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Tech NewsAmazon’s Kindle Author Service Dumps Problematic Mobi Files
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably a self-published author who has once struggled with Amazon’s fussy Kindle Direct Publishing platform. The platform, which allows you to upload and sell ebooks and paperbacks, has always been unusually frustrating when it came to ebook layout. If you did it right, you were fine. If you did … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle Is Taking Less of a Cut From Its App Store
Good news for Android app developers. Googleannounced on Tuesday that it is reducing its cut from Play Store proceeds down to 15%, a number in line with Apple’s cut of App Store proceeds. What this means is that on July 1, 2021, Google will take 15% versus 30% from Play Store creator revenue under $1 … Continued
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ReviewsThis Open-Source Security Key Helps You Ditch Software Authenticators
Accidentally deleting your Google Authenticator app is a nightmare. The app, which generates one-time codes for many websites, is usually your key to many major email services, including Gmail, domain name services like Namecheap, and even banking services. If you forget to move these codes over to a new phone when you upgrade, for example, … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsThis Machine Creates 3D Objects in Seconds
When we think of 3D printing we usually think of a little robot that squirts out endless lines of plastic onto a surface. But vacuum forming—smoothing a sheet of thin plastic over an object to make a hollow copy—has been around much longer and is the premise behind Myyard’s Formart 2. The machine allows you … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsThis Sensor Lets Beekeepers Catch Bees Before They Do Each Other Dirty
Our friends the bees have certain behaviors that are unhealthy to the hive and scary for passersby. One behavior, swarming, happens when a hive splits naturally with a group of bees following a new queen. This is a delicate time for the hive and could result in starved bees and a dead queen. In other … Continued
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Tech NewsYour Next Office Might Be a 3D-Printed Smurf House
This odd-looking structure might look vaguely like an alien seed pod, but it’s actually the latest in cubicle design from Dutch 3D-printing company Royal3D. The cubicle or workspace is fully customizable and modular and made of plastic waste from PET bottles. Royal3D partnered with the ARCHITECH Company to create the R-IGLO, an enclosure that users … Continued
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Tech NewsEurope’s Biggest Mobile Tech Show Still Thinks It’s Going to Happen
In the pantheon of tech shows, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is Athena-level—way up on the list but not quite as big or brash as the Zeus-like Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But now it’s acting more like the fun-loving Dionysus and claiming, this early in our post-vaccine world, that the show must go … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsThis Unassuming Little Device Can Hack Your Smart Home
This strange little device may look unassuming—after all, it’s a nod to William Gibson’s famous cybernetic dolphin, Jones. But Flipper Zero, a pocket-sized, dolphin-themed hacking tool, can actually open NFD-based locks, hack access points, and even send keyboard commands to unsuspecting laptops and PCs. The Flipper Zero is an Arduino-compatible board that features an NFT … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsHow to Use a Hardware Wallet to Store Your Crypto
Keeping your cryptocurrency in the exchange where you bought it, be it Kraken, Coinbase, or Gemini, is inherently dangerous. Most of us will dip a toe into the crypto markets by visiting one of these markets and buying a few hundred dollars in currency. But then what do you do with it? Well, you can … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsEero’s CEO Is Betting That Wifi Will Thrive in the 5G Era
Nick Weaver has a dog in the 5G fight. Weaver’s company, Eero, went from making niche home-networking software to being bought out by Amazon in February 2019. Along the way, his startup became part of Amazon’s constellation of unwired home accessories that depend on wifi to connect to Amazon services and the Internet. Eero, which … Continued
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Tech NewsSee What Some of History’s Most Important Scientists Look Like With the DeepNostalgia Treatment
Deepfakes are getting better and better, but instead of wearing Tom Cruise’s face on a golf course, we decided to commemorate some amazing scientists (and one science fiction writer) by bringing them back to fleeting life using DeepNostaglia, a tool created by MyHeritage that breathes movement into old photos.
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis Off-Brand Roomba Rival Gets the Job Done, With a Few Quirks
The Neabot robot vacuum is a stark white puck that hugs its charger like a baby monkey in a Harlow experiment. It has three buttons—start, charge, and clean—and a prominent sensor on top that spins rapidly as it scoots around your house. It does exactly what’s advertised on the box: It sucks up dirt and … Continued
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Tech NewsResearchers Create Tiny, Cicada-Like Drones to Invade Small Spaces
When we think of drones, we imagine massive, quadrotor machines that buzz around like manic seagulls. But what if your drown was small enough to accidentally swallow? That’s what MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Yufeng Chen has built: a set of tiny drones with elastic actuators that power insect-like wings. The entire package weighs 665 mg … Continued
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Tech NewsA Tech IPO? In This Economy?
Wall Street is abuzz with the news of two new tech IPO filings—called S-1s in the parlance —for crypto exchange Coinbase and cloud host Digitalocean. These two companies are doing solid business even during the pandemic. After all, what can people do when stuck at home but trade bitcoin and play with new websites? But … Continued
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ReviewsLaptopsLenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Nano Takes the Lightest Laptop Crown
As we lean into a few more months of WFH life, none of us are looking for the thinnest and lightest laptops out there. The road warriors hunting for something slightly lighter than a cinder block are stuck inside, and couch surfing is now usually done on the phone, not on some wafer-thin slab of … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsTraeger’s Grill App Now Works With Your Apple Watch
Traeger pellet grills and smokers are the centerpieces of many suburban barbecues, and those lucky enough to be able to tend these machines are considered gods among the brisket set. Now, after years of only being able to check and tweak your grill via your phone, Traeger is now offering an Apple Watch app for … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsMicrosoft’s New Headphones are Made for (Xbox) Gamers
If you’re dying to pick up an Xbox Series X or S but have been out of luck so far, Microsoft has a new device to tide you over. The $99 Xbox Wireless Headset, available next month, is a pair of gaming headphones in the style of the new Xbox with a few noteworthy features. … Continued
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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesThis Canon Printer Is Perfect for the WFH Professional
There are printers and then there are printers. We’re all familiar with the small cube-shaped laser printers that spit out a few bake sale flyers or a school book report that are designed to sit on a shelf near your desk at home. Then there are behemoths like Canon’s ImageClass MF743Cdw, a printer that hovers … Continued
By John Biggs
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