Buttons are back: After nearly two decades of touchscreens, companies are going back to buttons, knobs and sliders. They’re in cars, appliances and personal electronics. Even the iPhone 16 has an “action button.” It turns out we like the feel of physical controls, and, bonus, they’re safer (paywall link). A volume knob is a lot less distracting than a car’s touchscreen.
Tags: buttons, touchscreens
Corsicana, Texas is a small town an hour away from Dallas. They kicked off the oil boom in the South 130 years ago, turning their land into a money-making machine. Today, it’s the kind of dreary town you don’t stop in because there’s nothing memorable.
In the next USB cable standard. USB4 2.0 offers double the transfer speeds and charging power of the USB4. They’re coming to Japan in December, and we should see them here in the U.S. once Big Tech companies update their gear to be compatible. Bring on the super-duper-fast charging!
Mount Everest’s steady elevation gain can be traced back 89,000 years. Now, it rises about 2 millimeters per year. That’s only 0.08 inches, but it all adds up when you’re getting high.
How early election officials suggest you send your mail-in ballot. Massive delays in the U.S. Postal Service could mean thousands of ballots won’t make it into the official account. I’m not taking any chances; I’m voting in person.
Range in value of the watches in Tom Brady’s collection. They’ll be auctioned off by Sotheby’s. The white gold and diamond watch he wore during his Netflix special, “Greatest Roast of All Time,” is the hot ticket, and it’s expected to go for $400,000 to $800,000. Yeah, I hear you — my $30 Timex does the same thing.
For ChatGPT maker OpenAI. They just raised $6.6 billion in funding. Some of the biggest investors include Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftBank. This surprised me: OpenAI expects to lose $5 billion in 2024. They have a heck of a lot of Nvidia GPUs to buy to power their models.
Pink Floyd’s payout for selling the rights to their recorded music, name and likeness. Sony now owns the British rock band’s catalog. I smell a virtual concert coming to a city near you, where you can be comfortably numb. Btw, digital avatars of ABBA do concerts seven days a week in a custom-built London arena with a 3,000-seat capacity. They make $2,000,000 per week!
Found, thanks to a pair of AirPods. Thieves took the car in Greenwich, Connecticut. Luckily, the owner had left a pair of AirPods inside, and police tracked the stolen ride down at a gas station. They pulled over the suspects, who then fled the scene and were later captured. Dopes.
In e-bike injuries between 2019 and 2022. Scooter injuries were up 88% in that time, too. FYI, injuries from e-bikes are much more likely to lead to a hospital visit than other “micro-mobility” devices like scooters and standard bikes. Just make sure your helmet is MIPS-rated to keep your noggin safe.
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Clint Eastwood’s age — and he’s still directing. The trailer just dropped for his newest film, “Juror #2.” It’s a courtroom thriller. (I know, shocker.) Looks good! My goal is to be like Clint when I’m 94.
