A solar-powered, single-pilot airplane just made aviation (and renewable energy) history, completing the 4,000-mile journey from Japan to Hawaii without stops or fossil fuel. Solar Impulse’s around-the-world attempt began March 9 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The plane reached Nanjing, China, on May 31, on the seventh leg of the journey. The Solar Impulse originally left Nanjing, China, for … Read More

Silk Road was an online black market, best known as a platform for selling illegal drugs. Ulbricht was convicted of running an underground online drug bazaar. The site, which operated for more than two years, facilitated millions of dollars in transactions between buyers and sellers, who hawked illegal goods ranging from cocaine to fake driver’s licenses. The site operated on … Read More

Lots of people are still bringing their phone to bed with them or keeping it within reach at night — despite the wealth of research showing how using these gadgets right before bedtime interferes with sleep patterns. A large majority of respondents, 71 percent, said they usually sleep with or next to their mobile phone — and 3 percent of … Read More

Together with the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), the Jeopardy! winning computer has created perhaps the world’s first-ever cookbook co-created by computer algorithms. “Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson” is available on Amazon. Watson is built to mirror the same learning process that we have—through the power of cognition. What drives this process is a common cognitive framework that humans use … Read More

Compare Apple Streaming to Spotify, Tidal, Rdio Rhapsody and Pandora Apple: predicted by June 30, there will be 100 million subscribers. More than 30 million songs All others stream at a rate of 320kbps. Apple will only streat at 256kbps. 320kbps takes more data and most ears can’t pick out the difference. $9.99/month, free version and family discount available, no … Read More

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was everything rumored, teased and then some. If you didn’t sit through the keynote, here’s a rundown of the highlights you shouldn’t miss. Over 55 percent of active Mac users are using Yosemite. The name of the latest OS X 10.11: El Capitan. New features headed this way include new gestures, such as shake to … Read More

Recently, Freightliner and Daimler pulled the wraps off of the first self-driving commercial truck in the world to receive a full license to operate on public roads. It is called Highway Pilot which uses forward-looking stereoscopic cameras and radar sensors. The truck can steer to stay between lane markers and adjust its speed and braking to maintain a safe following … Read More

70% of Americans connect to the Internet over much faster broadband. The average U.S. broadband speed is 11.4 Megabits per second. That’s 200 times faster than dial-up’s 56 Kilobits per second. Even smartphones are more than 100 times faster than that. Nowadays, the most popular websites are layered with data-gobbling software add-ons that slow down your experience. Facebook has videos … Read More

Big Idea Week is an innovative program that immerses children into the entrepreneurial mindset and gives them a glimpse of how it feels to bring an idea to life. Big Idea Week began in 2013 as a collaboration between Brooklyn’s DUMBO Improvement District and Flocabulary, which uses hip hop to teach kids about things like dividing fractions or the history … Read More

Harvard Law School and Human Rights Watch published a report calling for a ban on “autonomous weapons” — before it’s too late. Don’t laugh, this isn’t science fiction any more. Today’s hi-tech warfare is mostly waged via remote control machines. The U.S. military currently has MADSS, a 1,400-pound rover that carries gear and shoots a machine gun. It also has … Read More