An avalanche can literally go from 0-60 within seconds. The impact of the onrushing snow is enough to break bones and cause internal injuries. hould you survive those but be buried, you'll run out of air within 15 minutes.This is why avalanche forecasters exist. These men and women, whether employed by local governments, research institutions or private companies, travel to avalanche-prone regions to conduct testing. They dig a pit into a slope, and do what's called an Extended Column Test (ECT), using a saw to expose a tall column or slab of snow. They then tap on the top of the column, using increasing amounts of force. They observe both where the column fractures and how much force was required to create that fracture in order to determine the stability of the snow.Cutting through the snow requires precision and a specially-designed saw. This $65 Beta Snow Science Saw, by outdoor equipment manufacturer Mountain Safety Research, fits the bill. The stainless steel saw is designed to be easy to carry, weighing just 7 oz (178g). The blade is laser-etched with measurement markings, so you can cut the column to the desired dimensions without needing to carry a second measuring tool. The teeth are designed to slice through snow and ice without clogging, and are also tough enough to cut through wood (if, for example, you unexpectedly run into a buried branch in the area you're cutting). This also makes the saw handy for carving a snow shelter in an emergency. The saw was designed by Cascade Designs, the parent company of Mountain Safety Research.

When artificial intelligence and eco-conscious technologies are finding their way inside of the phones, its fitting to see them make some difference on the outside as well. The back of a smartphone is generally a blank canvas with a camera lens array on the top. Some OEMs use it for features like wireless charging, but Infinix Mobiles is showcasing a new possibility: an AI-driven solar energy innovation to power its smartphone.Yes, that translates into using solar power to juice up a smartphone. The idea of a solar-powered phone will instinctively get many of us excited, but sadly, this is only a concept for now, and may take a while before going mainstream. That said, Inifinix displayed the idea of solar panels on the back of the smartphone and a solar charging phone case at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), underway in Barcelona.Designer: InfinixThe concept phone and care are integrated with (what Infinix calls) the SolarEnergy-Reversing Technology. This basically includes Perovskite solar panel on the back of the phone that absorbs a broader spectrum of light than silicon cells. Sitting under the sun with the solar panels charging your phone would feel like a good idea, but you could run the risk of overheating your device in the process. Infinix has this addressed with the use of artificial intelligence, which can help regulate the temperature (in extreme environments), and thus the overheating issue, with the use of MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) technology.The solar panel on the Infinix concept phone and the charging case can for now create up to 2W of power. This is transferred to the smartphone from the case through discreet contact points. Of course, this is not the kind of power you can trust with keeping your phone charges, but it can be handy during a power out a maybe to keep the last breath of the battery on a steady CPR. So, as Infinix says, this can be helpful in supporting extended standby time. The SolarEnergy-Reversing Technology allows the smartphone to store power from soft indoor lighting and overcast outdoor conditions, in addition to the bright sun.Alongside energy innovation to power the phone both indoors and outside, Infinix also introduced a tri-fold phone and E-Color Shift 2.0 at MWC. It is a customization experience to personalize a smartphones back, which was first displayed at the MWC last year. Expanding on the efficacy of its predecessor to personalize the back of a phone, the second-generation color-changing E Ink display is customizable in a range of colors and patterns from weather and photo provided. The display draws power from the phones internal battery.From how it stands Infinix isnt assuring a solar-powered phone anytime soon, but its concept shows that such a thing is possible and could see the light of day very soon. Infinix has debuted the tech on a smartphone, but it envisions to bring this solar energy innovation to more digital devices and wearable to herald consumer tech into a sustainable direction.The post Infinix solar-powered phone extends battery life in indoor light and overcast weather first appeared on Yanko Design.

How underdog Flow beat competition from Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot.

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The best-known budget bidet maker successfully counters high-end electric bidets (with a few minor quirks).

