If you want to communicate with the locals on your trip to Florence, you learn to speak in Italian. If you want to communicate with your computer, you learn to code. Everything you know about your devices — from the operating systems to your favorite apps — is designed and coded using a computer language. That language makes it possible to tell your machine what you want it to do in a way that is similar to human language. Cool, right?
There are literally hundreds of different computer programming languages out there, just like there are human languages, and naturally, some are easier to learn than others. If you're interested in getting inside the mind of a machine, Python is one of the best places to start. It's versatile, easy to read, and powerful enough to run complex programs. And you can learn it with the help of elite instructors from the comfort of your couch with this Epic Python Developer Certification Bundle. Read more...
There are only so many puzzles that a person can take. If you're looking for a new hobby, may we suggest something you also loved as a kid: painting.
If you really want to take your inner artist seriously, it's time for you to sign up for some virtual classes. Luckily, this Creative Arts Course Bundle will keep you busy without cutting into your budget. It packs six courses and over 18 hours of video instruction for just £27.28, which is hundreds off the price of the individual courses. Read more...
Two men were charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly hacking the social media accounts of NBA and NFL players.
Both men, Ronnie Magrehbi, 20, of Florida, and Trevontae Washington, 21, of Louisiana, face a hefty fine along with time in prison.
According to a statement by the DOJ, between December 2017 and April 2019, they targeted the social media accounts of professional athletes in the NFL and NBA via phishing campaigns.
Washington would create fake login pages for social networking sites and then message the athletes on those platforms. When a player clicked the link, they were greeted with what looked like a login page for a social network. When an athlete entered their information, that sensitive information was sent to Washington. Read more...
European lawmakers are considering new rules for Internet giants that could include forcing them to share data with smaller rivals and/or put narrow limits on how they can use data in a bid to level the digital playing field. The FT and Reuters both report seeing drafts of the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA) -- which EU lawmakers are expected to introduce before the end of the year. A Commission spokesperson declined to confirm or deny anything in the two reports, saying it does not comment on leaks or comments by others.
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Companies are therefore forced to pick and choose what they monitor, limiting what they can see. Coralogix wants to change that by offering a more flexible pricing model, and today the company announced a $25 million Series B and a new real time analytics solution called Streama. The round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners and O.G. Tech Ventures with help from existing investors Aleph VC, StageOne Ventures, Janvest Capital Partners and 2B Angels.
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4K TVs probably seemed like overkill when they first became a thing in 2012. Now, they're ubiquitous.
4K monitors are bound to follow the same storyline. In 2013, when Asus launched its first consumer-oriented 4K monitor, the $5,000 price point was almost laughable. Who needs that in their house, right? Flash forward to 2020: 4K monitors can start as low as $300, posing little barrier to entry even for folks looking for casual use. This year's mass shift to working from home puts an even bigger spotlight on the need for a desk setup that doesn't suck to stare at. Read more...
To be totally fair, the base controller that comes with the Xbox One X and One S is already pretty darn good — in short, it's just really comfortable (especially compared to Nintendo's Joy-Con remotes or the PlayStation DualShock 4). But hey, sometimes we upgrade just because we can, because sometimes it's just nice to treat yourself to something you don't necessarily need, but you really want.
That's where the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller fits in — it's for sure a luxury buy, but it's worth every penny if your willing to spring for the $180 price tag. Scratch that, it's actually $170, because it's on sale right now (this rarely happens). Read more...
In January 2019, Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was looking to merge all of the company's messaging platforms — Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram — into one.
Now, the company took a big step toward that goal. On Wednesday, Instagram started rolling out the option to connect Instagram direct messages with Messenger. Yes, this means you can send messages to Messenger people from Instagram, and the other way around.
The new feature, which will show up to some users when they open the app (see image below), isn't obligatory — you can still keep your Messenger and Instagram DMs separate if you so desire. Read more...
