Amazon’s Echo Spot is a cuter version of the Echo Show

Arguably the cutest device announced at today’s Amazon event is the Echo Spot, an adorable miniaturized version of the Echo Show. I got a closer look at the Spot after the Amazon event today, and I have to say that I definitely wouldn’t mind having this as an alarm clock. It does all of the same things as the Show, except in a smaller, and more compact package.

While I thought the Show might be more at home in a kitchen with its large display, the Spot is definitely more suited for the bedside table. It’s sphere-like shape is a little bigger than a softball, and reminds me a lot of the Chumby, which also pitched itself as a smart alarm clock. You can use it to see the weather, watch video clips, check in to your baby monitor, or just use it to check the time — it comes with 12 different clock faces, some of which can change color depending on time of day.

I unfortunately was not able to really play with it, as the devices seen in the photos here are just demo units and not hooked up to anything. Still, I did swipe around on the touchscreen for a few minutes. The display looks nice and crisp, and it was pretty intuitive from the brief time I had with it. The viewing angles seemed pretty good too.

The Echo Spot boasts a new microphone array with a new far-field technology that promises better noise cancellation so you can shout at it even in a loud room. Just like Echo Show, there’s a front-facing camera so you can use it for video conferencing. There’s also a built-in speaker, Bluetooth and an audio line out.

The Spot is available for $150 in both black and white and will be available in December this year.

Scientists record a fourth set of gravitational waves

Last year, researchers confirmed the existence of gravitational waves with two Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors. Shortly thereafter, they detected two additional gravitational wave-causing events that sent ripples through the universe. Well, we can now add a fourth to that list, as astronomers announced another set of waves. And for the first time, they observed the waves with a third detector — the Italy-based Virgo.

Let’s review a little before we dig into the huge benefits that come with having three detectors rather than two. First, gravitational waves are essentially ripples in spacetime. When some major event occurs in the universe — like, for example, when two black holes merge into one — a ripple is sent out in all directions and it travels through spacetime at the speed of light. Albert Einstein predicted these sorts of waves existed, but it wasn’t until the LIGO project that researchers could actually observe them.

The LIGO and Virgo detectors are all largely the same design. Two very long tunnels are arranged perpendicular to each other. At the point where they meet, a laser beam is split and part of it travels down one tunnel, and the other part down the second tunnel. Mirrors at the tunnel ends bounce the beams back and if no major cosmic activity has occurred, the two beams cancel each other out. However, if say two black holes slam into each other and create gravitational waves, those waves will stretch and pull spacetime, changing the length of the tunnels ever so slightly. When that happens, the two laser beams are bounced back at slightly different times and when they meet, the difference between them provides astronomers with all sorts of information about what happened, where and when.

The earlier detections of gravitational waves were done with the two LIGO detectors in Washington and Louisiana. Virgo joined them on August 1st and scored its first detection on August 14th. The gravitational waves that were detected were created by two black holes — 31 and 25 times the mass of our Sun — merging around 1.8 billion light-years away. The resulting black hole is approximately 53 times the mass of the Sun. What happened to those three leftover solar masses? They were converted into gravitational wave energy.

A third detector means scientists can get a much better idea about which direction the waves came from and it works similar to the way seismometers pinpoint the location of an earthquake. The two LIGO detectors themselves can provide a general direction of the event — a pretty large area equal to around 1/40th of the night sky. But adding Virgo into the mix reduces the window to a tenth of that area, which means once a signal is detected, astronomers can swing a telescope towards the region of origin and maybe catch a glimpse of it in action.

The Virgo team hints in their press release that more detections from the three units will be announced sometime soon and some are hoping to hear that they’ve snagged a measurement, and maybe even a visual, of another big celestial event — two neutron stars merging.

The recent detection was described in a paper published in Physical Review Letters.

Image: NASA

Via: BBC

Source: Physical Review Letters, Virgo, National Science Foundation

Amazon brings voice control to Hulu and other video apps on Fire TV

You can already use Alexa voice commands to steer some video playback on a Fire TV, but Amazon is about to throw the doors wide open. It just unveiled a slew of partners that will use the Video Skills Kit to add Alexa support to their video apps, and these are definitely companies you’ll recognize: Hulu, PlayStation Vue, CBS All Access, Bravo, Showtime and multiple NBC apps will all take spoken playback commands. You might not have to lift a finger to skip backwards in The Handmaid’s Tale or switch live channels in Vue.

Amazon will only say that support is “coming soon,” but Hulu has narrowed its timeframe down to sometime this fall.

It wasn’t hard to see this coming given the existence of Video Skills in the first place, but it’s still welcome news. Although Amazon is already welcoming of video services beyond its own, this gives them first-class treatment. You don’t have to subscribe to Prime Video or a handful of other services just to see Alexa flex its muscles.

Source: Hulu

Apple Design Chief Jony Ive to Speak at TechFest 2017 in October

Apple design chief Jony Ive is one of the planned speakers at TechFest 2017, hosted by The New Yorker. Set to take place on October 6 from 8:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m, the event will be held in New York City.

