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 of IFA to a new Bill Nye Netflix show, it’s all here.
IFA 2016: Complete Coverage
CES may be the largest consumer electronics show in the U.S., but IFA owns bragging rights as the largest CE show outside of the states. The show runs Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, and because of its timing (just in time for buyers to place Christmas orders), IFA frequently plays host to several first-time product unveilings, many of which will simply be repeated at CES in the United States. Digital Trends is on the ground in Berlin to bring you all the news and hot announcements coming from the show.
Read the full story here.
Details emerge on future updates to Apple’s Mac line and the iPad Pro
We already know that Apple has big plans to refresh its Mac and mobile operating systems this year with the release of MacOS Sierra and iOS 10. However, there’s now word that the company intends to deliver major hardware updates to its Mac line and to the iPad Pro sooner rather than later. The iPad Pro is set to be tweaked in order to make it more appealing to professional users.
China approves merger of Dell and EMC; mammoth deal will be official next week
The highly publicized merger between Dell and EMC is set to be finalized next week. Once the deal officially closes on September 7, it will be the biggest technology merger in history. First announced in October of last year, the $63 billion merger received regulatory approval this week from China’s Ministry of Commerce, which was the last of many hurdles Dell and EMC had to clear to make the merger official.
Bill Nye the Science Guy aims to save the world with upcoming Netflix series
He may have never left our hearts, but Bill Nye is now coming back to our screens. That’s right, friends, Bill Nye the Science Guy is finally making a return to television. Well, it’s not quite television, but it’s the 21st century equivalent. Next spring, “Bill Nye Saves the World” will make its debut on Netflix, giving you a whole new series to binge watch until the wee hours of the morning. But this is one show you won’t have to feel bad about — as Variety reports, the talk show will “explore science and its impact on politics, society, and pop culture.”
Unique Vietnamese home embraces tranquility with its plots of living trees
Fed up with the long hours of market life, a Vietnamese family man decided his best course of action would be to move into a giant tree house — sort of. In an effort to spend more time with his wife and young children, this unnamed man commissioned the help of 3 Atelier, his nephew’s renowned Ho Chi Minh City-based architecture firm, to design an innovative home geared towards embracing tranquility. From the abundance of living trees to its uniquely constructed tile walls, 3 Atelier’s gorgeously designed home is the epitome of a modern tree house.
Watch an eerie, IBM Watson-made trailer for a film about the dangers of AI
Aside from being a Jeopardy! champion, IBM’s Watson has held positions as a health care adviser, teaching assistant, and meteorologist to name a few. Now, America’s most famous artificial intelligence has lent its intelligence to Hollywood, composing a trailer for 20th Century Fox’s soon-to-be released sci-fi horror-thriller, Morgan.
Transparent solar panels are 50 times more productive
If you’re looking to install new solar panels in your home, why not consider those created by the aptly-named SolarWindow Technologies, which transform regular windows into solar panels that are up to 50 times more efficient than the regular photovoltaics you’d attach to a roof? “Just pick up your cell phone, look at the face without any power or image, and you’ll see a pretty good example of what today’s thin film looks like,” John Conklin, CEO of SolarWindow, told Digital Trends.
Goodbye drops: Smart contact lenses release drugs directly into your eye
Remembering to apply your eye drops every day is a pain. Even when they’re being used to treat serious conditions like glaucoma, which can cause blindness, there is still plenty of evidence that people will default on their medication over time. Now, there’s an effort to create a contact lens capable of delivering doses of medication to the eye over a prolonged period of time.
Parisians set to go car-free for one day next month
The streets of Paris will look completely different late next month. City officials have announced a plan to enforce a daylong car ban on Sunday, September 25. Parisians will need to leave their car keys at the door from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last year’s ban was limited to a handful of neighborhoods in the heart of the city, but this year’s has been expanded to include a majority of the districts in central Paris. The city hall predicts that 400 miles’ worth of pavement will be mostly car-free on the 25th.
iPads as effective as sedatives before pediatric surgery, study shows
Playing with iPads before surgery could replace sedatives for children. Researchers in France who measured the effect of iPads on child and parent anxiety prior to administering anesthesia to the children found them to be equally calming to conventional sedatives, according to Quartz.
