The "AC" in AC Future stands for Amy and Cindy, founder Arthur Qin's two daughters. That's just one of the bits of info I gained at the company's CES event in which we got a first look at the new AC Future Ai-TH transformable home. This is yet another nattily appointed answer to the housing crisis we've seen on the 2025 show floor. It comes in three models: a deliverable pod (Ai-THu), a pullable trailer (Ai-THt) and a road-ready EV RV (Ai-THd). Press and prospective buyers got to tour the EV prototype this week (but we had to take our shoes off first). Amy Skorheim / Engadget Thanks to pull-out sections at the rear and both sides, the bus-sized RV transforms into a 400-square-foot, one bed, one bath apartment, complete with a living room, kitchen with full-sized fridge, two burner induction range and microwave, along with an uncramped stall shower and washer/dryer in the bathroom. The full HVAC system, paired with high-efficiency insulation keeps the unit temperate. All that amounts to one heck of a power draw, which AC Future answers with a roof covered in solar panels. I was told all three models of the Ai-TH can generate around 25 kWh of energy in a day. For reference, the average American house uses around 30 kWh daily. The home can also be plugged in if sunlight isn't enough, and there was talk of wind-generation options for customers in cloudy climates. All models of the Ai-TH will also come equipped with atmospheric water generation that can suck between 13 and 15 gallons of water per day out of thin air. That's much less than the 200 or so gallons American houses use for non-landscaping needs, so the Ai-TH also recycles gray water and, of course, has a holding tank. In theory, these units can act as fully self-sustaining living pods, gathering what's needed from the world around them. Because this is CES 2025, where the unofficial model is "Stick some AI in it!" there's a whole-home proprietary AI assistant called Futura to turn on your lights, manage your resources and handle other management tasks. There was even a demo set up outside the RV letting people "meet" "her." At last years CES, AC Future, barely two years old at the time, showed off the idea for the Ai-TH. The fully equipped prototype we saw was built in collaboration with Hydra, an automotive design and prototyping studio out of Southern California. Models that go into production will have components coming from a huge range of suppliers; I was told there are three partners lined up for the EV motors alone. AC Future says this is aimed at addressing the affordable, sustainable and mobile housing crisis worldwide. And any talk of addressing the housing crisis has to include some discussion of price, unless we're counting on some trickle-down economics-style solutions. The static base model will start at $98,000, the trailer model will go for $138,000 and up and the drivable version starts at $298,000. AC Future's COO told me production would begin as soon as they left Vegas (the whole team was at CES) and reservations are open now. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/the-ac-future-drivable-self-sustaining-home-transforms-to-be-larger-than-your-first-apartment-193758718.html?src=rss

