All posts tagged: gadget

Meta wants your next gadget to be Muse-infused

Meta wants your next gadget to be Muse-infused

Published by skeptic

Meta’s Muse, a personal AI agent that books travel, fills out forms, and shops on a user’s behalf, has already proven popular with the masses, but a new side project could be particularly alluring to tinkerers and hackers. On Friday, the company introduced Muse Gadgets, an open-source project that lets developers build their own hardware that connects to Muse. Meta is providing open-source firmware (the low-level software that runs a device), and a Linux software development kit (SDK), along with a few project ideas to get users started. These include giving Muse a color e-ink display or loading it onto a stick that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port. There don’t appear to be many limits, either. Users can set up a low-cost hobbyist computer like a Raspberry Pi or an off-the-shelf ESP32 board, and then connect Muse “to your displays, buttons, sensors, actuators, and whatever else you’ve got lying on your workbench,” Meta notes. The company has also set up a Discord channel to support users. Meta has already tried the code itself, naturally. …

8 at-home skin tools we genuinely rate – including a celeb-approved firming gadget

8 at-home skin tools we genuinely rate – including a celeb-approved firming gadget

Published by Daniella Wilson

While we’d love to book in a professional appointment every week, in reality, we only make it to the clinic once every few months. Luckily, at-home tech has come on in leaps and bounds since the best at-home facial available was a steamer we found in the pages of the Argos catalogue. While we won’t promise clinic-worthy results from an at-home device, these are ideal for maintenance in between your appointments. Add them to your Christmas list, ready for fresh skin in the near year. Give facial contours a lift with this nifty device. Targeted EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) gives gravity a run for its money, while low-level microcurrents help to boost collagen for a polished glow. Loved by Kimberley Walsh, just three minutes per day with this is enough to firm, tone and revive tired skin. It’s no surprise it works so fast when you consider it uses seven technologies: RF Radio Frequency, EMS, ultrasound, electroporation, galvanic ion, LED light therapy and 3D vibration massage. They all come together to address fine lines, jowls, …

The DJI Mini 5 Pro gets a rare price cut at Amazon — save over 0 this weekend

The DJI Mini 5 Pro gets a rare price cut at Amazon — save over $500 this weekend

Published by skeptic

TL;DR: As of Sept 19, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo on available for $1,049 at Amazon. That’s a drop from the regular list price of $1,599. $1,049 at Amazon $1,599 Save $550   There’s a reason we like to keep an eye on DJI drone prices. They are hugely popular with content creators, which is reflected in the often sky-high prices. In other words, DJI drones are just about the best you can buy, and consequently, they don’t come cheap.  Among the brand’s most popular drones is the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly, which is great for beginners and advanced users alike. This drone has sat at $1,599 for most of its life but occasionally swoops down to somewhere around the $1,000 mark. And when it does happen, that’s the moment to strike and land a rare bargain. As of Sept. 19, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is priced at $1,049 at Amazon. That’s a $550 saving on the regular list price. So if you’re interested in buying this …

Sliding Homemade Pizza Into a Hot Oven Isn’t Easy. This Gadget Is Meant to Help

Sliding Homemade Pizza Into a Hot Oven Isn’t Easy. This $26 Gadget Is Meant to Help

Published by skeptic

If you have cursed in the vicinity of your phone while trying to launch a pizza into your pizza oven without inadvertently creating a calzone, chances are even better that Big Internet Brother has targeted you for a sliding pizza peel. If, after dozens of practice launches, you haven’t mastered the art of the traditional wood or perforated metal pizza peel, even with all-powerful semolina flour gliders, you may be very tempted by the ease promised by such a tool as a sliding pizza peel. The Best Pizza Ovens, Tested by CNET But is it worth it? Or is it just the Temu-niverse capitalizing on your desire for a homemade pizza that doesn’t come with a side of anxiety and despair? Reader, the temptation was too strong. I checked one out, and here’s the lowdown on what you can expect from a sliding pizza peel. How does a sliding pizza peel work? A sliding pizza peel costs $30 to $40 on Amazon.Pamela Vachon/CNET A sliding pizza peel is essentially a lightweight wooden pizza peel with …

Are SpeedoIQ’s smart swimming goggles worth it? I tried them as an amateur

Are SpeedoIQ’s smart swimming goggles worth it? I tried them as an amateur

Published by Sam Flores

The first time I try Speedo iQ, the brand’s new smart swimming goggles, I wonder whether I’ve missed something. They look like a normal pair of goggles. They feel like a normal pair of goggles. And there’s no augmented-reality display or data screen, as I’d expected from a £149 gadget promising to analyse my swimming in more detail than any smartwatch ever has. This thing is the future of swim tech, according to its creators, and three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam Ramsay-Peaty is already a fan. Can the user experience really be as simple as pressing a black button and just… swimming normally? Apparently so. It’s only as I walk back to the changing rooms after my first 1km swim and the goggles sync with my phone that I discover they’ve been watching me rather closely. Alongside the distance and pace data I usually get from my Garmin, there’s my breathing, head position and turn performance — even a moving avatar recreating what my head was doing underwater. My average head angle was 33 degrees, …

