Technology

For someone who wants to spend the absolute least on a phone and not have to think about buying another one for a good long while, I’ll always recommend Google’s A-series Pixel phone. That’s doubly true now with the Pixel 8A on a $100 discount for Black Friday-ish Cyber Shopping Holiday or whatever it is we’re currently experiencing. The 8A is a solid value at its full $499 price, and cut down to $399 it’s a ridiculously good deal.Here’s the kicker: Google is promising to update the Pixel 8A with OS version upgrades and security releases through May 2031. That means you can expect it to run Android 21. If you bought the 8A now for $400 and owned it for six years, that works out to $66 per year. You’d have to use a $1000 flagship phone for 15 years to get the same ROI. See? You’re practi...

2024 has been a rough year. It might be nice to go into the new year with a robot that can take some housework off your plate. Unfortunately, there’s no telling when or if Elon Musk’s all-purpose Tesla robots will ever be ready, but in the meantime, a robot vacuum can be a great starter.Dustbin capacity: Unknown / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop-lift: Yes, 12mm / Mop washing: Yes, hot air drying / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle avoidance: Yes / Suction power: 8,000Pa / Remote check-in: No / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: single rubber / bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google HomeThe X10 Pro Omni can suck up loose dirt and debris with the best of them thanks to its 8,000pa section, although its rubbery brushes aren’t quit...

An hour-long video published Saturday by Gamers Nexus, a YouTube channel focused on PC gaming hardware, accuses NZXT’s PC rental program of “bait-and-switch” tactics, with prices and specs that are constantly changing.The Flex program allows customers to rent prebuilt gaming PCs starting at $59 per month (not including a mouse, keyboard, or monitor). But Gamers Nexus shows that NZXT changes the specs and prices of PC models “day-to-day in some instances” and offers PCs with very different setups under similar model names depending on whether you are looking to buy or rent. The rapidly changing prices also obscure the potential value of listed “discounts” as the packages shift back and forth.The video shows one instance of NZXT’s Player: Three PC listed as having an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40...

Scammers have various methods when it comes to getting their hands on your phone number. You might think, "Well, what's the big deal? Isn't it easy to find someone's number these days, no matter what?" Yes. And if you've already had your fair share of telemarketers call you, maybe you feel like you've got it under control.The problem is that scammers with the right knowledge and the wrong intentions can wreak havoc just by having your phone number in their possession. Once they do, they can use it to trick you in all sorts of ways. The good news is that by familiarizing yourself with their tactics, you can be one step closer to preventing yourself from falling victim to them. Here's what you need to know.2 DAYS LEFT! I’M GIVING AWAY A $500 GIFT CARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Ends 12/3/24, 12 p...

Intel is expected to release a pair of entry-level Battlemage GPUs this week, and now marketing materials posted by reliable leaker Roland Quandt show what we might see from the lower-specced Arc B570. The leaked materials, which have details for a dual-fan ASRock Arc B570 Challenger OC GPU, suggest that the new chip may feature 18 Xe2 cores and 10GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 160-bit memory bus.The leak also indicates that Intel’s Arc B570 chip could come with the 8-pin PCIe power connector and a 2.6GHz GPU clock, along with support for HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1. The rumored specs for the Arc B570’s slightly more powerful counterpart — the Arc B580 — have been floating around as well. An early Amazon listing spotted by VideoCardz suggests that the Arc B580 could arrive with 20 Xe2 cores, 12...

Un crotale fer-de-lance (Bothrops lanceolatus), en Martinique, en septembre 2023. MAXIME BRIOLA C’est un modeste rapport, un simple bilan d’étape. Dix-huit pages rédigées par cinq écologues au titre sobre : « Distribution, écologie et conservation du trigonocéphale en Martinique ». Douze ans après une première étude, la préfecture de l’île entendait voir si les mesures de « protection intégrale » de ce serpent endémique, mises en place en 2019, avaient commencé à porter leurs fruits. L’enquête devrait se poursuivre l’an prochain, mais à mi-parcours, Nicolas Vidal, du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle de Paris, ne cache pas sa satisfaction : « Les bonnes nouvelles sont suffisamment rares pour qu’on les salue, la situation semble stabilisé...

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 62, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy Post-Thanksgiving Chill Weekend, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about junk food and Madden 2004 and Anthony Jeselnik, watching Wicked and immediately making sure to hold space for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” exploring the back catalog of 60 Second Docs (which I found thanks to Jason Kottke), watching a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine with my toddler, marveling at how complicated it is just to shop for pizza stones, and listening to the first episodes of The Rest is Classified.I also have for you a productivity app that I truly love, a new portable mic, another lovely-looking music-m...

Imagine having a personal tennis coach who never gets tired, always hits the perfect shot, adapts to your skill level and is available 24/7. Enter the PongBot, a groundbreaking artificial intelligence-powered tennis robot that's turning heads in the tennis world. This isn't just another ball-serving machine; it's a smart training partner designed to elevate your tennis game.2 DAYS LEFT! I’M GIVING AWAY A $500 GIFT CARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Ends 12/3/24, 12 pm PT) AI tennis robot  (PongBot)What makes PongBot unique?The PongBot comes with a clever clip-on sensor that tracks your position on the court. This sensor ensures that the PongBot can deliver shots tailored to your exact position, simulating the dynamic nature of a real tennis match. Additionally, this technology enables the AI matc...

Comment fonctionne la respiration ? Quels liens intimes entretient-elle avec le cerveau ? Quels bénéfices attendre d’exercices respiratoires comme la cohérence cardiaque ? Dans Les Superpouvoirs de la respiration (Albin Michel, 272 pages, 21,90 euros), écrit avec le journaliste scientifique Guillaume Jacquemont, Thomas Similowski, professeur de pneumologie à la faculté de santé Sorbonne Université et à l’hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière (AP-HP, Paris), et directeur d’une unité de recherche en neurophysiologie respiratoire (Inserm-Sorbonne Université), explore toutes les facettes de cette fonction méconnue du corps humain. Votre livre rend compte des « superpouvoirs » de la respiration démontrés par la science. Quels sont les résultats les plus marquants ? Ce qui...

In a new motion filed late Friday in his lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk’s attorneys have asked for a preliminary injunction to stop OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit enterprise, reports TechCrunch. They also asked the judge to forbid the company from continuing alleged practices that they say violate US antitrust laws.Musk’s lawyers claim that because of CEO Sam Altman’s alleged self-dealing, OpenAI “will likely lack sufficient funds to pay damages” if Musk wins the suit. The motion follows reports of OpenAI’s intent to become a for-profit business and that it recently began early talks with regulators to move its structural change forward. As for antitrust claims, the lawyers say OpenAI and Microsoft “told investors not to fund their mutual competitors” in violation of the S...