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Everything you need to know about at-home COVID testing
In recent months, the FDA has approved a number of COVID tests which can be administered in the comfort of your own home and return results in a matter of minutes rather than days.
Cue the CleverBot is a coding robot for older kids
Kids' robotics company Wonder Workshop is launching two new robots designed to introduce children to coding in a fun, hands-on way. First up is Cue, the slightly older sibling of the company's 2014 robot offering Dash (or at the very least it's Dash with a pre-teen makeover, as the bright primary colors have been replaced with a sleeker, cooler palette, a bit more fitting for its 11+ audience). Cue comes with a new AI engine that lets code-curious kids actively engage with the robot (and its four different avatars) via a text-based chat function that includes a vocabulary of more than 170,000 words. Via Cue's companion app -- available on iOS, Android and Kindle -- kids can use a simple block program or JavaScript text mode to take the reins in a freestyle coding environment, playing with all kinds of cool features such as proximity sensors, encoders, a gyro, an accelerometer and a microphone. And in November, Cue will support Apple's Swift programming language through a new Swift Playgrounds Playbook.
The 2016 Cadillac CT6 delivers power and luxury
As a kid, I marveled at the Cadillac owned by my parents' friend. You could roll down the windows with the push of a button! My father would comment that it was just another thing that would break. A few years later, you couldn't roll down two of the windows on that car. For a while that was what car buyers could expect from the American luxury brand: features that failed after a few years. Flash forward to now and all those bells and whistles that caught my attention as a child are now standard on most cars. So now Cadillac has to up both its game and build quality, and with the 2016 CT6, it succeeds.
CarPlay and Android Auto will be in Cadillac's 2016 models
Following in the footsteps of sibling Chevrolet, Cadillac has also revealed its plans to support both CarPlay and Android Auto. This is yet another move by the automaker's parent company, General Motors, to not miss out on the new wave of in-car features from Apple and Google. Cadillac says it's all part of a major overhaul to CUE, the 8-inch infotainment system that's been powering its vehicles for the past few years. You can expect to see CarPlay in most 2016 Cadillacs this summer (save for the SRX Crossover), while Android Auto compatibility is scheduled to arrive at a later, undisclosed date.
+Cue is an intuitive way for anyone to create music
+Cue is a unique way for anyone to create music. This even includes people with absolutely no experience with music or instruments. Including over a dozen different instrumental sounds, all you need to do is shake your iOS device to generate different pitches that integrate seamlessly with the provided beat. It's a free app available for all iOS devices and requires iOS 7.0 or later. Upon opening the app for the first time, you'll get a quick welcome guide that explains the basics of how to use +Cue to create, save and share music. The main app itself is very well-designed, especially to match iOS 7's style. The first element you'll probably notice is the giant orange plus button in the middle. This acts as a record button of sorts; holding it down while shaking your phone will save the rhythm you created. Above that are four icons for drums, bass, piano and brass. Each of these contain subcategories, such as synth and organ for the piano instrument that you can swipe through to pick. The slider will adjust the volume of that particular instrument, but not the entire song which is a very nice touch. The initial tutorial explains that to begin, first press "Play" and shake the device four times to the tempo of your choice and a beat will start playing based on that. Unfortunately, I didn't have success with this method. The beat never started playing. Instead, while I still had the beat turned off, I manually controlled the tempo at the top left where it says "bpm." If you're not too familiar with music, "bpm" stands for beats per minute and it's a measurement for the tempo of a song. The higher the number, the faster the tempo. The four small dots indicate that the time signature is 4/4. This is the most common time signature in modern music with four bears per measure and the quarter note acting as one beat. The visual indicator is a subtle but very clever addition to the app, however I hope in the future +Cue adds support for other time signatures. I hit "Play" and the beat started playing. As per the instructions, I held down the giant plus button and started shaking my iPhone up, down, left and right. At first it sounds horrible because the sounds you make are out of sync with the beat and sometimes the direction you shake your iPhone in won't always produce the desired result. Let go of the plus button and +Cue automatically puts the recorded sound in time with the music and it magically sounds incredible. From there, switch up instruments to get even more creative with your mix. When you create a song of your liking, you have options to save it locally to your device to load and play at any time or save for sharing purposes. While I do appreciate the ability to share music on +Cue, the feature doesn't yet feel mature. Instead, I would have much rather seen iOS 7's native Share Sheets implemented to quickly send an audio file to someone or a group of people. There's no shortage of apps in the App Store that promise to deliver easy music creation with minimal experience necessary, but +Cue is both unique and pleasantly functional enough to stand out from the crowd. It was genuinely intriguing making music by shaking my iPhone and I was always satisfied with the end result. Music enthusiasts, definitely consider giving +Cue a download.
