14 things you might not know Amazon’s Alexa can do for you

Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, comes loaded with a variety of features. But it’s the “skills” that really allow you to customize your experience to your liking. Skills are the Echo’s (and Dot’s and, now, Show’s) version of apps: Programs that, when enabled, provide some extra functionality. There are currently thousands of skills available on Amazon’s site, and more are added every day.

Some of these skills are specifically designed to interface with Alexa-compatible products — i.e., thermostats, lights, remotes — while others take a stand-alone approach to voice control. Below are some the more useful ones, whether you’re looking for your phone or a cocktail recipe.

It’s a great kitchen assistant

Alexa comes preloaded with the ability to add items to a master grocery list. On its own, being able to quickly shout to Alexa that you just ran out of cayenne pepper as you cook is incredibly handy, but My Chef goes several steps further. It pairs with the Chefling app and allows you to track and read recipes, send shopping lists, and track expiration dates. It will even remind you what you have in your pantry while you’re out shopping. If you prepare a lot of meals at home and tend to be forgetful while out shopping, My Chef will save you a lot of frustration.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

If can find your phone

It’s easy to misplace your phone or have it slip out of your pocket into the depths of the couch. If someone else is home, your first instinct is likely to frantically ask them to call it. With its Where’sMyPhone skill, Alexa can do that for you, so you don’t need to wait for a roommate or spouse to get home.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can call an Uber or Lyft

If you’re a heavy public transportation user, chances are you’ve found yourself running late and trying to call a ride with one hand while getting dressed with the other. Once you set this skill up on Alexa — the app needs to know the location of your Echo — you can desperately scream for a ride while showering and thinking of what excuse for being late you’re going to tell your boss this time. These are the kinds of things voice-activated systems were made for.

Uber on Amazon Lyft on Amazon

It can keep you updated on your favorite sports teams

Although it’s a default skill, you might not be aware that you can go into your settings via Alexa and customize your sports news. You can add your favorite professional or college teams and get updates regarding their schedules and scores.

It can read you a short bedtime story

This one is for any parent who gets tired of reading the same bedtime stories over and over. You might not like the idea of a robot reading your child to sleep, but your kid will love it. The app also lets you customize the story to include your child’s name. Each of the stories clock in at under a minute (and Alexa’s monotone reading voice is no substitute for yours), but it’s worth enabling if you ever need a rest for a night.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can let you dictate text messages without your phone

By default, Alexa doesn’t have access to your devices and contacts. But the ‘SMS with Molly’ skill will allow you dictate text messages when your phone isn’t within reach. It does require a fair bit of setting up — creating a profile is painless, but you’ll have to add contacts manually. Still, if you’re a frequent texter, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can read you customized news briefings

We’re not referring to a specific skill, but rather the ability to customize the news you get every day. By default, asking Alexa for a ‘flash briefing’ runs you through the top news stories from a few handpicked sources. But you can enable everything from The Wall Street Journal to an (unofficial) Reddit app, if you should so desire. The settings page on the Alexa companion app will let you add or remove sources until you have a flash briefing tailored to your liking.

It can book you a reservation with OpenTable

Set up a profile and then quickly make a dinner reservation at your favorite spot while keeping your eyes glued to your video games. Like the mobile app of the same name, this skill will let you make, modify, and cancel reservations, and now, you can do this on your Echo Show, too. You can either use your voice, or tap the touchscreen of the latest Alexa-enabled smart home hub to ask for a reservation at your favorite restaurant. If the skill is unable to find your exact match, it will provide a list of alternative options. Sadly, it’s not as robust as the full app. There is no search functionality.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can learn 12,000 cocktails and tell you what wine to drink

“The Bartender” skill gives you access to more than 12,000 cocktail recipes. If you’re watching TV and see someone order an unfamiliar cocktail, or if you just don’t know what’s in your favorite mixed drink, the app will rattle off the ingredients for you. You can also reverse engineer a concoction by telling The Bartender what you’ve got on hand to make a drink with.

