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Still, there are some common threads at play, so if you run into problems with your supposedly-futuristic smart home crapping out, here are some things we recommend trying before you give up and return everything in a fit of rage. The internet is littered with forum threads diagnosing issues like this, from Sonos speakers having problems with mesh networks to Nest devices hopping offline at random. Our former editor-in-chief even bought some LIFX light bulbs that turned on and off in the middle of the night, thanks to communication issues between his Nest’s Home/Away feature and (maybe) his Eero WiFi network....

What are the Skullcandy Dime earphones? At $25 a pair, the Skullcandy Dime earphones are unapologetically cheap. The marketing materials even challenge “those expensive, ‘look-at-me’ earbud brands.” Of course, there are even more expensive Skullcandy earbuds, like the $100 Indy ANC Noise-Canceling earbuds. The extra cash buys the Indy ’phones greater durability than the Dime earbuds (an IP55 vs. IPX4 protection rating). The Indy earbuds can survive being sprayed with a hose, while the Dime earbuds are only designed to resist splashing....

Intrigued from a previous study on extinct animals, which showed that species exhibiting “sleep or hide” (SLOH) behaviors did better than others, the study authors wanted to see if the same was true of modern creatures like moles, chipmunks and bears. To find out if our more timid and torpid animals have a leg up in the survival game, researchers made a master list of 443 sleep-or-hide mammals. Hiders and sleepers actually tend to overlap significantly, they report in their paper, as sleepy animals need a place to sleep, and burrowing animals often develop hibernation-style traits to survive underground....

1. The host 2. The party planner Alexa relays the shindig-starting message to the Logitech Harmony Hub, which connects to all your devices—from appliances to home theaters—via Wi-Fi. The console is what gets your lights in sync with your speakers, and so on. 3. The mood setter In party mode, the LIFX bulbs cycle through 16 million colors in a pattern that makes your living room look like a Daft Punk concert....

The AirPods Pro are currently on sale, along with a slew of accessories that can boost your listening experience. Check them out: Apple AirPods Pro Now’s your chance to grab a pair of the AirPods Pro at an irresistible discount. These babies deliver Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) to allow for immersive sound, with a transparency mode that lets you hear your surroundings. They also have force sensors on the stem to make it easy to control music and calls....

The storms are blamed for at least 14 deaths throughout the state. Floodwaters killed one person on Monday in San Luis Obispo County and a 5-year-old boy remains missing. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Tuesday that heavy rain will continue to fall, causing more flash flooding, mudslides, and misery to the state. Forecasters expect Southern California to see at least seven more inches of rain over the next few days with “no significant let up” expected....

On Wednesday morning, the Cassini spacecraft will find out what that subsurface ocean is made of. As Saturn’s gravity tugs on the small moon, it deforms the moon’s core, causing friction and heat. This ‘tidal heating’ is thought to be the source of Enceladus’ liquid ocean. So the small moon has heat and water– two main ingredients for life. Does it have the rest of what it takes? In 2005, the Cassini spacecraft discovered geysers erupting from Enceladus’ south pole....

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizon video game landed in the United States with impeccable timing. March 20 marked the very early stages of the U.S. pandemic lockdowns, which suddenly gave many people spare time at home that they could spend decorating islands or dangling lures in hopes of catching the game’s most elusive fish. But video games & stress and anxiety go way back; games have been providing people with an effective way to manage stress since well before the pandemic began....

To reduce the growth of emissions associated with flying, airlines are looking to new types of liquid propellants called sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). These SAFs are similar enough to jet fuel to replace it, but are made with renewable energy sources. And they’re slowly catching on. The US Federal Aviation Administration has announced a plan to reach 3 billion gallons of SAF production by 2030. Other technologies that aim to decarbonize aviation are on the horizon, but SAFs might be uniquely positioned to quickly reduce emissions in a large portion of flights....

A new study in PNAS based on decades’ worth of data on birds collected by Chicago’s Field Museum scientists. The researchers found that turning off lights in buildings significantly decreased the deaths of migrating birds like warblers and thrushes. On nights when half the windows were darkened, there were 11 times fewer bird collisions during spring migration and six times fewer collisions during fall migration than if those windows stayed lit....

