Technology

The hunt is on for a bird tracking device that, instead of logging the bird’s movements, is likely tracking the travels of an unwitting tourist. Researchers are asking for the public’s help to retrieve the tracker so that it can be used to study birds again. An oystercatcher, a black and white bird with a long, red-orange beak for breaking through shellfish, initially brought the tracker from Dublin, Ireland, to Orkney, an archipelago of islands north of Scotland. The bird seemed to have lost the tracker at the beach on one of the islands, Sanday, on April 7th. It stayed there until late May, when the device started tracking unusual movements for a bird. “It’s gone on a bit of a Tiki tour” “It’s gone on a bit of a Tiki tour,” Steph Trapp, a PhD student at the University of Exeter leading t...

JBL ups the ante with its all-new Live Free 2 TWS earbuds. The audio brand partnered with HYPEGOLF, remixing its next-generation earbuds and Clip 3 speaker with mutual branding. The JBL Live Free 2 TWS design is driven by 11mm dynamic drivers powered by JBL Signature Sound. The True Adaptive Noise Cancellation delivers clear, crisp audio with punchy bass. The earbuds provide a snug, comfortable fit, promising 35 hours of total audio playback and wireless charging. With six directional microphones, audio calls and voice controls cut through situational noise for improved call quality. The Qi wireless charging case is compact, easy to transport and facilitates an additional 28 hours of playback time. The Clip 3 is a noteworthy companion for on-the-go activities, featuring a fully integrated ...

On Thursday, in a Q&A with Twitter employees, Elon Musk shared his vision for Twitter, claiming that he wants the company to be more like TikTok and WeChat if they want to reach his goal of hitting 1 billion users. Musk drew a comparison to WeChat when asked how the platform can increase user base and engagement. “There’s no WeChat equivalent outside of China,” Musk said during the Q&A, “You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.” Musk suggested that Twitter needs to offer more utility to users, as well as making sure that “people are very entertained and informed.” The Tesla CEO also praised TikTok for its algorithm being not “boring”, adding “we could hone Twitter in the same way to be interesting.” “I think Twitter can ...

Snap is working on a paid subscription, Snapchat Plus, which reportedly will give users early access to early features. The program is currently undergoing early internal testing. App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi showcases screenshots of Snapchat Plus in a tweet, giving us a better idea of what to expect from the subscription. Subscribed users will reportedly be able to pin their “#1 BFF”, change the Snapchat icon, see who rewatched their stories, and test unreleased features. Snapchat Plus reportedly costs $4.82 USD (€4.59 EUR) a month. Snap confirmed to The Verge that a subscription plan for Snapchat is being worked on. Spokesperson Liz Markman stated, “We’re doing early internal testing of Snapchat Plus, a new subscription service for Snapchatters. We’re excited about the pot...

As titans of the social media world, Facebook and TikTok often invite comparison. But while Facebook is currently retooling its app to be more like its new rival, TikTok says it has no plans to become more like big blue. Speaking to CNBC, TikTok’s president of global business solutions Blake Chandlee made the differences between the two companies clear: “Facebook is a social platform. They’ve built all their algorithms based on the social graph. That is their core competency. Ours is not.” He added: “We are an entertainment platform … The difference is significant. It’s a massive difference.” (By “social graph,” Chandlee is referring to the data that tracks connections between individuals that companies like Facebook generate to map our relationships.) And Chandlee would know. Before...

Most people have more or less gotten over the iPhone’s display notch, the once-controversial design element introduced with the iPhone X in 2017. But feelings are more raw when it comes to the MacBook Pro’s cutout, which only got a notch of its own last year. At least until you see how useful it can be thanks to an app under development by Ian Keen, who’s trying to turn the chunk of missing screen into a feature that makes AirDropping files easier. In a video posted on Twitter, the developer shows how the app causes the notch to flash when the user is dragging AirDrop-compatible files. The idea is that these can then be dragged and dropped onto the notch itself, at which point a traditional AirDrop share window opens up showing in-range devices that the files can be sent to. It’s a neat sh...

Valve’s most recent VR headset was 2019’s high-powered, high-priced Valve Index. But rumors have long been swirling that the company is working on another device — a standalone headset code-named “Deckard.” Well, here to give that rumor-pot a fresh stir is a recently-published patent application from the company that could reveal Deckard itself. Of course, the usual caveats apply: patents are patents, not product roadmaps. And the language used within applications likes this are so purposefully broad as to resist much close-reading. But the images — ah, the images — they do tell a story. Or at least, they give your imagination enough leeway to tell a story of its own, about the perfect standalone VR headset built by Valve itself. Perhaps. You can judge for yourself below: The rear of the h...

Sustainable smartphone manufacturer Fairphone has announced a new subscription service that offers its latest phone, the Fairphone 4, for as little as €21 a month. Fairphone Easy is only available for customers in the company’s home market of the Netherlands for now, who’ll be able to rent the phone for anywhere between 3 and 60 months, but Fairphone spokesperson Ioiana Luncheon says the service could be expanded to more countries in Europe in 2023 depending on the results of this initial pilot. The subscription service is the sustainable manufacturer’s latest attempt to cut down on the environmental impact of smartphone production, and it’s designed to encourage users to hold onto their existing phones for as long as possible. The monthly cost includes free repairs (Fairphone says it’ll g...