While there's plenty of automotive news to go around at CES 2025, far and away, the talk of the show is the Afeela 1. Again. For five years now, Sony has been showing off some variation on this same theme, first as the Vision-S in 2020, then the Vision-S 02, before adopting the unfortunate rebranding to Afeela in 2023, and this year finally to Afeela 1.Along the way, the car lost what little interesting styling it had while sticking true to some specifications that sounded good five years ago. Everything just feels a bit off, not the least of which is its starting price: $89,900.I got a chance to get up close and inside the car, a demo that began with another explanation of what Afeela means. It's a sort of overwrought portmanteau for the words autonomy, augmentation, and affinity.This year's Afeela 1 is little changed from last year's numberless show car. The only significant visual update is found in the sensor pod protruding from the leading edge of the roof. A LiDAR module now stands proud, along with a couple of cameras on either end, staring in opposite directions, chameleon-style.While the bug-eyed look is not particularly charming, it is the only bit of visual character in an otherwise bland design. The lone other external talking point is the display embedded in the leading edge of the hood. This "media bar" is another thing that seemed novel and fun a few years ago on a concept car.There's a noticeable seam where two displays meet on the grille-mounted displays.Tim Stevens for EngadgetIt's supposed to welcome you to the car or provide messages to those around you. But it's hard to read from afar, and up close you can see the unfortunate seam down the middle where two panels were somewhat crudely joined together to form the thing.To open the driver's door, you either tap a button in the app or press a small button embedded in the pillar. There are no door handles to pull, not even a token fin like on the Ford Mustang Mach-E. I couldn't help asking what do you do if you park in an ice storm and the door is frozen shut. I wasn't given much of an answer.Those doors open to a space that's every bit as understated as the exterior except for one thing: the dashboard-spanning display. It's vibrant and clear and about the only thing in here that reminded me that this is a Sony product. Well, that and the DualSense controller that you can pair to the car and then fire up PS Remote Play while you charge.And you'll need something to do because the maximum charge rate of the Afeela 1 is 150 kW for its 91 kWh battery, which provides an estimated 300 miles of range. Compare that to a cheaper Lucid Air, which can charge twice as quickly and cover over 400 miles on a charge, and you begin to see the real problem with this thing.That display plus the ambient lighting within the car are all comprehensively customizable, with the same sorts of themes available on the PS5. I sampled the Ghost of Tsushima and Fortnite themes, each of which splayed the interior in the proper series of colors, adding a splash of personality to the otherwise vanilla surfaces.Tim Stevens for EngadgetThat big display is the major talking point, but look a little lower and you'll spot the world's largest volume knob situated between the seats. It's bigger than the iDrive knob on most modern BMWs, yet only controls the output of the 28-speaker, Dolby Atmos-enabled sound system.The software interface, meanwhile, looked largely unfinished, little more than a two-row grid of oversized boxes representing apps, settings and car controls. Given the width of the display, vital controls can easily stretch beyond the driver's reach, leaving you to drag the whole array back to the left to get what you need.After so many years of seeing what Sony's first car would really look like, I couldn't help feeling disappointed when I climbed out. But not nearly as disappointed as I was when looking down the spec sheet again.There are two trims of Afeela 1, the $89,900 Afeela 1 Origin and $102,900 Signature. The latter has larger wheels (21-inch vs. 19), a rear-seat entertainment system (displays embedded in the headrests plus an HDMI input) and additional cameras. The Origin, meanwhile, is only available in black.Seriously.Tim Stevens for EngadgetWhy Sony would even think about launching a $90,000 car that is only available in black is beyond me. Spend the $13,000 more for the Signature model, and you still only get three forgettable shades: white, gray and black again.In the Origin we have a car that costs $20,000 more than a Lucid Air Pure but has considerably less range and slower charging speed. Go for the $102,900 Afeela 1 Signature trim, and you're now spending more than a Porsche Taycan, which admittedly has less range but looks far better and will almost assuredly be the more engaging drive.Five years ago, Sony's vehicular aspirations made for an odd but intriguing project. Now, it all just seems misguided. How will it feel in another 12 months when the first cars start rolling off from Honda's Ohio factory? That's anyone's guess, but I can't imagine tomorrow's market will look any more kindly upon this vehicular curiosity.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/sonys-afeela-1-feels-like-a-playstation-4-in-the-ps5-era-184620132.html?src=rss

The company paid to have the data deleted.

The airline met the moment at the Sphere

Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable can extend its display upwards.

