Hasta La Gadget!

Pediatricians share their do’s and don’ts for supporting a child with shot anxiety.

The next-gen Galaxy Z Fold and Flip foldables aren’t expected to deviate too far from the current models. Despite that, leaked prices indicate you’ll pay more.

It looks like Samsung’s not quite finished pushing the envelope when it comes to ultra-high-resolution camera sensors – at least based on a new trademark.

It’s been a while since EVs shed their fringe curiosity reputation and become a mainstream transportation technology, but they’re still not yet ubiquitous enough that the general public is really comfortable with the vagaries of their day to day use. Basically, EVs are the shiny new toy and people still have questions. GM is here to answer them. The company announced on Monday that it is opening an online showroom/studio, dubbed EV Live, that will host Q&A sessions with the general public about electrification, the ins and outs of EV ownership and GM’s Ultium 360 charging network and electric vehicle offerings.

The free service will allow anyone in the US, over the age of 18, with an internet connection to contact one of GM’s EV liaisons to “answer EV-related questions in real-time and give virtual tours of the EV Live studio.” That studio will feature mockups of GM’s home and public chargers, the company’s battery technology, and of course GM EVs. The liaisons will be able to speak on a wide range of subjects — from the engineering and chemistry that goes into the batteries, to explaining the home charger installation process and select a certified vendor — but don’t expect the answers to be all-encompassing.     

“If somebody’s got a question about a Tesla battery pack, I’m sure they’ve done a lot of resources at their fingertips,” Hoss Hassani, GM vice president of EV Ecosystem, said during a press call on Friday. “We want to talk to people about EV considerations overall where the opportunity presents to talk specifically about the GM advantage.”

“We are not looking for our EV specialists to offer any editorial commentary, or get into a political discussion about federal policy, or state policy, or any of that,” he added. The showroom is focused primarily on electric cars, trucks and SUVs but Hassani hinted that ebikes, electric ATVs and other offroad electric transports could eventually become topics of discussion as well. 

GM expects both prospective EV buyers and recent purchasers to find value in this service. “If you’re someone who owns an EV, if you drove off a lot and then realized — like many of us do — ‘oh shoot, I have a whole bunch of questions that I didn’t get answered,’ this is an awesome place to come to to understand how you can make the most of what you’re already driving,” a GM representative noted during the call.  

Visitors will be able to schedule a live one-on-one tour with a liaison — on-demand live group tours and prerecorded walkthroughs are coming later this year — and ask questions either through voice or text chat. But before you go whipping out your junk on camera, know that the liaisons will not abide. 

“The staff are empowered,” Hassani said. “If they find a conversation is just headed in a direction that is untoward, or that somebody is treating them inappropriately… well, it’s very easy to disconnect the call.” The studio will be open Monday to Thursday from 9am to midnight ET, Friday from 9am to 9pm ET, and Saturday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm ET.

After months of teasing, the NFL has launched its expected streaming service. The newly available NFL+ gives you access to live football streams and ad-free library content through the NFL App and the web starting at $40 per year or $5 per month. Spend $80 per year or $10 per month on NFL+ Premium and you’ll also get ad-free match replays (both full and condensed) across devices as well as Coaches Film features like All-22.

There are some significant catches, however. While you’ll have live audio for every game regardless of device, live video is only available for live local and “primetime” games on phones and tablets — you can’t use this to watch a playoff run through your computer or TV. Preseason games are limited to out-of-market showdowns (on all devices), although arguably a perk when you can often find local preseason games on TV for free.

The NFL+ debut puts an end to Game Pass in the US. Not that you’ll necessarily mind — even the Premium tier is less expensive than the outgoing $100 per year offering. While you won’t have as much freedom as you might like, the new offering might make more sense if you normally watch on mobile or just want to catch the occasional game while away.