Xiaomi's flagship phones have been following the same pattern for years: Low price, top specs, few compromises, and at least one feature that's either a world first or at least very rarely found on top competing smartphones.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, a new flagship released alongside the slightly less powerful Xiaomi Mi 10T and the entry-level Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite, follows this formula to a T.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
Image: Xiaomi
The Mi 10T Pro has a 6.67-inch display with 2,400x1,080 resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate — something we've only seen on gaming-focused phones such as the Asus Rog Phone 3. It's a DotDisplay LCD, not an OLED — there's your compromise — but it should be pretty good, with an advertised 500 nits of brightness, 1,500:1 color contrast ratio, and HDR10 support. It's also interrupted only by a punch-hole, 20-megapixel selfie camera, and a narrow chin on the bottom. Read more...
We’ve covered the reports of instability across the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 product families, even cards from different manufacturers. An early theory, coined by Igor of Igor’s Lab, is that the issue could be caused by sub-par power circuitry, especially since there seemed to be evidence that the problems were concentrated in certain specific GPU families much more so than others.
Nvidia and vendors have remained very quiet about the issue to-date, but MSI has released a statement recently. It says:
MSI became aware of reports from customers, reviewers, and system integrators that there may be instability when GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards core clocks exceeded a certain amount. The latest GeForce driver (456.55) includes fixes for the issue. As such, MSI recommends owners of GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards update to the latest driver release which can be downloaded from the NVIDIA GeForce website.
MSI stands behind its design decisions for its GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards catalog which consists of GAMING models and VENTUS models. MSI utilizes a mixed capacitor grouping in its designs to benefit from the strengths of both SP-Caps and MLCCs. All MSI GeForce RTX 30 Series cards that have shipped out since the beginning of production, which include media review samples, feature the PCB configurations as shown in the updated images below.
MSI also released an image of the backs of its GPUs to prove the designs haven’t changed.
Here’s the truth of the situation as we know it today:
Nvidia launched Ampere. A lot of customers had problems with Ampere. A logical theory based on the quality of the power rail circuitry was advanced and endorsed as plausible.
Meanwhile, people discovered that lowering your GPU boost clock by ~100MHz or locking your GPU clock to a high, fixed frequency both produced more stability. This was not in tension with the first theory — a circuit that can’t quite keep up with the demand places on it at 2.1GHz might be perfectly at ease at 1.9GHz. Similarly, repeatedly switching a GPUs clock speed up and down requires much more complex power distribution compared with running things at a static clock.
After several days of speculation, Nvidia has released a new driver, 456.55, that seems to have dramatically improved the situation for most players. Games that were previously unstable at low clocks now run rock-solid at higher frequencies. There are some people still having problems after the update, but it appears to have worked for the majority of people.
We’re still going to keep an eye on this solution as it evolves, but Nvidia’s latest driver appears to resolve the issue quite effectively.
Silver Lake Partners, the multi-billion dollar tech-focused investment firm, is adding a longterm hedge fund backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, to its array of investment vehicles to finance technology companies. The move into multi-strategy investing represents the diversification of financing vehicles that companies have at their disposal and gives the private equity firm the tools it needs to compete in a world awash with capital and new ways for companies to access public market financing. It's probably not a coincidence that the public-private, long-only, investment structure is happening as more tech companies are eschewing later stage financing to find cash on public markets through things like special purpose acquisition companies (SPACS).
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SAVE $81: A two-year subscription to ProtonVPN is on sale for $6.63 per month as of Sept. 30, saving you 33% on list price.
By now you probably know that you need a VPN for security, but can you trust these services with your data? A no-logging policy is an absolute necessity for a VPN.
ProtonVPN has one of the strictest no-logging policies, thanks to Swiss privacy laws. As a Swiss VPN provider, it does not log user activity or share data with third parties. It's an anonymous VPN service that lets you surf securely without surveillance, and it's on sale.
If you're curious to know what makes Zelda a hit among gamers, you may want to consider finding out how it was created in the first placeThe Build The Legend of Zelda Clone in Unity3D and Blender course will show what makes a game like Zelda tick, and give you an intro to game development and design to boot.
