Need validation in your life? This gleeful clapping robot will provide it

Have you ever looked at those terrifying cymbal-clashing monkey toys and thought, boy, I wish someone would take that same sense of unnerving automaton enthusiasm and update it for the robot-loving 21st century? No? Well, someone’s done it anyway, and the resulting machine will set you back $4,500.

Called Big Clapper, the robot looks faintly like slightly objectionable Pokémon Jynx — only colored bright red, and with plastic hands raised perennially overhead like an overexcited preacher.

If you’re asking what exactly a Big Clapper robot does… well, frankly you’ve come to the right place. According to its Kickstarter blurb, this Japanese robot is designed to “Cheer up and spread happiness to anyone, anytime, anywhere.” It does this by providing a round of applause to accompany your every move, as though you were the funniest character in a sitcom of your life. You can choose between a manual clap mode, a series of pre-set clap patterns, clapping along to your favorite tune, or even turning a recording of your own voice into a series of claps like some kind of nightmarish alien language.

“I focused on clapping,” Masato Takahashi, developer of Big Clapper, told Digital Trends. “Clapping is one of the universal communication [tools]. This is the idea for this robot: Cheer up the world with applause.” Just in case clapping turns out not to be a universal enough communication tool, Big Clapper can also blurt out a range of phrases to suit any occasion, as well as charming onlookers with its “delightfully dapper expression.”

With this combined skillset, the robot’s creators claim that it will soon find a welcome home at a variety of events — including storefronts, birthday parties, social gatherings, offices, and the somewhat broader “anywhere” (although we can’t see it going over too well at the majority of funerals.)

As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the potential risks inherent in crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you simply can’t imagine living the remainder of your life without an effusive robot at your side, head over to the project’s Kickstarter page to pledge your hard-earned cash. As noted, prices start at $4,500, provided that Big Clapper is able to reach its fundraising goal of approximately $100,000. (At the time of publication, only seven people had plonked down their money.)

Shipping is set to take place in March 2019. Clapping will commence immediately after. And never, ever stop again.

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How to turn on Incognito Mode in the YouTube Android app

The more YouTube videos you watch, the more the service understands the type of content you like. Sometimes, you don’t want a particular video to influence your recommendations, which is why YouTube has added an Incognito Mode in the YouTube app for Android.

Here’s what YouTube’s Incognito Mode is, and how to use it.

What does Incognito Mode do?

Like Incognito Mode in the Google Chrome browser, Incognito Mode in the YouTube app lets you to browse in private. Google won’t use videos you watch in Incognito Mode to inform video recommendations, nor will videos watched show up in your search history or watch history. When you close Incognito Mode, all your activity is cleared, and you can return to browsing YouTube through your Google account.

When you open Incognito Mode, you may see recommendations for videos that don’t interest you. That’s because when you’re in Incognito Mode, Google doesn’t use previous search data to inform recommendations — it’s showing videos that are trending that day. In other words, using Incognito Mode is like using YouTube without being logged in at all.

This feature isn’t just handy when you don’t want a particular subject topic crowding your video recommendations, but also when you hand the phone to a child to let them watch YouTube videos on your phone. That way, you won’t have cartoons popping up on your feed.

How to turn on YouTube’s Incognito Mode

Activating and de-activating YouTube’s Incognito Mode is very easy.

Make sure you have the latest version of the YouTube app by opening the Google Play Store, tapping the hamburger menu icon on the top left, tapping My apps & games, and then tapping either Update All or Update next to the YouTube app.
Open the YouTube app.
Tap on your account profile picture on the top right of the screen.
Tap Turn on Incognito.

You should now be able to browse in Incognito Mode. When you’re done browsing and want to return to your account, tap on your account profile picture again and tap Turn off Incognito.

