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Weekly Rewind: CES 2016, Making a Murderer, and a video of a puddle goes viral

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 the first week of January. Everything from the best of CES 2016 to a Netflix petition — it’s all here.

The Oculus Rift is $600: Here’s what you need before pre-ordering

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

After years of restless nights spent questioning when the Oculus Rift would arrive, we’re finally one step closer. Pre-orders for the wildly anticipated VR headset opened up on Wednesday, January 6 at 8 a.m. Pacific. We also caught word that every Oculus Rift unit will ship with a complimentary download of one of its flagship launch titles, dogfighting shooter Eve: Valkryie.

Read the full story here.

Russian hackers suspected in recent Ukrainian power outage

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

A Ukrainian power outage in late December is now suspected to be the result of a cyberattack, making the blackout the first ever caused by malware. Tens of thousands of people were left without power for several hours after the computers used to control the national grid were infected with the BlackEnergy Trojan malware, and many security experts have expressed concern over the implications of this recent attack.

Read the full story here.

This fully autonomous drone taxi is your traffic-jam dream come true

 

A Chinese UAV company named Ehang just unveiled the world’s first autonomous flying taxi. The plainly-named 184 drone is essentially a giant quadcopter designed to carry a single passenger  — and it needs no pilot. Inside the cockpit, there are absolutely zero controls. No joystick, no steering wheel, no buttons, switches, or control panels — just a seat and a small tablet stand.

Read the full story here.

Pinterest hires its first head of diversity in an effort to broaden its workforce

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Marcel De Grijs/123RF

Pinterest has hired its first ever diversity chief as it pursues its public goal of hiring more women and underrepresented minorities. The new top-level recruit, Candice Morgan, previously worked for almost a decade at Catalyst Inc., a non-profit dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in business. Morgan’s most recent role at the organization was as a senior director.

Read the full story here.

Immersit puts hydraulics on your couch, turning any movie into a Disney World ride

There’s plenty of reason to believe that virtual reality will finally make its mark on mainstream audiences in 2016 — but a functional headset is only the first step to a truly immersive experience. To ensure that users really feel like they’re a part of the game they’re playing or the movie they’re watching, a new device casts its attention towards your seat.

Read the full story here.

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Next page: 5 more tech stories you might have missed this week

Making a Murderer inspires 250,000+ petition signatures, but it may be for nothing

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The line between art and life is starting to get lost in the Netflix streams. A Change.org petition calling for the release of convicted murderer Steven Avery, and subject of Netflix true-crime documentary hit Making a Murderer, has garnered more than 250,000 supporters.

Read the full story here.

Audi previews future interior concepts at CES 2016

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

Two years ago, Audi rocked CES with the “virtual cockpit” display that eventually went into production, starting with the recently redesigned TT. “Virtual cockpit” replaces conventional gauges and infotainment screens with a single digital display that does both. Now, is considering taking things a step further.

Read the full story here.

Hands on: Yezz Sfera

The Yezz Sfera, a crazy device by the relatively unknown company, has two cameras as well, but it’ll capture not only your primary subject, no matter whether you point it in that direction, plus the entire world around at the same time. That’s because it has the first 360-degree camera put into a smartphone, capturing VR-style immersive video and stills on the move. It’s revolutionary enough that it may change the way we take photos and video using a smartphone.

Read the full story here.

This 3D-printed smart bike texts your friends in the event of a crash

Before CES 2016 officially kicked off this week in Las Vegas, many pointed to connected and smart products as the presumed stars of the show. So, when CES Unveiled debuted the world’s first connected (and 3D-printed, mind you) road bike, all eyes were squarely on Internet-connected consumer electronics developer Cerevo. Along with the bike (dubbed the Orbitrec), Cerevo also unveiled its Ride-1 clip-on sensor, which offers the same sensor capability for a fraction of the price.

Read the full story here.

Live broadcast of a puddle becomes global Internet hit

Drummondpuddlewatch the Periscope sensation that's making a splash

A puddle in the north of England became an Internet star on Wednesday after around half a million people, including Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, hit live-streaming app Periscope to watch it. No, it wasn’t doing anything. It was just being puddle-like. Sort of wet. In a small pool. Like a puddle.

Read the full story here.

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T-Mobile home internet plans have changed, here’s what you should know
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*Updated 6/12/2025 to include new plans, promotions and fiber internet service details

While Verizon was the first to deploy 5G home internet, users complained about their network being small at the time with intermittent connections. T-Mobile, while trailing Verizon with their 5G home internet service, at least launched with "nationwide" service that reached a lot more homes on the initial launch.

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These three iOS 26 beta features are my favorite so far
The Liquid Design lock screen on the iOS 26 developer beta 1 running on the iPhone 16 Pro

For fans of the Apple ecosystem, it’s been an incredible week. Apple’s annual WWDC 2025 keynote revealed a whole new Liquid Glass design that’s unified across all its platforms. Also unified across all platforms is the numbering scheme, with iOS 26 designed to represent the year of release… plus one. 

The new platform doesn’t deliver one of the key things I asked for — multitasking, which is available on iPadOS 26 — but it does bring several new features that make the iPhone far more usable. 

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Anker recalls a million power banks over fire risk — here’s what to do
Anker's PowerCore 10000 power bank.

Anker is recalling more than a million of its PowerCore 10000 power banks due to a risk of overheating that could lead to fire and burns.

The tech company has received 19 reports of fires and explosions linked to the power bank, which contains lithium-ion batteries. Two of the reports relate to minor burn injuries and required medical attention, while a further 11 reports cite property damage totaling more than $60,000, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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