And the best part? You'll get a shot at recreating The Legend of Zelda — a Nintendo classic.
Taught by John Bura, a seasoned game programmer and educator, this course is designed to help you develop a game from scratch using Unity (a game engine) and Blender (an open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset). Read more...
TL;DR: Browse the internet on a 6th Gen 9.7" Apple iPad (WiFi only) for $310, a 22% savings as of Sept. 30.
Thinking about getting an iPad? If you're cool with using it on WiFi only, here's a great option: a brand new 32GB sixth-generation iPad on sale for over 20% off.
This device is from early 2018 and is powered by a quad-core 2.3 GHz Apple A10 chip, so you can surf the web and use your favorite apps. It also has an 8MP iSight camera, 32GB of storage for downloading the apps you need, and 2GB of RAM.
Here's an unboxing video for more info:
This iPad is regularly $399, but you can slash 22% off for a limited time and pick it up for just $310. Read more...
Telescopes are not known for their portability, to say the leastThis device from Mesay, however, is a monocular telescope, which is basically a set of binoculars made for one eye instead of two. It'll still bring faraway objects into focus, just not the ones in space.
The telescope delivers 50x60 magnification and top-notch image quality in a lightweight package. It also has a swing-up eyepiece, so it's convenient for people who wear glasses.
Here's more about how it works:
The telescope also works with your phone to take high-quality photos and videos. You can take snaps of objects up to 3,000 meters away — just attach the universal spring clip to your smartphone. A tripod is also included. Read more...
In the age of near-constant video calls (so many!), being on the move and forgetting your headphones can be a pretty big nuisance.
Lenovo has a pretty elegant solution (via TechRadar), which we haven't seen on a laptop before. The company's new ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i has integrated Bluetooth wireless earbuds.
When I say integrated I mean it: The earbuds are literally stored within the laptop. Even better, they charge when they're stored, and Lenovo says they will automatically connect to the laptop audio when taken out. Other features include dual mics and environmental noise cancellation, as well as muting/unmuting with a double tap on the earbuds. Read more...
Google expanded Meet’s availability earlier this year to give more people access to the video chat service in the midst of coronavirus-related lockdowns. The tech giant didn’t just make it available to everyone with a Gmail account, though, it also made its premium features accessible at no cost until September 30th. In a post announcing the extension, Meet Group Product Manager Samir Pradhan said Google wants to “continue helping those who rely on Meet to stay in touch” over the holiday season, especially since not everyone can travel to be with their families and friends.
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Prime Day kicks off on Oct. 13 this year, and then we've got Black Friday and Christmas shopping to tackle. The last few months of the year are going to be hectic, but there's also going to be plenty of opportunities to save big. We know that these major shopping events can be overwhelming, but there are steps you can take to make things go smoothly.
Firstly, you need to be prepared. You should make a plan, put a list together, and then wishlist these products and set deal alerts within the Amazon app. This way you'll be ready for when the prices drop. You should also familiarise yourself with how Amazon works, and how the site looks. These things might seem obvious, but they can save you a lot of time and hassle in the long run. Read more...
TL;DR: A two-year subscription to Restflix is on sale for £38.88 as of Sept. 30, saving you 50% on list price.
Raise your hand if you've been binge-watching all the things lately. Now raise your hand if you've stayed up all night, telling yourself, "just one more episode." Is your hand still up? Then we've got an alternative to your typical Netflix and Hulu binge-watching sessions that will help you get back into a normal sleep routine. You know, one that doesn't involve staying up until 4 a.m. and waking up after noon. It's called Restflix, and it's a total snoozefest.
SAVE 96%: A three-month subscription to an Amazon Kids+ Family Plan is on sale for £0.99, saving you 96% on list price.
Amazon's Prime Day event is set to take place on Oct. 13 this year, and will last for 48 hours. Except, it will actually last much longer, because some early Prime Day deals have already dropped.
