You’ve probably heard how Virtual Reality (VR) is going to change everything: the way we work, the way we live, the way we play. Still, for every truly transformative technology, there are landfills of hoverboards, 3D televisions, Segways, and MiniDiscs – the technological scrap it turns out we didn’t need.
It’s no secret that the Stuff team are massive fans of Stranger Things, Netflix’s nostalgia-fuelled horror series. It might be the late 1980s aesthetic, the often low-key horror elements (which come off like well-executed Stephen King), and the fact that the storylines are just so good. Which makes us perfect targets for this Stranger Things-themed Lego set, simply called The Upside Down.
Facebook has been battered from all sides for failing to do enough about misuse of its systems. It’s not surprising, what with many recent data breaches, misuse of user information, and abuse of its live-streaming functions leaving black marks all over the company. It’s hoping to change the way that users see it, with a new one-strike policy for Facebook Live being a major change for the company.
Lenovo has unveiled its first foldable laptop, the ThinkPad X1 Family, and says it’ll go on sale in 2020.
In this week’s Light Start, we’ve got a whole lotta space – thanks to both Bezos and Musk, as well as Netflix with I am Mother. Also: Batwoman.
Imagine the day when you’ll unroll or unfold your smartphone to answer it. If things go to plan, this day may be sooner than you think. And we’re not just talking flip-phones here, but smartphones where the actual screens are flexible, not just the handset.
A sister company of Google, Alphabet’s Wing Aviation, just got federal approval to start using drones for commercial delivery. Amazon’s own drone-delivery program is ready to launch as well. As drones take flight, the world is about to get a lot louder – as if neighborhoods were filled with leaf blowers, lawn mowers and chainsaws.
Samsung’s smartphones are known for producing great images, for all that they’re using nothing but 12MP cameras (technically). But it’s a fair bet that Samsung’s new flagships are going to default to 16MP — thanks to a new 64MP ISOCELL image sensor the company revealed this morning.
Technology is designed to be addictive. And a society that is “mobile dependent” has a hard time spending even minutes away from their app-enabled smartphones.
In 2017, U.S. adults spent an average of three hours and 20 minutes a day using their smartphones and tablets. This is double the amount from just five years ago, according to an annual survey of internet trends. Another survey suggests most of that time is spent on arguably unproductive activities like Facebook, gaming and other types of social media.
This addiction has consequences.
This week in Light Start, we explore some of the Marvel universe, check out some frikkin’ laserbeams, and witness an eldrich abomination made flesh.