The word “reshoots” means different things to different people. Some assume they’re a sign of a troubled production, one that needs to fix its own mistakes. Others see them as a blessing, a rare chance to go back and make something better with added perspective. Depending on the situation both viewpoints can be true,…
This week we got our first look at Power Rangers’ big celebration for its 30th birthday—a new special episode reuniting a mix of first and second-generation rangers from the original Mighty Morphin’ team. But a notable face was missing among them.
It was only a matter of time until Google launched its own location tracker, similar to Apple’s AirTags, Samsung’s SmartTag, and of course, Tile. According to the developer (and well-sourced leaker) Kuba Wojciechowski, Google’s Nest team is developing a tracker codenamed “Grogu.” It’ll reportedly include an onboard speaker, as well as support for Bluetooth Low Energy and ultra-wideband (UWB). Wojciechowski found evidence of the tracker when he noticed that Google added support for locator tags in the developer hub for Fast Pair, the Android feature that lets you quickly connect Bluetooth devices.
While there aren’t any specific details at this point, we can expect Google’s tracker to work like the competition (attach it to whatever you like, and keep tabs on its location with your phone). It’s also unclear if Google can replicate Apple’s admittedly slick AirTag experience. Wojciechowski says that the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro both shipped with UWB modules, which would allow them to direct you to nearby objects acccurately. But he notes that Google’s “finder” network won’t require UWB — BLE should be enough.
I have recently found references that show that Google’s working on support for locator tags in Fast Pair – see the linked thread for more info. https://t.co/8tvlWaHQpv
Now it turns out Google’s working on a first party tracker too!
— Kuba Wojciechowski⚡ (@Za_Raczke) January 16, 2023
While Google can’t guarantee that every Android phone will ship with UWB, Wojciechowski says Google is working with chipset makers to help them support Fast Pair. That means we could see third-party trackers rounding out the location network, something it’s hard to imagine Apple ever allowing. As for availability, Wojciechowski didn’t find any specific timing, but he notes that it could be announced at I/O this year. That makes sense, as Google is already far behind the location tracking competition.
An attorney for Derek Chauvin has asked an appeals court to throw out the former Minneapolis police officer’s convictions in the murder of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, the Wikimedia Foundation finally showed off the changes it made to the desktop version of its open online encyclopedia, an update that’s been over a decade coming and close three years in development.
The font style used in the U.S. State Department is changing, prompting complaints from employees who find the change to be an inconvenience. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent an email to the state department, headlined “The Times (New Roman) are a-Changin,” ala Bob Dylan, saying they will be changing the font…
Researchers combing the surface of Antarctica for space rocks hit the jackpot by finding five meteorites in the tundra, one of which weighs almost 17 pounds.
Since arriving on the market around 2010, gel manicures have become a staple in nail salons across the US and many parts of the world, and it’s easy to see why. Compared to traditional nail polish, gel variants are more resilient to damage and smudging, and they retain their shine until you remove the polish from your fingernails. Best of all, if you’re the impatient sort, you don’t need to wait an hour or more for a gel manicure to dry. Those benefits all come courtesy of the way the polish cures. Instead of waiting for a gel polish to dry naturally, you place your hands under a UV light, which activates the chemicals inside the gel, causing it to harden.
While the dangers of UV light — particularly in tanning settings — are well-known, before this week scientists had not studied how the ultraviolet lights used to cure gel polishes might affect human skin. You might think what we know about tanning beds applies here, but the devices used by nail salons emit a different spectrum of ultraviolet light. A group of researchers from the University of California San Diego decided to study the devices after reading an article about a beauty pageant contestant who was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer.
Using different combinations of human and mouse cells, the researchers found a single 20-minute session with an ultraviolet nail polish dryer led to as many as 30 percent of the cells in a petri dish dying. Three consecutive 20-minute sessions saw 65 to 70 percent of the exposed cells dying off. Among the remaining cells, the researchers saw evidence of mitochondrial and DNA damage, in addition to mutations that have been seen in skin cancer patients.
“Our experimental results and the prior evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers may cause cancers of the hand and that UV-nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of early-onset skin cancer,” the researchers write in a study published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday. They warn that a longer epidemiological study is needed before they can conclusively say the use of UV drying devices leads to an increased risk of skin cancer, adding “it is likely that such studies will take at least a decade to complete and to subsequently inform the general public.”
You might think the advice here is to avoid UV dryers, but it’s not so simple. Gel manicures have become an industry standard for a reason. For many people, regular nail polish starts to chip off after a day or so, making a traditional manicure often not worth the time, money or effort.
The “Up” rapper discussed her decision to reconcile with her husband after their split in 2020.
Chevrolet’s new Corvette E-Ray has an electric motor as well as a traditional one. You can run it using only the electric one, but how far can you get that way?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
