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Tamagotchi smartwatch will let you live your '90s dream


Tamagotchi smartwatch will let you live your '90s dream

The Tamagotchi is back for its 25th anniversary -- this time as a wearable. Now you can raise your mini electronic pet right from your wrist, and use a microphone to call out to it and the touchscreen to pet it.  

The original Tamagotchi debuted in November 1996 as an electronic toy for kids. Coming from Japanese toy maker Bandai, the Tamagotchi smartwatch, spotted earlier Thursday by Kotaku, features a touchscreen LCD and up to 30 hours of battery life before needing to be recharged via USB.

For now, the Tamagotchi smartwatch will be sold by lottery -- you can apply between June 17 and July 2, with the winners announced later in July. For everyone else, the wearable goes on sale Nov. 23. It'll cost 7,480 yen (approximately $68), and you can also purchase additional "smart cards" for 1,100 yen (about $10) that you can insert into the smartwatch.

The Tamagotchi Sweets Friends card will give you themed items like sweets and desserts to feed your little pocket pet, as well as a mini game. The Tamagotchi Rainbow Friends card includes rainbow and unicorn theming like a new clock screen, and food and items for your pet.

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Artist pranks LA Best Buy stores with 'useless' gadget


Artist pranks LA Best Buy stores with 'useless' gadget

Consumers visiting five select Los Angeles-area Best Buy stores last Friday encountered a "useless" gadget unlike any other.

Intending to inspire people to think twice about having the latest and greatest piece of tech, street artist Plastic Jesus secretly placed empty black plastic boxes, complete with realistic Best Buy info sheets, near items such as GPS units and tablets at the various stores.

The faux device, labeled as a $99.99 "Useless Plasticbox 1.2," likely fooled people who didn't give the item a second glance. It appeared similar to many streaming devices and other tech items with forgettable aesthetics. Of course, if anyone read the amusing description near the product, they would likely have realized it was a total fake.

"Another gadget you don't really need. Will not work once you get it home. New model out in 4 weeks. Battery life is too short to be of use," said the sheet. Nearby, a warranty notice delivered another punch to consumers: "There is no warranty with this piece of crap. If you are dumb enough to buy it you deserve all you get." Certainly not the most charming text, but it does remind me of a few tech products I've purchased in the past.

In a conversation with CNET, Plastic Jesus spoke about his motivations for carrying out this unique example of "product bombing."

"Like many people out there I have bought every new gadget available, and each one is always heralded as the gadget that will transform our life. The hype for the newest piece of kit often starts weeks before with a build up similar to a Hollywood blockbuster," said the artist. "However, once we spend, often hundreds or thousands of dollars on the item we find that it is not as we were sold, either there are functionality issues, compatibility problems, and in-fact the frustration the item brings us far out weighs any benefit it will bring to our life."

An example of what some consumers saw last week at several Best Buy stores in Los Angeles. Plastic Jesus

Plastic Jesus also described how gadgets can cause more frustration than joy, especially if you need to call customer support to fix any problems.

"This is backed up by the fact that often only days after launch the manufacturer will issue a firmware update to rectify problems. The buying public seem to be the testers for many gadgets," Plastic Jesus said. "The Best Buy 'product bombing' was a very visible way of making a statement. I'm sure If I called Sony, Apple, Samsung or who-ever and complained that their product was a piece of crap they wouldn't listen to me. And try calling an overseas 'Help center' to get help!"

A Best Buy representative confirmed to CNET that a few Best Buy stores were affected by the prank and said the chain was "flattered that Best Buy is so top of mind for Mr. Plastic Jesus."

Said the artist: "I'm blown away with the support my action has received -- I've even had some messages of support from Best Buy staff." Check out more amusing photos of the prank in action at the official Plastic Jesus blog.

(Via Yahoo News)

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New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better


New Intel chips want to make your laptop connect, work and play better

Intel is adding six new laptop CPUs to its lineup, the company announced at this year's IFA technology trade show in Germany. Three new U-series and three new Y-series processors are joining Intel's 8th generation of Core i-series parts. Previously, these chips were known by the code names Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake. 

