Topic: consumer experience
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HBO Max: Treating Streaming as a Product, Not a Service
Warner Bros. Discovery's engineering team treats streaming as a crafted product, proactively enhancing viewer experience with processes like "3 Up" to upgrade live content's video and audio quality. The "3 Up" process involves upmapping SDR to HDR, converting 1080i to 1080p, and upmixing audio, e...
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AI Is the Future of Retail: Here's What I Saw
The retail industry is rapidly integrating AI into the customer experience, from holographic greeters to in-store tracking systems, prioritizing data extraction and automated engagement over human interaction. This technological shift creates a pervasive data dragnet, translating online tracking ...
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Satya Nadella Teases Next Xbox Innovation for Console and PC
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is focusing on making Xbox gaming accessible across consoles, PCs, mobile devices, and cloud platforms, while also pushing for technological innovation. The company is exploring an open console experience with potential Windows 11 integration, allowing access to rival ...
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TikTok Shop Matches eBay in Sales Volume
TikTok Shop has rapidly become a major global ecommerce player, achieving nearly $19 billion in worldwide sales in one quarter and rivaling eBay, despite facing political and regulatory challenges. Its success is driven by a visual, interactive shopping model where creators demonstrate products i...
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Another Amazon Devices Senior VP Departs in Latest Executive Exit
Amazon is undergoing leadership changes in its hardware division, with the departure of two senior executives amid a broader restructuring and profitability challenges in the devices unit. The company is heavily investing in AI, integrating it into consumer products like Echo speakers and Ring ca...
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Analogue 3D: The Top Retro Hardware of 2025
The Analogue 3D is a premium, FPGA-based console that offers a modernized and highly faithful way to play original Nintendo 64 game cartridges on contemporary displays. It provides significant advantages over modifying original hardware, including integrated features like wireless controller supp...
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Netflix's Warner Bros. Deal Could Change Your TV Remote
Netflix mandates strict certification for TV manufacturers, requiring a dedicated app button and prominent home screen placement due to its dominant 19% share of North American streaming traffic. The service maintains a walled garden by tightly controlling data sharing and blocking its content fr...
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ESPN Ends Bet Service, Forges New DraftKings Partnership
ESPN is discontinuing its ESPN Bet service and forming a new partnership with DraftKings, ending its collaboration with Penn Entertainment. The ESPN app will integrate DraftKings' sportsbook, daily fantasy contests, and Pick6 feature starting December 1st, with full integration expected by 2026. ...
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Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser Retiring, Devon Pritchard to Succeed
Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser will retire at the end of 2025, with Devon Pritchard, the current Vice President of Revenue, Marketing, and Consumer Experience, set to succeed him. Devon Pritchard will become the first female president in the company's history, bringing experience from ...
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ChromeOS 143: The Silent Update You Probably Missed
ChromeOS 143 is a stability-focused update for enterprise, offering no major new consumer features but enhancing administrative control over hardware and workflows. Key administrative improvements include the ability to centrally manage USB-connected printers and preset print settings for consist...
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Hyundai Develops Plant-Based Leather That Smells Like the Real Thing
Hyundai, in partnership with Uncaged Innovations, is developing plant-based leather that mimics the look, feel, and scent of genuine animal hide, offering a sustainable alternative with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. The material is highly customizable for automotive needs, competitive...
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3D-Scanned Insoles: Placebo Tech or Real Innovation?
Groov uses an iPhone's Face ID camera and AI to create custom, 3D-printed shoe inserts for $150, positioning itself as a more affordable and convenient alternative to both generic drugstore insoles and expensive podiatrist orthotics. The author's testing revealed the product provided better arch ...
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The Forgotten Nintendo Controller That Pioneered VR
The Nintendo Power Glove was an ambitious but flawed late-1980s motion-control peripheral for the NES, known for its poor usability yet significant cultural impact as an early vision for immersive gaming. It originated from an external engineering project, was licensed to Mattel, and gained fame ...
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Microsoft Expands AI-Powered App Access on Windows
Microsoft has launched the Windows ML platform for general use, enabling on-device AI capabilities in Windows applications for devices running Windows 11 24H2 or later, which enhances responsiveness, privacy, and cost efficiency. The platform works with hardware partners to distribute execution p...
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