Todoist redesigns its iOS app to save you time, increase productivity

There are plenty of to-do list options out there, ready to equip your phone with software to help you meet deadlines. Todoist is one of those, and the iOS version of the app just got a massive redesign. First, instead of typing in an item, and then having to tap a few more menus to assign a due date or tack onto a project, composing all of that info in the text box will automatically complete the necessary tags. The app inputs the date and makes...

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Amazon brings back the white Kindle e-reader in China and Japan

Have you missed white Kindle e-readers ever since they disappeared in 2012? So has Amazon. The internet retailer has quietly unveiled a white version of its basic Kindle reader that's headed to at least China on April 8th, and Japan on April 20th. It's virtually identical to the $79 black model, including the 800 x 600 e-paper touchscreen, WiFi and 4GB of storage -- you're really just getting a cosmetic change here. Still, it's hard not to be curious...

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Watch TED Talks, MTV and Pac-12 sports on your Chromecast

Interested in watching thought-provoking discussions, music videos and college sports on your TV through a Chromecast stick? You're covered as of today. Google has announced that the mobile apps for MTV, Pac-12 sports, TED Talks and Qello Concerts now have Chromecast support, so you can check out that inspirational presentation on the big screen without buying a set-top box or connecting your PC. This isn't the most significant thing that Google...

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Samsung delays its next-gen home automation devices

It'll take a while longer to see how Samsung's acquisition has improved SmartThings' Hub and sensors. The company was supposed to release its next-gen home automation devices this April, but now it's pushing back the launch date. SmartThings isn't even 100 percent sure when it will be able to release the new devices, but it says it will "most likely [happen in] Q3" 2015. Version 2 of its Hub and sensors just aren't ready for launch yet, as the...

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Google shows how it fights apps that insert unwanted web ads

It's bad enough when apps add unwanted toolbars and buttons in your browser, but it's especially irksome when they inject ads. It's no fun to have a technical support scam interrupt your web reading, after all. Google clearly hates this rogue software as much as you do, though, as it just outlined what it's doing to fight ad injectors. In Chrome, the company's tougher extension rules and malware blockers theoretically prevent code from inserting...

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Daily Roundup: MacBook Pro review, the new Surface 3 and more!

April Fools' Day is nearly upon us and now's your chance to get caught up on the last bit of serious news before the internet gets crazy. First up, we review Apple's refreshed MacBook Pro with Retina display and find out if the Force Touch trackpad is everything we've hoped and dreamed. Meanwhile, Microsoft announces the Surface 3 running Windows 8.1 and Google comes up with a new way to put Chrome OS on your television. Head past the break for...

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The Big Picture: Yeah right, this was shot on a mobile phone

The World Photography Organization has announced the winners of its 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, including those from the inaugural mobile phone category. Out of some 96,000 entries, only three shots were chosen. Incredibly, this spectacular scene captured by Janos M Schmidt of Hungary didn't even take home top prize -- that honor went to Salvatori Calafato of Italy. But trust, you don't want to see that image in full definition.[Image Credit:...

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This is how you refuel Zero's electric motorcycle

If there's one problem to racing a super-cool electric motorcycle, it's that pit stops tend to be a bit slow. After all, in the time it takes a regular hot rod to refuel, you've probably only gained one or two percent of charge. That's why Zero Motorcycles has created a patent pending hot-swappable battery system for the Zero FX that enables you to "refuel" the e-bike in just over half a minute. The clip below shows you how quickly this can be...

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Facebook's 'Scrapbook' puts all of those baby photos in one place

There are way too many baby pictures on Facebook. And they need to be organized. Starting today, the network rolled out an optional "Scrapbook" feature that lets parents sort through the digital heap of their children's photos. On the site, under the Family & Relationships tab, a party-hat-wearing blue elephant gives you the option to add your child's (or pet's) name to start the album. The tool then automatically places photos tagged with...

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Festo's insect-inspired robots act like the real things

German automation company Festo is known for taking cues from nature when designing robots. This time, it has revealed futuristic-looking bionic ants, realistic robotic butterflies and a silicone gripper based on chameleons' tongue. Just like real ants, the 3D-printed BionicANTs can cooperate in small groups to move bigger objects, though they're much, much larger at 5.3 inches in length. They have cameras on their heads, optical sensors on their...

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Limited edition 'Batman' PlayStation 4 scratches that superhero itch

If you missed out on that coveted 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4, don't fret: there's another special-run model coming soon. Sony has unveiled a limited edition Batman: Arkham Knight PS4 bundle that gives you a "steel grey" console emblazoned with the Caped Crusader's silhouette alongside the matching controller and, of course, the game. You'll want to pre-order the $450 pack quickly if you want to stand a chance of getting it on its June 23rd...

