DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ I tried Snap's AR glasses, Spectacles. They're a good start to get Gen Z users interested in smart eyewear.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementSnap's new Spectacles offer AR features like piano lessons and video calls. While the Vision Pro is a heavier corded headset, Meta's smart glasses are more like sunglasses with a camera and an AI assistant. AdvertisementSome features were clunky but impressiveOne of the Spectacles Lenses offered virtual piano lessons. AdvertisementGoogle tried and failed to break open the smart glasses market in the past, but that hasn't stopped CEO Mark Zuckerberg from showing off another pair of smart specs, Orion, at Meta Connect in September. AdvertisementI was impressed by the Spectacles demo, but I'm still waiting for a feature that makes them feel like a must-have.

Persons: Meta's Ray, Jordan Hart, They're, Evan Spiegel, I've, It's, hasn't, Mark Zuckerberg, haven't, Peter Kafka, Orion, they're, I'm Organizations: Apple's Vision, Apple Vision, Google, Meta Connect

Mortgage rates are expected to drop, which means that it might be a good time to buy a second home. There's no perfect time to buy a home, so I'm more concerned with whether it feels like a good time. So, while mortgage rates are expected to go down this year for primary homes, mortgage rates for second homes might not fall as equally. Still, the Fed rate cut is already impacting mortgage rates, which could benefit second-home mortgages, as well. Barring a big windfall of cash allowing you to buy something outright, there may never be a "perfect" time to buy a home.

Persons: Grams, I'm, Grams —, doesn't, Cheryl Lock Cheryl Lock, Read Organizations: USA, Forbes, MarketWatch, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Denver

☆ Snap threw shade at Apple and Meta's bulky headsets, but its new Spectacles are cartoonish
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the end of Tuesday's Snap Partner Summit keynote, CEO Evan Spiegel introduced a major upgrade to the company's augmented reality glasses. AdvertisementHe added, "AR glasses have see-through lenses. SnapAlthough Spiegel threw shade at headset rivals, Snap will have a lot to prove in the smart glasses space. The glasses Snap unveiled are cordless, unlike the Vision Pro headset. The Quest 3 completely covers the eyes, but Spiegel said Spectacles have see-through lenses that become tinted in sunlight.

Persons: —, Evan Spiegel, you've, Spiegel, Snap, Leo Gebbie Organizations: Service, Business, Meta, Reality Labs, CCS Insight, CNBC, Vision, VR

☆ Erythritol: Sweetener in stevia linked to blood clots, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-08 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Clots can break off blood vessels and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke. Previous research has linked erythritol to a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and death. Artificially manufactured in massive quantities, erythritol has no lingering aftertaste, doesn’t spike blood sugar and has less of a laxative effect than some other sugar alcohols. That’s especially true for anyone at highest risk for clotting, heart attack and stroke — such as those with existing cardiac disease or diabetes. “Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally,” he said.

Persons: erythritol, ”, Stanley Hazen, Hazen, Bleeksma, ” Hazen, Andrew Freeman, “ I’m, Freeman, Carla Saunders, Wai Hong, Wai Hong Wilson Tang, “ Organizations: CNN, Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Jewish Health, US Food and Drug Administration, Biology Locations: Denver, United States, Wai Hong Wilson, Europe, America

☆ Olive oil may lower risk of dementia-related death
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists. Olive oil can be a healthy, tasty addition to foods such as sandwiches and salads. Replacing 5 grams — around 1.2 teaspoons — of margarine or mayonnaise consumed daily with olive oil was associated with an 8% to 14% lower risk of death from dementia. “It is also possible that olive oil has an indirect effect on brain health by benefiting cardiovascular health,” she added. Besides cooking with olive oil, you can also use it to make salad dressings or vinaigrettes, mayonnaise, pesto or bread dip.

Persons: Anne, Julie Tessier, Harvard University’s T.H, “, Duane Mellor, ” Mellor, Tessier, ”, David Curtis, Mellor, Curtis, Olive, it’s Organizations: CNN, Harvard, JAMA, American Society, Harvard University’s, of Public Health, Nurses, Health, Aston Medical School, Aston University, University College London Locations: Chan, North America, United Kingdom

The sample capsule will parachute into the Utah desert as its mothership, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft, zooms off for an encounter with another asteroid. The asteroid samples will be handled inside nitrogen-purging gloveboxes by staff in head-to-toe clean room suits. ASTEROID AUTUMNThis fall is what NASA is calling Asteroid Autumn, with three asteroid missions marking major milestones. Both the NASA spacecraft and its target — a metal asteroid — are named Psyche. Japan’s first asteroid sample mission returned microscopic grains from asteroid Itokawa in 2010.

Persons: —, ”, University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, Rex, Bennu, Lauretta, NASA’s, Johnson, Kevin Righter, Lucy Organizations: NASA, University of Arizona’s, Empire, Defense Department’s Utah, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Apollo, Soviet Union, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Utah, Japan, Bennu, Colorado, Houston, Antarctica, Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, China

☆ A tiny 'ice mouse' with teeth the size of sand grains survived some of the coldest temperatures when dinosaurs roamed the Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers found fossil teeth of a tiny shrew-like animal that lived in freezing temperatures. AdvertisementAdvertisementShe and her colleagues described the S. mikros based on its teeth in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology in August. "It is kind of interesting to imagine all these great big dinosaurs marching around" alongside the shrew-like animal, Eberle told Insider. The S. mikros' teeth were significantly different from its near relatives to seem like a new species. Though tiny, the S. mikros teeth are detailed enough to designate the animal as a new species.

Persons: would've, Jaelyn Eberle, Eberle, they're, mikros Organizations: Service, University of Colorado, Palaeontology Locations: what's, Alaska, Wall, Silicon, Boulder, Eberle et

☆ I ranked all 24 spreads in the viral $40 Bonne Maman Advent calendar. Here's why I think it's a gift worth the 600% price markup.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Rosa Pyo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The jam-and-spread brand Bonne Maman released its 2022 Advent calendar, whose 2021 version sold out. The calendar has 24 spreads to try and retails at $40 — a 600% price markup per 100 grams of jam. Google searches for "advent calendar" have more than doubled in the US since 2018, according to Google's trending data. The Bonne Maman Advent calendar 2022 edition comes with 23 limited-edition fruit spreads and one honey. The Advent-calendar jams cost $6.20 per 100 grams, versus the average Bonne Maman jam that costs about $1 per 100 grams — about a 600% markup.

Search resuls for: "Grams —"

8 mentions found