News

The All New Pebble Watch 2 Is Out

Pebble Watch 2

Brian Heater, reporting for TechCrunch:

The smartwatch landscape is virtually unrecognizable from where it was four and half years ago when Pebble first entered the scene via Kickstarter. Much of Pebble’s initial appeal was thanks to it being one of the first big players on the scene, and the startup is hoping its simplicity was a big part of its success, as well.

As such, the device doesn’t represent a huge upgrade over its predecessor. The addition of health functionality is nice, as is the overall streamlining of the hardware. Users who have been waiting for an upgrade to the baseline Pebble will appreciate the touches here and there, and certainly the $129 price point and several-days-long battery are nice touches.

But it’s hard to shake the feeling that, after all this time, the company that put smartwatches on the map really ought to be doing more to shake things up several years after it first hit the scene.

I hope they succeed, but I have yet to see anyone wearing a pebble watch in the real world.

U.S. Intelligence Confident Russia Tried Interfering With US Election

The Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security said in a joint statement:

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process.

Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

Not good.

Marty’s Back to the Future Nike Shoes Raffle

Anthony Ha writing for TechCrunch

Nike announced earlier this week that it will be releasing a new edition of the Nike Mags, its self-lacing shoes inspired by Back to the Future — but only 89 pairs, which will be raffled off (tickets cost $10), with proceeds benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation‘s research on Parkinson’s disease.

I got a chance to (briefly) try on a pair of Mags and discuss the technology with Nike Senior Innovator Tiffany Beers. Even though the odds are that you won’t get to try out these shoes yourself, the technology is the same one powering Nike’s HyperAdapt shoes, which will be a widely available consumer product.

nike-back-to-the-future-shoes_rooms_4

I’m a huge fan of the trilogy so I think I need these. I just wish they’d lace as fast as in the movie. You can see the demo here.

Enter the Raffle Here.

Mark Zuckerberg Shows Off Bizarre VR Experience

Alfred Ng writing for CNET

Zuckerberg showed off a few of the creative possibilities that come with the new Oculus platform, like being able to draw and play with your creations in the social experience.

The demonstration was Facebook’s first dive into creating a social platform for Oculus, using VR to connect with your friends and family. The social network is one of many major tech companies pushing virtual reality as the next big trend. The company entered the VR business through its $1 billion acquisition of Oculus in 2014.

Oculus is pushing for a more social environment on VR, with its Oculus Avatar feature, allowing users to create a digital version of themselves and interact with their friends from anywhere in the world.

“This is the first time that tech has made this level of social presence possible,” said Lauren Vegter, Oculus’ social product team leader.

She introduced Parties and Rooms, two new features that let people come together in a VR lounge, where they can watch videos, listen to music and hang out.

None of the things he showed seemed useful or better than the current way we do things (Playing chess, playing cards, taking selfies, and so on). It sounds more and more like Oculus Rift is a bust. It is more expensive than the Playstation VR and much less useful even though the tech behind it is better than the rest.

Playstation VR has a much better chance of succeeding since there are all those PS4s laying around and Sony has a history of making it’s own games.

The whole Oculus keynote demo was strangely awkward, and not something I’d expect out of Mark.

Replacement Galaxy Note 7 Explodes, Endangers US Flight

Jordan Golson writing for The Verge

Southwest Airlines flight 944 from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated this morning while still at the gate because of a smoking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. All passengers and crew exited the plane via the main cabin door and no injuries were reported, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Verge.

More worryingly, the phone in question was a replacement Galaxy Note 7, one that was deemed to be safe by Samsung. The Verge spoke to Brian Green, owner of the Note 7, on the phone earlier today and he confirmed that he had picked up the new phone at an AT&T store on September 21st. A photograph of the box shows the black square symbol that indicates a replacement Note 7 and Green said it had a green battery icon.

Samsung Galaxy = Scary.

Google Announces Familiar Looking Google Pixel Phone

Google Pixel Phone via Google

With Pixel, we obsessed over every detail, from the industrial design to the user experience. We carefully sculpted the surfaces of the phone, and rounded the edges to make it easy to grip. We used 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 on the front display and back glass to accent the aerospace grade aluminum body.

The glass on the back also features Pixel Imprint, our fingerprint sensor, which is placed on the back of the phone where your finger expects it. You can even swipe it to access your notifications. And no matter what you’re using your phone for, you’ll need a battery that lasts all day and charges fast — up to seven hours in 15 minutes.

Pixel is available for pre-order today starting at $649 in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany and Australia. Pre-orders in India will begin October 13. In the U.S., we’re teaming up exclusively with Verizon to make Pixel available nationwide at all Verizon retail outlets, including Best Buy stores. We’re also offering Pixel unlocked on the Google Store and, for you Project Fi fans out there, you’ll be happy to know that Pixel is the latest device to work on the Fi network.

google pixel phone

Sold by Google, Built by HTC, Designed by Apple.