It's my life, you're just along for the ride!

Drones are a seemingly everywhere at CES, but senseFly’s sensor-laden eXom commercial quadcopter really caught our eye. Why’s that? Well, for starters it has a self-leveling and stabilizing err… head up front. That cabeza packs one of five ultrasonic sensors, an ability to record “ultra high-res” stills, HD video and thermal data — even simultaneously. Like the gizmo’s final battery life, weight and price, however, the folks at senseFly, a division of Parrot, aren’t ready to talk about exact resolution for any of the cameras. We’d imagine that since the drone’s intended to look at pipelines and hydroelectric dams for cracks and defects at close proximity and with “sub-millimeter” accuracy, the imaging tools are going to be pretty powerful. Click link below to read more and see video;

via Parrot’s new drone keeps its ‘head’ on straight.

It didn’t take long for other US carriers to match T-Mobile’s rollover data, apparently — AT&T is offering its own take on the strategy. As of January 25th, every AT&T subscriber with a Mobile Share Value plan will see their leftover megabytes available the following month. If you’re mostly relying on WiFi in February, you’ll have a ton of cellular bandwidth available for that March vacation. It’s not limited to more advanced tiers, either, so you’ll see it kick in even if you’re comparatively thrifty.This isn’t necessarily sweeter than what you get on T-Mobile. While the magenta network’s Data Stash lets you save data for up to a year, any untapped AT&T data disappears after that extra month — you can’t stockpile it for a Netflix marathon during the holidays. Still, this is a big deal if you’re not clinging on to a grandfathered unlimited data plan for dear life. AT&T is no doubt hoping that this will entice you to stay on a more capacious tier than you really need, but it’ll definitely make better use of the service you’re paying for.

via AT&T is the next US carrier to let you roll over unused mobile data.

If you type “Keyessa Kiss” into Google, you’ll get listings for porn stars. But probably not for long, because it’s also the name of the most amazing way to dock a device I’ve ever laid eyes on.See those two tiny little black squares on that plastic board? Those are the connectors. And they don’t even need to touch your phone, tablet, or laptop PC. They live beneath the surface of your device, and its dock, using extremely short-range, high-frequency wireless signals to transfer data at up to 6 gigabits per second. No need for bulky metal connectors.Now get this: pair it with Qi wireless charging, and you don’t need connectors to charge your laptop either. No holes in the sides of your machine. And if you supply just enough power to, say, power a speedy little external solid state drive, you could simply touch that to your machine to immediately transfer files from it.

via These Hidden Wireless Connectors Could Make Ports Obsolete.

Toyota’s apparently hedging it’s bet in the hybrid world by also gambling on a hydrogen-powered future. In an apparent attempt to drum up some development support, all 5,680 or so of Toyota’s FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) patents developed for and in support of the Mirai are being tossed out to the world for use royalty-free. Included are some 1,970 patents related to fuel cell stacks, 290 to high-pressure hydrogen tanks, 3,350 involving the software to manage the system and a further 70 for production and supply. The fuel cell patents around the actual cars will remain royalty-free until 2020, while the others around production and supply will stay royalty-free for an unlimited time.Obviously with more partners on board (aside from those already prepped to join the game like Honda, BMW, Hyundai and GM) Toyota may hope to see new cars and infrastructure for fueling and hydrogen production grow to catch the electric world. Considering that an electric charging station can cost as little as tens of thousands of dollars, a hydrogen station rings in at $1 or $2 million. While Toyota’s cars are just about here — albeit only in California — there’s no denying that the consumer’s primary barrier to access for hydrogen cars (before price of purchase) even in that state, will be refueling infrastructure. We’re big on the concept and familiarity that hydrogen fueling and driving brings, but we think that tech still has a long road ahead and initiatives like this are what it needs to make that push stick.

via Toyota shares its fuel cell patents to help its hydrogen dreams come true.

Autism is a developmental disorder that hampers a person’s ability to communicate with people, but it’s believed that its sufferers do enjoy using computers. It was from that spark that Samsung, working with two universities in Seoul, was inspired to craft an app that could train sufferers to communicate with people. Look At Me is, in essence, a series of short games that teach autistic kids to look at faces, read facial expressions and understand emotional responses. It’s early days, but the small test group seems to have found a positive improvement, which is encouraging for the future. Look at Me is available for free on Google Play, and works with a raft of recent Samsung devices, including Galaxy S3, S4, S5, Note 2, 3 and 4 as well as the Zoom, Zoom 2 and the Tab S.

via Samsung’s ‘Look at Me’ app teaches autistic children to communicate.

Tu madre es una tarantula. Entiendes? If you didn’t catch that, Skype’s got you covered. Microsoft just kicked off Skype’s Translator preview, which, as the name suggests, can automatically translate speech in real-time. While English and Spanish are the only supported spoken languages at the moment, the feature can also translate instant messaging chats in 45 languages. Microsoft first showed off Skype’s Translator, which relies on machine learning to handle its language gymnastics, back in May. And it seems to have made quite a bit of progress since then — at least, according to a tooth-achingly sweet video (see below) between high school students in the US and Mexico. The feature’s only available on Windows 8.1 devices at the moment, and don’t expect flawless functionality since it’s just a preview. But it’s a sign that even aging software can still make your Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy dreams come true.

via Microsoft kicks off Skype’s Translator preview on Windows 8.1.

Companies spend millions of dollars coming up with unique and compelling logos that define their brands and make them stand out from their competitors. We see hundreds of them everyday, but do we really get what those logos mean? This graphic is a compilation of 40 famous logos and the hidden meaning behind them.

via The hidden meaning behind 40 famous logos.

“One small fact: You are going to die,” Death says in the opening of The Book Thief. “Despite every effort, no one lives forever.” If you’ve come to terms with that (or have at least thought of death at one time or another), perhaps you’ve prepared for the inevitable by getting insured, saving up for those you’re leaving behind and writing up a last will and testament. These days, though, you also need to decide what will happen to your online life after death. What can you do to prepare for it, and what can you do to help if someone close to you passes away?

via What you need to know about your digital life after death.