Best Sleeves for Google Pixelbook

Need a great case or sleeve for your Google Pixelbook? We can help.

The Google Pixelbook is a very expensive Chromebook with an amazing display. That means you’ll definitely want to protect your investment by slipping it into some kind of case or sleeve. Here are the ones we like.

• Bellroy Sleeve for Google Pixelbook
• Mama Mouth PU Leather Folio
• Kroo Neoprene Protective Sleeve
• Tomtoc UltraSlim Sleeve
• CAISON Laptop Sleeve Case

Bellroy Sleeve for Google Pixelbook

Bellroy’s Pixelbook sleeve is Google’s official choice, and it’s hard to argue that it’s not one of the best.

Made from water-resistant fabric with genuine leather accents, to keep your Pixelbook safe and look good while doing it the Bellroy sleeve is custom built for the Pixelbook.

There’s a loop for the Pixelbook Pen, and when your Pixelbook isn’t inside it you can use it as a tablet stand by pushing in the top flap. the Bellroy case is a tight fit at first because it’s designed to hold everything snugly, but like many other things, it gets better with a little age.

There’s also a three-year warranty in case something rips or tears, which is great to see on any laptop sleeve that costs over $80.

See at Google

Mama Mouth PU Leather Folio

The Mama Mouth PU Leather Folio case is another that’s specially designed for the Pixelbook and is a great way to keep things protected. It also comes in eight different patterns and colors.

Designed to protect from dust, dirt and bumps and bruises, this folio case is made of synthetic leather on the outside and plush microfiber on the inside. It’s easy to take off if you want to go into tablet mode and the back and bottom serve as a stable platform for viewing anything on the screen.

it’s also really affordable at a price under $20!

See at Amazon

Kroo Neoprene Protective Sleeve

The Kroo Neoprene Sleeve offers complete protection and is spill resistant.

It’s a generic 13″ laptop sleeve, but one sized right to fit the Pixelbook’s 3:2 display. Featuring a padded interior as well as an external pocket for things like the Pixelbook Pen, the nylon zippers will keep your Pixelbook safe and sound inside its own padded cell.

The Kroo neoprene case comes in six color combinations and costs about $15.

See at Amazon

Tomtoc UltraSlim Sleeve

The Tomtoc UltraSlim sleeve is designed to fit 13-inch MacBooks, Surface laptops, and the Pixelbook and has room for a second device like your phone or an Amazon Kindle.

The external felt is hardened and durable while the interior felt is soft and gentle, and genuine leather accents make this one quite the looker.

The magnetic flap keeps everything closed up until you need to get to your Pixelbook, and there’s a cutout on the side to top up the battery without removing it from the case.

The Tomotc UltraSlim Sleeve lives up to its name and will keep your Pixelbook safe. It costs about $20.

See at Amazon

CAISON Laptop Sleeve Case

If you’re looking for good basic protection without any frills or fuss, the CAISON Laptop Sleeve is perfect.

Made of water-resistant nylon, it’s also fully padded with a fleece interior and is designed to hold most any 13-inch laptop, including the Pixelbook. The zipper is also padded and there is a roomy external pocket to hold your phone or other small accessories.

The CAISON Laptop Sleeve comes in black, blue, grey or military green and costs about $15.

See at Amazon

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The Rock is Chicago’s only hope in ‘Rampage’

After years of chatter, we’re finally getting a look at the movie adaptation of the classic arcade game Rampage. It stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (!!!) and Naomie Harris. The project was announced way back in 2011 and Johnson signed on in 2015, but this is our first glimpse at it. It looks like… about what you’d expect from a movie about a trio of overgrown monsters destroying major cities, and is helmed by San Andreas director Brad Peyton.

The hook here is that Johnson’s character more or less raised George the gorilla, and then curious as he was, the primate touched a MacGuffin that edited his genes and made him grow. Then, crap gets real and Chicago is left in ruins. If you’ll remember, Chicago is the home of Rampage developer Midway, so at least that’s fitting. For what it’s worth, the trailer isn’t terrible aside from the awful remix of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” The Pumpkins also call Chicago home. The movie looks like it’s taking itself a little too seriously, but this could’ve been a whole lot worse. Cough, Pixels, cough. Peep it for yourself below.

