Kids today are bombarded with devices clamoring for their attention, but the XploraOne mini makes a simple promise: stay connected without wasting the day. HMD Global collaborated with Finnish tech firm Xplora Technologies to develop this small device that acts as a gateway into mobile life for children. It allows kids to avoid the unending social media, giving them only the basics to call home or take a brief photo of something fascinating they discovered on the playground. Meanwhile, parents gain control over who can contact their child and when, as well as the ability to monitor all of the small moments that are filmed. Among all the devices vying for our attention, the XploraOne tiny simply hints that less is sometimes enough.
A pair of sunglasses lies on the edge of a desk, their matte black frame catching the last rays of afternoon light that shine through a window. Those frames are the first-generation Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, and some will argue that the second generation is more visually appealing, but when you put these on and step out the door, the appeal is more than just superficial, especially when priced at only $263 (down from $329).
Mark Rober spent years turning backyard experiments into viral social media sensations, from the iconic glitter explosion that foiled package thieves to the mind-bending squirrel mazes that serve as the ultimate obstacle course. His most recent project takes aim at one of the world’s most popular sports. A robotic goalkeeper designed to stand between Cristiano Ronaldo and the net that was inspired from a simple but intriguing question: can engineering prowess defeat athletic genius?
Luke Bredar sits in the passenger seat of a battered old pickup truck, his gaze fixed on a set of goggles that are live-streaming footage from a drone flying hundreds of feet over the Oklahoma plains. The sky front of him is one giant gray cloud bursting with heavy, living presence, and it’s sliding down to the ground like a finger stirring up the dirt.
Deep in the southern constellation Columba, a spiral galaxy named NGC 1792 shines brighter than most of its size. Even after decades in orbit, NASA / ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has delivered one of its best shots yet of this starry island.
Microsoft’s annual holiday sweater release has arrived, and this year they’ve thrown caution to the wind by creating three sweaters commemorating the good, terrible, and ugly of Microsoft history. Each of them is essentially a wearable essay on the company’s greatest achievements and mistakes, a jumble of software flaws, faded content that no one remembers, and console releases that changed everything, for better or worse.
Japan’s Aspark has always been about pushing the boundaries with their electric vehicles, and the Owl Roadster takes that to a whole new level. This open-top beauty is essentially a convertible version of the original Owl coupe, just the type of vehicle you want to get behind the wheel of when the road calls and you want a little wind in your hair and some serious speed beneath your feet.
Zac Builds acquired a tattered old iMac G3 from the 1990s, one of those legendary all-in-one PCs that dominated every desk. The device resembled a brick, thanks to its clunky old CRT screen, and inside was a jumble of yellowed plastic that crumbled to the touch and antique components that had been collecting dust for years. Instead of throwing it away, Zac recognized an opportunity to give this old girl new life. He gathered his equipment, which included a 3D scanner and printer, a soldering iron, and a custom-built fume extractor dubbed the Zacuum, and set to work, stripping it down to its bare elements.
Tomás Vega recalls having a stammer when he was five years old, with words knotted in his throat and ordinary talks turned into warfare. Then came computers, and a keyboard and mouse opened worlds he never knew existed. By the age of 12, he’d written his first program. In high school, he developed ways to assist others in overcoming their own problems. That early spark drove him to MIT, where he studied microfabrication and signal processing.
