Dr. Oz wants to sell you a heart-monitoring smartwatch
Perennial snake oil salesman Dr. Oz has found a new way to take your make money: a wearable. The press release promises the iBeat Life Monitor is “lifesaving” smartwatch that “empowers people to live longer lives.” The big difference here versus offerings from, say, Apple or Withings, is that the iBeat apparently monitors your heartbeat nonstop, and, in the event of a “life-threatening heart emergency,” the wearable will contact relatives, friends and medical professionals.
It’s also fully cellular, replete with built-in GPS, so there’s no need to connect it to your smartphone. However, there is a monthly service plan priced at $200 a year. On a conference call today, iBeat founder Ryan Howard said that this is about a half to a third of the cost compared to competitors like Lifeline. All devices come with a year of service included for free. “It’s not just a blast [to your contacts],” Howard said. No, this price includes a full-time 24/7 dispatch center that will stay with you until you’re at the hospital. Howard said the price will not go up after the initial year of service.
The original Moto 360 lookalike hit IndieGoGo earlier today for $99 “super early bird” special, but sold out pretty quickly. As of publishing time, there are still plenty of higher priced options available, including a $5,000 “Meet Dr. Oz Special!” that atypically includes airfare accommodations to a taping of the celebrity doctor’s show. That’s in addition to two of the iBeat monitors.
But why choose IndieGoGo over Kickstarter, when even if the product isn’t fully funded any backers still have to shell out their money? Howard said that it’s because the former is a local Silicon Valley company (KickStarter is based in New York), and is also more medically skewed. That and it allows the outfit to test the market without resorting to venture capital investments at an early stage, which allows for some independence. If enough people trust Dr. Oz with their money the iBeat is scheduled to come out next July. For their sake, hopefully this isn’t just a high-tech “miracle flower.”
Source: iBeat (IndieGoGo)
A first look at Mercedes-Benz’s Generation EQ concept EV
On the first Sunday of each month, you can’t drive a car in Paris — unless it’s electric. That’s a trend that might just catch on elsewhere, judging by the fact that rival Tesla has pre-sold over 300,000 Model 3 EVs. So, Mercedes is suddenly taking this electric car thing very seriously with a new initiative called Generation EQ. Fittingly, the German company launched it at the Paris Auto Show with a concept car that’s essentially a preview of its future electric tech.
The platform can be used on a wide range of EVs, whether they’re SUV or coupe-sized, thanks to the module components and battery packs. It also sports autonomous tech that can talk to other cars on the road and intelligent mapping that helps you find a charging station or parking spot. It’s also got typical concept stuff like cameras instead of mirrors, screens everywhere and cool, but uncomfortable looking seats. The biggest problem is the timeline — Mercedes probably should have announced a program like this a couple years ago, and the first vehicles won’t be manufactured until 2019.
How to customize your Alexa speaker’s Flash Briefing – CNET
Amazon’s Alexa-powered speakers are great for a lot of things beyond playing music or changing the color of your smart bulbs. Alexa can play audiobooks or read your Kindle books to you, if you don’t have the audiobook version. It can give you the forecast or tell you if you should expect traffic on your way to work. And it can, of course, tell you a few jokes.
However, one of the most useful features in Alexa’s repertoire is the Flash Briefing, a customizable news update that Alexa can read or play to you. You can choose from a growing list of news sources and rearrange their order to suit your needs.
Customize your Flash Briefing
The Flash Briefing comes with some channels enabled by default, such as NPR, BBC or The Associated Press. Saying, “Alexa, what’s in the news?” or “Alexa, play my Flash Briefing” are just two of many ways you can invoke the Flash Briefing.
But before you do that, you’ll probably want to add and remove some feeds from the mix.
Adding new sources
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Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
The preloaded feeds in the Flash Briefing are just the tip of the iceberg. Many major publications and local news outlets have added their own feeds to Alexa’s Flash Briefing offerings. And the list of feeds is only getting larger.
There are two ways to add new feeds your Flash Briefing. First, go to alexa.amazon.com in a web browser or open the Amazon Alexa app on Android or iOS. Then:
- Go to Settings > Flash Briefing.
- Click Get more Flash Briefing content.
- Scroll or search for a feed that you want to add. You can also sort by relevance, average rating or date added.
- Click on the link for the feed and click Enable Skill to add it to your Flash Briefing.
Or…
- Go to Skills.
- Click the Categories button to the left of the search bar and select News. Alternatively, you can search for “flash briefing” in the search bar. (Not all news skills are Flash Briefing feeds, but many of them are. Just look for the “Alexa, what’s my Flash Briefing?” invocation, which will be listed below the name of the skill.)
- Click on the name of a skill and select Enable Skill to activate it.
Add a weather forecast
If you ask, Alexa will provide the current weather and a forecast. Just say, “Alexa, what’s the weather?”
However, you can add this information to your Flash Briefing, to get a weather update alongside the news. Just go to the Skills section within the Alexa settings page or in the Amazon Alexa app and search “weather.” Select it to open the skills page and click Enable to add it to your Flash Briefing.
This skill pulls the location data from the speaker configuration, so if you do not have an address set under Settings > [Your device’s name] > Device location, the weather information will not be accurate.
Removing unwanted feeds
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Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
If you’ve added a feed you no longer want in your Flash Briefing, you can temporarily toggle it off or remove it from your account completely. To simply toggle the feed off:
- Click on Settings in the navigation pane to the left.
- Select Flash Briefing.
- Click the toggle switch to the right of each feed you want to disable.
Disabled content will be moved to the bottom of the Flash Briefing settings page under the Off section. To reenable any deactivated content, just click the toggle switch.
Some channels have multiple feeds, in which case you will first need to click the downward arrow to expand all feeds and enable each feed that you want added back to your Flash Briefing.
These disabled feeds will remain added to your account. You can leave them in the Off section, but if you want to completely remove them from your Flash Briefing settings page, you must click Get more Flash Briefing content, search for the name of the feed, select it to open the skills page and click Disable Skill.
Reorder feeds
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Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
The feeds in your Flash Briefing play in the same order that they are shown in the Flash Briefing settings page, from top to bottom. New feeds added will jump to the top of the list, which might not be where you want that feed to play in the queue.
To change the order in which they are played, in the Amazon Alexa app or at alexa.amazon.com, go to Settings > Flash Briefing and click Edit Order in the top right corner.
Click the hamburger button to the right of a feed, drag it to the position you want it to play in your Flash Briefing and drop it. When you’re finished rearranging feeds, click Done in the upper right corner.
How to add a goal to Google Calendar
Adding a goal in Google Calendar can help to keep you on track.
Plenty of us already use Google Calendar to keep track of the many different parts of your life. On top of making events and reminders you can also set goals for yourself. These include goals for exercising, work, friends, and plenty more. We’ve got the details for you here on how to set one up.
Set a goal in Google Calendar
Open Google Calendar.
Tap the red plus icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.
Tap the blue flag icon to add a goal.
Tap to choose what type of activity goal you want to set. You will be show a preset list of goals based on the type of activity.
Tap an item from the list, or alternatively you can tap Custom… to add your own goal.
Tap to chose the frequency of reminders to complete your goal (options range from weekly to daily).
Tap to set the duration for your activity.
Tap to choose the best time of day for completing your goal.
Tap the checkmark to confirm your goal settings.
Google Calendars will now automatically find time in your schedule for the upcoming month based on on the parameters you set and add them as special events to your daily schedules.
Charge quickly while on the go with this $22 battery pack!
Jackery is currently offering its 10050mAh Quick Charge 3.0 battery pack for just $22, a savings of $8 with coupon code THUNDERJ. That’s right, Quick Charge 3.0 on the go, right from your bag, without needing to be tethered to a wall. Now, as you walk between business meetings or wait for the bus to arrive, you can charge your phone up quickly and easily. At just over 10000mAh, you’ll be able to charge most phones up to four times, and thanks to its dual USB outputs you can charge more than one device at a time.
If you don’t want to spend hours waiting for your phone to charge, you’ll want to grab one of these before the deal runs out. Remember, you’ll need coupon code THUNDERJ for the full savings here.
See at Amazon
This new iPhone 7 battery case has a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack
The first iPhone 7 case with a built-in headphones jack is available to buy.
It’s been a little over three weeks since Apple angered many consumers by ditching the headphone jack, but we all knew it was only a matter of time before cases would arrive to address the issue. Earlier this month, for instance, we showed you Daptr, a new case that’s still in the prototype stage and should retail for $49, but there’s already an official alternative you can actually buy.
It’s called Fuze, and it’s perfect for those of you who simply don’t want a world where the new iPhone comes without a headphone jack. It’s actually a battery pack case that features either a 2,400mAh (iPhone 7) or 3,600mAh (iPhone 7 Plus) battery, and it charges via Lightning cable, though the standout feature of this thing is that it has an integrated Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter.
Fuze is made of TPU and ABS plastics to protect your phone from drops and scratches and comes in the following five colours: black, white, blue, gold, and pink. Watch the video below for more details, and if Fuze interests you, go to the case’s Indiegogo page to pledge $50.
The planned delivery date for Fuze is before the holidays.
How to make Amazon Echo connect to your BT Home Hub: An easy fix
Amazon Echo arrived in the UK on 28 September to much excitement. Those who pre-ordered the connected device took delivery and then discovered that it wouldn’t work with one of the UK’s largest internet services, as it failed to connect to BT’s Home Hub.
