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Weekly Rewind: A weight loss vest, manmade meteors, and a physical Amazon store

top tech stories 05 22 2016 tokyo meteor shower
Image used with permission by copyright holder
In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from what happened at Google I/O to a lung cancer detecting breathalyzer, it’s all here.

Stories: 1-5

Google I/O 2016 recap: Android Wear 2.0, Allo and Duo, Google Home, Daydream, and more

Google’s I/O developer conference keynote has come and gone, revealing the internet titan has more than just a few slick tricks up its sleeve. Highlights from the massively well-attended event include the announcement of a VR program Google has developed called Daydream.

Read the full story here.

A closer look at Thin Ice: the magical weight loss vest that siphons heat off your body to burn calories

Thin-Ice-vest-plate-1
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It seems like something out of science fiction or a bad infomercial. A wearable that lowers the temperature when pressed on the skin to help the body burn more calories and, in the process, cut more fat out of those problem areas? That explains Thin Ice in a nutshell, a vest that uses patent-pending cooling technology to help trigger weight loss.

Read the full story here.

Bye-bye Marvel? Hulu’s new live TV service has Disney CEO rethinking Netflix deals

Walt-Disney-CEO-Bob-Iger
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Earlier this month, both Hulu and YouTube announced plans within days of each other to launch live-streaming internet TV services in 2017. While this might have seemed an odd move for YouTube, it almost seemed a given for Hulu, given that three of the companies expected to be licensing content to the new service are also co-owners of the streamer.

Read the full story here.

The Zuck met with conservatives over news bias claims, and here’s what happened

Facebook-Mark-Zuckerberg
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Working tirelessly to limit the damage caused by recent accusations that Facebook has been suppressing stories from conservative news outlets for its Trending Topics feature, Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday met with more than a dozen leading conservatives to discuss how to ensure the social networking service can “continue to be a platform for all ideas across the political spectrum.”

Read the full story here.

Knocki surpasses its Kickstarter goal in a little more than an hour

Knocki-in-Hand
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Secret knocks have long been used to gain entrance to treehouses, clubs, and forts, and now you can actually use one to unlock your front door. Swan Solutions decided to take the idea of specialized knocks and apply it to everything in your house. The Knocki is a silver-and-white hockey puck-shaped device that lets you turn on your lights, change the song you’re listening to, or switch off the TV.

Read the full story here.

Stories: 6-10

We break down Google’s 6 different personal chatting apps

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Google announced two new messaging platforms at Google I/O: Allo, an upcoming application heavily integrated with Google Assistant, and Duo, a video app that showcases live footage from incoming calls before users even pick up. These apps also come a mere two days after Google announced Spaces, a group chat application and social network that’s heavily integrated with Google’s own search engine.

Read the full story here.

Want an impressive opening ceremony? 2020 Olympics may include a man-made meteor shower

SkyCanvas Promotion Movie (Dubai, Singapore, Japan)

Call it the world’s best idea or worst idea, but it’s sure to be something special. The Olympics may be all about athletic prowess, but its opening ceremonies have always been about showmanship. And what could be more spectacular than a man-made meteor shower? Star-ALE is bidding for the right to create a meteor shower over Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

Read the full story here.

A group of Harvard and MIT students have created a lung cancer breathalyzer system

MIT-100K-Award-0001
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A team of entrepreneurs from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a breathalyzer capable of detecting early stages of lung cancer. At MIT’s 27th annual Entrepreneurship Competition, Astraeus Technologies won a $100,000 grand prize for its L CARD (Chemically Actuated Resonate Device).

Read the full story here.

FindFace is a new facial recognition app that could end public privacy

FindFace: an app that allows you to find any person in your Network for photography

Facial recognition can be a wonderful feature to have implemented into platforms and devices. You can unlock your computer with it, automatically have your photos sorted by who’s in them, and even swap your face with your dog in Snapchat. But what happens when facial recognition is so good that it almost completely eliminates the potential of anonymity in public?

Read the full story here.

A brick-and-mortar Amazon store may be coming to a city near you

Amazon-Brick-And-Mortar
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Don’t be fooled by the brick-and-mortar stores it’s got, this is still Amazon from the block. Or rather, the web. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has promised to bring more of Amazon offline and into the physical sphere, though it’s unclear yet as to how many “more” really is. But don’t worry — Amazon isn’t leaving the internet behind.

Read the full story here.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Huawei’s gorgeous Pura 70 phones just got expanded availability
Huawei Pura 70 pink, green, white, and black colors.

Huawei Pura 70 Huawei

After being announced for China in mid-April, the Huawei Pura 70 series is now confirmed for the EU market. Those in the European market can expect to preorder the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, and the top-tier Pura 70 Ultra starting May 2 for 999 euros, 1,199 euros, and 1,499 euros, respectively. This pricing is in line with what we saw in China, with the Ultra coming in at 9,999 yuan ($1,400) and the base Pura 70 at 5,499 yuan ($760).

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The Honor Magic 6 RSR is my new favorite Android phone of 2024
Someone holding the Honor Magic 6 RSR outside.

There's no doubt that 2024 has already been an exciting year for Android phones. Samsung wowed us with the Galaxy S24 series at the beginning of the year, the OnePlus 12 and 12R are two of the best phones available right now, and Google is expected to impress later this month with the Google Pixel 8a.

But for the last few weeks, I haven't been thinking about any of those phones. Why? Because I've been using the Honor Magic 6 RSR. After launching in China this past March, the Magic 6 RSR is now available in the EU, and that's allowed more folks than ever to get their hands on the phone. And that's great, because the Honor Magic 6 RSR has quickly become my new favorite Android phone of 2024.
It has some of 2024's best smartphone hardware

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5 phones you should buy instead of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
A Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus laying on concrete.

Looking to upgrade your phone this year? You may be considering Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 Plus, which is the middle child of the S24 lineup. Given how solid the S24 Plus is, that's not a bad idea at all.

But is the Galaxy S24 Plus the best phone you can get? Maybe not, as there are plenty of other great choices that you can choose from as well. Here are some of the best alternatives to the Galaxy S24 Plus that you should take a look at before spending your hard-earned dollars.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

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