Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Where we’re going, we don’t need roads… 

The latest Tesla Easter egg discovered this weekend is expertly hidden deep within the electric car’s mobile phone app. It’s making Tesla-owning Back to the Future fans scream”Great Scott!” 

The 1985 classic sci-fi film starring a very young Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown is all about time traveling in a classy old DeLorean. Tesla’s Model S, X, and 3 aren’t time machines, but they get close.

In the app when the car is has 121 miles of battery range left, you click the battery icon and Back to the Future mode takes over, turning it into a Model X with the same falcon-wing doors as the DeLorean DMC-12. That number is significant: 1.21 gigawatts of power sends Doc into a tizzy. Read more…

More about Tesla, Back To The Future, Easter Egg, Delorean, and Tech

Burning Man, the annual weeklong arts and culture event in the Black Rock desert of Nevada, prides itself on the principle of “radical inclusion.” But that may no longer apply to exclusive camps for wealthy attendees that offer luxury amenities while fouling up the environment. 

In a blog post this weekend titled “Cultural Course Correcting,” Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell revealed a number of changes to ticket sales and camp placement for Burning Man 2019, to be held in August, that were widely praised by attendees. And for the first time in the event’s history, she publicly disinvited an entire camp. Read more…

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One woman spreads the love with a unique, year-long quest. Read more…

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Amazon just added another company to its growing smart home portfolio.

The e-commerce giant is acquiring Eero, maker of the popular routers and mesh WiFi system of the same name.

Eero’s app-enabled routers are designed to be easier to set up than traditional routers. The company also sells range-extending WiFi beacons to help eliminate patchy coverage. Together, its routers and beacons make a mesh network the company says is more reliable than what you get with a traditional router.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eero, which was founded in 2015, has raised $90 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. The startup laid off 30 employees last year, TechCrunch reported. Read more…

More about Tech, Amazon, Eero, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

Scroll through Twitter, and you’ll see the trending hashtag #WomenInScience. February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science: a time to recognize the ladies making the world a better place through science and technology. 

Their success stories should really be celebrated every day, especially because science remains a male-dominated field. Less than 30 percent of the world’s researchers are women, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 

Here are the inspiring stories of seven women who are getting extra Twitter love on this day of awareness. They’ve all achieved remarkable successes in science. Read more…

More about Science, Women Empowerment, Women In Science, Social Good, and Identities

LinkedIn is getting into the video livestreaming game.

The social networking website built for business professionals has started rolling out a streaming service called LinkedIn Live, as first reported by TechCrunch. 

LinkedIn Live will be rolled out via invite-only to select U.S. users for this initial beta phase. Users who want to try out LinkedIn Live but aren’t one of the lucky invitees will eventually be able to apply for access to the service.

LinkedIn tells us that they’re putting a focus on interactive and timely live video streams on LinkedIn Live. The company provided examples such AMA (Ask Me Anything) events or mentors giving their students advice. The social network is clearly looking to shape the content streamed on the service, at least at first, by using it to support users looking to broadcast conferences, company announcements, earnings calls, and other similar events. Read more…

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Since the dawn of time, people who aren’t terrible have been using words to ask other people to have sex with them. What if we could do away with all that and press a fuck button instead?

A would-be product called LoveSync, which is mid-Kickstarter campaign at the moment, wants to do just that. Basically, it’s two buttons — one for you and one for your partner — that you can press whenever you’re interested in having sex. If your partner has also pressed their button, you’ll both be notified with a “swirling glow.”Then you just have sex, I guess?

More about Kickstarter, Weird Products, Culture, Consumer Tech, and Web Culture

That book you lied about reading in high school is finally coming to Hulu, and it’s all thanks to director and executive producer George Clooney. 

Based on Joseph Heller’s novel of the same name, Catch-22 is a six-part limited series capturing the “adventures and misadventures” of a U.S. air squadron during World War II. The famously biting satire of military life follows protagonist Yossarian, a skilled B-25 bombardier played in the series by Girls alum Christopher Abbott, as he struggles to avoid completing his more dangerous missions. 

Clooney will play unit commander Lieutenant Scheisskopf, who (among other things) says the line, “You’re saying his balls have been blown off?” Other notable cast members include Hugh Laurie, Kyle Chandler, and Tessa Ferrer.  Read more…

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I’m walking down San Francisco’s Market Street toward a coffee shop using Google Maps when giant arrows pop up on my phone.

I’m supposed to turn right on Front Street. The directions are hard to miss in the new Google Maps augmented reality mode. The large animated arrows make it clear with a glance which direction I should head. It looks something like this:

The feature came out Monday for select “local guides” who add new locations, rate businesses, take photos, and more for Google Maps. It’ll be on more guides’ phones in the coming days, although regular users shouldn’t expect it soon. For now, it’s being tested for feedback, and the look and feel of the feature is expected to change. It’s also strictly for walking directions — not for driving. Read more…

More about Walking, Google Maps, Ar, Directions, and Navigation Apps

Google can now help you prepare for your next HQ trivia game.

The search giant is teaming up with the creators of the popular trivia app HQ to create HQ University, a dedicated trivia game made for Google Assistant. The new game is now available in the Google Assistant app, Google Home speakers, and smart displays like the Home Hub. 

To start, all you have to say is “Okay Google, get me ready for HQ.”

No, the Google-enabled version of HQ won’t let you play for cash like the live games. Instead, it’s meant to help you hone your trivia skills in between games, and give you a way to play on your own schedule. Read more…

More about Tech, Google, Google Assistant, Hq Trivia, and Tech