Cue measures vitamin D and fertility, brings lab testing to your home
Wearables like FitBit and the Jawbone UP have encouraged our love of personal statistics, but they're currently limited to steps taken, distance walked and a handful of other relatively simple metrics. And while some gadgets can monitor your heart rate, what about things like inflammation and vitamin D levels? Enter Cue, a 3-inch device that specializes in measuring these and several other stats, including testosterone levels and influenza. It's available for a special pre-order price of $149 starting today, and it's expected to ship in spring 2015 under the FDA's investigational devices exemption. That's a long way away, but as someone who hates the doctor's office, I'm intrigued by the idea of bringing lab tests into the home. Jump past the break for a closer look.
Apple acquires Cue, personal assistant app for the iPhone and iPad
Relative to previous years, Apple has been on an acquisition spree in recent years, with the company confirming today that they acquired a personal assistant app called Cue. Cue works by combing through a user's varied internet accounts, determining what's useful, and then aggregating it all into a single "intelligent" snapshot. Before being pulled from the App Store (shocking!), Cue's features were described thusly: Cue intelligently ties together and surfaces useful information at the right time across all your accounts. From email, contacts and calendars to Facebook posts, Dropbox files and LinkedIn -- Cue makes it easy to contact the people you care about, get to where you are going, and to know what's next. Cue Features: - Turn your email, contacts and calendar into an intelligent snapshot of your day. - Enhance your calendar by automatically connecting related emails, phone numbers, and addresses. - Change or cancel reservations, check into flights, track the arrival of packages, or text friends that you are running late. - See up-to-date contact info alongside recent communications and the contact's latest posts on Facebook and Twitter. - Search across all your linked accounts. The purchase price for Cue reportedly fell in the US$40 million to $60 million range. In an apparent confirmation of the acquisition, an Apple spokesperson relied on Cupertino's favorite boilerplate language, noting that the company "buys smaller technology companies from time to time." The variety of accounts Cue was capable of integrating into a cohesive view was impressive. In addition to mainstays like email, Dropbox, Twitter and Facebook, the app was also able to link information from accounts as varied as Evernote, Salesforce, Reddit, Pinboard and Tumblr. If history is any indication, Apple only acquires a company when it has a clear-cut place in Apple's product plans. To that end, one wonders how and when Apple plans to incorporate Cue's technology and features into the mix. Some have speculated that Cue's features might nicely fit into Siri and / or the "Today" view in iOS 7's revamped Notification Center. It's worth pointing out that when 148apps reviewed the app this past July, they noted: "Cue is very intelligent. It feels like it should be baked into iOS and come preloaded on your iDevice." Lastly, if your curiosity regarding Apple's recent acquisition has been piqued ever so slightly, check out this YouTube video featuring Cue co-founder Daniel Gross chatting with Robert Scoble about the app's features.
