Germany’s space agency wants to catch rockets in the sky after launch
SpaceX and Blue Origin land their rockets back on Earth shortly after launch, but Germany's space agency is developing an alternative rocket recovery system capable of catching the booster as it glides back to terra firma. The agency hopes the design, if successful, will slash the cost of future satellite launches.
2 million diners hit by malware attack at restaurants across U.S.
Payment card information belonging to more than 2 million restaurant diners has likely been stolen in a malware attack involving compromised point-of-sales systems. Targeted outlets include Buca di Beppo, Planet Hollywood, and Earl of Sandwich, among others. Owner Earl Enterprises said it’s investigating the breach.
NASA’s Mars Helicopter is ready for the Red Planet after successful flight tests
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is heading toward the final stages of preparation, with the space agency recently completing the maiden test flight of its Mars Helicopter. The news comes just a few days after NASA announced the successful debut test drive of the Mars 2020 rover.
Gmail for iOS finally gets handy customizable swipe actions
Nine months after it landed on Gmail for Android, Google is finally bringing its improved swipe feature to iOS. It means that when you swipe an email, instead of only having the option to delete it, you’ll be able to archive, mark as read/unread, snooze, and move it to another folder, too.
FTC forces the closure of four major robocall scam operators
Chasing down illegal robocall operators must feel like a game of whack-a-mole for the FTC, but the fight goes on. The commission recently announced it had forced the closure of four separate operations responsible for bombarding people across the United States with billions of scam calls.
Airbnb’s most popular rental in the world is a California cabin
Airbnb's most popular rental globally is a tiny dome-topped cabin in California. The revelation came as the online accommodation service celebrated half a billion guest arrivals globally since its launch in 2008. Airbnb currently offers around six million places to stay in more than 80,000 cities around the world.
Volunteers sent to bed for 60 consecutive days in offbeat space experiment
Twenty-four volunteers went to bed earlier this week and won't be getting up again for two months. It's part of an experiment by NASA and ESA to learn more about the negative effects on the human body of prolonged periods of weightlessness — important if astronauts are ever to embark on missions into deep space.
Uber expands its low-cost Ride Pass program to 17 more cities
Uber launched its money-saving Ride Pass program in five cities in October 2018. This week the company is rolling it out to 17 additional locations, offering riders savings of up to 15 percent per trip for a monthly fee, making it a tempting option for regular users of the ridesharing service.
McDonald’s to use A.I. to tempt you into extra purchases at the drive-thru
Next time you're at a McDonald's drive-thru, you might see the menu board change as you give your order. The new board incorporates A.I. and can suggest extra items based on your choices. It can also reflect things like weather conditions and the time of day. Bottom line? You’ll probably end up ordering more stuff.
Man pleads guilty to scamming Facebook and Google out of more than $100M
One of the men behind an elaborate fraud that saw Facebook and Google each hand over tens of millions of dollars has admitted to his part in the scheme. Lithuanian Evaldas Rimasauskas, who was extradited to the United States in 2017, faces up to 30 years behind bars when he’s sentenced in July.
Google’s Street View is mapping Earth’s most Mars-like terrain
Life on Mars on Earth on Street View. Confused? You needn't be. We're talking about Devon Island, a remote location in Canada's Arctic that's said to be the most Mars-like place on Earth. Street View recently visited the island to map the terrain and meet some of the scientists working there.
Domino’s in-car infotainment app lets you order pizza on the drive home
Another day, another way to order a pizza at Domino's. As part of its quest to prevent you from getting through an entire day without ordering one of its greasy wheels, the company has now teamed up with vehicle software company Xevo on an app that lets you order pie via your car's infotainment system.
Dublin Airport has a novel idea for tackling rogue drones
A growing number of technology-based solutions are providing airports around the world with various options when it comes to dealing with rogue drones, but officials at Dublin Airport have come up with an altogether different solution aimed at keeping the skies safe: Human plane spotters.
