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New Amelia Earhart bio delves into her unconventional marriage

Famed aviator Amelia Earhart has captured our imaginations for nearly a century, particularly her disappearance in 1937 during an attempt to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe. Earhart was a complicated woman, highly skilled as a pilot yet with a tendency toward carelessness. And her marriage to a flamboyant publisher with a flair for marketing may have encouraged that carelessness and contributed to her untimely demise, according to a fascinating new book, The Aviator and

Google Ventures doubles down on dev tool startup Blacksmith just 4 months after its seed round

As speed becomes the defining currency in an AI-driven software world, Blacksmith has raised another round led by Google Ventures — just four months after its seed — to accelerate how code gets shipped. The $10 million Series A closed in just 14 days, with Google Ventures doubling down after first backing Blacksmith’s $3.5 million seed in May. At the time, Alphabet’s VC arm bet on the size of the market and the founding team, which included veterans of Cockroach Labs, another GV portfolio compa

This smartphone telescope brought tears to my eyes with stunning photos - how it works

Vaonis Hestia ZDNET's key takeaways The Vaonis Hestia is a smartphone telescope device that retails for $300. The Hestia does well at capturing detailed photos of planets and the stars, and an intuitive app helps guide you. It is an expensive device that takes some getting used to, and the better smartphone camera you have, the better quality photos you will get. $299 at B&H Photo-Video Amidst all the doomscrolling, TV binging, and overworking, we've forgotten to look up at the sky every once

Worldwide AI spending could hit $1.5 trillion by the end of 2025

Getty Images/BlackJack3D Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Global AI spending has been on an upward trajectory. These expenditures will top $2 trillion in 2026. GenAI smartphones, AI-optimized servers lead spending. The AI boom has triggered widespread interest in AI adoption to optimize business processes and individual workflows. This demand has also been a catalyst for large-scale investments in AI infrastructure to support those goals, and a ne

The New iPhone Air Is Slim, but Your Chances of Dropping It Aren't. Don't Skimp on the Case

We're all buzzing with excitement over Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, announced at the Apple Event 2025 on Sept. 9. You can now preorder a new iPhone, either the base iPhone 17, the new iPhone Air, the 17 Pro or the larger 17 Pro Max. As beautiful as a naked iPhone looks, protecting your new device is essential. Many of your favorite brands, like Otterbox, Burga, Casetify and more, have already released new cases for the upcoming iPhone 17 models. Even Apple has dropped its new line of cases, with s

Get Ready to Spot the Spectacular Supermoon Dominating the Night Sky

Skygazers, get ready to head outside and spot the supermoon, coming in October. NASA says that a supermoon is any moon within 90% of perigee, which occurs when the moon is closest to Earth. During this time, the moon is approximately 226,000 miles away from our planet, roughly 25,000 miles closer than when it is in apogee. The full moon appears on Oct. 6, and you shouldn't have any trouble seeing it. It'll be the first of four consecutive supermoons, one each month, as the moon continues its el

Topics: earth ll moon oct october

The New iPhone 17 Air Is Slim, but Your Chances of Dropping It Aren't. Don't Skimp on the Case

We're all buzzing with excitement over Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, announced at the Apple Event 2025 on Sept. 9. You can now preorder a new iPhone, either the base iPhone 17, the new iPhone Air, the 17 Pro or the larger 17 Pro Max. As beautiful as a naked iPhone looks, protecting your new device is essential. Many of your favorite brands, like Otterbox, Burga, Casetify and more, have already released new cases for the upcoming iPhone 17 models. Even Apple has dropped its new line of cases, with s

Around 90% of an Earthquake’s Energy Doesn’t Do What You Think It Does

Earthquakes can be deadly and disastrous. But what we feel may constitute a tiny sliver of an earthquake’s destructive energy, according to a new experiment. In a recent AGU Advances paper, researchers describe how they created “lab quakes,” or miniature versions of natural earthquakes created in a controlled laboratory. Doing so allowed the team to derive a complete energy budget for the quakes, a “simplified analog” of real-life earthquakes, they reported in the paper. Surprisingly, they fou

CodeRabbit raises $60M, valuing the 2-year-old AI code review startup at $550M

Harjot Gill was running FlexNinja, an observability startup he co-founded several years after selling his first startup Netsil to Nutanix in 2018, when he noticed a curious trend. “We had a team of remote engineers who were starting to adopt AI code generation on GitHub Copilot,” Gill told TechCrunch. “We saw that adoption happen, and it was very clear to me that as a second-order effect, it’s going to cause bottlenecks in the code review.” In early 2023, Gill started CodeRabbit, an AI-powered

