Tom Regan
Articles by Tom Regan
Trump trades 'unsecure' Android device for shiny new iPhone
After a wealth of hacking concerns, the President has finally swapped his unsecured Android handset for a new iPhone. The White House director of social media -- Dan Scavino Jr. -- tweeted yesterday that Trump has now been using his new Apple device for the past couple of weeks. After recent tweets from the POTUS account marked as sent from an iPhone raised questions, this new information now confirms their authenticity.
The Galaxy S8 can stream music to two headphones at the same time
Samsung hasn't been able to catch a break recently. After suffering a brand-battering blow with the Note 7, it now looks like almost every feature of the S8 has been leaked ahead of today's launch event. Earlier today, a Galaxy S8 user guide prematurely surfaced on Samsung's download center, confirming many previously leaked specs and features. Before it was swiftly taken down, Phandroid managed to copy all the notable information from the guide, revealing the existence of a previously unreported feature -- Bluetooth dual audio.
Artificial skin with solar cells could power prosthetics
Researchers at Glasgow University have successfully developed a new type of artificial skin that is more sensitive than our own. Made of just a single atomic layer of graphene, the new soft feeling epidermis functions as its own sophisticated touch sensor. If that wasn't impressive enough, this artificial 'skin' is also entirely self-powered. Housing a solar panel hidden under its graphene layer, the material manages to absorb over 98 percent of the light available, relying only on the sun to power it.
Researchers make super-cheap smartphone sperm test
Harvard researchers have developed a new device that helps men easily measure their fertility at home with their smartphone. While similar test kits exist, what sets this prototype apart is its affordability. Costing just $4.45 to make, this impressive prototype takes less than five seconds to test your little swimmers, analyzing their count and ability to swim with 98 percent accuracy.
The US Navy wants gamers to stop the rise of the machines
In a bid to help solve its real-world problems, the U.S Navy has called upon the aid of the most dedicated corner of mankind -- gamers. Launching its own week-long online game on March 27th, the Navy plans to crowd-source ideas in a bid to help them tackle the issue of singularity. While this sounds like the plot to a Terminator prequel, technology's rapid advance has caused genuine concern among the office of Naval Research (ONR) over the rise of highly capable AI. In the browser-based game, contributors will be able to post ideas and interact with other players as together they devise solutions to the futuristic problem. Ideas that manage to reach critical mass in the MMOWG (massively multiplayer online war game) have the potential of being adopted by The Navy and put into action.
A Russian military contractor is building huge drone tanks
A Russian weapons company named after the inventor of the AK-47 has revealed that it's building a new type of unmanned combat vehicle. The company states that its upcoming drone tank will carry both machine guns and anti-tank missiles, weighing 20 tons.
Microsoft's game chat transcribes your trash talk
If you've ever thought your gaming put downs had a poetic beauty to them, then Microsoft's Game Chat Transcription might be the answer to your pwning prayers. From today, Halo Wars 2 players on both PC and Xbox One can test the new tool, allowing their in-game speech to be transcribed to a chat window in real-time.
McDonald's tests mobile ordering on coastal elite
If you've ever thought that fast food wasn't fast enough, then it looks like McDonald's latest initiative has you covered. The takeout chain has begun trialling mobile ordering at restaurants in Monterey and Salinas, California. Hungry patrons will now be able to select their meal on the way to their nearest location for instant collection. The app will even use your GPS data to determine when your burgers start getting cooked, ensuring your food stays warm and fresh. When you arrive, you just pay through the app and grab that famous brown bag from the counter, drive-thru or curbside collection point.
Cancelled '90s arcade fighter 'Primal Rage II' released online
Forget Tekken 7, 2017's hottest new fighting game has just arrived - only it's 22 years later than originally expected. After being cancelled in 1995, Kotaku reports that Atari's long-lost Primal Rage II has found its way onto the internet. Downloading an emulator will allow 90's fighting fans to dive straight into a competent build of the ill-fated beat 'em up. While some menus are still incomplete and it has its fair share of bugs, players will find that the dino-brawling itself works.
Hugh Hefner docuseries bares all on Amazon Prime next month
An Amazon series detailing the life and impact of Hugh Hefner is heading to the service on April 7th. Announced last year, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a new docuseries that will combine dramatic re-enactments of Hefner's life with rare unseen footage uncovered from his personal archive. Featuring interviews with celebrities like Gene Simmons and Jesse Jackson, the series promises to give audiences an unprecedented look into the rise of the Playboy empire. As well as the expected mansion shenanigans, the show also aims to delve into the social impact of the iconic brand - emphasizing Hefner's often forgotten commitment to social justice and gay rights.
