We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.The Sonos brand is well known in the smart speaker and surround sound system space. And very much like Apple, people will pay a premium price for their minimalistic, premium quality, and discounts are often hard to come by. Of course, it's always better to get a deal, and that's exactly what you can do today: The Sonos Arc, which was Sono's flagship soundbar prior to the launch of the Sonos Arc Ultra, is $649, $250 off its usual $899 price. It's also a new low price for this model, according to price tracking tools. Maximum Output Power:110 Watts, Connectivity Technology:Wi-Fi, Audio Output Mode:Surround Mount. Sonos Arc Soundbar $649.00 at Amazon $899.00 Save $250.00 Get Deal Get Deal $649.00 at Amazon $899.00 Save $250.00 Maximum Output Power:110 Watts, Connectivity Technology:Wi-Fi, Audio Output Mode:Surround Mount. Sonos Arc Soundbar $649.99 at Best Buy $899.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal Get Deal $649.99 at Best Buy $899.99 Save $250.00 SEE -1 MORE Sonos speakers are not for everyone, if only because you'll have to justify paying around two grand for a complete surround sound system when you can get a setup like the Samsung Q990C for about half the price. But audiophiles swear they can hear the difference, so the cost might be worth it to you. If you pick up this soundbar, you'll want to consider the Sonos 300 rear speakers and the Gen 4 subwoofer to go with itthey're the latest Sonos has to offer, though you can choose Eras 100 or an older or smaller subwoofer to lower the price tag.As for the Arc, it offers Dolby Atmos, providing immersive three-dimensional sound with height channels that simulate audio coming from above you (you can read the details in PCMag's "excellent" review). It offers enough of a low-end kick that you don't really need a subwoofer if you have a small space. If you already own other Sonos speakers, you can seamlessly connect them through the Sonos app to create a surround sound setup or a multi-room system.Best Buy is offering $75 in credit if you want them to mount the soundbar in your space, but you'll have to buy the mounting materials separately.

Controlling a computer with a mouse might seem like second nature to you, but to people with motor control issues or other disabilities preventing them from keeping a steady hand on a peripheral, it can be a frustrating endeavor. Thats why Googles giving Chromebook users the ability to control their cursors with their faces.Initially announced in December, Face Control allows Chromebooks to use your webcam and facial gestures as input. Look down to move your cursor down to your menu, or look up and to the left to hover over the Compose button in Gmail. Move your mouth left or right to left-click or right-click, and open your mouth to start using voice-to-text. Assuming there are no hiccups, the tool should allow for entirely hands-free control, intended to aid with accessibility. According to Google, this is another AI-powered feature, and uses a series of machine learning models to generate a 3D mesh of your face with 478 specific facial points for fine control.Theres a small catch, in that Google recommends 8GB of RAM for the best performance, but now that the features out of beta, youre free to try it for yourself and test it out. Google says its rolling out to all users now, alongside features to access reading mode in the Chrome browser with more natural voices, plus use a screen reader in previously inaccessible PDFs.On the more fun side of things, Face Control is actually fairly similar to Project Gameface, a similar tool Google developed for Windows and Android that allows gamers to control titles like World of Warcraft by mapping facial gestures to in-game actions.Unfortunately, while Project Gameface is open-source, allowing developers to tweak the tool and add support for it as they wish, Face Control is limited to ChromeOS for now. To turn it on once it rolls out to you, find it under the Accessibility menu at Settings > Accessibility.

Samsung and Google are introducing a new Wear OS software experience called "Galaxy Watch for Kids" that's designed to make the Galaxy Watch 7 LTE (and presumably future wearables) safe and fun for children to use. The new software features and setup process is similar to Apple's "Apple Watch For Your Kids" just with Android devices rather than iOS ones.According to Samsung, parents will be able to set up their child's Galaxy Watch 7 directly from their phone and activate its eSIM. After that, kids don't need a phone to use the Galaxy Watch. The core features of Wear OS are available, just with added guardrails for kid's safety and parent's peace of mind. Those include the ability to enable location sharing, manage who kids can contact through the Galaxy Watch, and set up a Do Not Disturb mode that's enabled during school hours. Settings can be tweaked at any time from Google's Family Link app.To make being tracked more enticing, Galaxy Watch for Kids will come with new kid-friendly customization options, like a Rubik's Cube or Tech Deck watch face (admittedly right up my alley when I was 10), Wear OS apps featuring characters from Barbie, Marvel, or PBS Kids and new colorful watch band options. Activity tracking and health data are accessible in the Galaxy Watch for Kids experience, too.Samsung isn't reinventing the wheel with this feature Google's Fitbit Ace LTE kid smartwatch just launched in 2024 but parents love being able to keep track of their kids, and a smartwatch might ultimately be a healthier to make your children always-connected than a phone.Galaxy Watch for Kids is available to use now on Galaxy Watch 7 LTE models from Samsung, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/samsungs-galaxy-watch-for-kids-software-makes-wear-os-a-family-affair-190332986.html?src=rss