“MySomm” also lets you know what kind of wines pair best with what you’re having for dinner. If you tend to entertain and have a well-stocked liquor cabinet, you’ll be using these constantly. It’s worth noting that “MySomm” asks you to activate it by referring to it as “Wine Gal,” which means said company will probably make fun of you.

Enable skill via:

The Bartender on Amazon MySomm on Amazon

It can call your friend in an emergency

‘Ask My Buddy’ is a helpful skill for anyone who might find themselves in a situation where they need help but can’t access their phone. It can call or text a specific contact (or all programmed contacts) quickly and easily in case of an emergency. It does not call 911 or other emergency services, however.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can let you listen to ‘The Tonight Show’

Even if you don’t watch the show religiously, this app is great for listening to the show’s opening monologue and a few choice bits. If you’re a Jimmy Fallon fan, it’s some nice, light entertainment to listen to while you’re brushing your teeth or cleaning up around the house.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can help you navigate the NYC Subway

There are a variety of skills for public transportation hubs similar to ‘NYC Subway.’ Enabling these skills will allow Alexa to rattle of delays along specific lines, so you know just how much time you’ll need to get where you’re going.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can tell you intricate details about the weather

Alexa does give you local forecasts by default, but this Dark Sky-based skill called ‘Weather Sky’ gives incredibly detailed breakdowns. If you want to know the sunrise and sunset times, for example, or what the weather was like a year ago, this app can do that for you.

Enable skill via:

Amazon

It can order Domino’s and Pizza Hut

Quality of the pizza notwithstanding, ordering food without stopping what you’re doing has never been easier. Both skills require you to set up a customer profile, but once you do, Alexa can order your favorite ‘zas with a simple voice command.

Enable skill via:

Domino’s on Amazon Pizza Hut on Amazon

Update: Added news that OpenTable has updated its Alexa skill for Amazon Echo Show compatibility. 

Android Things Console developer preview is available for those who like to tinker

Doing its part to make Android Things into a thing, Google gives its developers a dedicated control console.

Ready to sync more things together in your house to make the next, best smart home? Android Things now offers a console for developers to more easily interact and tinker with all the devices operating on the Internet of Things (IoT) platform.

The Things console essentially gives developers more control over what’s going with their connected Android Things-compatible devices. As explained in the official Android Developers blog:

This console allows developers to manage the software running on their fleet of Android Things IoT devices, including creating factory images, as well as updating the operating system and developer-provided APKs. Devices need to run a system image downloaded via the Android Things Console to receive future updates, such as the upcoming Developer Preview 5. Google provides all of the infrastructure for over-the-air (OTA) updates, so developers can focus on their specific application and not have to build their own implementation – getting their IoT devices to enter the market faster and more securely than before.

The console offers a variety of features that let you individually control each of the IoT devices you might have running Android Things, including the ability to update the firmware. You can also use the console to configure Google Play Services on each connected gadget in your house or to create custom factory images and side-load APKs. Any devices you register through the console will also receive future software updates for Android Things, including the forthcoming Developer Preview 5.

There are links in the original post to a beautiful set of documentation, and Google encourages you to join its IoT Developers Community if you aren’t already.

What to Do When Your PlayStation VR Won’t Turn On

There are few things more stressful than when technology fails, but relax: we’ve got you covered

If you’re a gamer, chances are you’re familiar with all sorts of technological terrors. Red ring of death. “The servers are busy at this time.” The exciting, seemingly random combination of letters, numbers, and dashes. But if there’s one thing that brings heart to the fear of every gamer, it’s pressing the power button on your console or accessory, and nothing happening.

Sometimes that can happen with PlayStation VR, but if it happens to you, don’t panic: we’ll teach you ways to troubleshoot this on your own.

