The moves in crypto coincided with a rebound in tech stocks as Nvidia and shares of other chip names jumped.

Kidde and Ring will launch two models in April, along with a $5-per-month smoke monitoring subscription service.

The Walt Disney Company may have been experiencing a bit of FOMO when it came to streaming live sports, despite its stable of ESPN networks. Today, it announced that it will bolster its offerings by combining with another streaming provider, Fubo, which is perhaps best known for its sports streaming options.The short and sweet of itDisneys Hulu + Live TV businesses are combining with Fubo, and Disney will control 70% of the new service. Fubos management team will lead the new operation, which will operate under Fubo, and both Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will remain available as separate services to customers.In effect, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo will have more than 6.2 million customers in North America, and become the second largest live-TV streaming service behind YouTube TV. The new service will not include access to Hulus on-demand library, and will facilitate an enhanced choice of programming packages and address a variety of consumer preferences at attractive price points, according to a Disney news release.Shares of Fubotv Inc (NYSE: FUBO) were up well over 120% in early trading on Monday after the markets opened. The stock had already taken off in premarket trading after Bloomberg reported that the deal was in the works.The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) saw its stock rise 1.21% as of this writing.What does this deal mean?This combination will allow both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo to enhance and expand their virtual MVPD offerings and provide consumers with even more choice and flexibility, said Justin Warbrooke, Disneys executive vice president and head of corporate development, in a statement. We have confidence in the Fubo management team and their ability to grow the business, delivering high-quality offerings that serve subscribers with the content they want and offering great value.Warbrookes enthusiasm was echoed by Fubo CEO David Gandler, who said that the agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubos balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow.The deal also means that Fubo is dropping litigation and legal claims against Disney and a few others, which were planning to launch a sport-centric streaming service called Venu Sports. The basis of the lawsuit was that the new service would violate antitrust laws and increase prices for consumers. That, however, has been squashed, and now, Fubo and Disney will create a new sports and broadcast service, which will feature a ton of sports content, including ESPNs stable of networks.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Biden administration decision to block Nippons proposed $15 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh company and said that the head of the Steelworkers union and a rival steelmaker worked together to scuttle the buyout.Biden said Friday that U.S. companies producing a large amount of steel need to keep leading the fight on behalf of Americas national interests, though Japan, where Nippon is based, is a strong ally.In separate lawsuits filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the steelmakers allege that it was a political decision made by the Biden administration that had no rational legal basis.Nippon Steel and U. S. Steel have engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the Transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security, the companies said in a prepared statement Monday.Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steels aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvanias Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting U.S. government approval.Biden on Friday decided to stop the Nippon takeover after federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve it because a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure, he said in a statement.While administration officials have said the decision was unrelated to Japans relationship with the U.S. this is the first time a U.S. president has blocked a merger between a U.S. and Japanese firm.Biden departs the White House in just a few weeks.The presidents decision to block the deal comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month, and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden. He had 15 days to reach a final decision.In a separate lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies accused steel-making rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and its CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, in coordination with David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, of engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities to block the deal.In 2023 before U.S. Steel accepted the buyout offer from Nippon, Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for $7 billion. U.S. Steel turned down the offer and later accepted a nearly $15 billion all-cash offer from Nippon Steel, which is the deal that Biden nixed Friday.The companies allege that Goncalves, in collusion with the head of the United Steelworkers, maneuvered to prevent any party other than Cleveland-Cliffs from acquiring U.S. Steel and to damage the Pittsburgh manufacturers ability to compete.United Steelworkers President David McCall on Monday called the allegations baseless.By blocking Nippon Steels attempt to acquire U.S. Steel, the Biden administration protected vital U.S. interests, safeguarded our national security and helped preserve a domestic steel industry that underpins our countrys critical supply chains, McCall said in a prepared statement.Ohios Ohios Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately to a request by The Associated Press for comment.Nippon and U.S. Steel said in the lawsuit that they submitted three draft national security agreements to CFIUS in the fall to address any concerns.The companies allege that CFIUS was told not to offer any counterproposals or hold discussions with them. Nippon and U.S. Steel argue that the review process was manipulated so that the outcome would support a decision they say Biden had already made.The companies say that Biden used undue influence to advance his political agenda.Nippon, however, will face an incoming administration that has also vowed to block the acquistion.President-elect Donald Trump last month underscored his intention to block the deal, and pledged to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker.Shortly after the lawsuits were filed, Trump cemented that stance on his Truth Social platform.Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when Tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company? the post said. Wouldnt it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the World, lead the charge toward greatness again? It can all happen very quickly!Shares of United States Steel Corp. rose more than 4% before the opening bell Monday.Fatima Hussein, Associated Press

