Kalakshar US

OnePlus has revealed that you’ll be able to get your hands on (or wrist under) its latest smartwatch very soon. The OnePlus Watch 3 will be available in the US, Canada and Europe on February 18. The company hasn’t announced pricing just yet, but you can get a $30 discount if you sign up for updates.

It claims that the Watch 3 can run for up to 16 days in power saver mode and five days in smart mode (which would be 20 hours longer than the Watch 2). Meanwhile, the wearable is said to run for up to 72 hours on a single charge if you’re a heavy user. The company added that you can get a full day of use out of a 10-minute charge as well.

OnePlus is trying to balance performance and battery life by employing two chipsets: the Snapdragon W5 performance chipset and the new BES2800 MCU Efficiency chipset. The Watch 3 also uses the same battery tech that the company employed in the OnePlus 13, while battery capacity has increased from 500mAh in the previous model to 631mAh. The extra capacity plus the promise of lower power consumption make for a potent combination to boost battery life.

As was the case last time around, the OnePlus Watch 3 supports WearOS. The latest model doesn’t look very different from the previous one on the surface, though there’s a new bezel made from titanium and the sapphire crystal screen should bolster durability. The OnePlus Watch 3 will be available in two colorways, emerald titanium and obsidian titanium.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/the-oneplus-watch-3-arrives-on-february-18-155208939.html?src=rss 

Having thought-out, unique passwords for each account is hard — recently, I got stopped for putting the same letter twice in a row — especially when it comes to remembering them all. That’s why a password manager is so helpful: It creates and stores all your passwords, so you have peace of mind instead of a major headache. Now, one of our favorite password managers for cross-platform availability is having a sale. 

NordPass Premium is currently available for $1.29 per month or just shy of $35 for 27 months, rather than $81, and includes three free months. While NordPass offers a free tier, the Premium plan keeps you logged in when you’ve switched devices. 

NordPass Premium also gives you tools such as Password Health, which identifies weak, old or reused passwords, and Data Breach Scanner, which alerts you if your emails or credit cards appear in a data breach. Plus, it has Emergency Access, which allows a chosen friend or family member to access all your accounts if you’re unable to do so.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/two-years-of-nordpass-premium-is-56-percent-off-right-now-144511622.html?src=rss 

It’s a classic New York experience. You’re riding the subway to work, and suddenly the train stops. The lights go off, and you seem to be trapped between stations in a tunnel. For many New Yorkers, hardened over years of bad weather, prevalent trash and cohabitation with rats, this is just another recurring event that’s made less nerve-wracking by experience. But for Jarrod Musano, being stuck on a southbound 6 train that had lost power, there was little relief. Musano was born deaf, and the audio-only announcements were of no help. Musano couldn’t see anything in the darkness, and had to rely on gauging the amount of panic in his surroundings.

“I knew if it were serious, people would be moving quickly,” he recalled of the incident. Musano’s experience reflects one of many ways people who have disabilities and, more specifically, who are hard of hearing, have difficulty when using public transportation. Musano is the CEO of Convo, a company that was founded in 2009 and connects people with sign language interpreters on demand. Today, the company is announcing a partnership with the New York Transit Authority, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that brings its service to area airports, trains and other major transit hubs. This includes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway system, the Long Island Rail Road and NJTransit.

Through this partnership, QR codes will be placed at various locations across those systems, and scanning them will launch Convo’s web app through a browser. The user will be asked to grant access to their microphone and camera, and they’ll then be connected to a real-time sign language interpreter on their devices. This, of course, requires that people have mobile phones or tablets with working internet connections, which might not always be reliable. It’s worth noting, though, that the MTA has been adding Wi-Fi coverage to subway stations across its network. Plus, many of these QR codes are placed at customer service booths, which have gadgets on hand that could provide access.

Convo and its partners had been conducting pilot tests at Penn Station, Times Square and the Port Authority terminal for months, and said in a press release that in general, users reported “feelings of empowerment, inclusion and newfound confidence in interacting with transit staff.” The company added that 44 out of 47 users were able to successfully access the service during the pilot.