Johnson has a long history with video games. He helped Microsoft unveil the original Xbox at CES in 2001, for instance, and has since starred in a movie adaptation of Doom. Oh, and he’s also in next month’s Jumanji reboot which takes a lot of cues from the Atari classic, Pitfall!. This doesn’t look he’ll have to stretch his acting chops, but at least it isn’t overly offensive. That’s really the best we can hope for at this point.

Source: Warner Bros. (YouTube)

Spotify acquires Soundtrap, an online music recording studio

Spotify has been quietly expanding recently, acquiring companies that will help it serve its customers better. Earlier this year, the streaming service acquired MightyTV to improve its content recommendations. And Spotify also purchased the blockchain startup Mediachain Labs back in April. Now, Spotify announced that it has acquired Soundtrap, a Swedish startup that allows for the creation of music in an online collaborative recording and production studio. The service will continue to operate as per usual.

This acquisition is an interesting one for Spotify. Previous purchases by the streaming company have centered on improving and refining existing services through new tech. But Soundtrap focuses on music creation. While Spotify has made clear that it wants to do more to locate and promote up and coming artists, this could signal interest in a completely different direction for the company. It certainly raises questions about what Spotify has up its sleeve with this acquisition.

Source: Spotify

Toyota plans to start selling EVs in China in 2020

Toyota recently announced plans to design and build EVs with Mazda in the US, but it has big plans elsewhere, too. The automaker will produce electric cars in both China and India starting in 2020, it said in a pair of press releases. Up until now, Toyota has focused on hydrogen and hybrid vehicles as green options, but its recent political and environmental developments have forced its hand. China, for one, aims to have two million EVs and hybrids on the road by 2019, and India plans to ban gas-powered vehicle sales completely by 2030.

The automaker said it’s also working on plug-in hybrid versions of the Corolla and Levin for China, and will evaluate the potential of hydrogen fuel cells for buses and other commercial vehicles in China.

Despite pioneering the hybrid with its Prius, Toyota admitted last month that it is a “little bit late” to the EV party compared to rivals like Nissan. To accelerate its plans in India, it’s joining up with Suzuki, which will build the vehicles while Toyota provides technical support. In China, it’s “considering having our joint-venture partners provide us with EVs,” said Toyota’s China chief, Hiroji Onishi. Doing so will also help Toyota qualify for credits in China.

Toyota also has big plans in the US, as it recently joined up with Mazda to design all-new EVs and build a $1.6 billion assembly plant. The companies will eventually produce some 300,000 electric cars per year, while aiming to “avoid the commoditization of EVs,” they said in a joint statement.

Toyota has produced the Prius since 1997, but has only built two pure EVs, the Scion iQ minicar and RAV 4 EV. In 2011, Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada famously said that Toyota wouldn’t produce a pure electric vehicle “because we do not believe there is a market to accept it.” Since then, most major automakers have overhauled their roadmaps to include electric car lineups, thanks in part to anti-pollution regulations in countries like France and improved battery technology.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Toyota (1), (2)

Williams-Sonoma buys AR firm to help you shop for home furnishings

Companies that do a lot of retail business online have been exploring AR in order to help customers visualize the items they’re planning on buying. In the last few months, Target, IKEA and Amazon have all announced AR initiatives to help customers seee what furniture and other large items might look like in their homes. Now, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is joining that group. Today the retailer announced it was acquiring Outward, Inc., a 3D imaging and AR platform that’s aimed primarily at home decor and furnishings, for $112 million in cash.

While Williams-Sonoma may be primarily known as a retailer of kitchen gadgets and wares, the company owns Pottery Barn and West Elm, staples of any mall furniture shopping experience. According to Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams-Sonoma, Inc, the company plans to use the tech to enable “applications in product visualization, digital room design, and augmented and virtual reality.” After the acquisition is complete, Outward will function as a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma. It will retain its current leadership team.

Source: Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Gets 4K Mention on iTunes, Suggesting Disney’s 4K Holdout May Be Ending

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has received a card on the iTunes Movies storefront that encourages users to watch the film in 4K HDR on the Apple TV 4K, suggesting that Disney’s 4K video holdout on iTunes may end soon. The change comes after news in September that Disney would be the only major Hollywood studio not supporting 4K versions of its films on the iTunes Movies store, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movies.

