Skip to main content

Latest by Andrew Couts

start serious drone habit drones 101

Drones 101: A beginner’s guide to taking flight, no license needed

What is a drone, anyway? And which one should I buy? Get answers to these questions and more in our beginner's guide to UAVs.
facebook do not track kids act teen computer

Facebook won’t like this new teenager privacy bill

A new bill, the "Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013," arrives in Congress as Facebook updates its privacy policy once again.
fcc chairmans net neutrality revisions may enough silence dissent tom wheeler

Want to unlock your smartphone? The new FCC Chairman has your back

New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has told CTIA that its members must adopt new polices that allow customers to easily unlock their phones.
google book scan authors guild books

Like to read? Google wins the right to legally scan books for the Web

Google has won a victory against the Author's Guild that allows the Internet giant to continue operating Google Books.
3d-printed-gun-liberator

US gov’t video shows why 3D-printing your own gun is a bad idea

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tested a number of 3D-printed firearms, and found that some of them could explode.
hey kid want buy sandwich com yahoo sells url stash logo

Hey, kid, want to buy Sandwich.com? Yahoo sells off its URL stash

Yahoo is selling off 29 of its unused or under-used domains, like sandwich.com, which will cost you as little as $50,000.
morph airline seat concept 2

Airplane seat concept adjusts to your size, lets airlines nickel-and-dime you to death

Seymourpowell-designed Morph aircraft seat concept adjusts for different sized passengers – and lets airlines charge even more for seat upgrades.
motorola google patents throat tattoo microphone neck

Who needs Bluetooth headsets? Motorola patents ‘neck tattoo’ smartphone accessory

Motorola has patented an electronic neck tattoo that does the job of a Bluetooth headset.
hands whistle dog activity monitor feature

Going hands on and off-leash with Whistle, an activity tracker for your dog

Whistle activity tracker for dogs keeps tabs on how much exercise your pup receives each day, and looks good while doing it.
openrov underwater drone

Shoot your own ‘Shark Week’ with this $850 underwater ‘drone’

OpenROV, an open-source remotely operated mini-submarine, lets anyone explore the ocean's depths like a pro.
youtubes commenter uproar proves googles crystal ball is broken

YouTube’s commenter uproar proves Google’s crystal ball is broken

Google's integration of Google+ with YouTube comments has users grabbing their pitchforks. Give its wealth of data, how did Google get this so wrong?
cell phone airplane etiquette

Thanks to Gogo, the dream (nightmare) of in-flight calling and texting will soon be real

Gogo's forthcoming Text & Talk service will allow airlines passengers to make calls and send text messages from their smartphones while flying.
civilian drone

The drones are coming! This is how the FAA wants to deal with flying robots

The Federal Aviation Administration has released "roadmap" explaining what needs to happen before drones can safely fly in U.S. airspace.
youtube google plus jawed karim comment maxresdefault

Even YouTube’s co-founder hates the new Google+ commenting integration

Like many other people, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim is not too happy about the new Google+ comment integration feature.
silk road 2 launches fbi drugs marketplace bitcoin

Sorry, FBI! Silk Road is back online, and still selling illegal drugs

A month after the FBI shut down the infamous online drug marketplace known as Silk Road, a new team has relaunched the site, and users are getting excited.
google mystery barges solved barge

Mystery solved! Google says barges will be ‘interactive space’ to show off new tech

Google has confirmed that it's behind the mystery barges in California and Maine. They also said that the structures will be used as "interactive spaces" to show off tech.
apple tim cook lunch big

Apple reveals gov’t requests for user data and takes jabs at Google, Facebook, NSA

Apple on Tuesday released its first-ever transparency report, which catalogs information about world government request for user data.
dark mail kickstarter ladar levison email

Want secure email? Edward Snowden’s former email provider has a solution

Ladar Levison, founder of the shuttered Lavabit email service, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Dark Mail, an anti-NSA email protocol.
e_cigarettes safe or not

Are e-cigarettes safe or not? Research on fog machines could lift the haze

E-cigarette safety is a matter of contention. But a look at studies of a similar product, theatrical fog machines, may give us some insight.
bittorrent sync beta api peer to

BitTorrent aims to make the Internet free from the NSA’s prying eyes

BitTorrent has released an API that allows developers to create encrypted peer-to-peer applications.
google chief fears surveillance scandal could break the internet eric schmidt

Google’s Eric Schmidt blasts alleged NSA data center spying

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt calls allegations about the NSA tapping Google and Yahoo data center networks "outrageous."
elitism googles marketing strategy glass google exclusive

How will Google make Glass cool? By keeping it out of your hands

The high price of Google Glass is no mistake – it's part of a well-worn marketing strategy to make the wearable tech seem cooler than it really is.
woof app feature

Woof app lets you mark your dog’s territory without lifting a leg

Woof for iOS connects you with other dog owners, and lets you find parks for your pooch.
google barge to leave san francisco bay for new home still unfinished

Google’s mystery barges said to be ‘dazzling,’ invite-only showrooms for Google X

Google's mysterious barges will be used to show off the company's Google X products to high-end clientele, according to sources.
faa new in flight gadget rules laptop airplane

FAA’s new rules let you use gadgets during takeoff and landing

The FAA announced today that airline passengers will soon be allowed to use their personal electronics throughout all portions of their flights.
googles mystery barge coast guard sergey brin 7

Google mystery barges get a visit from the Coast Guard (and they ain’t talkin’)

The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that the mysterious barges in San Francisco Bay are linked to Google, but they're legally forbidden to reveal more details.
nsa collecting google yahoo data drawing

NSA secretly taps into Google, Yahoo data centers, leaked documents show

The NSA has collected hundreds of millions of records from the data centers of Google and Yahoo through a security backdoor, reports the Washington Post
isohunt archive team pirate flag

Illegal BitTorrent site isoHunt rises from the grave after death blow

Online file-sharing site isoHunt returns with a new domain thanks to ArchiveTeam, a group that attempts to keep dying websites alive.
bing maps google vs

Don’t laugh! Microsoft has Google beat on maps, but you would never know it

Bing Maps is better than Google Maps on the Web – but Microsoft needs to up its mobile game to make its mapping product the go-to for travelers.
real books vs ebooks ebook empty bookshelf

Is there any reason to own paper books beside showing off? Not really

It's official: Ebooks are superior to paper books – and that's coming from someone who loves paper books.
we are turning our dogs into cyborgs and thats awesome saggio tagg 4

Dog sweaters are still dumb, but dog tech can turn Fido into a K9 cyborg

Technology designed for dogs and other pets isn’t just a gimmick – it’s fundamentally transforming the way we communicate with our furry best friends. And that’s just the beginning.
world view balloon ride space capsule 311012

Catch a balloon ride to the ‘edge of space’ – for $75,000

World View Enterprises announced this week that the FAA has approved its plans to offer balloon rides up nearly 100,000 feet into Earth's atmosphere.
wikipedia equality

Wikipedia editors are at war with paid PR ‘sockpuppets’

Wikipedia editors have gone after paid "sockpuppet" users allegedly hired by a company called Wiki-PR, which charges hundreds of dollars to write articles.
say goodbye to organic web weirdness virality comes in a can now viral videos

Now that ‘virality’ comes in a can, do we have to say goodbye to organic web weirdness?

The viral content is as old as the Web itself. But these days, it seems as though advertisers and corporations have taken over the people's medium.