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Bose made a 360-degree audio AR experience for the new ‘Star Wars’

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If you’ve got a pair of Headphones 700, QuietComfort 35 Headphones II or Bose Frames, you can unlock an immersive, 360-degree audio journey into the Star Wars universe. Explore classic scenes, such as Luke Skywalker’s lightsabre training in 1977’s A New Hope, or get among Rey and Kylo Ren’s tense showdown in 2015’s The Force Awakens. Bose’s AR-enabled products detect the wearer’s body orientation and movement, so it all sounds like you’re right there among the action. You’ll also be able to access special behind-the-scenes content through the app, too.

In honor of the new movie, Bose is also releasing a limited number of customized QuietComfort 35 Headphones II. Inspired by the colors and design of the dark side, one half of these headphones is dipped in black and emblazoned with a bright red Sith insignia. The other side — red with black patterns and detail — will be immediately recognizable by followers of the Empire and First Order. Get them for $400 from Bose.com.

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NASA unveils ‘the most powerful rocket ever built’

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The SLS has just completed its latest round of testing. To test the fuel tank, a test rig structurally like the real SLS liquid hydrogen tank was subjected to compression, tension and bending forces and its structural integrity was measured by thousands of sensors which detected stress, pressure and temperature. NASA also used cameras and microphones to identify any buckles in the tank.

The SLS program is running rather behind schedule, with launch originally aimed for 2019 and a possible manned first mission being considered. Now, the first test of the SLS is aimed for 2021, to be ready for the Artemis mission to the moon in 2024.



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The Morning After: Google prepares its first Pixel ‘feature drop’

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Probably cheaper than putting another billboard up.Apple’s first CES appearance in 28 years is all about privacy

Apple hasn’t had an official presence at CES since the Newton’s debut in 1992, but it’s about to come back. The company’s Senior Director of Global Privacy, Jane Horvath, is due to speak at a roundtable where she and her peers will share their beliefs on what customers want for privacy protections.


One more PlayStation event for 2019.Watch Sony’s State of Play livestream here at 9AM ET

Sony has set its final PlayStation State of Play event of the year for this morning. It’ll last for around 20 minutes, and you can expect PS4 and PS VR game reveals, release dates, gameplay footage premieres and updates from PlayStation Worldwide Studios among other news. The only question is exactly what we’ll see. PS5 content is out, but maybe some hint of The Last of Us Part II? DLC for Death Stranding? Resident Evil 3? Ghost of Tsushima? We’ll find out soon.


A way to put more emails in your email.Gmail can add emails as attachments to cut down on forwarding

A new Gmail feature gives you a way to attach emails to a new email without even having to download or copy them first. Say you need to send a team member multiple emails from your inbox so they can get started on a project, all you have to do is select the emails and drag and drop them all at once into an open draft window. It’s rolling out gradually, so if you don’t have it yet, it should be available on your account soon.


Cybertruck in the wild.Elon Musk took Tesla’s Cybertruck for a weekend drive around LA

Los Angelenos spotted the Tesla boss driving his electric truck down the 405 and getting some dinner at Nobu.


Upgrades incoming.Pixel 4 will automatically screen robocalls and center your Duo videos

Google’s first Pixel “feature drop,” rolling out this month, will bring new Call Screen features and improved Duo video calls to the Pixel 4. And even if you have a slightly older Pixel, it will let you add Portrait Blur to photos you’ve already taken.


These buds have 10-hour battery life, but no wireless charging.Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus review: Improved, but still pricey

With the MW07 Plus, Master & Dynamic addressed its predecessor’s short battery life issue by more than doubling the play time. What’s more, the new model offers active noise cancellation to cut down on the ambient roar.

But wait, there’s more…


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Watch Sony’s State of Play livestream here at 9AM ET

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As for specific titles Sony will focus on, the details are a little hazy. During the previous State of Play, it announced a release date for The Last of Us: Part II (which it later delayed to May), so it’s not unreasonable to imagine Sony has some major announcements in store.

Last week, it emerged the early access period for Dreams is winding down, suggesting a proper release date for the game creation platform is on the way. There’s a chance there’ll be confirmation of the rumored Resident Evil 3 remake, after purported cover art emerged recently and Geoff Keighley said there won’t be any word on that front at this week’s Game Awards.

And then there’s the looming shadow of what may well be Sony’s last major first-party title for PS4, Ghost of Tsushima. There’s been barely any news about that project since E3 2018, but Sony updated the YouTube playlist for the game last week, perhaps with an unlisted video.

Until now, Sony has typically held its State of Play events late in the afternoon, but you’ll have to be ready a bit earlier to catch the latest edition as it happens. The livestream gets underway at 9AM ET this morning. You can watch it below.



