How to Lock Your Windows 11 PC When You Walk Away

Using a Windows 11 feature called Dynamic Lock, you can make your PC automatically lock and secure itself when you physically step away out of Bluetooth range. All it takes is a linked Android smartphone and a few changes in Settings. Here’s how to set it up.

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Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/758777/how-to-lock-your-windows-11-pc-when-you-walk-away/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Benj Edwards

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Drone Captures Historic Floods in Central China’s ‘iPhone City’

The BBC has aired drone footage of the devastation in Zhengzhou, a city in central China that has experienced deadly floods this week. At least 33 people have died in Henan province, with 376,000 more displaced by the historic flooding over the past seven days.

Read more…

Source: https://gizmodo.com/drone-captures-historic-floods-in-central-chinas-iphone-1847347822
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Ford unveils Maverick, a compact hybrid pickup truck for under $20,000

Ford unveiled on Tuesday the Maverick, a new compact hybrid pickup truck for people who didn’t know they needed one.

The truck’s smaller more approachable size and its base price of $19,995 is geared towards entry-level customers who want that SUV or truck lifestyle as well as the ease of navigating and parking in tight urban centers. And while its not an all-electric truck like the upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning, the Maverick is part of the company’s recently expanded plan to invest $30 billion investment in electrification by 2025.

The Maverick also has the distinction of being equipped with the first electric motor designed, developed, tested and manufactured in-house at Ford’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant.

The compact pickup can more easily maneuver city parking.

The electric motor and accompanying 2.5 liter engine produces 191 horsepower, 155 pound-feet of torque, and it can tow up to 2,000 pounds. That might not be attractive to those looking to haul one of the larger fifth-wheel campers on the market today. But with a targeted EPA fuel economy of 40 mpg in the city, Ford should find takers. Ford is also offering an option of the EcoBoost engine with an 8-speed automatic, that gives the Maverick 250 horsepower, 277 pound-feet of torque and towing capabilities of up to 4,000 pounds.

The Maverick will come standard as a front-wheel drive and be available in three trims, including the XL, XLT and the Lariat — similar to the F-Series variants. All-wheel drive upgrades are available.

A bed that’s also a ‘makerspace’

The bed of the truck comes in at a polite size of 4.5 feet height by 4 feet wide – as opposed to the F-150’s 5.5 by 4.3 foot bed — is designed to be flexible. Ford, which wanted to be sure to get that message across, has branded it “flexbed,” because it’s, well, flexible to a range of needs.

Ford’s most popular pickup trucks, the F-150 series, are geared towards utility by providing plenty of wattage and storage for power tools. The Maverick is made with the DIY driver in mind. Ford has placed 12 available anchor points and slots that lets the owner subdivide as they might want. This so-called flexbed is equipped with two 12-volt 20-amp prewired sources, plus two 110-volt outlets for powering a “laptop or tailgate party,” as Ford suggests in a statement announcing the new vehicle.

Speaking of tailgates, the Maverick’s is multi-positional, so the driver can adjust it to hold open at whatever position best suits whatever they’re hauling, giving the truck a bed extender functionality.

Another neat feature of the pickup being so small is that the bed is designed to be accessible by reaching over the bedside, and the designers specifically focused on ensuring things were within reach for the fifth percentile of female.

Let’s talk about tech

The Maverick is a fully connected vehicle, as we’ve come to expect with any new vehicle these days. Ford’s latest pickup has its own hotpot that can give blessed internet to up to 10 devices and it comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. By connecting a smartphone, customers can access the FordPass app, which can be used to remote start the vehicle, lock and unlock doors, locate the truck and check fuel levels.

The compact pickup also has features of the Ford Co-Pilot 360, such as pre-collision assist with auto emergency braking, which alerts the driver through audio and visual signals. There are also high beam headlamps which flip on when no other cars are in front of you, a blindspot information system in case you just drift into another lane without checking over your shoulder, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. This tech also allows for five standard drive modes including normal, eco, sport, slippery and tow/haul.

Inside the Maverick

The pickup’s interior a has colorful accents that are used to denote a place that’s intended for human interface such as the center mat with a charging pad or the vents. Rather than fake leather and fake wood, the Maverick features stone-face textures and speckled plastic.

There are some Ford Integrated Tether Slots which allows for customers to mix and match with different accessories they want to add to the interior, like extra cupholders or an iPad holder to entertain the kiddos in the backseat. Because the fuel tank is located behind the cabin, rather than under the bench, customers have far more under-seat storage space. Apparently that cabin can even hold buckets of ice for that tailgate Ford was talking about earlier.

The Maverick has also done away with the arm rests on the doors and speakers on the back doors, allowing more space for those tall S’well water bottles everyone loves.

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Source: https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/ford-unveils-maverick-a-compact-hybrid-pickup-truck-for-under-20000/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29
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Ford F-150 Lightning could mark a turning point for electric vehicles

Electric vehicles have finally hit the mainstream: America’s most popular model, the Ford F-series pickup truck, is going electric at a decidedly mass-market price: $39,974.

Why it matters: Until now, EVs have appealed mostly to wealthy technology fans or environmentalists. But the F-150 Lightning is aimed at everyday truck owners — making it a potential turning point in the electric vehicle revolution.

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Ford’s biggest challenge will be to convince skeptical buyers that electric trucks are up to the job.

