Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Greta Thunberg is bound for the high seas.

On August 14 the teenage climate activist set sail from Britain to New York City aboard the Malizia II, a technologically-advanced racing sailboat that generates electricity using solar panels and underwater turbines. Next month, Thunberg will speak at the U.N. Climate Action Summit (and Mashable’s Social Good Summit), before sailing on to a crucial U.N. climate conference in Chile. 

You can track her progress across the Atlantic Ocean on the ship’s website here (there may be a load time). 

“The science is clear,” Thunberg said in a statement after announcing the seafaring trip. “We must start bending the [carbon] emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1.5 [Celsius] degrees of global temperature rise.” Read more…

More about Science, Global Warming, Climate Change, Greta Thunberg, and Science

Adobe is giving artists the ability to create 3D and AR worlds without needing to code thanks to three new Apps the company is planning to release in 2019. Read more…

More about Mashable Video, Adobe, Vr, Ar, and Mixed Reality

It seems that just like bees, Amazon can sense your fear.

Because nothing says “nightmare scenario” quite like a giant tech corporation everyone uses knowing what you’re feeling, Amazon announced on Monday that Rekognition, its controversial facial recognition tool, can now detect a person’s fear. 

The update includes “improved accuracy for emotion detection (for all 7 emotions: ‘Happy’, ‘Sad’, ‘Angry’, ‘Surprised’, ‘Disgusted’, ‘Calm’ and ‘Confused’)” but, just for kicks, I guess, “added a new emotion: ‘Fear’.”

More about Artificial Intelligence, Facial Recognition, Amazon Rekognition, Tech, and Cybersecurity

Facebook was listening. Sort of. 

It turns out the company that only recently made a performative pivot toward privacy was paying contractors to listen to and transcribe users’ conversations, according to Bloomberg.

Notably, the contractors reportedly did not know how Facebook obtained the audio and weren’t informed as to why it needed to be transcribed. Allegedly, the recordings included “vulgar content” — although the specifics of what that means is unclear. 

The audio in question reportedly came from the Facebook Messenger app, and was part of a process to check if the company’s AI correctly transcribed conversations between users. Facebook insisted to Bloomberg that a person would have needed to select the transcription option for their conversations to have been sent to humans for review.  Read more…

More about Facebook, Privacy, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

Are you wondering why, in the full heat of summer, you’ve seen so many tweets roasting a lifestyle blogger’s fall outfit? Or the phrase “Christian Girl Autumn?” 

No, it’s not because Starbucks is releasing the Pumpkin Spice Latte early this year, although that announcement did send fall skyrocketing to the top of my particular lizard brain. This meme cycle originates with the prolific tweeter @lasagnabby, who tweeted a photo of lifestyle blogger Caitlin Covington on Friday with the caption “Hot Girl Summer is coming to an end, get ready for Christian Girl Autumn.”

More about Twitter, Lifestyle, Memes, Social Media, and Culture

Robot vacuum fanatics, listen up. Ecovacs is making it even easier to clean your whole home with the announcement of its two new models. 

The Deebot Ozmo 920 and 950 robots have both vacuuming and mopping power and offer improved navigation, support multi-floor mapping, feature a floating brush design, and have a redesigned air suction channel.

Probably the biggest spec upgrade compared to other Ecovacs products is the combined vacuuming and mopping technologies. This one machine can do the deep cleaning on any floor in your house, whether you need powerful suction or intense scrubbing, all in one go. Both models have 240-milliliter water tanks and an electronically controlled water pump, which precisely controls water output so as to not over or under dampen the cleaning cloth.  Read more…

More about Home, Cleaning, Robot Vacuums, Mashable Shopping, and Ecovacs

TL;DR: You’ll save $100 on custom clear aligners from SmileDirectClub when you enter the code SAVEINAUG at checkout.

There’s a subscription box for just about everything these days — even a better smile.

With a smile plan from SmileDirectClub, you can straighten your teeth using discreet clear aligners that are shipped right to your doorstep for a fraction of the price (and hassle) of traditional braces. Treatment plans last about six months on average and include premium teeth whitening; they usually start at $1,895 (or $85/month), but for a limited time you can score a $100 discount by entering the coupon code SAVEINAUG at checkout. Read more…

More about Teeth, Mashable Shopping, Culture, Work Life, and Health

TL;DR: Get the precise AncestryDNA Genetic Ethnicity + Traits test for $69 at Amazon. If you only need genealogy, then grab the best-selling AncestryDNA Genetic Ethnicity test for only $59. That’s up to 42% savings on one of the top at-home DNA testing kits. 

Want to plan a family barbecue but don’t have enough family to share your burgers with? Sounds like you need to find more family. And the best way to find long-lost cousins to fill out your guest list is an at-home DNA test kit. Best of all, you can discover all of the missing branches of your family tree with help from the latest AncestryDNA sale.  Read more…

More about Dna, Genetics, Health Fitness, Mashable Shopping, and Dna Kit

TL;DR: Save $30 on the universally popular Fitbit Charge 3, an activity tracker that’s water resistant up to 50 meters.

You’re no couch potato, but hitting your personal fitness goals can sometimes always seems to be overtaken by something more important. When it comes to managing the daily grind, who has time to count every step they take?

Don’t give up just yet. Track those steps while staying connected to your everyday phone apps when you use a fitness tracking device. The Fitbit Charge 3, which made it onto our list of the best fitness trackers, is on sale now at Amazon for only $119.95 (a price drop of $30.) Read more…

More about Fitbit, Fitness Tracker, Mashable Shopping, Fitbit Charge 3, and Tech

Get ready to see a lot of new augmented reality effects in Instagram.

The photo-sharing app is now prominently featuring user-generated AR selfie filters in a move that seems like a direct challenge to Snapchat’s Lenses. 

Instagram has been testing its AR creation software, called Spark AR Studio, for some time, but now it’s making it more widely available. And, to mark the occasion, it’s showing off users’ creations in the app. 

You can check them out from the Instagram camera by scrolling all the way to the end and selecting “browse more effects.” 

As with Snapchat’s Lens Studio software, Spark AR Studio appears aimed at creative professionals who have some experience with similar software, though Instagram is encouraging artists of all stripes to try it out.  Read more…

More about Tech, Instagram, Snapchat, Augmented Reality, and Tech