Consumer & Gadgets news

Consumer & Gadgets

Flexible-spoke wheelchair tires offer comfort and efficiency to boost mobility

Researchers have unveiled a design for manual wheelchair tires that combines comfort, efficiency, and durability while reducing the maintenance challenges associated with traditional options. The study, published in Scientific ...

Consumer & Gadgets

At Las Vegas show, tech world turns to mental health tools

Whether detecting rising anxiety or managing a full-blown panic attack, the tech industry is offering an array of new tools designed to support mental health.

Consumer & Gadgets

Seven advances in technology that we're likely to see in 2025

In the grand scheme of things, 45 years is not a long time. Back in 1980, it would take me three weeks to run a computer program, written in the programming language Cobol, that worked using punched cards. Each card represented ...

Consumer & Gadgets

EU universal charger rules come into force

EU rules requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to use the same charger came into force on Saturday, in a change Brussels said will cut costs and waste.

Consumer & Gadgets

Why is it so hard to type in Indigenous languages?

When it comes to digital access and internet technologies, some languages are still more equal than others. Speakers of majority languages, who type in English or text in Korean, assume their message will be transmitted accurately. ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Bias in AI amplifies our own biases, finds study

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems tend to take on human biases and amplify them, causing people who use that AI to become more biased themselves, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

Consumer & Gadgets

New tool makes micro:bit programming portable for young learners

A new coding tool will help make it easier for children to portably program a popular educational micro-computer on the fly. Researchers from Lancaster University's School of Computing and Communications working in partnership ...

Consumer & Gadgets

PlayStation: Fun facts to know as Sony's console turns 30

Since 1994, PlayStation's five consoles have changed video game history. From the development of the controller to scuffles at stores to Saddam Hussein's military, here are five interesting things to know:

Consumer & Gadgets

Japan is next level for retro game collectors

US tourist David Madrigal is over the moon after paying $200 for a "vintage" console at a busy Tokyo store that is tapping into booming global demand for retro gaming kit.

Consumer & Gadgets

How smart toys may be spying on kids: What parents need to know

Toniebox, Tiptoi, and Tamagotchi are smart toys, offering interactive play through software and internet access. However, many of these toys raise privacy concerns, and some even collect extensive behavioral data about children, ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Cosplay and queues at Germany gamers gathering

Armor-clad warriors mixed with cosplaying Super Marios and monster hunters on Thursday, as gamers braved hours of queuing at the sector's biggest trade show, Gamescom in Germany's Cologne.

Consumer & Gadgets

Aussie kids let down by streaming algorithms, research shows

Instead of channel surfing or browsing through a TV guide, Aussie kids today navigate complex streaming platforms and their algorithms to find shows, which is influencing their viewing habits, according to a new study of ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy—who can see which actions you take—across all of the app's functions. But default ...