Amazon has kick-started this busy shopping season with deals on its services, including Amazon Music Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon KIds+. The latter is an all-in-one subscription that gives kids access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and more. Read more...
With the unexpected downtime that comes with self-isolation, each of us has been given a rare opportunity to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. You could choose to learn TikTok dances, or you could finally use your time wisely and take on something you've always wanted to try, but never had the time. For example: learning to play the piano.
Under normal circumstances, we'd suggest you find a good teacher to show you the ropes, but thanks to social distancing measures, we recommend you turn to the great information superhighway and do some virtual learning. This Learn to Play the Piano and Music Composition Bundle, for example, gives you a whopping 27 hours of instruction on music theory, composition, and arrangement with piano. It's led by three trusted pros in the world of music and is basically the closest thing you'll get to the real deal. Plus, it won't cost you an arm and a leg. Read more...
Not content to put a flying surveillance drone inside customers' homes, the surveillance behemoth on Tuesday announced a plan to scan and store the "unique palm signature" of an untold number of Americans. Dubbed Amazon One, the company hopes the network of scanners will one day serve as an all-purpose form of identification.
You should absolutely not participate.
Since the introduction of Apple's Touch ID in 2013, followed by Face ID in 2017, many people have become desensitized to using biometric data as a form of identification. While those forms of biometric ID have their own drawbacks, Amazon One is different. Designed as a contactless payment and authentication system, Amazon One relies on scanned images of customer hands. Read more...
With so many people getting botox and filler treatments to their faces these days (or are they, during the pandemic?), it’s probably no wonder that venture capital has decided to look at the space. In the same way that the small and scattered market of spectacle/optometrist shops were disrupted by startups like Warby Parker, so the extremely variable experience of back-street cosmetic clinics are ripe for targeting. Step in SISU, a chain of cosmetic clinics created by a serial tech entrepreneur who will apply tech startup methodology to this relatively untapped world.
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Greylock Partners has teamed up with Management Leadership for Tomorrow to address issues of diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. "Our view is this has to be a comprehensive approach," MLT Founder and CEO John Rice told TechCrunch. For starters, the multifaceted partnership will enable Greylock to tap into MLT's network of around 8,000 Black, Latinx and Indigenous professionals and connect them with potential roles at the firm's portfolio companies.
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Digital health wearables were already big news at CES 2020, but interest has accelerated with the advent of COVID-19 and people’s interest in learning whether they might be getting sick. Unfortunately, the pandemic also delayed a lot of the promised devices. Finally, though, they are starting to roll out. But it’s an open question about whether they’ll really tell you what their makers are hinting they can.
We’ll take a look at what’s possible with some of the new devices, the issues and drawbacks they still have, and also give you the results of some hands-on testing with Zepp’s new E smartwatch ($249 direct) and Amazfit’s new Band 5 ($49 at Amazon).
What You Can Track
From reading the datasheets and product brochures on the steadily-increasing array of health-oriented fitness wearables, you’d think that they had a few dozen different kinds of sensors. In reality, the actual data collection mostly revolves around just a few. The most common is an optical Heart Rate (HR) sensor. If the sensor and software are good enough, it can be used to also estimate Heart Rate Variability (HRV), pulse-oxygen (SpO2), and VO2 Max.
However, devices have struggled to get accurate enough at any of the above to be truly useful. They typically also can’t give you a continuous reading on most of them while you are awake and moving around, as it introduces too much noise into the HR sensor to do the calculations necessary with decent accuracy. With many devices, you can only get a VO2 Max reading if you hike or run, as they rely on GPS plus heart rate. So many sports and workouts won’t get you one.
I find that my Fitbit Versa 2 does a good job of automatically detecting exercise and sports, as well as logging and displaying HR and Zones.
Measuring SpO2 Does Not Make a Wearable a Pulse-Oximeter
In theory, though, the devices can make up for some of the difficulties of measuring from your wrist by evaluating you over the course of a night, or if you stay still long enough. However, comparing the overnight SpO2 readings on my Garmin Vivosmart 4 and Fitbit Versa 2 with a medical-grade pulse oximeter doesn’t show either of them to be very accurate. Other reviewers have found the same problem with readings from the new Apple Watch 6 and Fitbit Sense.
