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Weekly Rewind: Emmy madness, yet more 'Pokémon Go,' and a moon photobomb

top tech stories 07 16 2016 wr 7 15 head
In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from this year’s Emmy nominations and the Pokémon Go craze to Line’s highly anticipated IPO, it’s all here.

HBO dominates Emmy race while FX and Netflix gain ground

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The who’s, what’s, and where’s of this year’s Emmy nominations: did your favs make the cut? Last year’s Emmy Awards dished out the typical expected wins, alongside some disappointments, surprises, and outright shutouts. Leading the pack in nominations this year is (as usual) HBO, thanks to series like Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, and Veep.

Read the full story here.

Bizarre incidents involving Pokémon Go start to pile up

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As the Pokémon Go craze spreads ever wider, here are some pro tips on what NOT to do while playing; don’t play Pokémon Go while driving, don’t stop your car in traffic to pop out and catch a Pokémon, don’t wander down dark alleys in the bad part of town and get jacked while playing.

Read the full story here.

Google is hosting its first Indie Game Festival in September

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Google is getting serious about gaming. The tech giant just announced the first-ever Google Play Indie Games Festival, which will take place on September 24 in San Francisco, and will highlight 30 of the best indie games available, (or to be available) on the Google Play Store. Interested in taking part? You can submit your own games for consideration for the festival simply by heading to this website.

Read the full story here.

GoPro LiveVR shows 360-degree view of motorcycle race from rider’s POV

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For racing and virtual reality fans, GoPro has a new video that should excite both camps. The video tells the story of professional father-and-son motorcycle racers Randy and Dakota Mamola, and how both used the latest camera technologies to capture a high-speed bike ride, giving viewers new perspectives of the sport. The video also gives a behind-the-scenes demonstration of GoPro’s LiveVR technology and how it can be applied to live broadcasts of motorsports.

Read the full story here.

Sun-powered Solar Dogger promises perfectly cooked hot dogs in just 10 minutes

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With summer in full swing, few things are as satisfying on a warm afternoon than a perfectly cooked Hebrew National. What if you could utilize the natural energy of the sun to grill your dogs? This endeavor is exactly what the folks at the Cincinnati-based GoSun — the team behind the successful GoSun Stove and Grill — intend to deliver with the aptly named Solar Dogger; a fuel-free, solar-powered hot dog cooker that’s capable of producing superbly cooked hot dogs in just 10 minutes.

Read the full story here.

Recommended Videos

The Moon photobombed NASA’s images of Earth … again

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The Moon must find photobombing funny. Last week, for the second time in less than a year, while a NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite was trying to observe the Earth’s atmosphere, the Moon swung in for a brief but remarkable interruption. “For the second time in the life of DSCOVR, the Moon moved between the spacecraft and Earth,” Adam Szabo said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

Grindr is successfully convincing gay men to get tested for HIV, study shows

It’s not all fun and games on the dating app scene — there are lives being saved too. As these apps continue to rise in popularity, everyone from politicians to companies to researchers are taking advantage of this new trend in love. Now, a new study suggests that Grindr could be an effective medium for getting black and Hispanic men to try home HIV testing kits.

Read the full story here.

Line messaging app goes public with year’s biggest tech company debut

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Line Corporation, maker of the popular Japanese messaging app Line, arrived on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Thursday morning in what turned out to be the biggest market debut of a tech company this year. Trading under the ticker symbol “LN,” Line opened at $42. Despite suffering a slight dip, it ended the first day at $41.58, up 27 percent from its IPO price. Overall, that gives Line a market value of approximately $8 billion, CNN reports.

Read the full story here.

YouTube to offer a live 360-degree look at the Republican and Democratic conventions

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Both the Republic National Convention and Democratic National Convention are right around the corner, and while the important news from each will circulate in a number of ways, that isn’t enough for hardcore news junkies. YouTube has a solution to this problem, as it announced in a blog post on Thursday that it will offer live-streaming coverage of both conventions, just as it did in 2012.

Read the full story here.

Turn studio flats into spacious one-bedroom apartments with this amazing robotic furniture

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When it comes to studio apartments, renters and owners tend to sacrifice want for necessity and functionality to get the most out of a typically diminutive space. To help studio apartment-goers get the most out of their tiny abodes, an MIT Media Lab spinoff by the name of Ori has just introduced an innovative new line of robotic furniture geared towards getting the most out of small spaces.

Read the full story here.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps
The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

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The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

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Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.

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