The U.S. government plans to drop $500M on a ridiculously powerful supercomputer
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced plans to build a $500 million exascale supercomputer by 2021. The supercomputer is expected to be built by Intel at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. The new supercomputer should help further research efforts in fields like public health.
Nvidia’s smart paintbrush tool turns simple doodles into works of art
Nvidia has announced the development of GauGAN, a smart drawing app that helps artists create photorealistic images from simple doodles and sketches. GauGAN uses deep learning and generative adversarial networks (GANs) to fill in realistic details and create original and vivid works of art.
New fire and burn reports spur expansion of HP’s laptop battery recall
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the expansion of an existing recall involving certain HP laptop batteries. It's the result of more recent reports of fire and burn hazards related to these batteries. The expanded recall now includes about 78,500 affected units.
Share encrypted files via Mozilla’s Firefox Send, a free file-sharing service
Mozilla has released a new and free encrypted file-transfer service called Firefox Send. The new file-sharing service offers a number of security features such as expiring file links and a preset, limited number of downloads. Firefox Send is also expected to let users send large files.
Many pioneers in computing were women of color. Here are 5 you should recognize
Women of color have been at the forefront of a number of groundbreaking computing endeavors. The history of computing is filled with the stories of their innovative contributions. In the spirit of Women’s History Month, we highlight the achievements of five of these extraordinary women.
Microsoft rolls out new dark mode feature for its Windows 10 Mail app
Microsoft is releasing a new dark mode feature update for its native Mail app. The new dark mode feature will allow Mail app users to darken the Mail app’s interface with a black background. Mail app users will still have the option to toggle between light and dark modes while viewing emails.
With no plans for merging operating systems, Apple opts to combine apps instead
Apple may not be planning on merging its operating systems any time soon, but it is working on combining all of its apps by 2021. In an effort to encourage developers to create new apps for its products, Apple is working on allowing developers to submit only one version of their apps.
Microsoft addresses Surface Pen accuracy with latest patent application
Microsoft recently filed a patent that proposed a method for increasing the accuracy of its Surface Pens without slowing their speed. The method uses a motion vector to predict the future locations of its stylus rather than increasing the time needed to sense the stylus’ current location.
Microsoft applies for smart fabric patent for use in Surface laptops, wearables
Microsoft has recently filed a patent for the development and future use of a touch-sensitive smart fabric technology. The smart fabric would mostly likely be used with the technology company’s existing product lines such as its Surface laptops and tablet computers and its HoloLens headset.
Gmail blocks 100 million spam messages daily with its A.I., Google says
A machine learning-based A.I. platform called TensorFlow has allowed Google to block an additional 100 million spam messages daily from entering Gmail users’ inboxes. The platform allows Google to detect more of those harder-to-find spam messages; like emails with hidden embedded content.
HP’s high-resolution VR headset provides comfort and Windows Mixed Reality
HP reportedly has a new VR headset on the horizon with a design that prioritizes comfort and enhances clarity with ergonomic upgrades and an exceptionally high resolution. Here’s a look at a few of its features. The new headset is also supposed to run on the Windows Mixed Reality platform.
Crypto exchange founder dies with sole password, leaving $190 million locked up
A missing password and a crypto exchange founder's death has left the exchange’s unable to repay the $190 million it owes its clients. To avoid bankruptcy QuadrigaCX has recently filed for “creditor protection.” Clients of the crypto exchange have been unable to withdraw their funds for months.
Samsung files a VR patent featuring a curved OLED display
Curves aren’t just for televisions anymore. And they just might enhance your next VR experience. Samsung recently filed a patent featuring a new VR headset that has a curved OLED display. The existence of the patent could indicate that the new curved design could join Samsung’s collection of VR headsets.
Nemeio’s E ink keyboard gives you a variety of custom layout options
A new, customizable E Ink keyboard was recently unveiled at CES 2019. The Nemeio E Ink keyboard includes an E Ink display and allows users to personalize the layout of the keyboard as well as the function and appearance of each key. However, a few hardware design issues have already been noted.
Here’s how to watch the Nvidia CES 2019 press conference
The graphics card company Nvidia is slated to host its CES 2019 press conference on Sunday, January 6. Recently, Nvidia has developed other products besides its well-known graphics cards. This year’s CES announcement is expected to reveal new innovations from the company. Here’s how to watch it.
Malware attack delays newspaper deliveries across the country
Last weekend’s newspaper deliveries were late across the country because of a malware attack affecting the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets. The attack infected news production and publishing systems and made it difficult for a number of newspapers to submit their pages to be printed on time.
Smelling is believing: Feelreal’s odor vision may be coming to VR headsets
VR headset users may soon be able to smell their favorite VR videos and games. A new VR mask from Feelreal offers its own version of Smell-O-Vision, allowing users to experience certain scents while using their headsets. Users can choose from 255 different scents to accompany their VR experiences.
Close your tabs: Chrome for Android may launch a new sneak peek feature
A new browsing feature may soon let Chrome for Android users browse the internet without having to open a ton of tabs. The new feature, currently being tested out on Google Chrome Canary and Dev, allows users to view the content of another webpage as an overlay within a currently open tab.
PewDiePie supporters hack printers, hope to boost his subscription numbers
PewDiePie supporters claimed to have hacked thousands of printers worldwide to print messages to ask people to subscribe to the popular YouTube account in an attempt to have it remain the YouTube account with the most subscribers. These same hackers also wish to warn others about having unsecured devices.
No more wild goose chase: ‘Duck.com’ now leads to DuckDuckGo instead of Google
DuckDuckGo users can now access their favorite privacy-focused search engine via a new domain: duck.com. DuckDuckGorecently acquired duck.com from Google. As a result, Duck.com no longer redirects to Google's search engine page. Instead, duck.com will lead users to DuckDuckGo's search page.