Streem and Porch put AR to work on your next home improvement project
Home improvement projects can quickly become overwhelming. Streem‘s augmented reality-enhanced video communications platform now connects customers directly to Porch‘s network of home service professionals nationwide. The goal is greater convenience and efficiency for both homeowners and service providers. In the last 12 months, Porch’s more than 250,000 professional members completed more than 2 million home improvement […]
Researchers develop self-driving boats that can double as bridges
Thanks to 3D printing, the fabrication of prosthetic arms, lightweight EV parts and even space travel have benefited from lower costs of production. Eager to build on that is a team of researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). They’ve built a fleet of self-driving boats that could provide a tantalizing glimpse […]
The new AirTV wirelessly beams broadcast channels to your streaming device
It was only a few weeks ago that we reviewed the AirTV Player, which aimed to integrate the features you would normally find in a streaming box like the Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV with the ability to pull in over-the-air (OTA) broadcast channels. That turned out to be a problem, as it […]
Microsoft Bought an AI Startup to Help Cortana Sound Less Robotic
At Google I/O 2018, Google announced that its digital assistant was getting upgraded with more natural-sounding speech in addition to six new alternate voices. Then, Google promptly scared the hell out of everyone by using the Google Assistant’s new skills to mimic a real voice so well, people on the other end of a phone […]
New malware will crash your PC if you try to thwart its digital coin mining
An aggressive form of malware designed to mine cryptocurrency is now crashing PCs when you try to remove it from the system. Dubbed “WinstarNssmMiner” by the 360 Total Security team, the malware essentially hijacks the target PC by consuming loads of processing power to mine the digital coins and attaching itself to the critical system […]
Wearable Tech Could Help Make Your Employer a Healthcare Provider
By now it’s clear that the structural shift in healthcare is well underway. One of the best articles I’ve read lately to capture this was Dave Chase’s Forbes piece: “Health Plan Industry’s Worst Nightmare: Employers Realizing They Are Actually The Insurance Company,” where he argues that “any company over 100 employees or so is an insurance […]
Alexa may one day be more than a smart assistant — she wants to be your doctor
A visit to the doctor may one day be a visit to your living room, where you can have a conversation with your Amazon Echo — or more specifically, Amazon Alexa. According to an internal document seen by CNBC, Amazon is creating a team within its Alexa division called “health and wellness.” As it stands, […]
Google and Apple might lose the infotainment war
Android Auto and CarPlay are both pretty great. You plug your smartphone into your car and you’re greeted with a familiar set of icons. In most vehicles on the road, it’s an improvement. Why wade through a confusing interface, when two of the biggest tech companies in the world have made it easy for you […]
Drive.ai will launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in Texas
California-based Drive.ai is set to launch a self-driving ride-share service in a Texas city this summer to test how well the vehicles work with traffic as well as how the public reacts to them. In its announcement on Monday, Drive.ai said it will offer rides to over 10,000 people in Level 4 self-driving vehicles within […]
How Hackers Steal Your Business Data
World Password Day is May 3rd, so this is a perfect time to examine your cybersecurity strategy. What makes your business vulnerable? Hackers have many tactics they can use to infiltrate your network, and small to medium-sized companies are often the easiest to hack. Here are four ways hackers steal data: 1) The Guessing Game: […]