Google I/O 2019: Google Loosens Its Grip on Hoarding Your Data

Google has a new feature that lets you delete your web and app activity after three months. Here's how to use it.

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China's Scientists Are the New Kids on the Arctic Block

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo berated China this week for using its growing Arctic research program as a Trojan horse for its military and commercial goals.

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At Google I/O 2019, Google Announces Pixel 3a, Android Q, and More

The company rolled out an improved Assistant, some new phones, and updated Android OS, among other things, at its annual developers conference.

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Dinosaurs Get Their Close-Ups in These Stunning Photos

Christian Voigt used analog and digital trickery to isolate individual dinosaurs from larger exhibitions.

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Cruise's $1 Billion Infusion Shows the Stakes in Self-Driving Tech

Cruise, majority owned by GM, is at least the fourth company working on self-driving technology to raise $500 million or more in the past six months.

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Google Pixel 3A, Pixel 3A XL Reviews: Best Deal in Android

For half the price of a high-end phone, you can get (almost) all the premium features. Read our full review.

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Google I/O 2019: Watch Live Video of the Keynote Right Here

The annual developer conference kicks off at 10 am Pacific on May 7 in Mountain View, California.

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The CIA Sets Up Shop on Tor, the Anonymous Internet

Even the Central Intelligence Agency has a so-called onion service now.

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Calculate the G’s of Using an Ejection Seat to Blast Out of a Jet

Using a jet's ejection seat to escape in an emergency means weathering some "hurt" level acceleration, as this video shows.

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The Law Being Used to Prosecute Julian Assange Is Broken

Opinion: Julian Assange is being prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a minimally defined statute that can have maximally destructive consequences.

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How the Videogame Aesthetic Flows Into All of Culture

Videogames show us how digital media in general, from YouTube to Twitter, lend themselves easily to the selfsame aesthetics of flow.

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Why Is Facebook Abetting Trump’s Reckless Foreign Policy?

Facebook and other big tech platforms seem ready to do the Trump administration’s bidding when it comes to how foreign governments use social media.

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How to Teach Kids to Be Independent Thinkers

Esther Wojcicki (mom of Susan, Janet, and Anne) on how to foster creativity in kids.

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Google I/O 2019 Liveblog: All the News as It Happens

Google's developer conference kicks off on May 7 at 10 am Pacific. Follow along with us for analysis and commentary from WIRED's editors.

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The Strange Journey of an NSA Zero-Day—Into Multiple Enemies' Hands

How a "secret" hackable bug found by the NSA was used over by Chinese, North Korean, and Russian hackers to wreak havoc.

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Sunscreen in Your Bloodstream, Google’s Conference, and More News

Catch up on the most important news today in 2 minutes or less.

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Live transcription and captioning in Android are a boon to the hearing-impaired

A set of new features for Android could alleviate some of the difficulties of living with hearing impairment and other conditions. Live transcription, captioning and relay use speech recognition and synthesis to make content on your phone more accessible — in real time.

Announced today at Google’s I/O event in a surprisingly long segment on accessibility, the features all rely on improved speech-to-text and text-to-speech algorithms, some of which now run on-device rather than sending audio to a data center to be decoded.

The first feature to be highlighted, live transcription, was already mentioned by Google. It’s a simple but very useful tool: open the app and the device will listen to its surroundings and simply display as text on the screen any speech it recognizes.

We’ve seen this in translator apps and devices, like the One Mini, and the meeting transcription highlighted yesterday at Microsoft Build. One would think that such a straightforward tool is long overdue, but, in fact, everyday circumstances like talking to a couple of friends at a cafe can be remarkably difficult for natural language systems trained on perfectly recorded single-speaker audio. Improving the system to the point where it can track multiple speakers and display accurate transcripts quickly has no doubt been a challenge.

Another feature enabled by this improved speech recognition ability is live captioning, which essentially does the same thing as above, but for video. Now when you watch a YouTube video, listen to a voice message or even take a video call, you’ll be able to see what the person in it is saying, in real time.

