Whether or not the art world wants a robotic painter, it's going to get one. Chris Chen, founder of Instapainting, a web service that converts your photographs into paintings, has built a machine that's creating an artwork live on Twitch. Users can p…
Technical
Google Drive update makes finding files ‘super easy’
Google announced on Wednesday four new ways to find files on Drive. First, users will be able to drill down their search by file type. You can also now open the advanced search options dialog directly from the search box. What's more, iOS users can a…
Switzerland’s 50-year racing ban will change with Formula E
Switzerland hasn't allowed motor racing to take place within its borders in over half a century. That looked poised to change when the state relaxed the ban earlier this year, opening the door for the FIA Formula E Championship to hold a race there t…
HTC will launch its Vive VR headsets in April 2016
It doesn't sound like HTC will be able to make a limited number of Vive VR headsets available for purchase by the end of 2015, as it once told Engadget. But at least it now has a set date for the device's commercial release: April 2016. In a blog/soc…
Uber is looking into launching two new ridesharing services
Uber announced on Tuesday that it will trial a pair of new ridesharing services in the Seattle and Chicago metro areas. The first, called UberHOP, functions very much like conventional bus transports. It debuts on Thursday December 10th and will matc…
Cat gets cutting-edge prosthetic legs
Say hello to Vincent the cat. Due to a congenital defect, Vincent was born without rear tibias and likely would have died had he not been rescued and surrendered to an Iowa animal shelter. Once adopted, he caught the attention of Dr. Mary Sarah Bergh…
Kickstarter: 9 percent of crowdfunding projects don’t deliver
You've no doubt heard of failed Kickstarter projects that left backers hanging, but how often do these implosions happen, really? They're not as common as you might think. The crowdfunding platform has posted an independent study showing that 9 per…
Japan’s Venus probe gets a second shot on December 7th
Japan tried and failed to get its Akatsuki ("Dawn") probe into Venus' orbit back in 2010, and the spacecraft has been stuck orbiting the Sun ever since. However, the team is about to get another chance at completing its intended mission. Controller…
Orbital Sciences launches first spacecraft since 2014 explosion
After some weather delays, Orbital Sciences has reclaimed some of its lost reputation. The private spacecraft firm has successfully launched Cygnus, its International Space Station resupply mission, aboard an Atlas V rocket. It's a relatively rout…
TAG Heuer’s Android smartwatch is (relatively) popular
TAG Heuer's $1,500 Connected smartwatch may have been a big gamble, but it's paying off… relatively speaking. LVMH watch chief Jean-Claude Biver tells Bloomberg that his company is upping production of the Android Wear timepiece to meet demand fro…
NASA shows the sharpest ever close-up photos of Pluto
I can practically hear you groan — more Pluto photos? Well, these are kind of special: they're the sharpest pictures the New Horizons probe took during its closest flyby in July, and NASA believes these may be the best snapshots of the dwarf planet…
Playdate: We’re playing with fire in ‘Just Cause 3’
It's really hard to not smile when you're causing massive amounts of mayhem in a video game, and what I've played of Just Cause 3 so far has me grinning ear to ear. Now it's time to share that joy with you, our lovely Playdate viewers on Twitch. Join…
Watch NASA launch its Cygnus mission to the ISS
Need one more thing to do on a Friday afternoon? Check out this live stream (YouTube) of NASA's Cygnus resupply mission launching on its way to the International Space Station. This mission is being undertaken by Orbital ATK, which you may remember f…
Playdate: Slashing through ‘The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing’
Creatures that go bump in the night, beware: Van Helsing lives. But just how "incredible" are the monster hunter's adventures, especially if he isn't played by Hugh Jackman? Find out with Sean Buckley and myself as we trudge through The Incredible Ad…
Spotify is going to keep missing out on big albums
According to The Wall Street Journal's sources, Coldplay's new album won't be streaming on Spotify. Before you shrug, mutter something insulting about Coldplay and walk away, this is actually quite important. It's indicative of the continued rift bet…