Author Archives: Carol Edwards

While plugging plug a mouse, a phone, or a thumb drive into your computer, you try to stick the USB into its slot, only to find it stopping prematurely. You flip it around, but it still won’t go in. So you flip it back to the original position and it slides in without a hitch.

We’ve all been there, and the inventor of the USB sees our pain.

Ajay Bhatt, the leader behind the IBM team that gave us the USB in the mid-’90s, revealed in an interview with NPR Friday that he is well aware of the annoyances the public has with USB, or Universal Serial Bus, but there’s a reason it’s designed the way it is. Read more…

More about Usb, Tech, and Consumer Tech

Back when I was on dating apps in my twenties, I made sure to never post my zodiac sign in my profile. As a Virgo, I was worried people would use my astrological sign — which has a reputation for being bossy — against me. 

Many of the profiles I viewed didn’t include this kind of information either. But astrology has boomed in the past few years, especially among millennials. It’s not uncommon to see people post their signs –- sun, moon, and rising  — in their online dating profiles. Bumble, a popular dating app, even allows users to search for matches based on their astrological sign. 

And while posting your zodiac sign in your profile carries risks (not everyone, for example, wants to date “steamy” Scorpios), astrologers like Christopher Renstrom, author of the upcoming book Astrology: Here and Now, believe that posting your sign in your profile could be a very good thing –- both for people who believe in astrology and even more casual fans.  Read more…

More about Dating, Astrology, Zodiac, Culture, and Web Culture

To prepare for the worst, the Tobe Zoo in Japan put a staff member in a lion suit.

In the event of an earthquake or some other incident that leads to lions escaping their enclosure, the zoo is prepared to handle the situation, according to a translated article from the local news agency Mainichi News Group. Using nets and an air gun (it’d be a tranquilizer gun in a real escape), the zoo held a mock lion escape Saturday with a person in a lion costume running around trying to get out. It caused quite the scene.

Meanwhile, the real lions at the zoo were mildly concerned — if at all — with the silly humans re-enacting their potential great escape. Read more…

More about Japan, Zoos, Lions, Viral Tweets, and Culture

While everyone on the ground is stressing about self-driving cars, the future of flight is also moving more toward autonomous planes, as seen at the 2019 edition of the Paris Air Show.

The air show is one of the biggest aerospace events annually and everyone from established names to newer companies showed off concept craft and prototype vehicles. 

Boeing (yes, the same company reeling from two deadly plane crashes and grounded 737 Max planes around the world) displayed its idea for the autonomous Passenger Air Vehicle, while rival Airbus also floated the idea of pilot-less planes and hybrid and electric passenger jets by 2035.  Read more…

More about Air Travel, Aircraft, Electric Vehicles, Tech, and Transportation

It’s June 22, the first Saturday after the official start of the summer season. And just like they do every year, revelers gathered in New York’s Coney Island for another round of Mermaid Parade celebrations.

Since 1983, the annual Mermaid Parade has come to Coney Island every summer with three major goals (according to the FAQ): to “bring mythology to life for local residents who live on streets named Mermaid and Neptune”; to “create self-esteem in a district that is often disregarded as ‘entertainment'”; and to “let artistic New Yorkers find self-expression in public.”

Those are big ideas, but the reality of how it all plays out is evident year after year. Tens and hundreds of thousands visit the southern Brooklyn neighborhood dressed in garish colors, sparkling sequins, and so, so, sooooooooo much glitter. Read more…

More about New York City, Mermaid Parade, Culture, and Live Events

We just can’t stay away from our phones, even in the car. 

The drive safety app Drivemode looked at driving data from 2.7 million U.S. drivers using Android phones between Jan. 2018 and April 30, 2019 and found that over 167 million miles and 13.3 million hours, Americans use their phone for a better part of an hour in the car on average.

Keep in mind, only drivers who had the Drivemode app on their phones were tracked, so these are already fairly connected users who are probably more likely to use a smartphone for various activities in the car. But still, in an hour the average driver surveyed spends some quality time using tech on the phone. During this time they drive about 20 miles at 45 mph, on average. Let’s break it down. Read more…

More about Smartphones, Texting, Driving, Music Streaming, and Tech

Can you believe it’s been an entire year since the bulky English bulldog Zsa Zsa was crowned as the World’s Ugliest Dog for 2018?

Well, here we are. It’s June 2019 and the latest edition of the World’s Ugliest Dog competition was decided on Friday. And the winner is… Scamp the Tramp.

Found and rescued in Los Angeles an hour before he was set to be euthanized, this funny-looking little fellow has turned out to be a Very Good Dog! According to his bio, he’s spent the past seven years working as a pet therapist, inspiring children and seniors both with his distinctive look. Read more…

More about Dogs, Culture, and Animals

Attention power users: Netflix is testing a new feature that’ll allow you to watch videos without disrupting your work.

According to Engadget, the streaming video service is testing a “pop-out player” that shrinks the video player into a smaller window. Basically, it’s picture-in-picture mode on desktop.

Following Engadget’s initial report on the experimental feature, Netflix responded to the tech site with an image featuring “it’s only a test” text. 

Mashable reached out to Netflix for further clarification on the pop-out player, but didn’t receive a response by publishing time. If Netflix replies, we’ll update this story. Read more…

More about Netflix, Streaming Video, Video Streaming, Tech, and Streaming Services

Volkwagen’s electric race car took on one of the toughest courses in the world — and set a record. 

The VW ID.R with two electric motors took on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife 12.9-mile lap through Germany earlier this month and finished faster than any other all-electric vehicle had ever done: 6 minutes and 5 seconds. 

That’s an average speed of 128 miles mph and faster than the previous electric record by 40 seconds.

In 2018, the same ID.R vehicle set a record at Colorado’s Pikes Peak course — an uphill climb that took 7 minutes and 57 seconds on the 12.42-mile course. The same French racing driver Romain Dumas was at the wheel in both races. Read more…

More about Racing, Electric Vehicles, Volkswagen, Tech, and Transportation

Think nobody’s going to notice if you don’t scan that gallon of milk at the self-checkout register? Think again.

According to Business Insider, Walmart’s using new cameras with computer vision to aid in catching thieves at over 1,000 of its stores.

The company confirmed to Business Insider it has a technology program called “Missed Scan Detection” that uses AI-equipped cameras to “track and analyze activities at both self-checkout registers and those manned by Walmart cashiers.”

The goal with the cameras is to detect when items aren’t scanned at checkout. If the cameras see an item hasn’t been scanned, it sends a checkout attendant to provide assistance. Read more…

More about Theft, Cameras, Ai, Walmart, and Computer Vision