Consumer & Gadgets news
Consumer & Gadgets
Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up
Google on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of Pixel phones, providing the maker of Android software a head start on the next iPhone in the race to bring more artificial-intelligence services to devices that have become ...
Aug 13, 2024
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Roblox was just banned in Turkey to 'protect children.' What's Australia doing?
Roblox is a hugely popular online gaming platform that contains its own little universe of games. It is primarily targeted at children. Users can create games themselves and play games built by others, and chat with other ...
Aug 12, 2024
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After abrupt closure, Game Informer staffers reflect on the video game magazine's impact
Days after Game Informer abruptly closed, former employee Ben Hanson recalled the joy he had working for the iconic Minneapolis-based video game magazine that was widely seen as a beacon for games coverage.
Aug 12, 2024
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Flipping NASA tech and sticking the landing: Gecko grip for phone accessory
When it comes to innovative technologies, inventors often find inspiration in the most unexpected places. A former salesman, Akeem Shannon, was inspired by his uncle, who worked as an engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight ...
Aug 7, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
You might get a discount or free coffee but you're also being played by the multibillion-dollar gamification industry
You're scrolling through your socials and an app for an online shopping site appears. You click the link but, before you can see any merchandise, a spinning wheel flashes up and invites you to press the button to spin. You ...
Aug 7, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
How people with disabilities got game − the surprisingly long history of access to arcade and video sports
If you've seen an esports competition, chances are that there was a big stage with about 10 gaming PCs, each with a young person behind it wearing a look of intense concentration. They may have been competing for upward of ...
Aug 6, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Four ways to make AI algorithms more sustainable and better for consumers
As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become more embedded into our everyday lives and business operations, their high energy demands and environmental impacts call for a more sustainable approach to building algorithms—the ...
Jul 31, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
What are 'metacrimes?'—and how can we stop them?
The Apple Vision Pro is the newest tool for Australians to access three-dimensional, immersive online environments, also known as the metaverse. Released in Australia earlier this month, it allows users to take a (virtual) ...
Jul 30, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Generative AI creates personalized storybooks for the future of child language learning
Researchers have created an innovative system for generating personalized storybooks. This system utilizes generative artificial intelligence and home IoT technology to assist children in language learning. The findings are ...
Jul 26, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
How old, inefficient housing and time-of-use electricity rates are leaving some households worse off
Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003.
Jul 26, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Q&A: Weather-related power outages are on the rise. Here's why, and what to expect in the future
When Hurricane Beryl swept across Texas in early July, it left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power for days or longer. Local hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses amid the widespread power ...
Jul 24, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Navigating digital financial inclusion in Africa
As the presence of mobile phones becomes increasingly widespread in Africa, digital services have allowed for more financial inclusion among low- and middle-income countries within the continent. Through a system known as ...
Jul 24, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Wearable sensors help athletes achieve greater performance
Today's athletes are always on the lookout for new techniques and equipment to help them train more effectively. Modern coaches and sports trainers use intelligent data monitoring through videos and wearable sensors to help ...
Jul 23, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Social media: How algorithms influence election campaigns
A study published in the journal PNAS Nexus reveals how social media algorithms favor politically sponsored content from certain parties given the same investment budget.
Jul 18, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Emphasizing social benefits could improve trust in autonomous vehicles, researchers find
A team of Johns Hopkins researchers is reframing the discussion around autonomous vehicles. Though public trust in this technology has faltered due to high-profile testing accidents, researchers hope to rebuild public support ...
Jul 17, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Even on Instagram, teens mostly feel bored: Researchers offer design recommendations
Concern that social media is driving the teen mental health crisis has risen to such a pitch that the majority of states in the country have filed lawsuits against Meta (which owns Instagram and Facebook) and the U.S. surgeon ...
Jul 16, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Sorry, I didn't get that: Evaluating usability issues with AI-assisted smart speakers
With the rapid development of AI technology, voice-controlled smart speakers are becoming increasingly popular due to their convenience and ability to control compatible home devices. Despite the rise in use, smart speakers ...
Jul 16, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Open-TeleVision allows VR-type control of remote robot
A combined team of roboticists from MIT and the University of California, San Diego, has developed a new type of remote control for robots called Open-TeleVision that allows for VR-type control. The team has posted a paper ...
Consumer & Gadgets
Stories written with AI assistance found to be more creative, better written and more enjoyable
A study published in the journal Science Advances finds that AI enhances creativity by boosting the novelty of story ideas as well as the 'usefulness' of stories—their ability to engage the target audience and potential ...
Jul 12, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Researchers seek to reduce harm to multicultural users of voice assistants
Users of voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant know the frustration of being misunderstood by a machine.
Jul 12, 2024
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Internet
User control of video autoplay can alter awareness of online video 'rabbit holes'
The rabbit hole contains madness, according to author Lewis Carroll. Online, that madness manifests in the form of increasingly extreme content, often without users realizing it. A new study by Penn State researchers suggests ...
Jul 11, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Eliminating cameramen distractions with AI to enhance live soccer broadcasts
While the sports industry continually improves spectators' viewing experience at home, some problems remain unsolved. One such issue for soccer fans is cameramen accidentally appearing in each other's shots on live broadcasts. ...
Jul 10, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Study proposes framework for 'child-safe AI' following incidents in which kids saw chatbots as quasi-human, trustworthy
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have frequently shown signs of an "empathy gap" that puts young users at risk of distress or harm, raising the urgent need for "child-safe AI," according to a study.
Jul 10, 2024
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Consumer & Gadgets
Samsung brings tech's latest fashion to wearable technology with AI twists in new watch and ring
Samsung is dressing up its wearable devices in technology's latest fashion—artificial intelligence.
Jul 10, 2024
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