• People buy trucks so they can tow trailers and haul heavy loads — which require extra power, slashing a truck’s driving range.

To offset those fears, Ford loaded the F-150 Lightning with new technology. And it’s pitching the truck as a generator on wheels — its batteries can power a home for three days in a blackout, Ford says.

• At a work site or campsite, owners can offload up to 9.6 kW of electricity to power tools or appliances from a variety of outlets in the truck’s cabin, bed or “frunk” — the massive front trunk where the engine would ordinarily be.
• The Lightning comes with a standard 230-mile range pack or an extended range battery, good for 300 miles.
• While using the onboard power, the system can send a smartphone alert if you’re in danger of running out of juice.
• Sensors can also estimate how much drivers are hauling and combine that data with driving conditions to give them an accurate, real-time estimate of how far they can go.

What they’re saying: “It really is the smartest F-150 we’ve ever made,” said Darren Palmer, general manager, Ford’s Battery Electric Vehicles.

Yes, but: Like other manufacturers, Ford is coping with supply chain issues that are threatening production.

• On Wednesday, Ford said it would idle more factories, including the one where the F-150 is built, due to a shortage of semiconductors.
• On Thursday, it’s expected to announce a joint venture with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation to support its electric vehicle rollout, Reuters reported.

What to watch: Ford will face plenty of competition in the electric pickup market, including new plug-in models from Tesla, GM and Rivian.

• But its sub-$40,000 starting price — before any federal or state tax credits — shows Ford doesn’t intend to yield its truck leadership.

Source: https://www.axios.com/ford-electric-pickup-truck-f150-lightning-08e2f75c-39f0-47e8-a69f-27413ed6f4fa.html
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Should You Charge Your Smartphone Overnight?

One of the biggest questions around smartphone ownership is whether you should charge your smartphone overnight. No smartphone myth has floated around as long or has become as mainstream as the question of charging overnight. Is it good or bad for the phone? Is it dangerous? Can you overcharge? All of this leads to the question of whether you should undertake this practice. The answer is often dependent on who you ask, but fortunately, science can help make sense of this and find the real truth. Related: 5 Apps that Notify You When Your Android Battery Is Full … Read more

Source: https://tracking.feedpress.com/link/12555/14443435/should-you-charge-smartphone-overnight
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Nasa scientists find unlikely tool as rising temperatures bleach corals: a phone app

Without the app, mapping reefs usually involves high amounts of data and low-quality photos, which leads to slow analysis

Less than 1% of the ocean floor consists of coral reefs. But more than one-quarter of marine animals live in them. With rising temperatures bleaching corals across oceans, Nasa scientists turn to an unlikely tool: a smartphone app.

A team of Nasa scientists in Silicon Valley has developed NeMO-Net, a game to classify corals, into a tool for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/nasa-coral-reefs-nemo-net-tool-noaa
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America’s pastime returns with just one stadium allowing 100% fan capacity

Baseball is back, America. After a 60-game season in 2020, this year’s complete 162-game schedule begins this afternoon in the Bronx.

Driving the news: MLB saw just 17 positive tests out of 72,751 conducted (0.02%) last Friday. But five Nationals are currently in quarantine due to a positive test — a reminder of how fragile any sense of stability will be.

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The state of play:

• New ball: MLB is debuting a new ball that’s supposed to decrease flight distance and possibly limit home runs. But based on spring training data gathered by The Ringer, it still seems juiced.
• CBA negotiations: The collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players’ union expires on Dec. 1, and they’ll need to agree to a new one to avoid a lockout. Negotiations should begin soon and will be a storyline all year.
• Changes that remain: Some of the changes MLB enacted in 2020 remain in effect, including seven-inning double-headers and placing a runner on second base to start each extra half-inning.
• New-look Minors: Dozens of minor league affiliates were eliminated or rearranged this offseason (see map). MLB will also test potential rules changes in the minors, including larger bases (Triple-A) and defensive shift restrictions (Double-A).
• Dodgers repeat? MLB hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2000 (Yankees). That kind of parity is part of what makes baseball great, but the Dodgers are heavy favorites (+300) to win another World Series.

The big picture: Between the new ball, the new rules carried over from 2020, and the experiments being conducted in the minors, the push to evolve — and improve — the game of baseball has never been stronger.

“I think everyone in the game can look at the product on the field right now and say … while we love it, and baseball is as important to us and as special to us as ever, it’s probably not the very best version of the game that’s possible in the universe.”

Theo Epstein, via The Athletic

Data: Axios research; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

66% of Americans say they feel comfortable attending an outdoor sporting event such as baseball, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.

• Meanwhile, just 32% percent say they feel comfortable attending an indoor event such as basketball or hockey.

Opening Day schedule: 15 games

Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Early afternoon: The season gets underway at Yankee Stadium, which will continue to operate as a vaccination center through at least April 30.

• 1:05pm ET: Blue Jays (Ryu) vs. Yankees (Cole)
• 1:10pm: Indians (Bieber) vs. Tigers (Boyd)
• 2:10pm: Orioles (Means) vs. Red Sox (Eovaldi)
• 2:10pm: Twins (Maeda) vs. Brewers (Woodruff)
• 2:20pm: Pirates (Kuhl) vs. Hendricks (Cubs)
• 3:05pm: Braves (Fried) vs. Phillies (Nola)

Late afternoon: Five games, all starting at the same time. Make sure you power up the iPad for prime multi-screen viewing.

