Why wait? Here are 10 new gadgets from CES 2018 that you can buy right now

Generally speaking, all the gear and gadgetry that is unveiled at CES every year is just a preview. Most stuff doesn’t hit the market for a couple months — and that’s if we’re lucky. It’s far more likely that the amazing gizmo you saw on the show floor will either hit the market in the year’s fourth quarter or never even make it past production. But there are always exceptions to that rule. Each year, there is a small handful of stuff that you can buy right after it’s unveiled in Las Vegas — and lucky for you, we went ahead and rounded up all that stuff. Here is the best CES 2018 tech you can buy right now.

Facebook and YouTube are removing ‘Tide Pod Challenge’ videos

In the year 2018, nobody expected human society would need an intervention to stop people from eating (drinking?) laundry detergent. And yet, actual thinking people are recording themselves consuming Tide Pods, which inspires others to follow suit on camera, begetting an endless cycle of Darwinian consequences. According to CNN, YouTube and Facebook have committed to taking down this content, proving so many critics of the internet right.

Normally, it’s only small infants who mistake the detergent-filled pods for candy or whatever and chow down on the brightly-colored cleaning bombs. But thanks to the #TidePodChallenge, a colossal flow of idiots have willingly ingested these toxic unedibles because someone on the internet passively dared everyone to do it. Now it’s a public health issue that might become an actual crisis, because apparently an unaddressed opioid epidemic isn’t catastrophic enough.

It’s gotten so bad that in the first 15 days of 2018, the American Association of Poison Control Centers received as many calls about intentional consumption of laundry pods as it did in the entirety of 2016, according to CNN. Tide had to hastily shoot and upload a video where The Gronk of the New England Patriots tells the world not to eat the pods.

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else.

Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ

— Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

Facebook will remove #TidePodChallenge content from its site and Instagram. In addition to taking down the videos, Google will give anyone who posts footage of anyone eating Tide Pods a strike on their channels for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines, which were already there, and content uploaders should’ve known better. (News reports mentioning the Tide Pod Challenge are fine, however.)

“YouTube’s Community Guidelines prohibit content that’s intended to encourage dangerous activities that have an inherent risk of physical harm. We work to quickly remove flagged videos that violate our policies,” a YouTube spokesperson told Engadget.

Source: CNN

Snap announces more layoffs amid content struggles

Snap has just laid off 22 employees, a sign that the company is continuing to struggle with slow user growth. The staff cuts affected teams across the company, but the content team was particularly hard hit. According to The Information, Snap’s content team has now consolidated operations in its Venice Beach, CA location, when it was previously headquartered in both Venice as well as New York City.

While Snap has been heavily investing in original content and Snapchat shows, there’s a high level uncertainty around how successful they actually are. NBC Universal claims its Stay Tuned show has over 29 million viewers The Rundown from the E! Entertainment Network makes over a $1 million in revenue from the app, but it’s difficult to verify these numbers, as Snapchat doesn’t disclose metrics and monthly active users. CNN, for example, has killed its Snapchat show because “there wasn’t a clear enough path to make money.”

Snap has been struggling in other areas too. It’s had to reshuffle its hardware plans as Spectacles wasn’t the success the company thought it would be, and it’s also planning a big app redesign to attract more users. The redesign is said to emphasize user-based content over branded ones, and will split your friends’ messages and stories into different sections.

According to a memo leaked to Cheddar, CEO Evan Spiegel said: “The journey is long, the work is hard, but we have and we will consistently, systematically, out-innovate our competitors with substantially few resources and in far less time.”

Source: Cheddar

Facebook taps Jada Pinkett Smith for new talk show series

Facebook has been pushing into original television for a little while now. It launched the Watch section as a platform for TV shows last year, and has since teamed up with the creators of True Blood for a new drama called Sacred Lies. Now the company is apparently set to bring Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris to a new talkshow that will deal with social and other timely issues.

According to Deadline, the intergenerational family talk show will be executive produced by Ellen Rakieten, Miguel Melendez and Pinkett Smith herself. It appears to be a follow up to 2012 YouTube channel called Red Table Talks, which brought the three women together to talk about “love, life, fame and family.”

