I flew a groundbreaking new drone on the roof of Mashable’s headquarters. Here’s how and why.

When drones fly fast, they tend to lean into the wind. It makes them look cool, but can wreak havoc on the stability of video from their cameras.

The LVL 1 drone by CyPhy Works seeks to solve this issue with six rotors, instead of four, and custom "Level-Up" programming that forces the drone to fly level no matter the weather.

"I asked him, 'What it would it take for you to recommend a drone to a friend, from a consumer point of view?'" said CyPhy Works founder and CEO Helen Greiner, gesturing toward Kenneth Sebesta, the LVL-1 tech lead seated next to her in my office.

Greiner and Sebesta had been making the media rounds with their two LVL 1 prototype drones, explaining why this consumer drone, which is seeking backing on Kickstarter now and should be available in retail next year, is different than all others.

Now they’d come to my office to do something they’d never done before: Fly the drone and test its leveling technology on a rooftop in Manhattan. "It's something I dreamed of doing, but not this soon," said Sebesta.

Sebesta, who also flies real airplanes, was a little nervous. "If there’s too much wind," he said, "we’ll call it off."
I assured him that I wasn't looking for it to hover high above our 18-story building. I just wanted a demonstration that put the sleek-looking flyer 8 or 10 feet off the ground.

I've flown a fair number of drones already, but I had high-hopes for this one. It looked different, employed unique stabilizing technology and has a heck of a pedigree.

Greiner is the co-founder of iRobot and helped birth one of the world’s most popular consumer robots, the Roomba robot vacuum. Before she left the company in 2008, she managed much of iRobot’s military robot business, including the Packbot.

When she left and founded CyPhy Works, Greiner set her sights above ground level, on drones. The company now produces commercial drones, such as its Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC), which is designed to fly for days at a time.

Image: Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP/Associated Press

She's already slayed vampires. Now Sarah Michelle Gellar has her sights set on conquering Pinterest.
On Tuesday, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress joined the crafty social network, launching a variety of lifestyle and DIY boards in preparation for Mother's Day. Crafts, snack ideas and home decor inspiration — SMG has got you covered!

"One of my favorite activities to do with my kids is crafting. But so often I think we see things, but then think we could never make them," Gellar recently said in a statement. "So I created this [DIY Mother's Day Gifts] board, to guide from aspiration to actual creation. These are not only doable projects, but useful items like picture frames (and the art to put in them), wine glasses and even edible arrangements."

To help out with the Pinterest launch, Mashable is partnering with Gellar, collaborating on her DIY Mother's Day Gift board. Follow along to find crafty ways to say "Thank you, mom!"

Check out some of Sarah's pins below. And don't forget to check out her full Pinterest profile here.

Follow Sarah Michelle Gellar's board DIY Mother's Day Gifts on Pinterest.

Image: Flickr, University of Washington Office of News and Information

Yoky Matsuoka, a cofounder of Google X, will be passing on a top job at Twitter after recovering from a life-threatening illness.

Having a second chance at life has shifted priorities for Matsuoka, who had the opportunity to become vice president of technology and analytics at the microblogging company. The former University of Washington robotics professor wrote that she isn't clear on her future plans in a Thursday blog post on Medium. 

"When you get another chance at life, there’s an opportunity to start from scratch and I feel so lucky to have this," Matsuoka wrote.

Matsuoka, who was recently vice president of technology at Google-owned Nest, was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness a few months ago. She doesn't name her ailment in the blog post, but she does describe the gut-wrenching feeling she experienced following her diagnosis.

"Suddenly, my future — a hectic schedule with a full and loving family and a challenging new job — felt essentially erased," she said, adding, though, that after treatment she began to heal. "The doctors have given me a thumbs up.

 

A new future has begun to fill my mind again."

 

Matsuoka may one day return to the tech industry, but for now she plans to spend time with family and tackle personal projects.

"I want to work again, but also want to take time to construct this new life I have been so blessed to be given," she wrote.

Sometimes being a celebrity just isn't enough. Just ask actress Reese Witherspoon, small-town fashion hero...it seems. Her new life goal: Dressing women everywhere like southern belles.

On Tuesday, the 39-year old actress launched, Draper James, a Southern-inspired sportswear and lifestyle label that includes accessories, home and gifting, jewelry and apparel. She's joining the ranks of other celeb-owned lifestyle businesses: Gwyneth Paltrow and her wellness publication Goop, Jessica Alba and her mega-successful infant brand Honest Company, and Blake Lively's own artisanal online guide/e-commerce shop Preserve. 

