Author: Deep

Google’s virtual reality plans may include more than just headsets with smartphonesinside. Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reports that Google is working on a standalone VR headset that doesn’t connect with a PC or rely on a smartphone. The idea would be to occupy a middle ground between devices like Samsung’s Gear VR, which uses a smartphone for the display and processing power, and Facebook’s Oculus Rift, which must be tethered to a high-end PC. Google is reportedly partnering with machine vision company Movidius on the project, an interesting tidbit given that the two companies worked together on…

Assets in the high-risk, high-return sector are arguably cheap after the last few dismal years. Prices briefly rose after the swoon that followed the devaluation of the Chinese yuan in August, but they have fallen further with the recent volatility in China and are well below their post-financial crisis highs. “Emerging markets stocks are cheaper than they have been historically, relative to themselves and to the rest of the world,” said Gary Ribe, chief investment officer for financial advisory firm Macro Consulting Group. “The question is whether the valuation gap is big enough now to invest more in the sector.”…

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un isn’t exactly known for encouraging personal choice and freedom. “North Korea remains among the world’s most repressive countries,”  Human Rights Watch says, counting al the ways: There’s no independent media or religious freedom. Dissidents are thrown into what HRW calls “secretive prison camps.” Red Star OS, the country’s homebrew Linux operating system, is rife with surveillance tools and preventative measures to thwart users who’d dare tinker with the system beyond what’s officially allowed. You could say Kim Jong-un’s used his iron fist to cultivate his nation into a real-life walled garden. So of course he uses Macs,…

Boeing — The jetmaker earned an adjusted $1.60 per share for the fourth quarter, 32 cents above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. However, Boeing’s 2016 full-year forecast is shy of Street forecasts. United Technologies — The company reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.53 per share, beating estimates by 1 cent. However, revenue was shy of estimates, owing in large part to the negative effects of a stronger dollar. Tupperware — The maker of household storage products missed estimates by 3 cents with adjusted profit of $1.38 per share, with revenue also short of estimates. The company also sees 2016…

Some people just aren’t fans of File Explorer’s Favorites section (known as Quick accessin Windows 10). They’re missing out. Because for anyone who regularly goes back and forth between a specific set of folders—and I’d wager that’s most of us—Favorites/Quick access allows you to, er, access those folders quickly. That’s a whole lot better than having to always dig through File Explorer to hunt them down. Here’s how to customize the Favorites/Quick access section to meet your needs. Add and remove folders Putting a new folder in the Favorites/Quick access section is easy enough. The most direct way is to…

Haptic technology company Immersion has accused Apple and carrier AT&T of infringement of three of its patents in the latest iPhone models and Apple watches. Immersion, which claims over 2,100 issued or pending patents worldwide covering various aspects and commercial applications of haptic or touch feedback technology, has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban the import of the specified iPhoneand Apple Watch models in the U.S., besides suing for damages in a Delaware federal court, company CEO Victor Viegas said in a conference call Thursday. Under the rules, it will take the ITC 30 days to decide on…

Jim Cramer finally saw the market separate itself from the crazy connection to oil, and individual companies once again started to matter on Tuesday. “The one thing we really wanted to hear, though, is actual quality earnings from big international companies that aren’t turnaround plays, just plain-old great companies with good management. And suddenly we got them,” the “Mad Money” host said. The next big company to report was Apple, which reported pretty much was Cramer was expecting. “My take? You own the stock, don’t trade it,” Cramer said. “We are going to get an iPhone 7 upgrade later in…

This will probably come as no surprise, but studies have shown that smartphones (and technology in general) are negatively affecting our relationships. Smartphones, and their constant interruptions, interfere with our in-person interactions, which causes us to feel less connected to our partners. The obvious solution is to ban smartphones from the bedroom…but how realistic is that, really? Not very, if you ask me. So instead of focusing on the negatives, let’s focus on the positives, like how smartphones enhance our relationships and all the cute little smartphone-related things we do to show people we care. Here are 10 ways you…

Sitting on a double-digit loss that is the deepest in his firm’s history, billionaire investor Bill Ackman on Tuesday told investors that he made mistakes last year in not cutting two big positions but said he sees plenty of new investment opportunities. Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management lost between 16 percent and 20 percent in its funds in 2015, said it was a “very costly” mistake that he did not sell drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals when the stock price rose to $200 over the summer. He also said that right along with Valeant’s tumble “the rest of our portfolio…

The Brompton S6L folding bike solves a problem I thought I’d left behind me. That is, when I traded my hour-long suburban car commute for an urban one, I thought my life would get better. Little did I know it would be just as bad. Instead of sitting in my air conditioned car listening to music on clogged freeways, I’m now stuck behind crowds of people—I call them Walkers—plodding along to the subway station while checking Facebook. On bicycle, I can cut nearly 30 minutes from my commute—but getting a bike on a crowded San Francisco train is a challenge. Enter…