Nerdly News Curated from Interesting Sites
Barbara Deckert has a new weapon in the war against airplane noise, and shes not afraid to use it.
Every time a plane flies over her suburban Maryland home, rattling her windows and setting her teeth on edge, she presses a small white button and feels a tiny sense of triumph.
Thats because with…
Sure, you could chose a smart speaker based on sound or price. The go-to gadget gift of the season is available from Amazon, Apple and Google with better acoustics, new touch screens and deep holiday discounts.
But you’re not buying just a talking jukebox. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant also…
Flip phone, we hardly knew ye.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday offered a peek at a future phone that unfolds like a book to reveal a 7.3-inch screen inside. Part pocket-size flip phone, part tablet, it’s the most interesting idea I’ve seen in smartphone design for years.
You have to see it to…
In a year of same-old smartphones, Google is pitching one that’s sexy on the inside.
The $800 Pixel 3 and $900 Pixel 3 XL, which I had a chance to try at Google’s New York launch event Tuesday, can take pictures and screen calls for you. Believe it or not, it can make calls for you too.
Google’s…
Is the new Apple Watch ready for Grandma?
The Series 4 Apple Watch now in stores pitches itself as a Food and Drug Administration-cleared “proactive health monitor” and a “guardian” that will call help if you take a hard fall. Its screen is 30% larger. You won’t see Apple say “senior citizen” in…
Jon Fawcett wanted to build a cellphone cable that wouldnt fray. So he developed a charging cord wrapped in stainless steel sturdy enough to withstand an electric chainsaw.
It was a niche product that turned Fuse Chicken, Fawcetts company of half-a-dozen employees, into a quick success. Customers…
See something out in the world that you want to buy? Now you can just Snap it up.
Santa Monicas Snap Inc. announced a partnership with Amazon on Monday that will enable users to point their smartphone cameras at a pair of shoes, the barcode on the bottom of a shampoo bottle, or any other object…
What happens to gadgets when you’re done with them? Too often, they explode.
As we enter new gadget-buying season, spare a moment to meet the people who end up handling your old stuff. Isauro Flores-Hernandez, who takes apart used smartphones and tablets for a living, keeps thick gloves, metal…
Harry Pokrandt spent the last year scouring the Earth for real estate with two main characteristics. He needed cold weather, to keep his computer servers cool, and cheap electricity, to keep them running 24 hours a day. Pokrandts company, Hive Blockchain Technologies, filled up a Cold War-era…
Your iPhone will soon be able to share your location data automatically if you ever have to call 911, Apple Inc. announced Monday.
The feature is designed to give first responders faster and more accurate information, helping to reduce the time it takes for emergency services to arrive. According…
When the electric scooters descended on Santa Monica in September, the city wasnt prepared.
Overnight, it was inundated with motorized two-wheelers. People began riding them in the middle of the street and on sidewalks at speeds of up to 15 mph, often without helmets. Theyre parked against storefronts…
Apple Inc. introduced features to help iPhone users put down their phones at least temporarily after facing criticism that people were addicted to the companys flagship device and following competitors similar moves to fight smartphone addiction.
The slew of tools includes updates to do…
If you’ve ever wondered exactly what sorts of things Facebook would like you not to do on its service, you’re in luck. For the first time, the social network is publishing detailed guidelines to what does and doesn’t belong on its service 27 pages worth of them, in fact.
So please don’t make…
Anyone who has spent time on the internet has come across something that confounds them a blog post that doesnt seem to make any sense, a rant that goes off the rails, a YouTube video so strange its hard to tell if the person behind it is sincere or creating performance art.
Often, this content…
Three years ago when Facebook Messengers users opened the app on an Android device, they were greeted by an adorable cartoon yeti. It was shown texting a big pink heart. Below it, a prompt read: Text anyone in your phone.
The design seemed innocuous friendly, even. Customers were given two…
Apple Inc. is adding the ability to use a digital pencil to draw and write on its cheapest iPad model in an attempt to make the tablet more compelling for creating, teaching and learning.
The tech giants pencil previously worked only on its more expensive iPad Pro line.
The company unveiled its…
If youre a die-hard fan of a Facebook video creator, the social network may soon give you a way to pay for exclusive content and award you with a digital badge to declare your fandom.
Those are some of the new ideas Facebook is introducing in the coming months to test ways to build up its creator…
With each comment, like and share, users provide Facebook with a deeply personal window into their lives.
The result of that voluntary behavior? Advertisers looking to finely target their pitches can glean someones hobbies, what they like to eat and even what makes them happy or sad propelling…
Redheads and curly-haired people, the Unicode Consortium has heard your pleas.
Those are just a couple of the 77 new characters approved to be added to Unicode’s next emoji update 157 new characters if you count the variations in skin tones.
Bald people and people with white hair are the other…
You browse a store online for an item but dont make a purchase. Then advertisements begin appearing on websites and apps you visit, reminding you of that item.
These are called reminder ads, and Google says it will now allow anyone to mute them on any apps or sites that partner with it.
Reminder…