Category Archives: Blog

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

Toys ‘R’ Us will rise again!

After breaking everyone’s hearts with its store closures in 2018, Toys ‘R’ Us will reportedly re-open for business (albeit in a much smaller capacity) for the 2019 holiday season, reports Bloomberg.

Tru Kids Inc. CEO Richard Barry, who used to be an executive at Toys ‘R’ Us, plans to open a half-dozen stores in the U.S. by the end of the year. A new online store is also expected to arrive as well.

The new Toys ‘R’ Us stores he’s pitching are said to be about 10,000 square feet, which would be about a third of the size of the closed ones. Read more…

More about Retail, Toys, E Commerce, Toys R Us, and Culture

Mac finally got his game of catch.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans should remember that Mac (creator Rob McElhenney) dreams of playing catch with retired Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. It almost happened in the sixth season of the FX series, in the episode “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods.” But, well… the gang got stranded in the woods.

Now, almost 10 years after that episode aired, the dream came true. Utley threw out the Phillies’ ceremonial first pitch on Friday — part of his retirement ceremony — and McElhenney was there — as Mac, to be clear — to catch.

Mac’s history as an Utley fan goes back even further that his missed game of catch. We first learned how hard he stanned back in Season 5, when Dee reads a letter that Mac wrote to the ball player. He asked for a game of catch, complained about his dad, and complimented Utley’s hair choices. Read more…

More about Baseball, Rob Mcelhenney, Entertainment, Sports, and Movies Tv Shows

James Charles is back, proving that nobody stays canceled for long. 

The 20-year-old beauty vlogger’s feud with his former mentor Tati Westbrook over his sponsorship of her company’s rival hair vitamins rocked social media. In her now-deleted takedown “Bye Sister” — a play off Charles’ chipper video introductions, “Hi sisters!” — Westbrook publicly ended their “transactional” friendship and said her former protégé sexually harassed other men, knowing that they identified as straight and wouldn’t return his advances.

YouTube drama is often contained to the community; when vloggers begin feuding and stans take sides, it rarely extends beyond the people who already religiously follow the creators involved. But last year’s explosive Dramageddon showed that when the drama is juicy enough, even the most offline people will follow along.  Read more…

More about Youtube, Drama, Canceled, Culture, and Web Culture