That's right — the same woman who established the "bend and snap" is applying her eye for style with a heavy emphasis on her home-grown Southern roots. 

“I hope that it sort of opens people’s eyes to how much the South has changed and to all of the cultural experiences happening there," she tells WWD. "We’re going to have City Guides, but through my eyes, the places I love. We will have different Southern ambassadors that will show places to buy amazing Southern antique silver or where to find hand towels like their grandmothers had.”

Some of the saccharine items Witherspoon thinks will sell: a pair of sweet magnolia-printed shorts called "Marry Me" and sugary accessories like a "Totes Y'all" tote bag, among many other sweet-as-apple-pie merchandise morsels sure to cause a toothache or three. Prices range from $25 for jewelry to $400 for a dress. 

 What if you could navigate through George R.R. Martin's fictional continent of Westeros, where most of hit series Game of Thrones is taking place, on Google Maps? While you can't do that just yet, you can at least see what it would look like, as one fan of the series created a Google Maps-flavored Westeros map.

Reddit user selvag posted the map this week. The map contains no spoilers, he claims, and it's also available as a poster on Etsy. 

While the map is definitely cool to look at, it's not interactive and you can't zoom in. If you're looking for a more detailed map, you should check out A Map of Ice and Fire, which covers the other three continents in George R.R. Martin's world — Essos, Sothoryos and Ulthos. Or try quartermaester.info, which includes a "spoiler control."

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft just said in plain English what it's been talking about for months: Windows 10 will be the last major launch for the Windows platform.

Speaking at Microsoft Ignite, the company's multi-day event for connecting with the IT crowd, Jerry Nixon, one of the company's developer evangelists, broke the news. 

"Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10," he said.

Fans of Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, Once Upon a Time and more: Smile, we have good news. 

ABC has just renewed a ton of their existing and freshman shows for brand new seasons. 

That list includes the aforementioned as well as How To Get Away With Murder (Season 2), Nashville (Season 4), American Crime (Season 2), Secrets and Lies (Season 2), Marvel's Agent Carter (Season 2), black-ish (Season 2), Fresh Off the Boat (Season 2), The Goldbergs (Season 3), The Middle (Season 7), Modern Family (Season 7) and Galavant (Season 2). 

And in the alternative programming sector, America's Funniest Home Videos (Season 26), The Bachelor (Season 20), Dancing With the Stars (Season 21), Shark Tank (Season 7), Beyond the Tank (Season 2) and 20/20 also scored renewals. 

Whew. Got all that? 

The news was less sunny, meanwhile, for a handful of other shows. 

Dramas Resurrection and Forever were both axed, and the same goes for freshman comedy Cristela.

The network says a decision has not been made, meanwhile, on Tim Allen's Last Man Standing, which is hoping for a fifth season.

 

 

After multiple teases and hints, it's finally official: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is a real game, and it's coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year, with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions to follow at a later date.

Developer Robomodo, the same team behind 2012's THPS HD remake, is back with a new entry in the series that, according to Game Informer, draws heavily from the first four numbered releases in the Tony Hawk series.

THPS 1 through 4 played out across a series of levels, each in a different environment. To advance, players were required to complete a number of level-specific challenges, from reaching specific high-score thresholds to finding hidden video tapes or grabbing a group of collectibles during a single combo.

For THPS 5, Robomodo is sticking to that basic framework while adding in new features, like power-ups. The game also ropes in many of the more modern-day trappings that weren't around (or as widely embraced) back during the early days of the series. Competitive and cooperative online play are options, as is a skate park creation mode.

You can see one of the first screens from the game up top; head over to Game Informer's reveal for many more screens and additional details, including a partial rundown of playable skaters on the roster. 

Source: Game Informer

An iPhone 7 concept with a glowing Apple logo on the back and a screen that stretches to the edges of the device on the front.

Video: YouTube, Computer Bild TV

The new MacBook is impressive, but it was missing one thing: the Apple logo on the back no longer glows. We want more glowing logos, Apple! Not fewer!

At least, that's the opinion of the folks at German website Computer-Bild. Its video of an iPhone 7 concept features a glowing Apple logo on the back — a feature no iPhone has ever sported.

Star Wars characters old and new are landing in the Disney Infinity universe, lightsabers and all. 

Disney Interactive announced Disney Infinity 3.0, the next installment of the now annualized toys-to-life franchise will focus heavily on the Star Wars universe, while also featuring other characters from current and upcoming Disney, Pixar and Marvel films.