The feature is currently unavailable on iOS, but it may likely come soon.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Tired of the same Snapchat lenses? Lens Explorer simplifies finding new lenses

Snapchat

Thanks to Lens Studio, Snapchat now has more than 100,000 different lenses. Thanks to Lens Explorer, you will soon be able to use them. On Tuesday, July 10, Snapchat announced Lens Explorer, a new home for user-made lenses that allows users to find new lenses to add to the Lens carousel.

Lens Studio isn’t quite a year old yet, but the platform allows designers to make their own Snapchat Lens, then share the lens with a Snapcode. With the Lens Explore, those lenses will be available without scanning a code. The section will first be organized with public Stories for Lens inspiration. The next part of the new Lens Explore allows users to browse through different community lenses, while the new tool also has a search bar at the top.

With easy access to thousands of lenses, Lens Explorer will likely help make your Snapchats look less like everyone else’s by expanding beyond the tried-and-true puppy dog face and glasses. Snapchat doesn’t say how many lenses are inside the new Explorer, but Lens Studio has resulted in more than 100,000 lenses and the Explorer will contain the lenses that are marked as Community Lenses for sharing.

Snapchat hasn’t said exactly when Lens Explorer will roll out, but the company says the feature is headed to iOS users first.

How to download new Snapchat lenses

Once the feature is live, downloading a new Snapchat lens will be easier than scanning a physical snap code. After updating the app once the feature is out, opening the lens carousel from the Snapchat camera will also bring up a new icon at the upper right of the screen. Tapping that smiley face icon will open the Lens Explorer.

Once inside the Lens Explorer, accessing a new lens is easy. Tap on a lens you like, then Snapchat will take you right back to the camera, with that new Lens ready. Or, if you see a Lens you like inside the Community Lens Stories section, swipe up on the photo or video using that lens to add the Lens to your own carousel.

Snapchat users will have to wait for the update to roll out live, but once the app updates, the tool will likely make finding the right lens for the snap simpler.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Yale scientists edit genetic diseases out of mice before birth, humans are next

Gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to astonishing, potential life-altering effect, such as one demonstration involving a possible treatment for ALS. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University have now made a significant breakthrough in the technology’s usefulness — by demonstrating how gene editing can be used to treat genetic conditions during fetal development.

While so far it has only been showcased in an experiment with mice, in the future it could help treat the millions of children who are born each year with severe genetic disorders or birth defects. At present, some of these genetic conditions can be detected during pregnancy, although they cannot be corrected during fetal development.

“This is the first description of a genetic disease corrected by gene editing delivered to a developing mammalian fetus,” David Stitelman, assistant professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, told Digital Trends. “The gene editing reagents are in the form of peptide nucleic acids called PNA, which bind chromosomal DNA in a specific manner. The PNAs are designed to bind just upstream or downstream to a disease-causing mutation. The cell’s own editing machinery detects where the PNA has bound the chromosome and removes that segment.”

In their study, the researchers used the technique to correct 6 percent of the mutations in the gene causing beta thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. Just one injection of the PNA complex into the amniotic fluid of pregnant mice caused dramatic improvements in their affected offspring. These improvements were significant enough that the mice were functionally cured of the disease.

“This work can be translated in human patients clinically,” Stitelman continued. “This approach could be used for most diseases where a known genetic mutation causes the disease. Many of these diseases are devastating and currently without cure. Our approach corrects the disease at the most fundamental level and in the most rational way. At this point, there are about 6,000 diseases that fit that description that impact about one in 200 babies.”

Possible diseases the work could help treat include neurologic diseases like Tay Sachs disease or spinal muscular atrophy, blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and hemophilia, muscle diseases like muscular dystrophy, and diseases of the airway and intestinal tract including cystic fibrosis.

“We are [now] using this technology in other mouse models of human genetic disease,” Stitelman said. “We are continually optimizing the PNA/DNA editing reagents and the nanoparticles that encapsulate those agents. For future translation, we need to determine safety and efficacy in larger animals before applying this technology clinically.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in Nature Communications.

