Evernote can help organize your life – here’s how to use it

Evernote is a commitment, and requires religious use to get the full benefits. That means taking your entire paper-based filing system and converting it to digital — a time-consuming task.

The benefit is measurable, however. Notes can be saved and synced across devices and can include text, photos, voice memos, and uploaded or scanned documents. You can file notes into notebooks, and further categorize them into tags. Sharing is easy, and while the interface isn’t the easiest to learn, it is quite powerful.

Getting Started

You’ll need to set up an account to get started with Evernote. We recommend completing this process on the Web before downloading the desktop or mobile app. This way, you can get started using Evernote right away — and in some cases the apps work better as you don’t necessarily need to be online to access data.

Create an new account

Start by heading to the Evernote registration page. You can choose to use either your Google login credentials or an e-mail and password to sign in. Click Create Account and you’re done. Evernote doesn’t require that you activate your account, so it’s already ready to use.

Free accounts allows you up to 60MB of uploads, and syncing across two devices (Web access is included). Upgrading to Plus increases this to 1GB and costs $35 for the year, while Premium costs $70 per year and gives you 10GB of uploads. With both Plus and Premium, there is no limit to the amount of devices you can sync to.

(Note: While Evernote calls it “uploads,” we’ve noticed in our own use that it’s more accurate to call it bandwidth. As you sync to multiple devices, your available data will shrink. This might make it hard for many to stay with the strict confines of Evernote Basic.)

Each Evernote tier gives you more flexibility on what functionality is offered. The free account allows you to clip web pages and images, search for text inside images (a feature we’ve found extraordinarily useful), share and discuss notes, and add a passcode to your mobile apps. But we suspect many may want a bit more.

The chart below shows the difference between Plus and Premium in terms of features. We’ve colored the Basic tier features in blue so you can see the difference.

Plus

Premium

Clip web pages and images Search for text inside images Share and discuss notes Add passcode lock on mobile apps
Access notebooks offline
Forward emails into Evernote
Customer support via email

Clip web pages and images Search for text inside images Share and discuss notes Add passcode lock on mobile apps
Access notebooks offline
Forward emails into Evernote
Customer support via email
Customer support via live chat
Search for text in PDFs
Search for text in Office docs
Annotate PDFs
Scan and digitize business cards
Present notes in one click
Browse the history of your notes
See related notes and content

To prevent any hiccups, if you are planning to use Evernote across more than one device, upgrade your plan before you start to download the app to your desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.

Use the links below to install Evernote on the device of your choice.

For mobile

For computers

iOS
Mac OS X
Android
Windows

 Creating notes

Look for the ‘+’ button on the left-side menu and click it. A new screen appears asking you to give the new note a title. Give it a title, and then click on the body field below and start typing your note. When you’re done, click Done in the upper right hand corner which takes you back to the dashboard.

On the iPhone, look for the green ‘+’ button in the center of the  bottom app menu. It looks like this:

Android users, tap the green ‘+’ button on the lower right, it looks like this:

You’ll see a similar edit screen to the one we showed. So what if you want to add more than just text? If you’re using the web or desktop based versions, you can drag and drop files into notes, including photos and attachments. The various options are found in the toolbar.

For the mobile apps, within the note taking screen, look for a ‘+’. Tap that, and you’ll get a host of options of what you can add to a particular note. Here’s an example of what you’ll find in that menu on iOS — Android users will see similar options.

Web Clips

We’d recommend you also install the Evernote Web Clipper. The extension is available for every major browser, and it allows Evernote users to save Web snapshots or entire articles while retaining all text, links and images originally embedded in the page.

Browser

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Opera
Safari
Edge

Once installed, click the Evernote note button located in the top of your browser’s tool bar and log in using your given credentials. Click the Evernote button again, select the type of clip you’d like, what notebook you’d like it in, and add any tags. When finished making your selection, click the light-green Save button to add the Web clip to Evernote.

This tunneling robot is basically a robotic version of the worm from ‘Tremors’

Why it matters to you

An underground tunneling robot could be used for digging trenches, performing underground rescues, or even planetary exploration.

If Elon Musk needs a helping hand making his ambitious underground Hyperloop tunnel network a reality, he may want to seek the support of the folks behind a multi-year European robotics project involving a tunneling robot.

Called BADGER (that is apparently short for roBot for Autonomous unDerGround trenchless opERations, mapping, and navigation), the project aims to built a large, worm-inspired, autonomous underground tunneling robot, which uses ultrasound and a large drilling head to break apart whatever material is put in front of it. Picture a robot version of the worm from the movie Tremors, and you won’t be far off.