Pocket-lint
Setting up the Amazon Echo is a fairly simple process, with voice prompts from the Echo and guidance in the app taking you through the process of getting your Echo connected to the app, online and registered with Amazon.
The problem, it seems, is that when the Echo talks to the BT Home Hub all the information is wrong and the registering process stalls. You’ll know it happens because the progress bar in the app stops about half way and about 10 minutes later, the Echo will tell you it wasn’t registered.
There is an easy fix however. It’s slightly technical, but just a case of tapping in some numbers.
How to connect Amazon Echo to BT Home Hub
Open up Amazon Echo’s normal setup process and follow the instructions. This means downloading and installing the app (Google Play or iTunes), or PRO TIP: a less fiddly option is to open up the browser version on your PC. Head here for quicker access: http://alexa.amazon.co.uk/
Pick your Wi-Fi network. Once you’ve got your PC or phone connected to the Echo, you have to sign it into your home Wi-Fi network. Locate your BT Home Hub and look for the option to “show advanced settings”. Click here to open the five boxes. IMPORTANT: If you’ve tried to connect previously and failed, you might have to click the option to “forget this network” before you’ll be able open the advanced settings.
Pocket-lint
Click here to open the five boxes. IMPORTANT: If you’ve tried to connect previously and failed, you might have to click the option to “forget this network” before you’ll be able open the advanced settings.
Manually enter your BT Home Hub details. This is where you solve the problem by manually supplying the information that the Echo and the BT Hub couldn’t sort out themselves. Remember to add your Wi-Fi network password at the top. Then simply copy the details below into the corresponding boxes, and hit the connect button.
Pocket-lint
Then simply copy the details below into the corresponding boxes, and hit the connect button.
- IP Address 192.168.1.2
- Router 192.168.1.254
- Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
- DNS 1 62.6.40.178
- DNS 2 62.6.40.163
That’s it, your £150 Echo is no longer a paperweight! The Echo should then connect and finish off its setup process. We’ve tried this with the latest BT Home Hub with no problems.
This is the solution that worked for us. There are others suggesting alternative steps, like separating the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands, but we didn’t find that necessary. Hopefully it will be just as simple for you.
- Amazon Echo vs Amazon Tap vs Echo Dot: What’s the difference?
- Amazon Echo: What can Alexa do and what services are compatible?
How these companies would benefit from owning Twitter (or not)
Twitter has been struggling lately. It’s been battling flat user growth, declining profits, an executive exodus and generally bad PR — especially around its handling of abuse. Many have speculated for months that Twitter should just sell itself. And, if the rumor mill is to be believed, the company is indeed looking for ways to make that happen. According to reports from CNBC, TechCrunch and Bloomberg, the social media giant is in the crosshairs of at least five suitors: Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Verizon and Disney. Here’s a look at all five — plus one we came up with ourselves — to see what a Twitter acquisition could do for them.
Image credit: Morris MacMatzen / Reuters
Even though Google is a titan in many fields — search, mobile and maps, among others — it hasn’t done so well in social. Its first attempt was Orkut, which faded into obscurity despite some isolated popularity in Brazil. There was Wave, a real-time messaging platform that was so confusing the project flatlined almost as soon as it launched. There’s also Buzz, a now-discontinued social network which integrated directly with Gmail — a move that unfortunately resulted in users being able to see their friends’ and families’ email contacts.
And, of course, there’s Google+, the company’s most notable attempt yet at a becoming a social network. But even that has proved something of a disappointment. It doesn’t help that tactics like forcing everyone to use it for other Google services have been alienating for some. Today, many of its features feel more disconnected than they used to. Google Plus is now a place for discussion groups than a traditional social network.
Basically, then, for Google to acquire Twitter, which already has over 313 million users, would be an instant boon. It would give the search giant the social cred it’s been chasing for so many years. Plus, Google has a little something called YouTube to help Twitter with its video streaming ambitions.
SalesForce
Image credit: Robert Galbraith / Reuters
Out of all the companies whose names have been floated as possible suitors, the unlikeliest is probably SalesForce. Known mostly for customer-relations management software, it’s decidedly enterprise-focused. At first blush, its interest in Twitter seems odd.
Yet it might not be. SalesForce already tried and failed to buy LinkedIn (Microsoft was the winner in that particular contest), so it would seem the company has long wanted to cash in on social. Plus, one of the features of its software is a plug-in that tracks mentions of brands on social media. SalesForce could leverage Twitter’s role as a customer communications tool to boost its own sales-and-marketing arsenal.
