These Japanese robot cheerleaders could help save lives on the road

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
g one-button ordering devices for your smart home 7:40 AM Samsung Gear S smartwatch coming to four American carriers this fall 6:42 AM Indian spacecraft reaches Mars for less than it cost to make 'Gravity' 4:38 AM Emma Watson nude photo threats were apparently a plot to kill 4chan September 23, 2014 9:27 PM The new Karma Go Wi-Fi hotspot promises contract-free LTE 'anywhere in the US' 6:39 PM Valve announces major 'Dota 2' update that includes a change to the map 5:19 PM Liam Neeson has 'Tak3n' things 2 far 4:42 PM Microsoft's Chromecast competitor is Miracast-powered, costs $60 4:09 PM Why I still watch 'Lost' even though I know I should hate it 3:50 PM Here's what it looks like when every iPhone ever takes the same photo 3:32 PM Samsung is ending sales of all its laptops in Europe 2:43 PM Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell will star in the next season of 'True Detective' 2:34 PM Google's Play Newsstand app comes to iOS as replacement for Currents 2:15 PM PayPal adds limited Bitcoin support 2:06 PM In the new 'Disney Infinity,' Mickey Mouse and Iron Man look great together 1:30 PM Blizzard cancels its 'World of Warcraft' successor 12:49 PM Google's 'Structured Snippets' put useful facts under your search results 12:32 PM How a tiny startup became the leader in the race to power your smart home 12:25 PM FTC shuts down Butterfly Labs, the second-most hated company in Bitcoinland 12:07 PM This video was filmed inside a real, huge, empty city, where only robots will hear you scream 11:51 AM The Ebola epidemic could be over by January — or worse than ever 11:44 AM The Apple Watch is the best Android Wear commercial yet 11:29 AM Verizon's rumored 'Droid Turbo' appears in leaked photos 11:00 AM Manual for iPhone is a new camera app for experts only 10:58 AM 300,000 people descend on New York to fight climate change 10:54 AM iOS 8 review 10:44 AM Goodbye, Motor City: Cadillac is moving its headquarters from Detroit to NYC 10:00 AM Mysterious Selfie.com reveals itself as an app for starting video conversations 9:32 AM The machines are making us stupid 9:18 AM The space elevator hasn't been built, but it's already getting its own documentary 8:58 AM Including female animals in scientific studies really pays off 8:00 AM Vizio takes 4K mainstream with launch of $999.99 P-Series TV 7:00 AM Steam's new Discovery Update makes it easier to find games you actually want 6:02 AM Nearly half of active iPhones and iPads are already running iOS 8 4:59 AM EU antitrust chief reverses decision, says Google must improve offer or face charges 4:17 AM Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are bigger than bigger on the new iPhones' sizes 3:56 AM Space dust casts shadow on Big Bang breakthrough 2:23 AM Reversible USB can also connect your 4K screens 12:00 AM Microsoft legend Ray Ozzie wants to kill the conference call Next Menu Log in | Sign up Home Longform Video Reviews Tech Science Culture Design Business US & World Forums Search More Sections Back Home Longform All Longform All Verge Features Video All Video 90 Seconds Detours Features On The Verge Reviews Small Empires The Verge Mobile Show The Vergecast Top Shelf Verge Update Reviews All Reviews See All Products Tech All Tech Apple Google Microsoft Mobile Photography Home Apps Science All Science Culture All Culture Entertainment Web Gaming Movie Reviews Design All Design Architecture Typography Concepts Business All Business Policy & Law US & World All US & World Politics National Security Forums All Forums Apple Core Apps & Software Betamaxed Book Club Events Gaming Googleplex Hacks / DIY Linux / Open Source Meta Microsoft Tribe Mobile Off-topic / chit-chat PCs Science Tablet Talk The Firm The Fringe The Lens Transportation Web & Social SBN.Campaigns.renderBelowNavAdMarkupIfApplicable(); Previous Story Worse than Heartbleed? Today's Bash bug could be breaking security for years Next Story Goo sculpture shows how happy or sad Oslo's internet users are

Tech These Japanese robot cheerleaders could help save lives on the road

Meet the Murata Cheerleaders

By Sam Byford on September 24, 2014 09:30 pm @345triangle 5 Don't miss stories follow The Verge Like Follow Subscribe Follow Share on Facebook View the original article here

Read More

These Pizza Hut cats want to serve and entertain you

The "Pizza Cat" Web series features feline employees who have to wear hats but not hairnets. Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

Pizza and cute cats are both good things, so why not merge the two? Pizza Hut Japan did just that. Not in a pizza, mind you, but in a delightfully charming and weird Web series called "Pizza Cat."

The show centers around the cats, decked out in red caps and jaunty scarves, who work at a special Pizza Hut restaurant. Their names are Tencho, Hime, Dora, and Detch.

Related stories Hello Kitty is not a cat? Science declares: Here's the perfect cheese for the perfect pizza Internet cat Lil Bub helps you enjoy summer Kitten cosplay: 'Star Wars,' 'Doctor Who,' 'Game of Thrones'

In the episode "It's time for work, y'all," we see the cat boss push a giant red alarm button with his paw to wake up the lazy feline employees asleep on the job, to no avail.

