All sense of survivors’ guilt was fleeting for those residents whose homes remained standing after wildfires ripped through the Los Angeles area three months ago.Many worried that smoke from the Eaton wildfire that destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 18 people may have carried toxins, including lead, asbestos and heavy metals, into their homes. But they struggled to convince their insurers to test their properties to ensure it was safe to return.Nicole Maccalla, a data scientist, said embers burned more than half of her roof, several windows and eaves were damaged, and her house in Altadena was left filled with ash, debris, soot and damaged appliances. She said her insurance adjuster said USAA would pay for contamination testing, but after choosing a company and coming back with the results, her claim was rejected. The adjuster said the company only covered testing in homes with major damage.“Every single item is a battle,” said Maccalla. “It’s denials and appeals and denials and appeals, and you wait weeks and weeks and weeks for responses.” Crowdsourcing contamination data Maccalla and others banded together as Eaton Fire Residents Unite, sharing environmental testing data and compiling the results in an online map. Of 81 homes tested so far for lead, all show elevated levels, according to the group.“I’ve already had multiple people reach out and say: ‘Thank you for publishing this map . . . because my insurance company has changed their mind and approved testing,'” said Maccalla, who helped design the data collection to verify results and maintain privacy.Many homeowners paid privately for the testing after their insurance companies refused, revealing gaps in coverage. The group hopes the data will help residents who can’t afford it to convince their insurers to cover testing and remediation.“If I can prove my community is not fit for human habitation then maybe I can show my home won’t be,” said Jane Lawton Potelle, founder of Eaton Fire Residents Unite.It’s not easy to understand how and when it is safe to return home, Lawton Potelle said. The fine print of insurance policies can be frustrating and confusing, and the government has not stepped in to help.The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has no plans to conduct widespread environmental testing. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is tracking environmental testing largely by academic researchers and a handful from government agencies, but most studies assess outdoor contamination. Toxic air and limited coverage Reports from other urban wildfires, in which building materials, appliances, cars and more burn at incredibly high temperatures, show increased levels of heavy metals including lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzene that are tied to negative health risks. But insurance companies haven’t standardized testing for those contaminants.Home insurance broadly covers fire damage, but there is a growing dispute over what damage must be covered when flames don’t torch the property.California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara released a bulletin in March that put the onus on companies to properly investigate reported smoke damage, saying they cannot deny such claims without investigating thoroughly, including paying for professional testing as warranted. But many residents have been left to fight for coverage anyway.Janet Ruiz, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute that represents many major insurance companies, said it’s hard to compare neighbors because every claim is unique due to each home’s physical structure, actual damage and defined insurance coverage limits.“It can vary and insurance companies are sensitive to what the claim is,” Ruiz said. “You have to work with your insurance companies and be reasonable about what may have happened.”Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at University of California, Berkeley, and former state insurance commissioner, said testing should be covered even though some insurance companies disagree.“It’s perfectly reasonable for people to have some kind of environmental test done so that their home is safe and their property is safe,” Jones said. “We’re talking about very catastrophically high temperature fires where all sorts of materials are melted and some of them become toxic.” State plan struggles The state’s insurer of last resort, known as the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, has been scrutinized for years over how it handles smoke damage claims. A 2017 change to the FAIR Plan limited coverage to “permanent physical changes,” meaning smoke damage must be visible or detectable without lab testing for claims to be approved. State officials said that threshold was too high and illegal, and ordered a change.Dylan Schaffer, an attorney leading a class action lawsuit challenging FAIR Plan’s threshold, said he was surprised private carriers are disputing similar fire damage claims.