This entry-level project will be great for your living room or recreational room. It projects a picture of up to 95-inches in size at 800 x 480 resolution. While that doesn’t sound like much, it’s worth remembering that it’s slightly higher than the resolution of standard-definition TV broadcasts. If you’re not watching HD content, you probably won’t notice the difference. The device has a 5W speaker for audio out, and you can connect an external speaker as well....

When I think of Bluetooth speakers, I mostly picture cute devices that can fit into your bag. These speakers are fine enough if you want to listen to songs with a couple of buddies, or watch a movie on your laptop. But none of them have thumping, room-filling sound that can shake your walls. Thankfully, I came across a great speaker that can do such a thing. The Harman Kardon Go+Play Bluetooth speaker is ideal for parties in your house....

According to a Bloomberg report, which cites sources close to the matter, the Chinese government is pushing for common industry standards on battery swapping technology. The standards would allow EV drivers to change the depleted batteries in their cars for fully charged ones, rather than having to charge from an electricity source. [Read: CES: Fiat’s modular battery concept car envisions a future I want to live in] China appears to be pushing the battery swapping technology in an attempt to further promote electric vehicles in the country....

Let me start this off right. I am transgender. I am a trans woman in tech. And I am an opportunity that you don’t want to miss. I’ve been working in tech for 10+ years now – ever since I started selling MySpace design and automation as a teenager. I’ve worked with some of Australia’s biggest technology companies and startups, collectively valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, mentored in the Microsoft Accelerator and consulted for VC funds....

Unfortunately, they’re not standing up for other humans or forging bonds with other people. The “others” they’re defending and romancing are chatbots. And it’s a little creepy. I recently stumbled across the “Replika AI” subreddit where users of the popular chatbot app mostly congregate to defend the machines and post bot-human relationship wins. Users appear to run the gamut from people who genuinely seem to think they’re interacting with an entity capable of actual personal agency: To those who fear sentient AI in the future will be concerned with how we treated its ancestors: Of course, most users are likely just curious and enjoying the app for entertainment purposes....

In our research, we have studied a wide range of mobile applications and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots used in attempts to counter sexual violence over the past decade. We found these apps have many limitations and unexpected consequences. How apps are being used to address sexual abuse Apps aimed at responding to sexual harassment and assault have circulated for at least a decade. With support from government initiatives, such as the Obama administration’s 2011 Apps Against Abuse challenge, and global organisations, such as UN Women, they have been implemented in corporate environments, universities and mental health services....

One conspiracy theory proposes that the coronavirus is actually a bio-weapon engineered by the CIA as a way to wage war on China. Others are convinced that the UK and US governments introduced the coronavirus as a way to make money from a potential vaccine. Although many of these conspiracy theories seem far-fetched, the belief that evil powers are pursuing a secret plan is widespread in every society. Often these relate to health....

The last thing you want at a time like this is to become a victim of a cyber attack and maybe even lose your computer. But there some straightforward guidelines that should help you protect yourself. Many people are searching online for information about COVID-19. But the pandemic has created what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls an infodemic, in which people are bombarded with an overabundance of both accurate and inaccurate information that is circulating on the internet, making it hard to know what to trust....

For most cities, fewer users mean less fare revenue, triggering a budget crisis just as cities begin to recover from the upheaval caused by coronavirus. The scale of the shortfall is big. Transport for London estimates a £6.4 billion shortfall in the next two years, and the Hong Kong Mass Transport Railway estimates a HK$400m (£39m) net loss for the first half of 2020. In the midst of the crisis caused by lockdown, the large drop in users meant that cities around the world had to ask repeatedly for bailouts from central or state governments....

It may sound illogical, but research by Vanarama shows people are digging deep into their pockets to buy car-related NFTs. This means that they own the cars’ digital rendering (although anyone can view and download it), but they’ll never get to lay a single hand on the vehicle. In fact, as per the study, buyers are willing to pay even more for the NFT version than the actual car. Let’s take a look at four ridiculous examples:...

