Apple’s first HomePod in 2018 was late in the smart speaker game. It looked good, but it lacks a lot of the basic features of its competitors. Once again, with the second-generation HomePod at $299, the company delivers excellent sound quality, but this time the expanded smart home tools show that Apple has learned from that first try.
The new HomePod pairs easily with HomeKit and Matter accessories and has temperature and humidity sensors. You can use this data to create automated triggers for other smart home devices. Even without a compatible smart thermostat, you can successfully trigger a smart plug, once your HomePod senses a certain temperature.
HomePod’s most notable new feature isn’t ready yet. Voice recognition can listen for smoke or carbon monoxide alarms and notify other Apple devices. Unfortunately, the update won’t arrive until later this spring. Check out our full HomePod review here.
–Matt Smith
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The greatest stories you could have missed
it was quick.
A few days ago, speech startup ElevenLabs launched a trial version of its platform, which can create entirely new synthetic sounds to convert voice to speech or reproduce someone’s voice. Well, it only took a few days for the internet to wreak havoc. The company sees “an increasing number of cases of misuse of audio reproduction”. Motherboard 4chan has found posts with clips containing generated voices that sound like the celebrity is reading or saying something questionable. One clip, for example, reportedly featured a voice similar to Emma Watson reading part of Hitler. My battle. Users also posted audio clips showing homophobic, transphobic, violent and racist sentiments. It’s not entirely clear if all of the clips use ElevenLab’s technology, but the post with a slew of podcasts on 4chan included a link to the startup’s platform. The company is currently collecting feedback on how to prevent users from misusing its technology. It could even ditch its Voice Lab tool altogether and require users to submit audio playback requests that it can manually review.
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Respawn says it will use the extra six weeks to improve the game.
EA
Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment have announced a delay Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Until April 28. The game was previously supposed to arrive on March 17. “In order for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, give the team the time they need, and reach the level our fans deserve, we’ve added six crucial weeks to our release schedule – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor It will now launch globally on April 28,” Respawn said on Twitter. The studio said it will use the extra time to fix bugs and polish the game to improve performance, stability, and player experience.
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It rolls directly on the tongue.
Paramount Global combines two of its services. Showtime will bow to the premium tier of Paramount+ later this year. The bundled show will be known as Paramount + With Showtime. The Showtime linear television network will be rebranded with the same name in the United States. As part of the move, some Paramount+ Originals will air on cable — so maybe more people will finally get to know Shine. nice fight – who receives a file The Occasional Pilot, too. (nice fight While this move may be disappointing for those who are only interested in Showtime content and not sold on Paramount+, the move makes sense from a business perspective. There is a wave of consolidation in the media industry, including streaming, as HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge in the coming months.
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A report by UK clean energy research center Imber expects the gap to widen.
Solar and wind power generation reportedly overtook natural gas in the European Union for the first time last year. The data comes from UK clean energy research center Ember and the gap is expected to widen. Solar and wind power hit an all-time high of 22% of electricity consumption in the European Union in 2022. Meanwhile, Ember expects fossil fuel generation to drop 20% this year , the gas decreasing most rapidly. The clean energy industry has received unwanted aid. This change stems from the reduced reliance on gas and coal after Russia invaded Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a halt to natural gas exports to the European Union in retaliation for Western sanctions.
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