Apple reportedly acquires Cue, hints at future agenda features in iOS
Apple already has an agenda-like notification tray in iOS 7, but there are new hints that it may upgrade that functionality soon. Both AppleInsider and TechCrunch report that Apple has acquired iOS developer Cue for at least $35 million. The deal would give Cupertino technology that creates agendas based on email and other personal information; like Google Now, Cue displays meetings and other events in interactive cards. Apple is only acknowledging the purchase with a familiar statement that it occasionally "buys smaller technology companies," and won't discuss its plans. As such, there's no way of knowing if or when Cue's features will surface in Apple products. Still, we won't be surprised if a future iOS release automatically generates rich daily calendars. [Image credit: Blue Wheel Media]
Cadillac to update CUE infotainment system for improved responsiveness
If unresponsiveness in Cadillac's CUE infotainment system has been a personal point of frustration, relief is on the way: an update to smooth things over is being worked on. CUE Design Manager Jeff Massimilla told Wired that the firm's received feedback regarding responsiveness, and they're working on "a modification that will be released sometime later this year." With the upgrade, the infotainment system will be more responsive and the touchscreen and capacitive buttons will provide haptic feedback more quickly. The Cadillac XTS and ATS are set to score the update, but there's still no exact date penciled in for the patch's arrival. Though vehicles could suck down the update with a built-in data connection, the software will need to be installed by a Cadillac dealership instead. Not a fan of having lost knobs and dials to a touchscreen in the first place? According to Cadillac VP of Marketing Don Butler, we'll see the likes of such analog controls complement the screen interface in the future.
Intelligent personal assistant Cue adds support for iPhone calendars, iOS 6
One thing that stands out in our modern digital age is the sheer volume of information that we must process. There is so much information coming at us from our calendars, emails and social feeds that it seems like we have information everywhere -- and never where we want it to be. This information overload is one reason why Cue piqued my interest when it recently launched the latest version of its iPhone app. Cue is a startup that lets you organize information across many of your online accounts. Originally launched as Greplin, it started off as a way to search through your personal information, but the company realized early on that it could do more than just regurgitate your calendar entries. Now the service indexes all your incoming information, parses it for important snippets and intelligently ties it together. When you look at a meeting on your calendar in Cue, you can see the contact information for the people attending the meeting, any associated emails about the meeting and the necessary contact information from your address book. The latest version of the Cue app lets you view all the events from your iPhone calendar and gives you additional control over which calendars show up on your Cue. As someone who uses multiple calendars, this is a welcome improvement. Cue has also been updated to support all versions of iOS, including the upcoming iOS 6. The Cue: Know What's Next app is free and syncs information from several online services including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, iPhone Calendars, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, iCloud Mail, Dropbox, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Premium account holders who pay $50 a year or $5 monthly for the service can also add in their Evernote, Salesforce, Yammer, Basecamp, Reddit, Pinboard, Delicious, Tumblr and Google Reader accounts. That is a lot of information indexed in one place and available at your finger tips. If you enjoy being on the cutting edge of technology, then you should check out Cue. I talked with founder Daniel Gross and he said the company has big plans to expand its scope beyond contacts, calendars and files. The company has been building the infrastructure to process a large amount of incoming data and now it is signing third-party agreements that will let you track other information like order statuses and travel reservations from within the iPhone and web app. Backed by Sequoia Capital and other angel investors, Cue has a shot at making a dent in the fledgling personal assistant market. With services like Cue, Siri and Google Now, this is going to be an area of explosive growth in coming years.
Cadillac CUE makes its way to XTS, navigates with ease in NYC (hands-on)
Navigating those mean Manhattan streets is an intimidating chore for any driver, with or without a battery of high-tech in-car aides. But after an introduction to Cadillac CUE, it's easy to see the benefit of such a comprehensive system. CUE isn't your typical in-dash GPS nav -- sure it can get you on your way just as well as any other navigation system, but a bounty of sensors and displays allow you to keep your eyes on the road and avoid collisions, while also providing the smartphone integration and media playback support you'd expect from a high-end 2012 automobile. The base system, included standard with 2012 and 2013 XTS and SRX models and available as an option with the ATS, is centered around an 8-inch, 800 x 400 capacitive touch LCD with anti-scratch, anti-glare and oleophobic coatings to keep the display in tip-top shape and completely viewable from both the driver and passenger seats. The display flips open to reveal a lit storage compartment with a USB port for connecting and charging your smartphone, while capacitive-touch buttons below the panel provide haptic feedback and a variety of control options (you can tap or slide your finger across to adjust volume, for example). Add-ons include a 12.3-inch, 1280 x 480 "instrument cluster" that provides speed and fuel information in a familiar readout, along with directions, phone call info and music selection. Also available is a slick heads-up display, which features a more subdued color pallet (compared to the vibrant LCDs) and outputs key info, including speed limits and collision warnings, while also minimizing ghosting thanks to a wedge-shaped windshield, which thins as you move from top to bottom. Two more USB ports in the center console let you sync up and charge two additional devices, while an AUX input enables older devices to pipe out tunes. Now, much of this may seem familiar -- we took a peek at CUE at last year's CTIA -- but this is the first time that we've actually had a chance to take the tech for a spin in a drivable 2013 Cadillac XTS, and New York City seems like the perfect venue for pushing the system to its limits. Inputting a destination is as simple as typing an address into Google Maps (though CUE uses a proprietary maps app based on NAVTEQ's database). As we drove from our office near Union Square to the Financial District, the car let us know when we were cutting things a bit too close, as seat vibrations alerted us to obstacles on either side. All the while, adjusting music and climate was simple as can be, and HUD-based directions gave us little excuse to look away from the busy road. After arriving at our destination, we slid on over to the passenger seat to film the action while an expert drove. If a new Caddy is in your future, you should be able to pick up a CUE-equipped car within the next few weeks. For now, you can jump past the break for a front-seat look as we cruise on through the 212.