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Microsoft’s Surface Mobile Mouse is the ideal companion for your Surface Go

Along with introducing the $399 Surface Go on Monday, Microsoft revealed a new Surface Mobile Mouse you can pre-purchase now for $35. The upcoming peripheral will ship on August 2 in platinum, burgundy, and cobalt blue colors, matching the palette coloring the new Surface Go Signature Type Covers, the Surface Pro Signature Type Covers, and the Surface Pens.

The new Surface-branded peripheral is extremely compact, measuring 1.01 inches at its tallest peak. It’s minimalistic in nature, sporting left- and right-click buttons, a mouse wheel, and a power button that also serves as a pairing button for connecting the mouse to your Surface device. It only connects via Bluetooth so you’re not dealing with annoying wires and dongles.

“New Surface Mobile Mouse features a smooth, sculpted design with a redesigned wheel that fits comfortably in your hand and supports smooth, natural scrolling,” the company says. “What’s more, it works on virtually any surface thanks to built-in BlueTrack technology.”

Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology relies on a blue light source that provides a higher contrast of the surface image, and is four times larger than your typical red LED on other mice. This method is supposedly similar to using ultraviolet light to illuminate details unseen in normal lighting conditions. Backing the blue beam is a high-angle “specular” optic sensor that captures an exact replica of the surface versus blurry images captured by other mice.

Thus, given the mobility-first aspect of the new Surface Go, Microsoft’s new Surface Mobile Mouse is the perfect fit, capable of correctly tracking on most if not all non-liquid surfaces. Customizable features include adjusting the X/Y resolution, reassigning the wheel button, swapping the left- and right-click buttons, and customizing the wheel speed. The mouse requires two AAA batteries that will last up to 12 months of “typical usage.”

Along with the new Surface Mobile Mouse is Microsoft’s new Surface Go Signature Type Cover for $129. Sold in the same three colors along with a fourth black option, it provides a full mechanical keyboard with backlit keys that connects to the Surface Go’s magnetic Type Cover port. It measures just 9.65 inches wide and includes a mechanical click pad.

If you missed the Surface Go announcement, it’s a 10-inch tablet powered by Intel’s seventh-generation Pentium Gold 4415Y processor and Windows 10 in S Mode. For $399, the device ships with 4GB of system memory and 64GB of storage (eMMC). If you need more, there is a $549 model with 8GB of system memory and 128GB of storage (SSD).

According to the specifications, the screen sports an 1,800 x 1,200 resolution, 10-point touch input, a 3:2 aspect ratio, and a 1,500:1 contrast ratio. Other Surface Go ingredients include a 5MP camera on the front, an 8MP camera on the back, a headphone jack, a Micro SD card slot, a headphone jack, one USB-C port, Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, and more.

An LTE version of the Surface Go will be made available later this year.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Best Car Chargers for Samsung Galaxy S9

Never run out of battery while you’re on the go!

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is designed to let you do more — as long as your battery doesn’t run out!

With USB-C and wireless charging capabilities, there’s more than one way to keep your Galaxy S9 topped up while in the car. Make sure you arrive at the party with a fully charged phone by getting a car charging accessory for your new phone.

• Aukey Quick Charge 3.0
• Spigen 30W
• iOttie Easy One-Touch 4 QI Wireless Charging Mount

Aukey Car Charger with 5V/3A USB-C and Quick Charge 3.0 USB-A

Aukey makes two slightly different versions of its car charger, and you have to look at the details to tell which one you’re getting — the quickest way to tell is that this model has Quick Charge 3.0 branding. The rest of the casing is the same, which is to say it’s compact and doesn’t stand out.

This version of the charger has a USB-C port with 15W of output, which will charge up your Galaxy S9 or S9+ extremely quickly, nearly on par with a wall charger. In addition, the USB-A port below it has Quick Charge 3.0, which will charge the Galaxy S9 or other modern Android phones extremely fast, just as they would from a wall charger.