“Let’s imagine that we want to connect two buildings standing on opposite sides of a main street in a modern city with a communication cable,” Professor Carlos Balaguer, a member of the RoboticsLab at Charles III University of Madrid, told Digital Trends. “In this case, making a trench would be the most common solution applied, [but this] would lead to traffic congestion, pedestrian inconvenience, and environmental pollution. The BADGER robot, however, will avoid all these problems through trenchless technology that will make a small hole in the ground, where the cable will be placed. Using its onboard sensors and an intelligent control algorithm, the robot will autonomously navigate from the basement of one building to the other, avoiding collisions with gas and water pipes, metro tunnels [and] big rocks.”

BADGER packs in a ton of smart tech to make it the ultimate drilling machine. It is divided into segments for flexibility and, when necessary, each of these segments is able to clamp against the wall of the tunnel it is drilling; much as a worm moves along by contracting and relaxing its body to grip. It will also feature a 3D printer that deposits layers of resin as it moves, thereby turning tunnels into pipes, along with an appendage for pumping dislodged soil up to the surface.

In addition to carrying out urban underground drilling, the hope is that BADGER will be used for tasks like ground analysis, underground rescue operations, and even — potentially — planetary exploration.

We still have a bit of a wait, though. BADGER is a three-year project, spanning seven partners in five countries, which only got started this January. According to current schedules, it will be completed in December 2019. “We foresee that the first prototype, which will be assembled at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, will be ready during 2018, while the field tests will start in the first quarter of 2019 in Germany,” Balaguer said. “It is likely that the commercial version of the system will be available in 2020.”

For now, we will just have to get our robot snake fix from other robots like this one.

Crisp Clothing uses artificial intelligence to make a shirt that fits perfectly

Why it matters to you

For a limited time, you can get a custom-fit shirt from Crisp Clothing for under $80.

Finding a tailored shirt that perfectly fits you can be an exercise in futility. Startup Crisp Clothing wants to make it a norm. The family-owned company guarantees it can tailor a shirt to perfectly fit you using your height and weight and recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to receive funding.

The company is founded by father-and-son duo Swapnil and Prakash Kamble. To get the perfect shirt from Crisp, you would need to go to the company’s website and enter your height and weight. This is possible because of Bodylabs, the group of engineers and scientists with a technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that get an accurate body measurement. Another example of the future of clothing technology.

The shirts are made with 100 percent Egyptian Giza cotton and made by hand by a team of skilled tailors. The shirts currently come in white, black, blue, and pink. Getting your hands on one of them will not come cheap as the shirts will retail for $108 if the campaign reaches its goal. You may be able to get one for as low as pledging $78 toward the campaign, but there are only 12 more shirts left at that price, at the time of publication.

Crisp Clothing promises every shirt will fit perfectly, but just in case it does not, the company is offering $20 worth of alteration credit if it does not fit right. If Crisp can not get it to fit your body perfectly after trying to alter it, you can get a free remake of the shirt.

Custom clothing businesses have a track record of doing well on Kickstarter. In 2013, Threadmason’s Kickstarter campaign accumulated more than $34,000 in pledges for its custom T-shirt business in roughly five weeks. The clothing company’s approach was similar to Crisp’s as people would only need to send in their height, weight, and waist size.

Crisp’s Kickstarter campaign has amassed a little more than $2,000 of its $20,000 funding goal. The campaign ends on July 31. Shirts will ship to most backers in November but will ship in October for those who made an early-bird pledge.

Crisp Clothing uses artificial intelligence to make a shirt that fits perfectly

Why it matters to you

For a limited time, you can get a custom-fit shirt from Crisp Clothing for under $80.

Finding a tailored shirt that perfectly fits you can be an exercise in futility. Startup Crisp Clothing wants to make it a norm. The family-owned company guarantees it can tailor a shirt to perfectly fit you using your height and weight and recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to receive funding.

The company is founded by father-and-son duo Swapnil and Prakash Kamble. To get the perfect shirt from Crisp, you would need to go to the company’s website and enter your height and weight. This is possible because of Bodylabs, the group of engineers and scientists with a technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that get an accurate body measurement. Another example of the future of clothing technology.