Hearing a lot about Lemon8 lately? Youre not the only one.Amid alooming U.S. banon TikTok, content creators have been pushing theplatforms sister app. Lemon8 resembles an amalgamation of thetypes of short-form videosfound on TikTok and the picture-perfect aesthetic of Instagram and Pinterest.Like its popular relation, Lemon8 is owned byChina-based ByteDance, whose collection of internationally available apps also includes the video editing app CapCut and the photo and art editing app Hypic. In addition, the company operates Douyin, the Chinese sibling of TikTok that follows Beijings strict censorship rules.Lemon8 launched in the U.S. in 2023, a few years after it first popped up in Asian markets. Though it garnered some media and user interest in its early days, the app hasnt taken offas much as TikTok, which has more than 170 million U.S. users.But more people have downloaded the app in the past month, making it one of the top-ranking free apps on Apples app store. Lemon8s popularity could potentially soar further depending on the outcome of aU.S. Supreme Court hearingFriday over a law requiring TikTok to break ties with ByteDance or face a U.S. ban.TikTok says it plans to shut down the platform in the U.S.by Jan. 19if the government prevails, as it didin a lower court.What are creators saying about Lemon8?Influencers previously partnered with Lemon8 to promote the lesser-known app on TikTok. In recent weeks, many of them have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also been recommending it through paid sponsored posts tagged #lemon8partner, showing a recent corporate push to generate more users.But theres a hitch. The law, which would wipe out TikToks U.S. operation if its not sold to an approved buyer, states the divest-or-ban requirement applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by ByteDance, TikTok or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 and CapCut are not explicitly named in the statute, their futures in the U.S. also are in jeopardy.Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at market research company Emarketer, noted that the creators recommending Lemon8 may not be aware of the possible implications for the other ByteDance apps because the law does not identify them.The recent Lemon8 ads on TikTok also may be a sign that ByteDance is hoping or betting Lemon8 slips through the cracks as lawmakers and regulators focus their attention on TikTok, Enberg said. Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Lemon8 downloadsTo boost Lemon8s user base, TikTok announced in November that creators would be able to access a Lemon8 account with the same account they use on TikTok, a feature the company says will enhance their ability to cross-post content. TikTok said the integration was designed to expand creators reach and engagement potential.Like TikTok, Lemon8s main feed features both a following section that lets users look at content from the creators they follow and a For You section that recommends other posts. The newer platform also sorts posts into different categories, like relationships, wellness and skincare.ByteDance has not disclosed the number of global or U.S. users on Lemon8, which is believed to be miniscule compared to its trend-setting sister app. Data from the research firm SimilarWeb indicates Lemon8 has a little over 1 million daily active users in the U.S. According to the market intelligence company Sensor Tower, the app had 12.5 million global monthly active users as of Dec. 24.Sensor Tower estimates the app saw a significant jump in global downloads in December a 150% increase compared to an average 2% month-over-month decline last year. The U.S. accounted for 70% of the months downloads.The largest number of U.S. downloads were performed on Dec. 19, according to Sensor Tower. That was the day afterthe Supreme Court saidit would hear this weeks oral arguments over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok.The lawpassed with bipartisan supportlast year after lawmakers and Biden administration officials expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand overU.S. user dataor sway public opinion towards Beijings interests by manipulating the algorithm that populates users feeds.President-elect Donald Trumpasked the Supreme Court on Dec. 27 to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until he is inaugurated and his administration can pursue a political resolution to the issue.Haleluya Hadero, AP business writer

Taxpayers who have been the victims of identity theft have experienced significant delays when requesting refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to a Wednesday report to Congress from the National Taxpayer Advocate on the most serious problems that taxpayers faced last year. These delays hurt low-income taxpayers the most.The report, published annually, highlights significant delays in processing Employee Retention Credit claims and resolving identity theft cases. The IRS took an average time of 22 monthsalmost two yearsto issue refunds to taxpayers affected by identity theft.Tax-related identity theft is a crime where a fraudster will steal a taxpayers identifying information, such as a social security number, and use it to file fraudulent tax returns to enrich themselves with fraudulent refunds. It could happen to anyone.Unconscionable delaysHundreds of thousands of taxpayers are victims of tax-related identity theft each year, often through no fault of their own, Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, wrote.These victims are still experiencing unconscionable delays waiting for the IRS to process their returns and pay their refunds with no immediate resolution in sight, Collins wrote.Often, taxpayers are not even aware that they are a victim of identity theft until they attempt to file their tax returns. The IRS system rejects their filing because their social security number has already been used.Frustration and financial burdenLow-income taxpayers made up two-thirds of all identity theft victims last year. Of those, 62% reported experiencing financial burden as a result of the crime. Refund delays can exacerbate existing hardships or cause new ones; many low-income taxpayers rely on these refunds to afford basic living expenses. They are at the mercy of the time it takes for the IRS to solve the issue, Collins wrote.Recent trends in identity theft show that the most vulnerable populations to identity theft are the elderly, disabled people, and students.Collins published 69 legislative recommendations to improve the taxpayer experience, mainly centered around fixing these impactful delays. She asks that Congress requires the IRS to process refund claims within a year and impose consequences if the IRS fails to do so. She also recommends expanding the U.S. Tax Courts jurisdiction to hear refund cases in order to decrease the time it takes taxpayers to get their money back.