Read more at VRheads

Aukey is offering 3-packs of its USB-C cables for as little as $9, 5-packs for $14

USB-C has been slowly taking over, and recently we’ve seen more and more electronics include it as the standard charging method. While USB-C has plenty of advantages, this change means that all of your old cables will no longer help you charge, and now you’ll need a bunch of new ones. Right now, Aukey is offering some pretty nice discounts on its 3 and 5-packs of USB-C cables, which helps make the transition a bit more affordable.

You can grab a basic 3-pack for as little as $8.80, or opt for the braided ones which are perfect for those who are a bit harsher on their cables) for just $11.99. You’ll need to use a coupon code during checkout at Amazon to get these prices, so be sure to use the matching coupon code below for the listing you select.

• (3) 3.3ft USB 3.0 A to C Braided Nylon Cables – $11.99 with code HERD4ZTU
• (3) 3.3ft USB 3.0 A to C Cables – $8.80 with code MYGKA8LL
• (5) USB 3.0 A to C Cables – $13.99 with code FGHO3V96

Be sure to stock up on these cables now, your future self will thank you later.

Did you know Google+ is 6 years old today?

Are you even still using the social network?

Look, I’d never go up to a six-year-old kid and say, bluntly, “I forgot it was your birthday.” That would probably melt the child’s heart enough to warrant at least a year of therapy when he hits college. But the truth is, I forgot that today was Google+’s birthday (thanks to Android Police for reminding us to send a card).

I didn’t even realize that it’s been around six years. Will it make it to 10?

Part of the reason I’m not as engaged with Google+ as I used to be years ago is that the feature I was most excited about has been effectively removed from the social network. Google Photos is its own thing now, and the photo albums and sharing features I loved in Google+’s heydays are better than ever before.

But the social network is still ripe with thriving communities, whether they be photographers, cooks or Pokémon enthusiasts. Google is still encouraging its developers to get involved in the social network, too, and it even redesigned the site late last year to give it a bit of a bump.

Tell us: are you still using Google+? And will you blow a candle out in honor of the social network?

iPhone Photography Awards 2017 – The best photos taken on an iPhone

The Apple iPhone always has an incredibly good camera, no matter which version you have. With the very latest iPhone 7 Plus, Apple used a dual-lens camera for the first time to offer greater zoom and effective bokeh effects.

Photographers often turn to the iPhone to take professional-style photos, ditching the need for ‘proper’ DSLR cameras and expensive kit. Apple’s smartphone has become so popular for taking photos, that the term iPhoneography was coined, which refers to an image that has been shot and processed solely on the phone.

It’s with that in mind that the iPhone Photography Awards were born, and have been going since 2008. There are 20 categories in total, which include:

• Photographer of the Year
• The America I Know
• Abstract
• Animals
• Architecture
• Children
• Floral
• Landscape
• Lifestyle
• Nature
• News/Events
• Other
• Panorama
• People
• Portrait
• Series
• Still Life
• Sunset
• Travel
• Trees

The winners of this year’s competition are in, and the successful photos are better than ever. 

Children of Qayyarah – Grand Prize Winner, Photographer of the Year

Sebastiano Tomada

Sebastiano Tomada, from Brooklyn New York, United States. Children of Qayyarah was shot on an iPhone 6s.

Dock Worker – 1st Prize Winner, Photographer of the Year

Branda O Se

Branda O Se, from Cork, Ireland. Dock Worker was shot on an iPhone 6s.

The Performer – 2nd Place, Photographer of the Year

Yeow-Kwang Yeo

Yeow-Kwang Yeo, from Singapore. The Performer was shot on an iPhone 6 Plus.

The City Palace – 3rd Place, Photographer of the Year

Kuanglong Zhang

Kuanglong Zhang, from Shenzhen, China. The City Palace was shot on an iPhone 7.

1st Place – The America I Know

Juan Carlos Castañeda

Juan Carlos Castañeda from Astoria NY, United States. This photo was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.

