Category: Biz Tech

A new Allrecipes Alexa skill can now help around the kitchen, bringing 60,000 recipes to try out. Users can search recipes based on the name of the dish, the ingredients they have or the time it would take, and Alexa will read the instructions out loud. ( Allrecipes | YouTube )A neat new skill from Allrecipes turns Amazon's Alexa into a knowledgeable foodie, with a vast trove of 60,000 recipes to share. Amazon Echo speakers have already been supporting some cooking skills

Scientists from the Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, and other team members used synthetic biology in the attempt to understand the DNA snippets that are generally produced by healthy cells in the process of cancer development. The researchers conducted a study that could lead to developing new, more efficient drugs dedicated to cancer prevention. The drugs would employ a technique that neutralizes the so-called "DNA intermediates," the pieces of DNA code that are produced as healthy cells in our bodies

GOES-R, the most advanced weather satellite of the United States was launched on Nov 19, Saturday. The rocket, carrying the satellite lifted off with jets of orange and yellow flames aiming to enter an orbit that is 22,000 miles above the Earth. Launched atop an Atlas V rocket, GOES-R is a collaborative mission between NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The four-satellite program (GOES-R/S/T/U) is seeking to expand the ongoing GOES satellite system's operations until 2036. Fitted with the Search and

New photos show an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon jungle that resists threats brought about by illegal mining in the area. The tribal community is in Yanomami indigenous territory in the north of Brazil, close to the border with Venezuela. About 22,000 Yanomami are estimated to be living on the Brazilian side of the border. At least three groups are known to have no contact with outsiders. The images taken from the air show a Yanomami yano, a communal house for several families

Solar panels at the moment are not super-affordable, and they are not yet at a position where homeowners could replace their regular roofs with only solar panels. However, Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, is hoping to make some big changes in this field. Not long ago, Tesla merged with SolarCity, and 85 percent of the shareholders approved the deal. Now, after a meeting with SolarCity's engineers, Musk believes it's possible to produce solar

Sony's recently launched PlayStation 4 Pro promises to bring 4K gaming to more players, as the updated video game console expands the capabilities of the original version. It seems that the technology is not the only thing being offered to PlayStation 4 Pro owners, as those who purchased the console are said to be receiving credits for the PlayStation Network worth $10 out of nowhere. This is not the first time that Sony has given away $10 of credit to the

A strong earthquake that hit New Zealand this week triggered tsunamis and landslides as well as killed at least two people and stranded thousands of others. What's making people talk about the disaster though is the seafloor that emerged out of the water as a result of the tremor. Powerful Earthquake The 7.8-magnitude earthquake after midnight on Monday, Nov. 14 was so strong it lifted the sea bed 2 meters (6.56 feet) and exposed seaweed-covered rocks and even marine animals above tide

As the dust settles and Macbook Pro owners begin working with their new laptops, problems begin to crop up. The latest of these involves a graphics card inconsistency that could confuse and even mislead users. Based on initial reports, the problem concerns how some MacBook Pro units purportedly show the wrong graphics card readout. MacBook Pro Readout Glitch The news was first reported by MacRumors, which cited users complaining that their 15-inch MacBook Pro variants show they are running Iris Pro 580 integrated graphics despite

HTC took the wraps off its Sprint-exclusive 5.5-inch HTC Bolt smartphone on Nov. 11, which runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. Now the buzz is that the flagship HTC 10 is also poised to get updated to the latest OS. While many HTC smartphones may be languishing on Android 6.0 Marshmallow even now, and are yet to get a taste of Android Nougat, this is set to change soon. The HTC 10 has been spotted running on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS and the

HTC has announced its 2016 Black Friday deals, offering massive discounts to customers on an array of HTC products. A previous Tech Times report highlighted that HTC started an early Black Friday deal that ended on Nov. 14. The early Black Friday HTC deals included a number of items, such as the HTC 10, One M9 and more. Customers who were unable to take advantage of these deals should not be disappointed because HTC is kicking off even more 2016 Black Friday deals

Mysterious, flashy radio waves originating from deep space known as fast radio burst or FRB have been a mystery and their sources have eluded astronomers. However, the brightest FRB recorded so far, precisely the 18th, known as FRB 150807 has been viewed by scientists led by Caltech scholar Vikram Ravi. Their findings are going to be a breakthrough for scientists in many respects. The research paper was published in the journal Science on Nov. 17. The discovery is a milestone in exploring the diffuse, faint web