Source: Deadline

FCC admits mobile internet is a poor broadband replacement

As dictated by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC released its annual draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report on Wednesday. In it, the commission made a surprising concession: that no, mobile data and wired broadband are not in fact suitable replacements for one another. This admission comes only a few months after FCC chair, Ajit Pai, filed a “Notice of Inquiry” ahead of proposing that mobile be counted as a form of broadband. Doing so, opponents warned at the time, would disproportionately harm poor and rural communities.

In the 2018 report, Pai’s office concedes that “Mobile services are not full substitutes for fixed services — there are salient differences between the two technologies.” Beyond the obvious difference that only one of the technologies is, you know, mobile the report points out that “there are clear variations in consumer preferences and demands for fixed and mobile services.” In this context, what constitutes broadband is benchmarked by the 25/3 rule — that is, speeds have to hit 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.

As a result of that admission, the draft report urges that the commission evaluate the progress in deploying both mobile internet and fixed broadband services. However, in the very next breath the report states that it “takes a holistic view of the market and examines whether we are both making progress in deploying fixed broadband service and making progress in deploying mobile broadband service.” Which sounds a whole lot like the FCC is still trying to treat mobile and broadband as one and the same, at least in how it measures deployment rates.

The rest of the report laid out the FCC’s efforts to promote broadband deployment as required by the law, with no small amount of self-congratulation about voting to overturn Net Neutrality protections, before declaring that the commission “is now meeting its statutory mandate to encourage the deployment of broadband on a reasonable and timely basis.”

Pai even managed to sneak in some spurious claims about deployment slowing under the neutrality rules. “The draft report indicates that the pace of both fixed and mobile broadband deployment declined dramatically in the two years following the prior Commission’s Title II Order,” he wrote in his Chairman’s statement.

Mignon L. Clyburn, the same FCC Commissioner who was having none of Pai’s shenanigans during the initial net neutrality debates, offered a dissenting opinion:

By the FCC’s own admission, over 24 million Americans are still without high-speed broadband access where they live. For years telecom companies and government officials have promised Americans that “soon” they will have affordable, high-speed broadband. Yet millions continue to wait, hoping that this vital connection will bring economic development and prosperity to their community. I met many of these individuals during my travels around the country, including last summer in Marietta, Ohio.

So how can this agency now claim that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion? Only by repeating the majority’s tired and debunked claims that broadband investment and innovation screeched to a halt in 2015. While my initial review of Chairman Pai’s draft report raises serious concerns, I acknowledge that it addresses one of my concerns by now correctly concluding that mobile and fixed connectivity are not substitutes. I look forward to carefully reviewing the findings presented in the draft report.

Source: FCC, FCC

‘Battlefield 1’ DLC adds aerial-only battles and more next month

DICE and EA have shared much more of what Battlefield 1’s new “Apocalypse” DLC entails, and it’s good news if you prefer to be a fighter ace than fight in the trenches. The expansion arrives in February, and its highlight is a new Air Assault mode where dogfights and airships rule. Appropriately, there are two air-only maps (London Calling and Razor’s Edge). Think of it as you would the Starfighter Assault mode in Battlefront II — it’s about scratching the itch for players who jump into vehicles at every given opportunity.

The add-on also brings a counter to those aircraft in conventional modes (the AA Rocket Gun) and a slew of new maps built around more of World War I’s larger battles, such as Passchendaele, the Somme and Caporetto. Six more guns and two new aircraft also promise to add some variety.

You’ll need a Premium Pass to see what “Apocalypse” entails. That’s a bit of a pain when some of Battlefield 1’s extras have been available for free, but this definitely isn’t a small addition. If you play regularly but thought things were getting stale, this could keep it fresh for a while longer.

Source: Battlefield

Apple Debuts Redesigned Web Interface for iOS and Mac Apps

Apple recently introduced an all new design for App Store apps on the web, with a new, cleaner interface that puts screenshots and critical information front and center.

You can see the new redesigned interface by accessing or searching for any iOS or Mac app while on the web. With iOS apps, you’ll see a clear notice that you need to open up the App Store to download the app, while with a Mac app, you’ll get a notice letting you know you need to open up the Mac App Store.

App listings include the app’s name, icon, and screenshots, along with information like star rating, ranking, purchase price and whether or not there are in-app purchases.

