Techmeme
February 16, 2015, 12:05 PM

Top News

Ian Parker / New Yorker:
An in-depth look inside the top-secret lab where Jonathan Ive's design team created the Apple Watch  —  The Shape of Things to Come  —  How an industrial designer became Apple's greatest product.  —  I. Launch Day … “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the cute way.”  —  »
Federal Aviation Administration:
DOT and FAA Propose New Rules for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems  —  WASHINGTON - The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration today proposed a framework of regulations that would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today's aviation system …
Neil Savage / IEEE Spectrum:
Researchers working on a light-based “Li-Fi” wireless system capable of 100 Gbps speeds, requires direct line of sight to a receiver  —  Li-Fi-like System Would Bring 100-Gbps Speeds Straight to Your Computer  —  The light that zips data across the Internet's backbone used …
Scott Stein / CNET:
LG announces Watch Urbane, an Android Wear smartwatch with a round display and metal body  —  LG reveals LG Watch Urbane, an Android Wear watch with looks to battle Apple  —  LG Watch Urbane: ready for your fancy suit.  —  LG's latest smartwatch has gone for a fancy look, but still runs Android Wear.
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
HP Stream and Pavilion Mini desktops reviewed: cheap starting at $179, decent performance despite bloatware, and easy to upgrade  —  Cheap, functional, upgradeable: HP's Stream and Pavilion Mini desktops reviewed  —  These inexpensive Windows desktops have a surprising amount to offer.
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
Small MVNOs FreedomPop and Republic Wireless rely primarily on Wi-Fi, fall back on cellular to reduce costs; new entrants like Google may do the same  —  Small Phone Companies Use Wi-Fi to Punch Above Their Weight  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It would not be an insult to say Republic Wireless and FreedomPop are obscure little companies.
Tweets: @davidmorken
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Behind Quirky's crowdsourcing model, which promises to bring hardware products to market faster  —  The Invention Mob, Brought to You by Quirky  —  As inventions go, Jake Zien's was a clever fix rather than an imaginative breakthrough: Irritation was the mother of his invention.
Mona Lalwani / The Verge:
Binaural audio recording, which creates realistic 3D sound, resurges thanks to virtual reality  —  Surrounded by sound: how 3D audio hacks your brain  —  A century-old audio technology is making a comeback thanks to VR  —  On a crisp afternoon late last year, I made my way to Manhattan's Upper East Side …

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Featured Podcasts

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The Talk Show With John Gruber:
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
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Earlier Picks

Jon Ronson / New York Times: