Technology, Innovation & Outdoor News

ESPHome Starter Kit review: From blinking lights to building a smart home

September 04, 2026 | Howard Armitage
ESPHome’s first official hardware kit makes a fiddly corner of DIY smart homes remarkably approachable, and it’s built to remain genuinely useful long after the lessons are over.

Floating data center would provide water and electricity to 32,000 homes

September 03, 2026 | Etiido Uko
Some companies build a desalination plant and call it a day; others build a data center, while others, still, build power generation facilities. One project wants to build all three …into one facility …offshore …on a movable ship.

Xiaomi’s new mid-rangers pack batteries up to 10,000-mAh

September 04, 2026 | Monica J. White
Xiaomi’s REDMI Note 17 lineup brings 7,700- to 10,000-mAh batteries to four mid-range phones, led by a Pro Max promising three-day endurance, 100W charging and up to six years of battery health for longer ownership.

Top Stories

With its lack of trailer, this A-frame tiny house isn't a good fit for nomads. The home trades ease of movement for a cozy and comfortable interior that draws inspiration from traditional cabins.
Building on the design language it debuted with the new Elko knife, The James Brand packs multiple functions inside the all-new Helton EDC tool. The Helton, then, is a sleek, lightweight piece of EDC that's as easy to carry as it is to use.
Many of our most popular camper van articles of 2026 have one thing in common: the Kia PV5. Now, Kia is readying the PV7 for debut. The larger e-van will offer more space for camper equipment, but will it prove as popular a camper base as the PV5?
Developed by researchers in the US, the remarkable new treatment could one day be used to treat patients in advanced stages of dementia by restoring the brain’s ability to recover from ongoing neurodegeneration.
Radica has never been known to follow convention. Its original widened pickup cap camped like nothing out there, and its subsequent launches followed suit. The new Stargate lands as a telescopic pop-topper that becomes the most spacious Radica yet.
All too often, lubricating your bike chain ends up with you inadvertently lubing the ground beneath it, also. The Green Disc+ is designed to change that, by applying its eco-friendly lube only where it's needed. Less waste, and no mess.

Latest News

Load More

Latest News

Load More

Editor's Picks

Nobody really enjoys seeing power lines, but maybe they could be turned from an eyesore into a local point of pride. Such is the thinking behind this creative project that transforms power line pylons into huge animal sculptures.
Who could possibly compare to Superman, the Man of Steel? Definitely not a man of plastic! Right? Wrong. Scientists have discovered that unconventionally shaped plastics may rival steel bars as reinforcement materials in construction concrete.
Ultra-deep tech startup Nirvanic put on a fairly humble-looking robotics demo at Jeff Bezos's private MARS 2025 conference – but it may go down as a landmark moment both in AI robotics, and in our understanding of consciousness itself.
A bacterium from the gut of Japanese tree frogs has "exhibited remarkably potent" tumor-killing abilities when administered intravenously, outperforming current standard therapies and paving the way for an entirely new approach to treating cancer.
The most egg-shaped of all the egg campers, the Barefoot Caravan has been wowing RVers with its shapely fiberglass for over a decade. Prices have risen quickly during that time, but now Barefoot offers the Bothy as a lighter, cheaper entry model.
Dragon Tiny Homes' Webster is well-suited to full-time living on wheels and features a spacious interior with three bedrooms, sleeping up to six people. The tiny house is currently up for sale for $85,000.
Researchers have analyzed clinical trial data and ranked 12 different non-drug physical therapy treatments for knee osteoarthritis, based on their effectiveness in reducing pain and stiffness, and improving physical function.
As it heads out of the solar system never to return, the deep space probe Voyager 1 is headed for yet another cosmic milestone. In late 2026, it will become the first spacecraft to travel so far that a radio signal from Earth takes 24 hours, or one light day, to reach it.