It’s one thing for an autonomous vehicle to carry passengers to their destination safely through the day, but doing so in the dark is a totally different ball game. Self-driving cars typically rely on radars, cameras and lidars (sensors that use lasers to survey spaces) to detect … | Continue reading
Microsoft was found to be one of the most complicit companies identified as being part of the NSA’s PRISM spying program back in 2013, with the documents revealing wide-open access to products like Skype and Outlook. It’s now voiced wholehearted support for the new EU-US Privacy … | Continue reading
Call centers can be horrible places to work. Staff are often measured by the volume of calls they can handle, and even a five-minute comfort break can be greeted with raised eyebrows by supervisors. The rub-off effect is that customers can end up with rushed service from unhappy … | Continue reading
Remember April Fools’ Day? It feels like it was just yesterday, doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t, April is racing by and tech news stops for no one. It’s understandable then, if you feel the need to take a break at weekends, to step back from the headlines and spend a little time with … | Continue reading
Bots are the tech story of the moment – and while some are designed to be helpful, and others have been just plain awful, Lazyset is simply perfect. The Twitter-based bot will send you a curated Spotify playlist based around the music style of any artist you Tweet over to it. I a … | Continue reading
Last night, Subasta de Ocio, the company that lets you bid on the overcapacity of hotels, restaurants, and other leisure activities, won Tech5 Barcelona, becoming the fastest growing startup in Spain. After popping the champagne, Marc Zinck, CEO and co-founder of Subasto de Ocio … | Continue reading
Unless you’re using cryptocurrencies already, it’s hard to know just how much Bitcoin changes hands online. A new WebGL project called Bitbonkers visualizes Bitcoin transactions from the blockchain using 3D shapes that land on a tile in space. The cubes represent blocks or collec … | Continue reading
Ok so if you’re like me, you’ve used more than a few fitness apps over the years, with limited success. The thing is, that while data’s good, algorithms aren’t everything – if you’ve run 25 miles this week but aren’t feeling any benefits then what’s the point? Amazon is well-know … | Continue reading
Gary Vaynerchuk is the co-founder and CEO of Vaynermedia. He’ll be speaking at TNW Europe in Amsterdam this May, alongside 130 other top-flight speakers. It’s no secret that we are living in an era where everybody is a media company. This is something I have said time and time a … | Continue reading
It’s only a matter of time before the friendly face behind the counter at your local grocery store is replaced by that of a robot. Last week in Tokyo, Hitachi unveiled a new humanoid robot, the EMIEW3, that’s aimed at automating customer service in stores and public facilities. T … | Continue reading
In an effort to avoid becoming irrelevant in the ever-growing smartphone business, BlackBerry is turning to Android for its next device launches this year. CEO John Chen told Abu Dhabi-based The National in an interview the company is working on two mid-range Android handsets, on … | Continue reading
A new ride-sharing initiative is set to launch in Boston on April 19. Chariot for Women is a female-only (mostly) ride-sharing service that utilizes heavily-background checked women drivers and only serves female customers. There have already been a number of rapes and assaults b … | Continue reading
iPhone cases are a dime a dozen. Check any online marketplace, electronics store or kiosk at your local mall and you’ll be met with hundreds of options, all based on no more than a couple dozen designs. Options aside, originality is typically lacking. Offering a unique iPhone cas … | Continue reading
In the wake of the petering out of the back-and-forth between Apple and the FBI over encryption, Whatsapp decided to throw the switch on end-to-end encryption for its entire userbase this week. Messaging apps appear to be responding to consumers’ need for privacy. Signal – the me … | Continue reading
Last month, Nicole Eiden and Marielle Dupré were hustle-ready entrepreneurs running a popular New Orleans pie business called Windowsill Pies. This month, they are stars of area entrepreneurship and women’s interest. Eiden and Dupré had just won the Junior League of New Orleans’ … | Continue reading
Time is money, and professional training can often require a great deal of both. Confidence and cost relief can be found in Pluralsight, a global network of expert-taught, on-demand video courses on a wide variety of tech and creative subjects. TNW readers can take 40 percent off … | Continue reading
Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it. This quote from Anne Lamott resonates with me quite a bit. I seldom know what I’m doing until I’ve done it. I also seldom know what other writers are doing either. I recognize what I enjoy reading … aaaaand I … | Continue reading
Over the next few years, there is no doubt content and attention will continue to shift from tens of millions of web sites to a few centralized networks that people access via apps on their phones. — Ev Williams And in Ev’s words, those tens of millions of websites are the “loos … | Continue reading
If you’re the type of person who browses carefully curated feeds on Instagram with serious envy then Hippo Pics is an app for you. The app, which is available for free on iOS-only, allows you to connect with some of the best editors Instgaram has to offer. You can have them colla … | Continue reading
It has been a long time coming but Microsoft has finally released its own keyboard app for iOS. Called Hub Keyboard, the app offers a number of SwiftKey-inspired features, which isn’t surprising given that Microsoft acquired the company in February. It also comes with Office 365 … | Continue reading
Whatever your tech ambitions may be, there’s no substitute for quality training. Establishing a foundational set of skills, whether in coding, design or beyond, is essential for motivated minds to increase their earning power and professional trajectory. With eight comprehensive … | Continue reading
There’ll be no boasting on Netflix and Chill dates about paying less because you used the service before it was cool anymore. That’s right, the streaming company will raise its prices for all customers to $9.99 per month for its most popular standard plan in May. While Netflix al … | Continue reading
Have you ever wondered if your Apple Watch really cares about your feelings? Well, it doesn’t but this app will help it understand how you’re feeling from how you talk. EmoWatch, from Tokyo-based Smartmedical, is an app for the Apple Watch that identifies and tracks users’ emotio … | Continue reading
Politics played a larger-than-usual role in Latin America’s tech scene last month, either directly or indirectly, for better and for worse. From Obama’s visits to Argentina and Cuba to Uber’s troubles, here’s the news you don’t want to miss: Big players Facebook’s vice president … | Continue reading
What is the next big wave of social media? Maybe it’s Peach — or another hot new social network. Maybe it’s a strategy like posting times or text faces. It’s really hard to say! (And yet here I am saying it…) To ride the wave of the next big thing in social media, it often takes … | Continue reading
The speed at which we learn anything can determine the quality of our lives. Imagine if you could pick up that skill you’ve always wanted to learn, in a matter of months versus years. How would that affect your life? Countless learning experts and researchers have shown us that i … | Continue reading
The App Store has a copycat problem. Then again, we’ve known this for years. It doesn’t help that there’s a thin line between an innovator and a copycat. Before we move forward, let’s explore that thin line and define copycat more clearly. Author Austin Kleon suggests that real a … | Continue reading
Yesterday, Reddit released its first apps for iOS and Android, developed in-house — and it’s already at the top of the App Store charts in the US. According to Sensor Tower, the official Reddit app is now top dog in the US App Store. In just 24 hours, it’s left Twitter, Snapchat … | Continue reading
Apple Watch version 2.0 may come sooner than expected. Originally thought to be launched in September with an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, analysts now believe we’ll see a refresh much sooner, perhaps even at WWDC. In a research paper written following a tour of facilities in China, Bria … | Continue reading
One of the biggest rumors surrounding the iPhone 7 is that Apple is adding a second camera module (at least on the Plus model), and it makes a lot more sense than you might realize. After all, other manufacturers have already caught on. LG’s G5 comes with a ultra-wide angle lens, … | Continue reading
SpaceX has finally landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship, following four failed attempts. Before landing, the rocket had been on mission to deliver cargo for the International Space Station. It included an inflatable habitat – basically a bouncy castle, in space. Elon Musk, … | Continue reading
A newly discovered Apple patent could mean the end to physical keyboards on MacBooks. Dubbed ‘Zero Travel,’ the patent aims to turn your existing keyboard into a flat surface — like typing on a screen. The patent identifies using haptic feedback as a means to let you know you’ve … | Continue reading
