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Apple showed off its new M1-powered iMac yesterday, and it sure does come in a lot of beautiful colors. Aside from the processor, there are a few neat features, like a magnetic power cord and an Ethernet port in the power block, and the entire thing has been slimmed down to just 0.45 inches (11.5…
Does a robotic pet have to look and behave exactly like a real dog or cat to entice its owners to interact with it? With the Aibo Sony seems to think so, but the creators of the flatcat disagree. First revealed a couple of months ago, the robotic roadkill is finally available for sale through…
Usually, when a phone gets worn down, you recycle it or trade it in for a new one. But with its new upcycling program, Samsung is trying to help people convert old Galaxy phones into new IoT devices. Today, with the expansion of its Galaxy Upcycling at Home service (which is still in beta), users…
While all eyes were on the colorful M1 iMacs at yesterday’s Spring Loaded event, Apple also quietly updated the M1 Mac Mini. You can now configure it with a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port! Apple first added 10Gbps Ethernet to the Mac Mini back in 2018. However, the M1 Mac mini launched back in November, its…
Years before the iPod was a thing, many of us relied on an app called Winamp to listen to MP3s. It was free, it was simple, but most of us used it for its visualizers that created complex, trippy animations synced to our music. Artist Dakd Jung has created a real-life version of those visualizers…
Miniature video game cabinets scratch a nostalgic itch for ‘80s kids who miss their favorite childhood arcades, but their compact size often means they’re single-player only. My Arcade’s new Street Fighter II: Champion Edition Micro Player solves that with the option of linking a pair of tiny arcades using a cable so that side-by-side fights—and…
Years before smartphones, kids’ preferred digital distraction was the Tamagotchi. The tiny gadgets were revived back in 2017, and have since evolved into more sophisticated handhelds. The latest version, the $60 Tamagotchi Pix, has a digital camera that introduces some novel interactivity and lets kids snap selfies with their virtual pets. Bandai America resurrected the…
As an Android user, I sometimes feel defeated after sitting through an Apple event, especially when there are new, covetable tablets like the iPad Pro. It reminds me that there are too few viable alternatives in Android land. Android tablets are in a sad state. Even those worth buying are not as flashy or as…
MailOnline, a news site associated with the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, has sued Google over allegations the tech giant has been “hiding” links to its news stories. Google calls the allegations “meritless.” The U.S.-based lawsuit, first reported by the Guardian, alleges that articles about professional bloviator Piers Morgan and former royal Meghan Markle were recently…
Every new set of true wireless earbuds seems to refine the experience with better ANC, improved sound quality, or longer battery life. But Bowers & Wilkins is introducing an entirely new feature in its PI7 truly wireless earbuds. Using the charging case as a wireless adapter, the earbuds can actually stream audio from almost any…
Whole Foods will launch a palm reader payment system at its Madison Broadway location in Seattle today and has plans to roll out the biometric program at seven more stores in the coming months, according to an announcement early Wednesday. The electronic palm readers, known as Amazon One, allow people to pay for everything in…
However you choose to blaze it today or any day, at this point, there’s a gadget out there to fit just about any style preference or format. And many of them look like small pieces of art in their own right. This was something I noticed as I was working on a recent weed gadget…
Cybercriminals claim to have stolen blueprints for some of Apple’s newest products and are now attempting to extort the tech giant by threatening to publish the documents online. On Tuesday, the ransomware gang REvil publicly claimed that it had hacked Quanta Computer, a third-party supplier in Taiwan that has partnerships with over a dozen large…
Apple’s new Apple Podcasts Subscriptions service, essentially Patreon for podcasters, costs creators $20 a year and lets the podcaster set prices for special subscription offerings including exclusive content and early access. To many amateur podcasters, myself included, this is a big deal. It means we might one day get paid for our vapid mumblings. But…
Tentatively excellent news! The FTC has declared that it is serious about racist algorithms, and it will hold businesses legally accountable for using them. In a friendly-reminder type announcement today, it said that businesses selling and/or using racist algorithms could feel the full force of their legal might. “Fortunately, while the sophisticated technology may be…
Today, alongside refreshes to the iMac, iPad Pro, and more, Apple also announced the Apple Card Family update which is designed to make it easier to share an Apple Card with other people in your family and build credit together. Previously, every Apple Card was linked to a specific person or iPhone. However, with Apple…
On Monday, there were murmurs Apple might launch a podcast subscription service. Today, those rumors came true. Kind of. Instead of Podcast+, we’re getting what’s basically a redesign of the Apple Podcasts app—and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, a new, Patreon-like program for creators. The announcement isn’t a total surprise. Snippets of code in the iOS 14.5…
Last year, the iPad Pro inched closer to becoming an actual laptop replacement with Apple’s Magic Keyboard accessory. This year, the Pro’s flagship feature is a new screen powered by miniLED technology. If you don’t nerd out on displays, you might be wondering what the upgrade would mean for your actual life. Well, Apple promises…
Last month, Apple discontinued two iMac configurations with either 512GB and 1TB of SSD storage for the 21.5-inch iMac with 4K display, fueling speculation of an Apple Silicon-based iMac announcement. The rumors were true: Not only did Apple officially announce the iMacs are getting its impressive M1 processors, but Apple’s new iMacs finally be available…
Apple has been long overdue for a revamp of its pricey set-top box. Now, it’s finally here. The new box is built with the A12 Bionic chip, which will make the next generation of the Apple TV faster and more powerful. This new box will also be a 4K streaming device, just like the last…