Phones broke us. Now you can pay someone to help fix you
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We love being on our phones. A lot. Now a cottage industry around “digital detox” wants to help you quit.
Category: LA Times Technology
How Apple Arcade wants to bust up free-to-play games. And why that’s a good thing
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Apple’s iTunes recognized a weakness of the mainstream music industry. Now Apple Arcade is disrupting gaming. A preview of the games to play
Peloton wants IPO investors to believe it can kill the gym
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Peloton has a cult following, and a lot of competition, heading into its IPO
Snapchat is partnering with Amazon to let users shop through their smartphone cameras
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See something out in the world that you want to buy? Now you can just Snap it up.
Walmart and Amazon want to see inside your house. Should you let them?
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The war for the e-commerce shopper is fought on the battlefield of convenience.
Walmart and Amazon want to see inside your house. Should you let them?
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The war for the e-commerce shopper is fought on the battlefield of convenience. One-click ordering, same-day delivery, automatic toilet paper refills: Theres no pain point so small someone wont pay to do away with it.
Although shopping online may be hassle-free, getting those orders delivered…
A robot walks into a bar, doesnt get the joke: struggling to teach humor to AI
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A robot walks into a bar. It goes CLANG.
Alexa and Siri can tell jokes mined from a humor database, but they dont get them.
Linguists and computer scientists say this is something to consider: Humor is what makes humans special. When people try to teach machines whats funny, the results are at…
Apple debuts new iPad Air and iPad mini, which work with Apple Pencil stylus
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Apple Inc. debuted a new mid-tier iPad with a larger screen and introduced the first iPad mini update since 2015. The announcements Monday come a week before the company rolls out a media and entertainment bundle designed to compete with Netflix Inc.
The company debuted a new iPad Air with a 10.5-inch…
With a push of this button, an airplane-noise complaint is filed
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Barbara Deckert has a new weapon in the war against airplane noise, and shes not afraid to use it.
Every time a plane flies over her suburban Maryland home, rattling her windows and setting her teeth on edge, she presses a small white button and feels a tiny sense of triumph.
Thats because with…
I live with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. Here’s how to choose the right one.
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Sure, you could chose a smart speaker based on sound or price. The go-to gadget gift of the season is available from Amazon, Apple and Google with better acoustics, new touch screens and deep holiday discounts.
But you’re not buying just a talking jukebox. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant also…
Samsung’s next smartphone can fold in half
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Flip phone, we hardly knew ye.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday offered a peek at a future phone that unfolds like a book to reveal a 7.3-inch screen inside. Part pocket-size flip phone, part tablet, it’s the most interesting idea I’ve seen in smartphone design for years.
You have to see it to…
Google promises its Pixel 3 phone is sexier on the inside than the outside
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In a year of same-old smartphones, Google is pitching one that’s sexy on the inside.
The $800 Pixel 3 and $900 Pixel 3 XL, which I had a chance to try at Google’s New York launch event Tuesday, can take pictures and screen calls for you. Believe it or not, it can make calls for you too.
Google’s…
Apple Watch faces its toughest challenge yet: Grandma
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Is the new Apple Watch ready for Grandma?
The Series 4 Apple Watch now in stores pitches itself as a Food and Drug Administration-cleared “proactive health monitor” and a “guardian” that will call help if you take a hard fall. Its screen is 30% larger. You won’t see Apple say “senior citizen” in…
Extra inventory. More sales. Lower prices. How counterfeits benefit Amazon
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Jon Fawcett wanted to build a cellphone cable that wouldnt fray. So he developed a charging cord wrapped in stainless steel sturdy enough to withstand an electric chainsaw.
It was a niche product that turned Fuse Chicken, Fawcetts company of half-a-dozen employees, into a quick success. Customers…
Snapchat is partnering with Amazon to let users shop through their smartphone cameras
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See something out in the world that you want to buy? Now you can just Snap it up.
Santa Monicas Snap Inc. announced a partnership with Amazon on Monday that will enable users to point their smartphone cameras at a pair of shoes, the barcode on the bottom of a shampoo bottle, or any other object…
The explosive problem with recycling iPads, iPhones and other gadgets: They burst into flames
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What happens to gadgets when you’re done with them? Too often, they explode.
As we enter new gadget-buying season, spare a moment to meet the people who end up handling your old stuff. Isauro Flores-Hernandez, who takes apart used smartphones and tablets for a living, keeps thick gloves, metal…
As cryptocurrency prices fall, miners look for other things to do with their server farms
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Harry Pokrandt spent the last year scouring the Earth for real estate with two main characteristics. He needed cold weather, to keep his computer servers cool, and cheap electricity, to keep them running 24 hours a day. Pokrandts company, Hive Blockchain Technologies, filled up a Cold War-era…
Apple says iPhones will automatically share location when people dial 911
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Your iPhone will soon be able to share your location data automatically if you ever have to call 911, Apple Inc. announced Monday.
The feature is designed to give first responders faster and more accurate information, helping to reduce the time it takes for emergency services to arrive. According…
Santa Monica proposes tougher rules for Bird and other scooter rental companies
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When the electric scooters descended on Santa Monica in September, the city wasnt prepared.
Overnight, it was inundated with motorized two-wheelers. People began riding them in the middle of the street and on sidewalks at speeds of up to 15 mph, often without helmets. Theyre parked against storefronts…
Apple announces controls to help fight iPhone addiction, plus augmented reality and fitness features
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Apple Inc. introduced features to help iPhone users put down their phones at least temporarily after facing criticism that people were addicted to the companys flagship device and following competitors similar moves to fight smartphone addiction.
The slew of tools includes updates to do…