Why can’t your Instagram upload? OpenSignal explains the upload speed gap
To help you better understand why some carriers can help you get your pics onto Instagram and Snapchat faster than others, OpenSignal has published a new explainer to help clarify why there's such a huge discrepancy between the fastest and slowest 4G upload speeds. Hint: Sprint is in last place.
Alexa reportedly says, ‘Every time I close my eyes, all I see is people dying’
We'll take Amazon Alexa's creepy laugh any day over her latest bizarre antic. On Monday, an Amazon Echo device apparently made an unprompted and terrifying statement. The owner claims that the smart assistant suddenly activated herself and said, "Every time I close my eyes, all I see is people dying."
Amazon may have spilled the beans for Prime Day 2018
The cat's out of the bag, and it's all the owner's fault. On Thursday, online retail giant Amazon may have accidentally let slip when its perennially popular Amazon Prime Day would be in 2o18. Mark your calendars, friends, because as per the banner Amazon posted to its U.K. website, Prime Day will be July 16.
Landmark Supreme Court decision lets states force online stores to pay sales tax
The online marketplace now looks a lot more like its offline counterpart -- at least, when it comes to taxes. A contentious case has reached a rather contentious ruling in the Supreme Court today, and the highest court in the U.S. ruled that states can indeed collect sales taxes from ecommerce retailers.
By 2021, you could be sleeping behind the wheel of an autonomous Volvo XC90
By 2021, you could be sitting behind the wheel of a truly driverless Volvo. The Swedish automaker's research and development chief recently said that the company is planning to sell a Level 4 self-driving crossover SUV in 2021. Level 4 autonomy describes cars that can drive themselves without any human interaction.
This has not been an easy year for Tesla and its Model 3
Production woes have delayed delivery of Tesla's Model 3, its new entry-level vehicle aimed at bringing more consumers into the carmaker's electric fold. Now, it's finally nearing its goal of producing 5,000 units per week (which it was supposed to hit last year), but it still has a ways to go.
Sick of sleepless nights? Bose wants to help with noise-masking earbuds
Bose has now presented a solution to the noise problem in the form of its "noise-masking sleepbuds." After first introducing these guys via an Indiegogo campaign late last year, these Sleepbuds are now widely available for everyone. You can buy them for $249 in the United States, and they're coming soon elsewhere.
Assistant’s Continued Conversation feature lets you drop all the ‘Hey, Googles’
We first learned that Google would be bringing a Continued Conversation feature to Assistant at Google I/O, when the tech giant unveiled a whole host of exciting new features. And now, Continued Conversation has been launched, and promises to make your interactions with Assistant more natural.
Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire Hathaway name new CEO in quest to fix health care
Amazon, JPMorgan, and Berkshire Hathaway are taking the next step in their U.S. employee health care business by naming a new chief executive officer. On Wednesday, the powerhouse trio announced the appointment of Atul Gawande as the new leader of the business, which does not have a name yet.
August Home partners with Alexa, Assistant, and now, Alarm.com
August Home has partnered with Alarm.com, fully integrating its smart lock with security panels such as DSC, Interlogix, Nortek, and Qolsys. This functionality builds upon August's existing Google Assistant capabilities, as well as compatibility with Apple's HomeKit and Amazon Alexa.
Americans believe that 40 percent of the news is fake
In 2016, our vocabularies grew to include the term "fake news," and the concept has since taken root in the collective American psyche. A new survey conducted by the Gallup/Knight Foundation found that overall, Americans believe that 39 percent of the news they see, heard, or read is misinformation.
Bamboo Music is a new Alexa Skill that makes learning music fun for the family
While there's no promise that Bamboo will turn your child into the next Chopin, there's still plenty of reason to teach your tot music from an early age, as research has shown that a music education also boosts learning and memory capabilities. And with the new Bamboo Music, learning music can be fun.
Uber is paying drivers a bit extra to drive electric vehicles instead of gas guzzlers
Uber is going electric, and it's not afraid to spend the money to do so. On June 19, the ridesharing giant unveiled a new program that provides drivers will financial incentives to use electric vehicles rather than traditional gas guzzlers. In addition, Uber is building specific features into its app.
You might soon be watching a lot more video on Instagram
Instagram lets you post videos of up to 60 seconds, but the social media company is reported to be considering extending the limit to a whopping 60 minutes. Longer videos from users, as well as brands and professional creators, would take the app ever further from its roots, and even allow it to target YouTube.
TP-Link’s new Deco M9 Plus Mesh router is also a smart home hub
TP-Link's newest mesh router not only purports to provide fast internet connections to more than 100 devices throughout your home, but also serves as a smart home hub for all of your connected devices. Meet the Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi System, the latest multitasker in your life. A one-pack costs $180.
