An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: People living near a busy road have an increased risk of dementia, according to research that adds to concerns about the impact of air pollution on human health. Roughly one in…

Dell Unveils XPS 27 All-In-One With 10 Speaker Dual 50W Sound System
MojoKid writes: Over the past couple of years, Dell has been driving a redesign effort of its consumer and commercial product lines and has systematically been updating both design signatures and the technology platforms within them. Dell’s premium consumer XPS…

Ultrasound Tracking Could Be Used To Deanonymize Tor Users
New submitter x_t0ken_407 quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Ultrasounds emitted by ads or JavaScript code hidden on a page accessed through the Tor Browser can deanonymize Tor users by making nearby phones or computers send identity beacons back to advertisers,…

LG Is Abandoning the Modular Smartphone Idea
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: LG’s modular phone accessory strategy that served as the primary differentiator for last year’s G5 smartphone appears to be no more. The Wall Street Journal reports that the South Korean company…

Hands On With the First Open-Source Microcontroller
The folks at SiFive have offered Brian Benchoff from Hackaday a look at the HiFive 1, the first hands-on with the first Open Hardware microcontroller. From the report: The design files for the HiFive 1 were made with Altium, a…

A Coal-Fired Power Plant In India Is Turning Carbon Dioxide Into Baking Soda
schwit1 quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: In the southern Indian city of Tuticorin, locals are unlikely to suffer from a poorly risen cake. That’s because a coal-fired thermal power station in the area captures carbon dioxide and turns…

White House Releases Strategy To Defend Against Killer Asteroids
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: On December 30, the White House quietly released its Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy, a 25-page document outlining the United States’ plans in the event that a giant asteroid is found to be…

Tesla Gigafactory Begins Production
Thelasko writes: Right on schedule, Tesla’s Gigafactory has begun production of battery cells. The fact that the factory has opened on schedule has surprised many critics of the company. Reuters reports: “Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc has started mass…

Asus Unveils ZenFone AR With Google's Daydream and Tango Support, Coming In Q2
Krystalo quotes a report from VentureBeat: Probably the most-leaked device at CES 2017 so far has been the Asus ZenFone AR, through no fault of the Taiwanese company. Partner Qualcomm revealed much of the details in a blog post touting…

Medium Cuts Staff By One-Third, Shuts Down New York and DC Offices
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Medium, the San Francisco-based online publishing platform founded in 2012, has laid off 50 employees, or roughly one-third of its staff. The company will also close offices in New York and…