With charging speeds on both ports that can fill up your Galaxy S9 at the maximum rate, this charger makes it easy for you and your passenger to charge up with whichever cable they need. And it costs just $16.

See at Amazon

Spigen 30W Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB-A car charger

Spigen is a popular brand in smartphone accessories, and its dual USB car charger is a high-quality part that won’t overheat your Galaxy S9 or S9+. While it’s not USB-C PD compliant since it uses USB-A, it supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which still offers max charging speeds for Galaxys and can also charge up most other Android phones at their fastest rate.

The beauty of the Spigen charger is that it supports a total of 30W between the two ports, so even with two phones plugged in they’ll both charge up at the maximum rate. The best part? It’s only $10 — for some people, that’s worth giving up a USB-C port for.

See at Amazon

iOttie Easy One-Touch 4 QI Wireless Charging Mount

The Galaxy S9 allows for wireless charging, so why not take advantage of that fact while charging your phone in your car?

This car mount from iOttie is one of the best I’ve tested, and worked quite well — even with a case on. It includes a 12V adapter with a hardwired cable for supplying power to the mount that includes a secondary USB port for charging an additional device the wired way.

With a telescopic arm and mounting options for the dash or windshield, this is a very versatile car mount that will charge your Galaxy S9 as you drive. The $50 price tag is worth it if you need a mount and a charger.

See at Amazon

What car accessories do you trust?

These are our top pics, but we want to know which car chargers you trust. Let us know in the comments!

Updated July 2018: The list now includes great Aukey and Spigen options, which can both charge up your Galaxy S9 and another device at two different price points. The iOttie wireless charging mount remains as a great combination of phone holder and charger.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
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• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

The Best Non-Amazon Deals on Prime Day from Best Buy, Dell, eBay

Amazon’s Prime Day is right around the corner, but Amazon isn’t the only place to go for deals this summer. Retailers know they have to put in an effort if they want your attention over Amazon, so the deals are coming in fast and strong this year. As Amazon’s Prime Day grows, so does the competition, and that only means good things for you. If you are not a Prime member, are looking for deals that Amazon doesn’t cover (like Google devices), or just want some alternatives, we’ve got you covered with these sales from non-Amazon retailers.

Best Buy

In the online marketplace where electronics are concerned, Best Buy is probably Amazon’s biggest competitor. Not only does Best Buy do regular holiday sales and daily deals, it also has a huge eBay store, an advanced Rewards program, student discounts Amazon doesn’t offer, and more.

In recent years, Best Buy has competed toe-to-toe with Amazon’s July sales event by hosting one of their own called “Black Friday in July.” Few other retailers can compete with the deals Best Buy usually has on Apple products, including the iPad and MacBook lines, and you cannot get Google products like the Nest or Google Home on Amazon either. This will be the sales event for products like that, along with televisions, gaming consoles, smart home products, and more.

Dell

Of all the non-Amazon retailers, Dell seems to be going the most all-in on this “Black Friday in July” idea right now. The Dell website has deals all throughout the month, including daily doorbusters and a week for Cyber Monday in July. The theme is very reminiscent of the real Black Friday, and we’ve seen some great deals on the XPS lineup, Logitech speakers like the UE Boom 2, and more. If you’re strictly looking for electronics, especially if you’re in the market for a Windows laptop or pre-built desktop, Dell’s deals are a must-see.

eBay

We are no stranger to eBay sales. They have regular promo codes, daily deals, and huge sale events going on all the time. Since March we’ve seen a recurring pattern of one-day sales where eBay will offer 20% off with a code that’s site-wide, follow it up a week or two later with a 15% off code that’s also site-wide, and then do a few targeted promo codes on select items from select sellers. For Prime Day, you can expect to see at least one of these types of sales, and we’re banking on a 20% off code.