It sounds so good, doesnt it? After Apple CEO Tim Cook met with US President Donald J. Trump, Cook announced: We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and were proud tobuild on our long-standing US investments with this $500 billion commitmentto our countrys future. Well keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation.Trump smooched back on Truth Social: APPLE HAS JUST ANNOUNCEDA RECORD 500 BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENTIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE REASON, FAITH IN WHAT WE ARE DOING, WITHOUT WITCH, THEY WOULDNT BE INVESTING TEN CENTS. THANK YOU TIM COOK AND APPLE!!!(All the caps and typos are original, by the way.)So, whats not to like about Apples plans to hire 20,000 employees over the next four years? Well, a lot. You see, weve heard this same song and dance before.This isnt the first time Apple has made such promises. In 2018, during the first Trump administration,Apple pledged to create 20,000 new jobs as part of a $350 billion investmentin the US economy. Then in 2021, with Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the White House, Apple once more promised 20,000 new jobs as part of a $430 billion investment. Do you begin to detect a pattern here?This is now the third time, Apple has promised 20,000 more jobs.A big part of the 2021 promise was that Apple would build a new campus and engineering hub in North Carolinas Research Triangle Park. Didnt happen.Apple never even broke dirt for the project and now says it will be at least four more years before it starts building a new campus.That will be just in time forKing Donald the Firsts crowning (or a new President, if we get our act together). Be that as it may, I expect Apple to keep promising more investments and, yes, more jobs. After all, it draws positive headlines.The reality is that since Apple first promised 40,000 new jobs, it has added about 30,000 or so. This came after a slight Apple employment dip in 2023.Now, new jobs are always welcome especially, since these days,the unemployment rate has been edging upward. And thats before Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) started taking a chainsaw to government employment. You can expectunemployment to return to the highs it saw when Trump was last President, shortly.If youre in the tech industry, things have been even worse. According to Crunchbases tally, at least95,000 workersat U.S.-based tech companies were laid off in mass job cuts in 2024and the cuts have continued into 2025.So, while Im cynical about Apples claims, I will give the execs at Apples headquarters at Apple Park credit for actually boosting employment.After all, as Paul Farnsworth, President of the top tech job siteDice, told me: Apple has spent years hiring engineers and researchers tasked with helping the company develop an AI strategy that aligns with its broader corporate goals.Andrea Derler, principal of research and value atVisier, the enterprise human-resources company, added in an e-mail: This initiative reflects Apples clear growth strategy and provides a glimpse into the future in which human skills such as creativity, curiosity, courage, compassion and communication will be key amidst the AI revolution. Defer continued: Skills churn is very high in the IT field. The lag between newly emerging tech skills gaps and existing talent cant only be solved with hiring external talent because its expensive. This is where upskilling and reskilling existing talent becomes critical to solving the AI talent gap.ButwillApple be hiring or training new AI-savvy staffers?Although Apple seemed to hold back on AI investment while its rivals rushed ahead with big, splashy investments in data centers and AI teams, Tim Cooks recent announcement of a $500 billion commitment to manufacturing AI servers and other initiatives hints at accelerating AI expenditure, which will inevitably include personnel hiring, Farnsworth said.Im not convinced. Sure, Apple will invest in AI. But Cook and company dont seem to want to join Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI inthe race to be the first to create truly useful generative AI. Instead,recent Apple leaks about its AI plansmake it sound like what Apple wants to do is improve its iPhone and other end-user clients such as Siri with AI. Whether Apple or someone else ends up making the large language model (LLM) that powers its clients doesnt seem that important to Apple.So, I dont see the $500 billion/20,000 jobs announcement as big news. Its just business as usual for Apple. If you look closer, youll also see that some of these new AI investments arent really Apples at all.Take, for example, the companys latest investment plans for a Houston server production factory to be operated by Apple and partners. Thatpartner is almost certainly Hon Hai Precision Industry, aka Foxconn, for an already announcedAI server research and development center in Houston.Foxconn, where have we heard that name before? Oh, right! Back in 2018,Trump and Foxconn announced a $10-billion dealwith 13,000 jobs for a new factory complex in Wisconsin.Guess what happened? Next to nothing. Today, the Eighth Wonder of the World is a local joke with no more than 1,000 employees. It appears, you canrent what is at the heart of the sitefor a banquet if you want.So, yeah, Apple is hiring more people. Thats great. Keep up the good work. But, please, this is not Big News. Nor is it a sign that Apple is going all-in on AI. Its not. Its just another day of Apple trying to make a buck.Psssst, wanna buy aniPhone?

Unified endpoint management (UEM) is a strategic IT approach that consolidates how enterprises secure and manage an array of deployed devices including phones, tablets, PCs, and even IoT devices.As hybrid work models have become the norm, mobility management has come to mean management of not just mobile devices, but all devices used by mobile employees wherever they are. UEM tools incorporate existing enterprise mobility management (EMM) technologies, such as mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM), with tools used to manage desktop PCs and laptops.Like the EMM suites they evolved from, UEM platforms help companies secure their mobile infrastructure, as well as control device policies and manage mobile apps, content, networks, and services. UEM tools merge those capabilities with functionality typically found in client management tools (CMTs) used to manage desktop PCs and laptops on a corporate network.With the ability to create policies that can be deployed to many devices and operating systems, UEM products reduce both manual work and risk for IT. They also deliver insights into how devices and apps are used by employees, which can be used to improve cross-functional workflows. Most recently, some UEM platforms have begun incorporating generative AI features.Download our chart to see which features and functions eight major UEM platforms offer across nine categories, from device and application management to security, analytics, and automation. Computerworld thanks Phil Hochmuth, program vice president for endpoint device management and enterprise mobility at IDC, for his guidance on the features and vendors included in the chart.This chart was originally published in May 2013 and most recently updated in March 2025.

