When Apple launched Apple Pay in 2014, at an event 10 years to the day before this year’s iPhone launch, Apple promised the feature would “change the way you pay.” The company didn’t just let you save a credit card number on your phone; it let you pay for things with a single tap by transmitting information through an NFC chip. Apple was so bullish on mobile payments that Apple Pay was even one of the key selling points for the also-just-announced Apple Watch.

10 years later, Apple Pay is amazing — and about to change

Shortcut Labs has been openly working toward the goal of turning its smart home hubs — the Flic Hub LR and the Flic Hub Mini — into Matter controllers for quite a while, and now the company tells The Verge it has done it. On Friday, Shortcut will release an update that, according to the company, lets its devices easily act as independent hubs for Matter devices without being part of the ecosystems from companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, or Samsung.

Flic is ready to control all your Matter devices

Apple is getting ready to announce the iPhone 16, which will surely be its most powerful and best-camera-having phone yet (at least for the Pro models). It’s also expected to be the first iPhone to launch with Apple Intelligence across the board. In addition to the iPhone 16 lineup...

What to expect from Apple’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ iPhone 16 event

It’s the first press day at the IFA 2024 tech show, and Samsung’s giant billboard on the side of Messe Berlin’s City Cube might just hint at what we’ll see inside this week. The South Korean tech giant’s press conference starts in 15 minutes, and The...

I’m already sensing a theme…

Telegram has quietly removed language from its FAQ page that said private chats were protected from moderation requests. The change comes nearly two weeks after its CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for allegedly allowing “criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.”. Earlier today, Durov...

Telegram will start moderating private chats after CEO’s arrest

Every penny (worth one cent) costs three cents to produce. I can think of a coin we should mint instead.

“We keep minting pennies because no one uses the pennies we mint.”

First announced at IFA last year, Switchbot’s new humidifier uses cold evaporation and a 4.5-liter tank that you’ll never have to refill yourself — if you own the Switchbot S10 robot vacuum. The latter can automatically bring water to the humidifier when it's running low. The SwitchBot...

This smart humidifier can be refilled by a robot.

The new 4K Bravia Projector 9 debuts with several upgrades including 3,400 lumens of brightness and Sony’s “XR Processing technology” to deliver deeper blacks and more accurate colors. For those not willing to spend $31,999.99 on a home theater upgrade, Sony has also announced the Bravia Projector...

Sony’s flagship laser Bravia projector is now even brighter.

Capcom called and said Xbox can come along for the ride, too. The publisher has announced that it will release its two upcoming fighting game collections — Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics and Capcom Fighting Collection 2 — on Xbox in 2025. Capcom announced the two...

Capcom’s two upcoming fighting game collections are heading to Xbox, too

Massachusetts State

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Dianna Carney

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, has recently introduced a tiny six-pound dog named Alistair who is looking for his forever home. At only one year old, this little boy is a sweet dog who is thought to be a Maltese, "but we can’t make any guarantees that he would be suitable for those with allergies," explains the nonprofit animal rescue.

Meet The Tiny 6lb Dog Looking For Love

Apache Junction, AZ

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Suzy Jacobson Cherry

When I studied Anthropology in college, I learned that teeth have been indicators of economic status just about forever. Archaeologists look at the teeth in ancient skeletons and know who the rich were based on their tooth decay. During the Renaissance period, it became fashionable for women to blacken their teeth to look like they were better off than they were, because the royals and aristocrats, who could afford sugar and sweets, had more rotten and missing teeth than the poor.

Opinion: Stop Stereotyping Bad Teeth as a Sign of Drug Addiction

How do you convince a skeptical public that your autonomous vehicles are not only safer than human drivers but also a better way to get around? If you’re Waymo, the answer is data — and lots of it. The Alphabet-owned company revealed a new safety hub today, complete...

Waymo thinks it can overcome robotaxi skepticism with lots of safety data

Safety regulators are urging the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate the ultracheap e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu. In a statement published Tuesday, two CPSC commissioners say Shein and Temu “raise specific concerns,” including reports that “deadly baby and toddler products are easy to find on these platforms.”

US safety regulators say it’s time to investigate Shein and Temu

On the opposite end of its mass market noise-canceling headphones, Sony still routinely releases models designed to accurately reflect creative intent in studio environments. The new $249.99 MDR-M1 has an “exclusively developed driver unit that achieves ultra-wideband playback of 5Hz – 80kHz,” a detachable cable, easily replaceable ear cushions, and a “well-balanced and uncolored frequency response.”

Sony’s latest headphones are built for audio engineers and creators.

Kentucky State

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Jefferson County, KY

Louisville, KY

Northern Kentucky Tribune

Federal, state and local public health officials have confirmed the first case of the Oropouche virus in Kentucky and Jefferson County in a person who had returned to Louisville after traveling to the Caribbean.

Health officials report first case of Oropouche virus, aka ‘Sloth Fever,’ confirmed in Kentucky

Alameda Post

Refined by New York chemist Robert Chesebrough almost 150 years ago, petroleum jelly is still widely used today in topical applications. Even with the myths that abound online about it being carcinogenic, it has withstood the test of time.

Wonder Jelly

After launching its AI-powered try-on tool for shirts and blouses in Search last year, Google is expanding it to dresses. That means you can use the “try on” button to see how dresses might realistically look on models with different body types, ranging from XXS-XXXL.

Google is making it easier to visualize yourself in different dress styles.

Amazon has become the wild west of branding, but differentiating your displays by shortening portable and monitor to pornitor may give shoppers the wrong idea about what you’re actually selling. It’s not known if this was an intentional branding decision, but as Overkill.wtf points out, we need to ensure...

Let’s all hope this portmanteau for portable monitors doesn’t catch on.

The company has teamed up with Bandai Namco to create detailed miniature versions of two classic film cameras, the Nikon F and Nikon SP, and two modern digital cameras, the Nikon Z FC and Nikon Z9. All of the replicas in the Nikon Miniature Collection are non-functional, but they do...

Nikon’s bringing tiny camera replicas to Japanese vending machines.

The SUV pioneer that is now owned by Volkswagen plans on revealing its first battery-powered vehicle on October 24th, according to a banner on the company’s site. No specifics yet, but we’re likely to get a truck and/or an SUV, something designed for off-roading, while also being perfectly at home in a Target parking lot. Expect lots of “chunky” buttons.

Scout Motors sets a date for its first EV reveal.

NewsBreak

The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol

Thread 1.4 has officially been released, bringing much-needed fixes for the nascent smart home protocol. Chief among these is a solution to the problem of Thread...

The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol

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