Apple teases Monday’s big event with an early look into Steve Jobs Theater
Apple is gearing up for a big event on Monday where it's expected to unveil a video-streaming service to take on the likes of Netflix. But more than 12 hours before it starts, the company has apparently cranked up the event's livestream from an empty Steve Jobs Theater. Well, empty but for some occasional skits ...
How three simple words could be the difference between life and death
What3Words’ app-based address system gives a three-word code to every three-meter-square patch on the planet. Its accuracy and ease of use means first responders are starting to understand its benefits, with a growing number of organizations in the U.K. already incorporating it into their work.
Postmates now offers a way to get free delivery on meal orders
Postmates is offering customers the chance to order meals with free delivery. But you'll have to be cool with the idea of waiting a little longer for your food to arrive as the delivery driver will be carrying other meals for different customers. The feature launched in cities across the U.S. this week.
Patreon is having another go at changing the way it charges creators
Patreon messed up pretty badly the last time it tried to change its payment system, with the subsequent backlash forcing the company to abandon the rollout. Now it's having another go, and this time the changes mainly affect future sign-ups rather than its current community of creators.
Netflix confirms it won’t be a part of Apple’s new video-streaming service
Netflix has confirmed that subscribers to Apple's new video streaming service won't have the option to view Netflix content on it. CEO Reed Hastings said Apple is a “great company,” but added, “We want to have people watch our shows on our service.” Apple is set to unveil its new subscription-based offering next week.
Sony’s Aibo robot dog can now patrol your home for persons of interest
Sony released the all-new Aibo in the U.S. about nine months ago, and since then the robot dog has (hopefully) been melting owners' hearts with its cute looks and clever tricks. A new software update released this week gives the computer-powered pet a new feature called Aibo Patrol.
British Airways’ new Club Suite for business class comes with a door
British Airways is going after a bigger slice of the business class market with the imminent launch of the Club Suite. The plush seating offers a more private space and does away with the 2-4-2 configuration that left high-paying passengers having to clamber over each other to reach the aisle.
FCC to help first responders pinpoint 911 callers in multistory buildings
When someone calls 911 from their cell phone, wireless carriers provide operators with an approximate location. Now the Federal Communications Commission wants the carriers to use their technology to provide vertical location data to pinpoint emergency callers inside multi-story buildings.
Your Google+ public content will remain viewable on the web, if you want it to
Google's failed social network will soon be wiped from the internet, but there's a team of volunteers working to save its public content for the Internet Archive. Google+ launched in 2011, but security breaches and a lack of engagement prompted the web company to announce its retirement.
Robot assistants from Toyota and Panasonic gear up for the Tokyo Olympics
As you might expect with a country like Japan, the nation plans to use next year’s Tokyo Olympics to showcase a range of its advanced technologies. Sponsors Toyota and Panasonic are already getting in on the act, recently unveiling several robotic designs that they intend to deploy at the event.
Twitter is testing a handy subscription feature for following threads
Twitter has recently started testing a feature that lets you subscribe to a thread so that you’ll no longer need to like a comment or post to it yourself in order to receive notifications of new contributions. The company said the effort is part of its ongoing work “to make Twitter more conversational.”
Nuro’s awesome robot delivery pods are tootling into Texas
Robo-delivery startup Nuro is taking its awesome delivery pods to Texas. The vehicles will deliver Kroger groceries to customers' doors in Houston following a successful pilot program in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nuro’s futuristic pod is driverless, though a trailing safety driver keeps an eye on its progress.
Facebook explains its worst outage as 3 million users head to Telegram
Facebook, if you didn't already know it, suffered a bit of an issue on Wednesday. An issue that took down not only its social networking site, but also Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger to become the company’s most serious outage in its 15-year history. On Thursday it offered an explanation.
Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo added to Chrome as a default search option
DuckDuckGo is now listed as a default search option on Google’s Chrome browser. The search engine was added this week as part of the browser's latest update. DuckDuckGo claims to offer a more private browsing experience than other search engines as it doesn't store or share any personal information linked to its users.
