Geek News

Environment “A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” The Monetico mudslide is another chapter in a long history of American soil conservation. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2CWDnoz"

As a woman whose long, thick hair has undergone several chemical treatments, I've always been concerned about the health and quality of my tresses. When I heard about Schwarzkopf Professional's new hair analyzer , I was naturally intrigued by its potential uses. The company is bringing its SalonLab Analyzer system to Schwarzkopf salons across the US and Europe in 2018, so you can get a better understanding of how damaged your hair is. Not only that, salons can also use the information learned to better cater their treatments to your needs, as well as create personalized shampoos on the spot. I went for a quick consultation at CES 2018 , and am so far impressed by what it offers. To be clear, this system isn't meant to replace hairstylists. In fact, it requires the input of an experienced professional to fill out a brief questionnaire about your hair, based on her observations and expertise. At Schwarzkopf's suite in Las Vegas, I was attended to by the company's ...

DIY Grab your coat and your camera, then head out under the stars. Winter is a fantastic time to capture night sky photos. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2AUocu8"

Before the start of CES 2018, the only real smart speakers with a display were the Amazon Echo Show and the Echo Spot . But now that Google has partnered with several manufacturers to make a whole line of Echo Show rivals, a bona fide new device category has been born: the smart display. And based on the devices revealed this week, I believe the smart display will slowly start to outnumber smart speakers and will likely be the norm going forward. The simple reason for this argument is that the display makes such devices much more useful. Sure, you could have Alexa or Google Assistant tell you there's a Starbucks 1.5 miles away from you. But wouldn't it be nice to actually see where it is on a map? Or if you wanted to know the time, you could just, you know, look at the screen. Or if you wanted to know who the artist of the song is but couldn't be bothered to interrupt the track, you could do the same. That extra visual layer is really useful, especially for quick, gla...

Starting this month, Pokémon Go players will be able to participate in monthly events that will bring out special Pokémon with exclusive moves. Community Days will be worldwide events and to take part, you'll just have to head outside to your local park. Each Community Day will feature a special Pokémon that will pop up more frequently for a few hours. Other event perks could include increased XP or Stardust, and Lure Modules activated on Community Days will last for three hours. The first Community Day is scheduled for January 20th and the special Pokémon will be Pikachu, which will boast the exclusive event move Surf. As an added bonus, players will also dearn double XP during the Community Day event. You can see what time your region's event will take place here . Source: Pokémon Go via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2r3pjrS"

Technology is bad for sleep. It keeps us constantly exposed to an endless cycle of bad news , and the blue light emitted by smartphone and tablet displays suppresses our ability to produce melatonin . Combine that with the feelings of inadequacy generated by watching other people's picture-perfect lives on social media, and it's no surprise that we're all restless. Sleep technology exists to solve this issue, and there were plenty of companies exhibiting new devices here at CES 2018. Many of them intend to tell you how well, or poorly, you have slept each night, in the hope you'll make better decisions the following day. But, as well as becoming more commonplace, sleep gadgets are going to become far more diverse, at least according to what we saw at the show. Smartwatches and fitness trackers have tracked sleep for years, using the principles of actigraphy: Monitoring how you move as you sleep with algorithms used to calculate your cycles. The less you move, the t...

The Verge crew is on our way back home after a week at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018. This week, we did a ton of reporting , a ton of videos , and four live Circuit Breaker shows , so we did not have a lot of time to sit down and tape a full-length Vergecast . But what we did do was collect a bunch of audio recorded throughout the show — including clips from Circuit Breaker Live — to give you an idea of what it’s like to be at CES, and what kinds of things we saw this year. Enjoy, and we’ll see you next week. 00:44 - Day -1 03:14 - Day 0 24:54 - Day 1 45:30 - Day 2 1:05:02 - Day 3 If you enjoyed this podcast and want to hear more audio from The Verge , well you’re in luck. There’s a new show Why’d You Push That Button , hosted by... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CVTgeO"

Technology The two new scary silicon security issues, explained. There is bad news and good news about Meltdown and Spectre, the two new computer vulnerabilities. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2D8bddj"