That should prove incredibly useful not just for the millions of people who can’t hear what’s being said, but also those who don’t speak the language well and could use text support, or anyone watching a show on mute when they’re supposed to be going to sleep, or any number of other circumstances where hearing and understanding speech just isn’t the best option.

Captioning phone calls is something CEO Sundar Pichai said is still under development, but the “live relay” feature they demoed onstage showed how it might work. A person who is hearing-impaired or can’t speak will certainly find an ordinary phone call to be pretty worthless. But live relay turns the call immediately into text, and immediately turns text responses into speech the person on the line can hear.

Live captioning should be available on Android Q when it releases, with some device restrictions. Live transcribe is available now, but a warning states that it is currently in development. Live relay is yet to come, but showing it onstage in such a complete form suggests it won’t be long before it appears.

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Google renames Home Hub to the Nest Hub and releases a 10-inch Nest Hub Max

The Home Hub has been a hit for Google, eclipsed only by the Mini in its smart home hardware line. That’s for good reason, of course. The device is the ideal size and priced well, making it a minimally invasive device for a living room or kitchen. Among other things, it marked a great alternative to the bulky Echo Show. And now it’s called the Nest Hub.

Today at Google I/O, Google announced a shift in its smart home device brands. Everything will be under a Nest banner, starting with renaming the Google Home Hub to the Nest Hub.

For those looking for something a little heartier, Google just announced the Nest Hub Max. Part of the rebranded Nest Displays, the product offers up a 10-inch display. Even more interesting, however, is the addition of a camera — something that was notably missing from the 7-inch Home. It initially seemed like a strange thing to overlook, but in a time when everyone’s on edge about personal privacy, it was honestly a bit refreshing.

As its name implied, smart home control was always a key focus for the Home Hub. The newfound association with the Nest line, coupled with a built-in Nest security camera, finds Google doubling down on that functionality. The Nest name certainly makes sense from the standpoint of the company’s home security and automation features, while also helping Google reassert its commitment to the company it purchased in 2014. The Max also features an improved speaker set with a rear-facing subwoofer.

Hub Max is designed to be used by everyone in the home and personalizes the responses based off the user’s voice or face detection. This allows the device to display information most relevant to the user.

Last year, Google moved away from letting Nest operate independently, instead rolling it up into its hardware division. The launch of the Nest Hub Max represents a key step toward that hardware synergy.

With this rebranding, the Nest Hub gets a lower price of $129 (though the Home Hub can be readily purchased for much less) and the Nest Hub Max will cost $229.

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OnePlus CEO Pete Lau will discuss the future of mobile at Disrupt SF

Founded in late 2013, OnePlus did the impossible, coming seemingly out of nowhere to take on some of the biggest players in mobile. The company has made a name by embracing a fawning fan base and offering premium smartphone features at budget pricing, even as the likes of Samsung and Apple routinely crack the $1,000 barrier on their own flagships.

OnePlus’ history is awash with clever promotions and fan service, all while exceeding expectations in markets like the U.S., where fellow Chinese smartphone makers have run afoul of U.S. regulations. The company’s measured approach to embracing new features has won a devoted fan base among Android users.

Over the past year, however, the company has looked to bleeding-edge technology as a way forward. OnePlus was one of the first to embrace In-Display fingerprint sensors with last year’s 6T, and has promised to be among the first to offer 5G on its handsets later this year.

CEO Pete Lau formed the company with fellow Oppo employee Carl Pei. The pair have turned the company into arguably the most exciting smartphone manufacturer in the past decade. OnePlus has big plans on the horizon, too, including further expansion into the Indian market and the arrival of its first TV set in the coming year.

At Disrupt SF (which runs October 2 to October 4), Lau will discuss OnePlus’ rapid accent and its plans for the future.

Tickets are available here.

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Fli Charge Technology acquired by Birch Lake to accelerate a wireless future

Fli Charge Technology is today announcing it was acquired by an affiliate of Birch Lake Associates. As part of the purchase, industry veteran Khalid Zitouni is taking the chief executive position as the company looks to expand its reach for Fli Charge’s clever power delivery technology.

