technology

Solar-powered plane heads to Washington

The solar-powered Solar Impulse is on its way to the nation's capital -- with a slight layover in Cincinnati.

The plane took off from Lambert-St.Louis International Airport early Friday morning with Solar Impulse co-founder and CEO André Borschberg at the controls. But before heading all the way to Washington, the Solar Impulse will make a pit stop at Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport to avoid "challenging weather."

"The flight will be split in two because strong cross and head winds would slow the aircraft and make it impossible for the pilot to reach the nation'… Read more

WoodTones: A new high for $100 luxury headphones?

I get to hear a lot of headphones. Don't be jealous, most of them are different shades of awful. Some are so bad I yank them off my head in a few seconds, some are just cheap copies of famous headphones, and some are built like crap. The Griffin Technology WoodTones jumped out from the pack: they're beautiful, they're comfortable, and they sound great.

True to their name they're available in Beech, Sapele, and Walnut. Handling these $99.99 headphones, I found the real wood earcups make for a very different feel than the more typical … Read more

iPhones can apparently be hacked with malicious charger

Most people have heard of malicious software as a way to hack into an iPhone, but what about a malicious charger?

Three researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology say they have come up with a proof-of-concept malicious iPhone charger that lets them hack into the mobile device running the latest version of Apple's iOS in less than one minute. No jailbreaking required.

"Apple iOS devices are considered by many to be more secure than other mobile offerings. In evaluating this belief, we investigated the extent to which security threats were considered when performing everyday activities such as … Read more

'Minority Report' in waiting: Wearable tech on the cusp of going mainstream?

Years from now, will historians pinpoint 2013 as one of those myriad present-at-the-creation moments when a new technology entered the mainstream? When it comes to wearable computing, we're not there yet. But it seems that we're getting close.

Asked last week to assess the state of this nascent market, Apple's Tim Cook described wearable computing as profoundly interesting, which might qualify as understatement of the year.

Perhaps more than any other of its many skunkworks, Google's Project Glass has fired imaginations about the prospects -- as well as the perils -- of wearable computing. Hype aside, … Read more

Tiny bunny sculpture the size of a bacterium

Most commonly used as a test subject for 3D computer graphics, the Stanford Bunny has probably never turned up in a more intriguing place. This model of the bunny is tiny -- just a few micrometers across, the size of an average bacterium.

It was created by a team of physicists and chemists from Yokohama National University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the company C-MET to demonstrate a new type of resin that can be used to create electrodes. Currently, there are materials that can be used to create complex 3D sculptures, but there's a limitation that prevents these materials from being used in creating electronics. … Read more

The 404 1,277: Where we keep on sinning (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Simpsons theme park "Springfield" will serve duff beer, Krusty Burgers.

- 12 obsolete technologies Americans are still using.

- The Weird Stuff Warehouse where old tech goes to retire.

- Amazon greenlights 5 new shows.

- Why Amish teens love using Facebook.… Read more

EmoPulse bracelet smartphone wants to go beyond smartwatches

From Google Glass to the Pebble smartwatch, wearable tech is where it's at. The curved-screen EmoPulse Smile is a smartphone, smartwatch, and digital companion wrapped into one chunky wrist bracelet. It will be interesting to see if it can successfully get off the ground thanks to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

There's no Android versus iOS battle here. The Smile actually runs on Linux. That may put it at a disadvantage as far as app stores go, but it does give EmoPulse leeway to develop a custom system to try to carry out some ambitious features. The company is working on creating a device that learns what movies you like, monitors your sleep, and interacts with you with a personality meant to out-Siri Siri.… Read more

Apple's Tim Cook: Wearable tech is 'profoundly interesting'

It doesn't look like Apple will be cooking up its own rendition of Google Glass, but some other sort of wearable technology could be brewing.

During an interview at the D11 conference on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he thinks wearable computing is "profoundly interesting." While he noted that glasses seem to be "risky," the idea of wearing something on the wrist is "natural."

However, he said, "you have to convince people it's so incredible you want to wear it." Cook pointed out that most young people don'… Read more

Apple graphics-chip supplier hints at future iPad (Q&A)

Imagination Technologies, a graphics-chip designer that supplies the graphics tech in the iPad and iPhone, offers some tantalizing insights into what could power the next iPad.

CNET spoke Wednesday with Tony King-Smith, vice president of marketing at Imagination Technologies, about what's coming down the pike. While he would not confirm what's inside future iPads, it's a safe bet that Apple -- which has a 9.5 percent stake in the U.K. company -- will continue to tap its technology.

Q: Imagination chips are inside the newest iPad and iPhone, correct? King-Smith: The [graphics] core currently in … Read more