Wyze’s new palm-scanning door lock has a second, backup battery

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Wyze has announced its first smart door lock that can be opened by simply hovering your open hand over it. The Wyze Palm Lock is launching today for $129.98 making it more affordable than similar palm-scanning smart locks including the $359.99 Philips Smart Deadbolt that launched last year. But your palm isn’t the only way to unlock it. If it’s t

Here’s How to Deflect a Dangerous Asteroid Without It Totally Backfiring

In September 2022, NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, successfully altering the space rock’s trajectory. The orbital shove demonstrated an asteroid deflection technique that could come in handy if a massive rock were headed in Earth’s direction. As it turns out, however, deflecting a potentially threatening asteroid is only half the battle. Striking an asteroid for deflection purposes could send it back on a collision course with Earth, merely delaying the planet-shatterin

AirPods Pro 3 fitness feature surprises triathlete tester - here's what he found

Zooey Liao/ZDNET/Apple Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways A known triathlete and blogger tried out the AirPods Pro 3. He tested the heart rate sensor while bicycling indoors and outdoors. The heart rate sensor got a thumbs up for its accuracy. Wondering if you should buy Apple's new AirPods Pro 3 for the health and fitness features alone? At least one expert is impressed by the accuracy of the heart rate sensor, which is new to the AirPods lineup.

Startup Using AI to Bring Whitney Houston Back on Tour 13 Years After Her Death

The estate of famed singer Whitney Houston is reviving her legendary vocals with AI for an upcoming orchestral tour, 13 years after her tragic death. The event, called "The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration," used "stem separation technology" courtesy of an AI-powered music platform called Moises to isolate her voice from recordings and produce "near-studio quality audio." "This project demonstrates how legacy artists and their estates can create meaningful experiences for music lovers

The first Roku-powered smart projector is here

Folks in the US can now snap up the first smart projector that's powered by Roku tech. The Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube is available on Amazon for a regular price of $250. Until October 1, though, there's a coupon that drops the price to $180 (a discount of $70). There was a Roku-branded 3M projector that arrived all the way back in 2012 , but that required a Roku Streaming Stick. The new Aurzen model has Roku's operating system built in. You'll be able to operate this projector usi

YouTube Music launches new tools for artists to reward fans with exclusive merch and videos

During YouTube’s Made On event on Tuesday, the company announced three features coming to YouTube Music, which are designed to deepen the connection between artists and their dedicated fans. One of the new features allows users to initiate a countdown for upcoming releases and to pre-save their favorite tracks or albums in advance. The countdown timer will be displayed on the album detail page, artist profile, and album shelf. Set to launch later this year, the feature aims to create buzz leadi

First smart projector with Roku TV built-in is here, and you can buy it now

Aurzen & Roku TL;DR The first smart projector with the Roku TV interface is now available for sale. The D1R Cube is made by Aurzen and supports Roku’s ecosystem of products, including wireless speakers, soundbars, and sub-woofers. The projector weighs just 4 lbs. and can project screens measuring up to 150 inches. Roku offers a diverse lineup of smart TVs, which includes its self-branded TV models, as well as those from other brands that license its software. It recently expanded into the ca

Live Updates From Meta Connect 2025 🔴

It’s Mark Zuckerberg’s turn to get on stage and yap about how his company, Meta, is leading the way with the metaverse—oops, we meant artificial superintelligence (whatever that means)—at the annual Meta Connect 2025 developer conference. Connect takes place from Sept. 17 through Sept. 18, but the first day is when Zuckerberg will be keynoting, likely talking up the combined effectiveness of all the handsomely paid AI researchers he’s hired in the past few months. We’re also expecting him to an

Meta’s new smart glasses are coming this week

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Meta’s next big Connect conference is nearly here, and this year, we’re expecting to see a lot of news about glasses. AI-focused hardware is all the rage, and Meta arguably already has the best gadgets around in its Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses. At this year’s show, we’re expecting to se

Topics: ai glasses meta new smart

Meta Connect 2025: AI-powered smart glasses take center stage

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on Orion AR glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo Meta spent billions of dollars unsuccessfully trying to make virtual reality catch on with consumers. As it shifts its metaverse bet toward smart glasses, investors will be watching to see how the public responds. The social media company is set to unveil its most advanced smart glasses yet on Wednesday at

Nothing wants to build ambitious new products, including smart glasses

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei has shared his vision about the company’s expansion into other product categories. The executive says the company will focus on AI-driven hardware experiences beyond smartphones. He stresses the need for hardware-agnostic operating systems that will adapt to multiple hardware interfaces, such as smart glasses, humanoid robots, EVs, and more. Over the past several months, stagnation of smartphone-related innovation has been a consta

AirPods Pro 3 heart rate monitoring ‘mind-bogglingly good’ – unlike PowerBeats 2 Pro

