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First manned drone uses 54 propellers

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A British man made a personal helicopter with the rotors of several quadcopters.
A British man made a personal helicopter with the rotors of several quadcopters.
Photo: gasturbine101/YouTube

History is full of DIY flying machines, including the occasional Joe who ties a bunch of helium balloons to his lawn chair.

So it was only a matter of time before someone would figure out the number of drone propellers it would take to put a man in the air The answer is 54.

A British man may have made the first manned drone flight, if there can be such a category, when he fastened a 54 rotors from quadcopters to make a personal helicopter he dubbed the Swarm.

Apple Watch about to get fresh new colors

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Will these be the new Apple Watch Sport band colors?
Will these be the new Apple Watch Sport band colors?
Photo: Umberta Gnutti Beretta/Instagram

I’m just about tired enough of my green Apple Watch Sport band to be ready for a new color soon.

Lucky for me (and probably the rest of you who feel the same way), the latest rumor out of the blogosphere is that Apple will announce new colors at the September 9 event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium next week.

Get your money back when you use Amazon’s new Dash buttons

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Oh wait, this wasn't a joke?
Oh wait, this wasn't a joke?
Photo: Amazon

Amazon’s Wi-Fi enabled Dash buttons are finally here, turning your home into a veritable vending machine for essential home items like laundry soap, pet food, paper towels, and more.

Better yet, when you order one — each costs about $5 — you’ll get your five bucks back the first time you use it to purchase an item from Amazon, making the buttons essentially free.

Google is as sick of app-install prompts as you are

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google-is-as-sick-of-app-install-prompts-as-you-are-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509interstitials-jpg

More and more these days, mobile websites will pop up a prompt to download an app associated with the site. This “app install interstitial” hides most of the actual web page and bugs users to essentially stop browsing the web and head to an app store and install an app. App install prompts suck.

“Our analysis shows that it is not a good search experience,” Google asserts in a new blog post, “and can be frustrating for users because they are expecting to see the content of the web page.”

As of Tuesday, web masters can use Google’s updated Mobile-Friendly Test page or Google’s mobile usability tools to find out if they have any offending pages.

CBS Sports will stream Super Bowl 50 to Apple TV

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You'll now be able to stream the big game to your iPad.
You'll now be able to stream the big game to your iPad.
Photo: CBS Sports

The NFL’s 2015 season is set to kick off next week and to provide more coverage than ever of this year’s gridiron action, CBS announced that it will stream two regular season games, four playoff games and the Super Bowl 50 to Apple TV for free

Pocket-size Polaroid spits out instant prints

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The Polaroid Snap can turn Instagram-like shots into prints without ink.
Photo: Polaroid
polaroid-snap-instagram
The Polaroid Snap can turn Instagram-like shots into prints without ink. Photo: Polaroid

The Polaroid Snap is a new 10-megapixel camera that instantly prints out photos you take without any ink. It works with ZINK paper that produces 2-inch-by-3-inch prints and essentially lets you keep physical copies of photos you’d put on Instagram and probably quickly forget about.

Believe it or not, it’s also pretty affordable.

iPhone 7 may use same touchscreen tech as original iPhone

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Old school iPhone tech is making a comeback.
Old school iPhone tech is making a comeback.
Photo: Gordon Mei/Flickr

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus haven’t even been revealed yet, but the rumor mill is already spitting out new details about next year’s iPhone 7, which could boast a big display upgrade.

Apple is supposedly considering moving back to the same touchscreen technology it used in the original iPhone, according to a new rumor citing supply chain sources, saying Apple has requested samples of glass-on-glass (G/G) displays for consideration.

Munster says you won’t be buying an Apple Car for close to a decade

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car could be up to 10 years away.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Project Titan, Apple’s hundreds-strong car initiative, may be continuing to ramp up, but according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, it’ll be a while before we see an Apple car.

In a new research note to clients, Munster suggests that an Apple-branded automobile is close to a decade away — although that’s not going to stop it from affecting Apple’s stock price in the meantime.

