Nostalgic Quebecers hoping to buy the SNES Classic are out of luck. Nintendo has reportedly decided not to sell the console in the province thanks to language regulations. Local laws protect and promote the use of French, which is the official language of Quebec and must be used in several areas such as advertising and […]
A new sensor tracks and photographs every car that drives past your house. It appears to be legal but has raised privacy questions. The BBC reports that the gadget from Flock costs $50 a year to use and the company says it will only make it available to “neighborhood leaders” with an emphasis on fighting […]
10 years ago today, a Twitter user posted a hashtag for the first time. That means a decade of a useful feature, many years of annoying advertising and several years of annoying spoken redundancy. The idea of hashtags came more than a year after the site’s launch and was suggested by user Chris Messina who […]
Robotics experts have asked the United Nations to act to restrict the use of robots in warfare. More than 100 people have signed an open letter warning of the dangers of “lethal autonomous weapons.” The letter is aimed at those involved in the UN’s “Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons”, an agreement that’s been in place […]
China has sent a quantum-based wireless message that it says cannot be intercepted without detection. It used satellites to overcome distance restrictions that would apply on the ground. The signal included an encryption key made up entangled photons: in effect light particles which are dependent on one another. Trying to read any of the signal […]
Facebook is to host original video content in a new section of your newsfeed. Don’t expect any blockbusters though: it isn’t paying anything up front for content. The new Watch tab on the site and app will host short form shows as well as the occasional live sporting event. The content will all be free […]
Disney is to start its own streaming services and pull its movies from Netflix. But there’s some question over whether Marvel content will be part of the move. The plan is for two standalone services. One would be an ESPN sports service and the other would carry movies and TV shows, based largely or wholly […]
A self-driving car with no humans on board being tested on the streets of Arlington, Virginia turned out to be operated by a man who was disguised as a car seat. But it was genuine research rather than a prank. While Virginia Tech university has been testing autonomous vehicle technology on specified interstates and highways, […]
Emojis may be the key to algorithms finally being able to grasp sarcasm. It could mean more effective ways to track public moods and tastes or spot hate speech. Online marketers and have for several years been using social media posts as a way to track how people are talking about brands and products. Originally […]
IBM and Sony have teamed up to produce a magnetic tape cartridge that could fit 330 terabytes in the palm of your hand. The tape can store 201 gigabits (25 gigabytes) in a single square inch (pictured). Arstechnica notes that the theoretical 330 terabyte tape cartridge would be more than 20 times the biggest capacity […]