This week in the city of Westbrook, Maine, a huge, rotating circle of ice formed on the Presumpscot River. While it seems like it could be an omen of the impending apocalypse or a particularly low-effort attempt at a crop circle by extraterrestrials, in reality it appears to be another example of a natural yet rare …
As we age, our bodies become less supple and we end up relying more and more on medication in order to help us along comfortably. One of the main dangers for the elderly would be falls, as brittle bones fall victim all too easily. MobileHelp and LifePod Solutions have worked together to unveil a proactive voice service enhanced with emergency response, targeting older adults who are aging at home in addition to healthcare patients and their caregivers.
This is a brand new solution that leverages popular smart home speakers, helping users gain access to LifePod’s proactive voice dialog management platform with the enhanced MobileHelp emergency response system. The LifePod is touted to be a virtual caregiver, and the addition of the MobileHelp pendant or wrist button to a LifePod subscription will empower users to summon whatever help that is required in the event of an emergency. This cry for help can be directed to a family member or emergency responders whenever the user presses their emergency button. From there, the LifePod service will ask the user should they need any help. When an affirmative answer is given or should the user be unable to respond, they will then be connected to a MobileHelp emergency response center.
With the intention to empower people to maintain independence at home for as long as possible, LifePod has also expanded the capabilities of popular smart speakers through its proactive voice user interface technology. Caregivers will definitely find it easy to user, configuring personalized voice dialogs for their patients and loved ones. Some of the benefits include a natural, two-way voice interface that is not only reactive but proactive, caregiver-configured check-ins and healthy-behavior reminders, in addition to friendly, personalized voice-based dialogues.
Expect the very first version of the MobileHelp emergency response-enabled LifePod service to be made available in Q2 2019 onwards. For more news from CES 2019, please visit the company website.
Press Release
[ Proactive Voice Service handy for elderly at home copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 was officially announced towards the end of last year where the game was initially pegged for a release on the 23rd of April, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. It appears that the release on the Switch could have since been delayed, according to Amazon listings over in Europe.
The listings for the Switch version of the game have now been listed for the 10th of May which is a couple of weeks after the original release. It has been pointed out that this only seems to be for Amazon listings in Europe, and that Amazon’s listing for the game in the US still states the 23rd of April, 2019 for the Switch version, suggesting that the delays could be limited to Europe.
Alternatively the listings could be wrong or haven’t been updated yet, but we’ll keep an eye out for more details. So far not much is known about the game other than the fact that it exists. There was a trailer released that confirmed at least two characters, but not much else. However it was stated that more details will be revealed on the 17th of January, 2019 which is in a couple of days, so hopefully we’ll have more to share with you then, including any potential delays.
Mortal Kombat 11 For Nintendo Switch Might Be Delayed , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The R&B singer’s threatening letter “validates the monster that he is,” Rodgers said in a new interview.
Sony’s new Glass Sound Speaker is certainly unique in the world of Bluetooth speakers. Taking a design cue from stoners, the LSPX-S2 looks just like a bong. You have to wonder how many people will grab this by accident when they want a toke.
This is the second Sony Glass Sound Speaker, following up from the LSPX-S1 which was introduced a few years ago. This time, the speaker is a bit less bulky and has more curves, which is how you get that bong look. It also now has Hi-Res Audio support and Spotify Connect.
Obviously, Sony wants to blend the speaker into your home decor, which really works if you have bongs lying around and you want some romantic illumination with some good tunes. The speaker packs Sony’s Advanced Vertical Drive technology, which allows the speaker to reproduce 360-degree sound. In addition to its sound, it lights up with two Candlelight modes, and 32 steps of brightness.
It has a 35 mm mid-range driver, passive radiator, 11w peak output, built-in Wi-Fi, DLNA support, LDAC audio coding technology, pairing via Bluetooth or NFC One-Touch, Push & Play function (Spotify Connect), wireless multi-room support, and a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 8 hours per charge. I bet your bong can’t do all that.
