It's not just dodgy wired phone chargers that you have to worry about -- a poorly-made wireless charging pad could easily toast your phone. But how do you prevent that from happening when there are no cables or ports involved? MIT has an id…
Lees meerWhen you watch a rocket launch, it's usually to enjoy the show put on by the rocket itself. With one of NASA's next launches, however, you'll likely be more interested in what's left behind. When one of two Black Brant IX rockets blasts o…
Lees meerThis year is the first time streaming-only albums were eligible to win at the Grammys and Chance the Rapper took full advantage. The hip hop artist won for Best Rap Album Sunday night, notching the first win for a collection of songs that w…
Lees meerModern batteries aren't hampered so much by their capacity as their long-term lifespan -- a lithium-ion pack can easily become useless after a few years of heavy use. That's bad enough for your phone, but it's worse for energy storage syst…
Lees meerCar companies operating in the US are required to meet stringent fuel efficiency standards (a fleet average of 54.5MPG) through 2025, but they're hoping to loosen things now that President Trump is in town. Leaders from Fiat Chrysler, Ford,…
Lees meerWhen the Mars 2020 rover reaches the red planet, it will quickly begin drilling for samples from its surface. NASA hasn't picked the exact drill site yet, but it has narrowed its choices down to three during a workshop with scientists in Mo…
Lees meerHere's a nice Sunday surprise: Verizon is bringing back the unlimited data plan. As of February 13th, the carrier is launching a Verizon Unlimited tier that gives you unlimited US data, calls and texting for $80 per month ($45 per line for…
Lees meerJolla is going some distance to putting its Sailfish OS on more phones you can buy, but it's clear the startup still has a ways to go before you're ditching your existing device. It just released an early access version of Sailfish OS 2.1 (…
Lees meerOf all the build requests the Ben Heck Show team receives on the element14 Community, there's one that has repeatedly came up: build a portable Nintendo 64, please! The team has finally decided to give it a go, starting with the Nintend…
Lees meerThe Nintendo Switch doesn't exactly have a massive catalog of launch titles, but that doesn't mean that you'll be waiting months to play all the biggest games. Nintendo is promising a free Splatoon 2 "Global Testfire" preview running from …
Lees meerSurveillance-oriented spyware is dodgy in itself, but it's even worse when it's abused to intimidate political enemies -- just ask Mexican health advocates. The New York Times has learned that someone used commercial spyware from NSO Group…
Lees meerIt's not all jungles, mud houses and wild animals in Africa: the continent has cities, art centers, monuments and other landmarks, just like everywhere else in the world. To bust myths going around about African countries and to give more p…
Lees meerBack in June 2016, NASA commissioned 21 scientists to design a lander headed for Europa, conjure up science objectives for it and figure out if the mission is feasible. After around eight months of deliberation, the scientists have finally …
Lees meerIt's very likely that you'll see Google Assistant on new Android devices beyond the Pixel line, but when... and what about the device you already have? The AI helper might be coming sooner than you think. Google has inadvertently given beta…
Lees meerThe rusty patched bumblebee was supposed to be officially added to the endangered species list on February 10th. Unfortunately, the insect's fate is now uncertain: a Federal Register notice filed on January 20th says the Trump administratio…
Lees meerTo date, it hasn't been easy to get loads of airborne weather data beyond major airports. Airliners have had a sophisticated probe system (TAMDAR Edge) for over a dozen years, but that doesn't help much in those remote areas where you may o…
Lees meerConvertible laptops aren't anything new these days, but Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 still stands out from the pack. It brings in most of the premium design elements we loved about the original XPS 13, including that gorgeous 13.3-inch, near bezel-…
Lees meerIt's clearer than ever that the days of tick-tock Intel chip upgrades (new process one generation, new architecture the next) are long gone. Intel has revealed that its 8th-generation Core processors, due in the second half of 2017 will on…
Lees meerMarvel's 'Legion,' explained Eric Watson, Polygon Marvel's latest TV series debuted on FX this week, and if you're a little lost on the backstory or just need a quick refresher, Polygon is here to help. The gaming news outlet posted a pr…
Lees meerTrying to play an NES cartridge on Nintendo's original, 30-year-old hardware can be an exercise in frustration. The console's ancient composite cables offer terrible image quality on modern televisions, and getting games to actually run is …
Lees meerThe list of automakers that can test their self-driving cars in California is getting less and less exclusive by the minute. Its latest addition? Subaru. The Japanese company has secured an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit from the state's…
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