iPad is standard equipment in the 2013 Cadillac XTS
When you pick up that 2013 Cadillac XTS at the dealership, you're going to get more than just the keys, the car, and a free bottle of car wax. That new luxury car of yours is also going to come with an iPad. The purpose of the iPad is to provide new XTS owners with training about the many features of their new car, including the powerful built-in CUE infotainment system. Cadillac's head of customer experience, Mark Harland, notes that "The moment you pull away from the dealership there's this kind of black hole for 90 days" during which the owner and dealer rarely have any contact. The iPad comes loaded with OnStar RemoteLink, MyCadillac, and a CUE simulator. With the iPad, new Caddy owners can learn about all of the features of the car and CUE on their own time and at their own pace. Other parts of the Cadillac customer experience initiative include having the CUE team visit Cadillac forums, community sites, and social media to resolve issues before they get out of control. Oh, and if you own an iPhone, the XTS appears to have a nice little niche in the center console just for your favorite communications device (check the bottom right of the image above).
Cadillac unveils CUE infotainment system for connected driving excitement in 2012 (video)
Cadillac may be an unlikely exhibitor for a mobile conference, but it is using CTIA as an opportunity to unveil the Cadillac User Experience (CUE). CUE is its new car infotainment system that will debut next year, first in the XTS and later in the ATS, before spreading to the company's entire line. It combines an eight-inch capacitive multitouch LCD and haptic feedback with proximity sensors for a more rewarding user experience. Touch isn't the only input that Cadillac is quite proud of, as CUE also includes voice recognition technology from Nuance. This means users should be able to interact with their phone and car stereo without ever taking their eyes off the road. %Gallery-136323% Remarkably, CUE has ties to the Linux Foundation and it is based on the namesake operating system. It's built on a tri-core ARM 11 CPU that simultaneously chews through 3D navigation maps and displays BluRay in the backseat with aplomb. Cadillac tells us that it has been working on this system for nearly two years, which supports Bluetooth 3.0, and also adds connectivity with two USB ports and an SD card slot. The folks at Caddy also hinted that more third-party apps will eventually be part of the story, but those details will be revealed further down the road. That said, the CUE already supports Pandora, Stitcher and provides an HTML5-based browser with full JavaScript support. The company also provided a video tour of its latest wonder, which you'll be able to see in greater detail after the break along with the press release.
Speedlink Cue does the multitouch hybrid mouse thing
Honestly, while Apple's Magic Mouse is a bit of a pioneer in its application of a multitouch surface on a "regular" tracking mouse, it's not exactly easy or comfortable to perform multitouch gestures with it. Plus there's the little problem of no official driver for Windows. Speedlink's Cue mouse looks to be solving at least one of those problems, maybe even both. The wireless 1000 dpi optical mouse is naturally PC-compatible, with software to allow you to configure your own gestures, and it has a somewhat flatter and more extensive touch surface than the Magic Mouse, which might make gestures a bit more doable. Basically, it's somewhere in between the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad, minus the hyperbole, and plus clear demarcation of right and left click. It'll retail for €40 when it ships in November (about $56 USD).