“The damage is not due to smoke, the damage is contamination from fire,” Schaffer said. “They make it complicated because it saves them money.”Meanwhile, Altadena residents on the FAIR Plan say their claims are still being denied. Jones believes the debate will only end when lawmakers take action.FAIR Plan spokeswoman Hilary McLean declined to comment on the ongoing litigation and individual cases, but said the FAIR Plan pays all covered claims based on the adjusters’ recommendations.“Our policy, like many others, requires direct physical loss for there to be coverage,” McLean said. Worries over kids’ safety Lawton Potelle said the first inkling that her house might be toxic came after meeting with her AAA insurance adjuster in the days after the fire. Even though she had worn a mask, her chest still ached and her voice rasped, and she wondered whether her home was safe for her 11-year-old.Stephanie Wilcox said her toddler’s pediatrician recommended testing their home. Her Farmers Insurance policy includes coverage for lead and asbestos in addition to her wildfire coverage, but after multiple denials, she paid out of pocket.“After the initial inspection, (Farmers) had told us remediation would cost about $12,000 and that it would be habitable, like we could move back in tomorrow,” she said. “But now there’s no way.”She plans to ask for a new estimate including lead abatement and other costs, citing the results.Similarly, Zach Bailey asked in late January for contamination testing. The house he shares with his wife and toddler sits in an island of largely spared homes among blocks wiped out by the fire. After months of denials, State Farm agreed to pay for lead and asbestos testing because the remediation company cited federal worker safety regulations.It shouldn’t have been that hard, he said.“It feels like the insurance companies should have a playbook at this point,” he said. “They should have a process to keep people safe because this isn’t the first disaster like this.” —Claudia Lauer and Sally Ho, Associated Press

Phaidon is releasing "Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US," a fresh look at the movement thanks to hundreds of images from the Cranbrook Art Museum. There's plenty of eye candy here: Charles and Ray Eames seated in their living room, Los Angeles, CA, 1958. Photo: Julius Shulman. © Eames Office, LLC. All rights reserved. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (page 168) "Embark on a surprising and joyful visual tour of American mid-century modernism through hundreds of photographs, drawings, and pieces of ephemera organized by the art museum at Cranbrook, where the movement began."Kazumi Adachi, Mudge House, Los Angeles, CA, 1954. Photograph by Julius Shulman. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (page 186) Edward J Wormley, Listen-to-Me Chaise Lounge photographed for a Dunbar catalog, c.1948. Courtesy Edward J Wormley Papers, The New School Archives and Special Collection, The New School, New York, N.Y. (page 144) John Lautner, exterior view of the Arthur Elrod House with Tropi-cal Lotus Chairs by the pool, Palm Springs, CA, 1968. Photo: Leland Y. Lee. Courtesy CODA Gallery (page 361) Teacup desk in the lobby of General Motors Technical Center's Styling Building, 1956. (page 275) 1958 Feminine Auto Show in the GM Styling Dome. The vehicles counterclockwise from the bottom: Corvette "Fancy Free," Chevrolet "Martinique," Cadillac "Saxony," Cadillac "Baroness," Buick "Tampico," and Buick "Shalimar." Courtesy General Motors LLC (page 284) Herman Miller Chicago showroom featuring central configuration of Basic Storage Components (BSC) with Basic Cabinet Series (BCS) case goods along the wall, 1948. © Eames Office, LLC. All rights reserved (page 96) Eames chair pyramid featured in Herman Miller's 1964 Binder Catalog, art directed by Tomoko Miho. Courtesy Herman Miller Archives (page 222) "Essential figures such as Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, and Eero Saarinen are represented alongside other women and designers of color that have been historically eclipsed, including Joel Robinson, Ray Komai, Ruth Adler Schnee, Olga Lee, Miller Yee Fong, Lucia DeRespinis, Dorothy Liebes, and many others. The book offers a fresh perspective on this beloved and influential movement."First Row: Harry Bertoia, Eszter Haraszty, Noémi Raymond; Middle: George Nakashima, Florence Knoll Bassett, Abel Sorensen; Third: Richard Stein, Dorothy Cole, and Isamu Noguchi, 1951. Photo: © Tony Vaccaro. Courtesy Tony Vaccaro Archives (page 14) Florence Knoll seated at desk, c. 1940s. Florence Schust Knoll Bassett Papers (1998-10). Courtesy Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research (page 236) Gere Kavanaugh in a prototype for her Easy Chair, c. mid-1970s. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research (page 287) Portrait of Greta Magnusson Grossman in her home office, 1948-1949. Photo: Julius Shulman. Courtesy the R & Company Library and Archives (page 232) The $90 book, compiled by Cranbrook Art Museum Director Andrew Satake Blauvelt, is up for pre-order now and will ship in July.