'Trinity' will be the first interactive VR sci-fi TV show
Virtual reality production studio UNLTD today revealed that it's working on the world's first interactive sci-fi TV show. Speaking at SXSW, the company announced the premise for Trinity- a show set in a future where humanity has long become extinct. With only a few surviving androids left on Earth, the story follows the robotic resistance as they take a stand against the all-powerful singularity threatening to destroy them. After speaking about the challenges of filming in VR, producer John Hamilton promises that Trinity will be an experience which allows 'viewers to move around an episode in a way that hasn't been seen before'. The live-action series will be split into five fifteen minute episodes and is to be released on all available virtual reality platforms.
IMDb adds 'F-Rating' to help users identify feminist-friendly movies
In a bid to highlight movies that celebrate women in cinema, popular film information site IMDb has incorporated a new feminist classification into its listings. In order for a movie to earn the new 'F-Rating', it must either be written or directed by a woman or feature significant female characters on screen in their own right. Created in 2014 by Bath Film Festival director Holly Tarquini, the new classification has since been adopted by over 40 cinemas and film festivals in the UK. Tarquini states that 21,800 films have been awarded the rating on IMDb so far.
An Army drone flew 600 miles astray then crashed into a tree
A routine military drone test quickly turned into something more bizarre, after the missing aircraft mysteriously turned up ten days later over 600 miles away. While testing an RQ-7 "Shadow" drone at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, the military lost control of the device soon after launch. After it failed to return to base, the Army presumed that it had quickly been destroyed until a hiker found it crashed into a tree in Evergreen, Colorado.
Virginia is the first state to legalize delivery robots
America is now one step closer to becoming a sci-fi utopia, thanks to a new law passed in Virginia. On Friday the state's governor signed a ruling which will allow delivery robots to use its sidewalks and crosswalks from July 1st. Advised by Starship Technologies (an Estoninan robotics company that specializes in ground delivery) the legislation states that the bots cannot travel faster than ten miles per hour, or weigh over 50 pounds.
Aol starts to shut down third-party AIM apps
Aol has revealed that it will soon block third-party apps from accessing its aging AIM messenger service. According to reports from 9To5Mac, the internet provider has notified Adium users that the app will stop functioning on March 28th. So far, Adium is the only service to be affected, but from the look of Aol's statement it seems as though this could just be the first casualty of ye olde AIM's imminent shutdown. The current iteration of AIM runs on the more modern TOC protocol, so third-party apps were the only way to access the older version. That system ran on an Aol platform called OSCAR, which also provided the backbone to Apple's iChat service back in the day.
Apple speaks out against regressive transgender policies
Apple spoke out against the Trump administration yesterday, criticizing its stance on transgender rights in schools. While the previous administration offered inclusive guidance to schools on transgender rights, the government yesterday revoked a federal law that allowed transgender children access to the bathroom of the gender that they identify with.
Nintendo Switch will launch without a Virtual Console
With the Switch launch only eight days away, Nintendo has finally broken its silence on what online features gamers can expect at launch. Disappointingly, the gaming giant revealed that early adopters won't be able to dip into the game company's vast back catalog, with Nintendo confirming that the Switch's Virtual Console service won't be there day one. In a bid to appease fans, Nintendo has revealed that the F-Zero inspired indie racer FAST RMX will be arriving on the eShop day one, alongside two entries in the Shovel Knight series. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is the game's latest campaign which will be a timed exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. Alongside this, Yacht Club Games will also be bringing Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove to the eShop for launch - which serves as a collection of all the existing series content to date.
Bethesda shows the insane shape-shifting potential of 'Prey'
In the upcoming Prey, Mankind is in serious trouble. With the alien Typhon over-running the once prosperous Talos 1 space station our fate falls into the hands of unlikely protagonist, Morgan Yu. Having been experimented on and given Typhon abilities, the latest trailer shows Yu learning to mimic his surroundings, opting to defend the human race by turning into vaguely useful household objects.
Apple buys and shuts down Asian social network iCloud
In a bid to direct every conceivable iCloud domain towards one website, Apple has bought the rights to iCloud.net from a small Chinese social network.It was one of the few iCloud related sites not owned by Apple, and AppleInsider reports that the tech giant paid $1.5 million in order to acquire the domain. With its network no longer having a home, the Chinese company announced that it is shutting down its services for good on March 1st. The independently owned social network had been operating since 2011.
Valve's room-scale VR trackers will soon be sold separately
Valve has announced that it will soon be selling standalone SteamVR Tracking base stations directly. While you could previously order the tech from HTC, later this year, consumers and developers will be able to purchase the new and improved single-rotor tracking model from Valve's online store. With the current standalone tracking stations costing $130 from HTC, the Steam owner states that the move from a dual-rotor to single-rotor design could bring "rapid cost reductions," according to Road To VR. This suggests that the new tracking station may be significantly cheaper.