There are markets where eBay is generally a better place to go than Amazon, such as third-party sellers and even product categories like PC parts, so if you’re looking for something specific you could save more by shopping on eBay. Remember most major retailers have eBay storefronts, including Best Buy, Newegg, BuyDig, and others, which makes it a great place to shop when you can get a discount on everything.

While eBay hasn’t announced exactly what’s going to be on sale, there will be eBay exclusive deals available here the week of July 16, which is the same time as Prime Day. Plus, eBay has a Best Price Guarantee that will match a price found on a competing website for 110%, which means you could save money on items Amazon has discounted by going through eBay instead.

Newegg

Newegg is a huge competitor to Amazon for online tech, especially when it comes to laptops, desktops, and internal computer components like motherboards and graphics cards. Newegg plans to have a huge four-day sale on electronics starting July 16 (what a coincidence!), and there will be sales starting July 11 leading up to the big day. The early days will feature products from different brands (July 11 is Rosewill), but the big one is July 13 when you can get a $20 Newegg gift card when you buy a $150 gift card. If you’re planning to shop on Newegg when the giant sales drop July 16, get ready for that deal on July 13. The four-day sale will feature everything from Acer laptops to $50 off GTX 1080Ti graphics cards to sales on solid state drives.

Google Express

Through July 17, you can use the code EXTRA25 at Google Express to take 25% off a lot of the gear sold there. There have been some big items going for low prices, including the Nintendo Switch, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones, Nest Hello video doorbell, and more. Google Express uses local retailers, however, so you’ll need to live near a store that has that product in stock to get the deal. Fry’s Electronics is on Google Express, but there are only a dozen of those stores around the country so you wouldn’t be able to get those deals if you don’t live nearby.

Prime Day is a huge event not just for Amazon but for everyone on the Internet. Whether you stick to the Prime Day sales or shop at one of the above retailers, our team at Thrifter will have you covered on everything. Follow Thrifter on Twitter and sign-up for the Prime Day newsletter to stay on top of everything happening this July.

Dash buttons, Pelican cases, Orbi mesh systems, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on Amazon’s Dash Buttons, Samsung wireless charging pads, Pelican hard cases, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

NVIDIA Shield TV vs. Apple TV 4K: The CordCutters.com comparison

Best of the best: Apple TV 4K goes up against NVIDIA Shield TV at CordCutters.com.

Wherein the two best streaming video boxes you can buy go head to head.

One of the biggest questions folks have before cutting the cord and moving to an all-streaming video solution is hardware. Not just about which box is the best to buy, but why you should buy one over the other. And if you ask us, we’ll tell you the two best boxes you can buy are these you see before you here — Apple TV 4K, and NVIDIA Shield TV.

Both are the purpose-driven devices for their respective platforms’ TV ambitions. Both are powerful as hell. And ya know what? Both largely do the same things, in the same ways.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t diverge, though. There’s a lot to like about each, and each has a leg up over the other in several different ways. Only one thing to do:

Read at CordCutters.com: NVIDIA Shield TV vs. Apple TV 4K

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New logo confirms Samsung’s next smartwatch will be called ‘Galaxy Watch’

Is anyone really surprised by this?

On Friday, June 6, a report popped up claiming that Samsung’s next smartwatch will ditch the Gear branding and instead be called the Galaxy Watch. Now, a new logo’s appeared that all but confirms this.

As spotted by GalaxyClub, the below logo recently went through the Korean Intellectual Property Office. As you can see, it shows the Galaxy Watch branding in Samsung’s iconic font that’s used for all of its other mobile products.

Aside from that, however, this logo doesn’t tell us much else.

There’s currently some speculation that the Galaxy Watch will run Google’s Wear OS instead of Samsung’s Tizen, but conflicting reports about this leave us unsure if this is something that’ll actually come to fruition.

Along with that, the Galaxy Watch is also expected to come with a 470 mAh battery, blood pressure measurement system, and some sort of “new UX interaction.”

Best Smartwatches for Fitness in 2018