Hasta La Gadget!

Peloton’s less-than-stellar news isn’t limited to its poor financials. As ABC Newsreports, Peloton has revealed multiple federal probes over its reporting of fitness equipment injuries. Both the Justice Department and Homeland Security have subpoenaed the exercise hardware maker for documents and other data related to injury reporting, while the SEC is investigating public disclosures over those injuries.

The news follows a contentious recall for the Tread and Tread+ in May. Peloton recalled roughly 125,000 of the treadmills despite fighting the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the matter — the company insisted its gear was safe to use as long as people followed instructions, while officials weren’t convinced the measures would have prevented a child’s death and at least 29 injuries. The firm eventually relented, and it’s just now shipping a safer Tread with hardware and software updates.

There are no guarantees any of the investigations will lead to crackdowns on Peloton’s behavior. They do put pressure on the company to act, though, and they come right as Peloton is turning to price cuts to boost flagging sales. The situation is dire, in other words, and it’s not going to improve in the near future.

The audio-based social media platform Clubhouse has announced new spatial audio support, providing users with a more immersive environment where participants hear others around them in a realistic way. The new feature is a welcomed addition that will work with just about any pair of headphones you own, but there’s one major limitation. Clubhouse is the ‘social audio app,’ one … Continue reading

The seven-time Emmy winner reportedly died on Sunday.

Clubhouse revolves around drop-in audio chatrooms, so wouldn’t it make sense if they sounded more like rooms? They will now, if you have the right hardware. The company is rolling outspatial audio support to the Clubhouse app for iOS, giving you and participants a more “lifelike” conversation. You might remember who’s speaking based on where their voice is coming from, not just what they sound like.

The feature will “slowly” reach all new iOS users starting today, and will be the default experience (you can turn it off if you prefer). Android is “coming soon,” Clubhouse said. We’ve asked the company if you need earbuds or headphones that explicitly support spatial audio, like the AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.

This addition probably won’t make you choose Clubhouse over Facebook’s Live Audio Rooms or Twitter Spaces. It may give you a reason to stick to Clubhouse, though, and it could be particularly helpful if ‘flat’ chatrooms feel too detached from reality.

Update 8/29 2:12PM ET: Clubhouse told Engadget all wired and wireless headphones will support spatial audio. You won’t hear it when you’re speaking with Bluetooth audio due to technical limitations, but the effect will still be applied. The company hoped to address that issue with “mobile OS makers” (read: Apple and Google).

Having grown up in the 1980s, I have a real fondness for pixel art. There are lots of ways to make pixel art of your own these days beyond using programs like Deluxe Paint, from melting Perler beads together to making images with 1×1 LEGO bricks. The Divoom Pixoo Max lets you make pixel art images and animations using a grid of colorful LEDs.

Its 9.6″ screen features a 32 x 32 grid of RGB LED pixels which can be programmed with a companion smartphone app. You can pick from numerous still and animated images in the Divoom Pixel Gallery or create your own. In addition, it can be programmed to display notifications from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or to display the time or weather.

The Pixoo Max has a built-in stand or can be mounted on your fridge, a wall, or even your car windows. Since it runs on a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, you can use it on the road. It’s available from Amazon (affiliate link) for $109.99.