2nd Place – The America I Know

Davis Bell

Davis Bell, from Los Angeles CA, United States. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6.

3rd Place – The America I Know

Maria K. Pianu

Maria K. Pianu, from Pordenone, Italy. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6s.

1st Place – Abstract

Christopher Armstrong

Christopher Armstrong from Sydney, Australia.

2nd Place – Abstract

David Redhill

David Redhill from Sydney, Australia. This photo was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.

3rd Place – Abstract

Lee Jones

Lee Jones from Shanghai, China. This photo was shot on an iPhone 7.

1st Place – Animals

Francesca Tonegutti

Francesca Tonegutti from Milan, Italy. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6.

2nd Place – Animals

Dongrui Yu

Dongrui Yu from Yunnan, China. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6s Plus.

3rd Place – Animals

Shuo Li

Shuo Li from Beijing, China. This photo was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.

1st Place – Architecture

Paddy Chao

Paddy Chao, from Taipei, Taiwan. This photo was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus.

2nd Place – Architecture

Patryk Kuleta

Patryk Kuleta from Warsaw, Poland.

3rd Place – Architecture

Naian Feng

Naian Feng from Shanghai, China. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6s Plus.

1st Place – Children

 

Szymon Felkel

 

Szymon Felkel from Poznan, Poland.

2nd Place – Children

Varvara Vislenko

Varvara Vislenko from St. Petersburg, Russia. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6s.

3rd Place – Children

Barry Mayes

Barry Mayes from Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

1st Place – Floral

Sidney Po

Sidney Po from Cebu, Phillipines.

2nd Place – Floral

Smetanina Julia

Smetanina Julia from Moscow, Russia.

3rd Place – Floral

Laura Warren

Laura Warren from Putney, VT, United States.

1st Place – Landscape

Christian Horgan

Christian Horgan from Freemantle, Australia.

2nd Place – Landscape

Sergey Pesterev

Sergey Pesterev from Mendeleevo, Russia.

3rd Place – Landscape

Alexandra Maldonado

Alexandra Maldonado from Quito, Ecuador.

1st Place – Lifestyle

 

Nick Trombola

 

Nick Trombola from Pittsburgh, PA USA.

2nd Place – Lifestyle

YuMing Guan

YuMing Guan from Guangdong, China.

3rd Place – Lifestyle

Chung Hung

Chung Hung from Taipei, Taiwan.

1st Place – Nature

Aaron Sandberg

Aaron Sandberg from Chicago IL, United States. This photo was shot on an iPhone 6s.

2nd Place – Nature

Dongrui Yu

Dongrui Yu from Yunnan, China.

3rd Place – Nature

Joseph-Cyr

Joseph-Cyr from Tucson AZ, United States.

1st Place – News/Events

Samuel Nacar

Samuel Nacar from Albacete, Spain.

2nd Place – News/Events

Thea Mihu

Thea Mihu from Sibiu, Romania.

3rd Place – News/Events

Xirui Huang

Xirui Huang from Hunan, China.

1st Place – Other

Darren Boyd

Darren Boyd from London, United Kingdom.

2nd Place – Other

Zarni Myo Win

Zarni Myo Win from Yangon, Myanmar.

3rd Place – Other

Glenn Homann

Glenn Homann from Ipswich Queensland, Australia.

1st Place – Panorama

Nick Trombola

Nick Trombola from Pittsburgh PA, USA.

2nd Place – Panorama

Andrew McCausland

Andrew McCausland from Abbotsford BC, Canada.

3rd Place – Panorama

Brian Marchuck

Brian Marchuck from Lancaster PA, United States.

1st Place – People

Dina Alfasi

Dina Alfasi from Israel.

2nd Place – People

Jiabing He

Jiabing He from Guangdong, China.

3rd Place – People

Marina Spironetti

Marina Spironetti from Milano, Italy.

