Category: Features

The ‘Space Jam 2’ trailer shows how old Hollywood is dying

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Like its beloved predecessor, the new  Space Jam , subtitled  A New Legacy , features a host of familiar Looney Tunes characters. There’s Bugs Bunny, of course, and Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam, all of whom starred alongside Michael Jordan in the original 1996 film. Back then, the commingling of two worlds—the NBA and kids’ cartoons—felt exciting and fresh. More than two decades later, however, commingling is far too quaint a word to describe the veritable orgy of Warner Bros. Read More …

LG is killing its phone business after years of mediocrity

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After years of failing to make money on smartphones—and, in recent months, failing to attract a buyer—LG is shutting down its entire phone business . LG says that the decision will help it focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, smart homes, robotics, and 6G (ugh). The company expects to fully wind down the business by July 31, though it will continue to support current phones for an unspecified period of time. While the news seems shocking given LG’s reputation as a major electronics brand, it’s a fitting end for a company that never seemed to figure out what people want in a smartphone. LG’s mobile business hasn’t turned a profit since the first quarter of 2017 , and in recent years its phones have suffered from a series of failed experiments, technical snafus, bad branding, and weak software support. As an example, just consider the fate of LG’s flagship G-Series smartphone line. Reviews for these phones were often polite and respectable , but it was never clear why you should buy one over Samsung’s Galaxy S or Note handsets, let alone Apple’s iPhones. LG seemed to especially struggle on the camera front—perhaps the most important part of any high-end phone—with AI gimmicks that failed to cover up middling fundamentals. ( The Verge ‘s Cameron Faulkner, on the clumsily named LG G8 ThinQ , noted that the camera is “slow to capture, which leads to lots of blurry photos” and “has a hard time getting skin tones right.”) The last time LG released a new G-Series phone was in early 2019. After the company announced that it would no longer release new phones on a regular schedule , it seemed to abandon the line entirely in favor of stranger ideas with even clunkier branding. The LG V60 ThinQ 5G hinged on an optional dual screen accessory for attention, but again failed to distinguish itself on camera quality or design. ( Android Authority’s Eric Zeman : “Pictures I took with the LG V60 look fine, but not exceptional.”) A more recent foray into dual-screen phones with the rotating LG Wing also fell flat . Along the way, LG also had trouble with the basics. Several LG phones from 2015 and 2016 suffered from bootloop issues , in which the phones failed to boot due to faulty connections between components. And as tech journalist JR Raphael points out , the company developed a dismal record for keeping its Android phones up to date. All of this adds up to a company that couldn’t find its way in smartphones. Its high-end phones just weren’t good enough to take on the likes of Samsung and Apple, and it’s been under siege on the low end from device makers like TCL and OnePlus . That’s not to say LG’s decision to shut down its smartphone business isn’t a loss for tech enthusiasts Read More …

How remote work helped us move past old-school ‘professionalism’

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Over the past year, much has been made of where, when, and how we work. But the sweeping shift to working remotely has raised a deeper question that we’re still not sure how to answer: Who are we at work?   The pandemic has scrambled so much of the “normal” professional experience—commutes, workspaces, business hours, childcare, business travel—that it’s also rewiring our concept of professionalism itself.   For me, “professionalism” began 18 years ago when I started as an intern at Microsoft. Today, I lead a team of more than 500 designers and researchers creating the next generation of communication and creation experiences for Microsoft 365, across both work and life. As you can imagine, design at Microsoft has changed dramatically over the years, and that includes how people collaborate.   When it comes to traditional modes of expression, both Microsofties and our customers typically drew a clear line between work style and personal style. Take emoji or reactions as an example. I use them freely in texts or on social media, but on a productivity platform like Microsoft Teams? As much heart as I put into my work, I never thought I’d “heart” things there. I do that at home, where my guard is down. But now that the office is my home, there are hearts all over the place. I heart everything (unless I’m giving it a thumbs down). Read More …

The Google Nest Hub offers the perfect sleep tracker for lazy people

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Google’s newest Nest Hub is the tech giant’s best attempt yet to be all things to all people. The device so far has made a name for itself as a modern picture frame , the perfect kitchen assistant, and even a cool tool for makeup tutorials . Now, the Nest Hub can function as a sleep tracker, providing a better reason for you to let Google into your bedroom. Nest Hub’s sleep tracking is built for anyone who is on the fence about using technology to assess how well they’re sleeping. It’s a very stripped-down experience compared with popular sleep trackers like Oura Ring or even the Apple Watch, but it won’t make you feel judged for your bad habits. And, if you do feel ashamed of your sleep statistics, you can easily delete them at any time in the Google Fit app (oddly, you can only delete your data on the Nest Hub itself within two hours after you wake up). That makes the Nest Hub a great addition to the roster of available sleep trackers. In the week I spent trying it out, I found the Nest Hub to be extremely low maintenance. You don’t need to wear it, you don’t need to check it every day, and you don’t need to remember to charge it—it’s always plugged in. The tracker works in the background on its own. The sleep tracking is enabled by Google’s motion-sensing Soli technology, which also powers the device’s new gesture-control feature, a user favorite that was previously available only with the Nest Hub Max . With gesture control, users can pause music simply by air-high-fiving the screen or move to the next step in a recipe with a wave. (Soli, which uses radar to detect motion , first launched in the Pixel 4 smartphone.) [Photo: courtesy of Google] In order for the sleep-tracking feature to work, the Nest Hub has to sit on a night table that is the same height as the top of your mattress (my side table is a few inches higher, though I don’t think it affected my results). Read More …

This smart ring lets you remote-control Zoom and PowerPoint

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In the age of remote work, a smart ring for productivity such as the Genki Wave seems like a clever idea. Instead of making you search for the right keyboard shortcuts to unmute yourself on Zoom or turn your laptop’s volume down, the Genki Wave for Work  ($149, with a launch price of $99) lets you wear those same shortcut buttons and more right on your index finger. And since you’re not working in an actual office, no one’s going to judge you for wearing an unashamedly dorky accessory. [Photo: courtesy of Genki] But the more I used the Genki Wave myself, the more disappointed I became by all the things it wouldn’t let me do. While the idea of wearable computer shortcut buttons has some promise, Genki’s approach doesn’t live up to its potential yet. Not your typical ring The Genki Wave is technically not a new product. It debuted last year as a wearable MIDI controller for musicians, the kind you’d use to quickly trigger a drum fill or dial down the volume. But during the pandemic, Genki Instruments saw a chance to pivot to a broader audience by using the Wave to help people deal with an onslaught of Zoom calls and remote PowerPoint presentations. To that end, the ring is decidedly utilitarian, with one half containing its eight-hour battery and electronics, and the other half comprised of a Velcro loop. You wear the ring on your index finger, and the chunkier half is supposed to stick out to the side, letting you easily press its three rubberized buttons with your thumb. The Wave uses Bluetooth to connect with your computer, and it has a companion app to control what its buttons do. Despite its bulk, I found the Wave to be fairly comfortable. I wore it loosely enough to pull on or off without undoing the Velcro strap, and at one point I forgot that I was still wearing it after getting up from my computer. [Photo: courtesy of Genki] Out of the box, the ring is most helpful for video calls in apps such as Zoom or Google Meet. Read More …