Commentary: Smart bulbs, smart switches and other smart lights have never been better or more affordable — and new options are coming this year from Ring, GE, Philips Hue and more. So what’s stopping you from buying in? Been sleeping on smart lights? Time to wake up – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreSome incentives are currently limited to Germany’s most polluted cities. VW may extend diesel-scrapping incentives to all of Germany – Roadshow Source: CNet
Read MoreKnobs! Shiny candy-colored knobs! The last stand of skeuomorphism is smart light switches! Everyone loves knobs, but when you’re dealing with vintage equipment with a missing knob, the odds of replacing it are slim to none. That’s what happened to [Wesley Treat] when he picked up a vintage Philco tube tester. The tester looked great,
Read MoreJon Russell / TechCrunch: Indonesian ride-hailing company Go-Jek acquires Philippines-based fintech startup Coins.ph, sources say for $72M, ahead of a planned expansion into the country — Ride-hailing startup Go-Jek’s expansion into the Philippines ran into problems earlier this month over its ownership structure … Indonesian ride-hailing company Go-Jek acquires Philippines-based fintech startup Coins.ph, sources say
Read MoreThat’s when the global launch takes place in Paris. Honor View 20's 48-megapixel camera phone gets global pricing, availability on Jan. 22 – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreHow does Toyota’s resurrected icon compare with other sports car legends? 2020 Toyota Supra vs. BMW Z4, Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang and Nissan 370Z – Roadshow Source: CNet
Read MoreInsect defecation may not seem like one of the pressing scientific inquiries of our time, but in fact the faeces of these wee creatures serves an extraordinary variety of functions in bug and human life. Unlike most animals, many insect species actually use their excrement. They utilize it as their home, for feeding, in predator-prey
Read MoreDespite a lot of advances in battery technology, lead acid batteries are still used in many applications due to cost and their ability to provide a lot of surge current. But they don’t last forever. However, [AvE] shows that in some cases a failed battery can be restored with — of all things — epsom
Read MoreMaybe the president’s game-show past will let him end the shutdown this way SNL pits Trump against Congress on Deal or No Deal: Shutdown Edition – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreJames Ball / Columbia Journalism Review: Tech companies funding journalism projects deepens their codependence and implies the media is the exception that should be protected from tech’s disruption — Yesterday, Facebook announced it would spend $300 million over three years on journalistic content, partnerships, and programs. Tech companies funding journalism projects deepens their codependence and
Read MoreThe lathe is a simple enough tool to understand, but requires much practice to truly master. During the turning process, it’s often necessary to inspect the workpiece. This generally necessitates stopping the lathe, waiting for everything to spin down, and then starting again. This can be a major time sink when added up across the
Read MoreMatt Binder / Mashable: Google Maps rolls out ability to see user-reported speed traps via small camera icons, in North America, UK, Australia, Russia, Brazil, India, and Indonesia — Drivers will soon have an extra set of eyes on the road, courtesy of Google. — Google’s navigation app, Google Maps … Google Maps rolls out
Read MoreSome aspects of humanity affect all of us at some point in our lives. Whether it’s getting caught in the rain without an umbrella, getting a flat tire on the way to work, or upgrading a Linux package which somehow breaks the entire installation, some experiences are truly universal. Among these is pulling a few
Read MoreWall Street Journal: Japanese hotel, trying to replace all of its staff with robots, ended up creating more work for staff and frustrated guests as robots didn’t perform as expected — The robot revolution will have to wait at the Henn na Hotel in Japan, which is laying off low-performing droids Japanese hotel, trying to
Read MoreTom Simonite / Wired: Strategy Robot, founded by the creators of an AI bot that beat four top professional Texas Hold ‘Em players, signs a $10M two-year contract with the US Army — IN 2017, A poker bot called Libratus made headlines when it roundly defeated four top human players at no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em.
Read MoreMIDI was introduced at the 1983 NAMM show as a means to connect various electronic instruments together. Since then, our favorite five-pin DIN has been stuffed into Radio Shack keyboards, MPCs, synths, eurorack modules, and DAWs. The standard basically hasn’t changed. Sure, we have MIDI SysEx messages to configure individual components of a MIDI setup,
Read MoreThe fluffy social-media celeb was the star of a calendar and a book and appeared on national talk shows. Boo, the 'world's cutest dog,' has died, and family is 'heartbroken' – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreRani Molla / Recode: Voicebot survey estimates that about 77M US adults use voice assistants in their cars at least monthly, compared with 45.7M using them on smart speakers — Voice assistants are more habit-forming in cars than on smartphones. — As smart speakers take off in the home … Voicebot survey estimates that about
Read MoreAmidst the vast expanse of sand dunes in the Namib desert, there now exists a sound installation dedicated to pouring out the 1982 soft rock classic “Africa” by Toto. Six speakers connected to an MP3 player all powered by a few solar powered USB battery packs, and it is literally located somewhere down in Africa
Read MoreMove over, Aquaman: These astonishing ocean images rule the seas. Prize-winning underwater photos will make you want to learn to dive – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreFrom curious seals to graceful devil rays, the creatures of the sea posed for some spectacular shots. Paddle through 16 breathtaking and prize-winning underwater photos – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreThe meme encourages people to post a photo of themselves from 10 years and one from today. It’s just a drop in a big bucket of data Facebook has already amassed. #10YearChallenge: Harmless Trend or Boon to Facial Recognition Technology? Source: NY Times Tech
Read MoreQuynh Nguyen / DealStreetAsia: DaDa, a Chinese online tutoring service that helps children aged 4 to 16 learn English from native speakers, raises $255M Series D led by Warburg Pincus — Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has led a $255-million Series D round in China’s online English tutoring platform DaDa … DaDa, a Chinese
Read MoreThe Democratic National Committee apparently hasn’t lost its allure for Russia-linked hacking groups like Cozy Bear. DNC says Russian hackers hit it with phishing effort after midterms – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreAction, wit and color are the latest additions to the crew as Discovery returns to CBS All Access and Netflix. Star Trek: Discovery season 2 starts off faster and funnier – CNET Source: CNet
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