• 4:10pm: Diamondbacks (Bumgarner) vs. Padres (Darvish)
• 4:10pm: Dodgers (Kershaw) vs. Rockies (Marquez)
• 4:10pm: Cardinals (Flaherty) vs. Reds (Castillo)
• 4:10pm: Rays (Glasnow) vs. Marlins (Alcántara)
• 4:10pm: Rangers (Gibson) vs. Royals (Keller)

Night: The nation’s capital will play host to the day’s best pitching duel, with two multi-Cy Young winners facing off at Nationals Park.

• 7:10pm: Mets (deGrom) vs. Nationals (Scherzer)
• 10:05pm: White Sox (Giolito) vs. Angels (Bundy)
• 10:05pm: Astros (Greinke) vs. A’s (Bassitt)
• 10:10pm: Giants (Gausman) vs. Mariners (Gonzales)

Fun fact: Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito were all high school teammates at Harvard-Westlake in 2012. Nine years later, all three are Opening Day starters.

Go deeper:

• Fauci says going to a ballgame is “the one fun thing I can’t wait to do” (WashPost)
• 21 dates to remember (USA Today)
• 21 bold predictions (CBS Sports)

Sign up for my daily newsletter Axios Sports for more content like this.

Source: https://www.axios.com/mlb-opening-day-preview-eaae0354-7575-4466-aeae-ccf8cfe3871a.html
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8 “Dangerous” Android Apps Identified by Cybersecurity Firm

I say this often in these news sports, but there just doesn’t seem to be an end to the bad actors in the tech space. It takes constant work on the part of the tech giants, developers, and the app stores to stay a step ahead of the cybercriminals. There are constant warnings of apps, websites, and companies being attacked, and now eight more “dangerous” Android apps have been identified. Check Point Warning “Hackers always seem to be one step ahead of Play Store’s security measures,” explained Ekram Ahmed with cybersecurity firm Check Point Security. “We’re consistently finding… Read more

Source: https://tracking.feedpress.com/link/12555/14343540/dangerous-android-apps-identified-by-cybersecurity-firm
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How to Use Apple Maps in a Browser on Windows and Android

Apple Maps is only officially available on Apple devices like iPhones and Macs. But, thanks to DuckDuckGo, you can browse or get directions in Apple Maps from any platform with a browser, including Windows and Android.

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Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/711986/how-to-use-apple-maps-in-a-browser-on-windows-and-android/
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Why rapid coronavirus tests have been slow to be approved

Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests are fast, but the regulatory approval needed to get them in the hands of Americans has been slow to come.

Why it matters: Quick, fully at-home COVID-19 tests could make a vital contribution to stemming the pandemic — and open up a new frontier for more constant disease surveillance — but old assumptions about how diagnostics should be used are holding them back.

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Driving the news: On Wednesday, the Biden administration unveiled a $1.6 billion plan to accelerate COVID-19 testing in schools and other settings, bolster the supply chains for testing materials, and enhance genetic sequencing surveillance.

• “We still don’t have enough testing, and we don’t have enough testing in all the places it needs to be,” Biden testing coordinator Carole Johnson told reporters.

By the numbers: The number of COVID-19 tests carried out per day in the U.S. has dropped by roughly 30% from the peak a month ago.

• The U.S. has carried out around 340 million tests in total — a little more than one per person over the nearly year-long pandemic.

Some of that dip is likely due to declining case numbers. But to advocates of rapid at-home tests, the drop also points to problems in how we use tests — and the kind of tests that have been approved.

• COVID-19 tests have mostly been used for the purposes of diagnosing people who may be sick, and most of the tests that have been approved employ highly accurate but often labor-intensive PCR methods that require people to travel to clinics.
• The logistics and costs of manufacturing and running mass amounts of PCR tests make it difficult to constantly screen the population — which is precisely how cheaper, rapid at-home COVID-19 tests could be employed.

Context: Pasadena, California-based Innova produces COVID-19 tests that cost less than $5 and work with the ease of an at-home pregnancy test, yielding results in 15–30 minutes.

• For months, Innova has been sending millions of these tests to the U.K., where they have been used as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “moonshot” mass testing program. Innova CEO Daniel Elliott says the company can currently make 15 million test kits per day, with plans to expand to 50 million a day by the summer.
• But Innova’s rapid test — which was first submitted to the FDA for approval in August — has yet to receive the emergency use authorization (EUA) needed for wide distribution, a status it shares with many other fully at-home rapid tests, like one developed by Gauss and Cellex that uses a smartphone to interpret results.
• “The FDA has been a bit of a challenge,” says Elliott. “We’re accustomed to looking at tests as having to be almost lab-grade, and there’s just not as much experience in a kind of test this broad that’s useful for different purposes.”

How it works: Rapid tests like Innova’s search for a specific viral protein called an antigen.