These are for laptops, tablets and two-in-one devices that range from mainstream clamshells to thin, fanless designs, and include support for integrated gigabit Wi-Fi, which Intel says is a first for this class of consumer PC. Those system will be labeled as "Optimized for Connectivity."

intel-aug
Intel

The six new CPUs are in the Core-m and Core-i families and include:

  • 1.1GHz Core m3-8100Y
  • 1.3GHz Core i5-8200Y
  • 1.5GHz Core i7-8500Y
  • 2.1GHz Core i3-8145U
  • 1.6GHz Core i5-8265U
  • 1.8GHz Core i7-8565U

In introducing the new CPUs, Intel says that its goal was to address pain points like low-battery anxiety. By encouraging further power efficiencies, newer laptops can hit up to 16 hours of battery life. The U and Y-series chips may also provide enough of a performance boost to convince people holding into older computers to upgrade. Intel claims there are a large number of users still working on PCs more than five years old, and that the latest 8th-gen CPUs can usually double the performance of that 5-year-old system.

Intel is also focused on gaming, which is somewhat surprising, as the integrated graphics chips in Intel platforms have not kept up with PC gaming needs over the years. For most gamers, low-cost laptops and desktop with Nvidia graphics hardware for as little as $799 have filled some of that performance gap.

But Intel says it wants to support casual gaming, which the company defines as games like World of Warcraft or World of Tanks. To help buyers figure out what games they can play, and what settings to use, check out Intel's existing gameplay.intel.com website, which provides a list of compatible games, and suggested resolution and detail level settings based on your exact hardware, including updated setting for these new CPUs. 

intel-gameplay
Intel

More importantly, although these new CPUs don't offer any new integrated graphics hardware, Intel says the overall efficiency of these chips, especially compared to the laptops of a few years ago, will offer smoother pen and inking performance and near-real-time 4K video rendering.

Look for laptops and tablets with these latest 8th-gen Intel CPUs to be announced at IFA and shipping soon after. 

Laptops with the best battery life : See the top 25 laptops and 2-in-1 PCs with the longest battery life. 

Great games for your non-gaming laptop : No GPU? No problem. The best games to sneak onto your work laptop.  

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Upgrade Your Backyard With Patio Furniture, Gas Grills and More During Home Depot's Memorial Day Sale


Upgrade Your Backyard With Patio Furniture, Gas Grills and More During Home Depot's Memorial Day Sale

With summer almost starting, now is the best time to prep your backyard (or living space) for entertaining family and friends. Starting today, Home Depot's Feels Like Memorial Day sale is offering dozens of deals to help you improve the inside and outside of your home through May 30.

So, what can you get at this sale? If you need a gas burner, Nexgrill's 4-Burner gas grill is on sale for $300 (a savings of $50). Gardeners can pick up essentials such as Miracle-Gro fertilizer in a 4-for-$10 deal, while Smart Patch seed fertilizer is $20 off. You can even save $30 on Ryobi's soil cultivator, which is currently $159.

There are also outdoor furniture sets. Get a $100 discount on this $600 Hampton Bay Riverbrook espresso brown 5-piece steel outdoor patio set and the Hampton Bay Laurel Oaks 7-piece patio dining set for $799. The Riverbrook has four chairs and a circular table, while the Laurel Oaks set includes two motion chairs, four stationary chairs with cushions and a rectangular table. 

As for other items in this sale, you can grab power tools, paint, ceiling fans and more -- everything you need to redesign, upgrade and make your space ready for summer. If you want to see the full deal, head over to Home Depot.

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WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company


WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company

Brian Acton, a co-founder of the popular messaging app WhatsApp, said Tuesday he will leave the Facebook-owned company to launch his own foundation.

Acton, who founded the popular messaging app with WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum in 2009, said in a Facebook post his foundation will focus on the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications.

"It's something I've thought about for a while, and now it's time to just focus and execute," Acton said. "I'll have more to share in the coming months."

Acton, a graduate of Stanford University and former employee of Apple, met Koum while both were working at Yahoo. The pair left Yahoo in 2007 and launched WhatsApp two years later.

The app, which lets users send missives to one another over the internet rather than using traditional SMS messages through a phone carrier, reaches a billion customers each month. It's growing particularly fast in Brazil, Mexico, Russia and India.

Facebook bought the company for $19 billion, helping to give the 45-year-old Acton a net worth of $6.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Acton's departure.