The shirts are made with 100 percent Egyptian Giza cotton and made by hand by a team of skilled tailors. The shirts currently come in white, black, blue, and pink. Getting your hands on one of them will not come cheap as the shirts will retail for $108 if the campaign reaches its goal. You may be able to get one for as low as pledging $78 toward the campaign, but there are only 12 more shirts left at that price, at the time of publication.

Crisp Clothing promises every shirt will fit perfectly, but just in case it does not, the company is offering $20 worth of alteration credit if it does not fit right. If Crisp can not get it to fit your body perfectly after trying to alter it, you can get a free remake of the shirt.

Custom clothing businesses have a track record of doing well on Kickstarter. In 2013, Threadmason’s Kickstarter campaign accumulated more than $34,000 in pledges for its custom T-shirt business in roughly five weeks. The clothing company’s approach was similar to Crisp’s as people would only need to send in their height, weight, and waist size.

Crisp’s Kickstarter campaign has amassed a little more than $2,000 of its $20,000 funding goal. The campaign ends on July 31. Shirts will ship to most backers in November but will ship in October for those who made an early-bird pledge.

Michelin unveils new 3d printed tire that will outlive your car

Why it matters to you

This conceptual tire design could make blowouts and regular tire changes a distant memory

Although the lifespan of a tire depends on an variety of different factors, most will need to be replaced about every five years. However, a new 3D printed tire prototype from Michelin may one day outlast your vehicle — and then some.

At the Movin’On exhibition in Montreal, Michelin unveiled its 3D printed Visionary Concept tire. Unlike traditional air-pressurized tires, the 3D printed prototype doesn’t need to be inflated. Instead, the Visionary Concept tire uses a honeycomb pattern based on generative design models found in nature, such as coral and the air sacs in human lungs. This design diminishes the risk of a blowout or flats due to punctures.

While traditional rubber tires gradually lose their tread as a result of friction, this prototype uses 3D printers to “replenish” this tread as needed. A series of sensors built into the tire monitor the tread wear and provide real-time information about performance and maintenance.

This information is relayed to drivers via an app, where individuals can then preemptively order 3D printed tread replacements. These new 3D printed treads can be tailored for an array of settings to compensate for seasonal weather, more rugged terrains, and even different driving styles.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Vision tire is also made from bio-sourced and biodegradable materials, including (but not limited to) natural rubber, bamboo, paper, tin cans, wood, and plastic. Michelin also minimized the amount of rubber in each of these “organic” tires to further reduce the overall environmental impact.

The entire wheel is produced from recyclable materials, which means that once the tire has reached the end of its life (“thousands and thousands of kilometers” down the road, according to Michelin), the tire itself will also be recyclable.

However, as this tire is still just a prototype, it looks like we’ll have to deal with our wildly inefficient, archaic, pressurized rubber tires for the time being. Michelin’s Executive VP of Research and Development, Terry Gettys, believes it will be at least another 10 years before the finalized Visionary Concept tire reaches the market.

Weekly rewind: Graphene headphones, $1 cell service, baking bread like a pro

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from Travis Kalanick’s departure from Uber to how to make your home look Airbnb ready — it’s all here.

Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch

Virgin Mobile is redefining itself, and part of that new identity involves partnering with Apple and turning its business into the first “iPhone-only” carrier. The carrier’s new program is called “Inner Circle.”

Inner Circle, which Virgin announced at an event in San Francisco, means the carrier is getting rid of all of its Android devices, and will start only selling iPhones. The program starts on July 1, and customers who sign up within the first 30 days will get 12 months of unlimited talk, text, and data for $1. You’ll need to buy an iPhone from Virgin, and set up auto pay to be able to take part in the $1 promotion. In typical carrier fashion, your data is “deprioritized” or throttled if you go over 23GB a month. Video, games, and music on Virgin’s 4G LTE are also “mobile-optimized,” meaning videos are streamed at 480-pixel resolution; music streams at 500kbps or lower; and cloud gaming streams up to 2mbps. After the first year, you will have to pay $50 a month.

Read: Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch.

Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

When it comes to listing a property on Airbnb, HomeAway, or whichever property rental site, a picture might just mean the difference between booking and sitting empty. Between two similar properties, photographs are often a deciding factor, says Sara Gates, the marketing manager for Vacasa, an agency that handles vacation rentals for property owners. Listings with better photographs tend to book more often and even appear higher in the search results — which is why Airbnb photography is important.

But what, exactly, makes a good photograph for a vacation rental? Kimberly Stevenson, Vacasa’s lead photographer, shared a few dos – and a few don’ts – when it comes to Airbnb photography.

