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A week before the ElliQ robot arrived, a neurologist told me we need to rebalance my mom's life. Her Parkinson's disease medication had steadily become less effective over the previous month, and with it, she had slowly stopped doing many of the things crucial to managing the disease - exercising, socializing, and engaging in hobbies. The result was a rapid, noticeable decline. As my mom's primary caregiver, I was open to any help I could get. And surprisingly, ElliQ did help in a way I never expected. Before increasing her medication dosage again - something that can come with serious side effects - her doctor wanted us to see whether life … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/rbQACJy

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about how AI is seeping into our daily lives, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started In 2021, McDonald's became one of the first major fast-food chains to greet customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. It started small, deploying the voice-ordering technology at 10 of its locations in Chicago. McDonald's developed its drive-thru tech after acquiring Apprente , a startup focused on voice-based, conversational technology in 2019, and later wor … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/yE9fa02

The last-gen InReach Mini 2 might require a subscription to use, but we guarantee it’s far more durable than your phone. | Image: Garmin REI’s annual Anniversary Sale — the retailer’s biggest of the year — has arrived , bringing with it discounts on all kinds of outdoor essentials. If you’ve got a camping trip coming up, now is a good time to stock up on the basics, whether it be a tent , sleeping pad , or stove . If your summer plans involve hiking or heading into the backcountry, there are also savings to be had on everything from Garmin watches to water filters , some of which are also on discount at retailers like Amazon. The sale runs through May 25th, and to save you time scrolling, we’ve rounded up the best deals below. Additionally, as in previous years, REI members ge t 20 percent off one full-price item or one REI Outlet item with code  ANNIV26 , giving those who pay for a lifetime membership ($30) even more ways to save in the run-up to Mem...

Need a new laptop? It’s a tough decision. If you’re like most people, a laptop is one of the most expensive tech purchases you’ll make, and it’s something you’ll use and live with nearly every day for years to come. So there’s a lot riding on this pricey expense. I’ve tested all kinds of laptops, from cheap Windows computers and Chromebooks to bread-and-butter MacBooks and over-the-top gaming machines. These are the ones I recommend the most and why I think they might be a good fit for you. Though the MacBook Air is still the easy recommendation for most people, that doesn’t make it the go-to answer for everyone . What if you need more power for video or photo editing, or for crunching large datasets? What if you prefer to run Windows? What if you play lots of games and want to take them with you? Or what if you want something that’s super repairable, or something that’s unusual? We’ve got some recommendations, including a Chromebook or two, a laptop...

British online safety regulator Ofcom says it has accepted new commitments from X that aim to better protect UK users from seeing illegal hate and terror content on the platform. Under the agreement announced today , X says it will withhold access in the UK to accounts reported posting illegal terrorist content and determined to be operated by UK terror groups and assess "at least 85 percent" of terror and hate speech reported by users "within a maximum of 48 hours." X has also agreed to work with experts regarding reporting systems for illegal hate and terror content and will submit quarterly performance data to Ofcom over the next 12 month … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/4ysPaCT

Last summer, Peter Degen's postdoctoral supervisor came to him with an unusual problem: One of his papers was being cited too much. Citations are the currency of academia, but there was something unusual about these. Published in 2017, the paper had assessed the accuracy of a particular type of statistical analysis on epidemiological data and had received a respectable few dozen citations in other research papers over the years, but now it was being referenced every few days, hundreds of times, placing it among the most cited papers of his career. Another professor might be thrilled. Degen's adviser asked him to investigate. Degen, a postd … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/jUIrvbF