Huawei has secretly slid in a new variant of the Mate 9, its flagship killer, bringing the total variants to three with the Mate 9 Pro, the Mate 9 Porsche edition and now the Mate 9 Lite, the a new shrunk down version of Huawei's flagship, specs and size-wise. The Mate 9 Lite has one major drawback, however, and it's the lack of Leica shooters in the back, since the product renders appear to have dropped the camera manufacturer's logo. Leica

Both Google and Apple rely on its individual app stores as an added selling point for its smartphone products, because what's a smartphone without the apps? Simply banking on a huge library, however, is only a small part of the equation. Apps need to have an inherent retention power. They must provide enough features and perform excellently in order to remain situated in a user's app tray. It seems as if Android is failing to pinion itself strongly in this regard,

Preorders for the official 'Star Wars' drones by Propel will begin next week, Nov. 22. For $230, fans can purchase a Millennium Falcon, X-Wing, TIE Fighter or Speeder Bike and engage in laser dogfights with other drones. ( Propel )Drone manufacturer Propel will begin accepting preorders for its line of official Star Wars drones starting next week at price tags of $230 each. After preorders, shipping will begin in the week after Thanksgiving, which means that fans of the long-running movie franchise may

As a last wish, a 14-year-old UK teen convinced the high court to be cryogenically frozen, hoping that one day she will be brought back to life. The girl suffered from terminal cancer, and she explained in court that she wanted to have a chance at living longer. The court ruled that the girl's mother should be the one to decide on what to do about her daughter's body. Initially, the estranged father did not agree with this idea; however, as

A number of children suffer from a quite odd syndrome, which consists of the impossibility to get their hair combed. The German term for this phenomenon is "Struwwelpeter syndrome," which translates to "uncombable hair syndrome." A new research conducted by scientists from the Universities of Bonn and Toulouse have spotted the gene mutations that are responsible for this condition. As part of the study, representatives of the scientific community from eight different states were involved in the research. The study was published

According to the researchers, a third pyramid was found within the Kukulkan pyramid in Mexico. The construction is approximately 33 feet, and it was found between other two structures that were formerly discovered. As the data suggests, the pyramid seems to have been built in three different phases, showing an entire perspective on the ancient civilization. In 2015, a team of archaeologists used electrical imaging to find the pyramid called El Castillo. During their research, they suggested that the construction was

Qualcomm officially unveiled its new Snapdragon 835 processor built on Samsung's 10nm process, not only boosting performance but also reducing the time it takes to charge a device. The next-generation SoC for mobile devices is the latest and greatest in Qualcomm's extensive lineup of more than 200 designs, and follows the powerful Snapdragon 820 and 821 processors powering the latest Android flagships. Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 On Samsung Tech What makes the Snapdragon 835 truly special is that it's based on Samsung's 10nm FinFET

 Findings of a new study have revealed another danger of getting bitten by mosquitoes. It turns out that these bugs that carry Zika virus and chikungunya virus can infect people with two viruses in a single bite.Chikungunya And Zika Virus In One Bite For the new study presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene on Nov. 14, researchers found that they can infect mosquitoes with both Zika and chikungunya, which causes joint pain and fever. When

Airbnb revealed a revamped version of its app at the company's annual conference for hosts in Los Angeles that expands the services offered beyond only booking rooms. The Airbnb app, in addition to a "Homes" section that contains its popular room rental service, will now also be featuring sections named "Experiences" and "Places." What Is Airbnb Experiences? Airbnb's Experiences section contains the "Trips" program, which will allow customers to book activities that they would like to do as part of their travel plans. The activities

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, the business-centric social networking site, has been blocked in Russia after a court ruling adjudged the service of violating data laws. On Thursday, Nov. 17, Roskomnadzor — the Russian regulatory watchdog for IT and communications — decreed that ISPs in the region block access of LinkedIn website to the public. This was to make LinkedIn conform to a court ruling that pronounced the company guilty of violating Russia's data laws. Roskomnadzor revealed that its action was fueled by the desire to

Thanos is the big bad of the Marvel comic universe. In fact, he's so big and so bad that the entire Marvel film universe has been building toward a confrontation between him and the heroes of Earth. It's only natural then that Marvel continues to put the spotlight on the character in the comics. But whereas previous Thanos story have looked to flesh out the villain's backstory, this new series from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Mike Deodato moves Thanos forward

