Virtual reality really isn’t good enough yet to justify going broke for. Though VR headset prices are steadily coming down, the fact is it’s still not all that accessible for even the most gadget-obsessed consumers to get started on high-quality VR. Today, HTC, which makes the popular Vive headset, announced a few deals that will help new customers spread out the cost of the… Read More
Electric production vehicles may be relatively rare, but electric concepts abound, and most of them are targeting 2020 for a rough production date, as is the Volkswagen I.D. CROZZ, an all-electric design whose name I hope dies in a horrible fire between now and whenever (if ever) it does end up hitting the street. Read More
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The NES Classic Edition (it went by several names, but you know what I mean) was the must-have item of the holidays and pretty much ever since, owing to short supply of the compact retro gaming console. And Nintendo just confirmed that it was indeed ending production of the device in Europe, the last region they were still officially available. Read More
At its F8 developer conference, Facebook today announced that it is open-sourcing Litho, a declarative framework for building efficient user interfaces on Android. Litho is the same framework Facebook uses internally to build its own Android app, which is currently being used by more than a billion people every month. Read More
Facebook today announced the launch of React VR, a new JavaScript framework that lets developers build virtual reality experiences with the help of JavaScript. React VR takes its cues from Facebook’s existing React framework; just like with React for standard web apps, VR developers can now use the same declarative model to write apps for their 360-degree experiences. Read More
Facebook has completely rewritten React, its popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. The company hasn’t previously talked about React Fiber, as the project is called, but it has actually been working on it for a while. In addition, it is also launching a rewrite of Relay, its framework for building data-heavy applications. Read More
Apple quietly rolled out updated versions of its iWork, iMovie and GarageBand apps on Mac and iOS today, making them free for all customers on both platforms. Many customers already had free copies of these apps, as they came free with new Mac or iOS devices. The pricing change, however, removes the requirement to have bought new Apple hardware to get the apps for free. This expands the… Read More
Audi’s newest electric vehicle is a crossover SUV with a 4.5-second 0-60mph time, and an impressive range of around 300 miles when its 95kWh battery is topped up. The Audi e-tron Sportback is set for production starting in 2019, and it’s part of Audi’s larger strategy to bring at least three fully electric cars to market by 2020. Read More
The Spectre 13 x360 I strangely loved from late last year is back with a 4K screen and pen support for the Windows Creators update that went global this month. Read More
Zozi, the drama-filled travel industry startup whose former CEO recently sued its board, has been acquired by Peek, a rival in the tours and activities business where Zozi also competes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the two companies will be joining forces, with the assets and team from Zozi heading over to Peek. The news was reported by Skift, which notes that Peek is… Read More
YouTube Live is making impressive strides in catching up to incumbent Twitch, but it has a long way to go yet. On the bright side, it doesn’t look like they’ll run out of road: streaming looks to be a fairly sustainable business. Read More
CLEAR, the biometric security firm popular in U.S. airports and stadiums, has raised $15 million from T. Rowe Price to expand their footprint. The company, led by CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker, is already partially owned by Delta Airlines. “We are obsessed with our customers, and can’t wait to bring them more ways to use CLEAR. We lead the industry in secure biometric-powered… Read More
After years of talk about smart cities, people are wondering when will we see them really begin to take shape. What will they look like? How will we interact with them? With a lightpost here, a sensor there — when solutions are not clearly connected and without critical mass — you don’t get the combinatorial benefit of different systems working together. That’s all about… Read More
At the F8 conference today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed this weekend’s shooting in Cleveland, which the suspected shooter filmed and posted on Facebook. The man later discussed the shooting during a Facebook Live broadcast, leading critics to accuse Facebook of not doing enough to censor violent content on the platform. Read More
LinkedIn sounds like it’s getting a little less buttoned down under Microsoft — the social network has a new version of its Terms of Service going into effect and the changes include a new privacy policy that covers new and upcoming LinkedIn features that aim to give profiles more visibility, and to make it easier to actually achieve the social “links” implied in… Read More
Facebook is launching a couple of new features for its Messenger platform today. Among those is an update to its M virtual assistant, which can now help you order food through delivery.com, the launch of Messenger Codes, which are basically QR codes you can scan into Messenger, and better support for Game bots and turn-by-turn games. Read More
Facebook’s VP of Partnerships, Ime Archibong, announced updates to Facebook Analytics as well as Facebook Login and Account Kit during his F8 keynote address. Analytics is getting greater customizability and a machine learning boost while Login and Account Kit are benefitting from additional transparency and accessibility. Facebook analytics is a core product for businesses using… Read More
Facebook today launched two powerful ways for people to find Messenger bots to use, addressing the discovery problem that’s plagued the platform’s 100,000 developers. Read More
At the F8 conference today, Facebook announced a bunch of updates to its Workplace by Facebook team communications tool including a slew of new partnerships and new bot integrations, which all show a product that’s maturing to meet the needs of larger enterprise customers. When Workplace by Facebook was first launched last fall, it was an attempt to take Facebook and put it into a… Read More
