Ten years ago Al Gore transformed himself from failed presidential candidate to ecological warrior with the release of his influential film “An Inconvenient Truth.” The Ant Farm As a way to mark the anniversary, Vudu is giving away copies free to own for today (May 24) only. While climate change is now a hot topic, …

One of the first things Genevieve Bell did after bringing home an Amazon Echo was ask the smart speaker to set a timer. After the Echo replied in its soft, reassuring female voice, Bell told the device “thank you.” “When was the last time you said ‘thank you’ to Google search?” asked Bell, Intel’s longtime cultural anthropologist and corporate strategist. …

Paul McCartney’s Fool on the Hill famously used the eyes in his head to “see the world spinning round.” Now he can do it in VR. Jaunt, a producer and publisher of virtual-reality content, is teaming with Sir Paul on a six-part documentary series timed to coincide with the release of “Pure McCartney,” a 67-song collection that spans the former …

GoPro and Red Bull have signed a multi-year partnership that will see the two brands collaborate on content production and distribution, as well as on “product innovation,” they said Tuesday. As part of the deal, Red Bull will receive equity in the action sports company, while GoPro will become the exclusive camera provider at Red Bull’s media productions and events. …

We know a lot about the capabilities of a typical iPhone. It can make calls, track your calendar, send text messages, take photos and get you online. But, more importantly, can it be used to catch a fish? Appropriately named YouTube channel How Ridiculous not only asked this riveting question, but also answered it. The iPhone guinea pig in this …

Those of us that have a taste for beer understand the value of the perfect head of foam atop the glass. The purists and connoisseurs understand what works best for a container and the perfect angle at which to pour. Apparently though, there’s some folks out there that just can’t seem to get it right. Have no fear timid pourers, …

You only need a webcam and a dream if you want to be the next Adele. X Factor hopefuls can audition for the 2016 season of the show through Facebook Live, the social network’s live-streaming feature, Facebook said Tuesday. Facebook introduced the feature at the end of 2015. The show will hold preliminary online auditions in closed groups that will …

If you’re going on a road trip this summer, you might have a kid in the backseat begging you to stop for McDonald’s. If you use Google Maps, your kid might not be the only one prodding you to make that detour. On Tuesday, the search giant unveiled a handful of new ways for brands to advertise on Google Maps. …

Now playing: Watch this: Twitter relaxes its 140-character limit 1:16 You will soon be able to shoehorn more into your tweets without going over the 140-character limit. The microblogging service said Tuesday that it will soon introduce changes that will exempt certain features from counting toward that limit, including media attachments such as photos, GIFs, videos and polls. To a …

That Windows 7 PC you got back in 2009 is powerful enough to handle Microsoft’s latest operating system — but that could change, because Microsoft is increasing its minimum system requirements. The upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update will need a minimum of 2GB of memory, according to a Microsoft developer page. That was the minimum already required for 64-bit versions …

A Lego-version of a smartphone? Bring it on. We discuss the notion of a modular smartphone built by Google’s Project Ara and ponder whether this is something people really want. If nothing else, it’s a great way to get us excited about the phone business again. Also, we look at the failure of Acadine, yet another challenger to iOS and …

Ready and waiting to order a OnePlus 3 phone? You’ll have to get in line — virtually — behind users of the company’s Loop VR headset. In a blog post Monday, OnePlus announced that it’s giving away 30,000 Loop VR headsets until they run out and that OnePlus 3 orders will start in its VR store — inside its virtual …

AT&T subscribers who pay off their phone on a monthly basis will soon have just two plans to decide between. Dubbed AT&T Next Every Year and AT&T Next, the plans are an attempt to simplify the carrier’s lineup of Next installment plans, which currently include four options and may have confused some consumers. With AT&T Next Every Year, you have …

A study of Fitbit heart monitors has set pulses racing. The San Francisco wearables company on Monday defended the accuracy of its fitness trackers after a study conducted by researchers at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, found its PurePulse technology didn’t correctly monitor heart rates. The study was commissioned by lawyers representing a group of customers who are suing Fitbit …

“X-Men: Apocalypse” arrives in theaters on Thursday, but starting Monday fans can get a jump on the box office by purchasing tickets directly through the Snapchat app. All week long, Snapchatters will see a video ad for the movie in the Discovery section, hidden among the other media brands. Clicking the “Show Now” button at the bottom of the ad …