Thanks to NASA's Spitzer and Swift space telescopes joining forces to study a microlensing event, astronomers had a rare achievement of locating an elusive brown dwarf planet. The debut collaboration made the microlensing event a useful occasion. During the phenomenon, a distant star looks brighter thanks to the gravitational pull of a cosmic object in the foreground, which, in turn, makes highlighting of low-mass bodies that orbit big stars an easy job. "We want to understand how brown dwarfs form around stars, and why

Barnes & Noble, putatively regarded as the largest U.S. retail bookseller, is releasing its most affordable tablet yet named the Nook Tablet, a lightweight Android-powered tablet. Per usual, the Nook Tablet will have access to Barnes & Noble's sweeping content, which the company claims to include millions of Nook books, thousands of Nook audiobooks and hundreds of magazines accessible via its proprietary Nook store. Nook Tablet While the Nook Tablet might be cheap at $49.99, it still comes with a 7-inch IPS touchscreen display,

Astronomers have identified the roundest object measured in the universe. The object, a distant star located about 5,000 light years away from planet Earth, is more than twice the size of the sun but is significantly more round. Stars And Planets Not Perfectly Spherical Stars and planets are not perfect spheres. These celestial object flatten out in the middle when they rotate because of centrifugal force. The faster planets and stars spin, the greater is their centrifugal force. Objects tend to become

Pluto's iconic icy heart is likely harboring a slushy ocean with layers of frozen nitrogen and water ice, which best explains the features revealed after the New Horizons spacecraft flyby, a new study suggests. What's more, the dwarf planet may have once been walloped by a large comet that left a "giant scar" on its surface, which has since then been filled with heavy nitrogen ice, scientists said. Pluto Is An 'Ocean World' The theory that Pluto holds an underground liquid water ocean

The West Nile Virus infection could be deadlier than previously thought, reports a recent study presented at the 2016 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting. The mosquito-borne disease is found to cause fatalities even years after initial exposure to the virus. Kristy O. Murray, the lead author of the study from the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital said that, amid Zika virus threats prevailing in the United States, it was found that WNV is potentially fatal in

Over the past few episodes, the battle between the evil Zamasu and Goku, Vegeta and Trunks has been heating up. It seems Zamasu's fusion with Goku Black simply made the villain too powerful for the Z fighters to overcome. But as episode 66 of Dragon Ball Super shows, the defenders of Earth have a few more tricks up their sleeves.As was heavily teased in previews for episode 66, fans do indeed get to witness the second appearance of Vegito, the

A consortium of space and research organizations, Project Blue is aiming to photograph planets around the Alpha Centauri star system, starting with launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund efforts to spot a "pale blue dot" that signify Earth-like planetary conditions conducive to life. Set to last until Dec. 21, 2016, the Project Blue Kickstarter campaign has a funding goal of at least $1 million. It's a dramatically modest budget compared to what space agencies like NASA have spent for their space

While emojis will certainly not replace texts in messages anytime soon, it is increasingly integrated into modern electronic communication. That is why when Apple redesigned the peach emoji for an iOS 10 beta version, the company drew immense amount of flak, prompting a complete turnaround. Realistic iOS Style This issue has two important variables going for it. First, there is Apple's drive to redesign the entire range of emojis available in future iterations of the iOS. In the current beta versions, the changes indicate

Snapchat parent company, Snap Inc., has just filed confidentiality for its initial public offering (IPO), according to reports. News about a Snapchat IPO at a $25 billion valuation first surfaced back in October, and new reports now bolster such claims. The company is reportedly seeing to raise $4 billion, which would lead to a valuation of $25 to $35 billion. The confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) means that the annual revenue Snap Inc. makes is lower than $1 billion,

Clouds, weather conditions and intense urban lighting may have prevented some people to see and appreciate the supermoon this week but there were lucky ones who were able to gaze and capture amazing photos of the moon. One man may have been luckier though as he was able to capture what some think is a video of UFOs passing by the lunar orb. The supermoon watcher managed to film what he claimed to be UFOs while he was viewing and taking videos

By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. BakerSnapchat has filed for an initial public offering, sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday, which puts the messaging app a step closer to the biggest U.S. stock market debut since 2014.The Venice, California-based company could go public as soon as March and be valued at $20 billion to $25 billion, making it the largest IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA.N) went public two years ago valued at $170.9

By Paul Sandle | LONDONLONDON Google delivered a vote of confidence in London's future as a technological hub after the Brexit vote on Tuesday by announcing plans for a new building in the King's Cross area of the city that will house thousands of extra engineers.Google's Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said computer science had a great future in Britain, citing the talent pool, educational institutions, and passion for innovation present in the country."That's why we are investing in London in