Amazon just announced it will be closing its Quebec facilities in the coming weeks, according to reporting by CBC. This move will cut more than 1,700 jobs. The company said it will begin outsourcing deliveries to smaller contractors, instead of relying on its in-house team."Following a recent review of our Quebec operations," the company said in a statement, "we found that returning to a third-party delivery model supported by local small businesses, similar to the one we had until 2020, will enable us to offer the same excellent service and deliver even greater savings to our customers in the long term."Amazon has announced it will shutter its facilities in Quebec in the coming weeks and cut more than 1,700 jobs. Quebec is home to Amazon's only unionized workforce in Canada. https://t.co/zG3XjTi1mH CBC News (@CBCNews) January 22, 2025 This follows a successful unionization bid at an Amazon warehouse in Quebec. The workers joined the Confdration des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents around 330,000 people across many industries in Canada. Amazon allegedly fought these efforts, going on to say that union accreditation would not respect the interests of its employees."This decision makes no sense whatsoever," CSN president Caroline Senneville said in a statement. "Neither from a business point of view, nor from an operational point of view. Amazon, one of the most integrated companies between the click of a mouse and home delivery, would entrust all its warehousing and distribution operations throughout Quebec to a third party?"Dont worry. Amazon says the massive layoffs arent because of the aforementioned union, indicating it was a simple cost-cutting measure. We should absolutely take the company at its word because it has always been particularly friendly to unions and a friend to workers everywhere. That was sarcasm.In any event, it is expected that the company will close the facilities within the next two months. Employees will be given a severance package of some kind, but the details have yet to be revealed. Apropos of nothing, Amazon is worth nearly $2.5 trillion dollars. It has doubled in value in the past year or so.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-to-close-quebec-facilities-but-says-its-not-because-of-that-new-union-185744378.html?src=rss

Anthropic CEO promises Claude upgrades including two-way voice mode.

'Circle to Search' on a Galaxy S25 Ultra can now identify a song you sing, hum, or play.

Elevate visual realism through synchronized human movements and animated propsFor much of 3D animation history, artists faced the painstaking challenge of syncing character movements with the props they interacted with. This meticulous process demanded countless hourssometimes daysof trial and error to achieve seamless results. Enter Reallusion Motion+, a game-changer that redefines this legacy workflow. By automatically pairing character motions with prop deployment, Motion+ introduces the fundamental technology behind character-prop animation synchronization that actually works.Building on this innovation, the acclaimed Motion Capture Orlando (MCO) debuted the Skateboard Flatground Skate Tricks motion pack, earning widespread praise. Now, MCO raises the bar once more with BMX, a 3D mocap animation package that flawlessly combines rider and bike movements. The result? Smooth, cohesive animations that bring dynamic action to life like never before.Catch the behind-the-scenes video on MCOs incredible process:Capturing the Adrenaline of BMXBMX began as an ambitious vision to digitize the dynamic trick motions of bicycle motocross. To bring this idea to life, MCO collaborated with Rob Nollis BMX Trickstars, a premier traveling stunt show founded by the X-Games medalist himself. This partnership evolved into multiple proof-of-concept phases, capturing real-life BMX riders performing tricks across a range of difficulty levels.To tackle the challenge of recording the bikes complex movementssuch as those of the frame, wheels, handlebars, cranks, and pedalsMCOs technical lead, Kaszmere, had to get creative. This led to her placing mocap markers on strategic parts of the bike, and reverse-engineering a custom motion capture rig to synchronize fluid motion of the bike with its rider.Digitizing BMX ManeuversTo bring a wide range of BMX tricks to lifeincluding high-flying jumps and technical flatland maneuversMCO staged the motion capture on a large platform equipped with a competition-grade ramp. The entire TrickStars team joined the shoot, ensuring authentic performances for every trick. The result is a meticulously crafted collection of stunt animations, seamlessly pairing virtual riders and bikes, along with perfectly synchronization of the riders and their bikes.iClones X FactorCapturing over 50 paired mocap shots of both the bike and the performer posed a significant data-cleaning and processing challenge for MCO. To overcome this, they turned to iClone, leveraging its powerful tools such as reach constraints and dummy objects for target endpoints. By placing virtual dummy objects on key contact points like the handlebars and pedals, the riders hands and feet could automatically align with those positions. This allowed MCO animators to fine-tune the motions with precision, ensuring the characters movements seamlessly matched the placement and orientation of the bike. This setup was also instrumental in preventing over-extended or disjointed limb positioning.When we first started working with Reallusion, I thought it would be a good idea to learn to edit all our mocap data in iClone, and Im really glad I did because it is simple to learn and the tools are surprisingly powerful, so powerful that I have yet to use MotionBuilder or Maya in any of our mocap packs. Jeff Scheetz, Motion Capture OrlandoCreating Steerable Bike AnimationsAnother standout feature of iClone is its ability to quickly generate large crowds. Using Motion Director, users can steer characters through an environment with a game controller, or create AI-driven animations along predefined pathways.To make the bike steerable, MCO captured all the bike animations for different turning angles, acceleration, deceleration, and stops. A well-planned dance card was laid out for the performer to use as a moving reference.With more motion sequences recorded to train the system, Motion+ has enhanced Motion Director, enabling users to dynamically guide bikes, skateboards, and even wheelchairs within scenes. This exciting new feature will be available soon for all iClone users.One-of-a-Kind Motion PackFeaturing 44 expertly crafted movements that range from basic riding to flatland and vert tricks, BMX is a must-have addition to any mocap collection. Its seamless motion transitions make fluid animation sequences possible, from mounting the bike and riding forward to performing stunts and dismounting. This pack also includes matching BMX bikes with adjustable height, six material variations, and a 1:1 ramp model for breathtaking high-flying jumps.Visit ActorCore 3D motion store today to experience the power of BMX, and see the full behind-the-scenes here!Brought to you by Reallusion:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post How BMX Pushes the Boundaries of Motion Capture appeared first on befores & afters.