In another episode entitled "Dressed to kill for the day!" all the cat employees are suited up with their tiny red caps and scarves except for one haphazard tabby who could use some help getting dressed.

In "Morning assembly! Fire us up!" the cat employees look barely awake for the early morning meeting. Clearly, some of us can relate.

In "Shut up, paws off the phone! They're all for me!" Hime the cat answers the phone by sitting on it. So much for customer service.

If you think it's sad cats can't answer the phone at Pizza Hut, you should see one try to operate a laptop computer in the episode "Spreadsheet Demon."

Read More

Bridge the gap between your phone and computer with these apps

Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Pushbullet

Free, Android and iOS

Pushbullet has grown a lot in the last year. What started out as a way to send links, notes, and files between your devices wirelessly has morphed into a powerful tool for both transferring information, and displaying your Android's notifications on your desktop, using the app and a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox.

This free app works well for sharing notes, links, checklists, files, and map locations from your computer to your phone or vice versa. You can also send those items to your friends who also use Pushbullet.

However, the main reason I use the app is to view my phone's notifications on my desktop. This feature is awesome for seeing who's calling, checking out what a text message says, or simply deciphering what's going on when my phone buzzes, all without taking my eyes off my computer screen. You can pick and choose which apps trigger a desktop notification, or turn the feature off altogether if you need a break from the pop-ups. Just a note that the iPhone app does not include this feature.

What's great: The app requires minimal setup, and it's dead simple to send items.

What's not: The Pushbullet app's design can be confusing at first.

Read More

These are the 8 Android and Windows Phone features we want on the iPhone 6

The iPhone 5S successor is right around the bend. Sarah Tew/CNET

One could argue that the entire modern smartphone market has been largely built around aping Apple's revolutionary iPhone, which first appeared in 2007. Indeed, that phone still looks remarkably "current" in some ways: the minimalist rectangular design, the no-keyboard glass touchscreen, and tap and swipe interface are all mainstays of the marketplace now.

Apple, of course, is deadly serious when it comes to protecting its intellectual property -- just ask Samsung. But the iPhone maker has borrowed good ideas from competitors, too -- plenty of things in iOS 7 and the forthcoming iOS 8 first appeared in competing Android and Windows Phone models.

In my book, that's a good thing -- consumers are getting better features across the board, regardless of their OS. To that end, I'm hoping that the iPhone 6 has picked up a few of its rivals' other tricks as well.

Virtually guaranteed

We already know we're getting home screen widgets (of a sort) and swappable keyboards, courtesy of iOS 8. Beyond those, rumors of NFC (near-field communication that pairs devices in a tap) and a larger screen make that spec almost a given, not to mention the undeniable industry shift in these directions, supported by consumer demand.

Want, want, wantSmart lock screen tricks: Talk about intuitive. I love the simple way that the LG G2 and LG G3's lock screen turns on and off with a simple, elegant, and totally natural double-tap.

Waterproofing: Rugged water-resistant phones have been around for a long time, but Sony's high-end Xperia line (like the Xperia Z2) and Samsung's Galaxy S5 are making the idea of inherent "waterproofing" less of a luxury and more of a given. If these companies can bolster an everyday handset against ordinary splashes and accidental soakings, Apple can too.

iPhone 6: Most-wanted features (pictures) See full gallery

Read More

Help identify these city nightscapes shot from the ISS

This image shows the stark difference between South Korea and North Korea. The North is the dark area. NASA

Over 1.3 million photographs of Earth have been taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, with about 30 percent snapped at night. This huge catalog of images is available online through NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth, but only a small fraction of the photos have been cataloged or tagged with any helpful information about what part of the planet is displayed. Sounds like another task for the crowd.

The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has taken the lead here with a project dubbed Cities at Night that aims to catalog the images with the help of a little citizen science. On the site, a few apps let citizen scientists identify the cities that light up each image, and dig a little deeper and tag specific locations within each city that can be made out in the photos.

Related Stories Visiting Mauna Kea, the world's best spot for stargazing Stunning shots from space (pictures) Stellar moments from ISS' 15 years in space

"Anyone can help," Alejandro Sanchez, a Ph.D. candidate at UCM, said in a release. "In fact, without the help of citizens, it is almost impossible to use these images scientifically. Algorithms cannot distinguish between stars, cities, and other objects, such as the moon. Humans are much more efficient for complex image analysis."

Many of the photos are remarkably clear, thanks to the European Space Agency's Nightpod system that was installed on the space station in 2012. Nightpod includes a motorized tripod that adjusts for the movement of the station, which is orbiting Earth at over 17,000 miles per hour.

So far, the cities in more than 20,000 photos have been identified by thousands of volunteers, but to ensure the highest degree of accuracy, Sanchez says it's best to have each photo re-confirmed by several different viewers.

For an easy introduction to the project, I've compiled a baker's dozen of photos from the collection that represent some of the most spectacular shots of Earth at night you're likely to see. Check out the gallery below.

Spectacular ISS shots of cities at night (pictures) See full gallery

Read More