What does the smart home look like? Right now, it's mostly smartphone-controlled light bulbs, speakers, cameras and other appliances. It's exciting stuff, but undeniably uninspiring. Sony's Life Space UX, the company's model smart home of the future, if you will, is closer to what a smart home should look like: a harmonious blending of technology and furniture that's … [Read more...]
Samsung’s SmartThings Launches a Powerful, Privacy-friendly Hub
Smart home technology is finally leaving the “Tinker Toy” phase and becoming a viable solution for average consumers. Samsung wants to be a part of that revolution, which is why, last year, it bought SmartThings, a smart home technology startup with a very open view. … [Read more...]
Engineers Refine Protection System for LHC Magnets
This week, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was switched off for its second scheduled technical stop since starting to run at the new high energy of 6.5 teraelectronvolts (TeV) per beam. These regular stops allow engineers and technicians to maintain the machine and ensure that all its components are working well. … [Read more...]
Roll with the Empire in Stormtrooper-inspired Uber cars
Yes, your childhood dreams are coming to life. In honor of "Force Friday," the first day toys for the new Star Wars movie are available for purchase, New Yorkers will be able to take a ride in an Uber designed to look like a Stormtrooper Hot Wheels car. … [Read more...]
Numbering of Migrants by Czechs Brings Outcry
Human rights advocates and Jewish groups expressed outrage on Thursday after the authorities in the Czech Republic wrote numbers on the skin of migrants who were pulled off trains this week, a move they said summoned memories of the Nazi era. … [Read more...]
What Khloe Kardashian Did Instead of Attending the VMAs
Kanye West was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award at Sunday night's MTV VMAs and his wife Kim Kardashian, mother-in-law Kris Jenner and sisters-in-law Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were there to support him. … [Read more...]
ESPN Pulls Curt Schilling from Telecasts for Remainder of Season, Playoffs
ESPN says commentator Curt Schilling won't appear on the air for the next month in the wake of his anti-Muslim tweet. ESPN said Thursday that Schilling won't be on telecasts for the rest of the regular season or the American League wild-card game on Oct. 6. … [Read more...]
A Storm’s Brewing in the North Pacific
A storm system is brewing in the North Pacific, which will help to usher in an “Autumn-like” air mass to the Northwest later this week, and the High Plains for Labor Day weekend. … [Read more...]
The Invisible Victims Of California’s Drought
Irrigation water in California. A 17 year-old pregnant farmworker died in a vineyard of heat exhaustion in the summer of 2008 in triple-digit temperatures. The nearest water cooler was a 10-minute walk and a foreman allegedly wouldn’t let her take a break to get a drink of water. … [Read more...]
Carbon Pollution Is Expanding Global Dry Zones, as Predicted
A landmark study in the journal Nature documents an expansion of the world’s dry and semi-arid climate regions since 1950 — and attributes it to human-caused global warming. This expansion of the world’s dry zones is a basic prediction of climate science. … [Read more...]