Author Archives: Brittany A. Roston

Consumer-tier camera drones are nothing new, but they usually come with many compromises not found on larger, more expensive drones. One of those compromises is typically flight time, which can be as low as a few minutes depending on model. Yuneec is here to offer an alternative, announcing its new Mantis Q model with up to 33-minutes of flight per charge. The drone also packs voice control, a 4K camera, and more.

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Over the weekend, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta players got access to a new game mode called Heist. Treyarch introduced the new mode on Saturday, making it available alongside the other six game modes until yesterday August 13. Though the chance to play it is over (for now), the details remain, letting buyers know what they're in for when the game officially arrives this upcoming October.

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StarVR has introduced what it says is the world's most advanced virtual reality headset. The device is designed for enterprises and for commercial use, offering advanced features including built-in eye tracking. Called StarVR One, the VR headset boasts nearly 100-percent human viewing angle coverage with 210-degree horizontal and 130-degree vertical FOV. According to the company, this comes close to covering normal human peripheral vision.

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Blue light from the Sun and devices like smartphones have a damaging effect on eyes and a new study details how this damage happens. Researchers point toward macular degeneration, a disease that involves the photoreceptor cells in the retina dying. According to the study, blue light exposure causes retinal cells to produce damaging molecules within these vital photoreceptors.

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Uber is tapping AI to help determine whether a customer is taking a trip for business or pleasure. This will be a convenience feature for riders who use Uber for both their working and recreational life, helping avoid mistakes that result in business trips being charged to personal credit cards, for example. The feature relies on machine learning.

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The White House has officially banned the government use of hardware made by Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei, including smartphones, routers, and similar devices. The move follows years of debate over the two companies and the potential national security risk their hardware may present. The ban is part of a $716 billion defense policy bill newly signed by President Trump.

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Facebook is updating its Messenger Kids apps with a new feature that enables kids to add their own friends...with permission, that is. The app is a variation of Facebook Messenger designed for children, enabling parents to control every aspect of the experience. Until now, only parents could add friends for kids, but now there's a second option.

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Fossil Group has released a new Wear OS smartwatch, the Michael Kors Runway, featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 2100 alongside a classy design and heart rate tracking. This is a smartwatch version of the classic Michael Kors Runway watch, adding new silicone band options while retaining the same generally small size.

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Early feedback from users has apparently prompted Apple to temporarily pull the iOS 12 beta 7 update. Users reported slow performance, including a delay in unlocking the device and when launching apps, among other things. Based on user reports, the performance issues eventually smoothed out, but Apple has removed the update regardless to fix the problems.

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Owners of the Pixel XL, the larger of the original Pixel models, are complaining about issues with fast charging following the Android Pie update. According to reports from impacted device owners, the update broke the device's ability to fast charge, an issue that isn't present on the smaller Pixel model. Not all users are experiencing the problem, however.

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During E3 2018, Microsoft revealed Halo: Fireteam Raven, an arcade game based on the popular video game franchise. The arcade game is exactly what it sounds like: a physical gaming device that can be installed in arcades, giving players the chance to experience Halo in a new way. The first of those arcade units are now available to play in the US and Canada, and they'll be arriving in other countries soon.

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Construction workers in Cape Coral, Florida, made a surprise discovery while digging a deep trench: a fossilized bone likely belonging to either a woolly mammoth or a mastodon. The fossil was spotted in June as workers dug down to a depth of 17ft; they, believing it to possibly be a fossil, passed the bone on to archaeologists, who have confirmed the discovery.

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