Month: January 2019

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Renew Your TSA Precheck Membership Online Up to Six Months Before it Expires

https://lifehacker.com/renew-your-tsa-precheck-membership-online-up-to-six-mon-1831448787


Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

If your TSA Precheck is set to expire soon, renewing it might be a bit easier than you think. The TSA is now allowing fliers to renew their enrollment in the program online and up to six months before their current enrollment is set to expire. If everything goes according to plan, the renewal process should only take around five minutes.

If you’re somehow not familiar, TSA Precheck is a program that allows low-risk travelers to go through an expedited security line at the airport.

When you fly you don’t have to remove your shoes, belt, or jacket and you’re able to leave your liquids and laptop in your bag. Most of the time you also only have to walk through a metal detector rather than that massive body scanner.

It’s nice. Really nice if you travel frequently.

The service is currently accepted at 200 U.S. airports nationwide and used by 56 airlines.

The program costs $85 for the five years, which boils down to roughly $17 a year. That $85 will be worth it the first time you arrive at the airport late and need to zoom through the line in order to catch your flight. I was personally thankful for mine on Dec 26th when I arrived at the airport in Raleigh, NC at 5am for my 6:30am flight to find the traditional security line wrapped around the airport lobby and running out into the street. The TSA Precheck line was maybe 30 people long.

If it’s something you have, it’s definitely something you want to keep.

If you travel out of the country, then Global Entry is an even better idea. Hands down the best $100 I’ve ever spent, Global Entry comes with TSA Precheck and allows you to re-enter the United States through the same line that the airplane’s crew does.

I travel out of the country frequently, and after traveling with pals who don’t have the service can confidently say that my Global Entry saves me literal hours of time standing in the customs line when I return home jetlagged and longing for bed.

And if you don’t have TSA Precheck but are looking to enroll for the first time, you’ve got options. You can enroll in the program for the first time at one of 400 IndentoGO enrollments centers, many of which are located in airports around the country. There will also be mobile enrollment centers at all New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers home games, and enrollment centers at a number of Staples stores around the country (those are rolling out now). The RVs will also make appearances at music festivals and concerts.

via Lifehacker https://lifehacker.com

January 6, 2019 at 10:04AM

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HQ Trivia Doesn’t Always Pay Players Their Winnings And Won’t Say Why

https://kotaku.com/hq-trivia-doesnt-always-pay-players-their-winnings-and-1831495451


For months, players in HQ Trivia, a trivia app that offers cash prizes, say they have been having issues getting their money.

HQ Trivia is basically Bar Trivia: The App. Twice a day, every day, there’s a live trivia show, hosted on the app, that has a pool of cash that goes out to the winners. HQ Trivia players also have to deal with a rising epidemic of cheating, with users joining Discord servers to discuss answers with other players, or even writing bots that will pick the correct answers. The prevalence of cheating first became clear last March when one of the final players in a $25,000 “winner takes all” game was booted for cheating.

Cheating isn’t the only rampant problem in HQ, though. Since at least October of last year, players have been having problems cashing out their winnings. HQ allows you to cash out your winnings to PayPal. There used to be a $20 limit, but that was removed early last year, meaning theoretically players can cash out at any time. A lot of players have been saying that their cash out button is still grayed out, meaning they can’t tap it and receive their winnings.

Correction – 2:07pm: A previous version of this article said that the $20 limit was still in place.

Since August of last year, multiple players have reached out to Kotaku to inform us of this problem, after having tried and failed to get HQ Trivia’s attention. Some of these players say they were able to receive their winnings after a couple of days, but they still had to wait to cash out. Other players still haven’t been able to cash out at all. All of the players that told Kotaku they reached out to HQ about the problem said that they did not receive a response from the company.

One player who has won $150 from HQ and hasn’t been able to cash out since October told Kotaku that, since then, they’ve stopped playing HQ.

“I don’t care to play HQ anymore since the experience of being unable to cash out is so frustrating,” they wrote via Twitter DM. “It’s also frustrating that they decide someone is ineligible to win AFTER they have divided up the money, so a lot of the money from the prize pot does not end up going to anyone.”

Fans have speculated that this bug may be arising because of players getting falsely flagged as cheaters. HQ’s “Official Contest Rules” specify that “entrants may not communicate with, work with, or otherwise benefit from more than 25 other persons while entering a Contest if the communications between the entrant and those persons is facilitated by any technological means other than those explicitly provided by Sponsor.” Basically, if you’re in a Discord server during a game, you might be flagged as a cheater, and will be unable to cash out. A representative from HQ Trivia told Kotaku that “HQ reviews all cashout requests for eligibility. The average cashout time is less than one day.”

HQ appears steadfast in their rules, which probably do prevent cheaters from fraudulently winning money. Unfortunately, it also means that a lot of players are left out in the cold.

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

January 4, 2019 at 04:24PM

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I Want One: Man Makes Card-Reading Mini Jukebox For Father

https://geekologie.com/2019/01/i-want-one-man-makes-card-reading-mini-j.php


card-reader-jukebox.jpg

OMG, you know darkness too?!

This a short video demonstration of the custom wooden jukebox that designer Chris Patty built for his father. It works via a magnetic stripe card reader attached to a Raspberry Pi, which identifies the unique song card that was swiped, and plays the corresponding song. It looks like Chris made a fair amount of song cards too — that’s nice. The bar I always go to has one of those internet jukeboxes that will download almost any song, so I got the app (AMI Music) on my phone and play all the songs I want to hear but nobody else does without having to go up to the machine, so nobody knows it was me who played them. They get SO ANGRY. It brings me so much joy, plus I feel like a spy!