A new paper published this week in the journal Cell Systems documents how these communities of bacteria have the capacity to remember when they are exposed to blue light. This finding illuminates an unexpected connection between the abilities of simple organisms and complex neurons in the human brain. Gürol Süel, a molecular biologist at the University of California at San Diego and his colleagues study how biofilms work and behave....

Of course, we’ll talk about all the new Apple stuff during next week’s episode after we’ve had some time to digest all of the new products, features, and stylized announcement videos set to unbearably hip soundtracks. You can listen to this week’s episode in the player embedded above, subscribe via iTunes, add us on Stitcher, follow along on Anchor, and even find us on Spotify. Once you’re all subscribed, head over to our Twitter page and give us a follow there, as well....

Part of the thrill of going hunting and fishing is knowing there is always a little risk involved. But it’s one thing to have to start a survival fire and spend an unexpected night in the woods. Getting mauled by a bear, bitten by a timber rattlesnake, or attacked by a shark is something entirely different. All of the sudden, that thrill turns in to sheer terror. But don’t take our word for it....

This latest software upgrade, Version 7.1, has been eagerly awaited by Model S owners whose carswere built since August 2014. The new software is now in the early phases of its rollout, and as of writing, your author’s 2015 Tesla Model S P85D has not yet been updated. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained in a conference call, the new release offers a smarter application of the “auto-steering” function, which will now always abide by prevailing speed limits on any roads without a center divider....

But now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has updated that projection to say that 2020 is likely to be one of the most active hurricane seasons in the 22 years they have been producing hurricane forecasts. NOAA estimates we’ll get 19-25 named storms, 7-11 of which will be hurricanes and 3-6 of which will be major hurricanes, meaning one of Category 3 or higher. That means wind speeds of 111 miles per hour or more, capable of ripping roofs off of houses, uprooting trees, and leaving people without power and water....

On Friday, Breaking Defense noted that the light, solar-powered aircraft had been up there for 37 days, a mission that had it “demolishing its previous 26-day record.” An Army spokesperson confirmed to PopSci that the drone is still airborne as of today, meaning it’s been flying for 40 days and change. The Airbus-made drone is solar-powered, designed to fly in the stratosphere and operate off just a tiny bit of electricity....

These deals can come and go quickly, especially if you’re looking for the most popular Queen-sized offerings, so we’ll update this list periodically to add new links and kill those that have gone out of stock. The best Black Friday mattress deals for 2021 Casper Wave Hybrid mattress $2,156 (Was $2,695) Casper’s flagship mattress isn’t cheap, but it’s under big discount here on Black Friday. The Wave Hybrid mattress employs different types of support for various parts of your body....

Want to see a list of just the best TV deals? Head over to our post dedicated to smart TV sales happening before Black Friday rolls around. Laptops ASUS – ROG Zephyrus 14″ FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop – AMD Ryzen 7 – 16GB DDR4 Memory – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 – 512GB PCIe SSD $899 (was $1,399)MacBook Pro 13.3″ Laptop – Apple M2 chip – 8GB Memory – 256GB SSD $1,149 ($1,299)Microsoft – Surface Pro 7+ – 12....

Here’s a list of our favorite whole-home security kits currently on the market. Ring offers a comprehensive, stylish home security kit that includes a keypad, base station, contact sensors, and a motion detector all designed to work right out of the box. From simpler features like mobile trigger notifications to more advanced options like optional 24/7 monitoring, this is a great kit for one- to two-bedroom homes that allows room for expandability should you need it....

Best overall: BenQ EW2780Q 27 Inch 2K QHD Computer MonitorBest value: SAMSUNG Odyssey G7 Series 32-Inch WQHDBest with low blue light: ASUS VY279HE 27”Best ultrawide: LG 29WN600-W 29″Best for gaming: ASUS ROG Strix 27”Best budget: ViewSonic VX2257-MHD How we picked the best monitors for eye strain As monitor technology has progressed over the last decade or so, the screens have only gotten more impressive. That leads to a slew of options to consider....