Much anticipated Donald Trump blog considered a failure
After being removed from all social media following the January 6 insurrection -- his beloved Twitter, along with Facebook, YouTube and Instagram -- it was determined that the best way to get Donald Trump back online would be a blog. A place for him to type thoughts and feelings, a stream of consciousness, much as his tweets were. If you missed his typos and random capital letters then it could be the place for you.
However, there currently aren’t a lot of entries on his new blog and he isn’t a riveting writer. Worse still, the Washington Post speculates that interest in him is simply wavering.
Sonos is reportedly working on earbuds
Audio company Sonos is well known for its speakers and soundbars, and last year the company filed a patent that showed it had wireless headphones in development too.
That's not the only product in the pipeline though as Sonos is also reportedly working on earbuds. Development is in early stages however, so things could change or perhaps the product never sees the light of day.
SentiLink's new ID Theft Scores targets stolen identities used to open financial accounts
Security has become slightly more difficult these days given that many people are now working at home and online. That’s just the beginning of the headaches for firms.
SentiLink, a leading security company, is trying to fight back against identity fraud with a new ID Theft Scores program. This is designed to complement its Synthetic Scores that are already in place and used by used by many top financial institutions in the US.
Fear of automation is part of the pandemic
We’re nowhere close to being out of the woods just yet, with COVID-19 death rates in the US still averaging around a 1,000 a day, but we're starting to get there at last thanks in part to a robust vaccination program.
However, the after-effects of the pandemic's impact will linger long after the illness subsides. According to new research, a lot of people are losing their jobs as a result of automation.
AI-powered Deep Nostalgia tool brings old photos to life
Most of us have old photos of family members, with some people having pictures dating back to the 1800s. If you've ever wondered what those ancestors would look like moving, you can now find out. At least to an extent.
My Heritage has introduced an AI-powered tool capable of animating your old photos. The example at the bottom of this story is a picture from around 1880.
My first month with discovery+
The Discovery Network started as the Discovery Channel, but it’s grown at lot since the early days and now encompasses the Food Network, History Channel, DIY Network, HGTV, Lifetime, and more. There's a lot of content.
If you're a fan of the network's programming, as I am, then the new discovery+ streaming service (which launched in the United States at the start of January) will no doubt appeal as it's home to all of your favorite Discovery shows (past and present), plus a wealth of original content.
SiriusXM changed its display? There's an easy fix
Sirius and XM started as different companies, but it was clear there wasn’t room in the market for both, so they had to figure something out. The result was a merger to become SiriusXM. It’s a bit of an odd name, but it gets the point across.
Now that the two companies are one, they have expanded a lot. There are countless extra stations and more come online regularly. You can even get ones dedicated to a particular artist -- U2, and Elton John to name just two. But the big draw is particular genres like 80s alternative, classic country and so on.
Disney+ is bringing back The Mighty Ducks
Disney+ has been a huge success, thanks in part to original content like The Mandalorian, Mulan, Soul and, most recently, WandaVision.
Now the media and theme park giant is announcing the return of The Mighty Ducks. Although based on the movie from 30 or so years ago, this time around it's going to be a TV series.
Set aside some extra time, Sling DVR Plus space quadruples
If you’re an avid Sling user then you likely pay the extra $5 per month for the cloud DVR Plus service. It works like any other DVR, except recordings just aren’t on your hard drive. The TV service has been providing this for a couple of years and it’s been a big frustration for many users because the limit was a bit stingy.
No longer -- the company has upped the space in a big way and, if you haven’t already, you’ll be getting a notification the next time you sign in.
COVID-19 has hurt physical book sales and helped audio and digital
You would expect the recent coronavirus crisis to have helped digital entertainment, but with reading it is still led by the traditional hardback and softback formats. However, the pandemic is helping to dethrone physical books, as people are more cautious about going out. While paper books still lead the market, their dominance is shrinking.
Information in a new infographic sheds a lot of light on the current state of our perusal of tomes. For instance, India is the most well-read country in the world, while the US lags in 22nd place.
KEF releases two new speakers today
If you’re in the market for new speakers then you have a lot of choices, but some brands stand out more than others. And one of those has two new models out today.
KEF is launching the LS50 Meta (pictured above on the left) and LS50 Wireless II (on the right), depending on whether you want to go for wired or wireless. It is nice to not have to string speaker wires, something we’ve probably all done many times.
Your DNA didn’t change, Ancestry.com’s science did
Where did you come from? It’s a question many people never consider, but some are curious and the best answer to that, aside from lots of time in archives, historical societies, libraries and cemeteries, is a DNA test.
You have multiple options, but the leader is Ancestry.com and it is always updating the science behind its tests so you receive the latest information.
Ancestry.com claims no harm from security vulnerability in Family Tree Maker
If you’re at all familiar with genealogy then you'll likely know both Ancestry and Family Tree Maker -- they an integral part of the pastime. Unfortunately, independent review site WizCase recently discovered an open and unencrypted ElasticSearch server that belonged to Software MacKiev, the owners of Family Tree Maker.
The leak exposed thousands of records including email addresses, user locations, and other sensitive personal information. FTM was owned by Ancestry.com until 2016 when Software MacKiev took it over, and the software is still used to upload databases to the Ancestry online trees.
The NBA season kicks off, watch it online
Tonight the National Basketball Association season officially kicks off with the Pelicans at the Jazz and the Clippers at the Lakers. Hopefully this will go smoother than the start of Major League Baseball season did for the Marlins, who have had 17 positive tests for coronavirus already.
You can debate if the last season is starting late, or the upcoming season is starting early -- the NBA would prefer you to believe it’s the season that would have ended months ago, and that’s how they’re billing it.
HP announces new Envy home printers
When working in offices, people have access to business-level printers that can handle large volumes of printing with ease. But with more and more people working from home, consumer-level printers currently have far greater demands being made of them.
Now, HP announces its new HP ENVY 6000 printer series which aim to address this situation. There are two models available -- the Envy 6055 and Envy Pro 6455.
Alan's Bio
Alan is an avid fan of all things technology, including Microsoft, Android, Google, and more. When not writing about or using gadgets and software, he can be found on the trails hiking or mountain biking. alanbuckingham on twitter
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