Alexa’s oddball ‘Away Mode’ skill aims to keep burglars at bay
A new Alexa skill plays spoken conversations when you’re out — useful for deterring potential house burglars. Designed more as a bit of fun and to prompt people to review their home security setup, “Away Mode” offers a choice of quirky conversation topics written by SNL comedy writers, among others.
This wacky foot-long macro lens lets you probe deep into the insect world
Have you ever seen such an odd-looking lens? Venus Optics’ Laowa Macro Probe lens has a long, slim barrel that’s designed to let you get into the spaces conventional macro designs can’t easily access. If you’re a photographer interested in the bug world, the Laowa Macro Probe could be just the ticket.
Mavic 2 leaked specs reveal two versions, one with a Hasselblad camera
When DJI released the nifty little Mavic Air at the start of the year, there seemed few reasons to fork out for the older Mavic Pro. But a leak from a British retail store suggests DJI is prepping two new versions, one with a better quality camera and one with a zoom lens, among other new features.
Start the week with this amusing video of a dog stealing a GoPro
If you leave your GoPro camera lying around, don’t be surprised if a curious dog snatches it and runs off. That’s what appears to happen in a video posted recently online. Filming the dog’s face the whole time, the footage is a comedy masterclass, with the mutt’s face and well-timed pauses providing lots of laughs.
Check out these cheesy TV ads for tech stuff from yesteryear
These days, tech firms spend millions of dollars on complex, multi-layered ad campaigns to market their latest wares. But just a few decades ago, such campaigns were as basic as the products they proffered. We've tracked down some of the best ads from yesteryear, many of them as cheesy as a fully loaded pizza.
It’s curtains for Kuri: Work ceased on robot companion project
Eighteen months after it made its debut at CES 2017, Mayfield Robotics announced this week that it’s ending development of Kuri, its robotic companion. The wheel-based bot was described as an “intelligent pet” and acted as an interactive and mobile videographer, capturing everyday moments around the home.
Hyperloop pod reaches fastest speed yet in Elon Musk’s latest contest
A Hyperloop passenger pod just hit a new speed record of almost 300 mph. The record was set by a German team of engineering students at a Hyperloop contest in California, which was attended by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who first set out his idea for the ultra-fast transportation system in 2013.
The top-selling digital photography book can be yours for free now
A top-selling photography book offering tips and advice for all levels is currently available as a free download. Offered by popular photography vloggers Tony and Chelsea Northrup, the couple have launched the limited-time offer to celebrate their YouTube channel reaching a million subscribers.
Pilot’s sneaky puff on his e-cigarette causes chaos on passenger plane
A relaxing smoke turned out to be anything but for an Air China pilot last week. As he flew from Hong Kong to a city in eastern China, an effort to prevent the vapor from reaching the passengers in the cabin ended up causing untold chaos on the aircraft, with the incident ultimately costing the pilot his job.
Postmates delivers its on-demand service to 100 additional U.S. cities
Postmates' on-demand delivery service has launched in 100 additional cities across the U.S., marking its biggest expansion to date. New locations include Cleveland, Detroit, and Memphis, and Santa Barbara as the company seeks to take on the likes of Grubhub, UberEats, and DoorDash with fast meal delivery and more.
High-tech road signs detect phone use in cars, flash a warning to drivers
A high-tech roadside system is being tested in the U.K. to try to stop people using their phone behind the wheel. A scanner can detect if someone in the car is making a call on their phone. When it spots such behavior, a sign further up the road flashes a warning telling them to stop using their handset.
How did this Lamborghini Huracan end up ‘parked’ beneath a Honda Civic?
Hurtling from 0 to 60 quicker than you can say, "I think I just hit the gas instead of the brake," the Lamborghini Huracan is the kind of car that requires much care when behind the wheel. But that ol' pedal mix-up recently cost one driver dearly, leaving his Huracan parked right beneath a Honda Civic.
Airbus to build Mars rover to get first soil samples back to Earth
Getting soil samples from Mars back to Earth would give scientists a big chance to learn a lot more about the red planet. NASA and its European counterpart, ESA, recently announced the intention to embark on such a project, and this week asked Airbus to build a "fetch" rover to help retrieve the samples.
Guy dunks a ‘naked’ iPhone X to make a whimsical underwater movie
London-based filmmaker Frederic van Strydonck recently decided to see how his iPhone X handled the occasional dunk while shooting video underwater. He started to build a collection of whimsical, dream-like clips that he thought he could edit together to make a short film. The result is Spltch.
Honda seeks to reclaim record for world’s fastest lawn mower — seriously
Those crazy folks at Honda have updated their Mean Mower with an even more powerful engine, and it's planning to set a new speed record with it soon. Partnering with touring-car firm Team Dynamics, the new mower will use a 1,000-cc, 190-horsepower engine from Honda's SP1 Fireblade sports bike.
