January - 2016

Uber is cutting prices to spur demand in a slow winter

Not surprisingly, demand for ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft tends to drop in January. You don't have all those holiday parties to visit, and you're usually back to the daily grind at class or work. Uber knows this all too well, and this year it's determined to do something about it -- the company is slashing fares in over 100 North American cities this month, 80 of which will see the cut on January 9th. How much the price drops depends on where you live. It'll be a r

Facebook is reportedly making a Messenger app for Mac

Desktop messaging apps haven't gotten much attention lately. Sure, you continue to see mainstays like Skype, but the big chat services still tend tosteer you toward websites. That might be changing shortly, however. ATechCrunch tipster has provided both an image and details of what looks like a native, pre-release Facebook Messenger app for the Mac. It's really the iOS app writ large, but it suggests that Facebook might be willing to return to the desktop after its relatively

Tesla hopes cars will drive themselves cross-country by 2018

Tesla only just introduced the ability to summon your car from its parking spot, but it already has much, much larger ambitions. Company chief Elon Musk is predicting that the Model S' just-introduced Summon feature will work anywhere within two years, or around 2018. As he puts it, you could ask your electric vehicle in New York City to meet you in Los Angeles -- so long as you could afford to wait a couple of days, you wouldn't have to budge. The company's snake-like automa

Netflix can help your kids ring in the New Year a bit early

While you're busy putting on a fancy dress or a shirt and tie for tonight's festivities, millions of parents around the world have to figure out how to trick their kids into going to bed at a decent hour on New Year's Eve so they can do the same. Netflix has a way to help. Available to watch right this instant, the streaming video juggernaut has a series of programmingchoices hosted by the likes of Inspector Gadget and the Care Bears to help the little ones ring in 2016 a few

AT&T drops 2-year contracts for smartphones after January 8

AT&T's long affair with the two-year contract continues to wind down, Engadget has learned. According to an internal document sent to employees this morning, new and existing customers will only be able to get new phones by paying the full price upfront or in installments over time. The move is set to take effect on January 8th, so you'd better act fast if you (for some reason) really want to lock yourself down for a few more years. Just to be perfectly clear, this move appli

Teslasuit’ is a Tactile Skin that Lets You Feel VR

A UK based company company who has integrated EMS (Electro Muscular Stimulation) into a wireless suit, they claim is capable of allowing you to feel sensations ranging from a cool breeze to the impact of a bullet. VR headsets are, at least for 2016, somewhat of a known quantity now. Most focus is therefore moving to delivering compelling input solutions that unlock the interactive potential of VR. But what’s missing once that problem is solved. The answer is feedback from tha