While an app’s description used to be the first thing that came up when accessing an app on the web, it’s now listed underneath screenshots, which, as 9to5Mac points out, are iPhone X screenshots. App Store webpages also include a listing of what’s new, select reviews, app size, and a list of related apps.

The change to the way apps are displayed on the web comes following the launch of iTunes 12.7, which entirely eliminated the built-in App Store for iOS apps. With no App Store in iTunes, iOS apps can only be downloaded directly on an iPhone or iPad, rather than downloaded on a Mac and then transferred to an iOS device.

When making the change, Apple didn’t really alter the way apps were displayed on the web, which had the potential to be confusing. The new look is much more streamlined and makes it clearer how apps can be downloaded on an iOS device.

Because of the elimination of the App Store in iTunes 12.7, some users have decided to continue using iTunes 12.6.3, which does include App Store functionality. Apple made iTunes 12.6.3 available for its educational and business customers who need iTunes to install apps, but it is also available to the general public.

Tag: App Store
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Wirecutter’s best deals: It’s a good day for fitness and outdoors gear

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

Yi 4K Action Camera + Waterproof Case

Street Price: $200; Deal Price: $153

Clip the on-page coupon to get 10% off our budget action cam, the Yi 4K Action Camera (in Night Black) with an included waterproof case, dropping the price of this bundle from $170 to $153. While we saw this action camera lower during Black Friday/Cyber Monday, this is still a great price for it. The street price of this action camera and case has been around $200, but we’ve seen a number of recent discounts on both the cam and cam/case bundle. Right now, with the applied coupon, it’s actually less expensive to buy this bundle than it is to buy the camera alone. Shipping is free with Amazon Prime.

The Yi 4K Action Camera is the budget pick in our guide to the best action camera. Ben Keough wrote, “The Yi 4K Action Camera’s surprisingly low price and newness to the market might scare some buyers away, but they’d be missing out on a great deal. This camera delivers competitively crisp 4K footage and includes all the same resolution and frame-rate options as the Hero5 Black, along with a well-designed touchscreen interface and a slick mobile app. However, Yi cut a few corners to keep costs down: A waterproof housing will cost you extra, and when the camera is inside the housing, you can’t use that beautiful touchscreen—you’ll need to use your phone to change settings.”

Coleman Sundome 6 Tent

Street Price: $95; Deal Price: $73

If you’re in the market for a tent for occasional use in decent weather, the Coleman Sundome 6 is a great option. We’ve commended its value at a sub-$100 price, but it’s now cheaper than we’ve ever seen it at $73. Only the navy color is available at that price, but the green is available for just $6 more if you have a strong color preference. Grab this while available as this is part of a sale on a selection of Coleman items and it’s unlikely to last.

The Coleman Sundome 6 is our budget pick in our guide to the best tent for family and car camping. Kalee Thompson wrote, “The Coleman Sundome feels smaller than and uses inferior materials to our favorite Eureka Copper Canyon 6 tent. But its square footprint, ample windows, and functional fly make it a good choice for occasional campers who want an inexpensive tent that’s easy to put up and looks and feels reasonably nice to camp in.”

Royal Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mat 20″ x 39″

Street Price: $40; Deal Price: $32

The jet black, burgundy and caramel brown colors of the Royal Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mat in the 20″ x 39″ size are all down to a nice price of $32. The sand beige color is a few dollars cheaper at $29. The street price of this mat has traditionally hovered around $40 but has varied a little depending on the color, and while we have seen a low of $31 for the colors now at $32, we’ve never seen lower than the $29 price. This deal likely won’t last long, so if you’re in the market for a budget standing mat, consider getting one soon.

The Royal Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mat is the budget pick in our guide to the best standing mats. Kevin Purdy wrote, “If you want to spend less because you stand infrequently or in shorter rotations, or you’re using a standing mat for other short tasks in the kitchen or laundry room, we recommend the Royal Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mat. Of the sub-$50 mats we tested, the Royal provides the most similar pressure-relieving, heel-supporting feel to the Imprint CumulusPro. Though the Royal’s narrow shape doesn’t provide as much standing depth as either of our other picks, it allows office chairs to roll deeper underneath a desk than most standing mats.”