By blocking a Japanese companys takeover of U.S. Steel, President Joe Biden said he was protecting good jobs in the American heartland. He may be putting them at risk instead.In making its nearly $15 billion bid for the storied Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steels aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvanias Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting U.S. government approval.They were going to invest in the Valley, said Jason Zugai, an operating technician and vice president of the United Steelworkers union local at a U.S. Steel plant in the Mon Valley. They committed to 10 years of no layoffs. We wont have those commitments from anybody.Zugai and some other Mon Valley steelworkers supported the Nippon deal in defiance of the unions national leadership, which pressured the Biden administration to kill it.Losing the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal will be a disaster for Pennsylvania, said Gordon Johnson, who follows U.S. Steel stock on Wall Street as founder of GLJ Research. I really dont understand. This is not in the interest of the workers. Its not in the interest of the shareholders of U.S. Steel.On Friday, Biden said he was stopping the Nippon takeoverafter federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve itbecause a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. . . . Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure.U.S. Steel stock dropped 6.5% on the news Friday.The decision, announced less than three weeks before the president leaves the White House, reflects a growing bipartisan shift away from free trade and open investment.President-elect Donald Trump had already come out against the Nippon takeover. As President, he wrote last month on his Truth Social platform, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!In a joint statement, Nippon and U.S. Steel called Bidens decision a clear violation of due process and the law and suggested they would sue to salvage their deal: We are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.U.S. Steel was founded in 1901 in a merger that involved American business titans J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie and instantly created the largest company in the world. As the U.S. grew to world dominance in the 20th century, U.S. Steel grew with it. In 1943, at the height of the World War II manufacturing boom, U.S. Steel employed 340,000 people.But foreign competitionfrom Japan in the 1970s and 80s and later from Chinagradually eroded U.S. Steels position and forced it to close plants and lay off workers. The company now employs fewer than 22,000 in an industry dominated by the Chinese.The U.S. government has sought over the years to protect U.S. Steel and other American steelmakers by imposing taxes on imported steel. During his first term, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on foreign steel, and Biden kept them or converted them into import quotas. Either way, the trade barriers kept the price of American steel artificially high, giving U.S. Steel and others a financial boost.U.S. Steel is profitable and is sitting on $1.8 billion in cash, though that is down from $2.9 billion at the end of 2023.United Steelworkers President David McCall declared Friday that U.S. Steel had the financial resources to go it alone. It can easily remain a strong and resilient company, he told reporters.But U.S. Steel has said it needs the cash from Nippon Steel to keep investing in blast furnaces like the ones in Pennsylvania and Indiana.Without the Nippon Steel transaction, U. S. Steel will largely pivot away from its blast furnace facilities, putting thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk, negatively impacting numerous communities across the locations where its facilities exist, U.S. Steel warned in September. The company also threatened to move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.On its own, U.S. Steel seems poised to focus on newer electric arc furnaces, such as its Big River plant in Arkansas, which can make high-quality steel products more efficiently and at lower prices compared to blast furnaces, said Josh Spoores, the Pennsylvania-based head of steel Americas analysis for commodity researcher CRU.I dont know if they dont have the will, but they seem to have seen that its a much better investment, a much better rate of return if they look to invest in an electric arc furnace rather than a blast furnace, Spoores said. He noted that no steelmaker has built a blast furnace in North America for decades.One possibility is that another company will step in and make a bid for U.S. Steel.In 2023, arch-rival Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for $7 billion. U.S. Steel turned the offer down and ended up accepting the nearly $15 billion all-cash offer from Nippon Steel, which is the deal that Biden nixed Friday. Perhaps, analysts say, Cleveland-Cliffs will try again.In a statement, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro warned U.S. Steel management against threatening the jobs and livelihoods of the Pennsylvanians who work at the Mon Valley Works and at U.S. Steel HQ and their families.Shapiro also said companies that put in bids to buy U.S. Steel in the future must make the same commitments to capital investment and protecting and growing Pennsylvania jobs that Nippon Steel placed on the table.Paul Wiseman and Marc Levy, Associated Press