TechCrunch first spied Fli Charge at CES 2018 when the company demonstrated its tech with Craftsman power tools. Once a Fli Charge device is placed on the strip, charging starts immediately at the same rate as if it was plugged into an outlet. Four small conductive nubs make contact with the pad and serve up power as needed. The system is capable of simultaneously charging batteries of different voltages. One strip can charge a smartphone, power tool and laptop at the same time, even though each device has different power requirements.

Fli Charge tech could bring the convenience of wireless charging to new industries. That’s where Birch Lake comes in.

“The FLI Charge technology is a clear outlier in the power and charging space,” said FLI Charge’s incoming chief executive officer, Khalid Zitouni. “While it resembles wireless charging solutions on the market today, it is not constrained by the limitations that have held back those technologies from garnering significant market adoption or expanding into new product categories. We are excited to rapidly expand our consumer product offerings and continue to develop a robust licensing platform for all portable products, including power tools, IOT devices, drones, audio products and small appliances, among others.”

Zitouni is taking over for former Fli Charge CEO Cliff Weinstein, who is staying on as a company consultant. In 2017, Weinstein led a management buyout to take Fli Charge private after the debut of an early version of the product on Indiegogo in 2016.

When I spoke to Weinstein at CES 2018, he was optimistic about a future where Fli Charge’s technology was built into desks and tool boxes, allowing office workers and construction workers alike to live a cord-free life. Now, with Birch Lake taking the company forward, that future could be nearer than ever. Fli Charge’s implementation of wireless power delivery is impressive and if adopted by the market, could lead to a truly wireless future.

Fli Charge demonstration at CES 2018

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Marshall continues to impress with new retro portable speakers

Marshall, the headphone company and not the loudspeaker company of the same vintage, today announced two new portable speakers. Like the company’s previous offerings, these speakers ooze a retro vibe. The two new speakers, the Stockwell II and Tufton, join the Kilburn II, but stand tall, literally and figuratively, apart from the rest of Marshall’s speakers as portable models with a vertical orientation, internal batteries, wireless capabilities and a rugged casing that should survive a trip outside.

The large Tufton impresses with clear, powerful sound even when on battery. The highs carry over a solid low-end. It’s heavy. This isn’t a speaker you want to take backpacking, but, if you did, the casing has an IPX4 water-resistant rating, so it’s tough enough to handle most weather. Marshall says the battery lasts up to six hours.

The smaller Stockwell II is much smaller. The little speaker is about the size of an iPad Mini, though as thick as a phone book. The internal battery is good for four hours and the casing is still tough, though sports an IPX2 rating, so it’s not as durable as the Tufton. The speaker is a bit smaller and the music quality is as well. The Stockwell II is a great personal speaker, but it doesn’t produce a pounding sound like the Tufton. Use the Stockwell II for a quiet campfire and the Tufton for a backwoods bonfire.

Sadly, these speakers lack Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa integration. Users either have to connect a device through a 3.5mm port or Bluetooth.

I’ve been a fan of every Marshall speaker I’ve tried. For my money, they feature a great balance of sound and classic design. Each one I’ve tried lives up to the Marshall name and these two new speakers are no different. Portability doesn’t come cheap. These speakers cost a bit more than their stationary counterparts. The small Stockwell II retails for $249 while the large Tufton is $399.

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An Xbox controller with a built-in Braille display is Microsoft’s latest gaming accessibility play

Microsoft has been leaning into accessibility in gaming lately, most visibly with its amazing Adaptive Controller, and a new patent suggests another way the company may be accommodating disabled gamers: an Xbox controller with a built-in Braille display.

As you might expect, it’s already quite hard for a visually impaired gamer to play some games, and although that difficulty can’t be entirely alleviated, there are definitely things worth doing. For instance: the text on screen that sighted people take for granted, documenting player status, items, onscreen dialog or directions — how could these be read by a low-vision gamer who might be able to otherwise navigate the game world?

Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller is an inspiring example of inclusive design

In many circumstances a screen reader is what a visually impaired person would use to interact with this kind of data, but often that text is relayed to them in audio form, which is far less appealing an option when you’re in-game. Who wants to have a computer voice reading off your armor levels and inventory burden while you’re trying to take in the ambient environment?

There are already some Braille display accessories for this kind of thing, but there’s nothing like having support direct from your console’s designer, and that’s what Microsoft has demonstrated with its patent for a Braille-enabled controller.

The patent was filed last year and just recently became public, and was soon spotted by German tech site Let’s Go Digital; there have been no official announcements, though the timing is favorable for an E3 reveal. That said, patents don’t necessarily represent real products in development, though in this case I think it’s worth highlighting regardless.

The Braille Controller, as it’s referred to in the patent, is very much like an ordinary Xbox One gamepad, except on the back there appears to be a sort of robotic insect sticking out of it. This is the Braille display, consisting of both a dot matrix that mechanically reproduces the bumps which players can run their fingers over, and a set of swappable paddles allowing for both input and output.

The six paddles correspond to the six dot positions on a Braille-coded character, and a user may use them to chord or input text that way, or to receive text communications without moving their fingers off the paddles. Of course the mechanisms also could be used to send haptic feedback of other types, like directional indicators or environmental effects like screen shake. I wouldn’t mind having something like this on my controller, in fact.

Naturally this means games will need (and increasingly are including) a metadata layer for this kind of conversion of visual cue to auditory one, and vice versa, among many other considerations for gamers with disabilities. It’s on everyone’s minds, but Microsoft and Xbox seem to be taking more concrete steps than the rest, so kudos to them for that. Hopefully their leadership in this space will help convince other developers and manufacturers to join up.

We’ll be sure to ask the Xbox team about their plans for this controller design and other accessibility improvements when we talk with them at E3 in June.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Star Gwendoline Christie Says Brienne ‘Let Her Armor Down’

With only two more Game of Thrones episodes to go, fans have a lot of questions about the fate of certain Iron Throne contenders, and Season 8, Episode 4 was tough with many […]

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Save 20% Off the World’s First Wireless 3D 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones

Bluetooth headphones are a convenience. As far as audio performance is concerned, however, most leave a little to be desired. But that’s not the case with these 3D 5.1 Bluetooth Earphones from Oomo. […]

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Polaroid Launches ‘Stranger Things’ Edition Camera (And It’s ‘Upside Down’)

The third season of Stranger Things doesn’t premiere until July 4, but one company is already helping bring fans to the Upside Down: Polaroid Originals has announced a Stranger Things edition of its […]

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Disney: 3 New ‘Star Wars’ Movies Are Coming to the Big Screen

Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker will hit theaters on Dec. 20, but it won’t be the last movie of the intergalactic universe: Disney announced three new Star Wars films that are […]

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‘Game of Thrones’ Deletes Infamous Starbucks Cup From Season 8 Scene

A random Starbucks coffee cup that made a cameo appearance in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4 is no longer an Iron Throne contender: After going viral on social media, the series’ showrunners […]

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Threatened Red-Legged Frogs Are Back at Yosemite After 50-Year Absence

The federally-threatened California red-legged frog, made famous by Mark Twain, is showing signs of a comeback at Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park after an absence of about half a century. Ecologists found […]

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‘Rim of the World’ Trailer: New Netflix Sci-Fi Movie Is a Creepy Extraterrestrial Camp Adventure

Stranger Things is returning to Netflix this summer, however, there is a new sci-fi film that can keep you busy while you wait for the series’ third season: Netflix just shared a trailer […]

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‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Kharacter Guide: Cetrion

There have been eleven main Mortal Kombat games. Can you believe it? The 90s were that long ago. Since then the fighting game has become a gory institution as colorful ninjas and sorcerers […]

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Woman Pulls Live Alligator From Yoga Pants During Traffic Stop in Florida

A routine traffic stop in Florida turned into a shocking incident when a woman pulled a foot-long, live alligator from her yoga pants and surrendered it to authorities. On May 6, Charlotte County […]