• Antigen tests are less accurate than PCR. A study by Innova found its test correctly identified 78.8% of cases in a group of 198 samples compared to lab-based PCR results, a lower rate that can result in more false positives and negatives.
• But advocates of rapid testing say the tests are especially good at identifying people who are at the contagious state of their illness.
• That, combined with their superior capacity to frequently test large numbers of people, makes them a “public health tool to suppress the outbreaks,” according to Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

What they’re saying: “We consider tests for at-home use to be a top priority,” Jeffrey Shuren, a top FDA official overseeing testing, told The Hill recently. “And if they’ve got their data and the data looks good, we authorize.”

• The FDA recently granted an EUA to a fully at-home test produced by Ellume that reported highly accurate results, though with a potential price of $30 or less, it would cost more to scale up.

The other side: Some experts — including from the U.K., where rapid testing is more widespread — worry that ordinary people would misread the tests, further eroding their accuracy, and that it would give them a false sense of security.

• But similar fears raised when home pregnancy tests were first made available never materialized, and advocates believe rapid screening could be used to “leverage this technology for other at-home tests in the future,” according to Gauss CEO Siddarth Satish.

The bottom line: The U.S. health system is set up to provide the highest-quality care — often at equally high prices — but COVID-19 testing is one area where fast and cheap may be the right approach in a true emergency.

Source: https://www.axios.com/rapid-coronavirus-tests-fda-approval-1cc1928a-68d4-485d-aafe-0c1a69b31384.html
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‘Inside job’: House Dems ask if Capitol rioters had hidden help

A growing number of House Democrats say they’re concerned that tactical decisions by some Capitol Police officers worsened Wednesday’s riots and have raised the possibility that the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol might have had outside help.

Lawmakers have uniformly praised most Capitol Police officers for their heroic response to the riots. Many officers suffered injuries defending members, aides and journalists from the onslaught and one, Brian Sicknick, died late Thursday. But videos have also surfaced showing a small number of officers pulling down barricades for the rioters and, in another instance, stopping for a photo with one of them.

Some of those incidents were raised on a 3.5-hour caucus call by House Democrats on Friday, demanding an investigation not only into the decisions by the Capitol Police leadership but by some rank-and-file officers caught on camera. But the lawmakers also raised general concerns that the rioters had some sort of outside help not necessarily attributable to the Capitol’s police corps.

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told his colleagues he thought the riots were “an inside job,” according to two lawmakers on the call.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) mentioned that looters had found their way to his unmarked, third floor office and stole his iPad. He questioned how they could locate that office but not his clearly marked ceremonial office in Statuary Hall. Later, another Democrat on the call, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) specifically raised the question of possible collusion among some Capitol Police officers, according to several people listening.

In an interview airing Sunday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she believes some Capitol Police officers aided the rioters and may have helped steer them once inside the building, calling it “one of the most troubling things” about the assault.

“I am very sad to say that I believe that there were people within the Capitol police and within the Capitol building that were part of helping these insurrectionists to really have a very well-coordinated plan for when they were going to come, how they were going to come,” Jayapal said on Gray TV’s “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren.”

Pressed further on whether some Capitol Police officers were not just looking the other way but actually involved, Jayapal said, “It appears that way, both from what happened, how coordinated it was, how easy it was.”

In that vein, House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) told a radio station that Democrats didn’t know yet if the failures by Capitol Police were the result of “poor planning or whether it was because there was certain kinds of infiltration.”

A Capitol Police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some of the most acute concerns have been raised by members of color, many of whom have already faced an increase in personal threats during the Trump era and had raised early warnings that the Trump supporters’ planned Jan. 6 demonstration could turn violent. Those members also expressed outrage at the disparity in treatment of pro-Trump rioters, many of whom were allowed to walk free from the Capitol even after ransacking congressional leaders’ offices, and at the crackdown on demonstrators protesting racial inequality over the summer.

“If the ‘protesters’ were Black they would have been shot with rubber bullets, tear gassed, and killed,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.

“Police do not take white, right-wing protesters as seriously and they don’t treat them as a threat in the way they treat African Americans, Latinos and other groups,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said in an interview. “And I think we saw the consequence of that this week.”

Since Wednesday’s attack, many Democrats have publicly and privately raised alarms about the ease with which rioters were able to not only enter the building but also quickly find their targets in a complex that is difficult for even members of Congress to navigate.

“Somebody must get to the bottom of how they, with such efficiency and such alacrity, moved themselves in mobs into [Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s] office. Into the whip’s third-floor office,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), one of the dozen or so Democrats who was locked inside the House chamber as rioters attempted to break in.

“We all joke about the fact that it’s so hard to find some of these offices, and we work in the building,” Dean said in an interview.

One of the pro-Trump rioters told The New York Times that a Capitol Police officer directed them to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.

Democrats have vowed to investigate all aspects of the assault on the Capitol — Clyburn said on the call that it would take a 9/11 Commission-style investigation — including about the actions of Capitol Police captured on video.

“I saw those videos,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) told reporters Friday. “You had people fighting their hearts out and getting hit over the head with a lead pipe … and you had people taking selfies with these terrorists. So there are all of these different levels and we will be examining all of the footage.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) chair of the House committee that oversees Capitol security matters, similarly noted that at least some officers may have “taken selfies with these seditionists or even let them in.”

“We need to thoroughly investigate that,” she said.

Democrats are already enraged at the leadership of the Capitol Police for their handling of the security situation. Lofgren said Thursday that the USCP’s chief, Steven Sund, misled her about the resources it had available to protect lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Capitol for the ceremony to count Electoral College votes. Sund resigned from his post Thursday.