A really terrible reading would at least be a reason to do more testing or get evaluated for sleep apnea, which is at least a potential benefit. Given all the recent interest in low SpO2 as a possible symptom of COVID-19, though, many device makers have started touting their ability to take daytime readings. This is potentially at best a cause for false alarms, and at worst it raises the possibility of a false sense of security. If you really need to know your SpO2, do yourself a favor and get a real finger-based pulse-oximeter. If you want one you can wear overnight, the one I sometimes use is the Wellue O2Ring ($179 at Amazon).
About all Those COVID-19 Wearable Headlines
Of course, what I said above hasn’t stopped health-oriented wearable vendors from charging headlong into the potential market for early detection of COVID-19 (and other diseases, of course). We wrote about the UCSF/Oura study that started this spring, but aside from filling out a questionnaire every day for the past six months, I haven’t seen any results. The NBA and WNBA are using the rings (pro golf is using a competing product), but they are deployed in conjunction with a daily symptom survey. Several other large studies that were started for general disease prediction have added COVID-19 detection as a goal. While various device makers have impressive anecdotes about wearers noticing troublesome trends and going to see a doctor, there haven’t been any large-scale results reported yet.
Pick Your Magic Metric
In addition to the basic health data collected by this latest crop of wearables, each vendor has at least one proprietary metric that it hopes will be helpful in keeping you fit and healthy. Garmin has Body Battery — a measure of how ready you are for exertion. Oura has a Readiness score — based on how well your body recovered while you slept. Amazfit/Zepp has PAI — based on correlating your activity level with your age and other factors to see if you’re getting enough exercise.
In my experience, none of those metrics are incredibly consistent, and they often disagree entirely with each other. I can wake up in the morning with a gold crown on my Oura Readiness score telling me up for the challenges of the day while getting a pathetically-low Body Battery reading. Overall, though, both measures do a reasonable job of trying to tell you what you might already know–how you feel when you wake up.
Zepp’s PAI takes a different approach. It uses a metric, based on some University research, that tells you whether you are getting enough activity. It worked pretty well on the Zepp E watch and seemed to track nicely with my hikes and sports. But with the Amazfit Band 5, I could exercise for an hour or two and hardly get any credit. It also always seems to be a day behind. However, I do have a pre-release band with early firmware, so hopefully, those issues will be addressed.
Stress level measurement typically starts with HRV, which is tricky to measure with an optical sensor.
Field Testing Huami’s New Zepp E Smartwatch and Amazfit Band 5
Amazfit and Zepp aren’t well-known brands in the US, but its parent company Huami may make more wearables than any other firm worldwide. Above all else, Huami is known for delivering a lot of features at a low price. Recently Huami restructured the offerings from its two brands, Amazfit and Zepp, unifying their hardware devices on the Zepp software platform. I’ve been able to test an early version of both Zepp’s new smartwatch, the Zepp E, and Amazfit’s new band, the Band 5. Both provide sleep tracking, heart-rate monitoring, and a full suite of fitness tracking capabilities.
The first thing you’ll notice about both devices is the large, gorgeous screens. The Band makes my Vivosmart 4 look like a toy (in more ways than one, as it is also much larger), and the Zepp E watch is much brighter than my Versa 2. So if you have trouble reading your wearable display in bright light, Zepp may be an appealing option.
The Zepp platform isn’t really a full smartwatch-capable ecosystem. It doesn’t support many apps out of the box, and you can’t add any. So it is best to think of even the Zepp E smartwatch as a high-end fitness tracker with a large display. Given that limitation, in my testing, the Zepp E did an excellent job of tracking my vitals and exercise, similar to that of the Garmin and Fitbit devices I wore on either side of it. However, for the price ($249 direct), a lot of users will miss that it doesn’t have either GPS or contactless payment. On the plus side, battery life is amazing, nearly as long as a lot of simpler bands.