The New AppleCare One Family Plan Will Cover Every Apple Gadget in Your House

The New AppleCare One Family Plan Will Cover Every Apple Gadget in Your House

Published by skeptic

Apple has a new device protection plan for families for $50 per month. And it doesn’t matter how many devices your family has — they’re all covered. Apple announced the AppleCare One Family plan at its Surprise and Shine event on Wednesday. The plan will be available starting Sept. 14. You can find it in your device’s settings.  Apple’s website says you’ll get all of the AppleCare Plus benefits, like unlimited repairs from accidents like drops and spills and 24/7 priority support from Apple experts. It also includes theft and loss coverage up to twice in a year for iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. These products are covered under the AppleCare One Family plan based on Apple’s website: AirPods Apple TV Apple Vision Pro Apple Watch HomePod iPad iPhone Mac Watch Studio displays Apple’s family Apple Care plan covers all devices for up to six people. And if you decide to add new products, like the iPhone Duo, those are automatically added without extra fees. The AppleCare One plan for individuals only covers up to …

I bought a gadget for my nightstand on a whim and it’s the one thing I’d never give up

I bought a gadget for my nightstand on a whim and it’s the one thing I’d never give up

Published by skeptic

I don’t spend a lot of time away from home, but I recently went on a two-week vacation. Homesickness wasn’t really an issue, and if anything, I was dreading coming back to my usual routine. Weirdly enough, though, there was one thing from home I kept missing: a random gadget I had bought for my nightstand on a whim. Before I go any further, this isn’t a product Baseus sent me for review, and it’s one I bought entirely with my own money. The EnerFill 3-in-1 is another Baseus win for me Baseus somehow did it again A few months ago, I wrote an article about the Baseus Nomos II NH21, which is a 6-in-1 charging station that lives on my desk. As someone who reviews a bunch of tech and always has charging cables scattered everywhere, the charging station is genuinely one of my favorite desk accessories. Apparently, Baseus has a bit of a habit of doing this to me, because the gadget on my nightstand that I missed so much while I was …

The Best Kitchen Gadget to Prevent Salmonella Is a Good Meat Probe

The Best Kitchen Gadget to Prevent Salmonella Is a Good Meat Probe

Published by skeptic

It is the summer of salmonella, it seems. Multiple overlapping salmonella outbreaks now sprawl across at least 30 states as of late August, even as cases of prodigious-poop-causing parasite cyclospora seem to be receding. Hundreds have been sickened, and simultaneous recalls are in effect for products as diverse as eggs, granola, jalapeño peppers, greens powders, nut butters, and dog food. Salmonella, and its attendant havoc on the GI tract, are these days a hallmark of American summer—not just in meat and eggs but, increasingly, fresh produce, as climate change brings warmer and wetter summers. Foodborne bacteria enjoy the same weather as corn and tomatoes and are happy to hitch a ride. “When we see warmer temperatures, that is going to create conditions that are favorable for bacteria like salmonella or parasites like cyclospora to grow,” Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert at NC State Extension, told WIRED this month. Luckily, there’s already a simple preventive technology known to be wildly effective against salmonella. It’s called “cooking.” While anything above the USDA-recommended food-safe temperature of 140 …

This pocket-sized gadget helped cut down our editor’s screen time – and it’s on sale

This pocket-sized gadget helped cut down our editor’s screen time – and it’s on sale

Published by skeptic

Nina Raemont/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Save up to 25%: During Brick’s back-to-school sale, you can save up to 25% off on Brick bundles. Get one Brick for $50 (15% off), two for $94 (20% off), and three for $133 (25% off).  Stuck doom-scrolling? There’s a tool to help with that, whether you need to focus more on work or school, or just want to take back some of your time. Right now, the Brick, our editor’s favorite device to help manage screen time, is on sale for up to 25% off.  Also: Bloom Card vs. Brick: My verdict after trying both gadgets to cut screen time The Brick device is a magnetic square with a compatible app. Upon downloading the app, you select the apps you want to disable once your phone is bricked. Brick uses NFC to enable or disable app use. Tapping your phone on the brick, or “bricking,” prevents these apps from running until the phone is tapped again and “unbricked.” Also: I bricked my iPhone to prevent doomscrolling …

I added 512GB to my Android phone with a USB-C gadget smaller than my thumbnail

I added 512GB to my Android phone with a USB-C gadget smaller than my thumbnail

Published by skeptic

Smartphone storage is a struggle, especially on older models that may feature only 64GB or 128GB of space on-device. In fact, your phone’s official capacity on the spec sheet is different from the actual usable capacity you get in the real world. The Android operating system and system files alone can account for 10GB or 20GB of space, and your Android phone will slow to a crawl if you even get close to filling up your storage. The solution isn’t to pay for cloud storage services like Google Drive or to max out your next phone’s storage configuration at checkout. Instead, I added extra storage to my phones and laptops using a small USB-C drive, and I’m glad I did. I remember the days when I was lucky to have a 1GB flash drive, but we now live in a world where 1TB flash chips can fit inside a microSD card. The game has changed, and you can add an incredible amount of storage to your phone with a miniscule flash drive that barely inconveniences …