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'Un Chien Andalou' inspires a surreal indie game from Russian devs

In 1929, famed artist Salvador Dalí and filmmaker Luis Buñuel awoke from a night of strange dreams, Buñuel recalling the image of a razor blade cloud slicing through the moon as if it were an eyeball, and Dalí describing a human hand covered in ants. They turned these images into a silent, surrealist short film called Un Chien Andalou, which opens on a woman with one eye held open, a cloud cutting across the moon and a blade slicing through the...

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Apple opens the floodgates to Watch-friendly apps

You may have noticed a few Apple Watch-friendly iOS apps trickle out, but brace yourself: you're about to face a torrent of them. Apple has opened up WatchKit app submissions to all developers (not just the handful of early partners from before), so anyone who has been toiling over wristwear-ready software in the past few months can finally put it on your iPhone. Given that the Apple Watch release is still three weeks away, this suggests that the...

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Buy an LG G3 in the US, get a free VR headset

LG's new mobile VR headset -- which is basically just a plastic version of Google's cardboard VR viewer -- is finally hitting American shores. The company just announced that it'll be throwing in a free headset, simply called the VR for G3, with the purchase of its latest flagship Android phone at participating retailers. Since it's adopting the Google Cardboard platform, which is just a box that you can plug your smartphone in for simple VR experiences,...

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Flickr gives you the choice to put photos in the public domain

Flickr has long had ways to let others use and tweak your photos, but if you want to give up your copyright altogether? You can now do just that. In the wake of Elon Musk releasing SpaceX's photos to public domain, Flickr has added options for public domain and Creative Commons 0 ("no rights reserved") licenses. Choose them and others can do whatever they want with your images, free of charge or even credit. If you see your photography as more...

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Patent reveals GoPro's working on a 'square profile' camera design

GoPro doesn't make square, cube-like cameras, but if it did, the picture (after the break) is probably what they'd look like. The image comes from a patent granted to GoPro today. The protection covers a "Camera housing for a square-profile camera," rather than a camera itself (makers of square cameras, your time to check is now). Sifting through the claims, the patent mentions how the square housing would allow a camera to be mounted in numerous...

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JXE Streams: Boldly exploring space in 'Sid Meier's Starships'

Sid Meier scares the crap out of me. I'm deeply familiar with the famed strategy game creator's resume -- from the history-spanning Civilization series to the high seas simulations in Sid Meier's Pirates! -- but I've only ever played one of his games. The reason I never picked another up after trying Civilization III is that once I started playing I didn't stop for about 36 hours. The man makes a deeply cerebral game but also a deeply addictive...

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MacBook Pro with Retina display review (13-inch, 2015)

Nope, it's not the new MacBook. That review will need to wait until next month. What we have here is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. For all intents and purposes, it's the same one we last tested in late 2013, except for one important thing: It swaps out the old trackpad in favor of a pressure-sensitive "Force Touch" pad that responds differently depending on how hard you bear down on it. (A hard-press on the skip button in QuickTime,...

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Charter buys a cable company to make up for losing Time Warner

Charter lost out on its chance to snatch Time Warner Cable before Comcast made its move, so it's settling for the next best thing. The company just unveiled plans to acquire Bright House Networks, a cable provider that's mostly big in Florida, for about $10.4 billion. Reportedly, the move is about getting "strategic flexibility" and solidifying Charter's position as the second-largest cable company in the US. In other words, it wants to both improve...

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Microsoft technology gives Seattle 5,000 times faster public WiFi

Techie culture-vultures aren't likely to encounter Vine upload fails anymore at Seattle's home to arts, culture and the Space Needle thanks to Microsoft. The city's biggest patron has installed a new WiFi service at the Seattle Center that uses new technology to blow away the previous system's speed and capacity. The installation is a pilot program for Microsoft Research's white space tech that harnesses long-range, wall-penetrating TV signals....

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Google reveals budget Chromebooks including a $249 ASUS convertible

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for some new Chromebooks. Yep, Google has just announced four new Chrome OS laptops, all of which lean toward the budget-friendly end of the spectrum. They are the ASUS Chromebook Flip, the ASUS Chromebook C201, the Hisense Chromebook and the Haier Chromebook 11 (This also comes in an educational version dubbed the 11e). Though it's the priciest model at $249, the most notable one by far is ASUS' Chromebook Flip....