Right now, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 appears under the “Now Available to Rent” section of iTunes with a new “Watch It in 4K” card, but when you tap through to the movie’s page it’s still listed as HD-only as of writing. As such, the mention could be an error, or the first hint at more Marvel and other Disney movies imminently gaining 4K iTunes support.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is another Marvel Studios movie — a studio which Disney owns — that’s in 4K HDR on iTunes, but it has been 4K since it released on the digital storefront in September due to the distribution rights of the film being owned by Sony, not Disney.

For now, it appears that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the only Disney-related film with a hint of having imminent 4K support on iTunes. Other newly released Disney films, including Cars 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, don’t have mentions of 4K support anywhere on iTunes yet. Apple’s 4K iTunes films are priced at the same point as HD versions — $20 — and if you previously owned the movie in HD, Apple automatically upgrades it to 4K HDR without requiring additional payment.

If Disney does begin a wider rollout of 4K support across its iTunes film catalogue, it will be joining 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures in backing the 4K video format on Apple devices.

(Thanks @vash_maxwell!)

Related Roundup: Apple TVTags: Disney, MarvelBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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LG has steep Black Friday discounts on its premium OLED TVs

Even if you don’t follow 4K TV technology closely, you probably know that OLED TVs have the best picture available and that they’re hella expensive. If you’ve been drooling over one but don’t quite have the cash, now might be the time to pounce, as LG is offering all of its 2017 models with deep discounts for Black Friday starting today.

As a reminder, LG’s 2017 OLED sets all have support for most HDR formats, including HDR10 and Dolby Vision, giving you the best possible picture for Netflix or Ultra HD Blu-ray streaming. Other features include LG’s webOS 3.5 Smart TV system for quick switching between streaming and broadcast TV and LG’s Magic Remote.

As for the image quality, OLED sets are widely regarded for their deep blacks, thanks to the fact that each OLED pixel provides its own light source and can be shut off completely. They also cover 99 percent of the demanding DCI-P3 gamut, giving you the maximum colors, gamut and accuracy. OLEDs aren’t known for their great brightness, but LG managed to boost levels by 25 percent on many models this year. The only thing OLED panels still aren’t is fast, so don’t count on the TVs for super-accurate gaming performance.

Between November 19th and 27th, LG’s 55-inch and 65-inch B7A models will be on sale for $1,499 and $2,299, respectively, discounts of $800 and $1,000 over the regular prices, LG says. As mentioned, all ten of its TVs, including the slim B7 and C7 models, the “picture-on-glass” E7, the high-end G7 and wall-mounted, one-tenth-of-an-inch thick W7 LG Signature OLED, will be discounted by varying amounts.

Source: LG

FCC vote could force low-income households offline

Bootstrapping yourself out of poverty via the internet is about to get a lot harder in the US. The FCC, led by industry-friendly chairman Ajit Pai, has voted along party lines to reform the low-income Lifeline broadband subsidy program. Among the most contentious items are a proposal to tighten eligibility requirements and cap spending, and another to halt subsidies through internet resellers like Windstream. If voted through, the latter proposal could force over 70 percent of Lifeline enrollees to seek a new provider, and many would have no option at all.

Lifeline gives low-income households a $9.25 monthly credit towards discounted home internet service from 900 participating companies. Until last year, that could only be applied to landline and mobile voice service, but former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler expanded the program to broadband early last year. However, Pai scrapped an FCC directive that came at the end of Wheeler’s tenure that allowed nine new companies to participate, and promised more cost-cutting reforms, supposedly to close the digital divide.

Some of the reforms are still in the proposal stages, but the FCC issued a direct order yesterday that directly affects Tribal land residents. Those folks used to receive a $25 monthly subsidy on top of the $9.25 discount, but in 90 days, they’ll no longer be able to obtain the $25 subsidy through resellers. That will give many Native Americans far fewer options for mobile internet. “This will be a travesty to Indian Country because it will turn back the clock to times when consumers had but one choice,” Joe Redcloud from the South Dakota Sioux Tribe told the Washington Post.

Another proposal suggests that the FCC eliminate Lifeline subsidies across the US through carriers that don’t operate their own networks, but resell services from AT&T, Verizon and other companies. Advocacy group Public Knowledge says that 70 percent of Lifeline subscribers use such resellers, so they would be forced to use AT&T, T-Mobile and other direct providers.