1st Place – Portrait

Gabriel Ribeiro

Gabriel Ribeiro from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

2nd Place – Portrait

Dan Liu

Dan Liu from Sichuan, China

3rd Place – Portrait

Vlad Vasylkevych

Vlad Vasylkevych from Kiev, Ukraine

1st Place – Series – Image of Structure

Joshua Sarinana

Joshua Sarinana from Cambridge MA, United States

2nd Place – Series – Hidden Parts

Javier Wandosell

Javier Wandosell from Madrid, Spain

3rd Place – Series – Alzheimer

Pierfrancesco Ajroldi

Pierfrancesco Ajroldi from Roma, Italy

1st Place – Still Life

David Hayes

David Hayes from Milford OH, United States

2nd Place – Still Life

Deena Berton

Deena Berton from Weston MA, United States

3rd Place – Still Life

Waldemar Nowak

Waldemar Nowak from Gdańsk, Polan

1st Place – Sunset

Kuanglong Zhang

Kuanglong Zhang from Guangdong, China

2nd Place – Sunset

Xiaoying Tang

Xiaoying Tang from Zhejiang, China

3rd Place – Sunset

Joseph Cyr

Joseph Cyr from Tucson AZ, United States

1st Place – Travel

Jen Pollack Bianco

Jen Pollack Bianco from Seattle WA, United States

2nd Place – Travel

Joshua Sarinana

Joshua Sarinana from Cambridge MA, United States

3rd Place – Travel

Li Jinquan

Li Jinquan from Beijing, Chin

1st Place – Trees

Magali Chesnel

Magali Chesnel from Ferney-Voltaire, France

2nd Place – Trees

Dyllon Wolf

Dyllon Wolf from Huntingtown MD, United States

3rd Place – Trees

Kaiyuan Teng

Kaiyuan Teng from Taipei, Taiwan

A lizard-inspired robot gripper may solve our space-junk problems

Space junk is a huge problem in orbit. Over 500,000 pieces of debris are currently orbiting the Earth at up to 17,500 miles per hour, and we haven’t yet figured out how to clean it up. But engineers at Stanford may have made a breakthrough: They’ve designed a robotic gripper based on gecko’s feet that works in zero-g. The end goal is to use it to clean up space junk.

The problem with existing technology is that everything is designed to work at Earth’s gravity, within Earth’s temperature range. Scotch tape and other sticky substances aren’t adhesive in the cold temperatures of space. Suction cups rely on atmospheric pressure, which doesn’t exist in the vacuum of space. And many other devices, such as harpoons, nets and traditional grippers, require too much force, which could send debris in dangerous and unintended directions.

Geckos can climb up walls and other vertical surfaces because of microscopic flaps on their feet that create an adhesive force. By modeling their technology on these flaps, the team was able to create a gripper that only requires a small push to stick to a surface. Instead of using force to grab the object, coauthor Elliot Hawkes says in the news release, “I can touch the adhesive pads very gently to a floating object, squeeze the pads toward each other so that they’re locked and then I’m able to move the object around.”

So far, the gripper has been tested in multiple zero gravity environments, including on a parabolic airplane flight (also known as the vomit comet). A small version of the robotic gripper was sent to the International Space Station for testing aboard the station, but it hasn’t yet been used outside in the vacuum of space. The team’s next step is to design a larger, more durable gripper that can handle both space’s temperature extremes and the higher radiation outside the ISS.

Via: EurekAlert

Source: Stanford University

Adidas’ All Day fitness app hits iOS and Android devices

Exactly three months after announcing its All Day fitness app, Adidas is finally launching it in the US. The application, which is available for iOS and Android, focuses on serving up insights about different health aspects, such as mindset, movement, nutrition rest. Adidas says that All Day is designed for “versatile” athletes, meaning that the app’s goal isn’t just to help you with tough workouts, but also showing you anything from quick meditation moves to how to cook healthy recipes. While All Day is only available for those of you in the States right now, the sportswear giant tells Engadget that the app will be coming to other markets later this fall.