Television sets have come a long way since the days of bulky CRTs. 4K and 8K smart TVs are now common household appliances, and display technology has advanced to the point where QD-OLED panels have started rolling out. Interestingly, some short-throw laser projectors are even making such TVs seem random. Amid all this transformation, the way we consume visual media at home has altered very little. Frustrating accessories and breaks hinder the flow of entertainment. We still rely on additional soundbars or external speakers, walk up to the fridge to grab a can of beer, and remain surrounded by charging cables for smartphones et al. But what if all this comes together? Imagine the convenience of a little coffee table that is actually a rolling robot with a retracting top, which can double as a wireless charging pad. Right below it hides a tiny refrigerator inside, while its base has a speaker system to turn your space into a theatre. I see couch potatoes everywhere! Designer: Samsung Design Membership Ideally dubbed Come Together, it’s positioned as a premium accessory for homes with high-end TVs. Of course, convenience in consuming media on TV is the primary objective, but with its robotic inclination, this product visions to lower the psychological barrier in homes against adopting robots for in-home care and entertainment. Now that the intention of the product is knocked out of the park, we can dive down into the details that make this render worth Samsung’s image. Before I began to understand Come Together, I for an instant mistook it for a projector with pistons. Only to realize that what I saw as pistons are cold beverage cans, which can be easily stored within. Shaped like a tower with a cradle base, this accessory is divided into three parts: the table top, fridge, and the sound system base. When you want, the tabletop retracts and reveals the fridge, which can store five beer cans. The multi-purpose top can double as a Qi2 wireless charging pad. The table itself rolls back and forth – from one couch to another – on its wheel base, which features a spatial sound system, a QVGA 3D ToF camera for spatial awareness, and a driving mechanism for hands-free movement. Not only to move the beer around, Come Together maps the room environment so it can autonomously move around to deliver the best possible spatial audio experience based on the user’s location. This movable base is inspired by the navigation technology perfected in robotic vacuum cleaners and is also used by Come Together to roll back to its charging dock when needed. When it’s charging, the top surface retracts back close, can function as a digital clock, and also displays the refrigerator’s temperature. The post Robotic table with built-in fridge and spatial sound system is designed to complement your high-end TV first appeared on Yanko Design.

Game console ads just got weird again.

Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and other tech leaders refrained from making public statements while their companies collectively lost trillions. Their silence was both deafening and strategic.