One option is as part of a crowd, through a decentralized autonomous organization. In this relatively new kind of group, also called a DAO, decisions and choices are governed by holders of one kind of cryptocurrency token, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. DAOs also use “smart contracts” that make decisions through online votes by all participants who wish to weigh in and other forms of automation. DAOs are essentially clubs that harness both crowdfunding and cryptocurrency to operate in arenas from art to sports....

However, after I joined college, my PC gaming reduced quite a bit. A few years later, I made a switch to a MacBook Air, which is not known for its gaming prowess. While I mostly play some casual games on my phone and my Nintendo Switch, I do miss the world of PC games from time to time. So, in this edition of Daily Distraction, we’re gonna list some free PC games for you:...

While 2K hasn’t officially said the character represents the transgender community, it’s been revealed that FL4K is on a personal journey to discover their identity, they were shown off in the same colors in in their announcement video as the Trans Pride flag, and they have the numbers one and zero crossed out in a badge on their outfit. And let’s not be coy here: 2K is among the most queer-friendly developers out there....

In the event you aren’t a numbers person, it’s entirely possible that the science of breaking down data, putting it into a new configuration and thereby recontextualizing its meaning may feel like geek gobbledygook. But data science isn’t about making information impenetrably complex. It’s about making huge data sets more relatable to the average person. Like new mom and data scientist Caitlin Hudon, who used her professional skills to visual map the changes her new baby had on Mom’s daily routine....

The renders are courtesy of Pigtou and leaker @xleaks7, and they display pretty much the most uninteresting phone Google could have possibly come up with: a phone that looks almost exactly like the Pixel 4 that preceded it. The only notable differences are that Google seems to have abandoned facial recognition biometrics for a tried and trusted fingerprint reader, and as a consequence, the company is able to use an almost bezel-less design....

Like Bitcoin, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are cryptocurrencies. But whereas individual bitcoins all have the same value, NFTs are more like baseball cards. Each token has a different value and they can’t be used to buy things. They exist on your computer as digital representations of artworks, songs, films and games, among other things. NFTs have been around since 2017, when the first mainstream experiment in crypto-collectibles emerged: CryptoKitties. The average price for one of these cat cards was about US$60 back then....

Another way of putting it: A PhD student and an artificial intelligence expert are planning to sell some nifty brain-computer interfaces they cobbled together. And, for some weird reason, they’ve called their company Hacker BCI and given it the tagline: “from hackers for hackers.” Per the duo’s website: The NSA might disagree. Up front: Brain-computer interfaces are huge right now. Or, at least, they could be — if they were accessible, affordable, and functional....

It’s pretty standard for Apple to not disclose sales figures, which means analyst firms have a tough job tracking the company. And one of the latest to put out a report is Strategy Analytics, who have looked at the tech giant’s progress with its true wireless earbuds. The report claims that Apple sold “nearly 60 million” AirPods in 2019, taking more than a 50 percent share of the global true wireless earbuds market, and raking in 71 percent of its revenue....

But who is this engagement really for? For most users, it only leads to irrelevant, or worse, distracting work. The constant red dot, the buzzing notification on your phone, and the chime of one more alert calls us to work that may or may not matter. It’s overwhelming and pointless — so let’s stop doing it. Don’t let software get in your users’ way Imagine, if you will, a world in which hammers were optimized for engagement....

At the International Conference on Cybersecurity held at Fordham University, officials explained UK and Dutch police have been running a legal intervention campaign aimed at first-time offenders between the ages of 12 and 23 who broke the law without realizing it, CyberScoop reports. Since kicking off the program in 2018, UK police has had interactions with over 400 hackers who fit the bill, the officials added. “We do this […] to get out and find them and get them into computing clubs before we have to investigate someone and lock them up,” said Gregory Francis, acting national prevent lead at the National Cyber Crime Unit of the National Crime Agency....