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While it’s entering the humid months here in the southern United States, I am always on the lookout for new HomeKit devices to simplify my life. In the dryer months, my family uses humidifiers to keep our rooms from drying out at night. I recently acquired the VOCOlinc MistFlow smart humidifier for my HomeKit setup. Let’s dive into all it can do. HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework....

Following the release of iOS 15.2, tvOS 15.2 and other software updates, Apple on Monday also released HomePod Software 15.2. In addition to adding support for Apple Music Voice Plan, the update enables Dutch and Russian languages for Siri on the HomePod, suggesting that HomePod mini is coming soon to more countries. While Siri on iOS is available in dozens of languages, Siri on the HomePod only works in the native languages of the countries where the product is officially available....

The chance to see the X-Men join Marvel’s movie universe just got a whole lot better, now that Disney and Fox shareholders have approved their merger. And with Marvel Studios barreling towards the payoff to their first major villain in The Avengers 4, there’s no better time to inject Fox’s mutants into the MCU. According to Disney, there’s no question that the X-Men will be joining the MCU (and making plenty of Marvel fans’ dreams come true)....

UPDATE [Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 3:31pm ET] A comment from iFixit added to the article bottom clarifies that Siri functionality regarding the iPhone 4S’s proximity sensor is likely software-based rather than stemming from hardware changes, as implied in the headline. Ongoing efforts to port Siri to other iOS devices (here and here) have given hope to enthusiasts eager to port the iPhone 4S-exclusive digital assistant to prior iPhone models. But while the Siri port may eventually prove feasible, the full experience will not be possible on any other iOS device apart from the new iPhone 4S....

Although HeyOrca is usable by anyone, it targets agencies by making it simple to set up multiple social calendars, so you can easily separate your clients’ social activity. You can use HeyOrca to manage multiple brands, plan social media posts, collaborate on content, request approvals from clients or management, and report your results. HeyOrca has the vision to be the leading social media management platform for creative agencies. In fact, Chief Executive, Joe Teo, started HeyOrca in 2016 when he saw a need for a content creation and collaboration tool for social media agencies....

[Update: In addition to the HomePod’s reported to have been spotted in China and Menlo Park, an anonymous tipster has shared that Apple has given the HomePod to select retail staff in the UK to test at home and provide feedback. If the information is to be believed, store leaders, senior managers, and creative pros have been selected to do the testing. They were recently flown to London for the training....

After WhatsApp and Telegram promised that they will not, for now, hand over any user data to local authorities, Apple has said that it is assessing its own Hong Kong policy. The Cupertino company said that it already has one protection in place … Other messaging services acted following a Chinese crackdown on freedom of expression in the region. Bloomberg reports that Apple is ‘assessing’ the new law. In the meantime, the company explained the existing privacy protection it applies to requests from foreign governments....

What’s the Best Way to Track Your Heart Rate? The Wall Street Journal compared wrist-based heart rate monitors to consumer chest monitors. They then compared both types of monitors to a doctor’s EKG. The results were that the wrist monitors wildly varied when compared with a professional EKG. The chest monitor, though, matched the EKG results. For consumers who are fitness enthusiasts, those chest monitors are the way to go! Companies like Garmin, Polar, and Wahoo all make chest monitors....

Apple this year introduced four new iPhone models, but the strategy was quite different from previous years. This time, the differences between iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are more significant. At the same time, the iPhone mini was replaced by the iPhone 14 Plus – but it seems that this model is just as much of a commercial failure as the mini version. But why is that? Apple’s strategy with the iPhone First of all, let’s recap Apple’s strategy with the iPhone in recent years....

Warning: Spoilers Ahead For His Dark Materials Season One Finale The His Dark Materials season 1 finale, “Betrayal”, ends with final battles, losses, and a doorway broken open to a new world. It was a fitting episode to end the season, which encompassed the events of the entire first book (The Golden Compass) as well as early parts of the second book (The Subtle Knife) - specifically, the introduction of Will Parry (Amir Wilson) and the moment he also steps into a new world....

