Author Archives: Carol Edwards

The smart home has reached peak cute.

If you care about your weight, stepping on the cold, metallic top of a scale can be a scary moment. But a new model debuted at CES — made from soft white silicone in the shape of clouds and adorned with a friendly three-dimensional character — delivers something cuddlier. 

The best part? It’s a smart scale with an app that will say nice things to you, no matter what the number reads.

The smart scale is made by Kakao Friends, a spinoff design and merchandise company from a Korean messenger app called Kakao Talk. In the app, three characters — Ryan the bear, Muji the bunny, and Apeach the … pink mushroom? – became so popular that it began creating merchandise like plush toys around the characters. Read more…

More about Weight Loss, Scale, Tech, Health, and Consumer Tech

Uber’s making some interesting changes in California, but not for the usual reasons apps add new features.

In an email received by customers in the Golden State, the ride-share giant revealed a small handful of new additions to the app. Attributed only to “a new state law,” Uber in California will now display prices differently, allow users to pinpoint preferred drivers, and discontinue some Uber Rewards benefits.

Prices will be displayed as an estimated range rather than a set amount for everything other than Uber Pool rides. You’ll pay what the app calculates based on time and distance traveled at the end of a ride, like a regular taxi cab.  Read more…

More about Transportation, Uber, California, Ride Hailing Apps, and Labor

Well, it’s eight days into the new year and I’m already dropping the ball on one of my resolutions: to start using a paper planner. It’s not for lack of initiative, either. I simply can’t find one that fits both my requirements, which are 1) not too expensive and 2) not ugly.

I loved using a paper planner in college, mostly because I didn’t have a smartphone and my laptop could only hold a charge for about an hour and a half. I usually opted for a spiral-bound paper option from Target, which was always both affordable and a little cutesier than I’d have preferred. They also came loose from their spiral bindings after only a few months. Read more…

More about Lifestyle, Culture, and Work Life

Some of the world’s top tennis stars, including Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, are coming together on January 15 in Melbourne, Australia to take part in an exhibition match to raise money for Australia’s bushfire relief efforts, CNN reported. 

Other big names lined up to participate include Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Nick Kyrgios, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Tennis Australia, the country’s governing body on tennis, organized the Australia Open Rally for Relief match as part of its larger Aces for Bushfire Relief program, which launched last week in response to the fires. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to Australia’s bushfire relief. The match takes place five days before the Australia Open.  Read more…

More about Australia, Social Good, Bushfires, Serena Williams, and Roger Federer

For the second year in a row, there won’t be a high-profile celeb presiding over the annual Academy Awards show.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed the decision to forgo a host yet again via tweet on Wednesday. That’s probably wise after a 2019 ceremony managed to avoid stepping into a proverbial pile of feces.

If vague emoji tweets aren’t enough to satisfy you, there’s also a statement from ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke, who chatted about the news on Wednesday before an appearance at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour (h/t The Hollywood Reporter). Read more…

More about Academy Awards 2020, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Have you ever wondered how “Facebook is Helping Ensure the Integrity of the 2020 Election?”

Well then, does Teen Vogue have a story for you! Or wait, at least it did, before a fawning article with that very headline was pulled by the award-winning publication — without explanation — shortly after it was published Wednesday morning. 

The article, which uncritically profiled five Facebook employees, presented itself as a “behind the scenes” look at how the social media giant is “taking measures to protect against foreign interference and stop the spread of misinformation.” In other words, it stunk of sponsored content and initially ran both with no byline and no disclaimer regarding its potential ad nature. Read more…

More about Facebook, Election 2020, Teen Vogue, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Twitter is trying to make it a lot harder for trolls to hijack conversations.

The company will start testing a new feature that will allow users to set limits on who can reply to their tweets before they hit send. The feature, which the company plans to test in a limited rollout later this year, marks one of the company’s most aggressive efforts to fight trolls and targeted harassment on its platform. 

With this new feature, Twitter users will be able to choose who can reply to their tweets from a list of options that include: everyone, only followers, only people who are mentioned in the tweet, or nobody.  Read more…

More about Tech, Twitter, Ces, Trolls, and Tech

I witnessed magic at the Delta Airline booth at CES.

The Parallel Reality board is a digital display that defies logic showing different viewers different information while everyone is looking AT THE SAME SCREEN AT THE SAME TIME. No app, headset, or anything else needed. 

The initial plan is to use the displays from Misapplied Sciences in airports to give customized boarding, flight, or baggage information for up to 100 people simultaneously. 

At CES on Monday, I was given a simplified boarding pass on a piece of paper for a flight to Mexico City. After I scanned my pass, I looked up at a giant digital board that welcomed me, personally with, “Welcome to Mexico City, Sasha! Pick up your luggage at Baggage Carousel 9.” It even displayed this information in Spanish. No matter where I stood I saw my personal message. My fellow passenger Mark saw his name and information on the same screen after scanning his own boarding pass. I could not see his information unless I stood right behind him. Read more…

More about Ces, Airports, Delta, Displays, and Tech

If Tesla ever got into motorcycles, a Canadian electric motorcycle company with a rival Autopilot system would give it a run for its money.

Damon Motorcycles unveiled its newest Hypersport bike at CES on Tuesday (January 7). The e-bike is a veritable speed demon, with a top speed of 200 mph and a 200-plus mile range. It starts at $24,995 before electric tax credits and incentives.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has vowed to stay away from motorcycles after a near-death experience as a teenager. However, at Tesla’s Cybertruck unveil in November, an all-electric ATV was tacked onto Tesla’s electric lineup. But still, technically, it’s no electric motorcycle. Read more…

More about Electric Vehicles, Electric Motorcycles, Tech, and Transportation

Maybe not every part of our bodies needs to be quantified.

A Korean company called Olive Healthcare has debuted a new device called the Bello; it scans your belly and reveals what percentage of your tissues, blood, and guts is fat.

Devices like smart scales or BMI scanners (which also abound at CES) can also measure body fat, but the Bello team says their measure is more accurate. While the results of other devices can vary greatly based on your body’s water level, the Bello only measures lipids (a scientific term for fat), so Olive says it is more consistent and reliable. 

While the Bello is focused on the belly, it’s not actually supposed to be a dieting device; Bello is supposedly for healthcare. Fat on your stomach, as opposed to, say, your butt, may be an indicator, for example, of how at risk women post menopause may be for diabetes or metabolic health disorders. Measuring your belly fat with the purpose of decreasing it over time could theoretically help you be healthier in the long run, not just skinnier in the short term. Read more…

More about Ces, Diet, Self Esteem, Tech, and Health