The Morning After: Tech that helps with those New Year’s resolutions
Welcome to the new year. How are those resolutions coming along? (Don't worry, we can help.)
Contrary to my expectations, CES 2022 is still happening. However, the organizers have announced that the tech show will be cut short by a day, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. It’s also kind of started early, with some big announcements from Samsung already, including putting NFTs into its TVs, and an upgraded eco TV remote that sips on your WiFi waves for energy.
Expect a week of hardware announcements, even if chances to play with and assess these new devices are a little limited without attendance in person.
-Mat Smith
Alienware's Concept Nyx is like a Plex server for your PC games
But will it appeal to anyone beyond PC gaming fanatics?
Alienware’s newest concept can be boiled down to a gaming server that runs on your home network. You could conceivably run two games at once on your television, as Engadget saw during a recent demo in NYC. Since all of the rendering and network processing is happening in your home, Nyx would also be a lower latency experience than traditional cloud gaming.
This is a shiatsu hand massager for gamers
A hand warmer setting may help you get good.
To help soothe their weary mitts, Japanese company Bauhutte has created a hand massager for gamers. The device works on either hand and has a 15-layer airbag for each finger and a shiatsu plate for the palm. There are two main options: a Shiatsu mode for the entire hand, and one that focuses on stretching fingers.
The next AirPods Pro might support lossless audio
You might have an easier time finding your case, too.
Now that the third-generation AirPods offer some of the same features as the AirPods Pro, how will Apple’s higher-end wireless earbuds stand out? Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple is launching its second-generation Pro earbuds in the fall with support for Apple Lossless (ALAC) audio. Kuo expects the updated headphones will offer a "new form factor design" and that the new buds will supposedly include a charging case that can make sounds, much like AirTags, to help find it behind your couch cushions.
Samsung’s latest remote turns router radio waves into energy
The 2022 Eco Remote has a white option to match Samsung's lifestyle TVs.
Samsung has revamped the solar-charging remote it debuted at last year’s CES. Along with using light to top up the battery, Samsung says the latest Eco Remote can convert routers' radio waves into energy to stay fully charged. There's still a solar panel on the rear of the remote, which is also made with recycled materials.
Twitter bans Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account
Due to repeatedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Twitter has banned Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account after a fifth "strike" for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. A fifth strike means it’s a permanent ban.
In the past year, she claimed in July that COVID-19 wasn't dangerous unless you were over 65 or obese, and in August said vaccines were "failing" against the new coronavirus' Delta variant. Both statements were untrue. The posts respectively led to 12-hour and one-week suspensions. Her official account is still active as of this writing because it hasn't run afoul of Twitter's rules. Beyond that, she may have to wait around for TRUTH Social to finally launch.
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Tech that can help you stick to your New Year's resolutions
And the biggest losers in tech in 2021 are..
Samsung is putting NFTs in its smart TVs
Square Enix is investing in decentralized blockchain games
Welcome to the new year. How are those resolutions coming along? (Don't worry, we can help.) Contrary to my expectations, CES 2022 is still happening. However, the organizers have announced that the tech show will be cut short by a day, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. It’s also kind…
