Ressence made a mechanical watch that pairs with your smartphone

Many hybrid watches only resemble classic timepieces on a superficial level. If you want a watch with a true mechanical movement, you have to forego modern conveniences. Ressence wants to fix that with its newly unveiled Type 2 e-Crown Concept. The watch, designed with the help of Nest co-founder Tony Fadell, only requires conventional setup when you initially set the time. From then on, a paired iPhone app can automatically set the watch to one of two time zones using its namesake e-Crown. If the power reserve runs out or Daylight Savings Time kicks in, you don’t have to use the old-fashioned setting mechanism unless you want to — you just have to tap on the watch face.

The design uses both kinetic and solar power to keep running, and it’ll even automatically open shutters to reveal the solar cells when the battery runs below 50 percent.

You can’t buy this exact watch. As the “concept” name indicates, it’s a technology demonstrator. Ressence does plan a production version of the Type 2 later in 2018, though. And this could represent the future of mechanical watches for the industry at large. Purists may insist on manually winding their watches (and they still can), but these digital elements could make mechanicals more accessible to a generation that has grown up with smartphones. They can enjoy the automatic timekeeping of a smartwatch without having to accept the battery life and style sacrifices that frequently come along for the ride.

Via: Hodinkee

Source: Ressence

Ford’s 2019 Ranger unveiled with automatic emergency brakes

After a few years away (at least in the US) Ford’s midsize truck, the Ranger, will return for the 2019 model year. Just unveiled ahead of the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it’s one of two new models that Ford is releasing that includes automatic emergency braking. Other driver assists like lane keeping and adaptive cruise control are also available, but the one we haven’t seen before is a sort of “cruise control for off-road” called Trail Control. Between 1-20 MPH on rugged terrain, it takes over acceleration and braking individually on each wheel while the driver just steers.

This edition of the “T6” Ranger has been on sale elsewhere in the world since 2011, and arrives with the company’s latest technology inside, like Sync 3 with links to Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa, plus the FordPass Connect WiFi hotspot. Under the hood, there’s a 2.3-liter four-cylinder twin-turbo EcoBoost engine paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. We’ll probably get a better look at this one when the show floor opens Monday morning, so stay tuned for updates.

Source: Ford

Amazon’s ‘Electric Dreams’ anthology arrives on Prime Video

If you blew through all of the latest season of Black Mirror when it came out just before the new year and need your science fiction anthology fix, your ship has come in. Amazon’s new series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is live now with ten episodes to feed your hunger for wild, imaginative stories that question reality and/or humanity.

Of course, the BBC-produced series aired in the UK back in October, so it’s about time it made the jump to the US. (It’s also now live for viewers in Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Spain and Turkey on Amazon, and will air on the Space channel in Canada and Stan channel in Australia). Electric Dreams has an incredible cast (Anna Paquin, Janelle Monáe, Bryan Cranston, Greg Kinnear, Vera Farmiga, Terrence Howard, Benedict Wong, Steve Buscemi and many others) and is executive produced by a similarly-impressive lineup including Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) and Maril Davis (Outlander) along with Cranston (Sneaky Pete).

Major League Soccer and ‘FIFA 18’ announce competitive gaming league eMLS

Major League Soccer is following in the footsteps of the NBA and creating its own eSports league with players from real-life MLS teams. Organized in partnership with EA Sports and FIFA 18, each team will be represented by one gamer who will compete against the other team representatives for an opportunity to play for the eMLS league in the FIFA 18 Global Series Playoff and, ultimately, the FIFA eWorld Cup in 2018.

“We are excited to unveil eMLS,” said Gary Stevenson of MLS in a release announcing the new venture. “This step forward into competitive gaming is a key component in our partnership with EA Sports to promote deeper engagement and connections between MLS supporters and the millions of FIFA players around the world.”

“We’re honored to partner with MLS within the EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series as we continue to help grow competitive gaming and soccer in North America,” added Todd Sitrin of EA. “We engage millions of soccer fans daily through FIFA and attract many more who view our competitions around the world.”