Other than having a unified software platform, my experiences with the Zepp E smartwatch and Amazfit Band 5 were very different. In addition to accurate tracking, I found the Zepp E’s calculation of Zepp’s proprietary PAI (Personal Activity Index) to be helpful in keeping me on track for some combination of walking & structured exercise. In contrast, the Band 5 simply didn’t accurately read my heart rate when exercising, so all the resulting metrics were way off. I tried it on various places on my wrist, with and without wearing other trackers, and haven’t been able to get it to work well. Now, my unit is a review unit that was shipped out early, so I hope Amazfit can get the issue sorted out, as the device’s low price ($49 at Amazon) and bright screen make it a great value given its integrated sleep tracking and other health metrics.
As with other devices, sleep tracking is kind of hit or miss; if I track my sleep with 5 devices, I get 5 different answers in the morning. The Zepp E doesn’t seem much better or worse than other wrist-based wearables in this category, but the Band 5’s inaccurate HR readings made its sleep numbers pretty far off. One annoying feature of the Zepp platform is that the app doesn’t show a scale next to the HR graph, which seems like a really odd omission. Hopefully, that will be fixed. As befits health-tracking devices, the Zepp app has lots of screens where you can enter your other health data (like BMI, hydration, etc.) I’m not zealous enough to use any of that, but it’s there if you want it. Like the other wearables from Chinese companies that I’ve tested, there doesn’t seem to be a way to get detailed analytics on the web or download your data. However, Zepp does connect with Google Fit.
Picking a Device to Get Started With Digital Health
If you want a simple and unobtrusive device that keeps an eye on your overall wellness, the Oura Ring 2 ($299 direct) is still a great choice. In addition to baseline health stats, it gives you a loose idea of whether you’re active enough, how well-rested you are, and offers a variety of different breathing and meditation exercises. Your data is available through a very nice web interface and for download.
If instead, you’re looking for something with more exercise features that also has a full suite of health metrics, both Garmin and Fitbit offer a range of devices that tie into a powerful ecosystem. My overall favorite is my Versa 2, or the very similar Versa 3. While the Sense adds some additional features, you have to stop and use them explicitly, which makes me question whether they are worth the extra $100. And it probably goes without saying that if you want the most powerful and flexible smartwatch, the Apple Watch 6 is the popular favorite.
If your Zoom calls are looking drab after six months of constant use, maybe it's time to add some flair to your video conferencing.
Improving Zoom doesn't mean you need to load up on equipment and get a ring light. Instead, you can download some software and add a few digital tools so that everything from your Zoom invites to your backgrounds really stand out. Because, although it may feel like it, it's no longer March 2020. It's time to level up on Zoom.
Krisp — Noise canceling
If background noise is still plaguing your weekly stand-up, you need some extra help. Zoom already has noise suppression built in (find it in the Audio settings), but it doesn't catch as much as Krisp's separate desktop app. Read more...
Fall means more than the arrival of pumpkin spice and ostentatious Halloween decorations. It's the beginning of new video game season. And for PC gamers who don't buy into the PS5 and Xbox Series X hype, you'll still need to make some upgrades in time for upcoming releases. And one of the easiest upgrades you can make is with a new gaming monitor on sale.
According to Google, billions of people don't have an address, or if they do, it's not very accurate. To remedy the problem, the company launched a digital address-making system called Plus Codes.
If you're a Google Maps user, you probably know you can point anywhere on the world map and get coordinates to that exact location, which you can then share in the form of a long, clunky URL. Plus Codes improve on this by using latitude and longitude to produce a short digital address, representing a specific location anywhere on the planet.
Here's an example: The Plus Code "W2GJ+JQ, Johannesburg" is the digital address of Google's office in Johannesburg, South Africa. If you enter this code into either Google Maps or Google Search, you'll be taken to that location on Google Maps. Read more...
A collaboration project between domestic appliance company Beko and researchers at Cambridge University is improving the way robots make food using machine learning algorithms. Read more...
