Miscellaneous

In 2012, 83 firefighters died in the line of duty in the U.S. alone, and another 37 fatalities have been reported thus far in 2013. But, with better scouting tools, these numbers could be lowered.

Thank goodness for robots.

A new one out of the University of California, San Diego, may soon help first responders survey a fiery scene with its ability to enter a burning building and immediately transmit data on the state and location of the fire, the building's structural integrity, and the presence of any volatile gases -- all while on the lookout for survivors.… Read more

Apple has filed for a trademark on the "iWatch" brand in Russia, a new report out of that country claims.

Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday that Apple filed for the trademark with the country's patent and trademark office, Rospatent. Not surprisingly, the news has sparked more speculation on when Apple's long-rumored iWatch might finally launch.

For its part, Apple has not confirmed that it'll launch a wearable watch. However, a slew of reports over the last several months have suggested that the company is indeed working on such a device, and it will be … Read more

"We were more behaved than kids should be."

These deeply felt words were offered to CNN by just one of the 101 students asked to leave an Air Tran flight bound for Atlanta from New York on Monday.

Some might feel that kids on planes should just sit like the rest of the adult cattle in a soporific stupor. However, this incident provoked feelings that are anything but sleepy.

Please imagine, too, the bemused thoughts of those few left behind after 101 students (and 8 chaperones) from New York's Yeshiva of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School were … Read more

With all the recent advances in user interfaces and head-mounted displays, there's little reason virtual sex can't offer a truly 21st century, nearly realistic experience.

That's the sentiment behind VRSexKit.com, a set of sex simulators in the works from ThriXXX, a company that has been a leader in adapting technologies like Microsoft's Kinect for virtual-reality sex play.

Though ThriXXX was quick to figure out how to use the Kinect in virtual sex, founder Brad Abram now believes Microsoft's motion-control camera system doesn't offer a "granular enough" experience. … Read more

Smartphone shipments will finally outshine those of feature phones this year, says research firm IDC.

Smartphones are expected to carve off a 52.2 percent slice of all mobile phones shipped in 2013, leaving feature phones with a 47.8 percent share, IDC said Tuesday. Smartphone shipments are projected to hit 958.8 million this year, a 32.7 percent jump from the 722.5 million units shipped in 2012.

The gap between shipments of smartphones and feature phones will continue to expand, IDC said, as demand for mobile data increases in both developed and developing countries. Emerging markets will … Read more

Carl Zeiss has begun selling its first two Touit lenses for Sony and Fujifilm compact cameras, high-end prime lenses whose existence reflects the steadying maturity of the market for smaller "mirrorless" cameras.

The $1,250 Touit 2.8/12 and $900 Touit 1.8/32 autofocusing lenses are geared for the Sony NEX and Fujifilm X series of cameras, both of which employ an APS-C-sized sensor common in lower-end digital SLRs. That means the 12mm lens has a field of view equivalent to an ultrawide 18mm lens on a full-frame SLR, while the 32mm is equivalent to about … Read more

One of the lures of a 3D printer is the ability to create and get a result that is so tactile. Your design dreams become real objects. If only the price weren't so high.

A lot of people are waiting for a 3D printer that is easy to use and doesn't cost much more than a regular printer. The Buccaneer from Pirate3D on Kickstarter is looking to deliver on both those fronts.

The Buccaneer goes all-in with an Apple-style aesthetic. It's the sort of printer you won't hide under your desk. The plastic printing material comes spooled in cartridges, which are placed into the top of the machine. The printing happens inside the cube. A plate in the bottom lowers to access the object once it's done.… Read more

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Asus has announced the Transformer Book Trio, a notebook that can be separated and used as an Android tablet and desktop PC simultaneously.

In its notebook form, the 11.6-inch Transformer Book Trio can switch between Windows 8 and Android. Separated, the 1,920x1,080-pixel screen portion acts as an Android tablet, running off its 2.0GHz Intel Atom Z2580 processor.

The keyboard part, rather than just being a dumb accessory, is actually a full-fledged Windows 8 PC complete with an Intel fourth-generation Core i7 processor. It needs to be hooked up to an external monitor for … Read more