As a refresher, Apple made a surprise move back in March to discontinue its more expensive, original HomePod, leaving the $99 HomePod mini that arrived in November 2020 as the sole option. But Apple did continue selling the remaining HomePod stock into May. It seemed possible that strategy could have given Apple’s smart speaker adoption a boost with the only option being $200 less expensive, however, the latest report from CIRP doesn’t show such an impact....

Black Lightning will join the Arrowverse in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, but how the DC Comics superhero will be implemented in the event remains a mystery. However, the crossover’s focus on alternate realities is likely the key, since Black Lightning has always been separate from the Arrowverse. This year’s annual Arrowverse crossover is expected to be the biggest one yet. The five-part event will encompass Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and the newest Arrowverse series, Batwoman....

With the launch of High Level #1, DC/Vertigo is sending readers on an adventure into the future of mankind that lays beyond the apocalypse. Beyond the post-apocalypse, as a matter of fact. And after taking one look at that world, even casual readers will see how the artwork is to thank for High Level making one of the most ambitious comic debuts in recent memory. Whether it’s the story’s hero, Thirteen, the colorful characters that live in this brave new world freed from the rules of the old, or the cybernetic mutant cultists that fester beyond the fringes, High Level has to be seen to be believed....

In a hilarious new video, one Avengers: Endgame fanatic imagines how fans reacted to the ultimate Marvel movie. It may not quite be the biggest movie of all time, but Endgame has nonetheless rocked the box office with $806 million earned domestically (so far) and $2.6 billion worldwide. The wrap-up to the MCU’s Infinity Saga indeed delivered the goods, providing some of the most memorable and even gut-wrenching moments ever seen in a superhero movie....

Arrow(2012-), based on the Green Arrow comic book character, follows the adventures of Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who, at first, shirks responsibility. But five years after he was presumed dead when his family’s yacht was lost at sea, Oliver returns to his home of Starling City and becomes a hooded vigilante. He uses a bow and arrow, as well as other skills he learned during his missing five years, to take down the criminals of Starling City....

Kevin Kenney has spent most of the last 14 years building carbon fiber bicycles as the President and CEO at Kestral Bicycles. This month, he became an Senior Composites Engineer at Apple after consulting for the past few years. What does Apple want with an expert in carbon fiber and other composite applications? iBikes? No. Kenney has been working indirectly with Apple for years. Apple filed a Carbon fiber patent with his name on it in 2009 (image of back panel below)....

Warning: SPOILERS for Hobbs & Shaw - Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’s ending makes no sense because the movie’s entire timeline is broken from the outset. Directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2), the Fast & Furious spinoff reunites federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) with his worst frenemy, British mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). The destructive duo must reluctantly team up to save the world from a deadly virus injected into Deckard’s sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), who has less than 48 hours to live....

Disney has recruited a director for Hocus Pocus 2, which is currently moving forward at Disney+. Released in 1993, the original Hocus Pocus starred Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters, a trio of witches who are killed in Salem in 1693 only to be resurrected three hundred years later by a disbelieving teenager who inadvertently unleashes their curse upon the world. The fantasy comedy was actually a box office bomb upon release, but went on to become a huge cult hit on the home video market in the decades that followed....

HomeKit is my chosen platform for my smart home, but there are still ways that Apple could expand its platform to grow with its users as their home grows, and as their families change. While Apple allows you to invite people in your family to have access to your home as well as invite guests. My current issue is that I want to give my kid’s selective access to specific devices, but not them all....

A horizontal iPad Pro orientation is set to become the new normal with future models, suggests a leaker with a decent track record. Currently, there are a number of ways in which an iPad signals vertical – or portrait – orientation as the default, rather than horizontal or landscape … On the rear of the iPad, the Apple logo is oriented vertically, as is the text. On the front, the camera is situated at the top of the iPad when held vertically, while in landscape mode it sits to one side and tends to be covered by fingers or thumbs....