NYT: Music execs operate 'in fear of Apple'
In today's New York Times, Tim Arango tells a story of a heated conversation between Sony Music's Rolf Schmidt-Holtz and Steve Jobs on Christmas Eve -- one that "ricocheted around the music industry." Apparently, before the announcement at Macworld, all the labels except Sony had agreed to a new pricing deal. Sony wanted the new pricing to take effect immediately after the announcement, but Jobs wanted a longer rollout. After the phone call, according to the Times, Sony agreed to the longer waiting period. During this time, Jobs was allegedly on medical leave, recuperating at home from his much-publicized illness. Arango notes that Jobs' point-man on music industry relations, Eddie Cue, and Apple's entire staff "do their best to follow Mr. Jobs's style in their own negotiating." That is to say: Hardball. Music executives, according to an unnamed source, are afraid of angering Apple, as Apple can single-handedly remove a label's catalog from the iTunes store, angering the label's customers. At the same time, Apple can claim that their hands were tied, the decision wasn't theirs, and that all the ire should be directed at the music industry. Such a thing hasn't happened -- yet -- but the threat is there, and real. The labels, on the other hand, feel like they brought Apple back from the dead, blessing the company with content. Even so, David Card of Forrester Research offered an interesting coda to the story: "if it weren't for Apple, God knows how bad the music industry would be," he said. [Via 9-to-5 Mac.]
Royalty rate stays the same, iTunes Store still open
The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board decided today to keep rates the same for digital music stores, kneecapping Apple's threat to shut down the iTunes Store rather than operate at a loss. The three-member board kept the royalty rate at 9.1 cents, and mandated a 24-cent rate for ringtones. The board has never before established mechanical rates for digital files. "We're pleased with the CRB's decision to keep royalty rates stable," said an unnamed Apple spokesman. The popularity of Eddy Cue's statement that Apple would shutter the iTunes Store apparently had an effect on the board. "Sure it was posturing," said a music industry source, according to CNET. "I don't think Apple would have gone out of business but a statement like that from the biggest music retailer is going to carry some weight." [Via CNET.]
VP: Apple would rather close iTunes Store than pay additional royalties
If a ruling expected tomorrow by the Copyright Royalty Board raises royalties for online music sales from 9 to 15 cents per track, Apple would rather shut the iTunes store down than operate it at a loss. Them's fightin' words. Eddy Cue, Apple's iTunes VP, wrote in a statement to the Times of London, "If [iTunes] was forced to absorb any increase in the ... royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss -- which is no alternative at all. Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [iTunes] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably." Of course, this is the "nuclear" option. Apple is most likely trying to gain aggressive leverage before the CRB decision is made. Apple is essentially asking music publishers, "do you want all the revenue you've earned through iTunes, or another measly 6 cents per track?" Shrewd, but is it shrewd enough? Some analysts speculate that Apple is more likely to pass the additional cost on to the consumer, rather than demolish a key slice of their business. What that will do to sales in the U.S. is hard to say. If the CRB raises royalties, what do you think will happen? Will you continue to buy music online? Sound off in comments. [Via IGM.]
RealMotion Pool Cue to help Wii pool sharks sink the stripes
Two things: first off, craptastic pool cue Wiimote accessories are already widely available, and secondly, couldn't you just duct tape a controller to your favorite real cue and achieve almost the same thing? Terrible ideas aside, RealMotion has just revealed that it will be shipping a RealMotion Pool Cue companion accessory for its upcoming title, American Pool Deluxe. Reportedly, the unit is a "meticulously crafted cue built specifically to take advantage of the Wii remote's accelerometer technology for real precision and fun," but we'll have to envision it until the company gets smart enough to distribute a photo. Or is it really that embarrassing?[Via IGN]
Wii Finglonger invented
Good news, everyone! The Nintendo Wii has made 30th century technology available-- today! This attachment for the Wiimote approximates Professor Hubert Farnsworth's brilliant hypothetical invention, the Finglonger. The Finglonger allows you to operate equipment over great distances.Hey ... it also looks kind of similar to a pool cue, now that we look at it! We wonder if it could also be used for that?