Because who needs more than rumors to decide how Apple’s doing, right?

Mount shows use of Apple Watch not all in the wrist

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This Apple Watch mount by accessory manufacturer Satechi will fit on steering wheels and handlebars.
This Apple Watch mount by accessory manufacturer Satechi will fit on steering wheels and handlebars.
Photo: Satechi

Maybe your Apple Watch doesn’t always do its best work on your wrist. There are functions and situations that need rapt attention, making looking down at your wrist inconvenient, or even risky.

For those moments, the Apple accessory manufacturer Satechi has come up with an Apple Watch grip mount, ideal for bike and motorcycle handlebars, steering wheels and treadmills.

Huawei beats Apple to a smartphone with Force Touch

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Huawei's Mate S can weigh an orange on its Force Touch display.
Photo: Huawei

Apple may have been the first to put Force Touch technology in a smartwatch, but Huawei has beaten the Cupertino company to putting it inside a phone.

At the IFA trade show in Berlin today, Huawei used the Force Touch display in its new Mate S smartphone to weigh an orange, a week before the technology is expected to make its way to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

There are few surprises among the top iOS apps of all time

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Some Mac apps are vulnerable to man in the middle attacks.
Some Mac apps are vulnerable to man in the middle attacks.
Photo: Apple

There are more than 1.6 million iOS apps, but if you had to guess the top downloaded games and apps of all time worldwide, chances are good you would get a near-perfect score just by looking at your iPhone.

Four of the top 10 are apps from to Facebook, while Candy Crush, Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds continue to dominate the games section of the iOS App Store.

27% of smartphone buyers in Europe swapped Android for iPhone last quarter

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27-of-smartphone-buyers-in-europe-swapped-android-for-iphone-last-quarter-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201504iPhone-6-Plus-vs-Note-4-jpg
Consumers aren’t bored of the iPhone 6 yet.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Apple’s iPhones might be on the verge of a big refresh this month, but that doesn’t make them any less appealing to those looking to take a break from Android.

In Europe, 27 percent of smartphone shoppers swapped their Android for an iPhone last quarter, while 9 percent of consumers made the same switch in the U.S.

You miss out on HealthKit when using Android Wear with iOS

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HealthKit won’t be available to Android Wear customers any time soon.
Photo: Apple

Android Wear made the leap to iOS yesterday, meaning that iPhone owners can now buy and use Android Wear smartwatches should they feel so inclined.

One thing they can’t do, however, is to use Apple’s HealthKit platform to monitor their Android Wear fitness data. According to Apple, data such as step count and heart rate can only be tracked via the Google Fit dashboard — meaning that health-conscious users will want to hang onto their Apple Watches.

And somewhat surprisingly, the decision was entirely Google’s.

Steve Jobs narrates this awesome drone footage of Apple’s ‘spaceship’

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Apple's new campus is looking sweeter than ever.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple’s eagerly-anticipated $5 billion “spaceship” Apple campus is coming along nicely, according to a new drone video shot by Silicon Valley-based photographer/videographer Duncan Sinfield.

Using a DJI Inspire 1 drone to fly over the construction site, Sinfield’s skilfully-edited video not only includes annotated descriptions of what viewers are seeing, but also progress comparisons with footage from early August, and even a nifty voiceover from none other than Steve Jobs — taken from his Cupertino City Council pitch in 2011.

Check it out below.

Student’s iPhone stops a bullet in campus armed robbery

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iphone-bullet-650x433
Not the iPhone in question, but probably not far off.
Photo: Digital Trends

Chances are that when you hear about an iPhone saving someone’s life it’s by letting them call emergency services at a crucial time, or maybe alerting them of a potential medical disaster.

During a recent armed robbery, however, iPhones demonstrated another use: saving a Fresno State student from a potentially life-altering shooting by stopping a bullet in its tracks.

