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Ever have a hard time understanding a road sign in another country? Computer vision startup Mapillary thinks it has a solution. You know how Google hopes to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful?” Swedish startup Mapillary wants to do the same thing with the world’s road signs. As it turns out, from warnings about polar bears to alerts concerning “ invisible cows ,” there are some pretty darn unusual roadside messages you’ll come across as you travel the globe. But if you’re only used to the regular old boring signs found in your neighborhood, being expected to understand all of them from behind the wheel is a tall order. Throw self-driving cars — which need to understand this stuff to get you safely from point A to point B — into the mix and things become even more confusing. Computer vision company  Mapillary  has spent the past several years working on just this problem. “Mapillary is a collaborative street-level imagery platform power

A new feature makes it easier to make sure the page you're seeing from an AMP search result is legit and lets you share the "real" URL with others. AMP pages are great . They are designed to help us find what we're looking for when we're mobile and point us towards search results that are easy to read because they were designed for a smaller screen and touch-based navigation. So many people use their phones to get on the internet and get the information they need that anything that makes the experience better is welcomed. On the web, trust is important. You need to know you're seeing results from a place you trust. But there are a few drawbacks to using AMP URLs, too. One is that they require a separate (and sometimes frequently changed) URL to be cached by Google, and this breaks the traditional way the web works. When something goes on the internet, it should be there forever, in the same place. Moving the URL we use from a mobile device around can mak

WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU The Super Bowl ad for Google Home showed off the device's keen sense of hearing and attention to the "OK Google" wake word. Right around the time New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady orchestrated the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, Google officially introduced the world to its  Amazon Echo -competing home servant,  Google Home . A  one-minute advertisement  showing off the different ways in which people have the ability to interact with Home, the spot featured — over and over again, mind you — people uttering its popular wake word, “OK Google.” Due in part to the wake word’s prominent feature, Google Home users all over the country say their devices acted a bit erratic during the ad, responding to the commercial’s commands. At least it’s reassuring to know the Home as a keen ear for its wake word, right? Though the gaffe didn’t cause any serious harm to anyone — unless, of course, it accidentally turned off the lights while someone

WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU BT's public support could pave the way for other groups to chime in on the Android antitrust case, the result of which could have far-reaching implications for Google. BT, a telecommunications provider in the United Kingdom, has sent a letter to the European Commission announcing its support for Google in an  ongoing antitrust case  involving Android, the world’s largest mobile operating system. The European Commission alleges that Google is using Android’s dominant market share as a way to push its own apps and services, like Search, Drive, YouTube, and Google Maps. Anyone is free to use Android, but if a manufacturer wants access to the Google Play Store — where about  2.6 million apps reside  — they have to sign the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement and prioritize Google’s apps. More:   Microsoft’s unified user interface may be the namesake of Google’s hybrid OS Manufacturers can still preload their own apps or ones from competing services lik

Smartphones and other portable media players allow us to take our music, videos, and games anywhere, and having a good pair of earbuds is vital for getting the most out of our entertainment when we’re on the move. Unfortunately, many stock earphones are cheaply made and utilize undersized drivers that deliver tiny highs and a lackluster bass response. While there are many high-end earbud models available today, you don’t have to break the bank to get quality sound with budget-friendly options like the $8  Panasonic ErgoFit in-ear headphones . The ErgoFit earbuds utilize generously-sized 9mm neodymium drivers. These are larger than those found in similar in-ear headphones, giving you improved sound with a frequency response of 10Hz to 24Hz. This wider frequency response offers crisp treble and heavier bass so you don’t have to sacrifice sound quality when listening to your music, playing games, and watching videos on your mobile device. More:   The best iPhone 7 deals for every carri

1 of 4 BlackMagic Design WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU The live-streaming space has experienced the kind of growth that has even high-end gear companies like BlackMagic taking note. What’s the biggest thing to hit the broadcast industry since color TV? Live-streaming and live webcasting, at least according to high-end video tech company BlackMagic Design. Today, the company unveiled five new products designed to simplify online streaming — and at a price that makes them a bit more accessible for small productions. Two new cameras offer the same functions at a lower price by removing the built-in battery, while a slew of production equipment aims to do more with less. BlackMagic said during a press conference that live-streams won’t replace traditional broadcasts, but  are becoming a part of the bigger picture. The company is continuing its focus on high-end products, but upgrading with a feature set more in-tune to the needs of live-casting. The updates also slim down the product’s pr

Finding an image on  Google Photos  just got a tad easier. In an Android-only update Thursday, Feb. 2, Google reworked the albums feature, adding enhanced organization to the ways albums are displayed. The albums tab is now divided  into three parts . Along with sorting your actual albums, the app now separates images based on what app you shot them with. A third category auto-organizes photos by location and what’s inside them. While the auto albums isn’t a new feature, the new organization makes them easier to find. More:   Google Photos is one year old — here’s what’s next for it Along with the three new sections, the photos inside the albums are  easier to search through . That’s because Google switched up the large cover photo at the top to take up half as much room. That small design switch allows users to see more albums on the screen at one time, speeding up the process of finding a specific one. Version 2.8 of Google Photos is the app’s first significant update of the yea