Each of the gamers representing the participating MLS teams will compete at the eMLS Cup at PAX East in Boston this April. Each team will use its own process to select their player.

Fans can follow along with their favorite soccer club as they go through the selection process, possibly including local tournaments, to identify and recruit the best talent in their area.

The 19 participating clubs (out of 23) are the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

It’s unclear whether these players will be paid by their sponsoring team, like they are in the NBA 2K League. An MLS spokesperson told Polygon that teams may elect to have multiple players to represent them, although only one player from each team can compete in eMLS events.

The FIFA eWorld Cup is the culmination of the EA Sports international tournament, and the winner of the eMLS Cup is guaranteed a slot in the Global Series Playoffs in June. MLS also announced that more information on the league structure and individual team player signings will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

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NASA is investigating X-Ray navigation in space

X-rays aren’t just for investigating artworks or photographing black holes. NASA scientists just used them to demonstrate a new technique: Navigating the stars. In an experiment, equipment mounted on the International Space Station measured radiation beamed out from distant neutron stars in millisecond pulses — and by timing their arrival, future spacecraft could find their location from deep space.

Source: NASA

Google’s Project Fi international data service goes down

We hope you weren’t depending on Project Fi to stay in touch while abroad this weekend. Subscribers to Google’s wireless carrier have reported that international data hasn’t been working in many places around the world, including Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India and Japan. Some users have reported temporary success by switching into and out of airplane mode or rebooting their phones, but it hasn’t lasted for longer than 2 minutes.

We’ve asked Google for comment, although its team is already aware of the problem. The outage has lasted for roughly a day as of this writing.

This kind of downtime would be frustrating for anyone, but it’s particularly irksome for Project Fi subscribers. One of the perks of the service is its straightforward, affordable approach to data: you pay the same $10 per 1GB as you do in the US, so you’re not shelling out a small fortune just to share your winter vacation on Instagram. Outages on this scale appear to be few and far between, but that’s not much comfort if you’re traveling and have few options for getting online when you’re away from WiFi.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Reddit

Wake up on time with the best alarm clock apps for Android and iOS

Let’s face it, getting up in the morning is a challenge. If you’re like most people, you’ve already mastered the fine art of hitting the snooze button in your sleep, only to find yourself rushing out the door when you finally do manage to wake up. Luckily, there is no shortage of alarm clock apps for you to try out.

If you have been having trouble waking up to get the day started, here is our selection of the best alarm clock apps available for iPhone and Android devices.

Sleep Cycle

If you’re looking for an app that both tracks your sleep and wakes you up in the morning, Sleep Cycle may be the perfect alarm for you. Sleep Cycle uses your phone’s microphone and accelerometer to track your sleep patterns and uses this data in conjunction with your alarm to gently wake you up in the morning. While awareness of your sleep patterns can help you wake up refreshed in the morning, don’t obsess over it if you oversleep or wake up too early; researchers believe that people who use sleep trackers sometimes have less restful sleep because they worry too much about their sleep patterns.

Sleep Cycle can be a little persnickety; you will need to test placing it in different areas to get the best results. Sleep Cycle does seem to work a little better for solo sleepers because pets and partners can confuse the app. If you like Sleep Cycle, there are many more advanced sleep trackers that you can check out.

Download now for:

Android iPhone

Alarmy

Alarmy has the honor of being voted “world’s most annoying alarm” by users and publications around the world. If you’re the type of person who can wake up to turn off the alarm and immediately fall back asleep, Alarmy may be the perfect alarm clock app for you. Alarmy requires you to complete a certain task to turn off your morning alarm. You can choose from shaking your phone or solving a math problem.  If you really need a jolt out of bed, Alarmy also has a mode that requires you to take a picture of a certain room in your house to disable the alarm.

Download now for:

Android iPhone

Alarm Clock Xtreme

While you’ll find that Alarm Clock Xtreme offers many of the same features as other alarm clock apps, it’s one of the few apps that manages to do them all really well. Alarm Clock Xtreme offers options to gently wake you up with an alarm that becomes increasingly louder. The app also has a math problem feature for those who need a little brain teaser to get out of bed.