Lofgren said she had pressed Sund about the National Guard’s readiness for possible protests and he assured her they were activated should they be needed.

“What they told me about the National Guard was just not true. The Guard was not even activated,” she said.

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) said an independent oversight board needed to be put in place for the Capitol Police force.

“The Capitol Police are probably the only law enforcement agency I can think of that does not have non-uniform civilian oversight,” Brown, who was sheltering in his office during the breach, said in an interview Friday. “That’s a problem.”

Heather Caygle and Caitlin Emma contributed.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/08/congress-democrats-capitol-riot-inside-job-456725
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Smart home guide for beginners: Make your home more convenient to live in without spending lots of time or money

One way to build out a smart home is to buy lots of components—sensors, smart bulbs, security cameras, speakers, and whatnot—and connect them all to a hub that helps them communicate with each other and with you, via your smartphone. But let’s be real: That can involve spending a lot of money and investing a lot of time. And for some people, it’s just overkill. If your wants and needs are simpler, just a few relatively inexpensive products will deliver most of the conveniences a high-end smart home can deliver, and on a much more modest budget.

And if you make sure those smart home products are compatible with each other, you’ll build a solid foundation that you can expand over time. The key is knowing which smart home products don’t depend on a smart home hub to operate. While hubs offer advantages—the most important of which is having a single user interface to control everything—they’re not always essential. One thing you must have, however, is a good wireless router—ideally one that can reach all corners of your home.

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Source: https://www.techhive.com/article/3297744/smart-home-guide-for-beginners-how-to-make-your-home-more-convenient-to-live-in.html#tk.rss_all
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FDA authorizes first over-the-counter at-home Covid test

The FDA on Tuesday authorized the first at-home coronavirus test people can buy without a prescription, a step that public health experts say adds a key new tool to the United States’ arsenal for combating the pandemic.

The 20-minute antigen test, made by Australia-based manufacturer Ellume, can be used by people 16 or older and children over the age of two when a sample is collected by an adult.

Public health experts have advocated for widely distributing these rapid over-the-counter antigen tests to millions of households, arguing near-instant results would enable people to quarantine quickly after becoming infectious. The FDA is expected to authorize additional over-the-counter Covid-19 tests in the coming weeks that could bolster supply, according to industry sources.

How it works: People taking the test use a medium-length nasal swab to collect a sample. The test correctly identified 100 percent of negative samples and 96 percent of positive samples from people with symptoms when compared to lab-based tests, according to Ellume. In people without symptoms, it identified 91 percent of positive samples and 96 percent of negative samples.

The FDA cautions that asymptomatic people who receive a positive result from the test should get a second test to confirm whether they are infected, especially if Covid-19 is not prevalent in their community.

“This test, like other antigen tests, is less sensitive and less specific than typical molecular tests run in a lab,” FDA medical device director Jeff Shuren said in a press release. “However, the fact that it can be used completely at home and return results quickly means that it can play an important role in response to the pandemic.”

Results from the test are delivered through a smartphone app after patients enter their ZIP code and date of birth. Importantly, the app also sends results to public health authorities, addressing some officials’ concerns that these at-home tests could have obscured data on virus spread without a reliable reporting mechanism.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told POLITICO over-the-counter tests could become a routine piece of strategies for reopening schools and workplaces.

“Consumers need to be properly educated on the small potential for test results that say they are fine when they may still be infected, but getting more of these antigen tests directly into the hands of consumers, so we can do more testing on a more routine basis, is key to controlling spread,” Gottlieb said.

Background: FDA has only authorized one other at-home test, but that product from Lucira Health requires a prescription from a health care provider. Last week, LabCorp gained emergency authorization for a direct-to-consumer test kit that allows patients to send a sample into a lab without a prescription.

Ellume’s test received $30 million in development funding from the NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative. CEO Sean Parsons previously told POLITICO the company expects to price the test at about $30.

What’s next: Ellume plans to manufacture and ship 20 million tests to the U.S. in the first half of 2021. Approximately 100,000 tests per day will be shipped starting in January. The company is currently in talks with retail pharmacies about commercialization and distribution, a spokesperson said.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/15/fda-at-home-test-445478
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The Article Was Written/Published By: David Lim

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The 9 Best Tech Gadgets to Beef Up Your Cooking Game

Suzanne Humphries

Every room in your house could benefit from having some fancy-shmancy technology in it, especially your kitchen. There are so many amazing gadgets out there that can make your baking and cooking adventures run smoother and more efficiently, so we figured we’d round up a few of our favorites and share them with everyone. It’s time to turn that tired-old kitchen into a smart kitchen.

From smart Wi-Fi air fryers and instant pots to smart displays that show us helpful recipe tutorial videos, we’re sure these are the best kitchen tech gadgets. After all, we’re huge fans of anything that takes care of the heavy lifting when it comes to cooking, especially when we get to reap the tasty benefits! So, grab a few things off our list and pull a seat up to the dinner table because your meals are about to get even better.

Cook Dinner on the Go: Instant Pot Smart WiFi

Instant Pot

Instant pots are one of the most popular kitchen appliances out there, and with good reason. They can cook all sorts of things, from an impressive Sunday roast to tasty yogurt and birthday cakes. You can even use an Instant Pot as a saute pan, vegetable steamer, or rice cooker. The Instant Pot Smart WiFi combines eight appliances into one—including a slow cooker, steamer, and more—and is a particularly great appliance for home chefs of all skill levels.