Macworld Microsoft’s 50th anniversary was last week, and to commemorate the event, Microsoft revealed a 50th Anniversary Exclusive Microsoft Surface Laptop. While I’m not interested in such a device, it sure does look pretty dang cool. The laptop has a black case with a Surface logo in shiny gold (because, you know, the 50th anniversary is the golden anniversary). That’s neat, but when you open the laptop, you’ll find the Microsoft logo from 1975 at the bottom right of the keyboard. When the laptop starts up, it has a special gold Windows 11 wallpaper. Microsoft is running a sweepstakes to give away of 50 of these laptops. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Microsoft Surface (@surface) Overall, the 50th Anniversary Surface looks sweet… but I can’t help but think it wouldn’t look much better as a MacBook. Imagine next year, when Apple marks its 50th anniversary, the company issues a new black color–not Midnight, not Space Black, but Black–with the Apple logo designed by Rob Janoff, the one on the Apple II with the six-color Apple and the “Apple” text logo aligned with the apple bite. Then, when you start this special edition MacBook, you are greeted with a special wallpaper of the original Apple logo with Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an Apple tree, created by Ronald Wayne. That would be awesome. Apple has been known to let anniversaries pass by, but it’s not without precedence. In 2017, the iPhone X marked the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and back in 1997, Apple unveiled special commemorative Mac hardware for the company’s 20th anniversary, known as the Twentieth Anniversary Mac or TAM. Will Apple surprise us and make a special-edition MacBook for its 50th? I know I’d buy one, even if I had to go into serious debt to do so.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Google’s Pixel 9a is one heck of a device. I’ve had the latest Pixel gizmo in my man-claws for a couple o’ weeks now, thanks to a loaner review unit provided by Google. You can find plenty of piece-by-piece reviews out on the web if you’re interested, but the short version is that using the Pixel 9a by and large feels like using any other recent Pixel phone — with the same delightfully unmuddled Android experience, the same smart calling enhancements and other thoughtful features, and the same exceptional camera setup (broadly speaking). Now, of course, what you get with a $500 midrange phone like the Pixel 9a isn’t identical to what you get with Google’s top-of-the-line Pixel 9 flagships. The regular Pixel 9 phones have more powerful processors, more capable cameras, and less prominent bezels around their displays — along with a somewhat more premium feel, in general. But, truthfully, outside of the presence of a telephoto zoom lens on the standard 9 models, we’re talkin’ about the types of differences that an average Android-appreciating animal would never really notice, even if that sort of stuff might mean something to the true tech nerds among us. The Pixel 9a also lacks some of its higher-end siblings’ AI capabilities, but — sorry, Google — most of that will be of little to no practical consequence for most of us. The only thing I actually miss is the Pixel 9’s barely-mentioned system for setting simple reminders around screenshots, which I’ve really come to appreciate and rely on (but which you can emulate on any Android phone, with a little creative thinking). Critically, the Pixel 9a follows the lead of its predecessor and includes seven full years of near-instant Android operating system updates, monthly security patches, and quarterly feature drop rollouts — something that matters much more than most casual phone shoppers realize and that no other Android device-maker comes close to matching in the same consistently reliable way. So, yeah: The 9a is quite a device, to say the least — and at $500, it offers a commendable long-term value. And yet, in spite of all of that, it’s tough to wrap my head around who, exactly, would be well-advised to buy it. Let me explain. [Psst: Got a Pixel? Any Pixel? Check out my free Pixel Academy e-course to uncover all sorts of advanced intelligence lurking within your favorite phone!] The Pixel “a” position In order to understand why the Pixel 9a is such a puzzling proposition, we need to zoom out a little to remember how and why the Pixel “a”-line actually came into existence in the first place. The first Pixel “a” phone launched a whopping seven years ago, way back in the prehistoric time of 2018. Back then, the Pixel 3a was a decidedly cheaper-feeling phone, with all sorts of surface-level downgrades from its Pixel 3 sister — and with a $400 price that was half the regular Pixel 3’s $800 starting cost. With the following year’s Pixel 4a follow-up, the phone got even more affordable — as did the gulf in cost between it and its flagship equivalent: The 4a sold for $350, while the regular Pixel 4 kept the same $800 price. From there, things started getting murky. 