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Toy Tuesday: The Most Astronomical Spaceship Toys

After a few decades out of the public eye, America is now all gung-ho to go back into space. We’ve got plans to land on Mars by the mid 2030s, we’re heading back […]

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1,000-Year-Old Bag With Psychotropic Plants, Cocaine Discovered in Bolivia

Researchers exploring dry rock shelters in southwestern Bolivia recently found a mysterious ritual bundle, which contained traces of psychotropic plants and cocaine that were approximately 1,000-years-old. The team of researchers, which published their […]

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These Are the Games You Should Check Out in May 2019

May is normally a slow month for video game releases and this year is no exception. That isn’t to say there aren’t a good deal of titles coming out. It’s just there’s very […]

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‘Magnificent,’ 4,500-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Tombs Found Near Giza Pyramids

Archaeologists working near the pyramids of Giza in Egypt have discovered an ancient cemetery dating back thousands of years to around 2500 BCE and hosting the tombs of high-ranking officials. In an announcement […]

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ESA’s Gaia Spacecraft Discovers Three Random Asteroids

The Gaia spacecraft, a European Space Agency (ESA) space observatory, recently came across a surprising discovery when it was studying stars: On its mission, it spotted three random asteroids that astronomers had never […]

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Study: Bad Weather Often Means Bad Restaurant Reviews

There are any number of factors that can contribute to a negative restaurant review: poor service, crummy food, your own foul mood—and bad weather. An Ohio State University study of 32 Florida restaurants […]

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Geek Pick: Oculus Quest Is VR With Freedom, Finally

Whatever your thoughts are on Oculus (and Palmer Luckey) you have got to give it up for the Facebook subsidiary for pushing long and hard to make virtual reality a thing again. And […]

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ISS Nanoparticle Experiment Aims to ID Anti-Aging Therapies

No matter how much face cream you slather on or how many brain teasers you complete, there is no escaping the effects of old age. Or is there? A European Space Agency (ESA) […]

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Twitter Now Lets You Add GIFs, Photos, Videos to Retweets

Twitter has announced an exciting new feature. No, not an edit button. Rather, users can now retweet with GIFs, photos, and video. “People come to Twitter to share their thoughts on interests, events, […]

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Brain Scans Reveal ‘Pokémon Region’ in Lifelong Players

Video games can have a lasting psychological impact. Just ask University of Pennsylvania doctoral student Michael Barnett—a self-proclaimed childhood Pokémon addict. Inspired by a 2014 study of how infant macaque brains respond to […]

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Two Fully Electric Boats Added to Niagara Falls Tour Fleet

Visitors to Niagara Falls will soon have a more eco-friendly way to get an up-close look at nature’s majesty. Maid of the Mist is adding fully electric boats to its fleet. It’s the […]

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Limericks

Limericks are five-line poems that pack a funny punch line or a humorous twist. Because they are short and follow a familiar thirteen-beat rhythm, they can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. The following sites include classic limericks by […]

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Microsoft designs an Xbox controller with Braille

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Google flood forecasting expands in India ahead of monsoon season

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The Pixel 3a XL vs. the competition: Surprisingly capable

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The Pixel 3a vs. the Pixel 3 and Pixel 2: What's changed?

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Google Maps' AR walking directions arrive on Pixel devices today

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Read Google’s new Nest privacy promise and tell me if you’re swayed

Google wants to be inside your home. It wants to sell you cameras, alarm systems, and voice assistants to make your life — and maybe its targeted advertising business — that much easier. But there’s a problem. People don’t necessarily trust big tech companies or their camera-equipped smart displays right now.

And while Google may not have had a Cambridge Analytica-level scandal on its hands, a couple recent incidents with its Nest division could have given buyers pause: a string of digital break-ins where Nest cameras let strangers deliver fake nuclear bomb threats and spy on babies over the internet (not exaggerating), and the revelation that the Nest Secure alarm system had a secret microphone that buyers never knew about.

So today, as...

Continue reading…

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