Source: Adidas

Bonaverde wants to be the Keurig of raw coffee

Many people take their coffee drinking seriously, but even those with a proper espresso machine at home won’t roast their own beans. This delicate step is typically done on an industrial scale using specialist equipment, far from the end consumer. Now, the caffeine addicts at Bonaverde intend to bring roasting to the kitchen counter with the first all-in-one machine that turns raw, green coffee beans into a cup of joe. The company crowdfunded its appliance way back in 2013, and several years later the consumer model is now ready. But several questions have loomed over Bonaverde’s vision to change how people drink coffee — namely, where on earth do you buy unroasted beans?

Raw, green beans aren’t exactly easy to come by. They’re usually traded by the ton, not something you pick up at your local store. Some specialist retailers do sell raw beans in consumer-friendly quantities, but you still wouldn’t call them a particularly accessible commodity. Thus, Bonaverde hasn’t just spent the past four years refining its machine; it’s also established a complete supply chain to ship beans directly from coffee growers to your doorstep.

Bonaverde had to develop another machine to enable growers to package their product in the special parcels required by its all-in-one appliance. Like Keurig or Nespresso pods, these are not optional. The little pizza-slice-shaped bundles contain enough raw coffee for one pot, with the packaging doubling as the brewing filter (that’s one less thing to buy). The grower-side equipment is built with the isolated fields of developing countries in mind. It runs on solar power with battery backup, is simple enough to be fixed with “a hammer and screwdriver,” rather than needing elaborate replacement parts when it breaks down, and even has a few bonus features like being a WiFi hotspot (an embedded cellular SIM handles the connection).

Key to the packaging process is a unique RFID chip that’s attached to every pouch. Bonaverde users will have to tap this tag on the front of their machine before it’ll roast raw beans. This is partly for quality control, the company tells me. As the end user will likely have zero experience with roasting, the tag communicates the optimal profile to the appliance — different strains of bean from different regions require distinct temperatures, timing and air-circulation settings to be at their best. In other words, Bonaverde doesn’t want consumers to have at every parameter, ruin the roast and think their machine is junk as a result.

End users do have some level of control, though. Using a companion mobile app, they’re able to tweak the roasting profile if they want a more intense flavor, for example, and they can also determine how finely the roasted beans are then ground, which impacts the final brew. (The idea is that this take on personalization is better than asking users what exact temperature they want during the final phase of roasting.) Bonaverde plans to introduce community features to its app in the future, too, so connoisseurs can share their tweaks with other users. Importantly, the app also has a scheduling feature so your pot will be ready at a certain time, meaning you don’t have wait for the roughly 20-minute roasting, grinding and brewing cycle to complete each morning.

The RFID packaging is also important to Bonaverde for a completely different reason. Being a startup, it doesn’t have the cash to set itself up as a middleman between grower and consumer, buying from one and selling to the other. Instead, growers effectively license Bonaverde’s vision, packing the coffee off their own backs. Bonaverde handles the shipping — a more manageable overhead — and distributes the coffee to consumers, who just pay for delivery. Buying the actual coffee occurs only once you’ve tapped that RFID chip on the appliance, at which point the grower gets what it’s owed and Bonaverde takes a cut. In this way, the startup hopes to build a global ecosystem around home roasting without becoming a trader itself, thanks to the microtransaction model. (You could just… never actually scan the chip.)

That sounds potentially exploitative and risky for the grower, but Bonaverde is guaranteeing its partners a minimum of 30 percent more than Fair Trade wholesale price with its model. The farmer is able to set their own pouch prices, which can range from roughly $2 to $5 per pot — handpicked beans that are more expensive to produce could demand a higher price, for instance.

