Monthly Archives: March 2024

Gaia Tiny House Is Wider & Longer Than Typical Tiny Homes With A Spacious Interior

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Named the Gaïa Tiny House, this impressive home by Baluchon is unlike its usual pint-sized dwellings. The home occupies 387 square feet, and it features a spacious interior layout that can easily accommodate a small family, letting them live in absolute comfort. The tiny home is finished in pine, and accentuated with aluminum accenting, creating a subtle and minimal exterior. It is based on a double-axle trailer.

Designer: Baluchon

The tiny home has a length of almost 26 feet, making it 6.5 feet longer than Baluchon’s usual tiny homes, which is something to appreciate. It has a width of 11.4 feet, which is an increase and improvement over Baluchon’s usual 8.2 feet. These little adjustments make a massive difference, as they create an apartment-style layout within the home, but this also means the house needs a permit to be towed on the road.

The home is connected to the outdoors via massive glass doors, which also connect to the terrace area, which is yet to be attached. A secondary door is installed on the opposite wall, which allows visitors into the living room. The living room has quite a spacious appeal, and it is equipped with generous glazing, a sofa bed, and a chair. The kitchen is located nearby, and it is arranged in a L-shape while holding a fridge/freezer, oven, sink, two-burner propane-powered stove, shelving, and custom cabinetry. The space also includes a dining table for four people. The kitchen and bathroom are connected through a small sliding door, and the bathroom contains a shower, sink, toilet, and some storage space.

The Gaïa Tiny House accommodates two bedrooms, and both of them are conventional loft spaces with low ceilings. You can access the main bedroom via a storage-integrated staircase, and it includes a double bed, two oak bedside tables, and a long storage unit with drawers. The second bedroom can be accessed through floating stairs that seem to extend from the main staircase. This room includes a single bed and an oak desk study area. Both rooms have a skylight with an integrated electric bind.

The post Gaia Tiny House Is Wider & Longer Than Typical Tiny Homes With A Spacious Interior first appeared on Yanko Design.

This stylish hearing aid inspired by open earbuds blends ergonomics and functionality

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Why do all hearing aids have to make you look old and unstylish? Why can’t they be as cool as those modern open-design earbuds? This very predicament inspired a design house to propose a hearing aid form that shifts assumptions and stereotyping. The design is backed by viable features and useful functionality that’ll make any traditional hearing aid user interested in the idea.

Meet Claro, a battery-powered, Bluetooth-connected pair of hearing aids that redefines style without compromising any aspect of functionality. Adapting the open-ear design that we’ve seen on the Bose Open Earbuds, these ergonomic hearing aids seamlessly sit on the user’s ears, sidelining the common medical gadget aesthetics for good.

Designer: Crux Product Design

The hearing aid can be connected to with upto 3 devices simultaneously – so you can connect it to your phone for taking calls, music player to listen to podcasts, or a laptop to join meetings in an instant. Those cables in arch form maximize the flexibility of use with different-shaped ears and wearing comforts. A useful feature comes in the form of inner ear biometrics that detects the Internal Carotid Artery for an unobstructed source of data.

The hearing aid is equipped with sensors to detect health and ear hygiene too. Loaded with advanced sensors for providing functions like pulse oximetry, heart rate and respiratory rate, the gadget eliminates the need for wearing a smartwatch or fitness tracker. To keep all the functions working obstruction-free, Claro can be charged in the provided case. If you are a constant user of hearing aids, you can also swap the internal replaceable batteries with a pair of rechargeable batteries to stay connected for longer without any interruptions.

We hope to see this product become a reality and that possibility cannot counted out as Crux Product Design is committed to bringing new-age solutions to their users.

