Batteries that use aluminum and oxygen normally live fast and die young. But a new design could help these high-energy devices endure. Aluminum-air batteries are promising candidates for a new generation of non-rechargeable batteries, because they’re super lightweight and compact. The batteries, however, aren’t widely used because their internal components quickly degrade each other.

A regular shop-bought mushroom has been turned into an electricity generator in a process scientists hope will one day be used to power devices. The “bionic mushroom” was covered with bacteria capable of producing electricity and strands of graphene that collected the current. Shining a light on the structure activated the bacteria’s ability to photosynthesise, and as the cells harvested this glow they generated a small amount of electricity known as a “photocurrent”.

Repair is one of the secret keys to a better life. Repairs keep our gadgets in use longer (saving our pocketbooks) and divert e-waste from landfills or toxic recycling processes (saving our planet). Repair is an engine of community prosperity: when you get your phone screen fixed at your corner repair shop, your money goes to a locally owned small business (my daughter and the phone screen guy's daughter go to the same school and he always tut-tuts over the state of my chipped and dented phone at parent-teacher nights).

The Librarian of Congress and US Copyright Office just proposed new rules that will give consumers and independent repair experts wide latitude to legally hack embedded software on their devices in order to repair or maintain them. This exemption to copyright law will apply to smartphones, tractors, cars, smart home appliances, and many other devices.

The sunbeams falling on the globe can create energy that is more than adequate to satisfy global energy requirements

Every state uses some type of electronic voting, but only a few have totally done away with paper ballots. Learn where your state stands.

When you buy a game console, smartphone, dryer, vacuum cleaner, or any number of other complicated electronics, there’s usually a sticker or a piece of paperwork telling you that trying to repair the device yourself will void your warranty. That’s illegal under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Companies offering a warranty on their goods aren’t allowed to void that warranty if the user attempts to repair it themself, but that doesn’t stop the company from scaring customers into thinking it’s true.

If DDR4 memory pricing is the only thing holding you back from building a new PC or upgrading your existing one, you might be in luck if you can hold off until next year. Following up on a previous report predicting lower DRAM product prices in the fourth quarter of this year, DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, believes an even bigger drop is in store for 2019.

LG will introduce a redesigned flagship phone in June, codenamed Judy, reports Venture Beat. LG has previously said it would depart from its predictable smartphone launch cycle, with this June rumor marking a notable change. LG traditionally launches its G-series phones in the first half of the year, followed by its V-series in the second half.

A rechargeable battery that works at –70° C could be used in some of the coldest places on Earth or other planets.

Dell’s latest 15-inch XPS 2-in-1 is a high-end laptop that appeals to creative users: people who need power and portability, and might also appreciate a touchscreen and a stylus. It plays in the same field as HP’s Spectre x360 15, Microsoft’s Surface Book 2, and Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro. Right out of the box, Dell gets most things right with the XPS 15 2-in-1, with a just few areas that need improvement. Its build quality, attention to detail, power, and flexibility add up to a high-end experience that matches its premium price.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has successfully developed the industry’s first 10-nanometer (nm) class* 8-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR5 DRAM. Since bringing the first 8Gb LPDDR4 to mass production in 2014, Samsung has been setting the stage to transition to the LPDDR5 standard for use in upcoming 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered mobile applications.

Reserves of cobalt and nickel used in electric-vehicle cells will not meet future demand. Refocus research to find new electrodes based on common elements such as iron and silicon, urge Kostiantyn Turcheniuk and colleagues.

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smartphones and laptops to electric cars and e-cigarettes. But, with lithium close to breaking point, researchers are scrambling for the next battery breakthrough

Scientists have experimented with a new organic molecule that has an ability to ‘renew’ and this can be the basis of a new type of organic flow battery which has the potential to last for several decades.

The European Parliament accepted a resolution to lengthen consumer goods and software’s longevity, a counter to the alleged planned obsolescence process built into a lot of products.

OnePlus is working on a followup to the OnePlus 6, the OnePlus 6T. The company's latest smartphone should launch sometime in October, and until then we're getting a slow, continual drip of information on the device. The latest news is not so great. The company has revealed that it's dumping the headphone jack on the OnePlus 6T.

"I was just sitting there talking to my Dad, and suddenly an explosion went off in my pocket," Mann said.

Everyone's a victim of bad timing sometimes. These gadgets brought revolutionary new features to the market. They just did it a little too soon.

It's an interesting time to buy an all-in-one PC, that's for sure. The iMac is thinner and more powerful than ever, and Windows machines finally have touchscreens that appeal to an average user.

AfterShokz recently released its second generation headphones that transfer sound via bone conduction.

Last week, before committing one of the worst mass shootings in modern American history, Adam Lanza tried to destroy the hard drive on his computer. But whatever he was trying to hide might still be recoverable.

designboom takes a look back at hartmut esslinger's designs of the early 80's, overviewing prototypes, concepts and explorations of apple's first computers, laptops and tablets.

Arcade cabinets, robots, wearable computers and more built by Pi hobbyists.

A plea to TV makers in 2013: give me radically simply voice-control for changing channels.

It was a very bad year for the country's gadget makers.

Acer will mainly focus on x86 Windows 8 devices going forward, even though it plans to release a few Windows RT-themed products.

There's still a market for light, small, cheap laptops.

Now that 2012 is over, the Wall Street Journal is pondering whether the e-reader era is coming to an end. Is it time to write e-readers' obituary?

Extreme has (luckily) lost most of its buzz-word status. It’s mostly back to meaning things on the fringe, way out near the edges, where they blow our minds with their extremeness, rather than simply having 3 times the corn syrup and colors nature never intended.

Plair is a new app-cessory that aims to fix the problem of sharing digital media with friends. Crafted by NewDealDesign, Plair is a Wi-Fi-enabled USB dongle that can connect any smartphone to any television (that has a USB port).

Traditional batteries may never be the same again since Tetherboard displayed its working Tethercell prototype at CES 2013. It embeds Bluetooth into a traditional AA battery form.

The Pebble smartwatch is a lot more than just a watch — it’s the latest attempt to turn your wrist into the launchpad for a wearable computing revolution. It’s also the preeminent symbol of...

'Design Forward,' a book debuting in the U.S. today, reveals Frog Design founder Hartmut Esslinger's challenges helping to transform Apple product design in the 1980s and beyond.

Sony is making a big announcement late Wednesday, and the consensus from the rumor mill is that it will be the next generation PlayStation console (a.k.a "PlayStation 4").