Fast Company

Gear VR’s most noticeable change revolves around its main point of interaction: the touchpad.

After previously testing the mobile VR waters with the Gear VR “Innovator Edition,” the company is going forward with a new $100 model fully intended for mass consumption by owners of Samsung’s recent flagship phones. But before Samsung got to this point, those two limited releases from the last year provided invaluable information for designing the Gear VR that was given a wide release today, both from developers making software and from users of the headset.

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The evolution of Hergé’s work—from simple comic strips to sophisticated graphics—was influenced by a fascination with fine art and design.

Since its first appearance in a Belgian newspaper in 1929, The Adventures of Tintin—the beloved comic that follows the escapades of an intrepid boy reporter and his trusty dog Snowey—has been translated into more than 50 languages. Though considerably more popular in Europe than stateside, the comic was adapted in a 2011 Steven Spielberg film, and Tintin’s creator Hergé could once count Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein among his many fans.

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#Meatpacking

In a couple of decades, New York City’s Meatpacking District has gone from industrial to illicit to fiercely fashionable. Today it is home to Google, Diane von Furstenberg’s flagship store, the new Renzo Piano-designed Whitney Museum, the southern terminus of the High Line (arguably the most influential public park in recent years), and any number of exclusive nightclubs. And now, it has a brand to match.

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Is there anything it can’t do? IBM’s Watson system has a few ideas about what you might be buying this holiday season.

IBM’s Watson platform has another new side project: making holiday gift predictions. The company is releasing a new iPhone app called IBM Watson Trend, which they claim can predict which gifts are most likely to sell out at stores and e-commerce sites. While aimed at helping consumers, the app also shows the investment IBM has been putting into expanding Watson into the business world.

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If politics were more like dating, would more young people participate?

In the midst of the 2012 election, Hunter Scarborough, a recent college graduate, had a flash of inspiration: Why couldn’t we remove some of the complexity of voting by creating a Tinder-like app that matches users with political candidates that share their ideology?

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Get organized, take care of business, give dynamite presentations, and more.

El Jefe. Head Honcho. Fearless Leader. Those are all nicknames for you, my friend.

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Using lessons from quantum computing and music, Teraki claims to cut data torrents from our sensor-bedecked world by up to 90%.

Smart thermostats like Google’s Nest report the temperature and can be controlled online. Fitness bands like the Fitbit Surge beam your steps, heart rate, and other fitness data to a smartphone and on to the cloud. Machines ranging from car engines to power plant turbines have sensors that measure things like vibration and temperature to ascertain if they are operating properly and predict if one’s headed for a breakdown.

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NASA’s next Mars rover may have a flying friend to help it navigate the Red Planet.

The next NASA Mars rover may include a helper drone. This morning, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab outside Los Angeles announced that it is considering adding a drone to the Mars 2020 rover.

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Tesla is voluntarily recalling 90,000 Model S sedans following a report of a seat belt issue.

Tesla has voluntarily recalled all 90,000 Model S sedans currently on the market as a result of seat belt issues. Bloomberg says the recall is due to a European customer reporting the front seat belt not being properly connected. Customers are urged to bring their car in for inspections.

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A new Yahoo Mail trial is shutting out users who use ad-blocking software.

Yahoo Mail users who have installed ad-blocking software might find an unwelcome surprise: In the U.S., at least, Yahoo is blocking their access to email. Earlier this month, Yahoo quietly began testing a system that blocks out people who are using ad-blocking software. It appears Yahoo is doing this not for technical reasons, but to protect revenue.

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