Read: Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

“You have to experience virtual reality to truly appreciate it.” It’s a common refrain, but that’s not always true. Some VR experiences can captivate those watching from outside a virtual reality headset. Some, like Within’s Life of Us, can catch the eye of just about anyone who walks by.

At Unity’s Vision VR summit in May, Life of Us easily drew the biggest crowd of all the demos on the show floor. You could see it through the exit, and that tiny glimpse provided the inspiration to walk to the entrance at the hall’s opposite end and weave past the other booths to watch attendees playing Life of Us up close.

Read: Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

You don’t have to go to the boulangerie for perfectly baked bread. Just head on over to your oven. With just a little help from Forneau, you can start making loaves that will renew your dedication to carbohydrates (as if your dedication ever really waned). You may remember the first iteration of the Forneau Bread Oven from 2015, which was ultimately backed by nearly 800 people from 20 different countries. And now, the team is back with the latest and greatest version of the oven: The Forneau 2.0.

So what exactly is this bread oven? Don’t worry — it’s not a whole new appliance you’ll have to install in your kitchen. Rather, this cast-iron bakeware device simply sits in your existing oven, creating the perfect environment for you to make artisan bread at home. Baking bread with the Forneau is straightforward — simply place the device in your oven to preheat, and when it’s at the correct temperature, place your bread dough onto the peel and slide it in. The cast-iron walls promise to heat the dough thoroughly and evenly, and because it’s in an enclosed space, it will trap the steam from the bake. That means you’ll end up with a golden-brown, crisp crust, just like you do at professional bakeries.

Read: Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

‘Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Being a Game of Thrones fan has required extra patience this year. After eschewing the usual production schedule to get the right weather to finally allow winter to come to Westeros, the show’s season 7 premiere was pushed back until summer. In the meantime, we’ve had to obsess over any and all pieces of information we can find.

The season is going to be a crazy one — even for Game of Thrones — as the stakes have never been higher now that the series finale is just 13 episodes away. There are already interesting storylines in progress, from Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) seating herself on the Iron Throne to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) coming to make her claim on the crown on the backs of her dragons. The great game could play out in so many ways, and it is going to be fascinating to watch it develop.

There is a lot to tie up as we head into the show’s final two mini seasons, starting with season 7’s much-anticipated July 16 premiere. Prepare yourself with everything we know so far — but be warned that there are spoilers ahead.

Read: Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

With equal parts excitement and exhaustion, famous surf, lifestyle, and adventure photographer Chris Burkard took time out of his insane promotional tour to speak with Digital Trends about his new surfing film, “Under An Arctic Sky.” The 40-minute film, directed by Burkard and produced by Sweat Pants Media, follows four surfers on their journey to Iceland’s brutal north coast. The reason for the trip? The region just experienced its largest storm in 25 years.

Burkard, a self-taught director, speaker, and author, is also one of the most followed adventure photographers who boasts 2.6 million followers on Instagram alone. However, even with his years of experience, nothing prepared Burkard — or his crew — for the epic challenges of making a surfing film in the world’s harshest weather conditions. With the grueling project in the rear view, Burkard shared with us his reasoning behind switching gears to shoot in some of the coldest places on earth, the backstory of Under An Arctic Sky, and what he truly hopes the film will inspire in others.

Read: Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

A device being developed by European scientists may help make breast cancer tests easier and less painful to endure. It’s called the PAMMOTH (or, photoacoustic ultrasound mammoscopy for evaluating screening-detected abnormalities in the breast, if you have time to say it) and combines light and sound sensors to offer a 3D image of the suspected tumor. The goal is to create a “while-you-wait” test that minimizes discomfort and uncertainty of cancer diagnosis.

“Despite advancements in X-ray imaging, ultrasound imaging, and MRI, these clinical imaging [methods] have shortcomings,” Srirang Manohar, project coordinator and professor at the University of Twente, told Digital Trends.

Read: Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

Engineers at Caltech may have solved one of those awkward smartphone problems of the last few years — the camera bump — by creating a super thin chip designed as an alternative to a glass camera lens. It’s called an optical phased array, or OPA, and it digitally replicates the same light-gathering ability of a glass lens to take a picture. Think of it as a lens-less camera.

Ali Hajimiri, a professor at Caltech and principal investigator on the project, explained how it works. “We’ve created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras.”

Read: Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Graphene, one of the most buzzed-about carbon compounds in material science, has the potential to transform industries, not the least of which is the world of sound. There’s only one problem: it’s really expensive. But audio researcher Peter Gaskell thinks he’s cracked the graphene conundrum.

