| 1. Review: Amazon Echo Dot |
| By Roberto Baldwin, Engadget |
| The most ubiquitous assistant so far has been Alexa, an Amazon-powered attendant that has made the jump from a $180 tower to the $50 Dot, which isn't much bigger than a hockey puck. That sort of drop in size usually results in a loss of features. In this case, you're going to want to go tiny. More» |
| Why This Matters: It's a pretty thorough review with good pictures. As an Echo, Tap and Dot user, though, it's not so simple that the Dot is better than the Echo. The Dot has audio out, so useable with an amp and real speakers (good). The Echo can't do that. But the Dot voice control then can't always hear over the speakers. Already it doesn't hear as well as the Echo, so some shouting ensues. And—also important, Amazon expects that if you use it with an amp, you have to leave the amp on all the time. Still, I'm a huge fan of the whole Alexa everything, particularly because my husband has made it work as a slick smart home hub. -Cynthia Wisehart |
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| 2. California passes Proposition 54: Public Display of Legislative Bills Prior to Vote |
| via Ballotpedia |
| California Proposition 54, the Public Display of Legislative Bills Prior to Vote Initiative, was a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute. A "yes" vote supported prohibiting the legislature from passing any bill until it has been in print and published on the Internet for 72 hours prior to the vote. More» |
| Why This Matters: It's an AV opportunity. It requires that the legislature make audiovisual recordings of its public proceedings and publish the recordings online within 24 hours. It's possible that it will set a precedent that other legislatures will follow. The proposition's author (and sole sponsor to the tune of nearly $11 million) is Charles Munger, Jr., an experimental physicist at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and the son of the vice-chairman of Warren Buffet's company Berkshire Hathaway. Now you know. -Cynthia Wisehart |
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| 3. Science Geek: Interactive periodic table reveals exactly how we use all those elements |
| By Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo |
| We all know how common elements like oxygen and helium are used in every day life. But gallium? Selenium? Rhodium? More» |
| Why This Matters: Totally fun. –Cynthia Wisehart |