This is not real reform. This is cruelty. It is at odds with our statutory duty. It will do little more than consign too many communities to the wrong side of the digital divide.

However, those carriers are often more expensive than resellers, so switching could eliminate much of the $9.25 Lifeline benefit. In some instances, low-income users wouldn’t have any option at all. “In many states, facilities-based providers have opted out of offering Lifeline-supported service altogether and prefer to allow non-facilities-based wireless providers to serve Lifeline subscribers and the low-income segments of the wireless market,” Public Knowledge wrote.

Finally, the FCC is looking at a cap that could drastically reduce the Lifeline budget and institute more rigorous checks. “The reforms that we implement and propose today seek to … curtail the waste, fraud and abuse that continue to plague the Lifeline program,” Pai said ahead of the vote. That includes forcing subscribers — many of whom have their broadband bill entirely paid by Lifeline — into co-paying part of their bill.

That could effectively cut off a lot of the most needy Lifeline recipients from the internet altogether. “The co-pay requirement would create significant attrition in the program since most subscribers are on plans that provide no-cost service, and many Lifeline subscribers lack bank accounts and access to basic financial services,” Public Knowledge said.

The advocacy group notes that there is no support for the FCC’s plan in the 50-plus dockets filed since the proposal was issued. Meanwhile, dozens of others from veterans, seniors, Tribes, and even the wireless industry have urged it not to implement the proposed items. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted against the bill, put it succinctly. “This is not real reform. This is cruelty,” she said. “It is at odds with our statutory duty. It will do little more than consign too many communities to the wrong side of the digital divide.”

Source: FCC

Watch Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot nail a backflip

We’ve grown accustomed to seeing Boston Dynamics’ impressive line-up of robots strutting about in periodic video updates, each more terrifying than the last. But, every once in a while, the company unleashes a clip so awesome you can’t help but watch. And, so it is with its latest vid starring the humanoid machine known as Atlas. You know, the poor bot that’s been toiling away for years, in between tethered walks and prods from its human trainers. The 5-foot 9-inch robot is currently lighter and more agile than ever (thanks to last year’s upgrade), and now it’s gone all Jackie Chan for a backflip.

Yes, you read right, Atlas can now add somersaults to its arsenal, which also includes, um, walking (very) slowly. The last time we saw the bot it was cautiously navigating tricky terrain, now it’s leaping like it hasn’t a care in the world. Check it out for yourself in the video above. And, when you’ve picked your jaw back up from the floor, watch it again — in slow motion. If robo-Olympics were a thing, we know who’d win gold in gymnastics.

Source: Boston Dynamics (YouTube)

‘Top Gun 3D’ comes with its own virtual movie theater

Paramount has apparently been busy building its own movie theater these past six months — and it’s the kind of you can access anywhere you are, because it exists in virtual reality. According to Deadline, the studio teamed up with cross-platform software Bigscreen and worked with Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Microsoft to create a virtual cinema where it can show its films. They’re launching the theater to the public on December 3rd with a showing of Top Gun 3D.

Unlike other VR movie apps that give you access to a virtual personal theater, the program was created to emulate how it truly feels to go to the movies. After putting on your headset, you’ll have to “walk” into the cinema and find a seat. You can even chat with your seatmates in the virtual audience, and you’ll have to watch trailers on the huge projection screen before the film starts.

Those are what you could expect when you log into Bigscreen’s website on any VR headset on December 3rd. Take note that you can watch Top Gun 3D for free after the initial showing for the next 24 hours, in 30-minute increments. Tom Hayes, Paramount’s SVP of New Media, was the one who came across Bigscreen a year ago and initiated the theater’s development. “It launches a possible new platform for the film business,” he said. “Obviously, you can add all sorts of bonus content with the filmmakers Q&A, games, trivia, for example, afterwards. There’s no limit to what we can do.”

Deadline says Paramount already has a lineup of films to show on its virtual theater next year. While the studio hasn’t released the list yet, they’re most likely older films — one of them could be Terminator 3D — that the company intends to use to gauge people’s interest. If it becomes a hit, it could become more than just a platform for Paramount to show old films and could inspire other studios and video-on-demand services to follow suit.

Via: CNET

Source: Deadline