The solo act of flying a drone is oddly better in a group setting. DJI, a leading consumer drone manufacturer, is introducing a new app for iOS and Android to help you find some people to fly with. Dubbed DJI+ Discover, the app does just about everything DJI’s piloting app doesn’ … | Continue reading
This summer, the Japanese government is set to begin testing a system that would allow foreign tourists to verify their identities and purchase goods and services using nothing more than a fingerprint. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Japan sought to prevent … | Continue reading
Apple and the FBI both started to veer toward the same stance in the San Bernardino iPhone case: we need better policy. It’s on its way, but if passed, it’s certainly not the policy Apple had hoped for. The latest version of the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 requires c … | Continue reading
According to a new report, 76 percent of iPhone purchases in 2015 came from carrier stores — not directly from Apple. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also says that in 2014, 65 percent of us bought iPhones via carriers. At carrier sales grew, Apple Store iPhone sales drop … | Continue reading
At Build 2016, Microsoft announced the Desktop App Converter, a tool that would allow developers to convert classic Windows programs into modern Universal Windows Platform(UWP) apps. A preview version is now available to download. As expected, it supports both .NET and Win32 apps … | Continue reading
If you thought Apple’s battle with the FBI was going to end in San Bernardino, guess again. After the FBI decided it no longer needed Apple’s assistance in the Syed Farook case, it went on to offer assistance unlocking a phone in Arkansas and today informed a federal judge in Bro … | Continue reading
Finding a way for robots to mimic, or even improve upon human movement is no easy task – which is why most use wheels, tracks or some other workaround that doesn’t require a highly complex task like walking. While the two-limbed robot unveiled by Alphabet-owned Schaft today may n … | Continue reading
As I write this, it’s Friday afternoon in my part of the world. If, like me, that means you’re looking for distractions from work, this Drone Guesser game has you covered. The game is similar to the Street View location guessing game that was popular a few years ago, but it’s ins … | Continue reading
Maybe it’s a stroke of genius, although it initially sounds kind of weird, as the good podcast sponsors over at Squarespace have just launched a club for power users of its website-building platform. Squarespace Circle has been created for customers with three or more active webs … | Continue reading
Some people have a lot of free time – 1,200 people, to be exact. That’s how many humans turned up to participate in a “human mattress dominoes” record-breaking event, surpassing 2012’s record of 1,150 people. We’re not exactly sure how this got started – all we know is that there … | Continue reading
Xiaomi has been cranking out quality handsets over the past couple of years at attractive price points. I really liked last year’s Redmi 2 and was anxious to put the Redmi Note 3 through its paces to see what you could get for $150 (Rs. 10,000) in India. As it turns out, a lot. T … | Continue reading
WordPress has announced that it’ll soon ensure every site built on its platform uses encrypted HTTPS as standard, in line with efforts being made across the rest of the Web. HTTPS is already available if you have a ‘.wordpress.com’ site but this is now being rolled out to custom … | Continue reading
Ah, welcome welcome. I see you enjoyed last week’s edition and are back for more. Well we won’t disappoint. For the uninitiated (go back and start at post one, please) the team at TNW has made a New Year’s Resolution to read a bit more. So every week, a select number of our team … | Continue reading
A 51-year-old Uber driver in Delhi, India, was fatally shot by his two teenage passengers, reports a local news outlet. The incident occurred two days ago, and was reported after police found the driver’s body left in a field. Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpendra Kumar said i … | Continue reading
Writing about virtual reality is tricky as it’s really hard to convey the experience through simple text and 2D images. You really need to try it out to ‘get’ it, and now HTC wants to make it easier for people to do just that with its upcoming Vive headset. The company is teaming … | Continue reading
Whether you believe they’re the future or just another short-lived fad, bots are the new hot topic in tech. Slack’s bot integration feature is thriving. Microsoft recently announced its bot platform for Skype and earlier this week Kik launched a Bot Shop of its own. Facebook too … | Continue reading