The Instant Pot is compatible with Alexa over Wi-Fi, allowing you to control it with simple voice commands. You can also manage what you’re cooking with the Instant Pot mobile apps for iOS and Android, which is packed with over 1,000 recipes and enables you to verify cooking progress and receive alerts while you’re away from home (or, okay, just chilling on the couch).

In addition to the cooker, you’ll also receive accessories like the rice paddle, stainless-steel steam rack, measuring cup, and condensation collector. The Instant Pot itself also has built-in programs for cooking specific types of food, including ribs, soups, desserts, rice, poultry, and more. The inner pot is also dishwasher safe, which we love, making for easy cleanup.

Cook Dinner on the Go

Instant Pot Smart WiFi 8-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Sterilizer, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, Cake Maker, and Warmer, 6 Quart, 13 One-Touch Programs

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$89.99
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Let Alexa Make You Some Coffee: Hamilton Beach Smart 12-Cup Coffee Maker

Hamilton Beach

Enjoying a nice cup of coffee whenever you want just got even easier. With the Hamilton Beach Smart 12-Cup Coffee Maker, you can tell Alexa to start brewing your coffee even before you’re out of bed. You can also program it to run at the same time every day, which is great for mornings and afternoon pick-me-ups alike; all you need is the Alexa app for iOS or Android, or an Alexa-enabled smart speaker to kick things off.

The coffee maker can brew up to 12 cups of coffee at a time and has five clearly labeled buttons for power, brew strength, scheduling, starting a brew, and Wi-Fi connection. The glass carafe is designed with a drip-free pour spout so you won’t have to worry about messes. The coffee maker will even remind you when it’s time to clean it.

Let Alexa Make You Some Coffee

Hamilton Beach Works with Alexa Smart Coffee Maker, Programmable, 12 Cup Capacity, Black and Stainless Steel (49350) – A Certified for Humans Device

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$89.99
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Cook Meat Like a Pro: MEATER Smart Meat Thermometer

MEATER

Nothing is more disappointing than biting into a tough dry piece of meat. The MEATER Smart Meat Thermometer aims to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again with its dual temperature sensors and advanced cook estimator algorithm. The single wireless probe is a cinch to set up and use, and it works in ovens, smokers, and grills with all types of meat. It can monitor internal meat temperatures up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and ambient or external temperatures up to 527 degrees Fahrenheit.

The MEATER accompanying app (for iOS or Android) has a guided cook system that will walk you through every step of the cooking process, while simultaneously guaranteeing a perfect and consistent cook. It also lets you set up custom notifications based on desired temperature or duration. The app even has an advanced algorithm that estimates how long to cook the rest of your meal (like veggies and rice) based on the progress of your meat.

Plus, the Bluetooth probe has a range of 165 feet, meaning you can monitor how things are going on your smartphone or tablet from the comfort of your couch. The MEATER smart wireless meat thermometer is also dishwasher safe, so you can throw it in there after a grill session and forget about it.

Cook Meat Like a Pro

MEATER Plus | 165ft Long Range Smart Wireless Meat Thermometer for The Oven Grill Kitchen BBQ Smoker Rotisserie with Bluetooth and WiFi Digital Connectivity

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$99.00
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Enjoy Fried Foods, Skip the Oil: COSORI Smart WiFi Air Fryer

COSORI

Few foods are more delightful than those of the fried variety. And with the COSORI Smart WiFi Air Fryer, you can enjoy all the benefits of fried foods without any of the extra calories or messy oil. What’s more, you can even control the fryer with voice commands via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, or with its companion mobile app for iOS and Android. Plus, the app features over 100 pre-programmed recipes that you can directly connect to the air fryer, ensuring the perfect cook.

Air fryers typically cook faster than conventional ovens and produce crispier and tastier results. You can use this fryer’s series of one-touch presets to automatically cook things like steak, french fries, bacon, bread, and desserts. Or, you can opt to manually program in recipes. The fryer’s updated ergonomic angle makes it easier to view what you’re cooking without straining your neck, and its slim footprint won’t take up much space on your countertop.

Enjoy Fried Foods, Skip the Oil

COSORI Smart WiFi Air Fryer 5.8QT(100 Recipes), Digital Touchscreen with 11 Cooking Presets for Air Frying, Roasting & Keep Warm ,Preheat & Shake Remind, Works with Alexa & Google Assistant,1700W

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$91.18
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Smart Displays

Though it might not seem obvious at first, having a smart display in your kitchen is actually a great idea. You can use a smart display to search for and view your favorite recipes or view a cooking tutorial video if you’re trying something new.

For Google Lovers: Google Nest Hub

Google

For those with Google Pixels or other Android phones, the Google Nest Hub offers a familiar interface and your favorite voice assistant. The Nest Hub makes it easy to search for a recipe or video hands-free, so you can stay focused on whatever you’re cooking. But the Nest Hub isn’t limited to just recipes—you can also use it to control your connected smart-home devices, view your live camera feeds, set timers and reminders, and even catch up on the latest news stories.