The post This stylish hearing aid inspired by open earbuds blends ergonomics and functionality first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Leica M Camera Gets A Minimalist Makeover

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We’re officially in an age of remakes and reboots. Whether it’s movie franchises, music genres, vinyl discs, or even cars like the Lamborghini Countach getting a modern revival, the words ‘Old Is Gold’ seem to hold true for nostalgic classics… Now, Shanghai-based designer Wencheng Zhang is reviving yet another classic from the mid-50s. Perhaps one of the most iconic cameras of its time, the Leica M gets a minimal redesign thanks to Zhang. Crafted from a single block of aluminum, the redesigned camera combines old-world analog charm with a modern aesthetic and cutting-edge features that bring the 1954 classic shooter well into the year 2024.

Designer: Wencheng Zhang

Zhang’s concept reimagines the Leica M for the modern era, stripping away unnecessary elements to create a truly minimalist design. Imagine a camera precisely carved from a single block of aluminum, echoing the unibody confidence of classic Leicas while hinting at the sleek lines of the Leica TL2. Zhang mentions that the inspiration for this form came from none other than Leica’s very first camera, the Ur-Leica Replica.

While the classic Leica M layout is instantly recognizable, Zhang incorporates subtle tweaks to enhance ergonomics. A gently angled top plate improves in-hand feel, while the familiar viewfinder and large touchscreen display (borrowed from the M11) remain. However, in the spirit of minimalism, Zhang removes the M11’s three customizable function buttons.

Essential physical controls are consolidated on the top plate, just like a classic Leica. Raised numbers provide a nice textural contrast on the shutter speed dial, which sits perfectly flush with the camera body alongside the shutter button. The overall design prioritizes clean lines and seamless interaction.

Zhang even extends the minimalist concept to the charger, featuring a compact dual-slot design for convenient battery management on the go.

The post The Leica M Camera Gets A Minimalist Makeover first appeared on Yanko Design.

Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group come out swinging against Apple’s third-party payment rules

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Several notable names have joined Epic Games in taking a stance against Apple's decision to charge a fee for iOS payments made outside of the App Store. Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group filed an amicus brief in the case, as The Wall Street Journal reports. That lends some heavyweight backing to Epic's cause.

Apple was forced to enable third-party payments on iOS due to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and a court ruling in the US. It also has to allow alternative app marketplaces on iOS in the EU. The company takes up to a 30 percent cut of App Store purchases. Perhaps fearing that it was about to lose out on a significant chunk of commission, Apple said it would charge a fee of up to 27 percent when developers process purchases outside of the App Store.

Epic this month filed a petition asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to enforce a permanent injunction she issued against Apple in 2021 as part of her ruling in the case between the two companies. The decision compelled Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment systems.

Most of Rogers' ruling was in Apple's favor, however, and both companies appealed the decision all the way up to the Supreme Court. However, in January, the highest court in the US declined to hear the appeals. That means Rogers' permanent injunction against Apple stood, but Epic was not happy about the way Apple implemented the third-party payment changes.

The four companies supporting Epic's petition claim that the fee Apple is charging on external payments effectively leaves the previous rules in place. "The Apple Plan comports with neither the letter nor the spirit of this Court's mandate," their brief states.

As X put it, the 27 percent fee doesn't give developers much incentive to link to external payment methods. Microsoft, which has been working on its own mobile game store, noted that Apple's latest policy limits its ability to offer users subscriptions and discounts. Match Group argued that Apple's decision will affect many developers and users, and that it stymies the court's attempt to offer consumers competition on pricing.

Meta, meanwhile, charges more for its ad-free plans and boosted posts on its iOS apps than it does on the web. (The ad-free subscription is also more expensive in the company's Android apps, as Google takes a cut of in-app payments too). Meta states in the amicus brief that it ought to be able to direct users to other payment options for boosted posts.

Apple claims to have complied with the court order. According to the Journal, the company (which is reportedly facing a Justice Department antitrust case) says its current external link policies are important to protect user privacy and security. Apple has also been dinged over its compliance with the DMA, with critics suggesting the company might be adhering to the letter of the law, but not its spirit. 

