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Bosch's stain scanner knows what you spilled on your shirt last night
German technology giant Bosch is mostly known for making home appliances. And at IFA 2017, the company is showing off a concept that it hopes can add a new dimension to those products. The X-Spect is a portable device that detects fabric composition, scans stains and figures out what your food is composed of. As pictured above, it looks a lot like a TV remote, and it features a tiny screen and capacitive touch buttons that let you browse through menus. Right now, Bosch is demoing the X-Spect, which weighs a mere 200 grams (less than half a pound) alongside one of its WiFi washers to deliver "optimal" cycle recommendations.
White iPhone discoloration: Not just heat
Last week, several readers were pointing out stories of white iPhones that had taken on a yellowish hue. It was assumed that heat was the issue. Keen to tempt fate, I played Star Defense [App Store link] for 30 minutes straight last night with my iPhone resting on my bed. It warmed up pretty good, but stayed white. Earlier today, frenchiPhone.com reported that the issue is most likely the combination of a hot iPhone and a certain case, though they did not specify which one. Additionally, they state that cleaning the effected area with a cloth and some rubbing alcohol will remove the stain. We haven't tried this, so we can't confirm that it works/won't damage your phone.Our best advice, based on the limited information we have, is to remove your white iPhone from its case if you're going to be doing someting intensive for a long time, like play StarDefense, run a GPS app, etc.I probably don't have to tell you this, but just in case ... do not apply stain stick to your iPhone.
Win a Tide-themed iPod
If you watched last weekend's Super Bowl (the height of American Football), you probably saw Tide's "Talking Stain" ad. It was one of the better ones; a man trying to conduct an interview is distracted by a nagging stain on the interviewee's shirt. Today, Tide has launched a contest encouraging people to make their own "mocking stain" ads. Among the prizes are 34 limited edition Tide-themed iPod Classics. The size isn't listed, but they're described in the official rules as having a value of $300US, so we assume it's the 80GB model.This isn't the first time Tide has released a special iPod. Last year, they gave away orange nanos in conjunction with the St. Bernard Project in New Orleans. This got us thinking about other limited edition iPods we've seen. In 2006, French radio station Nostalgie gave away 100 limited-edition Michael Jackson iPods Two years ago, the Japanese company RUN'A sold 1,000 "Snoopy" iPod nanos Last September, Target (a discount department store in the US) sold pink iPod Shuffles to support the Breast Cancer Foundation Finally, who could forget the granddaddy of special iPods, the U2 model. Good luck making your stain ad, and let us know if you win one of these.
20% of TUAW readers' MacBooks are discolored
The results of our MacBook discoloration poll are in; 20% of TUAW reader's MacBooks exhibit discoloration. It's hard to judge how accurate these results are, but if the real numbers are anywhere near these levels then Apple has a serious problem on its hands. Fortunately, there are signs that Apple has taken notice: the creator of StainedBook.info recently managed to get Apple to agree to replace the plastic on the top of his MacBook's casing. That's a big step, but I'm sure many MacBook owners won't fancy calling up Applecare every two weeks after their replacement starts showing stains again. Clearly, a more permanent solution is required.
TUAW Poll: Does your MacBook exhibit discoloration?
Does your MacBook exhibit discoloration? Yes No With many owners of Apple's MacBook reporting strange discoloration of their machine on areas that come into frequent contact with the skin (wrist rests, trackpad, button and areas near the iSight being the main concern), we've created this poll to get a better idea of how many MacBooks are affected. When I first saw this issue I believed that the people reporting these problems were simply neglecting to wash their hands; that's until my own white MacBook started displaying symptoms. If you believe that your MacBook has this problem, vote on this poll, submit your details to Stainedbook.info and make sure to contact Applecare to notify Apple of the problem.Disclaimer: Please, only vote on this poll if you own a white MacBook. We're trying to get a handle on the percentage of white machines affected by this problem. Black MacBooks do not seem to exhibit this problem.