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Google puts Chrome OS on your TV with its own HDMI stick

Google has unveiled a whole new type of Chrome device, and it's one that can fit in your pocket. It's called the Chromebit, and it's essentially a Chromebook crammed in a dongle. This tiny little package contains a Rockchip 3288 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of eMMC memory, a USB 2.0 port, WiFi 802.11 ac support, Bluetooth 4.0, a Smart Ready controller and an ARM Mali 760 quad-core GPU. Just like Intel's Compute Stick, all you have to do to get the Chromebit...

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BSXinsight's calf-worn workout intensity sensor is now available

When you're doing an exercise upon yourself, your body generates lactic acid, the levels of which are considered to be the most accurate way to measure your performance during a workout. Unfortunately, you can only test lactate levels with a blood test and some heavy duty equipment, at least, that was the case until now. Kickstarter success BSXinsight is now beginning to ship its wearable sensor that's designed to provide the same information just...

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The Big Picture: Gorgeous shot captures a drone's fiery flight

Photographer Calder Wilson added an explosive new method to his long exposure "light paintings" earlier this year when he was struck by a brilliant notion: Strap some leftover New Year's fireworks to the back of a UAV, light them up and then lift off. The results speak for themselves. When he's not shooting these sparkling drones, you can find Wilson capturing beautiful images of some of the biggest concerts on the planet.Filed under: Transportation...

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Relax: De La Soul's album's already smashed its Kickstarter goal

De La Soul love sampling, so much so that they feel as if a whole branch of copyright law was invented just for them. The sample-heavy trio (for three is the magic number) didn't want to have to compromise their artistic vision for their ninth album, so took to Kickstarter to ask for your cash. It didn't take long before the group smashed its $110,000 crowdfunding goal, and so the new De La Soul album will find its way into mailboxes this September.Rather...

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Dropbox updates document preview so that you can do more than just preview

If you accessed a document today on Dropbox.com, you might notice that it looks a little different -- the preview screen real estate is a little larger, the design is a little cleaner and oh wait, is that a new toolbar? That's because the cloud storage company has just decided to change up document previews on the web in order to add a bit more functionality than just, well, preview. It's all part of an effort by Dropbox to make sure documents...

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Google Maps turned your streets into Pac-Man today

Your streets can be an iconic arcade game right now. Google Maps has a Pac-Man option just in time for April Fool's Day. With the click of a button, your streets will be dotted with yellow pellets and the four famous ghosts. New York City, with its perpendicular streets, is perfect for Pac-Man's maze. I zipped around the block for a few minutes, until I ran into Pinky outside Webster Hall. Even though everyone's streets probably won't convert into...

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Court rules that UberPOP cars can still pick you up in Paris

Uber's Paris headquarters were recently raided by 25 policement, but a court has now ruled that its disputed UberPOP service is actually honky-dory -- for now. The company's low-cost ridesharing option uses non-professional drivers that French authorities say are under-insured (its other services use professional drivers and are legal). However, the decision is more of a reprieve than a victory for Uber. Paris's Cour d'Appel merely passed the buck...

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Re-order everyday items from Amazon with the 'Dash Button'

Amazon is rolling out the Dash Button, a physical device that allows customers to re-order items like toilet paper, diapers and laundry detergent as soon as they run out, with a simple press. This initiative builds off of Amazon's previous device, the Dash, which scanned barcodes and allowed customers to simply speak which items they wanted to renew.Developing ... Filed under: Household, Alt Comments from Engadget Full RSS Feed http://ift.t...

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Engadget giveaway: win a Shield Tablet gaming package courtesy of NVIDIA!

Spring has sprung and while you may have been huddled by your PC's GPU all winter for some scant warmth, you can now continue your gaming sessions under the sun's rays. NVIDIA's GRID gaming service streams popular PC games right to its Shield devices, giving you some operational freedom beyond the desktop. GRID offers titles like Borderlands: The Pre-Sequal , Resident Evil 5 and Crysis 3, and the Shield Tablet, which packs a 192 Core Kepler GPU,...

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LG and Samsung end their war over broken washing machines

LG and Samsung just can't stay mad at each other over a few broken washing machines. The two electronics giants have agreed to end the legal disputes that emerged after Samsung accused an LG exec of willfully wrecking its washers at the IFA trade show last year. As LG explains to us, it was in the "best interest" of not just the companies, but South Korea. The country is dealing with a rough economy, you see, and the two sides would rather focus...

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Nintendo squashes browser-based Mario tribute game

While Nintendo proper might be willing to let some folk make a Mario game, we're a long way from that extending to free browser-based versions of the company's best-known franchise. As such, that Super Mario 64 HD tribute that popped up last Friday is (perhaps predictably) no more. Now back to work, the lot of you.Original Work: The copyrighted work at issue is Nintendoâ€[TM]s Super Mario 64 video game (U.S. Copyright Reg. No. PA0000788138), including...

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