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Thousands of ‘Coolest’ Kickstarter backers will only receive $20

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Five years later, it’s time to put a pin in the sage of “Coolest,” the all-in-one entertainment system/cooler that broke crowdfunding records on Kickstarter in 2014. The Oregonian reports that in 2017 the Portland-based company and its founder Ryan Grepper reached a settlement with the Oregon DOJ that included a provision to send just $20 to backers outside the state who never received their promised hardware.

In a message that blames the Trump administration’s tariffs on products made in China, Coolest has finally admitted the remaining 20,000 or so backers (out of 60,000) will never receive their coolers — a statement that comes after it was selling off coolers in a “cyber week” sale at prices of just $100 a few days ago.

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Nikon ends its authorized third-party repair program

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Nikon sent a letter telling the repair shops that it would not renew their agreements, noting that “the climate in which we do business has evolved, and Nikon Inc. must do the same.” Nikon had set the stage for the move in 2012, when it stopped selling parts to non-authorized shops. At the time, it said that cameras had become too complex and called into question the quality of independent repairs.

If that sounds familiar, it’s more or less the same playbook for Apple, which has also stated that iPhones are too complex for independent repair shops to handle. (At least Apple still has authorized repair centers, however.) Repairs are often a huge profit center for manufacturers, particularly those who sell expensive productions like Nikon.

It’s perfectly legal for companies to do this, which is why many states have introduced “right to repair” legislation. The idea is to give mom & pop repair shops and even individuals access to authorized parts. That in turn would prolong the life of gadgets, which are often used for just a few years and discarded into landfills or worse.

Nikon’s move is bad news in particular for professional photographers, who don’t have the luxury of waiting for long repairs for cameras like the $5,500 D5. It’s also left bricks and mortar repair shops in limbo. “My options now are China, used parts from eBay, and whatever I can salvage,” Cliff Hanks from Kurt’s Camera Repair in San Diego told iFixit. “If I have to tell a customer it’s a couple weeks just to get the part… I don’t know why they wouldn’t go to Nikon directly.”

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IDC: Wearable shipments nearly doubled thanks to earbuds like AirPods

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IDC says new products in the “hearables market” made up almost half of the shipments, driven by people’s need for wireless earphones due to multiple vendors’ decision to ditch the headphone jack. Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables Team, explains:

“Hearables have become the new go-to product for the wearables market. This began with multiple vendors removing the headphone jack from their smartphones, driving the move toward wireless headphones. It continued with hearables incorporating additional features that either augment or expand the audio experience. Next, hearables have taken on multiple form factors — ranging from truly wireless to over-the-ear headphones — appealing to a broad base of earwear user preferences. Finally, prices have come down significantly, with some reaching below $20.”

While the availability of more affordable options boosted wearables’ performance, Apple was still responsible for most of the quarter’s shipments. The growing popularity of the AirPods, the Apple Watch and Beats’ heaphones — none of which could be described as “affordable” — put Apple at the top of the list with a 35 percent marketshare (29.5 shipped units). Xiaomi came in at second place after shipping 12.4 million wearables, thanks to its Mi Band lineup, in Q3 2019. Samsung occupies the third place in the list (8.3 million units shipped), thanks to its new watches and earphones like the Galaxy Buds. Meanwhile Huawei and Fitbit came in at fourth and fifth after shipping 7.1 million and 3.5 million devices, respectively

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What’s on TV this week: ‘The Expanse’ season four

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This week Netflix is taking its foot off on the gas with just one major release, a new comedy special from Michelle Wolf. Meanwhile, Amazon is firing off a new season of its big sci-fi acquisition, The Expanse, and Hulu is delivering the third and final season of Marvel’s Runaways. There’s also a special episode of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime, while most cable and network TV shows wrap things up for a midseason break, and HBO closes out the first season of Watchmen.

On Blu-ray, there’s Hustlers, the It sequel and a special release of Twin Peaks that includes some 4K content. Gamers can try out Blacksad: Under the Skin on consoles or Mechwarrior 5 on PC. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

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‘MLB The Show’ will reach non-PlayStation platforms by 2021

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MLB: The Show will no longer be a PlayStation exclusive by 2021. The franchise debuted on the PlayStation in the late ’90s, and its games were only released for the PS2, the PS3, the PS4 and the Vita over the next two decades. Now, Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association, Sony Interactive Entertainment and San Diego Studio have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership. Further, they’ve revealed that they’re bringing the franchise “to additional console platforms beyond PlayStation platforms as early as 2021.”

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Elon Musk took Tesla’s Cybertruck for a weekend drive around LA

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The truck didn’t seem to have anything about it that was more production-ready than when we saw it at the unveiling, although seeing it on the street gives a good sense of how large the Cybertruck really is. People spotted the truck stopped in traffic, and on the highway, although the most dramatic — and slightly troubling — aspect came as Musk zipped out of the parking lot and clipped a cone that might’ve been hard to see from its cabin.

Of course, if what you really wanted to see was a Cybertruck rampaging across the landscape taking out any vehicle in its path, then you’ll have to settle for this simulation, courtesy of a modded version of GTA V.



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