Microsoft
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Microsoft has never done particularly well at social. In 2011 it launched So.cl, a “search-based social network” that lets you share search results with friends, but it’s been unpopular, to say the least. Aside from that, most of the company’s investment in this space has been through acquisitions. A few years ago, it bought Yammer (a sort of Twitter for business), and it picked up LinkedIn earlier this year. Microsoft also tried and failed to buy Facebook back when it was a startup, but that obviously didn’t go as planned.
Acquiring Twitter would be the easiest and fastest way to make headway in social, but for Microsoft the deal would mean more than that. Despite a string of well-reviewed products like the Surface Book that have helped get consumers excited about Microsoft, the company may still seem stodgy to some, especially compared with younger rivals like Google and Facebook. Though Twitter itself is now a large, publicly traded company that doesn’t necessarily know what it’s doing, its user base is at least younger and more media savvy than Microsoft’s. That might be just what Satya Nadella and co. are looking for.
Verizon
Mike Blake / Reuters
If you think Verizon is just a plain old wireless carrier, you have it wrong. The company has had its sights set on the media space for a while now. Last year it bought AOL (Engadget’s parent company), and a few months ago it announced its intention to buy Yahoo. (The purchase isn’t set to close until 2017.) Both deals were made in the name of increasing Verizon’s advertising portfolio.
And, seeing as Twitter is a pretty big media company in its own right — it’s often the place to go for breaking news, and the company has recently made a push around livestreaming — it could fit right into Verizon’s video ambitions. Plus, let’s not forget that Twitter is yet another source for advertising revenue. With all of these companies under one umbrella, Verizon might have enough ammo to compete against the likes of Google and Facebook.
Disney
Jacky Naegelen / Reuters
Another strange potential bedfellow in this Twitter acquisition rumorfest is Disney. To be fair, CEO Jack Dorsey is on Disney’s board, so they’re already friendly enough that getting early-stage discussions off the ground may have been easier than it would have otherwise. Also, Disney owns several media entities like ABC and ESPN, so having Twitter would be great as an in-house marketing tool.
The issue here is that Twitter is also used by its rivals — you know, Fox, CNN, Comcast, and every other brand on earth — and those companies might not feel so great having their engagement analytics in the hands of the competition. Twitter’s poor history of handling abuse complaints might not sit well with Disney’s squeaky-clean image either.
Fantasy pick: Amazon
Kim Kyung Hoon / Reuters
While Amazon wasn’t named as a potential buyer, a Twitter acquisition would make some sense for the Seattle-based company. Sure, it’s largely known as an e-tailer, but Amazon has shown it isn’t afraid to experiment. It’s dabbled in hardware — the Kindle and Echo come to mind — and it’s making a strong play in video streaming too. And that video isn’t limited to just Prime subscribers: Amazon is also dabbling in live video after acquiring Twitch two years ago. Buying Twitter would provide yet another live vertical for Amazon and, of course, access to one of the world’s largest social networks. It might seem odd, but Amazon isn’t a normal company. And lest you forget, CEO Jeff Bezos already owns the Washington Post, indicating he might well have media mogul aspirations.
Anyone’s guess
Regardless of who ends up owning Twitter, it seems clear that somebody will eventually need to buy it, if only to keep it alive. On Monday, Twitter was the place on the internet to congregate during the US presidential debate. It was a firestorm of heated commentary — lively, interactive and emotional. It is this quality that has made Twitter such an effective launchpad for political movements like the Arab Spring. The company might have problems making money and gaining users, but its value to modern society is clear. Let’s hope somebody can keep it going.
FCC needs more time to make its set-top box rules a reality
Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler floated a plan to get cable companies to drop locked-down set-top boxes in favor of apps that customers could download to their device of choice. The proposed rules also included a much needed universal search function that would allow customers to browse programming options from their cable provider as well as streaming sources like Hulu and Netflix. While it seemed that both the FCC and cable companies were on board with Wheeler’s compromise plan, today’s scheduled vote on the new rules has been delayed indefinitely.
If #Unlockthebox rules are adopted, pay-tv consumers won’t have to rent a set-top box to watch programming they already pay for.
— The FCC (@FCC) September 28, 2016
Even with the vote tabled for now, a statement from Chairman Wheeler and two other commissioners said the proposal has made “tremendous progress” towards eliminating costly set-top boxes. “We share the goal of creating a more innovative and inexpensive market for these consumer devices,” the statement said. “We are still working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues and we are committed to unlocking the set-top box for consumers across this country.”
So: the delay does not spell doom for our dreams of a cleaner home entertainment system, one free from the tyranny of clunky cable box interfaces — we’ll just have to wait a little longer to get there. The Commission notes that the proposal will remain under consideration while the commissioners work out these technical and legal issues.
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