[via Mike Shouts]
Handheld retro gaming machines come and go, but few go so simply and effectively to the point as My Arcade’s Retro Champ. You stick in your NES cartridge, hit the power button and, assuming you blew on it beforehand, it powers up. This one sets itself apart with a big ol’ screen, Famicom compatibility and a whopping 35-hour battery life. Update: Nope! It’s 3 to 5 hours, not 35 as the company originally stated. I thought that was suspiciously high.
I played with the Retro Champ at CES, where they had one under lock and key — it’s not the production version, but that’s coming in the Spring. But it works just like you’d expect, and I was pleased to find it responsive, comfortable and pleasantly ridiculous. It’s really quite big, but not nearly as heavy as it looks.
The 7-inch screen is bright and the color looked good; it was responsive and the device felt well-balanced. The controls are where you’d expect, with big scoops in the back of the case to help you grip it. NES cartridges go in the top (and stick out as you see) and Famicom cartridges tuck in the bottom.
There’s a stand so you can prop it up and use wireless controllers with it (not included; they’re trying to keep the price low), and you can also plug it straight into your TV via HDMI, which basically makes this thing a spare NES home console. The screen is low-resolution, but that’s fine for NES; and its 480p output won’t wow anyone, but again, this is a Nintendo we’re talking about. The original outputs via RF adapter.
Lastly (and hilariously), there’s a hidden cleaning kit with space for a few Q-tips and a small bottle of solvent, for getting those really grimed-up games working.
My questions went to the usual pain points for scrupulous retro-loving gamers like myself:
Yes, it’s a 16:9 screen, and of course NES games were 4:3. So yes, you’ll be able to change that.
And no, it’s not just loading the ROM data into an emulator. This is the common way of doing it, and it produces artifacts and incompatibility with some games, not to mention control lag and other issues. Things have gotten better, but it’s definitely corner-cutting.
I chatted with Amir Navid, the creative director and one of the developers of the device. Though he couldn’t get into the technical details (patents pending), he said that they had developed their own chip that runs the game the same way an actual NES would.
So any cartridge that works on the NES, including homebrew and hacked games, will load right up no problem. That means you can also use a cartridge with an SD card loader, like an Everdrive, for those hard-to-get and hacked titles.
Some features are up in the air, for instance save states. It’s possible, but because this is in effect just a small Nintendo and not a virtual one, it’s also tricky. We’ll see.
I was also curious why there were four round buttons instead of the traditional NES D-pad. Navid said they were still waiting on feedback from players about which worked best; for an actual controller, the original D-pad might be good, but perhaps not for the handheld style. So they’re considering a few configurations; likewise the buttons on the right — they could get some tweaking before release.
The device goes for $80, which seems fair to me. If you want absolute fidelity for a home console, you can spend five to 10 times that amount, while for handhelds there are cheaper and smaller devices out there, most of which use emulators. They’re aiming for enthusiasts who want an easy but uncompromised way of playing their cartridges — lots of us have consoles sitting in boxes, but it’s a pain to get them set up. The Retro Champ could be one of the easiest ways to get back in the game. It ships in June.
There is no shortage of calls for electronic devices that respect and protect users’ privacy but there are extremely few that bet their money on it. One such company is Purism, a social purpose corporation (SPC) based in the US that has made a name for itself with its brand of privacy-focused open source laptops three years ago. Knowing that … Continue reading
People these days change smartphones as often as they change lifestyles or even fashion styles. Phone makers love it but they don’t exactly make it easy for such people to move their important data from old to new phones. That’s especially true when you’re moving between Android phone brands and even worse when you’re moving from iOS to Android or … Continue reading
Hyundai has pulled the cover off its new Elantra GT N Line marking the debut of the N Line trim in the US. The N Line trim adds “sporty design elements and refined powertrain/chassis upgrades” to existing Hyundai products. The 2018 Elantra GT N Line replaces the 2018 Elantra GT Sport. While the GT Sport is discontinued, the entry-level Elantra … Continue reading
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