Apple tried to score ESPN SportsGuy for exclusive podcast

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Bill Simmons nearly signed with Apple.
Bill Simmons nearly signed with Apple.
Photo: Joe Murphy/NBAE

Apple is looking to create its own original content, and according to a new report, that almost included signing former ESPN ‘Sports Guy’ Bill Simmons to provide an exclusive podcast for Apple users.

ESPN abrupty announced that they would not be renewing Simmons’ contract earlier this year, which led Apple media boss Eddy Cue to gauge the ESPN star’s interest in creating an exclusive audio podcast deal, before he decided to sign on a multi-platform deal with HBO.

Apple Stores now stocking professional drones for completely legal uses

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Coming to a backyard near you.
Coming to a backyard near you.
Photo: Apple

With a mere $1,259.95, you can now buy a professional camera drone from the Apple Store.

Called the DJI Phantom 3, it shoots 4K video with a bottom mounted 12 megapixel camera, has a 3-axis stabilization system, and you can run it all from your iPhone or its own remote controller.

You know, for all those legal drone shots you want to take.

Sleep machine promises a good SNOOZ

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The makers of the SNOOZ white noise machine vow to turn your bedroom into a
The makers of the SNOOZ white noise machine vow to turn your bedroom into a "haven for sleep."
Photo: SNOOZ

Maybe the problem with your sleep is the noise. You actually might need a little.

A startup called SNOOZ has developed a white noise machine based on the premise that quiet rooms make our hearing acuter. The breeze-like sound coming from its machine will provide a gentle buffer between you and sudden startling sounds.

Instagram gets more social with direct messaging

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instagram-gets-more-social-with-direct-messaging-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Instagram-Direct-jpg
New social features add solid functionality to both iOS and Android versions. Photo: Instagram
New social features add solid functionality to both iOS and Android versions. Photo: Instagram

Photo-sharing service Instagram takes another step closer to becoming its own self-contained social network today with features aimed at the 85 million folks using Instagram Direct, which lets you send direct messages to individual users or groups of up to 15 people.

The new features include threaded messaging and a new way to share Instagram videos or photos within those direct messages.

Future spacecraft could repair its own skin

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The International Space Station occasionally has to dodge pieces of debris floating in space.
The International Space Station occasionally has to dodge pieces of debris floating in space.
Photo: NASA

To see a satellite image of the field of space debris that floats around the earth is like looking at fleas swarming an unfortunate dog. About a half-million pieces of debris are the size of a marble, but even tiny pieces that travel more than 17,000 miles per hour could be deadly to a spacecraft with astronauts.

Researchers from the University of Michigan and NASA have developed a self-healing material that could instantly plug up a hole in the hull of a ship just milliseconds after impact.

Here’s how Apple plans to give stores a next-gen makeover

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Apple store istanbul
Apple Stores are about to look like this inside and out.
Photo: Apple

Memphis will be one of the first cities in the U.S. to get a ‘next generation’ Apple Store, as part of Apple’s big retail revamp that’s expected to start later this year.

Apple has applied for a $1.5 million building permit for a new storefront and interior renovation at 2031 West St, according to a new report that claims the store will be one of Apple’s first new stores with the next-gen design. It’s unclear what kind of layout the new stores will have, but Apple’s application does reveal a few details on how the company plans to gussy up the new retail locations.

The classic Holga camera finally goes digital

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The Holga, a favored toy camera of artists and photographers, will have a digital model thanks to Kickstarter.
The Holga, a favored toy camera of artists and photographers, will have a digital model thanks to Kickstarter.
Photo: Holga

I have three Holga cameras sitting in a box with at least one still loaded with film. Plastic and unpredictable, the low-fi aesthetic makes portraits and landscapes look dreamy and from another time.

But film isn’t as easy or as cheap to develop, scan and print as it once was, so many photographers like me have watched the dust build up on these cameras while hoping a digital alternative would come along so we could relive the surprise and magic in a Holga picture.

The Hong Kong company that has been making Holga cameras since 1981 now has a digital offspring available on Kickstarter.