Ora, a Montreal-based startup Gaskell co-founded with Sergii Tutashkonko (who holds a Ph.D. in material science), wants to be the first to market with graphene-based headphones. Gaskell, who holds a Ph.D. himself in audio recording, stopped by Digital Trends’ New York office to demo his new creation ahead of the company’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. They’re tentatively dubbed the GrapheneQ Headphones, and they sound fantastic.

Read: We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of the ridesharing company. Kalanick decided to step down on Tuesday night following intense pressure from five major investors, The New York Times reported.

News of the 40-year-old founder’s departure follows mounting criticism over the way the company has been conducting its business, and comes just a few days after the funeral of his mother, who died in a boating accident at the end of last month.

Read: Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Weekly rewind: Graphene headphones, $1 cell service, baking bread like a pro

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from Travis Kalanick’s departure from Uber to how to make your home look Airbnb ready — it’s all here.

Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch

Virgin Mobile is redefining itself, and part of that new identity involves partnering with Apple and turning its business into the first “iPhone-only” carrier. The carrier’s new program is called “Inner Circle.”

Inner Circle, which Virgin announced at an event in San Francisco, means the carrier is getting rid of all of its Android devices, and will start only selling iPhones. The program starts on July 1, and customers who sign up within the first 30 days will get 12 months of unlimited talk, text, and data for $1. You’ll need to buy an iPhone from Virgin, and set up auto pay to be able to take part in the $1 promotion. In typical carrier fashion, your data is “deprioritized” or throttled if you go over 23GB a month. Video, games, and music on Virgin’s 4G LTE are also “mobile-optimized,” meaning videos are streamed at 480-pixel resolution; music streams at 500kbps or lower; and cloud gaming streams up to 2mbps. After the first year, you will have to pay $50 a month.

Read: Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch.

Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

When it comes to listing a property on Airbnb, HomeAway, or whichever property rental site, a picture might just mean the difference between booking and sitting empty. Between two similar properties, photographs are often a deciding factor, says Sara Gates, the marketing manager for Vacasa, an agency that handles vacation rentals for property owners. Listings with better photographs tend to book more often and even appear higher in the search results — which is why Airbnb photography is important.

But what, exactly, makes a good photograph for a vacation rental? Kimberly Stevenson, Vacasa’s lead photographer, shared a few dos – and a few don’ts – when it comes to Airbnb photography.

Read: Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

“You have to experience virtual reality to truly appreciate it.” It’s a common refrain, but that’s not always true. Some VR experiences can captivate those watching from outside a virtual reality headset. Some, like Within’s Life of Us, can catch the eye of just about anyone who walks by.

At Unity’s Vision VR summit in May, Life of Us easily drew the biggest crowd of all the demos on the show floor. You could see it through the exit, and that tiny glimpse provided the inspiration to walk to the entrance at the hall’s opposite end and weave past the other booths to watch attendees playing Life of Us up close.

Read: Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

You don’t have to go to the boulangerie for perfectly baked bread. Just head on over to your oven. With just a little help from Forneau, you can start making loaves that will renew your dedication to carbohydrates (as if your dedication ever really waned). You may remember the first iteration of the Forneau Bread Oven from 2015, which was ultimately backed by nearly 800 people from 20 different countries. And now, the team is back with the latest and greatest version of the oven: The Forneau 2.0.

So what exactly is this bread oven? Don’t worry — it’s not a whole new appliance you’ll have to install in your kitchen. Rather, this cast-iron bakeware device simply sits in your existing oven, creating the perfect environment for you to make artisan bread at home. Baking bread with the Forneau is straightforward — simply place the device in your oven to preheat, and when it’s at the correct temperature, place your bread dough onto the peel and slide it in. The cast-iron walls promise to heat the dough thoroughly and evenly, and because it’s in an enclosed space, it will trap the steam from the bake. That means you’ll end up with a golden-brown, crisp crust, just like you do at professional bakeries.

Read: Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

‘Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Being a Game of Thrones fan has required extra patience this year. After eschewing the usual production schedule to get the right weather to finally allow winter to come to Westeros, the show’s season 7 premiere was pushed back until summer. In the meantime, we’ve had to obsess over any and all pieces of information we can find.

The season is going to be a crazy one — even for Game of Thrones — as the stakes have never been higher now that the series finale is just 13 episodes away. There are already interesting storylines in progress, from Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) seating herself on the Iron Throne to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) coming to make her claim on the crown on the backs of her dragons. The great game could play out in so many ways, and it is going to be fascinating to watch it develop.