We yesterday published our own in-depth review of AirPods Pro 3, with our editor-in-chief Chance Miller concluding that the latest iteration feels like a turning point for the product. Triathlete DC Rainmaker conducted detailed comparative tests of the new heart rate monitor as part of his own review, and concluded that it was “mind-bogglingly good” … In his review, Chance noted that while this isn’t the first time Apple has made earbuds with heart rate monitoring capabilities, the AirPods Pro

Nothing closes $200M Series C led by Tiger Global, plans AI-first device launch

Smartphone startup Nothing announced today that it closed its Series C round of $200 million, which was led by the investment firm Tiger Global. With this round, the consumer electronics company is now valued at $1.3 billion. Other investors in the round included existing backers such as venture outfits GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, and Tapestry. The company, founded by Carl Pei — who previously co-founded Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus, known for high-performance devices at compe

Meta just leaked its new smart glasses with a built-in display ahead of Meta Connect

For the past few months, multiple outlets reported that Meta was likely to announce its first display-enabled smart glasses at its yearly Connect event, scheduled for September 17. Today, an unlisted YouTube video all but confirmed many of its rumored features. Here are the details. The glasses feature a smart band for interface control Meta’s partnership with EssilorLuxottica is perhaps one of the best-timed deals in recent tech history. When Meta released the first-gen RayBan smart glasses,

Rodatherm Energy wants to make geothermal more efficient, but will it be cheaper?

Rodatherm Energy, a new geothermal startup, emerged from stealth Monday with $38 million in funding and a plan to build a pilot plan in Utah. The startup differentiates itself by plumbing its boreholes with a closed loop, likely made of steel, that’s filled with a refrigerant. That contrasts with other enhanced geothermal companies, which tend to use water to transport heat from deep within the Earth. The Series A round was led by Evok Innovations with participation from Active Impact Investme

Tesla's stock erases loss for the year, soaring 85% from April low

Tesla's shares have finally turned positive for the year. After a dismal first quarter, which was the worst for the stock in any period since 2022, and a brutal start to April, following President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping new tariffs, Wall Street has again rallied around the electric vehicle maker. The stock rose 3.6% on Monday to $410.26, topping its closing price of 2024 by over $6. It's up 85% since bottoming for the year at $221.86 on April 4. A new filing revealed that CEO

SmartGym app adds clever Apple Intelligence integrations, visual overhaul, more

For the past few years, SmartGym has been my copilot during every single gym session I’ve had. Now, thanks to iOS 26 and Apple’s Foundation Models framework, it has gotten even better and more useful. Here are the details. As with many app updates this week, SmartGym is now fully adapted to Apple’s Liquid Glass design, making it feel native to the new system right from the get-go. As SmartGym CEO explains it, he went beyond the standard Liquid Glass implementation guidelines, and further adopt

Do startups still need Silicon Valley? Founders and funders debate at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.

As the startup world descends on San Francisco for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — happening October 27–29 at Moscone West — one question looms large: Does building in Silicon Valley still give founders an edge? With 10,000+ startup and VC leaders gathering for this milestone Disrupt, the conversation around access, geography, and opportunity has never been more timely. On the Builders Stage, Anh-Tho Chuong (Lago), David Hall (Revolution), and Tawni Nazario-Cranz (SignalFire) lead a must-attend sessi

The 9 most sought-after startups from YC Demo Day

Y Combinator hosted its Summer 2025 Demo Day last week, showcasing the latest batch of over 160 startups. As with recent batches, the majority of startups presented AI-centric solutions. However, a clear evolution was evident. Instead of “AI-powered” products, many companies are now building AI agents or the infrastructure and tools needed to develop them. For instance, this batch had a flurry of voice AI solutions and new businesses focused on helping others monetize the “AI economy” with ads

Looks Like Meta’s First Smart Glasses With a Screen Will Be Ray-Bans After All

We might only be days away from Meta’s next pair of smart glasses, but there’s still time for one last leak—and this one is a doozy. Meta’s smart glasses, which are expected to roll out this week during Meta’s Connect conference, will likely bear Ray-Ban branding after all, and we may have just gotten a very official look. An unlisted video spotted on Meta’s YouTube channel and first reported on by UploadVR seems to confirm a lot of what we expected about Meta’s next pair of smart glasses. The

What to expect from Meta Connect 2025 this week: Ray-Ban smart glasses, Hypernova, more

Jason Hiner/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Meta is hosting its Connect event on Sept. 17 and 18, where it will announce its latest hardware and software developments. We're expecting to see several pairs of new smart glasses, including the successor to the Meta Ray-Bans, and more on Meta AI. Livestreams on Facebook, Meta's website, and the Quest Horizon platform will be open for public viewing. Meta Connect 2025 will take place on Sept. 17