In some ways, Bonaverde has it all sewn up. Its all-in-one coffeemaker wasn’t going to be viable without easy access to raw, green beans, so it’s creating the supply chain. The startup doesn’t want to own the whole ecosystem, though, and hopes to partner with companies as well as growers, so you might pick up compatible pouches at your favorite local spot. Familiarity for the customer, branding for the coffeehouse, and a cut for Bonaverde. Putting pouches in coffee shops and machines in hotels is likely a ways off, though, as you can’t solve the inherent chicken-and-egg problem overnight.

Bonaverde has a long road to becoming the next Keurig or Nespresso. The obvious obstacle is growing the initial user base, thus becoming more attractive to pouch partners, which in turn makes the machine itself an easier sell. But the company is asking for a significant amount of commitment. First, there’s the price of the all-in-one machine.

While some early-bird backers managed to pick one up for as little as $250 four years ago — and are just now expecting delivery — the appliance goes on general sale today for $799/£799/€799 for the white version and $1000/£1000/€1000 for the silver model (coinciding with the launch of an equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs). New customers are looking at a fall shipping window, mind. It looks significantly different from the initial Kickstarter pitch. It’s essentially a tall, square filter coffee machine with some added bulk on top to account for the roasting element. Not unattractive, but potentially too demanding for smaller kitchens. Beyond the machine, you have to be comfortable allying yourself with the whole ecosystem, from buying the pouches to the replacement filters that capture unwanted oils and such created during the roasting process (each is good for 30 brews, I’m told).

Ultimately, though, Bonaverde is attempting to change perceptions. The main selling point is truly fresh coffee anytime you want it. I tried a cup myself and found it to have a certain cleanliness about it, though it was also relatively tasteless. I’m pretty sure the company plied tasters with a light brew that was bound to be universally inoffensive, though, and I’m no coffee expert, so am hesitant to make any real judgments on quality, especially after just two mugfuls. Green beans apparently last upwards of a year before starting to go stale, and then there’s supporting the growers directly. But the freshest of coffee is still the primary draw.

I’m not sure real aficionados want to go to the trouble of roasting their own beans — this is also assuming they believe the machine’s process is as robust as industrial roasting — for the sake of a pot of filter coffee. Bonaverde intends to release an espresso model in the future, possibly later this year but likely next. This will at least give consumers options, but we’re still talking about an unexplored market here.

Bonaverde obviously believes there’s a large appetite for home roasting, and the company has reason to. The startup’s crowdfunding campaign eclipsed its initial $135,000 goal by over half a million bucks, and I’m told a pre-market competitor in San Francisco is currently working on a similar all-in-one machine. But whether there truly is a big enough demand for home roasting to support Bonaverde’s supply chain — or whether the company can create it — is the next looming question to be answered.

Source: Bonaverde

California may give EV buyers instant rebates

If you’re worried about the federal tax credit for electric car purchases phasing out, you may want to pay attention to what California is proposing. The state is concerned about demand for EVs declining as the tax incentives disappear. As a result, California is considering legislation that will give instant rebates to buyers of electric cars at the time of purchase.

A key component of this bill is that the rebate is instant, applied automatically when you purchase the vehicle. California currently has a mail-in EV rebate program for certain car models, but purchasers have to wait up to 90 days to receive their funds. It’s possible that this wait makes people less likely to choose electric over gasoline power for their vehicle.

While it’s not clear exactly how much each rebate would be, The California Electric Vehicle Initiative would be income based. The state is specifically concerned with helping low-income residents purchase EVs. Their goal is to bring the purchase price of electric cars down to their gasoline-powered equivalents. The bill currently proposes putting aside around $3 billion total for these incentives.

The legislation hasn’t been passed yet; while it passed an assembly vote, it still needs to face two Senate committees. It’s notable, though, because California is often a leader in emissions and car regulations for the rest of the country. If this becomes law in California, it’s possible we could see other states following suit.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: California State Legislature