There is a lot to tie up as we head into the show’s final two mini seasons, starting with season 7’s much-anticipated July 16 premiere. Prepare yourself with everything we know so far — but be warned that there are spoilers ahead.

Read: Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

With equal parts excitement and exhaustion, famous surf, lifestyle, and adventure photographer Chris Burkard took time out of his insane promotional tour to speak with Digital Trends about his new surfing film, “Under An Arctic Sky.” The 40-minute film, directed by Burkard and produced by Sweat Pants Media, follows four surfers on their journey to Iceland’s brutal north coast. The reason for the trip? The region just experienced its largest storm in 25 years.

Burkard, a self-taught director, speaker, and author, is also one of the most followed adventure photographers who boasts 2.6 million followers on Instagram alone. However, even with his years of experience, nothing prepared Burkard — or his crew — for the epic challenges of making a surfing film in the world’s harshest weather conditions. With the grueling project in the rear view, Burkard shared with us his reasoning behind switching gears to shoot in some of the coldest places on earth, the backstory of Under An Arctic Sky, and what he truly hopes the film will inspire in others.

Read: Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

A device being developed by European scientists may help make breast cancer tests easier and less painful to endure. It’s called the PAMMOTH (or, photoacoustic ultrasound mammoscopy for evaluating screening-detected abnormalities in the breast, if you have time to say it) and combines light and sound sensors to offer a 3D image of the suspected tumor. The goal is to create a “while-you-wait” test that minimizes discomfort and uncertainty of cancer diagnosis.

“Despite advancements in X-ray imaging, ultrasound imaging, and MRI, these clinical imaging [methods] have shortcomings,” Srirang Manohar, project coordinator and professor at the University of Twente, told Digital Trends.

Read: Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

Engineers at Caltech may have solved one of those awkward smartphone problems of the last few years — the camera bump — by creating a super thin chip designed as an alternative to a glass camera lens. It’s called an optical phased array, or OPA, and it digitally replicates the same light-gathering ability of a glass lens to take a picture. Think of it as a lens-less camera.

Ali Hajimiri, a professor at Caltech and principal investigator on the project, explained how it works. “We’ve created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras.”

Read: Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Graphene, one of the most buzzed-about carbon compounds in material science, has the potential to transform industries, not the least of which is the world of sound. There’s only one problem: it’s really expensive. But audio researcher Peter Gaskell thinks he’s cracked the graphene conundrum.

Ora, a Montreal-based startup Gaskell co-founded with Sergii Tutashkonko (who holds a Ph.D. in material science), wants to be the first to market with graphene-based headphones. Gaskell, who holds a Ph.D. himself in audio recording, stopped by Digital Trends’ New York office to demo his new creation ahead of the company’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. They’re tentatively dubbed the GrapheneQ Headphones, and they sound fantastic.

Read: We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of the ridesharing company. Kalanick decided to step down on Tuesday night following intense pressure from five major investors, The New York Times reported.

News of the 40-year-old founder’s departure follows mounting criticism over the way the company has been conducting its business, and comes just a few days after the funeral of his mother, who died in a boating accident at the end of last month.

Read: Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Weekly rewind: Graphene headphones, $1 cell service, baking bread like a pro

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from Travis Kalanick’s departure from Uber to how to make your home look Airbnb ready — it’s all here.

Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch

Virgin Mobile is redefining itself, and part of that new identity involves partnering with Apple and turning its business into the first “iPhone-only” carrier. The carrier’s new program is called “Inner Circle.”

Inner Circle, which Virgin announced at an event in San Francisco, means the carrier is getting rid of all of its Android devices, and will start only selling iPhones. The program starts on July 1, and customers who sign up within the first 30 days will get 12 months of unlimited talk, text, and data for $1. You’ll need to buy an iPhone from Virgin, and set up auto pay to be able to take part in the $1 promotion. In typical carrier fashion, your data is “deprioritized” or throttled if you go over 23GB a month. Video, games, and music on Virgin’s 4G LTE are also “mobile-optimized,” meaning videos are streamed at 480-pixel resolution; music streams at 500kbps or lower; and cloud gaming streams up to 2mbps. After the first year, you will have to pay $50 a month.

Read: Virgin Mobile offers a year of unlimited cell service for $1, with a catch.

Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

When it comes to listing a property on Airbnb, HomeAway, or whichever property rental site, a picture might just mean the difference between booking and sitting empty. Between two similar properties, photographs are often a deciding factor, says Sara Gates, the marketing manager for Vacasa, an agency that handles vacation rentals for property owners. Listings with better photographs tend to book more often and even appear higher in the search results — which is why Airbnb photography is important.

But what, exactly, makes a good photograph for a vacation rental? Kimberly Stevenson, Vacasa’s lead photographer, shared a few dos – and a few don’ts – when it comes to Airbnb photography.

Read: Get top dollar for your room on Airbnb with 9 simple photography tips

Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

“You have to experience virtual reality to truly appreciate it.” It’s a common refrain, but that’s not always true. Some VR experiences can captivate those watching from outside a virtual reality headset. Some, like Within’s Life of Us, can catch the eye of just about anyone who walks by.

At Unity’s Vision VR summit in May, Life of Us easily drew the biggest crowd of all the demos on the show floor. You could see it through the exit, and that tiny glimpse provided the inspiration to walk to the entrance at the hall’s opposite end and weave past the other booths to watch attendees playing Life of Us up close.

Read: Do you watch a VR film or play it? ‘Life of Us’ makes it hard to tell

Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

You don’t have to go to the boulangerie for perfectly baked bread. Just head on over to your oven. With just a little help from Forneau, you can start making loaves that will renew your dedication to carbohydrates (as if your dedication ever really waned). You may remember the first iteration of the Forneau Bread Oven from 2015, which was ultimately backed by nearly 800 people from 20 different countries. And now, the team is back with the latest and greatest version of the oven: The Forneau 2.0.

So what exactly is this bread oven? Don’t worry — it’s not a whole new appliance you’ll have to install in your kitchen. Rather, this cast-iron bakeware device simply sits in your existing oven, creating the perfect environment for you to make artisan bread at home. Baking bread with the Forneau is straightforward — simply place the device in your oven to preheat, and when it’s at the correct temperature, place your bread dough onto the peel and slide it in. The cast-iron walls promise to heat the dough thoroughly and evenly, and because it’s in an enclosed space, it will trap the steam from the bake. That means you’ll end up with a golden-brown, crisp crust, just like you do at professional bakeries.

Read: Bake bread like you’re at a boulangerie with the Forneau Bread Oven 2.0

‘Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Being a Game of Thrones fan has required extra patience this year. After eschewing the usual production schedule to get the right weather to finally allow winter to come to Westeros, the show’s season 7 premiere was pushed back until summer. In the meantime, we’ve had to obsess over any and all pieces of information we can find.

The season is going to be a crazy one — even for Game of Thrones — as the stakes have never been higher now that the series finale is just 13 episodes away. There are already interesting storylines in progress, from Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) seating herself on the Iron Throne to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) coming to make her claim on the crown on the backs of her dragons. The great game could play out in so many ways, and it is going to be fascinating to watch it develop.

There is a lot to tie up as we head into the show’s final two mini seasons, starting with season 7’s much-anticipated July 16 premiere. Prepare yourself with everything we know so far — but be warned that there are spoilers ahead.

Read: Game of Thrones’ season 7 is coming! Here is everything we know so far

Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

With equal parts excitement and exhaustion, famous surf, lifestyle, and adventure photographer Chris Burkard took time out of his insane promotional tour to speak with Digital Trends about his new surfing film, “Under An Arctic Sky.” The 40-minute film, directed by Burkard and produced by Sweat Pants Media, follows four surfers on their journey to Iceland’s brutal north coast. The reason for the trip? The region just experienced its largest storm in 25 years.

Burkard, a self-taught director, speaker, and author, is also one of the most followed adventure photographers who boasts 2.6 million followers on Instagram alone. However, even with his years of experience, nothing prepared Burkard — or his crew — for the epic challenges of making a surfing film in the world’s harshest weather conditions. With the grueling project in the rear view, Burkard shared with us his reasoning behind switching gears to shoot in some of the coldest places on earth, the backstory of Under An Arctic Sky, and what he truly hopes the film will inspire in others.

Read: Fighting fear and frostbite, Chris Burkard surfed Iceland and captured it all

Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

A device being developed by European scientists may help make breast cancer tests easier and less painful to endure. It’s called the PAMMOTH (or, photoacoustic ultrasound mammoscopy for evaluating screening-detected abnormalities in the breast, if you have time to say it) and combines light and sound sensors to offer a 3D image of the suspected tumor. The goal is to create a “while-you-wait” test that minimizes discomfort and uncertainty of cancer diagnosis.