Apple and the FBI went to war last year over an iPhone owned by San Bernardino, California, shooter Syed Farook, and whether or not the FBI should be granted access to that phone. Apple argued that doing so set a dangerous precedent for data privacy in general, while the FBI insisted it was a matter of national security. In the end, the battle abruptly ended when the FBI reportedly decided to work with Israeli firm Cellebrite, which said it would be able to hack the phone with or without Apple’s help. Now, however, it seems as though Cellebrite has been hacked — and that hacker has publicly released some of that data to try and send a warning to the FBI. The data includes some code that is reportedly related to the Universal Forensic Extraction Device that can crack iPhones like the iPhone 5c, as well as some Android phones. More:  Lawsuit: Apple broke FaceTime in iOS 6 on purpose, blamed it on a “bug” In a  Motherboard report , the hacker said the creation of such tools makes thei

There are standard TV setups, and then there are real entertainment centers — rooms that make you feel as immersed in what you’re watching as you do when you’re in a theater. If you’ve already spent a pretty penny on a killer TV, or even if you’re just looking to upgrade your existing entertainment room layout, the next logical step is to invest in a home theater system such as the  Monoprice 10565 Premium 5.1 Channel Home Theater System with Subwoofer , currently discounted by 25 percent, to only $171, on Amazon. More :  Best TV and Home Theater Products of 2016 This entertainment system consists of four satellite speakers, a single center speaker, and 8-inch down-firing subwoofer. The single center speaker features a 3-inch polypropylene midrange driver and a 3/4-inch aluminum dome tweeter, while the subwoofer boasts four large rubber feet to reduce floor vibrations. Together, these units deliver many of the same features as higher-end surround sound systems but are available at a

Which makes you cringe more, the threat of ransomware or the current mess of health records? Blockchain, the same technology that enables hackers to collect ransoms with anonymity, is increasingly seen as the best platform to advance universal electronic health records (EHRs),  according to Wired . Sign In  to claim 500$ worth of Bitcoin Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is widely associated with cryptocurrency such as bitcoin. The blockchain is also used on the “dark web” for the anonymous sale of weapons, drugs, and other illegal exchanges. The same attributes of blockchain technology that make it appealing for criminal use, however, can also help solve the complex data record-keeping needs of systems used for legitimate purposes like EHRs. More:   Blockchain technology may help secure the nuclear weapons of the future The lack of coordinated and complete electronic health records affects patients, healthcare professionals, and the administrative sy

Being a teacher, student, or employee at an educational institution brings with it a number of advantages. Not only do you have access to bountiful knowledge, but you can also purchase many technology products at steep discounts. Apple, in particular, is known for its aggressive educational pricing. Now, Apple has announced a bundle of its professional-level creative apps for anyone who’s eligible for its educational discounts. If you’re learning or teaching how to use PCs as a creative tool and Apple’s best creative apps are in your space, then you’ll want to check out its  Pro Apps Bundle for Education  for a cool $200. More:   Apple updates GarageBand for iOS, adds Touch Bar support to Logic Pro X The bundle includes the following apps: Final Cut Pro X  (retail price $300): professional video editing application with extensive media organization and editing features like the Magnetic Timeline and full support for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. Logic Pro X  (retail price $200): ad

Oh boy. Critics, developers, and customers who oppose Windows 10 and Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform initiative are likely now gathering their pitchforks and torches, as a recent leak seemingly confirms that Windows 10 Cloud does indeed exist. Even more, the unannounced operating system is  locked to the Windows Store , preventing users from installing traditional (Win32) desktop programs. An early version of Windows 10 Cloud is now available as an ISO file via  Twitter user @adguard . Those wanting to see what the fuss is all about should  not  install this platform on a machine, but create a bootable USB drive or run the ISO file through a virtual machine. The downloadable file resides on a cloud server located in Russia. More:   Epic’s Tim Sweeney isn’t thrilled about the locked nature of Windows 10 Cloud The idea behind Windows 10 Cloud is to provide a lightweight, optimized version of Windows 10 for notebooks to compete directly with Google’s Chrome OS platform installe

Users of WeChat sent around 46 billion electronic red packets - digital versions of traditional envelopes stuffed with cash - via the Chinese mobile social platform over the Lunar New Year period, the official Xinhua new agency reported on Saturday. China has a long tradition of giving red packets during the Lunar New Year, which fell on Jan. 28 this year. Internet giants such as Alibaba Group Holding have promoted the use of virtual red packets, also known as "hongbaos", to grow business in the country's booming mobile payment market. The number of digital red packets sent via WeChat, owned by Alibaba rival Tencent Holdings Ltd, rose 43 percent in the Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 period compared with a year earlier, according to Xinhua. People in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei led the red packets mania, while South Koreans were WeChat's most active hongbao senders outside the Chinese mainland, Xinhua said. Since its launch in 2011, WeChat has beco