A bestseller in Japan, this electric-assist screwdriver with a ball-shaped handle is by Japan's Vessel Tools. (That company, formed in 1916, was Japan's first mass-manufacturer of screwdrivers.)Aimed at installers and tradespeople working in tight spaces, it offers the convenience of a powered driver without the bulky form factor. It's also lightweight at just 0.6 lbs, reducing fatigue for those doing overhead work.It offers three adjustable speeds (Low: 280 RPM, Medium: 340 RPM, High: 400 RPM), and can of course also be locked and used manually. It can be recharged via USB-C. These are now distributed in the 'States, by Lowes as well as online retailers. They run $80 to $86.

This strange-looking object is a universal vise for holding diminutive workpieces.They're used by watchmakers to hold movements in place while they're being worked on. A demonstration of how it works:I couldn't find any examples from reputable manufacturers. (These are being flogged on AliExpress for $110).

As someone who needs to go to the doctor regularly, I still find it a hassle to do so for various reasons. Of course health should be a priority but I sometimes wish there was an easier way to regularly check how Im doing without all the hassle of setting up an appointment, taking a leave from work, and going through all kinds of tests. Designer: WitingsWithings has come up with a concept for something that can give you deep health screening in case you cant go to the doctor at the moment. Omnia is still a conceptual product for now but it is an exciting development that theyre working on. It looks at the future of personal health monitoring, kind of like what we imagine when watching sci-fi movies and TV shows. The concept is that of a full-length mirror with a scale at the bottom that should be able to give you 360-deep health screening. It is able to check things like ECG, heart rate, other heart health specs, activity tracking, vitamin analysis, muscle-to-fat ration, weight trends, and even sleep quality analysis. All you have to do is step on the scale with the frequency you want, and it should be able to give you in-depth data on your health. And it comes with an AI that will talk back to you and tell you all about whats wrong with your health and your body.Of course, you would need to have connected Withings devices like watches, body scan, and BPM Connect, and 3rd party sources so the device can give you more detailed readings. This concept was tailor-fit for the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas so we may see some proof of concept there to get more details about how it will work exactly. The post Omnia concept gives you a 360 degree health analysis in a mirror-like device first appeared on Yanko Design.

Even with the ubiquity of touch screens, most of use still use keyboards and mice as the primary way to interact with computers, both desktops and even laptops. As common as these devices might be, they werent initially designed decades ago with ergonomics in mind. Of course, we now have ergonomic keyboards and ergonomic mice, but that only solves half of the problem.The other half is that our hands keep dancing back and forth between the keyboard, mouse, and sometimes a separate numeric keypad, which also causes strain. In an effort to solve this lingering issue, this automatic keyboard and mouse machine tries to keep your hands in the same position as much as possible by sliding in and out to switch between keyboards, numpad, and mouse, with some help from AI, of course.Designer: AutoKeyboImagine having a desk where, instead of your hand flying sideways between the keyboard and your mouse, those peripherals move on their own and slide under your hands when you need them. And imagine having that happen automatically, without having to manually press a button that will break your flow. Autonomous keyboards and mice are, of course, still in the realm of science fiction, but apparently, we already have the next best thing: an AI-powered tray.AutoKeybo is hard to describe in words, but once you see it in action, it immediately makes sense while also looking astonishingly odd. At first glance, you see what looks like a giant contraption with a split ergonomic keyboard at the top and a large box for your wrist rest. Once you start typing, however, you will see the magic of a device that will hopefully save your hands, wrists, and shoulders from serious and permanent injury.The device has a total of four trays in pairs, one stacked on top of the other. The bottom trays house a mouse and a numeric keypad while the top pair holds two halves of the split keyboard. The top trays slide in to give you access to the mouse and numpad below so you wont have to move your hands away just to reach them. They then slide back out to let you return to your typing without missing a beat. They can even move independently of each other, so you can slide only one tray to access the mouse or numpad quickly without losing access to some of the letters.All of these happen automatically, or at least without pushing a button. Using AI and a built-in camera, AutoKeybo can detect hand gestures, in this case, splaying out your fingers, to trigger the switching mechanism. To make this possible, this device has a built-in Linux computer that you can actually use as a standalone computer, complete with an HDMI port and USB-C ports. Its definitely an intriguing design, though it still remains to be seen whether the theory actually holds well in practice.The post AI-powered keyboard and mouse slides and retracts so you wont have to move your hands first appeared on Yanko Design.

