An Ariane 5 rocket rises from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, sending the BepiColombo probe on the first leg of its journey to Mercury. (Arianespace via YouTube) A mission to the planet Mercury got off to a flashy start with tonight’s launch of an Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket, but there’s a long way to go before the double-barreled…
Category: Technology
Seattle space leaders make their pitch to lawmakers for a new rocket test facility
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash, get a tour of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s campus in Redmond, Wash., from the facility’s general manager, Ken Young. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) REDMOND, Wash. — One of Congress’ leading Democrats, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, met with leaders of the Seattle area’s space community today to make a pitch…
Do cryptocurrencies need a company like coinbase?
Around the world, popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are being embraced by wide swaths of investors and tech enthusiast alike, which has generated a surge in cryptocurrency-supporting technologies, platforms, and websites. One of these supporting companies, Coinbase, has itself garnered a global reputation thanks to how much of a staple it’s become in the broader cryptocurrency community. But does…
An entrepreneur’s guide to Mexico City’s tech scene
In March of this year, Mexico was lauded by tech experts for becoming the first country in Latin America to pass a law regulating fintech, thus unlocking the potential of blockchain technologies to solve entrenched problems relating to political transparency and financial inclusion. For Mexico and its capital city of approximately 9 million, positive publicity can still feel like a…
Chrome 70’s best new feature is picture-in picture
Picture-in-picture has been available in Android for a while now, allowing you to watch a YouTube or Netflix video while doing other stuff. Now that same feature is coming to Chrome on the desktop. The feature has technically been available for a couple of months in the Chrome 69 beta, but Chrome 70 makes PiP public. It works like this:…
Facebook needed to hire a diplomat, and Nick Clegg is the smartest choice
When Elliot Schrage announced he was stepping down from his role as Facebook’s Head of Global Policy and Communications, the Internet was abuzz with rumors about who would replace him. Today, we learned that it would be Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and one-time leader of the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg’s formal title will be…
OnePlus pushes its 6T launch event up to avoid Apple overlap
We’ve known for a while that the OnePlus 6T would launch on October 30. It’s set to be OnePlus’ most ambitious device to date, with pre-launch coverage pointing to a smaller notch, and in-display fingerprint reader, and official carrier support via T-Mobile. But then Apple announced it was hosting an event the same day. For all of OnePlus’ popularity, it’s…
It’s only a matter of time until terrorists use AI as a weapon
Do you have a family emergency plan for autonomous weapon attacks? Stop, drop, and roll isn’t going to fool the drone tracking you. Duck and cover? Does it even matter? It’s hard to separate the hyperbole and science fiction-nonsense from practical concerns — for regular people — when it comes to autonomous weapons. Despite the late Stephen Hawking’s warnings, we’re…