“Despite advancements in X-ray imaging, ultrasound imaging, and MRI, these clinical imaging [methods] have shortcomings,” Srirang Manohar, project coordinator and professor at the University of Twente, told Digital Trends.

Read: Lasers and ultrasound may allow ‘while-you-wait’ breast cancer diagnosis

Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

Engineers at Caltech may have solved one of those awkward smartphone problems of the last few years — the camera bump — by creating a super thin chip designed as an alternative to a glass camera lens. It’s called an optical phased array, or OPA, and it digitally replicates the same light-gathering ability of a glass lens to take a picture. Think of it as a lens-less camera.

Ali Hajimiri, a professor at Caltech and principal investigator on the project, explained how it works. “We’ve created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras.”

Read: Breakthrough lens-less camera tech may mean the end of the smartphone camera bump

We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Graphene, one of the most buzzed-about carbon compounds in material science, has the potential to transform industries, not the least of which is the world of sound. There’s only one problem: it’s really expensive. But audio researcher Peter Gaskell thinks he’s cracked the graphene conundrum.

Ora, a Montreal-based startup Gaskell co-founded with Sergii Tutashkonko (who holds a Ph.D. in material science), wants to be the first to market with graphene-based headphones. Gaskell, who holds a Ph.D. himself in audio recording, stopped by Digital Trends’ New York office to demo his new creation ahead of the company’s crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. They’re tentatively dubbed the GrapheneQ Headphones, and they sound fantastic.

Read: We listened to the world’s first graphene headphones, and they floored us

Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of the ridesharing company. Kalanick decided to step down on Tuesday night following intense pressure from five major investors, The New York Times reported.

News of the 40-year-old founder’s departure follows mounting criticism over the way the company has been conducting its business, and comes just a few days after the funeral of his mother, who died in a boating accident at the end of last month.

Read: Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick, has resigned as CEO

Google is going to stop reading Gmail users’ emails so it can personalize our ads

Why it matters to you

Your Gmail account is going to be a lot more private starting later this year now that Google has said it will stop reading users’ email for ad-personalization purposes.

There’s a constant tension today between privacy concerns and the really cool things technology can do for us. It’s great that Microsoft Cortana, for example, can read our email and create reminders to do the things we promise, but that requires letting Microsoft have access to our email messages.

Some companies access our information for purposes that are less useful to us personally, like Google’s tendency to dig into the data stored on its servers to personalize the ads it shows us. The Gmail in Google’s G Suite solution aimed at business customers doesn’t do that — and the company made a welcome announcement Friday that its free consumer Gmail service won’t do so either starting later this year.

According to Google, Gmail is the world’s most popular email provider, with more than 1.2 billion users. Gmail is better at protecting its users from spam, hacking, and phishing attempts than any other email provider, Google says. It also offers helpful tools like Smart Reply to make managing email easier, more efficient, and faster.

However, Google clearly recognizes that the businesses that pay for its G Suite service are more reluctant to have their email messages mined for information to make ads more effective. More than 3 million companies pay for the G Suite product, and so that’s a significant constituency.

Starting later this year, Google is extending the same courtesy to its consumer customers, who don’t pay a fee. Once implemented, the change will mean that Gmail content will no longer be scanned to personalize ads, leaving it up to the user to determine how ads are shown. At the same time, G Suite will remain ad-free, which is no surprise given the paid nature of the service.

It will be interesting to see if more companies follow suit, as privacy concerns continue to grow and more people are pushing back against intrusions into their personal and professional data troves. Microsoft has focused on making privacy more transparent in Windows 10, and now Google is giving privacy some welcome attention in Gmail. Speaking of which, if you want to see how your information is being used by Google, you can go to myaccount.google.com and check things out for yourself.

Everything you need to know about sideloading apps for your Gear VR

Sideloading apps onto your phone is easy and lets you access apps you can’t get on the Google Play Store.

The Gear VR is one of the most accessible forms of virtual reality available today because it runs right off of your Samsung phone. Initially, there are plenty of apps that you can download from the Oculus Store, or the Google Play Store. However, if you’ve found an app that you want to try that isn’t on the Google Play Store, or you want to check out some of the more adult apps out there, you’ll need to sideload those apps on your phone.

Don’t panic if you have no clue what sideloading is. We’ve got all the details that you’ll need. Just keep scrolling and we’ll explain everything.

Read more at VRHeads