The snooze features on Alarm Clock Xtreme, however, are its biggest strengths. Alarm Clock Xtreme offers a choice of snooze methods, including an extra large snooze button, pressing the side buttons, or shaking the device. If you do choose to snooze, however, you can set the app up to decrease the duration of time between snooze taps, so you will be woken up more frequently.

Download now for:

Android

FreakyAlarm

It’s a shame that FreakyAlarm is only available for iPhone because it offers so many awesome features. FreakyAlarm has a relentless notification system with a large catalog of annoying, yet effective alarms. There is also the option that requires you to solve a puzzle to turn off your alarm. And for the truly hard to wake up, you can turn on a FreakyAlarm that will require you to scan the barcodes of certain products if you want to disable the alarm.

iPhone

Walk Me Up!

Sometimes waking up requires more than a jarring alarm. With Walk Me Up! you have to get out of bed and actually walk 15 steps in order to turn off your morning alarm. For those of you who think you’ll be able to fool the app by shaking your phone, Walk Me Up! uses your accelerometer to detect phone shaking and will automatically reset your step count.

While 15 steps may not seem like much, it should be just enough to keep you from hopping back into bed once you turn off the alarm.

Download now for:

Android

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Maingear F131 hands-on review

Research Center:
Maingear F131 (2018)

PC gamers like to show off. That’s why multicolored LEDs, tempered glass windows, and full-loop liquid coolers exist. None of that’s technically required to enjoy games, just as 21-inch chrome rims and a body kit aren’t technically required to motor down the highway. That’s missing the point. Among fans, form itself becomes the function, proving to all the world how much each rig’s owner loves PC hardware and gaming.

That’s why the F131 is sure to turn heads. I saw its press release, reading the long list of predictably incredible specifications — the latest Intel or AMD processors, up to dual Nvidia Titan Xp graphics, and so on. I raised an eyebrow in interest. Then I saw it in person, and I was floored.

Matt Smith/Digital Trends

The first thing I noticed was the F131’s Apex liquid cooling solution. It consists of all the usual pipes, pumps, and radiators, but throws in a massive, transparent reservoir that’s as tall as the PC, and about half a foot wide. Backlit and filled with various dyed liquids – buyers can customize these – it looked gorgeous. Full-loop liquid cooling is always brilliant, but Maingear’s reservoir steals the show. It’s the kind of thing only a serious boutique builder can offer.

That’s not the only way you can trick out your rig. Maingear also came ready to tout its custom, automotive-quality paint. Such extravagance isn’t unusual for a custom gaming rig, but the detail Maingear offers is special. This treatment, called Marc II, lets you pick whatever logo, design, or artwork you’d like, and have it applied as paint to your computer.

The company had a side panel done up with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds art at the show, and I was giddy. I’ve seen plenty of custom paint before, but the fine detail displayed by the Marc II paint couldn’t be ignored. I wanted to sneak the panel home, but it unfortunately wouldn’t fit in my bag.

I should also note the F131 is a fully custom chassis. Origin also debuted a new custom chassis at CES 2018 with its revised Millennium, and Digital Storm showed off its Spark. Admittedly, I like the Millennium best, but the F131 delivers similar hardware in a svelte design, and Maingear’s liquid cooling undeniably looks betters.

Whether it’s easier to service is arguable. The F131 has a smart, clean chassis that, despite its thin size, does little to obstruct the internals. The full-liquid-cooled setup will complicate matters, but that’s true for any PC. The only real complication is Maingear’s decision to turn the video card sideways, placing it on the same plane as the motherboard, just below the motherboard. That might make removing the card more difficult.

You can customize and buy the Maingear F131 now, starting at $1,600 for a Ryzen configuration, or $1,785 for an Intel setup.