China speeds up its subway with palm scanners and facial recognition
The Chinese capital of Beijing is now considering the introduction of "bio-recognition technology" to its subway stations. This technology would include palm scanners and facial recognition scanners, and would purportedly increase efficiency and decrease gridlock in key stations during rush hour.Â
Pair your smart mattress with Eight Sleep’s A.I.-powered Sleep Coach
For something so important, it can really be quite hard to get. We're talking, of course, about a good night's sleep. Back in 2016, Eight Sleep launched the Smart Mattress to help us get some shut-eye, and now, two years later, it's back with an A.I.-powered personal sleep coach, available for both iOS and Android.
Google Home will stamp its passport in at least seven new countries this year
Google is slated to double the number of national markets in which the Google Home and Google Home Mini can be found this year. With the addition of Spain, Austria, and Ireland, the Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers are now available in 11 countries around the world.
Hola, Alexa! Amazon Echo is on its way to both Spain and Italy
Smart speakers are taking over the world one country at a time. The Amazon Echo will soon be made available in both Spain and Italy, and around the same time, Sonos and Bose will both offer up their own Alexa-enabled devices in those two markets as well. There's no word yet on exactly when it'll happen.
No doorman to receive your delivery? With Hub by Amazon, that is not a problem
Meet Hub by Amazon, a container that allows for the storage of packages so that they're not just strewn about a lobby, or worse yet, potentially stolen. Really, the Hubs look just like traditional Amazon lockers, but rather than being located in businesses, are located in apartment complexes.Â
Google’s A.I. tools can predict death risks more accurately than hospitals
Google is beating hospitals at their own game -- at least when it comes to death risk assessment. Google’s Medical Brain team has begun training its A.I. system to evaluate the risk of death among hospital patients, and the results so far are more accurate than the prediction rates in hospitals.
Fix upcoming for Google Home, Chromecast bug that can tattle on your location
Your trusty Google Home speaker may not be all that trustworthy after all -- at least, not for now. Security researcher Craig Young from the firm Tripwire discovered a bug that allows both the Google Home and the Google Chromecast TV stick to share user location, which needless to say is less than ideal.
Vivint smart home products are now all voice-enabled with Google Assistant
Your smart home is becoming increasingly talkative, thanks to a new collaboration between Vivint Smart Home and Google. On Tuesday, Vivint announced a new partnership with Google that makes all of its smart home devices voice-enabled by way of Google Assistant. They'll be packaged with two free Google Minis.
A.I. can now learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, researchers claim
Researchers at the University of California believe they've created an algorithm that can solve the Rubik's Cube on its own. It depends on "autodidactic iteration" which is a "novel reinforcement learning algorithm that is able to teach itself how to solve the Rubik's Cube with no human assistance."
Google Maps on Android no longer lets you book Uber rides
Early last year, Google announced that Google Maps would allow customers to book rides straight from the Maps app. Now, however, it seems as though that feature has been removed. It's currently unclear exactly why Google removed the feature from Google Maps, but it could have been Uber's decision rather than Google's.
Microsoft takes on Google in the classroom with Flipgrid acquisition
Microsoft is strengthening its position in classrooms, and has recently acquired Flipgrid, the video discussion platform currently utilized by more than 20 million teachers and students across the United States and beyond. The acquisition is Microsoft's latest attempt to improve its educational offerings
Volvo has designed a self-docking system for yachts
We're already working on self-parking cars, so why not take things a step further and investigate self-parking boats? Of course, the correct vernacular here isn't "parking," but rather "docking." But semantics aside, Volvo -- an expert on both land and water -- has now designed a self-docking yacht.
Apple HomePod to arrive in Canada, France, and Germany in June
Apple has announced that its HomePod will be launching in Germany, France, and Canada on June 18. The smart speaker marks a major market expansion for the tech giant, and the announcement could be an effort to boost dwindling sales of the HomePod, which will now be available in six countries.
Foxconn is coming to America — more specifically, to its new Milwaukee HQ
Foxconn is reportedly purchasing a seven-story building from Northwestern Mutual, and will ultimately employ 500 people to work in the brand new facility. That's fewer than the 13,000 jobs it'll be creating at its display facility just 30 miles south, but does indicate that Foxconn is serious about its new home.
Jaguar smashes a world record for the fastest electric speedboat
If you're looking to satisfy that need for speed, you don't want to go pounding the pavement -- instead, you should be hitting the waves. This week, Jaguar managed to set new world and national records with its battery-powered boat, the Jaguar Vector V20E. It managed to hit top speeds of over 88 mph.
The Boring Company doesn’t sound so boring anymore
The founder of SpaceX and Tesla is accustomed to flashy enterprises and larger-than-life dreams (that all seem to be coming to fruition), and now, he's turning his attention to a simple problem that plagues all of us:Â Traffic. Now, you can watch a Tesla Model X zoom through a tunnel in LA - the first test.
Amazon, Microsoft, Uber donate to oppose the California Consumer Privacy Act
Amazon, Microsoft, and Uber have made large contributions to a group attempting to prevent a privacy act from becoming law in California. As per state disclosure records, the three tech giants join a number of other well-known tech firms all working against the proposed California Consumer Privacy Act.