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Submission + - SPAM: Samsung's New Upcycling Program Turns An Old Galaxy Phone Into a New IoT Device

An anonymous reader writes: Today, with the expansion of its Galaxy Upcycling at Home service (which is still in beta), users in the U.S., U.K., and South Korea will get access to an experimental feature in the SmartThings app designed to give an old Galaxy handset new life as a useful smart home accessory. By using the app to reconfigure the device’s battery usage and optimization, Samsung says even older devices will still be able to deliver good longevity, while the phone’s usual assortment of wireless connectivity features makes it easy to pair the phone with other devices in your home.

In the SmartThings app, Samsung provides a range of functions that an old smartphone can perform, including serving as a light sensor that can automatically turn on your smart lights or even your TV when it gets dark. Alternatively, you can also convert an old Galaxy phone into a sound sensor, with the phone using AI to detect common household noises like a barking dog, crying baby, or a knock on the door. In this way, you can also repurpose an old Samsung phone as a baby monitor of sorts [...]. And of course, even without much fiddling, upcycled Samsung phones can also be used as universal remotes, providing an easy way to control your streaming video box, play music on your smart speakers, control your lights, and more.

Link to Original Source

Comment Re:Alternative: donate it (Score 1) 321

Yeah, but the GP post didn't saying anything about winning the jackpot. With 1100 Powerball tickets, you also have a 1100 in 648,975.96 of winning $10,000, and 1100 in in 5,153,632.65 chance of winning one million dollars. Plus higher chances of winning less money (but not winning back you "investment"). Those odds are worth considering.
NASA

Submission + - What should NASA do with the International Space Station? (networkworld.com)

coondoggie writes: "The International Space Station might be a case of “if you build it they may not come” according to a government watchdog report out this week. The report states that the space agency has done a credible job of helping build the ISS (with a $50 billion investment) to last for years to come, but adds that there’s a serious question as to whether or not it will be able to service the station and productively use it for science."
Open Source

Submission + - Blackboard buys Moodlerooms and Netspot (zdnet.com)

crumley writes: Blackboard, the proprietary giant in the learning management software market, has purchased two companies, Moodlerooms and Netspot that sell support for their open source competitor Moodle. Blackboard said that they plan to allow Moodlerooms and Netspot to continue operating with their current leadership. It will be interesting to see if this move leads to an exodus from Moodlerooms and Netspot, since many of their client were intentionally trying to avoid doing business with Blackboard.

Comment Almost missed it (Score 1) 1521

CT, What's the deal burying news in August when everyone is on vacation?

Anyway, thanks to Cmdrtaco. I have been with this place since near the beginning. I came across it based on links from TCLUG, and I was captured.

Oh the many wasted (and well spent) hours reloading this page!

Thanks for the memories.

Comment Re:Yay! (Score 1) 440

In most contexts reporting income tax numbers alone is silly. The rich pay almost nothing in payroll taxes. T Trying to keep things in proportion while ignoring payroll taxes (and state taxes, for that matter) is an exercise in futility.
United Kingdom

Dogs Can Be Pessimistic 99

Not that it will change anything, but researchers at Bristol University say that your dog might be a gloom-monger. In addition to the downer dogs, the study also found a few that seemed happy no matter how uncaring the world around them was. "We know that people's emotional states affect their judgments and that happy people are more likely to judge an ambiguous situation positively. What our study has shown is that this applies similarly to dogs," said professor Mike Mendl, an author of the study and head of animal welfare and behavior at Bristol University.

Comment Re:"Apple Inc -- creator of the personal computer" (Score 1) 643

Apple I's aren't particularly relevant, since very few of them sold. Even the Apple II came six months or so before the first TRS-80. The TRS-80 was certainly a personal computer. It may have been marketed to small businesses, but it was marketted to individuals as well. The most popular software for the TRS-80 was mainly games.

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