Technology

Invoxia recently debuted the first advanced Smart Dog collar at CES 2022 in which it won two Innovation awards. The new device enables owners to easily and effectively monitor their pet’s health and location, finding anomalies in baseline health to catch potentially threatening illnesses early. The collar is essentially an Apple Watch/Fitbit device for furry companions, tracking everything from real-time location and sleep quality to activity levels, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The brand says it has worked with veterinary cardiologists for its vitals monitoring tech and utilizes mini radar sensors found on the Pixel 4 phones for accurate tracking even through thick fur in a noninvasive way.  Everything can be monitored through a dedicated app where owners are provided a profile ...

Members of LinksDao, a collective of golf enthusiasts and crypto collectors, are teaming up to buy a golf course. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, or DAOs, are member-owned communities without a centralized leadership structure. Decisions are made collectively and funds are usually pooled together towards a specific investment or cause. On its website, LinksDao describes itself as “a global community of thousands of enthusiasts …. come together to create one of the world’s greatest golf clubs.” There are two tiers of memberships in the form of NFTs — a Leisure membership and a Global membership — which give members access to the community, governance and a range of other perks. There are 6,363 total Leisure membership NFTs, which give holders the right to purchase a membership at th...

Behaviour Interactive, developer of co-op survival horror game Dead By Daylight, has decided to remove certain cosmetics from the game after years of complaints that they were being used in racist harassment against Black players. Announced as part of a developer update, the cosmetics will be removed in a forthcoming patch, and players who have unlocked the cosmetics will be compensated with in-game currency. In its update, Behaviour Interactive wrote: “Members of the community have shared their experiences with people targeting and harassing them while using some of these masks. These reports were disheartening to hear, and we absolutely condemn this behaviour. We are not comfortable having these masks in the game when they are used as a tool to spread hate. To that end, we will be removi...

Both the Grammy Awards and the Sundance Film Festival have changed their 2022 plans due to a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country (via CNBC and Indiewire). The Grammy Awards show has been postponed until further notice, and the Sundance Film Festival will go virtual, rather than risk an in-person event. The Grammy Awards was postponed last year because of the pandemic The 64th Grammy Awards ceremony was scheduled for January 31st, but as noted in a post on the Grammy Awards website, CBS and the Recording Academy have decided to push it back “after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts.” There isn’t mention of a rescheduled date, but CBS and the Recording Academy say that “will be announced soon.” The Grammy Awards was postponed las...

What if instead of coffee, your Keurig dispensed alcoholic drinks? Well, Keurig actually made a gadget like that — a $300 cocktail-making pod machine called the Drinkworks Home Bar that turned disposable pods into cold beverages. Only Keurig and Anheuser-Busch mysteriously shut down that venture just three weeks ago, going so far as to appoint a settlement administrator to offer refunds. Which leaves a perfect space in the market for a competitor to step in: Black & Decker of dustbuster, power tool and small kitchen appliance fame. The $300 Black + Decker Bev is coming this spring with what might be the most practical (and least stylish) take on the robot bartender yet. Unlike every competitor I could find on the web, it literally looks like a low-end Keurig, only with five stainless s...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky asked users to provide suggestions on what they’d like to see the company launch in 2022, with most respondents asking for crypto payments. In a series of tweets, Chesky asked users for advice on new initiatives or updates to existing features. On Tuesday, he noted that the top suggestion was allowing crypto payments, along with clear pricing displays, guest loyalty program, updated cleaning fees, more long-term stays and discounts and better customer service. “Already working on most, will look into others now!” he added. Got 4,000 suggestions. Here are the top 6: 1 – Crypto payments (top suggestion)2 – Clear pricing displays3 – Guest loyalty program4 – Updated cleaning fees5 – More long-term stays & discounts6 – Better customer service Already working on most,...

Razer unveiled the next generation of its futuristic Razer Zephyr mask at CES 2022 on Wednesday, promising one highly-requested upgrade. The Razer Zephyr Pro, as it’s called, features nearly the same design as the original Zephyr, but now offers voice amplification to ensure a user’s speech isn’t muffled when using the transparent device. The previous model retailed for $100 USD, while the updated version will likely cost $150 USD when it’s released this year. Like the previous model, the Zephyr Pro mask offers replaceable N95 Grade filters, air exchange chambers with two-speed dual intake fans, a transparent face display for clear face visibility, a soft silicone face seal and a dual strap design to comfortably fit most head sizes. The device is also outfitted with interior lights to...

Apple released a new trailer for its upcoming Fraggle Rock Apple TV Plus reboot on Wednesday (officially titled Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock), and it seems like the new series will be bringing back all of the hallmarks of the original show. The new trailer features charming puppets, a catchy song, and a dumb joke to kick things off that I actually found kind of funny, and you can watch it all here. The 13-episode series debuts on January 21st. Apple TV Plus has become something of a destination for Fraggle Rock. In April 2020, the company debuted the first in a series of shorts called Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, and in May 2020, it acquired past seasons of the original show. (Seems like someone over at Apple is a Fraggle Rock fan. Maybe Tim Cook?) The new series joins Apple TV Plus’ growing ...

TikTok has already conquered our phones and TVs at home, but its next target will ensure you really can’t escape from cute pet videos, impressive feats, and oddly satisfying clips. According to a report from TechCrunch, the popular short-form video platform has partnered with Atmosphere, a startup that drums up the content to ambiently play in the background when you’re eating at a restaurant, lounging in a hotel, or sitting in a waiting room. Atmosphere already delivers content to places like Taco Bell, Texas Roadhouse, Burger King, and even Meineke, letting clients choose from a number of “channels” that suit different environments. And now, TikTok will get a channel dedicated to curated videos from the platform. Atmosphere essentially repurposes the videos it gathers, whether it’s from ...

AT&T’s latest subscriber figures make it seem like HBO and its sister service HBO Max are doing pretty well — great, even! In a regulatory filing this week, AT&T revealed that it beat its projected year-end goal with 73.8 million total subscribers between HBO and HBO Max (even after its breakup with Amazon). Not too bad, right? But that win comes after a year of highly anticipated movie debuts meant to balloon subscriber numbers, and it’s still tens of millions of subscribers behind rivals like Disney Plus and Netflix. The numbers also come with some pretty big caveats. In other words, hold the applause. For one, AT&T’s figures (earlier reported by Variety) conflate two separate services — HBO, its cable business, and HBO Max, its streaming service — and they don’t distinguish ...

AMC Networks (not the movie theater chain) has acquired the anime distributor Sentai from the Cool Japan Fund investment fund, the company announced Wednesday. As a result of the deal, AMC Networks will now own the anime-focused streaming service Hidive, which will join the company’s roster of targeted streaming services that already includes AMC Plus, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, and ALLBLK. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The acquisition is the latest signal of the growing importance of anime content to entertainment companies. Perhaps the most notable anime push was Sony’s $1.175 billion purchase of anime streaming service Crunchyroll from AT&T, which brought Crunchyroll and another anime streaming giant, Funimation, under one roof. But other companies have also been beefin...