And when you’re not using it for cooking, you can watch your favorite videos on YouTube, listen to music on Spotify, look at the weather forecast, or even scroll through your digital photo albums. It also enables you to do things like create routines and reminders, view your upcoming calendar events, and dim your smart bulbs to create a cozy dinner setting.

For Google Lovers

Shop Now

Google Nest Hub

Available now from Google for $89.99.

For Alexa Fans: Amazon Echo Show 8

Amazon

For those who prefer Alexa to other smart voice assistants, check out Amazon’s new Echo Show 8 smart display. With its 8-inch high-definition display, you can easily use it for reading recipes, taking video calls, watching cooking videos, listening to podcasts or the news, and so much more. The simple device is the perfect addition to your kitchen, and it’s great for keeping you (or your kids) entertained while you cook dinner.

You can also use the Echo Show 8 to control your connected smart devices—like your lights, cameras, or thermostat—or to set up routines for them to run on. Of course, the petite display can also show you your photos, to-do lists, upcoming calendar events, and more. You can even use it to take photos of the meal you just cooked!

For Alexa Fans

Echo Show 8 — HD smart display with Alexa – stay connected with video calling – Charcoal

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$79.99
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Let an All-in-One Oven Help You Cook: Tovala Countertop WiFi Oven

Tovala

The next best thing after hiring a personal chef is to get a kitchen appliance that’ll make cooking dinner easier. The Tovala Countertop WiFi Oven has five cooking modes—bake, broil, steam, reheat, and toast—enabling it to cook any type of food properly. It also comes with nine kitchen accessories including a sheet tray, measuring cup, hot pad, drain tray, crumb tray, steamer cover, oven rack, quick-start guide, and a set of recipe cards.

You can control how the oven cooks from your smartphone thanks to Tovala’s companion mobile app for iOS and Android. The app also plays host to a library of chef’s recipes you can peruse, and it can perfectly cook groceries simply by scanning their barcodes, which is perfect for those who love frozen foods.

Let an All-in-One Oven Help You Cook

Tovala Gen 2 Smart Steam Oven | Countertop WiFi Oven | 5 Mode Programmable Oven | Toast, Steam, Bake, Broil and Reheat | Black & Stainless Steel Convection Oven

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$299.00
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Keep Your Tea Warm All Day: Ember Temperature Control Mug

Ember

The Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug keeps your tea or coffee warm while you relax, so you won’t have to worry about it getting cold while you’re scrolling Twitter or doing work. The convenient and stylish mug has a battery that’ll last for 1.5 hours, or you can keep things warm all day by using the included charging coaster.

You have control over the precise temperature the mug stays at with the companion app for iOS and Android. The app pairs with the mug to show you notifications and let you set custom presets. The mug also has an auto-sleep feature that intelligently knows when to enter sleep mode and turn it back on automatically when it senses liquid or movement. The mug has an IPX7 rating and is submersible, but it must be washed by hand.

Keep Your Tea Warm All Day

NEW Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2, 10 oz, White, 1.5-hr Battery Life – App Controlled Heated Coffee Mug – Improved Design

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$194.19
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Source: https://www.reviewgeek.com/64050/the-9-best-tech-gadgets-to-beef-up-your-cooking-game/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Suzanne Humphries

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The electric Volvo XC40 Recharge: First-drive impressions

• 

  The Volvo XC40 was already a compelling luxury crossover, and the addition of an all-electric powertrain only improves it. [credit:
  Jonathan Gitlin ]

After what seems like years of waiting, a bevy of new battery-electric vehicles is about to go on sale here in the US. Ford is readying the Mustang Mach-E. Volkswagen is putting the finishing touches to the ID.4. And last month in Ghent, Belgium, Volvo started production of the XC40 Recharge. It’s an all-electric version of its popular XC40 crossover, one that shares its powertrain technology and Android Automotive operating system with the Polestar 2.

US deliveries remain a few weeks away, so a proper first drive, where we spend a day with a new car like we did with the Polestar 2 this summer, will have to wait a little longer. But earlier this week, I got a chance to spend a little time with a pre-production example that Volvo made available to those of us who serve as jurors for the World Car Awards. The roads of Manassas, Virginia, were my playground, and there was no PR minder, just a request to bring it back after an hour. Here’s what I learned.

From the outside, the XC40 Recharge looks a lot like any other Volvo XC40—the easiest giveaway that you’re looking at an all-electric version is the blanked-off front that does better things for one’s drag coefficient than an open grille. From the driver’s seat, there are a few more clues. The 12.3-inch main instrument display has a different theme from other Volvos, including an attractive new full-screen map mode. In the center stack, the infotainment screen has grown from 9 inches to 11.2 inches, and although the tile-based UI looks pretty similar to Volvos running Sensus, it’s now running Android Automotive. Google’s voice recognition means it understands most of the questions you ask it, and the Google Maps-powered navigation app is smart enough to know your battery state of charge so it can direct you to charging if needed en route.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1720088
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Jonathan M. Gitlin

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How to Enable Google Docs Dark Mode on Android

While many Android apps have already happily embraced users’ requests for a dark mode, Google Docs was holding out. However, Google announced the new Google Docs dark mode in July 2020. As with most new features, it’s coming to users in stages, so if you don’t see it just yet, don’t worry. I personally didn’t receive the update until early August. Some users still haven’t gotten the update. Naturally, it’ll be available to G Suite customers first. Related: Can’t Upload Files to Google Drive? Here are a Few Fixes Not Just Google Docs Before you worry,… Read more

Source: https://tracking.feedpress.com/link/12555/13829680/enable-google-docs-dark-mode-android
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Crystal Crowder

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Ignoring warrants, the Secret Service has been buying up location data from phone companies

Vice’s Motherboard reports that the US Secret Service paid for a product called Locate X that collects location data from tons of shady cell phone apps. It’s the kind of information that you might not even realize you’re giving away — that the app might not even tell you that it’s collecting. It’s also the kind of data that a government agency would otherwise need a warrant or court order to maintain.