New app Zeamo helps users find and access gyms on the fly

For travelers on the go and people with hectic schedules, it’s often next to impossible to find a gym. You’d be lucky to find a working treadmill and some weights in even the better hotels, let alone yoga classes, boxing equipment, or a decent lap pool. Now a new and growing startup called Zeamo wants to fix that problem with an app that allows users to access more than 25,000 gyms on the fly and buy a day pass with the click of a button.

The Zeamo app is the largest search directory of its kind and continues to grow in American cities and urban corridors, as well as in Canada, Europe, and Australia. The app allows users to filter gyms according to their amenity preferences, meaning users can drill down into gyms with pools, saunas, child care, massage, physiotherapy, and even air conditioning. The app then allows users to buy a day pass that is good until midnight of the day it’s activated, and offers the option of buying weekly and monthly passes as well.

The app has come to prominence with the emergence of boutique fitness studios, which don’t require cumbersome memberships, long-term commitments or administrative fees. Zeamo has partnership agreements with more than 500 of these types of gyms including the brands HealthSPORT, Balance, Fitness SF, Active Sports Clubs and Club Metro USA.

The company’s most recent expansion was announced in October 2017, when Zeamo added Boston Sports Clubs and Healthworks. Currently, the New York City-based startup is paired with more than 500 gyms in the United States, and over 100 in international destinations like Dublin, Montreal, London, Munich, and Sydney.

Day passes are understandably diverse, ranging from a base price of $7.50 up to $90 for the exclusive Chuan Spa and Health Club at Chicago’s Langham Hotel. While Zeamo hasn’t negotiated discounted rates for its users, Zeamo enthusiasts can potentially save hundreds of dollars on long-term gym membership fees.

The model smartly targets a number of demographics that have eagerly adopted the new modality. It’s perfect for business travelers, tourists, and seasonal exercisers. The app has also drawn a surprising amount of attention from millennials, a demographic that has widely adopted the so-called “gig economy,” preferring to make lifestyle choices on the fly, rather than plunging into a long-term commitment.

The company turns a year old this month, following a soft release in October 2016. Zeamo is the brainchild of founder and CEO Paul O’Reilly-Hyland, an avid sports enthusiast with deep knowledge of the venture capital market and the technology sector. The founder conceptualized the app when he was training for a triathlon and found it challenging to find a gym with a pool quickly and easily.

Zeamo got another significant boost in May 2017 when the company managed to lure longtime fitness industry executive Mark Smith to not only invest in the company but join as the company’s executive director and member of the board of directors. Smith, hot off a stretch as CEO of 24 Hour Fitness following engagements at Town Sports International and City Fitness in New Zealand, brings a significant network and expertise to the role.

“His knowledge and contacts will help bring us to the next level,” O’Reilly-Hyland said. “He is a proven industry expert and has already demonstrated his commitment and passion.”

Smith also expressed his appreciation for Zeamo’s innovative model and global expansion.

“The digitization of the fitness industry is long overdue, and Zeamo is bringing a smart, succinct user experience to the business which gym owners and consumers are going to appreciate and which our corporate partners are in dire need of,” Smith said.

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The Dell XPS 13 is thinner, and talks to your phone. Here’s how it happened.

Dell went big at CES 2018, announcing a new version of its XPS 13, as well as its first XPS 15 2-in-1. Both are shaping up to be excellent laptops, and they achieve the goal of combining performance with portability through use of advanced design and materials, including Gore fabric. We spoke with Dell’s Justin Lyles, vice president of consumer design, who guided us through the company’s decision-making process. That includes the release of a white chassis that is not only a different color, but also built from different materials than the black, carbon-fiber model.

New hardware was definitely the focus for Dell at this year’s show, but it wasn’t the company’s only new product or feature. It also wants to improve how your computer works alongside your phone. To do that, it introduced Dell Mobile Connect, an application that can display contacts and apps from your Android or iOS device. It can even receive text messages or phone calls from your device, routing them through the laptop’s microphone.

It’s a new level of integration for a Windows PC, one that came as a surprise. Orin Inditzky, Dell’s director of product management for software innovation, walked us through how the feature works, and explained the company’s thought process when putting it together.

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