Author: maitken

Lego’s Smart Play Pokémon can train and battle, but don’t do the one thing I wish they could

Some of the sets’ props are drawn directly from the games, others are more… unexpected. When Lego announced its tech-packed Smart Bricks at CES, we were impressed by the potential – enough to give it our Best in Show award. But when the first Star Wars sets actually launched in March, we were less enamored. All that promise of clever interaction and creative play ultimately boiled down to a few voice barks and flashing lights, with the smartest features we’d seen at CES nowhere to be found. Today, Lego announced the second generation, with 12 new sets launching this summer, promising Pok&…

Meta’s Forum is part Reddit, part Facebook, and part Google AI Overview

Meta’s new Forum app for iPhones takes Facebook Groups and moves them to a dedicated app with a dedicated AI chatbot to go with it, like an AI revamp of the ill-fated Groups app Facebook shut down in 2017. Rather than going to ChatGPT or tacking “Reddit” onto the end of a Google search, Forum users can view, search for, and post advice directly in their Facebook groups, with optional help from Meta’s AI. After logging in with my Facebook account, Forum automatically pulled in the groups I was part of on Facebook and populated my feed with posts from those groups, along with suggestions from…

The best Memorial Day sales you can shop this weekend

Memorial Day is nearly here, meaning the seasonal sales are in full swing. If your weekend plans involve pool parties or barbecues, now is a great time to pick up a portable speaker or set of solar lights, as many of our favorite models are currently on sale. You can also find deals on everything from 4K OLED TVs and noise-canceling earbuds to tents, robot vacuums, and plenty of our favorite everyday essentials.To give you more options, we’ve also included a selection of deals from retailers that aren’t necessarily running their own Memorial Day sales but are still offering limited-time…