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Weekly Rewind: A weight loss vest, manmade meteors, and a physical Amazon store

top tech stories 05 22 2016 tokyo meteor shower
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In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from what happened at Google I/O to a lung cancer detecting breathalyzer, it’s all here.

Stories: 1-5

Google I/O 2016 recap: Android Wear 2.0, Allo and Duo, Google Home, Daydream, and more

Google’s I/O developer conference keynote has come and gone, revealing the internet titan has more than just a few slick tricks up its sleeve. Highlights from the massively well-attended event include the announcement of a VR program Google has developed called Daydream.

Read the full story here.

A closer look at Thin Ice: the magical weight loss vest that siphons heat off your body to burn calories

Thin-Ice-vest-plate-1
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It seems like something out of science fiction or a bad infomercial. A wearable that lowers the temperature when pressed on the skin to help the body burn more calories and, in the process, cut more fat out of those problem areas? That explains Thin Ice in a nutshell, a vest that uses patent-pending cooling technology to help trigger weight loss.

Read the full story here.

Bye-bye Marvel? Hulu’s new live TV service has Disney CEO rethinking Netflix deals

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Earlier this month, both Hulu and YouTube announced plans within days of each other to launch live-streaming internet TV services in 2017. While this might have seemed an odd move for YouTube, it almost seemed a given for Hulu, given that three of the companies expected to be licensing content to the new service are also co-owners of the streamer.

Read the full story here.

The Zuck met with conservatives over news bias claims, and here’s what happened

Facebook-Mark-Zuckerberg
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Working tirelessly to limit the damage caused by recent accusations that Facebook has been suppressing stories from conservative news outlets for its Trending Topics feature, Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday met with more than a dozen leading conservatives to discuss how to ensure the social networking service can “continue to be a platform for all ideas across the political spectrum.”

Read the full story here.

Knocki surpasses its Kickstarter goal in a little more than an hour

Knocki-in-Hand
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Secret knocks have long been used to gain entrance to treehouses, clubs, and forts, and now you can actually use one to unlock your front door. Swan Solutions decided to take the idea of specialized knocks and apply it to everything in your house. The Knocki is a silver-and-white hockey puck-shaped device that lets you turn on your lights, change the song you’re listening to, or switch off the TV.

Read the full story here.

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Stories: 6-10

We break down Google’s 6 different personal chatting apps

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Google announced two new messaging platforms at Google I/O: Allo, an upcoming application heavily integrated with Google Assistant, and Duo, a video app that showcases live footage from incoming calls before users even pick up. These apps also come a mere two days after Google announced Spaces, a group chat application and social network that’s heavily integrated with Google’s own search engine.

Read the full story here.

Want an impressive opening ceremony? 2020 Olympics may include a man-made meteor shower

SkyCanvas Promotion Movie (Dubai, Singapore, Japan)

Call it the world’s best idea or worst idea, but it’s sure to be something special. The Olympics may be all about athletic prowess, but its opening ceremonies have always been about showmanship. And what could be more spectacular than a man-made meteor shower? Star-ALE is bidding for the right to create a meteor shower over Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

Read the full story here.

A group of Harvard and MIT students have created a lung cancer breathalyzer system

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A team of entrepreneurs from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a breathalyzer capable of detecting early stages of lung cancer. At MIT’s 27th annual Entrepreneurship Competition, Astraeus Technologies won a $100,000 grand prize for its L CARD (Chemically Actuated Resonate Device).

Read the full story here.

FindFace is a new facial recognition app that could end public privacy

FindFace: an app that allows you to find any person in your Network for photography

Facial recognition can be a wonderful feature to have implemented into platforms and devices. You can unlock your computer with it, automatically have your photos sorted by who’s in them, and even swap your face with your dog in Snapchat. But what happens when facial recognition is so good that it almost completely eliminates the potential of anonymity in public?

Read the full story here.

A brick-and-mortar Amazon store may be coming to a city near you

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Don’t be fooled by the brick-and-mortar stores it’s got, this is still Amazon from the block. Or rather, the web. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has promised to bring more of Amazon offline and into the physical sphere, though it’s unclear yet as to how many “more” really is. But don’t worry — Amazon isn’t leaving the internet behind.

Read the full story here.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Niagara Launcher, one of the best Android launchers, finally has backups
Niagara Launcher on a Samsung device.

Niagara Launcher, one of the most popular apps in the Google Play Store, has received a significant update. It now includes a backup feature, which many users have requested. The news about Niagra’s “Winter Update” was announced on X.

The new backup feature allows launcher users to save their settings for future restoration. This is especially helpful for those switching phones, resetting their devices, or experimenting with different setups. It integrates with Android’s built-in backup system, automatically saving your settings to Google Drive. This backup includes user favorites, app swipe actions, blacklisted apps, and more.

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The Oura Ring 4 is out, so the Oura Ring 3 is on sale
A person wearing the Oura Ring 3rd generation Horizon model.

Fitness trackers come in all shapes and sizes, but did you know that they can also come in the form of rings? If you're interested, you can get the Oura Ring 3, a smart ring that can monitor different kinds of health metrics, with a $50 discount from Best Buy. Instead of its original price of $299, you'll only have to pay $249, but you need to act fast because we're not sure when the offer will end. Add the wearable device to your cart and proceed with the checkout process immediately if you don't want to miss the savings.

Why you should buy the Oura Ring 3
Despite the arrival of the Oura Ring 4, the Oura Ring 3 remains a worthwhile purchase as one of the best fitness trackers that you can buy. According to our Oura Ring 4 versus Oura Ring 3 comparison, the Oura Ring 4 is thinner and lighter, and offers a slightly improved battery, but it shares the same fitness tracking features with the Oura Ring 3, and both are compatible with iOS and Android smartphones. They also both require an Oura membership that costs $6 per month to unlock deeper insights and exclusive features, so the lower price of the Oura Ring 3 compared to the Oura Ring 4 is even more appealing.

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We loved the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and it’s on sale today
Pixel Studio app running on the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.

We’re just a week away from Christmas 2024, which means there’s going to be a lot of folks doing last-minute shopping, both in stores and online. And if you’ve been perusing the web for great phone deals and you’re looking to stay away from iPhones and Samsung Galaxy hardware, we found the perfect offer for you:

Right now, you can order the 256GB unlocked version of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and you’ll only end up paying $950. At full price, this phone sells for $1,200. We tested the Pixel 9 Pro XL back in October, and reviewer Joe Maring said, “The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL offers stunning hardware, lovely cameras, and much-improved specs — making it one of 2024's best flagship smartphones.”

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