FireChat, Disrupt alum Open Garden‘s popular off-the-grid messaging app, is getting a major update today that introduces private messaging that can even bridge local networks. The major innovation of FireChat was that it allowed users to chat in groups even when there was no Internet connection available.  … [Read more...]

Facebook is quietly testing a new feature that lets users tag friends with a word and phrase that describes their personality or interests. The feature, first spotted by The Verge, is not unlike LinkedIn's capabilities to tag users on the site with job-related terms. … [Read more...]

For the last year or so, it has been suggested by Google that mobile searches would comfortably overtake the desktop alternative by the end of 2015. … [Read more...]

Researchers have made pig-skin lasers. Yes, pig laser beams. The technology, outlined in a paper published July 27 in Nature Photonics, showed that pumping light into fat cells could turn them into tiny, self-contained lasers. … [Read more...]

Thanks to the developers of these iOS apps, these beauties are available today for free if you go run and download them. The sale ends today ... I know, not much time -- but you can get them while they're "hot" if you hit your app store now. What are they? Check out the list below. … [Read more...]

Following a flurry of rumors circulating the web over the past few weeks, Yahoo unveiled its new messaging product on Wednesday called Livetext. The update unharnesses the company from its ancient Yahoo Messenger product and gives it a more robust tool to compete with the likes of everything from Snapchat to Microsoft's Skype (sort of). … [Read more...]

Japan has toyed with the idea of bringing robots into the home to care for its elderly for years, but the idea is finally moving from speculation to reality. NTT, Japan's largest telecommunications company, will begin placing tiny communication robots in the homes of some older Japanese citizens. … [Read more...]

Amazon wants drones to be the future of rapid product delivery, but there are many regulatory hurdles ahead before it could become a reality. At NASA's Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) Convention on Tuesday, Amazon outlined a plan for better regulation of drones, according to The Verge. … [Read more...]

Internet Explorer turns 20 this year, but there will be no celebrations. Instead IE is being pushed off the Windows desktop in favor of a brand new web browsing experience: Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer is not dead, nor will it be missing from Windows 10 when it ships on July 29. … [Read more...]

Motorola has a big day planned. It's rolling out two new phones in the U.S.: a flagship Moto X update and a lower-end, more road-ready Moto G. … [Read more...]