Curly is a robot that has mastered the precision sport of curling, beating two Korean national teams. With curling being one of the most methodical sports in the world, it shows just how far AI has come. Read more...
These days, hearing aids are becoming more like consumer technology. We take a look at two of the latest and greatest to see which one should appeal to gadget lovers the most.
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The weather's getting colder, the pandemic isn't going anywhere, and you still need a way to watch stuff with your pals. Disney+ just became the latest streaming service to offer a way to do that.
The company that once traded a real human man to NBC for the rights to a cartoon rabbit announced Tuesday that Disney+ is getting a new "GroupWatch" feature. As its name implies, GroupWatch lets as many as seven friends (who all have their own Disney+ logins) watch shows or movies together remotely. Unlike the majority of group streaming apps, it works on phones, computers, and TVs (through smart TV apps or streaming devices). GroupWatch starts rolling out Tuesday. Read more...
It feels like a lifetime ago that Lenovo first announced its ThinkPad X1 Fold at CES back in January. Now, seven months later, the world's first PC with a foldable display is available for pre-order starting at $2,499.
The X1 Fold's specs haven't changed since that early reveal. It still features a 13.3-inch flexible OLED touchscreen display (2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution) that can be split into two 9.6-inch screens when folded, with a 5-megapixel HD infrared camera on top.
The entire device is encased in the same non-removable black leather folio we originally saw at CES, while underneath is a carbon fiber back frame that's held together with hinges. To keep the X1 Fold from overheating, the folio also has a foldable graphite layer to help dissipate heat and features a built-in kickstand, the angle of which has been improved for better usability. Read more...
If you find yourself searching constantly for all your various chargers, this six-in-one universal charging cable from CharbyEdge can help you out.
Each cable splits into four different charging ports and also has detachable adapters. It can charge Apple, USB-C, and Android devices with any USB-A- or USB-C-compatible port.
Here's a bit about how it works:
The CharbyEdge cord is also over six feet long, which means you don't have to be chained to your charging device as you go about your day. Read more...
SAVE 97%: Non-Prime members can get three-months of Amazon Music Unlimited for £0.99, saving 97% on list price.
Prime Day will play host to absolutely loads of impressive deals on everything from 4K TVs to wireless speakers. It's going to be 48 hours of non-stop deals, and that's great news for everyone. Well, everyone except non-Prime members.
Normally, all the best Prime Day deals are reserved for Prime members, and non-members are forced to sit out. That's not the case this year though, as non-Prime members can get three months of Amazon Music Unlimited for just £0.99. That's a discount of 97% on list price. Read more...
Amazon One, a new service from Amazon, is a novel way of contactless payment that scans your palm for authentication.
Besides payments, it could be used for anything that requires authentication, like entering a stadium or presenting a loyalty card. For starters, though, Amazon will introduce it in select Amazon Go stores, adding Amazon One to the stores' entry gates.
To start using Amazon One, you'll have to go through an onboarding process which consists of inserting your credit card into the Amazon One device, then hovering your palm above it, and following the instructions as the device builds your unique palm signature. Once you've signed up, you'll be able to enter Amazon Go stores just by holding your palm over the device "for a second or so," Amazon says. Read more...
NtechLab, a startup that helps analyze footage captured by Moscow's 100,000 surveillance cameras, just closed an investment of more than 1RUB billion ($13 million) to further global expansion. It's able to do so on a vast scale in real time, allowing clients to react promptly to situations It's a key "differentiator" of the company, co-founder Artem Kukharenko told TechCrunch. The latest round, financed by Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and an undisclosed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East, certainly carries more strategic than financial importance.
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Attention all shoppers, because Amazon has announced the dates for this year's Prime Day. The shopping event was delayed back in July, with Amazon scaling back on its promotional events when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
We've all had to be very patient, but we finally have the big news. Yep, that's right. It's time to shop.
When is Amazon Prime Day in 2020?
