Get Weather, News, and More From the Smart Mirror on the Wall

Get Weather, News, and More From the Smart Mirror on the Wall
TT

Get Weather, News, and More From the Smart Mirror on the Wall

Get Weather, News, and More From the Smart Mirror on the Wall

The Capstone Connected brings efficiency to a whole new level with the launch of the magical Capstone Connected smart mirror, designed to bridge the gap between technology and everyday life

While brushing your teeth, you can simultaneously have the mirror give you your local news, get your coffee brewing, check the traffic before your day begins and then turn the lights off as you head out.

The smart mirror looks like a mirror, with a modern design making it perfect for a bathroom, bedroom, entryway or hallway. It hangs like a traditional mirror or can be used on the included stand on any flat surface.

But what makes the mirror so smart is that it performs and functions just like a tablet with both touchscreen and voice interfaces for internet access. The Android operating system is built in to download apps and use Google Voice Assistant for hands-free tasks and browse social media.

And if you have multiple people using the mirror, each user can modify and customize the Smart Mirror to fit their personal experience with browsers, apps and short cuts accessed with a simple, “Hey Google, Good Morning.”

According to Capstone, the mirror’s functionality is driven by the Capstone Connected Control Hub, which is integrated into the mirror through its proprietary docking feature to access anything you would access through your smartphone or tablet. The Hub can be used to set up music playlists, messaging apps, social media profiles and much more when connected to your home Wi-Fi.

The smart mirror was on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is available in a 19-by-22-inch inch size for $599. More sized options will be available at later dates.

(Tribune Media)



Google Wins Delay in Opening Android App Store to Rivals

Google app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
Google app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
TT

Google Wins Delay in Opening Android App Store to Rivals

Google app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
Google app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)

A US judge on Friday let Google delay opening Android-powered smartphones to rival app shops, suspending a November 1 deadline ordered in an antitrust case brought by Fortnite-maker Epic Games.

Google was pleased by federal judge James Donato's decision to "temporarily pause the implementation of dangerous remedies demanded by Epic," a company spokesperson said, as an appeals court considers permanently blocking the order stemming from Epic's argument that the tech titan's Android Play store is an illegal monopoly.

"These remedies threaten Google Play's ability to provide a safe and secure experience and we look forward to continuing to make our case," the spokesperson added.

In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for Epic Games said in an email to AFP that Google's appeal was "meritless," citing the judge's deference to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals instead of striking down the order outright.

"The pause... is merely a procedural step," the spokesperson said.

Phones running on the Android operating system have about a 70 percent share of the world's smartphone market.

Google has been hit with a series of recent legal challenges to its dominance.

In August, a different judge found that Google's world-leading search engine was an illegal monopoly.

Google is also facing an antitrust lawsuit in a third federal case in Virginia over its dominance of online advertising.

Under the Epic Games order, for the next three years Google will be prohibited from engaging in several practices that were deemed anticompetitive by the jury in the landmark case.

For instance, the trial found that Google made its Play app store the only method to make payments to third party apps, like Fortnite.

A sizable chunk of app store revenue comes from video games, and Epic Games has long sought to have payments for its mobile games take place outside the Google or Apple app stores that take commissions as high as 30 percent.

Epic mostly lost a similar case against Apple, where a US judge largely ruled in favor of the iPhone-maker.

Apple and Google regularly argue that their app shop commissions are industry standard, and that they pay for benefits such as reach, transaction security and ferreting out malware.