For what it's worth, Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group filed their petition one day after the EU's antitrust chief warned Apple over new fees it's charging developers (and Meta over its ad-free subscription). Margrethe Vestager told Reuters that feedback from developers would play an important factor in whether the bloc investages Apple, Meta or any other company subject to the DMA's rules. She noted that she had received "quite a lot" of comments from third parties.

Meanwhile, Epic is gearing up to debut its game store on both iOS and Android later this year. The company said at the Game Developer Conference that the store would be cross-platform between mobile, PC and macOS. The company plans to charge developers of mobile games the same 12 percent cut it takes from PC game sales.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-microsoft-x-and-match-group-come-out-swinging-against-apples-third-party-payment-rules-200705867.html?src=rss

The EPA reveals final auto industry regulations to try to keep the world habitable

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its final pollution emissions standards for the auto industry on Wednesday. The regulations, which include a looser timeframe than those proposed last year, mandate that by 2032, most new passenger car and light truck sales in the US must be electric or hybrid.

Earth is on a disastrous trajectory with climate change, and no amount of baseless conspiracy theories or talking points from the oil and gas industry, Donald Trump or anyone else will change that. Only phasing out fossil fuels and emissions will beat back its worst effects. The Biden Administration’s EPA is trying to do that — while throwing a bone to stakeholders like unions and automakers to navigate the landmines of today’s political realities.

The final rules present a timeline to wind down gas-powered vehicle purchases, making most US auto sales fully electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or advanced gasoline by 2032. The transition begins in 2027 but moderates the pace until after 2030. That’s a key change from last April’s proposed standards, which called for EVs to make up two-thirds of vehicle sales by 2032.

The shift was an election-year compromise for Biden, who has to balance the crucial battle against climate change with 2024 auto union endorsements. Labor unions had pushed for the more relaxed pace out of fears that a more aggressive transition, like the EPA proposed last year, would lead to job losses. EVs typically require fewer assembly workers than traditional gas-powered vehicles.

Last year, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain withheld support for Biden’s reelection due to concerns about the EV transition. But (perhaps after hearing assurances about the revised rules) the UAW endorsed his reelection bid in January.

“The EPA has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles,” the UAW wrote in a statement about the new rules published by the EPA. “By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions.”

Contrary to what online misinformation or your uncle may tell you, the rules — aimed at the auto industry and not consumers — don't make gas-powered cars and trucks illegal. Instead, they require automakers to meet specific emissions standards throughout their product lines. The rules apply to new vehicle sales, not used ones.

The EPA says the final rule will lead to $99 billion in benefits and save the average American driver $6,000 in fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicles. Other advantages include avoiding 7.2 billion additional tons of CO2 emissions through 2055 and offering “nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society.” The reduction in fine particulate matter and ozone will allegedly prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055 while reducing associated health problems like heart attacks, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

“Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission,” President Biden wrote in a statement supplied by The White House to Engadget. “I brought together American automakers. I brought together American autoworkers. Together, we’ve made historic progress. Hundreds of new expanded factories across the country. Hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we’ll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead. Today, we’re setting new pollution standards for cars and trucks. U.S. workers will lead the world on autos making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America.’”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-epa-reveals-final-auto-industry-regulations-to-try-to-keep-the-world-habitable-195612588.html?src=rss

The Ollech & Wajs Rallychron is robust chronograph with motorsport-inspired bezel

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The watch enthusiast in us shares a special love for motorsports and Ollech & Wajs is giving us another reason to rejoice with the new Rallychron. The watch designed in a vintage appearance is born from love for racing and pays homage to the iconic race tracks in the world traced around its custom bezel.

The bezel of the 39.5mm stainless steel watch is the biggest highlight. It features the fabulous circuits that have been witness to some of the most memorable races in history. The markings on the bidirectional bezel denote hypothetical “perfect laps” of the 11 such race circuits of the ‘60s from the narrow, twisting streets of Monaco to the fast, flowing tracks of Monza, and the legendary Le Mans.