Prime Day 2020 will take place on Oct. 13 and run for a full 48 hours. That should be plenty of time for you to find the products you want at low prices.
If it isn't, then you should be able to rely on Black Friday and Christmas promotions. Basically, the rescheduled Prime Day means that the year is ending on months of deals, which could be great. Or it could be a bit much. It's too early to tell. Read more...
IT professionals are a lot more than just computer nerds. They basically enable employees to communicate, collaborate, and automate routine tasks. And more importantly, they provide teams with the functionality they need to actually perform their jobs. In other words, they're like the backbone of most companies – and they have the wages to show for it.
To be in the running for these positions, you'll need more than just a love of computers. You'll need to pass the CompTIA certification exams. These tests show whether or not your skills are a match for whatever IT future lies ahead, and nearly all HR managers use these certifications as hiring criteria during recruitment. Read more...
SAVE £10: Spend £10 with small businesses on Amazon to save £10 on Prime Day.
Amazon's Prime Day starts on Oct. 13 this year, which is just around the corner. That means that it's time to start hunting for the best deals. Nothing official has dropped yet, but Amazon has already launched a few Prime Day promotions to get everyone in the mood.
Until Oct. 12, Amazon will offer a £10 credit to use on Prime Day to Prime members who spend £10 on items sold by select small businesses on the site. Once Prime Day begins, members can use their £10 credit to purchase almost any product in Amazon’s store, including from small businesses. Read more...
XtalPi, an American-Chinese biotech firm that focuses on AI-assisted drug discovery, has raised a $319 million round C from a slate of enthusiastic investors led by SoftBank's Vision Fund. XtalPi works with major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer that need to identify promising new drug-like molecules and learn as much about them as possible. This company, founded in 2014, purports to offer extremely low-level simulation and prediction of target molecules, both simulating the physics at atomic levels and doing the more traditional data science work that eliminates dead ends and points towards more fruitful avenues for investigation.
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A month after completing Y Combinator’s accelerator program, BukuWarung, an financial tech startup that serves small businesses in Indonesia, announced it has raised new funding from a roster of high-profile investors, including partners of DST Global, Soma Capital and 20VC. The amount of the funding was undisclosed, but a source told TechCrunch that it was between $10 million to $15 million. The new capital will be used to hire for BukuWarung’s technology team.
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Lots of people watch YouTube for funny viral videos and make-up tutorials. But a large percentage of Americans also rely on YouTube for news.
A new study from Pew Research Center found that YouTube channels are an integral source of news and information for more than a quarter of all adults in the U.S. While that’s certainly a lot of people tuning into YouTube for news, perhaps this isn’t too shocking as the platform is the second most-trafficked search engine in the world right after its sister company Google. People treat YouTube as an information source, except they’re looking for video instead of text. Read more...
If you've been in the market for an air purifier but want one that's a bit more aesthetically pleasing, check out the LUFT Cube Portable Filterless Air Purifier. It is, frankly, adorable.
This portable, filter-free device features an award-winning design with patented Solid-State Photocatalysis Purification (SPP) and UV LED light technology. When combined, the dual technologies work to combat mold, bacteria, allergens, and other unwanted substances. The purifier also has a 360-degree intake, which means it attacks pollutants from all angles. Read more...
It's one thing to know how to crunch numbers and balance your books, but it's another to do actual accounting when running a business. The Accounting Software A-Z Certification Bundle is here to school you, with 39 hours of training on Sage 50cloud, Wave, Xero, and QuickBooks.
Through courses taught by Robert Steele, a practicing Certified Public Accountant (CPA), accounting and business instructor, and curriculum developer, you'll learn how to make the most out of these software programs. Expect to take a deep dive into QuickBooks, including how to use it for bank reconciliations, credit card feeds, job costing systems, and financial reports. You'll learn to generate balance sheets and income statements using the Sage 50cloud, and record transactions from two accounts using bank feeds on Wave. You'll also get to develop a solid understanding of how Xero works, so you can leverage it for estimates and invoices. Read more...