There are a number of reasons using a sign language interpreter would be more effective and efficient than, say, typing messages on your phone and handing them to another person to read. First, for many deaf individuals, sign language is their native language, and it would be more intuitive to express themselves that way than to type in English. Sign language also has different syntax than English. A sign language interpreter can also help translate as a deaf person is signing and also while a person with hearing is speaking, which can reduce frustration and time spent handing a phone back and forth. It can feel comforting and reassuring to have an interpreter available that understands what you’re communicating, and since they are likely to be fairly familiar with the situation, the interpreter could also help share information they already know from context and experience.

I went to look for these QR codes when I was at Moynihan Train Hall (an extension of Penn Station) this weekend, and once I spotted the first one at a ticketing counter at the LIRR service area, I started noticing them all over. I counted five of the little green squares in total, and after scanning one, I was brought to Convo’s page on my browser, which displayed an explanation and tips for better service. I didn’t want to waste an interpreter’s time, so I stopped after that.

I do have to point out that as a T-Mobile user, I frequently lose my signal in Moynihan Train Hall and have to use the station’s public Wi-Fi, which in my experience has unreliable speeds.

That’s one of the challenges Convo will have to contend with and work on as the service reaches more people. “As we deploy this out to the MTA, we’re going to learn the types of behaviors, the types of requests, the types of challenges that we’re going to face,” Musano said when I asked if languages other than American Sign Language would be supported. For now, ASL is the default, though Convo wouldn’t have to stretch too hard to find interpreters for British Sign Language and others. In fact, Convo already works with major networks in countries like Australia and the UK, with Musano saying it has partnerships with British Airlines, Aer Lingus, the British railway and more.

Convo’s service in the New York and New Jersey transit systems is free, and its app Convo Now provides 20 free minutes per month to all users who need sign language interpreters.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/new-york-metro-transit-systems-add-on-demand-sign-language-interpreters-152034505.html?src=rss 

Last month, a pack of two Blink Mini 2 security cameras was $40, down from $80. They’re currently 46 percent off at $38, meaning you get two for less than the price of one. These are also the latest model, offering advantages previous iterations don’t have.

The Blink Mini 2 security camera captures live video in 1080p HD, and there’s also a night HD view. If you have a Blink Subscription Plan, you can stream continuously for 90 minutes. The plan is sold separately, of course, but this package comes with a 30-day free trial to let you have a taste of these extra features. The subscription also grants access to more features like motion detection alerts and clip-saving. You can even send clips to others later.

The newest model comes with a spotlight for improved night visibility and has a wider field of view, 143 degrees up from 110 degrees that the original Blink Mini has. It’s also compatible with Amazon’s Alexa, allowing you to see what’s going on outside with just a few words.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-two-blink-mini-security-cameras-for-only-38-152645383.html?src=rss 

It’s France’s turn to get in on the AI boom. On Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron announced private investments into the country’s AI ecosystem totaling €109 billion ($112.5 billion). The announcement came ahead of Paris hosting the AI Action Summit on Monday and Tuesday. 

“I can tell you this evening, Europe is going to speed up, France is going to speed up,” Macron stated during a TV interview on France 2 and India’s First Post. He further explained that the investment is “exactly the equivalent for France of what the United States announced with Stargate — $500 billion — it’s the same ratio,” when accounting for France’s significantly smaller population. 

Today, France will also reportedly pledge a gigawatt of nuclear power to create an AI computing project, the The Wall Street Journal reports. France has nuclear power to spare, with 57 reactors in 18 plants and exporting about a fifth of the electricity it produced last year — despite using nuclear power for over two-thirds of its electricity. 

The project’s lead, FluidStack, aims to start work in the third quarter of 2024. By the end of 2026, the goal is to have 250 megawatts of power linked to AI-computing chips. Most of these chips are made by Nvidia, which FluidStack claims will send chips over when they need them. It also states that there’s potential to expand to a 10 gigawatt facility by 2030. 

The news follows Macron and United Arab Emirates leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s February 6 announcement to put between €30 million and €50 million ($31 million to $51.6 million) towards a one-gigawatt AI center. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/france-pledges-to-build-one-gigawatt-of-new-nuclear-to-speed-up-its-ai-ambitions-140021069.html?src=rss