At some point between his November election win and Mondays inauguration, Donald Trump appears to have drawn inspiration from an unlikely source: Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch.Following in the footsteps of the Talk Tuah podcasterwho launched an overinflated meme coin in December that promptly lost 99% of its valueTrump kicked off his inauguration weekend last Friday by launching a meme coin of his own: $TRUMP. Although it has so far maintained more of its peak value than $HAWK and other predecessors did during their brief market cycles, $TRUMP has proven similarly volatile.Unlike the others, it also opens up an ethical can of worms about whether a world leader with decision-making power over the crypto market should own a tradable asset within that market.Trumps move has been met with a deluge of skepticism and outrage, with perhaps a bit more of it than usual coming from the MAGA side. One reaction nobody can reasonably claim, however, is surprise. Trumps meme coin is in keeping not only with how he campaigned last year but also how he has long conducted himself as a politician and businessman.It was only in 2021 that Trump said Bitcoin seemed like a scam, but he apparently had a change of heart closer to the election. He made hundreds of thousands in 2022 from selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which similarly rely on blockchain technology, and his financial disclosure form for last years election revealed somewhere between $1 million and $5 million invested in a virtual Ethereum key. The real turn in his relationship with cryptocurrency came last May, though, when his campaign announced it would accept donations in cryptocurrency as part of a broader effort to assemble a crypto army leading up to Election Day. (Its time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington, Tyler Winklevoss later wrote on X in his endorsement of Trump.)Perhaps the same advisers who steered Trump toward podcasts instead of traditional media as a venue for campaign interviews suggested he would find friendly ground in the crypto space if he pledged support for its growth. Maybe he arrived at that conclusion on his own. Either way, he cemented his status as the Crypto Candidate last July by giving a keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashvillethe industrys largest gathering. By that point, hed already collected $4 million in Bitcoin donations for his campaign.During a nearly 50-minute speech at the conference, Trump pledged to create a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile, and make the U.S. the crypto capital of the planet. He also took pains to contrast his crypto support with the Biden administrations heavy regulation of the industry, promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. (Following the November election, Gensler announced he would be stepping down from the role.)Now, after successfully courting the crypto community throughout the election, Trump appears to be reaping the benefits.He announced the Trump coin online last Friday during the Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., hosted by his newly appointed crypto czar, the billionaire and podcaster David Sacks. My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! the president wrote on X. Its time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com Have Fun! The fun began at the low, low price of nearly $6.50 and rose to a high of $74.59 on Sunday. A day later, its value had plummeted to around $40, where it remains at the time of this writing. The coins market cap, according to CoinMarketCap, is currently $8.6 billion.Trump wasnt the only member of the first family to launch a meme coin over the weekend, though. First Lady Melania Trump announced hers on Sunday, and its trajectory has been similarly volatile. (The pastor who delivered the benediction after Trumps swearing-in ceremony on Monday has also reportedly launched a meme coin, though it hasnt exactly reached the same heights.)On brand as alwaysLest anyone suggest the meme coin was a last-second effort to capitalize on his electoral victory as a private citizen before taking office, Trump has continued to promote it as recently as his second night back in the White House.Based on the value Trumps coin accrued, some supporters must have been excited about itbeyond the opportunity for speculative investment. Others on the right have voiced concerns. Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who endorsed Trump, posed the following question on X: Whats the difference between the Hawk Tuah coin and the Trump coin besides nothing? Meanwhile, Michael A. Gayed, a market analyst with a popular Substack, wrote on X that the meme coin made me lose a lot of respect for our coming president. And in an interview with The Atlantic, prominent crypto investor Nic Carter complained that Trumps meme coin exposed the worst parts of the crypto industry to the public eye in a way that really didnt need to happen, right when we were on the cusp of legitimacy.While their grievances are merited, Trumps supporters in this space would be nave to expect Trump would advocate for only the most above-board aspects of crypto, whatever those may be. It would also be ahistorical to expect hed restrict that support to mere advocacy.Trump is notorious for leveraging his brand to enrich himself in ways that could charitably be called questionable, from both a moral and legal standpoint. Immediately after winning the presidency in 2016, he paid $25 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging deceptive practices within his Trump University. Earlier, during his run on The Apprentice, he made millions endorsing multilevel marketing outfit ACN, and featuring it on the show. (A show, it should be noted, about making savvy business moves.) Trump and his children would later be sued for fraud over their involvement. Though the ACN fraud case was dismissed just last year, a judge threw it out on jurisdictional grounds, rather than the substance of the allegations. Trumps interest in MLMs didnt end with ACN, either; he also lent his name to one called Ideal Health in the aughts, turning it into the Trump Network.During his first term, in 2019, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages for funneling millions raised from charitable donations into his 2016 presidential campaign. Because Trump had demonstrably abuse[d] charities for personal gain, New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered The Trump Foundation to cease operations. Years later, while running for office again, Trump used campaign donations to cover his vast legal expenses.What reason would anyone have to expect Trump to usher in a new era of deregulated freedom for crypto, and not explore it himself?To answer Portnoys earlier question, one difference between the Hawk Tuah coin and Trumps is that Haliey Welch built her brand from spark-plug folksiness and relatability, which may be why some fans felt betrayed that she would lend her celebrity to a scammy-sounding tech play.Trump, however, has spent much of his career exploiting loopholes to amass wealth and power, and boasting about it. A scammy-sounding tech play isnt betraying his brandit is his brand.The other difference between the two is that Welch is currently in hot water with the SEC over her meme coin, while Trump gets to decide who runs the SEC.

