In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from the best apps for keeping track of the Euro 2016 action to how we’re growing human organs inside pigs, it’s all here.
Alphabet wants to beam high-speed Internet to your home
Google has been laying down fiber cables for four years, but parent-company Alphabet is already thinking about a future where you don’t have to dig “up your garden” to get high-speed internet access. In another moonshot project, Alphabet wants to wirelessly beam it into your home. Why? It’s cheaper, and apparently the technology today makes it viable, according to Alphabet’s Chairman Eric Schmidt at the annual shareholder meeting.
While awaiting a transplant, this guy lived with an artificial ‘heart in a backpack’ for 555 days
For more than a year, Stan Larkin was a heartless man — literally. The 25-year-old had his heart removed while awaiting transplant and was sustained using a backpack-encased artificial heart. Larkin not only survived 555 days with this portable heart, but he also thrived, returning home from the hospital and even playing basketball with the device.
Time to change your Twitter password: 32 million accounts may have been hacked
Mark Zuckerberg, Katy Perry, Keith Richards, Tame Impala, Drake, Tenacious D, oh, and Twitter founder Evan Williams. What do they have in common? They’ve all had their Twitter accounts compromised in recent days, that’s what. And late Thursday it emerged the apparent hack could be serious. Like 32-million-accounts serious.
Gooaaal! Don’t miss a single goal with the best Euro 2016 apps
The next World Cup is still two years away, but the Euro Championship is the next best thing for soccer (fùtbol) fans. The battle commences on Friday, June 10, as 24 teams from across Europe meet in 51 matches to decide who is the best on the continent. And if you want to keep up with every corner kick, save, and sliding tackle, below are some of the best Euro 2016 apps to do it.
Transparent sound takes on a whole new meaning with this directional glass speaker
Considering how long the concept has been around, speakers haven’t changed all that much. And it turns out that there is plenty of room left to innovate, as we’re beginning to see more companies exploring the idea of directional sound. That said, until now, we’ve never seen the idea demonstrated in such a striking manner. On Wednesday, Turtle Beach unveiled the HyperSound Glass speaker, a fully transparent pane of glass that emits sound.
Mark Zuckerberg will answer your questions in his first Facebook Live Q&A
Mark Zuckerberg is doing his bit to promote his company’s push into live-streaming by hosting a Q&A on Facebook Live. In a short video post that was shared from his account on Wednesday, the Facebook founder and CEO announced the live chat broadcast in a rather quiet fashion. The clip features a simple typed-out message on a black background stating the time and date of the event. The Q&A session kicks off at 11.30 a.m. PT on June 14.
The Tesla effect: 90 percent of new cars may track your driving by 2020
As the owner of a Tesla Model X discovered last weekend, the company records every driver action. You can’t claim vehicle error when the data shows otherwise. And most newer cars have vehicle “black boxes” that, just as in aircraft, keep a record of vehicle activity. No other car companies today track data as extensively and stream it continuously via a dedicated wireless connection in the way that Tesla does with all its vehicles, but that’s about to change, according to a report in MIT Technology Review.
Lenovo’s foldable phone prototype snaps onto your wrist like a slap bracelet
Foldable displays and smartphones are typically associated with manufacturing giants like Samsung and LG. Add another player to that list: Lenovo. The company just demoed a prototype foldable tablet and phone at its Tech World convention in San Francisco. YouTuber Meghan McCarthy demoed the prototypes, and by no means are these the final products — there aren’t even names for these devices yet. However, the prototypes look intriguing.
UC Davis biologists are trying to grow transplantable human organs inside of living pigs
The World Health Organization calls the shortage of transplantable organs “virtually a universal problem” due to legal and sociocultural factors in countries around the globe. Developed countries may meet demand better than the rest, but even so, patients here are still underserved. United States scientists are now attempting unconventional means to meet this growing demand – with researchers from the University of California, Davis injecting human stem cells into the embryos of pigs.
Last month, for the first time ever, the UK generated more energy from solar than coal
The United Kingdom just passed a huge milestone in its renewable energy program – in May, for the first-ever calendar month, the U.K. generated more solar power than coal power. The difference wasn’t slight either. In fact, about 1,336 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity came from solar compared to the 893GWh generated by coal, according to research by analysts at Carbon Brief. That means a renewable source created over 50 percent more of the country’s power than coal.