Special Reports: All of CNET's most in-depth features in one easy spot.

It's Complicated: This is dating in the age of apps. Having fun yet? These stories get to the heart of the matter.

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Snapchat expands efforts to protect teens from drug deals on its app


Snapchat expands efforts to protect teens from drug deals on its app

Snapchat is ramping up its efforts to combat illicit drug deals on its app. Parent company Snap on Tuesday shared an update about its latest efforts to stop the push of narcotics on the platform with a greater focus on teens. 

Among the changes, Snapchat is updating its Quick Add suggestion feature to reduce interactions between kids and strangers. "In order to be discoverable in Quick Add by someone else, users under 18 will need to have a certain number of friends in common with that person," the company said in a blog post. Previously, the app would recommend possible friends based on mutual connections, regardless of whether you know the person in real life.

Additionally, the company is working on new parental tools that will roll out in the upcoming months, enabling parents to monitor some of their teens' communication habits. 

Last October, the app faced backlash following an NBC News report that examined the deaths of teens and young adults who were suspected of buying fentanyl-laced drugs through Snapchat. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be deadly even in small quantities. Synthetic opioids are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Snapchat has also partnered with several nonprofit agencies for its Heads Up portal to deliver anti-drug use resources. Two new additions to the portal include the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Truth Initiative, which focuses on preventing nicotine use. 

The social media company also said it has measures in place to identify drug slang and content on the app, and is working with law enforcement to report potential cases and to comply with information requests. Snapchat said that it's committed to help in the fight against the illegal online drug trade.

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Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned


Verizon Isn't the Fastest Internet Provider Anymore, and a New Winner Has Been Crowned

What's happening

Every three months, Ookla announces the results it gathers from info pulled from millions of customer uses of its Speedtest.net tool. Consider it a quarterly checkup on Americans' speeds from their internet service providers.

Why it matters

We've grown increasingly reliant on our home broadband connections for work and play, so the actual performance of those internet services is vital information.

Verizon has been knocked off the mountain. The latest Ookla Speedtest Intelligence report, released in late July, named Cox Communications as the fastest fixed broadband provider among top US internet service providers during the second quarter of 2022. To qualify as a top provider, a company must account for 3% or more of Ookla's total test samples. Verizon had finished on top in the first three months of 2022. 

In fact, Verizon had captured the top spot every quarter since the start of 2020. However, Ookla's report, which uses data from customer-run queries on Speedtest.net, now uses the median instead of the mean. So we're not exactly comparing apples to apples. The below image from Ookla's site gives an example of the difference.

Chart showing the difference between median and mean
Ookla

As an Ookla spokesperson told me via email: "We implemented this change to more accurately represent the typical performance that consumers actually experience on a network."

That means for the second quarter of 2022, Cox finished decisively on top with a median download speed of approximately 197 megabits per second. Xfinity, the runner-up, scored a median download speed of 184Mbps. Spectrum was third at 183Mbps, Verizon was next at 171Mbps, and AT&T capped off the top five at nearly 147Mbps.

Cox also did well regionally. It was the fastest fixed broadband provider in 14 of the 100 most populated cities in the country, including the fastest city in the US -- Gilbert, Arizona -- as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.

Additionally, it was the fastest ISP in four states: Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. Not bad, for sure, but Xfinity was top dog in 12 states, Spectrum in seven and Google Fiber and Verizon each won five states.

Despite its dominating performance at the top of the speed chart, Cox completely missed the top five regarding the fastest upload speeds. It registered a median upload speed just shy of 11Mbps. That was well below the top three providers of Frontier (113Mbps), Verizon (112Mbps) and AT&T (112Mbps). It also couldn't measure up to Xfinity (19Mbps), CenturyLink (12Mbps) or Spectrum (11.7Mbps).

That's not completely unexpected. The cable connections of Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity (or the DSL network of CenturyLink, for that matter) won't be able to compete with the higher upload speeds you can find with a fiber-optic internet connection, which AT&T, Frontier and Verizon all boast to a decent percentage within their respective footprints.

As Ookla continues its reporting throughout the year, it'll be interesting to see if any trends develop as it establishes the use of the median as its primary performance metric moving forward.

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