This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.How DeepSeek became a fortune teller for Chinas youthAs DeepSeek has emerged as a homegrown challenger to OpenAI, young people across the country have started using AI to revive fortune-telling practices that have deep roots in Chinese culture.Across Chinese social media, users are sharing AI-generated readings, experimenting with fortune-telling prompt engineering, and revisiting ancient spiritual textsall with the help of DeepSeek.The surge in AI fortune-telling comes during a time of pervasive anxiety and pessimism in Chinese society. And as spiritual practices remain hidden underground thanks to the countrys regime, computers and phone screens are helping younger people to gain a sense of control over their lives. Read the full story.Caiwen ChenAre you interested in learning more about DeepSeek? Read our stories:+ How DeepSeek overcame US sanctions and managed to turn restrictions into innovation. Read the full story.+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbookand why everyones going to follow its lead. The Chinese firm has pulled back the curtain to expose how the top labs may be building their next-generation models. Now things get interesting.+ DeepSeek might not be such good news for energy after all. New figures show that if the models energy-intensive chain of thought reasoning gets added to everything, the promise of efficiency gets murky. Read the full story.+ Three things to know as the dust settles from DeepSeekand four other Chinese AI startups to keep an eye on.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 A private lander has touched down on the moonUS startup Firefly is the second private company to land on lunar soil. (The Guardian)+ The mission is part of NASAs plans to lower costs via private enterprises. (NYT $)+ Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon. (MIT Technology Review)2 Donald Trump may create Americas first strategic crypto reserveCrypto champions believe it could finally lend the industry a sense of legitimacy. (CoinDesk)+ But some Republican lawmakers worry it could put taxpayer funds at risk. (FT $)+ Other crypto investors are pushing for the reserve to hold only bitcoin. (CNBC)+ Meanwhile, Elon Musk is throwing his weight behind Dogecoin. (Ars Technica)3 AI firms are racing to create cheaper modelsAnd theyre pinning their hopes on a process called distillation to do just that. (FT $)+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbookand why everyones going to follow its lead. (MIT Technology Review)4 Amazon has lost its bid to escape regulatory oversightIts been denied permission to skip permitting rules for a proposed data center. (WP $)5 The US federal layoffs are bad news for aquatic ecosystemsFiring wildlife workers could lead to an outbreak of parasitic lampreys, which wreak havoc on freshwater fish. (Ars Technica)+ Its just one of the many cuts that could make life in the US worse. (The Atlantic $)6 Smart cameras can detect wildfires before they spreadTheyre also adept at spotting blazes overnight. (WSJ $)+ How AI can help spot wildfires. (MIT Technology Review)7 Beware the creep of AI chatbots aimed at kidsThey cant be relied upon to always dispense correct information. (Insider $)+ Some parents are teaching children how to use models safely. (The Guardian)+ You need to talk to your kid about AI. Here are 6 things you should say. (MIT Technology Review)8 RIP SkypeMicrosoft is shutting it down in favor of Teams. (CNN)+ Youve got until May to decide what to do with your data. (The Register)9 This artificial tongue could allow you to taste flavors in VRYum, tasty hydrogels. (New Scientist $)+ The device helped volunteers taste coffee, fried eggs, and fish soup. (NYT $)10 How social media drove a Japanese matcha shortage The tasty green drink is a TikTok sensation. (Bloomberg $)Quote of the dayThis is the real, actual revenge of the nerds.Hasan Piker, an online political commentator, reflects on how DOGE feels like the culmination of Elon Musks eternally-online existence, the New York Times reports.The big storyThese artificial snowdrifts protect seal pups from climate changeApril 2024For millennia, during Finlands blistering winters, wind drove snow into meters-high snowbanks along Lake Saimaas shoreline, offering prime real estate from which seals carved cave-like dens to shelter from the elements and raise newborns.But in recent decades, these snowdrifts have failed to form in sufficient numbers, as climate change has brought warming temperatures and rain in place of snow, decimating the seal population.For the last 11 years, humans have stepped in to construct what nature can no longer reliably provide. Human-made snowdrifts, built using handheld snowplows, now house 90% of seal pups. They are the latest in a raft of measures that have brought Saimaas seals back from the brink of extinction. Read the full story.Matthew PonsfordWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ This behind the scenes look at how they created the podracing scenes in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is remarkably cool.+ Has Shrek had botox? Much to think about.+ The largest live game of Dungeons and Dragons ever played looks incredible ($)+ Five years ago in the UK, we collectively lost our minds.

Apple is widely believed to be working on two different robotics projects, both related to the Apple Home of the future. Here's what to expect from both projects.Apple is said to be working on multiple robots, one of which resembles an iPad attached to a robotic arm.A few months after the untimely demise of the Apple Car project, claims of a new robotics development within Apple appeared in April 2024. The iPhone maker had reportedly decided to shift focus, with increased efforts and research into products that would offer integration with smart home devices.Part of that vision reportedly involves robots a mobile humanoid unit, and a largely stationary anthropomorphic robot. The goal of these two apparent robotics projects is different. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums