Internet of bins approaches NYC

In this week's Worldwide Wrap, New York City trash cans could soon mean treasured WiFi, and recycled plastic bottles could become Rotterdam's new highways.

Waste management company Bigbelly has applied for a New York mayoral grant to turn New York City trash cans into WiFi hotspots.

Free to use, the WiFi would be paid for with advertising revenue, for example by coffee shops pushing ads through the WiFi bins nearest to them.
Via: The Guardian

The Dutch city of Rotterdam is seriously considering PlasticRoad technology, whereby highways are constructed from recycled plastic.

PlasticRoad is stronger, easier to maintain and more resilient under temperature extremes than traditional asphalt, says construction firm VolkerWessels. Its hollow structure allows cables and pipes to easily pass through it, and it can be prefabricated to reduce construction disruptions.
Via: Wired

South Korean manufacturer Hankook Tire has completed initial testing on its fifth generation airless tyre, the iFlex, which gets its bounce and springiness from geometric structures instead of air pressure.

Hankook says the iFlex matches conventional tyres in several performance metrics, such as durability, stability and speed. The latest iFlex is designed to mount onto traditional rims, making it compatible with existing vehicles.
Via: Wired

The "virtually unhackable" Turing Phone heralds a new era of "cipher phones," according to Turing Robotics CEO SYL Chao.

Unlike smartphones, cipher phones offer private and protected communication networks, says Chao. Turing Phone users will be able to communicate sensitive information over an encrypted network with no third-party storage.
Via: Mashable

Siri, iOS' knowledge navigator, has been correcting users who use the incorrect name and pronoun when asking about transgender retired athlete Caitlyn Jenner.

Yet some of Siri's responses still acknowledge an outdated gender identity, possibly due to Siri pulling from older databases for certain questions.
Via: Mashable

Stopping short of removing its famously offensive clusters of content, the social networking site will simply make it harder to find.

An upcoming policy change will mean hidden content will only be accessed by users who log in and opt into it, and will not appear in search results or public listings, said newly instated Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman.
Via: BBC