LXORY isn’t exactly a major company in the wireless charging business, but they’ve managed to become the first to release a wireless charger with an input for Apple’s Lightning cables, via 9to5Mac . Almost every other charger out there uses either MicroUSB, USB-C, or a proprietary port to pass power from a wall plug to a charging pad. But LXORY’s new pad — officially, the “ LXORY Dual Wireless Charging Pad ” — offers an input for Apple’s own proprietary connector. That means that you won’t have to change cables if you’re switching between wired and wireless options to charge your iPhone. But not only is the LXORY pad the first to offer Lightning, it also goes a step further by offering MicroUSB and USB-C inputs. So no matter what charging... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2D6xDvE"

David Gudeman, one of two ex-Google engineers suing the company for alleged discrimination against conservative white men, says the company is dominated by a “hate group” illegally promoting “racism and misandry.” Gudeman and his co-plaintiff James Damore filed the lawsuit earlier this week, but he expanded on his motivations in a blog post , illuminating the reasoning behind the suit. “I don’t hate Google, and I certainly don’t hate the people who work there,” writes Gudeman. “I wouldn’t want this suit to give people a bad opinion of Googlers, but, honestly, they brought this on themselves for tolerating the hatred, racism, and misandry of a small but vocal and organized subgroup who want to use Google as a vehicle of social change... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2AX7ISc"

A preview version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds launched on Xbox One on December 12th and at the end of 2017, it already had over three million players. The game broke records left and right last year, so this may not be too big of a surprise. But it's notable since PUBG had quite a few issues when it launched on the console last month. When announcing the milestone, Xbox's General Manager of Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg pointed out that four updates had already been released since the preview's launch and he said that updates would continue to roll out regularly. At the end of December, PUBG beat its previous concurrent player record on Steam, logging a whopping 3,106,358 players at one time . Around 25 million players were playing it on PC overall at the time. In the first two days of being available on Xbox One, PUBG pulled over a million players . Source: Xbox via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2mquc8O"

It's been about a month since American Express and Mastercard decided to stop requiring signatures for EMV chip credit cards. Now Visa is joining their ranks, making signatures optional for chipped transactions in North America. "Visa is committed to delivering secure, fast and convenient payments at the point of sale," said VIsa's Dan Sanford in a statement . "Our focus is on continually evolving the market towards dynamic authentication methods such as EMV chip, as well as investing in emerging capabilities that leverage advanced analytics and biometrics. We believe making the signature requirement optional for EMV chip-enabled merchants is the responsible next step to enhance security and convenience at the point of sale." Contact and contactless chip-enabled points of sale are taking over, of course, for their enhanced security and convenience for retail transactions. Visa notes that it has deployed more than 460 million EMV chip cards and reader...

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state of South Dakota’s argument that a 26-year-old tax-related ruling be overturned, which could free state and local governments to collect billions in internet sales tax, according to a report today from Bloomberg . The 1992 ruling, from Quill v. North Dakota , centered on a mail-order business and inadvertently set a far-reaching precedent for e-commerce companies by only allowing states to collect sales tax from businesses with a “physical presence” in a given state. Critics of the ruling have long decried the clause by saying it makes no sense in the age of Amazon and internet e-commerce, and that it disadvantages brick-and-mortar retailers and state and local governments. South... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2D5ja41"

Waymo's self-driving minivans are now ready for the road. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica vehicles on San Francisco streets, where the "hilly and foggy" environment should give them "even more practice." Suffice it to say the densely packed city could provide a greater challenge than Chandler, Arizona , whose spacious suburban landscape is well-suited to driverless car experiments. The testing is a callback of sorts for Waymo -- the formerly Google-owned company notes that it conducted some of its first tests in San Francisco back in 2009. Circumstances have changed a lot in the past 9 years, of course. Where self-driving cars had barely gotten started the first time around, they're now advanced enough that driverless taxi services loom on the horizon. It's still likely to be a long while before a robotic ride takes you from SoMA to North Beach, but there's a good chance you won...