The days of paying 20 bucks for a beer and hot dog at sports stadiums may be heading into their final inning.The Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday released a value menu of cheaper stadium food and drink prices, joining a growing list of team owners who have created lower-priced options for once-overpriced concessions.The Birdland Value Menu offers 12 stadium favorites at a low price11 of which are $5 dollars and under. At stands where such value prices are offered, a hot dog costs $4 and a beer, $5. Pretzel bites, popcorn, nachos and other concessions are also now discounted to under $5. Elsewhere in the Orioless stadium, beer cost $11 and hot dogs cost anywhere from $4.10 to $8.25, depending on the stand.The average price for a hot dog in all Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums is $6, and the average price for a beer is $7. And at football games, the average price for this combo is $15, with some stadiums charging as high as $20.Fan aversion to these high prices has caused a rethink of conventional pricing schemes, with value menus trickling into stadiums across all professional sports, while MLB has moved to capitalize on what appears to be a winning strategy.The Atlanta Falcons introduced value pricing in 2017, slashing hot dog prices from $8 to $2. The teams in-stadium transactions rose 30% in the following five years. The new Utah Hockey Club currently offers four different $3 concessions.And in December, the Phoenix Suns announced their own $2 value menu, which included hot dogs, water, fountain soda, a bag of chips, and popcorn.A family of four used to spend $98 on hot dogs/water/popcorn. Now they can enjoy that same meal for $24, Suns owner Mat Ishbia wrote in an X post following the announcement.The Orioless Birdland prices are less cheap than some of their MLB counterparts. The Toronto Blue Jays has offered a cheap Dugout Deals menu for the past five seasons, where a hot dog costs CA$3.49; the Seattle Mariners released a similar value menu in 2022, where most items cost $3.The pricing moves within the sports industry are part of a larger trend. Fast-food restaurants, for instance, have introduced value deals to entice price-conscious consumers back into restaurants as foot traffic has declined.Baseball in declineThe change in menu pricing may be especially needed for baseball teams. For the better half of the last decade, Americas Pastime has lost viewers and attendees. Through the 1970s and into the 1990s, the World Series consistently received more than 30 million viewers. In 2024, there were just 14 millionand that was the highest its been since 2017.The league made rule changes in 2023 to make the game more entertainingsuch as introducing the pitch clock and increasing base sizeand viewership grew again. But the MLB has still frequently been criticized for pricing out fans.In 2024, the average price for a family of four to attend a baseball game was $140and thats only counting ticket prices, not concessions. The prices can also be much higher when a team is doing well. Some reports said World Series single ticket prices averaged almost $4,000.Getting more fans to the stadium means getting more fans to turn on the television. Excellent stadium experiences can lead to increased team loyalties, turning casual viewers into fanatics.Major League Baseball has existed for more than a century. Its survival over the next century may depend on creating the next generation of fanatics who can afford to show up to stadiums and cheer loudly.

