I joked about LG’s unusual TVs earlier this week, but I’m taking them back. They were fine. In fact, sensible. This is because a professor at Meiji University in Japan presented a prototype of the screen called “Taste the TV”. The prototype sends electrical signals to 10 aroma canisters, which spray aromas on a pad of film for those who are ready to lick. Creator Homei Miyashita views the device less as a home-tasting device and more as a tool for food professionals like chefs and sommeliers.
The prototype is, yes, a little gross, despite the hygienic sheeting that can be handled between tastings. According to Reuters, Miyashita is already discussing spin-off applications for the spray technology, such as applying pizza or chocolate flavors to a slice of toasted bread. Don’t tell him about Nutella.
Your daily TMA takes a few days off for the holidays, but we’ll be back next Wednesday. Have a nice weekend!
-Mat Smith
The head of the robot has just been attached.
Ikedaya Karuta via YouTube
Fukuoka is the newest home for a 1: 1 scale Gundam robot statue, after the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam installed in Tokyo’s Odaiba neighborhood. This one has a new color scheme, thanks to the creator of Gundam, and is 28.3 feet tall. It’s a twist on Amuro Rays Nu Gundam from the Gundam One-Shot, Char’s counterattack. Yes, it looks a bit like Gundam Wing Zero, but Amuro’s mech got there first.
Vodafone donates the proceeds to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Christian Hartmann / Reuters
International telephone network Vodafone has turned the first SMS into a non-fungible token (NFT) and then into a nice sum of money. It sold this week at a Paris auction house for Ether valued at 132,680 euros (150,000 US dollars). The company will donate The proceeds will go to the United Nations Refugee Agency to support people who have been forcibly displaced. It’s also pretty timely: the first message was a simple line of text that said, “Merry Christmas”.
The anonymous auction winner receives a copy of the communication log for the SMS, a certificate of authenticity and a digital frame displaying an animation of a telephone receiving the message. Better than a ghost recon skin.
Including Lenovo, Google and Intel.
Lenovo is following Amazon, Meta, Twitter and trade show sponsor T-Mobile in withdrawing from CES 2022. All four said they would not attend in person due to concerns about the new COVID-19 Omicron variant. And while they’re all big names in tech, they’re not a hardware player like Lenovo. The PC maker often shows off or unveils its latest hardware at the Las Vegas Show. Intel and Google have also announced that they will not be physically present at the event.
“You talked about how many workers think that way.”
Amazon is nearing the end of its busiest season of the year. It is also when his employees are the most stressed, often have to work compulsory overtime and often are not allowed to plan vacation days. It also coincides with the hiring of a flood of temporary workers, which is expected to add 150,000 this year.
According to an internal email from Engadget and interviews with several current or former employees, it’s also a time of year when Amazon expects some of its workforce to take their stress on their co-workers or themselves. Read on for the full report.
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