Garmin Vívosmart HR+ Fitness Tracker – (Refurbished)

Street Price: $80; Deal Price: $65

This refurbished model of the Garmin Vívosmart HR+ is on sale for $65. It’s a new low price for this fitness tracker (our former top pick) in refurbished condition, beating our previous low of $70. Although $65 isn’t a huge discount from it’s street price of $80 for a refurb, a new Garmin Vívosmart HR+ still has a street price of about $120. This refurb comes with a 1-year factory warranty and free shipping. The sale ends January 25.

The Garmin Vívosmart HR+ is the previous top pick that we still speak well of in our guide to the best fitness trackers. Amy Roberts wrote, “The Vívosmart HR+ has everything you’d expect from a good tracker but adds onboard GPS tracking and activity auto-detection, both of which performed above average in our tests. It still includes all the standard fitness tracker functions we’ve come to expect: step and stair counting, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep statistics. But its long battery life (4 to 5 days without GPS) and full waterproofing (down to 50 meters) give it an edge. It will stay charged almost four days longer than the Gear Fit2 if you don’t use the GPS, and unlike most Fitbits and the Samsung, you can wear it in the shower after your workout.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

NASA tests small nuclear reactor that could power a habitat on Mars

Everyone from Elon Musk to Donald Trump wants to send a manned mission to Mars in the not too distant future, but there are quite a few problems that need to be solved before we can achieve that goal. A major one is the issue of energy. Long-term stays on Mars, or anywhere else for that matter, will require lots of energy, as will the trip back to Earth. However, loading a rocket up with all of the necessary fuel won’t work — we would need too much. So a way to create fuel on the go is a must and researchers at NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy announced today that they’ve conducted successful tests of a system that can do just that.

Kilopower is a small nuclear reactor that can generate a reliable power supply. Versions range from 1 kilowatt — enough to power a basic toaster — to ten kilowatts and Kilopower project researchers said in a Space.com article that around four or five of the latter would be needed to power a habitat on Mars. “Kilopower’s compact size and robustness allows us to deliver multiple units on a single lander to the surface that provides tens of kilowatts of power,” Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said during a press conference today.

Testing of the Kilopower system has gone smoothly so far and in March, the team plans to conduct a full-power test. To hear more about how Kilopower works, check out the video below.

Via: Reuters

How to appear offline on Xbox One

We’ve all been there — after a long day at work, you come home to relax with a game on your Xbox One or Xbox One X, only to receive notification after notification from players looking to chat or have you join their party. Xbox Live enables players from around the world to communicate, but that isn’t always what we want to do when we use the console. For those of us who wish to play games undisturbed, the Xbox One has a few different settings that allow you to avoid getting pestered, even when you’re connected to Xbox Live. We have everything you need to know about how to appear offline on Xbox One.

Method 1: Appear offline to everyone

If you want to appear offline to everyone, including any friends, you can do so in just a few steps. Once you signed into Xbox Live, hit the Xbox button on your controller to be taken to the quick menu.

Next, scroll all the way to the left until you highlight and select your profile image. Click it, and you will see a drop-down menu with a few different options — select “appear offline” and you’re ready to game without distractions!

Alternatively, you can also change your online status by going to your full profile. From here, the menu in the top-right corner will give you the option to appear offline. You will also see another option here labeled “privacy settings.” That is where the next method comes into play …

Method 2: Customize your online status

Want to appear online to your friends, but not to random strangers? You can affect who sees your online status by changing the privacy settings for your Microsoft account. Go to your Xbox One settings and you will find the “account” option on the menu to the left. Once you select that, choose the “privacy & online safety” tile from the menu to the right.

Next, you will be taken to a page with a few preset privacy options for different types of players. The “adult defaults” option will automatically make your online status viewable to all users, regardless of whether or not they are your friends. The “teen defaults” and “child default” options limit online status to friends. These choices come with additional restrictions around viewing mature content online, though, so we suggest choosing the “custom” option if you are just looking to keep the noise down.

Once you’ve chosen “custom,” select “view details & customize” to be taken to the “online status & history” page. From here, hit the drop-down menu under the “others can see if you’re online” option. You have the choice to allow everyone to see, just your friends, and no one at all, if you’re a complete hermit. This page also gives you the option to change who can see what you’re watching or listening to but those who can’t see your online status will not be able to see these activities.

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