Ive will talk about “designing the future,” according to The New Yorker. No additional information has been provided on what topics Ive will cover, but with the launch of the iPhone X approaching, it could come up during the discussion.

Other speakers at TechFest include Hyperloop One co-founder Josh Giegel, author Van Jones, Human Rights Foundation chairman Garry Kasparov, Snap chairman Michael Lynton, and M.I.T. computer science and AI lab director Daniela Rus, among others.

Tickets for The New Yorker’s TechFest are priced at $1,500.

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House of Marley Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones review

The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are a $60 pair of Bluetooth-connected earphones and one of the latest models out of The House of Marley. A wireless take on an existing pair of in-ear headphones, they have the increasingly popular design which lets wearers drape them around the neck when not in use.

We were sent a pair of these earphones to review and spent a few weeks playing with them off and on. Here’s our impression of the Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones.

We’re giving stuff away to help celebrate our tenth anniversary. Are you in?

Setup is a little different from what you might expect in that the first time you power them on you are already in pairing mode. That’s not extraordinary, but each subsequent use of them requires you to press and hold the two volume buttons to get going. To us this seems backwards, and it takes a little time to get used to, but it’s not that big of an offense.

Controls are equally odd a times. Want to skip tracks? Double tap the volume up. Double tap volume down to go back a track. It took a time or two to master this as we were apprehensive about increasing or decreasing volumes. We’ve seen this in other models, but we tend to prefer to have buttons for skipping tracks that also double for fast forwarding.

The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones feature a flexible, rubberized body with enlarged tips. The left side is where you’ll find the controls, microphone, charging port, and LED light.  The right side houses the battery; the two are weighted equally.

We liked that the headphones drape nicely and comfortably around the neck. There are other brands and models on the market that don’t have nearly as much “play”, giving the experience of a hard plastic halo or frame that feels like it will fall off easily. That’s definitely not the case here.

The headphones are IPX4 sweat-proof which means you’ll have no problems using them in a workout or environment where you plan to get sweaty. This is a nice touch as being waterproof isn’t the same as sweat-proof. Ask your FedEx driver about the earbuds he goes through because of sweat.

Given the $60 price point we didn’t expect the sound to be as warm and rich as it is. We were pleased to find a nice, generally even sound that doesn’t overpower or try to come off as something out of its class. The mid range could use a little help, but upper-mid and highs were crisp and clean.

Don’t be fooled into thinking these will counter or best headphones in a higher price range. While we liked the experience overall, we can appreciate that they’re nowhere near what you’d get from the likes of master & Dynamic. One is an every man model, the other is geared at an audiophile. It should be noted that neither aptX nor LDAC are supported by the headphones, somewhat reaffirming its position on the totem pole.

With battery life rated at eight hours we found ours to routinely get at least 6-7, on average. Mileage varies, of course, based on volume levels and length of listening sessions.  Charging takes around two hours when starting from zero and is done via microUSB. A cable is included in the box but you’ll need an adapter to plug into the wall.

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Conclusion

The Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are comfortable, affordable, and deliver a pretty decent sound. It’s just about everything you’d want out a set of headphones and doesn’t pretend to be more. The sweat-proof feature is a nice touch, especially for those who are active or spend time enjoying the dog days of summer. The buttons and setup can be a little wonky but it’s forgivable stuff. We really appreciate the two-year warranty that comes with House of Marley products and think that alone is worth extra money.

The main catch, to us, is the style of headphones. We’re not huge fans of the design in general and prefer more traditional things like earphones or on-ear/over-the-ear headphones. But, if this is your bag, the House of Marley Smile Jamaica Wireless Headphones are worth the price. If you can get them cheaper, say, at a place like Amazon ($50), you’re doing even better.

Warm up or cool down with the press of a button on the wrist-worn Embr

I don’t know who’s in charge of the thermostat at Digital Trends headquarters, but based on how hot they like to keep it here, I’ve concluded that this person was most likely born and raised on surface of the Sun. I know this because no matter what season it is or what the weather happens to be like outside, the office is almost always kept at a balmy 5,778 degrees Kelvin.

OK, so obviously that’s a bit of an exaggeration. To be completely honest, I have no clue what the exact temperature is — but I do know that if you engage in any activity that’s more strenuous than sitting at your desk and typing, you almost immediately break into a sweat. I seriously keep a spare towel and a stick of deodorant on hand just in case I ever need to tie my shoes, unplug my monitor, or sneeze more than twice in a row.

For the past few days, however, I haven’t been as bothered by the oppressively high temperatures of the office — and it’s all thanks to a nifty new gadget called the Embr Wave, which launched today on Kickstarter.

The Wave

Developed by a team of MIT grads over the last four years, the Wave is essentially a wearable heater and cooler that leverages quirks in human physiology to sort of “hack” how your body perceives temperature.

“It’s a product for people that are too hot or too cold, that offers thermal relief,” explains Embr Labs co-founder Sam Shames. “What it does is it heats and cools one spot on your body and helps you improve your comfort, without changing your core temp.”

Note that last part. It’s important to know that Wave doesn’t actually change how hot or cold your body is overall. Instead, it essentially tricks your body and brain into perceiving a slightly different temperature.

