April 1 is a tough day to make any sort of serious announcement, so when Casio announced that it is connecting Google’s Wear operating system to the iconic G-Shock, we were rightly skeptical. However, that’s no joke – the GSW-H1000 is part of Casio’s rugged G-Squad Pro line, with a host of sporty features on board.
Casio
In addition to its muscular construction with a titanium backing, impact resistance and water resistance up to 200 meters, it is loaded with sensors and is the first G-Shock watch with a color LCD display. A big downside is the 1.5 day battery life with the color display, although this extends to a month in “multi-clock mode”. The GSW-H1000, which is real and not a joke, will be available in mid-May, with three colors to choose from (red, black, and blue) for $ 700.
– Richard Lawler
Other magnetic items include a stand for use in the gym and a 2500mAh battery.
Belkin
Now that iPhones have magnets in them, what can you do with them? For Belkin, apparently, the answer is a robotic iPhone holder that allows the phone to watch your face as you move. That said, the face tracking feature only works with the Belkin app – you can’t use the mount with Zoom or FaceTime and expect it to follow you as well.
If you don’t mind that limitation, know that the $ 65 device is also compatible with official MagSafe boxes and social media links.
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Everything old is new again.
Amazon reports that Amazon has considered the idea of opening discount stores or outlets selling unsold electronics and household items at deep discounts. “It’s a way to clean the warehouses and go through the inventory without having to destroy it”, one of the Bloomberg sources said. Amazon has reportedly dropped the idea for now due to the impact of the pandemic on brick-and-mortar retail, and it just launched the chain and wanted to focus on that.
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As well as “Yasuke” and “Run”.
Netflix
With the start of a new month, a long list of new content to discover on Netflix. Topping the company’s list of originals this month is Shadow and bone, which adapts Leigh Bardugo’s best-selling fantasy novel series. The show was written and produced by Eric Heisserer of Arrival and Bird box fame and will begin airing on April 23. Next week, viewers will be able to choose between a Dolly Parton tribute documentary and Thunder force, a new superhero film starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer.
Finally, on April 30, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller will follow up on their hit film. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse with another animated feature, The Mitchells against the machines.
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The technology of virtual sets continues to evolve.
WEATHER
In a new behind-the-scenes video, visual effects studio Industrial Light & Magic details the tech improvements it made to coincide with season two of The Mandalorian.
For starters, it made the Stagecraft LED stage even bigger, and the directors extended handy sets into new shapes. “In the second season, ILM developed software specific to this technology and what the hardware was capable of,” series showrunner Jon Favreau said. One of those enhancements is Helios, the internal ILM rendering engine designed to power volume.
With season two, the tool has given the production team even more control over the set, allowing them to manipulate virtual objects on the fly based on what they see in the camera. This created some memorable scenes from last season that added new smoke and water effects that just weren’t possible before.
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