Drop your phone, and panic is usually the first reaction. After all, watching an expensive smartphone hurtle towards the ground can be gut-wrenching. Seeing a cracked screen, shattered backplate, or dent on the frame is a horrible feeling, even more so when your phone costs a whopping $1,299. Meet the ArmorPro, the perfect bulletproof vest for your expensive Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a flagship-worthy case made from one of the strongest materials known for its ability to legitimately repel bullets.Kevlar isnt typically something youd associate with phone casesits more at home in aerospace tech and protective gear. Yet, here it is, wrapping the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in a sleek, minimalist design. The ArmorPro case takes this powerhouse material and makes it accessible for your daily battles against gravity, scratches, and the occasional coffee spill. Benks, the maker behind the case claims the case can shield the phone from 6-foot drops with absolute confidence. That feeling of panic as the phone falls? A thing of yesterdayDesigner: BenksClick Here to Buy Now: $31.99 $39.99 (20% off, use coupon code YANKO20). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hour!The ArmorPro brings subtle, sophisticated security to the new S25 Ultra. The 600D Kevlar (from Dupont) build means your phone gets supreme impact resistance, keeping it looking (and functioning) as good as new even after years of use. The case feels steady in hand, with a grip thats secure without being sticky. The Kevlars woven pattern strikes a balance between industrial strength and understated elegance, making it as pleasant to look at as it is to use.With most flagship phones, the camera is usually its crown jewel, and a case that doesnt protect the camera isnt a case worth having. To that end, the ArmorPro comes with a metallic lip that encircles the camera layout, making sure that it hits the floor instead of the glass covering your camera. Scratches and smudges? The design keeps those pricey lenses away from rough surfaces like tabletops. Sure, it might cause your phone to wobble a tiny bit when kept on a flat surface, but thats more of a Samsung problem for having all their cameras in one isolated corner.The ArmorPro design includes a TPU frame intended to manage everyday drops. The brand notes a drop resistance of around six feet, which might help users breathe easier when navigating crowded subways or busy sidewalks. Reinforced edges aim to disperse shock away from sensitive areas, reducing the chance of cracks creeping across screens or scuffing the lens housing, providing durability to corners.Peer inside and youll also see that the case comes with a built-in MagSafe-compatible ring for snapping on chargers, wallets, or other accessories. The magnets here dont play around8N of magnetic strength makes sure your phone and accessory align with precision. No awkward adjustments, no sliding off. Its also perfect considering the rollout of the Qi2 standard, which brings magnetic charging to all new phones so that it isnt gatekept by Apple.Benks backs this case with a one-year warranty and a 30-day return policy, which says theyre confident itll do what theyve designed it to. After all, you dont want your expensive smartphone to be betrayed by a case that doesnt do the job. You want something that holds up under real-world conditions, not just in marketing copy with a tiny Conditions Apply hidden away in some corner.Click Here to Buy Now: $31.99 $39.99 (20% off, use coupon code YANKO20). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hour!The post Dont Buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Without this $39 Kevlar Case with Built-in MagSafe first appeared on Yanko Design.