Another CES has come and gone, we finally made it everyone. We had a blast scouring for all the crazy gadgets from the show floor, and showing the best of what we found on Circuit Breaker Live. For our last episode, we gave out The Verge Awards for categories like “Best Robot” and “Most CES”, which you can see for yourself! This is our last episode for a while, but we can’t wait to do it again. If you want to relive the good times, watch the full episode above, and check out our Storystream below for all the other episodes! Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2mqDKAq"

Last year, Allied Esports and Esports Arena announced plans to convert a Luxor Hotel and Casino nightclub into the Las Vegas strip's first dedicated eSports arena . That arena is almost complete and is scheduled to open on March 22nd. To celebrate the opening, Esports Arena Las Vegas will host a multi-day, live-streamed tournament that's invitation only. "With Las Vegas rapidly becoming a hub for eSports, Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor will be the city's home for competitive gaming and interactive entertainment," Allied Esports CEO Jud Hannigan said in a statement . Along with the Las Vegas spot, Esports Arena has also debuted its mobile eSports gaming venue, Esports Arena Drive. It's a semi that unfolds into a gaming arena, with a stage, social media center and VIP lounge. You can check it out in the tweet below. Next month, Esports Arena Drive will host a multi-day tournament at the Daytona 500. The #RoadToVegas was a success! The #EsportsArenaDrive...

For those who want to test out an app before making a purchase, Apple is now promoting a new section in the App Store, “Try it for Free,” that highlights apps that offer a free trial period before you have to pay for a subscription. The introduction of the new feature makes sense as Apple is also trying to promote its subscription-based apps as a new business model for app developers. To get to the new section, go to Apple’s App Store on iOS, then tap the Apps tab. The new section is the second thing listed on the screen. As of this writing, there are only four apps being offered in the section. Current apps with free trials include an annual membership for 1Password that’s normally $35.99, a subscription to USA Today for $2.99 a month,... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2mmRL2k"

Tucked in a corner on a shelf at Canon’s booth are the two most exciting cameras the company has brought to CES in years. They’re not wholly unique ideas (and one of them doesn’t even work yet), but compared to the iterative releases and myriad of camcorders that usually make up Canon’s announcements for this particular show, they’re a welcome breath of fresh air. The concept camera that does work is shaped a bit like the Samsung Gear 360, though it only has one lens. That lens and the sensor architecture sit on a movable platform inside the camera’s dome, which itself can quickly swivel a full 360 degrees. The point is for the camera to be able to follow and film objects or faces in almost any direction. Canon imagines it using AI to... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2Do6MsP"

Health Your deep core muscles aren't visible, but they could prevent chronic back pain. Runners who have weaker deep core muscles could be more likely to experience chronic back pain than runners with stronger ones. via Popular Science "http://ift.tt/2CYTqlS"

Intel is running into problems protecting its chips from the major Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities that became public last week . The company has been warning customers of three specific flaws in a recent firmware update and recommending that customers hold off installing the patch, according to emails first reported by The Wall Street Journal . According to a follow-up announcement by Intel , the issue may cause reboot issues in systems running older Haswell chips. Intel has been aware of the Spectre issues since June , but rewriting processor firmware to address the vulnerability proved to be a significant challenge. The company has committed to protecting 90 percent of its CPUs produced in the last five years , with patches to be... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2D6RjR5"

Sam Mathews founded Fnatic about 13 years ago, when he was just 19. Today, Fnatic is a household name for eSports fans: It's one of the most successful and prolific professional gaming franchises in the world, regularly competing at the top tier in games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . The brand has expanded past the games and into hardware, and Mathews showed up at CES this year to demo Fnatic's latest keyboards and mice, which are due to hit the market in the coming months. The Clutch 2 and Flick 2 are updated versions of Fnatic's existing mice, while the Streak and Streak Mini are new mechanical keyboards. All of Fnatic's hardware is designed specifically for (and with) professional players, including features like rounded edges, built-in mic controls and an adjustable wrist rest to help combat injuries. But Fnatic's presence at CES is about much more than new gear. More people than ever are watching eSports; its leagues are ma...

Publicly, Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, says the vast majority of its autonomous vehicle testing is taking place in five cities: Mountain View, California; Austin, Texas; Kirkland, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; and most recently, Detroit, Michigan. But it would seem the company neglected to tell us about a crucial sixth city: its home base of San Francisco. TechCrunch obtained pictures of a Waymo autonomous minivan on the fog-soaked streets of San Francisco, forcing the company to admit that it has returned to its city of origin, where it first began testing back in 2009. A Waymo spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Waymo's self-driving Chrysler Pacifica begins testing in San... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2CUiqKJ"