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Waymo’s robotaxi depot is still honking its San Francisco neighbors awake

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Waymo’s robotaxi depot is still honking its San Francisco neighbors awake

San Francisco neighbors who live in a building next to a Waymo parking lot are still being haunted by overnight honking. That’s despite a fix from the ride hail company that seems to have fixed the original problem — the cars beeping their horns in the parking lot — but has also revealed that the issue is a little stickier than it may have first seemed.

Waymo said last week that the honking was the result of a safety feature triggered when a Waymo car detects another reversing toward it. Sophia Tung, who runs a YouTube livestream of the lot, told The Verge in an email that the first night after Waymo’s patch, several of the cars missed the parking lot and inexplicably entered a cul de sac next to her building. In a video we viewed, the vehicles became backed up in the cul de sac and started honking.

Tung said the company quickly “disabled the cul de sac completely and threw us an ice cream social to smooth things over.” Things were quiet for a couple of days after that, she added.

But early this morning, the robotaxis revealed another edge case when enough returned at once that a line formed to get into the lot. After one of them reversed toward the others waiting out on the roadway (where they’re seemingly free from the tyranny of the lot’s restrictions), it set off a chain reaction of Waymo vehicles each backing up, triggering the next one in line to honk and drive backward, and so on.

Tung said she’s already reached out to Waymo about the new round of honking. She also has plans to talk with Waymo product management and operations director Vishay Nihalani on the livestream tomorrow, starting at 5:30PM ET.

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Waymo did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

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Star Wars Outlaws gets a new trailer — and PC hardware requirements

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Star Wars Outlaws gets a new trailer — and PC hardware requirements
Image: Ubisoft

Ubisoft has published the PC requirements for Star Wars Outlaws, which is releasing later this month on August 30th, in a post that also points to a new gameplay trailer for the Grand Theft Auto-style space adventure.

The trailer compares the game’s looks when certain features, like DLSS, are turned on versus off. There may not be any major revelations in terms of story or gameplay here, but it could give you an idea of whether you want to upgrade anything for the game or not.

On the hardware side, Outlaws seems fairly forgiving of PCs still using components like the GeForce GTX 1660 GPU or Intel Core i7-8700K CPU. Eurogamer notes that you’ll need DLSS or FSR to run the game at minimum specs.

From Ubisoft’s page:

Minimum

• Visual…

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AI technology can help you win the battle over mosquitoes

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AI technology can help you win the battle over mosquitoes

We’ve all experienced those frustrating moments when you’re trying to catch a mosquito, only to have it vanish into thin air. 

Well, those days might soon be over, thanks to the Bzigo Iris, a smart mosquito detector that’s taking the fight against these pesky insects to a whole new level.

AI mosquito detector   (Bzigo)

How does the mosquito detector work?

The Bzigo Iris is like having a high-tech mosquito hunter in your home. 

It weighs about 0.66 lbs and uses artificial intelligence vision and algorithms to detect, track and target mosquitoes. But here’s the cool part. It works even in complete darkness, thanks to its infrared LEDs.

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When it spots a mosquito, the Iris doesn’t just sit there. It tracks the insect until it lands and then uses a safe laser pointer to mark the spot. At the same time, it sends an alert to your smartphone, which is compatible with both iPhone and Android devices, so you know exactly where to aim your swatter.

AI mosquito zapper 2

AI mosquito detector (Bzigo)

BEST MOSQUITO REPELLENT PRODUCTS

The mosquito detector is perfect for bedrooms

The Bzigo Iris is designed to work best in bedrooms, making it ideal for ensuring a peaceful night’s sleep. You can even set up multiple devices in different rooms, all connected to a single smartphone app.

ai mosquito zapper 3

AI mosquito detector (Bzigo)

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How the mosquito detector is smart, safe and eco-friendly

The Bzigo Iris is designed with both technology and safety in mind. Its advanced AI can distinguish between mosquitoes and other small flying insects, minimizing false alarms. The Class-1 eye-safe laser pointer ensures that you can target mosquitoes without any risk to your family or pets. In addition, the Bzigo Iris is a sustainable choice for pest control. It operates without chemicals or toxins, making it safe for babies, children and pets.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

AI mosquito zapper 4

AI mosquito detector  (Bzigo)

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Easy setup and maintenance

Setting up the Bzigo Iris is a breeze. Just plug it in, download the app and you’re ready to go. There’s no need for batteries or refills. It’s always on, working around the clock to keep your space mosquito-free.

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AI mosquito zapper 5

AI mosquito detector app  (Bzigo)

The mosquito detector comes with a catch

While the Bzigo Iris is great at finding mosquitoes, it doesn’t actually kill them. That’s still your job. But don’t worry. All Bzigo Iris units come with a Bzigo rechargeable electric swatter to help you out. This swatter features an extendable telescopic handle, a foldable rotating head and a rechargeable battery with a USB port for convenience.

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AI mosquito zapper 6

Man holding an electric swatter  (Bzigo)

The price of the mosquito detector

At $339, the Bzigo Iris is not the cheapest mosquito solution, but for those tired of playing hide-and-seek with these tiny insects, it might be worth it.

Kurt’s key takeaways

The Bzigo Iris is definitely an innovative approach to a problem that’s been bugging us for some time. It’s a chemical-free, high-tech device that could transform our homes into mosquito-free zones. While it might seem like overkill to some, for others plagued by mosquitoes it could be a game-changer. After all, who wouldn’t want a personal mosquito detective on duty 24/7?

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What strategies do you use to keep mosquitoes at bay, and how do you think smart technology like the Bzigo Iris could change your approach to pest control? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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A Googler’s guide to getting things done

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A Googler’s guide to getting things done

Laura Mae Martin is a big believer in the settings menu. As Google’s executive productivity advisor, Martin spends much of her time working with other Googlers on improving their productivity and communication systems — and one of the things she often recommends is taking a few minutes to poke through the options. “With your phone, with your email, your Slack, all these things, the features are there, but we don’t take the time to dive into them,” she says. She even thinks you should maybe have to look at settings before you can use the app. “Like, you can’t get into the app unless you spend 10 minutes figuring out what it can do.”

On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about all things productivity and work, we talk to Martin about how she sees things changing. Four years after the pandemic forced us all to work from home, are we finally figuring out remote and hybrid work? Are managers realizing that butts-in-seats isn’t — and maybe was never — a good metric for productivity? And is the era of the hard-charging hustle bro finally giving way to a healthier, more holistic way of thinking about being productive? Martin sees all these things from so many perspectives and has lots of thoughts on everything from communication styles to energy flows.

We also talk about the rise in digital productivity tools like Notion and Slack and why email is still so important — and still so terrible. One of Martin’s jobs at Google is to consult with the teams building Workspace apps like Docs and Gmail, and she has lots of thoughts on how those products work and how they could be better. We also talk about whether AI stands to change the way we get things done and whether it’ll help us do more or just give us more to do.

Along the way, Martin offers us lots of practical tips on how to manage our digital lives a little better. Charging your phone outside the bedroom, no-tech Tuesdays, and a couple of prettier email labels might actually go a long way. And if you have too many notes in too many places, it’s time to get a Main List going.

If you want to know more about everything we talk about in this episode, here are a few links to get you started:

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