Autodesk’s AVA is built to be a fount of empathy, no matter how mean a customer gets.
Continue reading… “This chatbot has perfected the art of looking and feeling like us”
The 25 best inventions of 2017: Simpler home security and more
A simpler home security system, a craft that will probe beyond the surface of mars, a VR headset and a DIY cooking companion.
Continue reading… “The 25 best inventions of 2017: Simpler home security and more”
A popular payment app now lets users buy and sell bitcoin
Square’s Cash app has added new features that allow users to buy and sell bitcoin. Currently, the features are in beta and available to a small number of users, but future updates may add support for easy bitcoin transactions between friends and family members.
Continue reading… “A popular payment app now lets users buy and sell bitcoin”
“Top 25 Inventions of 2017 – Jibo – A Robot You Can Relate To”
Personal robots, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have come a long way in recent years. But fundamentally, they’re still stationary speakers whose defining expression is a light that turns on when you speak.
Continue reading… ““Top 25 Inventions of 2017 – Jibo – A Robot You Can Relate To””
Google debuts Tez, a mobile payments app for India that uses Audio QR to transfer money
After several weeks of speculation and leaked details, today Google officially unveiled its first big foray into mobile payments in Asia. The Android and search giant has launched Tez, a free mobile wallet in India that will let users link up their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods securely in physical stores and online, and for person-to-person money transfers with a new twist: Audio QR, which uses ultrasonic sounds to let you exchange money, bypassing any need for NFC.
Let’s face reality: US Teens engage with iMessage more than any other social platform
No one really seems to talk about it or acknowledge it, but iMessage is where a lot of mobile usage is trending towards, particularly for Gen-Z, and there are many good reasons why.
How Apple’s iPhone changed the world: 10 years in 10 charts
Apple’s first iPhone was released 10 years ago this week — on June 29, 2007. While it wasn’t the first smartphone, it leapfrogged far beyond the competition and launched the mobile revolution. Few industries or societies have been left unchanged.
Here are 10 charts that show some of the profound effects the iPhone-led — and Google Android-fueled — mobile boom have caused over the past decade.
Continue reading… “How Apple’s iPhone changed the world: 10 years in 10 charts”
We’re running out of domain names—what happens when they’re all gone?
The world is nearly out of good “.com” domain names—and even the fourth circuit of the United States Court of Appeals agrees.
As global internet usage rises, .com naming is going to get more and more complicated. Our languages only contain a finite number of meaningful words, so brand naming is becoming much more than coming up with a unique, snazzy moniker—it also involves knowledge of intellectual property rights, law, and a large of dash of luck.
Continue reading… “We’re running out of domain names—what happens when they’re all gone?”
Bio-sensing contacts can monitor for signs of disease
Finger pricks, blood draws, and urine testing are miserable for just about everyone. But now researchers are working on a new concept to make testing for disease much easier. The project? A contact lens that would use the condition of the eyes to help spot illness.
Continue reading… “Bio-sensing contacts can monitor for signs of disease”
Volunteering from home will soon be as common as working from home
We’re all familiar with the concept of working from home—and in 2017 volunteering from home will become just as ubiquitous. A busy life, working two jobs, unsociable working hours, and living in a remote location can all make it difficult for people to give time or money to good causes in their community. But technology now makes it possible to give your time and energy from the comfort of your own sofa, whether it’s to answer advice lines or support peers one-on-one.
Continue reading… “Volunteering from home will soon be as common as working from home”
Hackers could steal cellphone pictures from your IoT crock-pot
If you have an internet-connected home appliance, such as a crock-pot, a lightbulb, or a coffee maker, you can control it from the comfort of your smartphone. However, a bug in the Android app that controls some of those devices made by a popular manufacturer also allowed hackers to steal all your cellphone photos and even track your movements.
Continue reading… “Hackers could steal cellphone pictures from your IoT crock-pot”
On-demand dating? A new app lets women charge for a night out.
Tara* (*Names have been changed to protect identities.) had struck gold. After spending a lazy Saturday afternoon browsing through the dating app she was currently experimenting with, she hit it off with a nice-sounding guy, and the two exchanged real names and numbers. She found herself Googling Stuart*, a Brit living in Amsterdam. He worked at a startup; he was visiting New York on business. “I was like, oh, he’s kind of cute…”
Continue reading… “On-demand dating? A new app lets women charge for a night out.”