Does the rise of artificial intelligence represent more of an opportunity for the world or a curse? Because for all the clamor about boosted productivity and enhanced human potential, theres also the rising demand for energy, processor power, memory requirements and ever more bloat on the machine.Just look at Apple Intelligence, which now demands almosttwice as much data storage on your devices than was originally advertised.I fear thats the thin end of this cursed wedge.And its not as though storage is the only demand AI makes.AI is a greedy beastApple has been forced to roll out major hardware changes to support Apple Intelligence:Memory:Apple has increased base memory across all of its machines. Macs, iPhone, and iPads all now ship with much more memory than before, boosting manufacturing costs.Processor:Apple has really pushed the boat out on processors in its latest hardware. The company effectively raised everyone up an extra grade during the last 18 months as it primed its ecosystem for Apple Intelligence with new, faster, more energy-efficient processors.Energy efficiency:Not only is Apple Silicon more energy efficient, but the company wants to give its devices more energy capacity. To do so, it is expected to shift to silicon-anode cells over the next 12 months. These hold around 15% more energy, which will be useful for the energy demands of edge AI.Server infrastructure:Reflecting its realization that not every task can be accomplished on edge devices, Apple has now re-entered the server market, introducing its own take on secure server-based cloud computing services,Private Cloud Compute.Apple isnt alone in any of this, but its actions highlight the extent of thehundreds of billions being spenton the sector today costs that extend into essential infrastructure resources such as water, rare resources, and energy supply. All of this costs enterprises money, focus, and time. The rewards? Even OpenAI, arguably the doyen of AI tech, isshedding cash faster than it makes it, even on its priciest $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan.What need does the greed feed?Right now, all we really seem to be experiencing is more targeted ads placement, email and website summaries, stupid pictures in messages, deep employment insecurity, rising energy costs, and an increasingly homogenized trade in optimized job resumes, press releases, and student exam papers. Oh, and dont forget the fake video influencers hawking their wares on heavily AI-SEOd social media.Were sold on potential, but may yet wind up with little more than a smarter search engine and a deeply intrusive invasion of privacy. Fantasia or dystopia? Even Elon Musk seems unsure, warning of theperils of AI at one point, only to introduce his own AI model later on.The hype is unavoidable at this weeksConsumer Electronic Show(CES), where AI is going to appear in some form across all the exhibit stands. Everyone and anyone who can link their product up to some form of AI service will do so.As is usual, some of the claims will turn out to be vaporware, while other combinations wont really deliver much tangible benefit. To invent an example, do we really need an AI tool to order groceries toward personalized dinner plans it builds based on what it knows about our plans that week? Or do we just need a recipe book and a takeaway menu?What about theconsequences of this kind of data being weaponized by AI? How is the information that AI gathers stored, who else can access it, and what control over it do we have? Do we really need dodgy surveillance-as-a-service firms to be able to identify information about us that they can then use to send convincingly authentic AI-targeted and developed phishing attacks to gain access to our digital lives? How well thought through are the solutions rapidly appearing on the table, and how much consideration has gone into weighing the potential consequences?Behind the hypeAm I being unfair?Im certain there are AI proponents who think the potential of what we are investing in far outweighs the risks. But there are always people prepared to make such claims. Right now, for most of us (even with Apple Intelligence), the hype, hoop-la, and costs havent yet delivered on the clamor. The rest of us watching tech bros snicker and smile on their shiny AI cavalcade remain to be convinced.With that in mind, it seems a slow and steady approach to AI deployment could end up being the Kings Gambit in the game. Rather than chasing the evangelists, the industry should focus on putting solutions together that delivergenuine benefit, rather than simply looking good in headlines, (whoever writes them). We need to see true and tangible improvements to foster trust, and if the people behind them genuinely believe AI will drive future hardware sales, theyll make sure their AI solutions do just that.Or fail.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, andMeWe.