Designer: Ollech & Wajs

The perfect lap times for each circuit on the bezel are hypothetical times based on a set of criteria and variables formulated in collaboration with Hervé Charbonneaux, a classic car collector, rally driver, and author. The time stamps may not have particular functionality but it definitely gives the Ollech Wajs Rallychron its distinct character that would get racing buffs chatting at the first glance of it.

Within the distinctive black PVD-coated bezel, the Rallychron measuring 15.3mm thick features a tachymeter scale and gray dial with checkered baton hands that complement its motorsport inclination. On the dial, the watch has three typical register chronographs for small seconds, a 30-minute timer and a 12-hour timer with the date window and water resistance marked at the 6 o’clock position.

Themed in gray, black and hints of orange, the Ollech Wajs Rallychron runs an automatic Valjoux 7753 chronograph OW Precision 5 movement that gives the watch 54 hours of power reserve. The 300m water-resistant watch comes paired with the choice of a racing-style black leather strap or a M-Heritage stainless steel mesh bracelet that styles up fantastically with the steel watch casing. Your choice of strap will define the price of the watch is expected to begin retailing from March 30, 2024. With the leather strap, it will cost $2,650, while the steel bracelet will set you back $2,793.

The post The Ollech & Wajs Rallychron is robust chronograph with motorsport-inspired bezel first appeared on Yanko Design.

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Google used AI to accurately predict floods up to 7 days in advance

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Google just announced that it has been using AI to successfully predict riverline floods, up to seven days in advance in some cases. This isn’t just tech company hyperbole, as the findings were actually published in the esteemed science journal Nature. Floods are the most common natural disaster throughout the world, so any early warning system is good news.

Floods have been notoriously tricky to predict, as most rivers don’t have streamflow gauges. Google got around this problem by training machine learning models with all kinds of relevant data, including historical events, river level readings, elevation and terrain readings and more. After that, the company generated localized maps and ran “hundreds of thousands” of simulations in each location. This combination of techniques allowed the models to accurately predict upcoming floods.

The approach built “highly accurate models for very particular locations”, but Google hopes to use these techniques to eventually solve the problem at global scale. While the company did successfully predict some floods a full seven days in advance, the average came in at around five days. Still, Google’s confident that it has extended the “reliability of currently-available global nowcasts from zero to five days.” It’s also significantly improved forecasting in underrepresented regions, like some parts of Africa and Asia.

All told, this technology allowed Google to provide accurate flood forecasting in 80 countries, with a total population of 460 million. The company made these forecasts available in Google Search, Google Maps, and via Android notifications. This information is also available via the company’s proprietary Flood Hub web app, which began operations back in 2022.

So what’s next? Google will continue to explore the “potential of machine learning to create better flood forecasting models” and has teamed up with academic researchers to fine tune the AI-driven approach. The company hopes this will eventually result in a “global end-to-end flood forecasting platform.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-used-ai-to-accurately-predict-floods-up-to-7-days-in-advance-191353201.html?src=rss

Peacock’s 2024 Paris Olympics coverage includes enhanced multiview options

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The 2024 Summer Olympics are just 128 days away. They'll be here before you know it, so what better time to learn about all the groovy features that the Games' streaming home, Peacock, has lined up?

The platform will host more than 5,000 hours of live coverage across the two weeks, including each of the 329 medal events. That's far more than anyone could possibly watch during the Games, so to help you keep track of several events at once, Peacock is offering several multiview options. On TVs, tablets and desktop browsers (but not phones, sadly), you'll be able to watch four matches at the same time in sports such as track and field, soccer and wrestling in a traditional multiview format. 

A mode called Peacock Discovery Multiview aims to direct you to the most important events. Here, you'll see on-screen descriptions telling you what's at stake (such as whether there's an elimination risk or if it's a medal event) or if you're watching a first-time Olympian. In both multiview modes, you can move the screens around, choose the audio track you want to listen to and click through to watch an event in full screen. Peacock will offer you up to four multiview options at any given time.