Postal Service ordered to pay $3.5M for its Lady Liberty stamp blunder
The U.S. Postal Service has been told to a pay an artist $3.5M in copyright infringement damages after using his image of a statue for a stamp backin 2010. The Postal Service believed it featured the face of Lady Liberty, but soon discovered it was actually the face of a replica statue in Las Vegas.
Virgin Galactic wants to launch space tourism flights from an Italian spaceport
Virgin Galactic has inked a deal with two of Italy's largest aerospace firms to build a spaceport there. It'll act as a launch site for suborbital space tourism flights that Virgin Galactic wants to begin in the next 12 months. Initial flights, however, will likely launch from its spaceport in New Mexico.
This crash-tastic video shows why rocket launches aren’t easy
Japanese rocket company Interstellar Technologies has been inspired by the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin, but its efforts have proved disappointing. Two launches have resulted in two rocket failures, the latest of which created a large fireball that you can now watch from multiple angles in a new video.
Watching the World Cup on your phone while at the theater isn’t a good idea
Theater actors give it their all during their shows, hoping to move the audience, or make them laugh or think. But sometimes they look up and see people's faces lit up by smartphone screens. It happened the other night as a couple in the front row checked the soccer scores, and the actors weren't pleased.
7 times Honda’s iconic Asimo robot blew us away (and 1 side-splitting fail)
Asimo is gone, but it won't be forgotten. Honda's talented bipedal bot dazzled and delighted us over the years, and was ahead of its time in many respects. So, as a tribute, we've compiled a collection of some memorable Asimo moments from 2000 when it made its very first appearance.
Watch as the U.K.’s defense secretary gets ‘heckled’ by Siri during a speech
Has Siri ever piped up seemingly out of the blue? It happened to a leading member of the U.K. government this week as he was giving a speech to the British parliament. Apple's digital assistant apparently mistook the mention of "Syria" for "Hey, Siri," causing it to offer up some information on the war-torn country.
CanguRo robot is part transport, part best friend
CanguRo is a robot on wheels that cleverly transforms between an autonomous assistant and a self-driving mobility vehicle. The three-wheeler can follow you places, carry heavy loads, and also drive you about. And when the team provides it with speech capabilities, you'll be able to chat to it, too.
Watch Airbus give its whale-shaped Beluga plane a cute makeover
Airbus let 20,000 of its employees choose the livery for the latest version of its massive Beluga aircraft, and they voted for the cutest — and most appropriate — design ever. The BelugaXL is a so-called "super transporter" that enables Airbus to transport large aircraft components from suppliers to to its assembly plants.
BBC turns to California court in bid to find ‘Doctor Who’ leaker
The BBC is asking the California Federal Court to help it discover who leaked footage from an upcoming season of Doctor Who, one of its most popular shows. The content was shared on the Tapatalk app, and the BBC hopes the court can compel the California-based company to reveal the source.
Did a drone help a notorious French gangster escape from prison?
A gang that helped one of France's most notorious gangsters escape from prison over the weekend may have used a hobby drone for reconnaissance missions in the months leading up to the jailbreak. The audacious escape involved an armed gang, gas canisters, and a power tool, and was over in just "a few minutes."
Lyft takes the bikesharing battle to Uber after buying largest operator in U.S.
Forget four wheels; Lyft and Uber seem more interested in two these days. The ridesharing firms have been taking an ever-closer look at bikesharing schemes as they seek greater control of urban transportation options for city folks. The latest? Lyft has snapped up Motivate, the largest bikesharing operator in the U.S.
Amazon has an idea to stop its delivery drones from being hijacked
If Amazon's drone delivery service ever gets off the ground, it may have an occasional problem with thieves trying to steal items from the flying machines as they make their way to customers. With this in mind, the company has been exploring ideas for how to stop it from happening.
Making pictures of ‘flying food’ is easier than you think
If you're bored of your run-of-the-mill food shots, then how about creating something a little more entertaining for a change? Images with food seemingly suspended in midair, for example, should get people talking, and best of all, you can eat everything when you're done.
Clever mobile ‘airbag’ could save your phone when (not if) you drop it
If you have a habit of dropping your phone and your case fails to save it, then take a look at this clever design from an engineering student in Germany. The device incorporates four prongs that pop out when it detects the phone is falling, preventing any part of the handset from coming into contact with the ground.
Multilens camera firm Light is putting up to nine lenses in a smartphone
If you've ever felt your smartphone camera could do with a load more lenses beyond its one or two, then how about a handset with nine? Light, which has already produced a standalone camera with 16 lenses, is building such a phone, which it claims will produce high-quality images, especially in low light.
Instagram ‘music stickers’ could help to spice up your Stories
Instagram's Stories tool can now share the theme song to your day along with photos and video. The feature, called "music stickers," enables people to search via genres, moods, and trending tracks, which they can add to their Story in a tap. The update also brings a new video recording mode.