HomeImprovement
Latest
Hulu feeds '90s nostalgia with ‘Boy Meets World’ and 'Dinosaurs'
Back in the '90s, a Friday like today would've brought me endless excitement. Obviously, it meant the weekend had arrived and thus no school and no waking up early. But it also meant TGIF -- the best chunk of programming of the entire week in the opinion of tweens across the country. While TGIF is no more, you will be able to recreate your own lineup tonight if you wish because Hulu has added iconic TGIF series Boy Meets World and Dinosaurs to its streaming service along with Home Improvement. Thank goodness it's Friday.
Lowe's is using AR and VR to make how-to easier
Last year home improvement chain Lowe's teased what it was doing with Google's Tango augmented-reality technology, and now the company is ready to debut the next wave of its high-tech initiatives. First up is the outfit's new In-Store Navigation app, which it says is Tango's first retail indoor-mapping application. To use it, you'll need to snag a Lenovo Phab 2 Pro from an employee. Then you can use the slate to navigate around the store and hopefully find exactly what you're looking for in no time flat. It's something Lowe's showed off recently in tandem with a VR project to illustrate how tech can make DIY easier.
ICYMI: This power tool might save you from yourself
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Shaper's Origin is designed to use augmented reality and an on-screen display to guide you through cutting wood pieces. And Australian National University researchers developed the most efficient solar receiver in the world. The chopstick piano video is here and the airship crashing in what looks like slo-mo; here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Yelp gives you quotes for home services
Yelp is normally the service you use when you want to escape the home, but now it's aiming to be your go-to source for help in the home. It just launched a feature that gives you price quotes for all kinds of services, ranging from car repairs to event planning to plumbers. The option highlights those businesses that are most likely to respond quickly, and you can even bulk-message companies to quickly find out who has the best deal. Quotes are available now on the web and in the iOS app, and they'll be accessible within the Android app very soon.
With HoloLens, you can now remodel your kitchen at Lowe's
When it comes to HoloLens, Microsoft's augmented reality headset, the company's making very careful moves to introduce the holographic tech to the public. Case in point: Today, it announced a partnership with Lowe's, the home improvement chain, that will let customers in the Seattle area visualize a remodel of their kitchens using HoloLens in a showroom environment. The obvious appeal here being the cost benefits: there's no need to order, try and return expensive tiles or appliances if they don't suit your design tastes. They are just holograms, after all.
Amazon is ready to offer pro services for your home
Need a plumber, or a tire swap? Amazon is ready to help. The internet giant has launched its promised Amazon Home Services, a one-stop shop that lets you order professionals in categories ranging from home maintenance to tech support -- there's even goat grazing, in case you need to clear an overgrown field. The offering promises to be more trustworthy than what you'd get just by searching the web or the phone book, since Amazon is relying on hand-picked pros that deliver up-front pricing. You also won't pay until the job is done properly, so workers shouldn't be tempted to cut corners.
iPad merges with kitchen cabinet, sacrificing portability for utility
From the moment we saw the so-called "magical device," we knew the lucrative digital cookbook market would never be quite the same, but it's one thing to imagine an iPad as the centerpiece of one's kitchen, and something else entirely to see to see it in the flesh. TUAW reader Alan Daly built his directly into the side of a kitchen cabinet, and set it to work doling out Epicurious recipes, streaming Jamie Oliver, and surfing some of the world's best websites (in our oh-so-humble opinion) well out of the way of troublesome meat splatter. In lieu of flying toasters, his screen displays a virtual aquarium when it's not in use, and the whole assembly seems to be a simple matter of cutting a hole and affixing a pair of wooden strips for support. It's not clear, however, how he keeps it charged. Maybe that's the magic Steve keeps talking about. Video after the break.