2021’s Pixel 5a jumped up to $450, while the regular Pixel 5 dropped down, somewhat strangely, to $700. It was a weird year, and the weirdness only got more extreme with the next smartphone cycle — when the Pixel “a” option stayed at $450 and the flagship Pixel 6 fell to $600, creating just a $150 difference between the two options. Things have fluctuated further in the time since then, but you get the idea: Google’s Pixel “a”-series was originally positioned as a more affordable entry point to the Pixel experience. And over time, it’s grown closer and closer in cost to the higher-end, compromise-free flagship path while also growing more premium and shedding many of its early asterisks. This year in particular, that puts the Pixel “a” series in a really interesting place. Officially, the Pixel 9 starts at $800 while the 9a sells for $500. But realistically, the higher-end Pixel is often as sale for as little as $549, as it was in certain places just last week. As of this writing, the regular 9 is listed for $649 on Amazon and $700 at Best Buy (which also will typically do a price match, if you ask). And that makes it tricky to know what, exactly, to make of the Pixel 9a in the grand scheme of things. Google’s Pixel pricing puzzle If you look back over the 7,792 years I’ve been obsessing over this area, you’ll see that my typical stance has been that the Pixel “a” phones are usually the most advisable options for most people — those who want an exceptional all-around Android experience, including near-instant ongoing software updates for a full seven years, but don’t care enough about the finer points (the most premium materials, the absolute best camera setup imaginable, and so on) to justify the added expense of the top-of-the-line alternative. But when the difference between the two tiers is 50 bucks? Even a hundred — or $150? At a certain point, if you can justify the relatively small contrast in cost, it seems almost silly not to go with the best of the best. If the Pixel 9a were still priced around $350 to $400, as those earlier midrange models were — or if we lived in a world where the regular Pixel 9 weren’t so frequently on such significant sales — the 9a would be a no-brainer. Like before, it’d be the best entry point into the most compelling all-around Android experience, particularly for anyone focused on value, working with a limited budget, or just not especially interested in the top-of-the-line niceties some of us appreciate. As it stands now, though, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher, in spite of being a stellar-seeming phone and arguably still the best all-around Android experience you can buy at its price. Google’s Pixel 9a, in all of its available color options.Google Plain and simple, Google’s gotten itself into an awkward place with its current Pixel pricing puzzle. The entire point and appeal of the Pixel “a” series has always been its value and the quality of experience it provides at that midrange price — particularly when you consider the software support it’ll continue to receive for a full seven years, when other phones in its tier will be lucky to see a couple clunky updates many months late. That’s still true, technically, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Pixel 9a in a vacuum — or for anyone who’s looking to spend $500 and not a penny more. But when you can pay as little as 50 bucks more to get the superior Pixel 9, particularly for professional purposes, the 9a loses much of the sheen that sets it apart and defines its place in the present Pixel pack. So what do I think about the Pixel 9a? I think it’s a fantastic device — I really do. And I think it’s hands-down the best Android experience you can get for $500.  But I also think it’s a tough phone to wholeheartedly get behind when it’s so tantalizingly close in price to a similar model with even more power, poise, and polish. More than anything, I think Google needs to figure out what, exactly, it wants its Pixel “a” line to be — or maybe just to remember what an incredible option it can represent when the pricing makes sense and the midrange model’s position isn’t so mysteriously muddled. Don’t let yourself miss an ounce of Pixel magic. Start my free Pixel Academy e-course to find tons of hidden features for whatever Googley gizmo you’ve got!

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military For much of last year, US Marines conducting training exercises in the waters off South Korea, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia were also running an experiment. The service members in the unit responsible for sorting through foreign intelligence and making their superiors aware of possible local threats were for the first time using generative AI to do it, testing a leading AI tool the Pentagon has been funding. Two officers tell us that they used the new system to help scour thousands of pieces of open-source intelligence—nonclassified articles, reports, images, videos—collected in the various countries where they operated, and that it did so far faster than was possible with the old method of analyzing them manually. Though the US military has been developing computer vision models and similar AI tools since 2017, the use of generative AI—tools that can engage in human-like conversation—represent a newer frontier. Read the full story. —James O’Donnell Why the climate promises of AI sound a lot like carbon offsets  The International Energy Agency states in a new report that AI could eventually reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, possibly by much more than the boom in energy-guzzling data center development pushes them up. The finding echoes a point that prominent figures in the AI sector have made as well to justify, at least implicitly, the gigawatts’ worth of electricity demand that new data centers are placing on regional grid systems across the world. There’s something familiar about the suggestion that it’s okay to build data centers that run on fossil fuels today because AI tools will help the world drive down emissions eventually—it recalls the purported promise of carbon credits. Unfortunately, we’ve seen again and again that such programs often overstate any climate benefits, doing little to alter the balance of what’s going into or coming out of the atmosphere. Read the full story.  —James Temple The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 MAGA influencers are downplaying Trump’s market turmoilThey’re finding creative ways to frame the financial tumult as character building. (WP $)+ Some democrats are echoing his trade myths, too. (Vox) 2 Amazon products are going to cost moreCEO Andy Jassy says he anticipates third party sellers passing the costs introduced by tariffs on to their customers. (CNBC)+ He says the company has been renegotiating terms with sellers. (CNN) 3 OpenAI has slashed its model safety testing timeWhich experts worry will mean it rushes out models without sufficient safeguarding. (FT $)+ Why we need an AI safety hotline. (MIT Technology Review) 4 A woman gave birth to a stranger’s baby in an IVF mixupMonash IVF transferred another woman’s embryo to her by accident. (The Guardian)+ Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Amazon equipped some of its delivery vans in Europe with defibrillators In an experiment to see if drivers could speed up help to heart attack patients. (Bloomberg $) 6 The future of biotech is looking shakyRFK Jr’s appointment and soaring interest rates are rocking an already volatile industry. (WSJ $)+ Meanwhile, RFK Jr has visited the families of two girls who died from measles. (The Atlantic $) 7 Alexandre de Moraes isn’t backing downThe Brazilian judge, who has butted heads with Elon Musk, is worried about extremist digital populism. (New Yorker $) 8 An experimental pill mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgeryAnd could be touted as an alternative to weight-loss drugs. (Wired $)+ Drugs like Ozempic now make up 5% of prescriptions in the US. (MIT Technology Review) 9 What happens when video games start bleeding into the real worldGame Transfer Phenomenon is a real thing, and nowhere near as fun as it sounds. (BBC)+ How generative AI could reinvent what it means to play. (MIT Technology Review) 10 Londoners smashed up a Tesla in a public art project The car was provided by an anonymous donor. (The Guardian)+ Proceeds from the installation will go to food banks in the UK. (The Standard) Quote of the day “It feels so good to be surrounded by a bunch of people who disconnected.” —Steven Vernon III, who works in finance, describes the beauties of a digital detox at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia as the markets descend into chaos, the Wall Street Journal reports. The big story This scientist is trying to create an accessible, unhackable voting machineFor the past 19 years, computer science professor Juan Gilbert has immersed himself in perhaps the most contentious debate over election administration in the United States—what role, if any, touch-screen ballot-marking devices should play in the voting process.While advocates claim that electronic voting systems can be relatively secure, improve accessibility, and simplify voting and vote tallying, critics have argued that they are insecure and should be used as infrequently as possible.As for Gilbert? He claims he’s finally invented “the most secure voting technology ever created.” And he’s invited several of the most respected and vocal critics of voting technology to prove his point. Read the full story. —Spenser Mestel We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + Bad news for hoodie lovers: your favorite comfy item of clothing is no longer cutting the mustard.+ What happens inside Black Holes? A lot more than you might think.+ Unfortunately, pushups are as beneficial for you as they are horrible to execute.+ Very cool—archaeologists are making new discoveries in Pompeii.

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The council’s action, on a 14-1 vote, doesn’t authorize the massive renovation, but it shows that the council is firmly behind the effort to overhaul the downtown structure, despite a city budget shortfall for next year that is projected to be nearly $1 billion.The agreement by the Los Angeles City Council to commit $27.7 million for additional design and technical work to the renovation of the 1970s-era center will be revisited in July. The renovation plans include an overhaul of the center's two structures, which "do not offer the contiguous space that top-tier conventions require," according to the LA Times. The Populous-led renovation is expected to cost $4 billion, which would connect the two venues by adding a segment across Pico Boulevard. According to city analysts, the renovation is at risk following concerns that the city should divert its infrastructure funding to the areas destroyed by wildfires in January.