and Google releasing its own Pixel Watch after struggling with an identity crisis in the smartwatch world, the platform has much more traction than it did a few years ago. As OnePlus carves its way into the segment, it has the opportunity to entice people who don't wish to live within Samsung's limitations when using a Galaxy Watch with another brand's phone.

Read more
Buying an iPad Mini today? You need to know about this deal
The Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad mini magnetically.

If you've had an eye on iPad deals for the latest model of the Apple iPad Mini for a while now, this may be the offer that you've been waiting for -- a $100 discount from Best Buy on the tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, slashing its price to $400 from $500. It's still pretty popular years after its release, so we don't expect stocks of the device for this sale to last long. If you're thinking about taking advantage of this bargain, you better push through with your purchase as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad Mini 2021
The latest generation of the Apple iPad Mini was released in 2021, but it's still featured in our roundup of the best iPads because it's the model that you should buy if you want a smaller and more compact version of Apple's tablets. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is smaller than the screens of its peers, but it's still big enough to enjoy watching streaming shows and browsing websites, while allowing you to use the device with one hand. Unlike its predecessor, there's no Home button, so the Touch ID sensor is instead built into the power button at the side of the Apple iPad Mini 2021.

Read more