Keep going for the short demonstration, and you can go HERE to sign up for updates about the project if you want to make one yourself in the future.

Thanks to hairless, who agrees nobody works a jukebox like The Fonz.

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via Geekologie – Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome https://geekologie.com/

January 4, 2019 at 01:39PM

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Valeo’s XtraVue camera makes whatever you’re towing disappear

https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/07/valeo-xtravue-camera-makes-trailer-disappear/



Valeo

If you’ve already had enough of all the laptops, TVs and Amazon-enabled devices at CES 2019, autonomous vehicle supply company Valeo has unveiled the XtraVue Trailer. It takes images from cameras behind both your vehicle and trailer, and joins them in a virtual view. That appears on a small display in front of the driver, making it look like your fifth wheel has disappeared, David Copperfield-style.

Valeo introduced XtraVue at CES last year in different version that lets you see through vehicles ahead of you to spot any danger in front, much as Tesla’s Autopilot does to prevent accidents. That version, however, relied on cameras installed in other vehicles and public LTE mobile networks.

XtraVue Trailer works on the same principal but is a lot more practical, relying only on your vehicle’s onboard cameras. It’s designed to help drivers “change lanes, reverse and park, all with full control over their environment,” the company said. It looks impressive from the image above, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll ever keep your Airstream on the straight and narrow.

Follow all the latest news from CES 2019 here!

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

January 7, 2019 at 10:36AM

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LG’s rollable OLED TV is real, and you can buy it this year

https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/07/LG-OLED-TV-R-rollable/


We’ve seen LG Displays bend and roll OLED screens for years at CES, but those were just cool demonstrations, and nothing else. Now, LG Electronics is finally putting that technology into something you can actually buy: the Signatures Series OLED TV R. It might look like a normal 65-inch TV at first, but hit a button and the OLED screen slowly rolls into its brushed aluminum case, like a paper towel winding itself back up. Instead of being a giant black mirror, you’re left with a high-tech credenza.

Gallery: LG OLED TV R | 9 Photos

So who needs this, really? Much like LG’s thin wallpaper OLED TV, the company is targeting discerning, style conscious buyers. The OLED TV R is particularly appealing for people who want a large 65-inch screen for immersive movie watching, but don’t always want it to dominate their living space. Up until now, their only option was to buy a smaller TV, or figure out a creative way to hide the screen.

The OLED TV R’s base is also a 100-watt Dolby Atmos speaker system — again, similar to the soundbar LG bundled with the wallpaper OLED. There aren’t any upward firing speakers, but it can virtualize surround decently. Based on a short demo, the speakers sound solid for music, and about on-par with modern soundbars when it comes to movies. Of course, it’s not going to replace a dedicated home theater setup, but anyone with something that extensive probably isn’t concerned about hiding their AV gear.


Aside from opening and closing completely, the OLED TV R can also leave a sliver of its screen up, something LG calls “line mode.” That gives you a bit of a display for controlling music, or displaying a clock, family photos or soothing digital patterns. Honestly, it looks like you’re just begging to have your child or pet destroy your precious OLED TV, but it’s certainly a cool party trick. LG claims the set is good for 50,000 rolls, but it’s unclear how long that actually entails. As with any device with moving parts, its roller could eventually fail, which adds a certain amount of anxiety for potential owners.

Quality-wise, the rollable TV is on-par with LG’s other 4K OLED screens this year (including support for 120FPS), and it’s also powered by the second generation Alpha 2 processor. The OLED TV R will also feature LG’s latest WebOS release, which adds support for Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. And, just like Samsung, LG is also adding Apple’s AirPlay 2 standard, as well as HomeKit integration. There’s no standalone iTunes app, unfortunately, but the AirPlay support should make it easier for iOS owners to throw content on their sets. And it’s yet another sign that Apple is finally starting to broaden its entertainment reach.

LG doesn’t have a price in mind for the OLED TV R yet, but the company says it’ll be available in the second half of the year.

Follow all the latest news from CES 2019 here!

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

January 7, 2019 at 10:54AM

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IKEA is launching low-cost smart window blinds

https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/07/ikea-kadrilj-fyrtur-smart-window-blinds/



IKEA

Almost a year ago, Swedish furniture giant IKEA signalled its intention to make people’s homes smarter with the launch of its own intelligent lighting range. TRÅDFRI — as we now know it — has grown to include a variety of LED bulbs, motion sensor kits, dimming lights and a selection of LED light panels and doors that can be built into kitchen and bedroom cabinets. With its low-cost lighting now in stores all over the world, IKEA has decided it wants to further automate people’s homes and has confirmed the launch of a new product: smart window blinds.

The company itself has yet to publicly share news of the blinds, but Zatz Not Funny notes that it has already listed two such products on its German website. KADRILJ and FYRTUR are wireless, battery-powered shades that interact with IKEA’s existing TRÅDFRI lighting gateway. That means it will play nice with Alexa, HomeKit and Google Assistant, as they already support IKEA’s smart lighting platform.

The product itself is a typical blackout blind that carries slightly more bulk as it includes a small compartment for a rechargeable battery. Once the battery is placed inside the fascia, owners can pair the blind with the accompanying white puck, which then serves as a manual control. IKEA’s own documentation states that KADRILJ and FYRTUR can be programmed to open or close at dedicated time via the associated app.

According to IKEA, the blinds will be available from February 2nd. They’ll come in five European sizes and range from 99 to 155 euros (roughly $113 and $181). There’s currently no word on whether they’ll come to the US or the UK (we have contacted the company for more details), but if the launch mirrors that of its smart lighting range, we can expect them to become available in other regions sooner rather than later.