A sample of the Peacock Live Actions feature. During live coverage, Peacock Live Actions will allow fans to choose to continue watching the live feed of a specific event instead of staying with whip-around coverage. Peacock Live Actions will also allow viewers watching the NBC Primetime simulcast to add upcoming events to their “My Stuff” list to watch later.
Peacock / NBCUniversal

Another key new feature is called Peacock Live Actions. The idea here is to help you follow the events you're most interested in. So, if you're really enjoying a live gymnastics session but the whip-around coverage on the Gold Show broadcast is about to switch over to weightlifting or something, you can hit a button to keep watching the action on the parallel bars. Peacock says the feature will also allow those watching the NBC primetime simulcast to add events to their My Stuff list to watch later.

Elsewhere, you'll be able to browse through the coverage by sport and check out an interactive schedule. The Catch Up with Key Plays tool will be available for basketball and golf on top of soccer. And along with up-to-date medal standings, you'll be able to search for your favorite athletes. This will bring you to live events and replays including your favorite competitor, regardless of whether they're competing individually or as part of a team.

While the Olympics don't start for another few months, you can subscribe to Peacock now. If you do so and opt for an annual plan, you'll get 12 months of access for the price of 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/peacocks-2024-paris-olympics-coverage-includes-enhanced-multiview-options-190047120.html?src=rss

Threads begins testing swipe gestures to help train the For You algorithm

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Threads has begun testing swipe gestures to help users improve the algorithm that populates the For You feed. It’s reportedly called Algo Tune as, well, it helps people tune their algorithms. It’s pretty rare when any social media site, particularly one run by Meta, allows users to adjust the parameters by which the great and powerful algorithm operates, so this feature is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

It works a lot like Tinder and other dating apps. If you don’t like something on your feed, you swipe left. If you like a post and want to see more like it, you swipe right. That’s pretty much it. The algorithm is allegedly tuned over time by these responses, adjusting your feed to provide more of the content you want and less of the stuff you don’t want. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls it an “easy way to let us know what you want to see more of on your feed.”

This is just an experiment, for now, so the feature’s only rolling out to a select number of Threads users. The company also hasn’t released any specific information as to how all of the swiping actually influences the algorithm, but that’s par for the course when it comes to these things. The algo must remain protected at all costs.

The social media app sure has been busy lately, adding new tools at a rapid clip. Threads finally rolled out trending topics to all users, after experimenting with the feature since February. Meta also recently previewed fediverse integration, which would allow Threads posts on fellow social media app Mastodon. The company’s also been testing some features that let users save drafts and take photos directly in the app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-begins-testing-swipe-gestures-to-help-train-the-for-you-algorithm-175004586.html?src=rss

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, from Amy Hennig’s studio, arrives in 2025

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It's been almost three years since we found out that former Naughty Dog and Visceral Games writer and creative director Amy Hennig was working on a Marvel game with her team at Skydance New Media. During Epic Games' State of Unreal showcase at the Game Developers Conference, a new story trailer shed some more light on the game, which is called Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra.

As the name suggests, it's set during World War II in Occupied Paris. You'll play as four characters in this story-driven action-adventure: a young Steve Rogers (better known as Captain America), T'Challa's grandfather Azzuri (the Black Panther of his era), US soldier and Howling Commandos member Gabriel Jones and Wakandan spy Nanali.

The trailer shows Captain America taking out some foes (presumably Nazis) with his shield as he looks for Black Panther, who we see scampering over rooftops. It ends with the pair clashing on a bridge, but what are the odds that they (along with Gabriel and Nanali) form a shaky alliance to battle a common enemy?

Skydance New Media is using Unreal Engine 5.4 to build the game. The trailer has some striking visual,s including highly detailed facial animations and environments, which are seemingly reflective of what the game actually looks like. "All the sequences you just saw in that trailer are pulled right out of our game, running real-time in Unreal Engine 5," Hennig said. 'No smoke and mirrors." We'll have to wait a little longer — until Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra arrives in 2025 — to see if Hennig's claims stand up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-from-amy-hennigs-studio-arrives-in-2025-173514552.html?src=rss