In March, tech publication Protocol reported that multiple government agencies signed millions of dollars worth of deals with Babel Street after the company launched its Locate X product. Multiple sources told the site that Locate X tracks the location of devices anonymously, using data harvested by popular apps installed on peoples’ phones.

[…]

The contract that mentions Locate X stretches from September 28, 2017 to September 27, 2018, according to the document. With the modifications to an existing Secret Service and Babel Street contract, the total amount increased by $35,844 to $1,999,394, the document adds.

[…]

Law enforcement agencies typically require a warrant or court order to compel a company to provide location data for an investigation. Many agencies have filed so-called reverse location warrants to ask Google to hand over information on what Android devices were in a particular area at a given time, for example. But an agency does not need to seek a warrant when it simply buys the data instead.

Both ICE and the IRS have previously tried to use privately purchased data to circumvent the warrant process and track people down through location services. Senator Rod Wyden (D-Oregon) is reportedly trying to pass a bill that would ban government agencies from contracting with data brokers, though I’m sure it’ll end up mysteriously buried and killed by Mitch McConnell.

Here’s where it gets really frustrating: you pay for a cellphone, and the service that accompanies it. But some of the apps you use secretly collect data on you — beyond what you know they’re collecting, or what they say they’re collecting — and then sell that data to make a profit. So your personal behavioral patterns are now someone else’s financial gains. And how are they making that money? From government organizations that are funded in part by your own tax dollars, and who are technically supposed to adhere to the legal processes expected of all public services.

And now Motherboard has the receipts.

Cool.

Secret Service Bought Phone Location Data from Apps, Contract Confirms [Joseph Cox / Motherboard]

Secret Service Paid to Get Americans’ Location Data Without a Warrant, Documents Show [Rhett Jones / Gizmodo]

Sen. Ron Wyden is introducing a privacy bill that would ban government agencies from buying personal information from data brokers [Katie Canales / Business Insider]

Image: Public Domain via US Government Accountability Office

Source: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/19/ignoring-warrants-the-secret.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Thom Dunn

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Biden raised the pandemic alarm in October as Trump complained about iPhone buttons

‘We are not prepared for a pandemic’ versus ‘The Button on the IPhone was FAR better than the Swipe’

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/biden-trump-coronavirus-us-election-2020-tim-cook-apple-iphone-pandemic-a9537751.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Oliver O’Connell

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Russia at its finest? BEAR ATTACKS man & chases cars in city streets (VIDEOS)

If you still believe Russian cities are full of bears roaming the streets freely and attacking people, well, you’re probably not wrong. At least that’s exactly what some rare footage from one of Russia’s cities would suggest.

The bizarre incident occurred in central Russia overnight, when an adolescent bear freely took to the streets of Yaroslavl city and had a close encounter with an (un)lucky local, CCTV footage shows.

Spotting the bear, the man whipped out his smartphone, trying to film the animal. The ferocious beast, however, was apparently not in the mood for snaps and assaulted the pedestrian, seemingly trying to reach for the gadget.

The bear was promptly scared away by a taxi driver, who flashed headlights and honked at the animal, driving it away. He took the bear’s victim to the hospital afterwards, where the injured man was treated for a major hip laceration.

But apparently the bear still wasn’t satisfied; he continued roaming the streets and chased another car and getting filmed by its driver during that confrontation.

The authorities were soon notified by multiple witnesses about the bear’s escapades, but the animal managed to escape the city before getting caught. Bear footage promptly went viral on Russian-speaking sections of the Internet, providing prime material for jokes about stereotypes.

Many residents said they’d only seen an incident such as this for the very first time in their city. Others, however, said there was nothing surprising about it at all, pointing fingers at Yaroslavl’s coat of arms, which actually features a bear… wielding a battle axe. Luckily, this week’s misbehaving bear apparently left its traditional hardware in the woods.

Flag of Yaroslavl.

©  city-yaroslavl.ru

According to the local department of natural resources, bears often stray into the city during springtime, and the whole incident was not that unusual. Still, the coronavirus pandemic might have had a hand in it, as due to the current period of self-isolation in Russia there are considerably less people in the streets – which makes animals get lost and enter big cities by mistake.

Also on rt.com
‘Bearpocalypse’: WATCH dozens of polar bears besiege Arctic village in Russia’s Chukotka

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Source: https://www.rt.com/russia/488982-russia-city-bear-attack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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FBI cracks iPhone encryption, finds al Qaeda links to 2019 Florida naval base shooter

The decryption heads off a confrontation between Apple and the Justice Department

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fbi-iphone-encryption-al-qaeda-links-2019-florida-naval-base-terror-attack-a9520441.html
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