“It’s kind of similar to cupping your hands around a hot mug of coffee in the winter after you’ve come in from being outside in the cold, or dipping your toes in the ocean on a hot summer day,” says Shames. “So it doesn’t change your core temperature. It does change temperature of your wrist while you wear it, but it’s not so much ‘tricking your senses’ as it is your brain and body naturally responding to temperature change.”

As it turns out, changing the temperature of one part of your body can have a strong effect on how you feel overall. “What that illustrates is that there’s a lot more to the sensation of temperature, or the subjective experience of temperature, than people realize,” Shames says,  “and that’s really what we’re here to help people with.”

Under the hood

So how exactly does all this black magic actually work? It all comes down to a nifty physical phenomenon known as the Peltier Effect.

“There’s a lot more to the sensation of temperature, or the subjective experience of temperature, than people realize”

Named for French physicist Jean Charles Athanase Peltier who discovered it in 1834, The Peltier effect describes the phenomenon of heating or cooling caused by an electric current flowing across the junction of two different conductors. As the current moves from one conductor to another, the transfer of energy causes one side to heat up and the other to cool down. Embr Wave is basically a series of these junctions (called a Peltier cooler) powered by a small battery and attached to a wrist strap. When placed against the skin, the device makes you feel cooler by reducing the temperature of your wrist a few fractions of a degree per second for a couple seconds at a time.

That’s where the “wave” in Embr Wave comes from. Rather than providing a steady stream of heating or cooling, the device pulses with short waves of temperature fluctuation. It’s a bit counterintuitive, but according to Shames and his colleagues, this burst-based method is actually the most effective way to alter your perception of temperature and provide a sensation of thermal relief.

“That’s one of the most important features,” says Shames, “because if you think about our normal experience of temperature and what our bodies are designed to do, they’re designed to adapt. For example, if you walk into an air-conditioned room and it feels incredibly cold when you first get in there, but then two minutes later you’re like ‘it doesn’t feel as cold anymore!’ — that’s because humans are hardwired to adapt to temperature. What we’ve figured out is that by having the temperature come in waves — in other words having the sensation fade in and out — you basically overcome that natural adaptation.”

Cool in theory, cooler in practice

All this might sound like a load of pseudoscientific bull excrement, but Embr Labs’s technology is surprisingly effective. I’ve been wearing a Wave for the past few days, and despite the fact that it looks like an Apple-inspired house arrest bracelet, the device is undeniably pleasurable to use.

Truth be told, I was a bit underwhelmed when I first put it on. The cooling sensation isn’t particularly bold at first. It’s not like stepping into a walk-in freezer and getting hit with a shiver-inducing burst of temperature change, which is what I was (naively) hoping for as I hastily unboxed the review unit in the oppressive heat of my office. The feeling is much more subtle; like running your wrist under a cold tap, or moving your head to the cold side of your pillow. That’s not to say it’s not enjoyable — the sensation just isn’t as pronounced as you might expect.

Still, despite the fact that it doesn’t freeze the sweat on your brow at the push of a button, the Wave is a lovely thing to have on your wrist. I didn’t realize how soothing it is until I took it off for a few hours, then found myself craving that chilly sensation on my wrist. I dare say it’s mildly addictive.

At the end of the day, the Wave is really just a wearable device that offers pleasant sensations on demand, and that’s precisely what makes it so enticing. Not everyone wants a band that counts steps or a watch that can send texts — but a wrist-borne button that makes you feel good when you press it? Now that’s something everyone can get behind.

Google is using artificial intelligence to cut down Google Play’s malware

Why it matters to you

Malware can be devastating to your digital life, so it’s nice to see Google cutting down on it in any way possible.

Malware on the Google Play Store is a serious problem. It seems like every few weeks there is another story about how a series of malware has been discovered and removed from the store, and while it’s a good thing that the malware is being removed, it’s a little problematic that it is there in the first place.

Google, however, is trying to change that. How? With artificial intelligence, of course! The company recently showed off some pretty good results from the system, saying that while six months ago the system was only able to flag five percent of malware thrown at it, these days it is now hitting a 55 percent success rate — meaning it’s essentially learning what to look for in malware and how to stop it.

The new system will be welcome. Toward the beginning of 2017, around 0.6 percent of Android devices were infected with some sort of malware. Thanks to the implementation of the AI software in Google Play Services, that figure now sits in at 0.25 percent, according to a report from The Register. Still, the AI has a long way to go. Earlier this year, we learned that there were twice as many malware installations in 2016 than there were in 2015 — and just a few months ago researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that more than 400 apps left users open to malware attacks. Hopefully, the new system will cut down on stories like that.

Google may not be the first to use artificial intelligence for security reasons, it has some advantages. As The Register’s report notes, Android users are found all over the world and there are far more Android users than users of any other operating system. More users mean more data for the system to analyze, which means it can learn quicker.

Of course, just because the Google Play Store is getting safer, that does not mean you should stop being careful. You should still only download apps from the Google Play Store, and even then try to only download apps that are from reliable developers. Last but not least, if you find that an app does seem to be malicious, report it to Google.