Meta said Wednesday that it will allow some Facebook users to view eBay listings on its Marketplace service, as it tries out a possible way to resolve European Union charges of anticompetitive behavior that the bloc leveled last year.The social media company said its launching a test that will let Facebook users in Germany, France and the U.S. browse eBay listings directly on its Marketplace online classifieds service but complete the transaction on eBay.Meta is carrying out the trial afterBrussels slapped the company in November with a penalty of nearly 800 million euros ($824 million)for what it called abusive practices involving Marketplace.European Union antitrust enforcers accused Meta of illegally shutting out competition by tying Marketplace to its social network and automatically exposing Facebook users to Marketplace whether or not they wanted it. They also accused Meta of gaining an unfair advantage through ad-related data.While we disagree with and continue to appeal the European Commissions decision on Facebook Marketplace, we are working quickly and constructively to build a solution which addresses the points raised, Meta said in a blog post, adding that its solution could benefit people on both platforms.The European Commission, the 27-nation blocs top antitrust enforcer, said it had no specific comment, saying only that Meta must comply with the decision issued in mid-November within 90 days.Shares of eBay jumped on the news. The company said that starting Wednesday a select number of eBay listings in the three countries will be seamlessly integrated and viewable on Facebook Marketplace. The listings will be from a variety of categories, based on factors including shopping trends and listing quality, it said, without being more specific.Buyers will complete their transactions following the same process as they would when buying directly through the eBay website and will be covered by the platforms money-back guarantee and other protections, it said.Kelvin Chan, AP business writer

Fashion brand Louis Vuitton and artist Takashi Murakami have created a New York City pop-up store with multiple colour-blocked rooms and furniture with rounded edges to showcase a new phase of their collaboration. Located in New York's SoHo neighbourhood, the pop-up store celebrates the original 2003 Louis Vuitton x Murakami collaboration with updated and original versions of bags, accessories and other items displayed in small, bright, monochrome spaces.Louis Vuitton and Murakami have created a pop-up shop in New yorkFor the design, the team referenced Toyko's capsule hotels, an accommodation style that offers small, sometimes bed-sized rooms at an affordable price such as the recently renovated (Do-C) Gotanda hotel."Drawing design inspiration from Tokyo's famous modular hotels, the pop-up's minimalist interior is divided into distinct areas each with a specific purpose and bold colour theme," said the team.The space features small, colour-blocked rooms that branch of a central hallThe two-storey space features a bright white, central corridor on the top floor, where rooms painted in orange, green, deep purple, and bubblegum pink branch off its sides.Each room is outfitted with matching built-in shelving, Louis Vuitton and Murakami insignia, hanging pendants and furniture.Rounded edges border the spaces and furnishingsRounded edges and corners border the furnishings throughout the store, while bright, fluorescent lighting panels line the ceilings.The rooms contain displays of the collection, as well as a pink cafe and a squat, purple vending machine accessible by visitors after they make a purchase.Read: Louis Vuitton flagship store disguised as stack of luggage trunksA stairwell lined with Louis Vuitton motifs leads downstairs to a cinema that displays two animated films by Murakami produced during the original collection launch.Open in New York City for a temporary time, the space is the first of a host of global events set to celebrate the anniversary. The largest pop-up will take place in Toyko.The store was informed by Japanese capsule hotels"The project acts as a modern-day showcase for an enduring creative bond, defined by artistic vision, remarkable feats of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology, and the timeless appeal of this seminal moment in early 21st-century pop and collector culture," said the team.Louis Vuitton recently covered its New York City flagship in giant luggage trunks, while designer CJ Hendry relocated 100,000 plush flowers overnight for a Brooklyn pop-up shop.The Louis Vuitton x Murakami New York pop-up takes place over January 2025 at 104 Prince Street in Soho. SeeDezeen Events Guidefor an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.The photography is by Brad Dickson courtesy of Louis VuittonThe post Louis Vuitton and Murakami create NYC pop-up informed by Tokyo hotels appeared first on Dezeen.

The latest crop of AI-enabled wearables like Bee AI and Omi listen to your conversations to help organize your life. They are also normalizing embedded microphones that are always on.