The Impractical but Indisputable Rise of Retrocomputing

For all the personal technology introduced and popularized in 2020 — upscale fitness bikes, at-home Covid tests, game consoles new and old — the personal computer lands on the list with a bit of a thud. PCs lack the novelty of other gadgets, but they’re practical, essential even, in a year when work, school and social life have come to rely…

The Secret to Longevity? 4-Minute Bursts of Intense Exercise May Help

The New York Times reports on results from a rigorous five-year study in Trondheim, Norway that raises the question: If you increase your heart rate, will your life span follow? The study, one of the largest and longest-term experimental examinations to date of exercise and mortality, shows that older men and women who exercise in almost any fashion are relatively unlikely…

Amazon Wants To Scan Your Body To Make Perfectly Fitting Shirts

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company: For just $25, Amazon wants to make you a custom T-shirt. And a virtual body double. This week, the company unveiled a brand called “Made for You” that creates made-to-measure clothes. The initial product, a T-shirt, can be personalized to your taste and measurements, and more products are coming. This is Amazon’s…

Why fitness training for worms and flies could make humans healthier

Creepy-crawlies can provide unique insights into how exercise benefits humans – but how do you get a fruit fly to drop and give you 20 or a nematode to run a marathon? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833133-000-why-fitness-training-for-worms-and-flies-could-make-humans-healthier/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Apple’s Fitness Video Service That Competes With Peloton Is Cheaper and Just As Good

Todd Haselton from CNBC reviews Apple Fitness+, with some thoughts on how it compares with Peloton’s similar app. Here’s an excerpt from his report: Apple’s subscription fitness app, Fitness+, launches Monday. I’ve been using it for the past several days and I think it offers a nice variety of workouts that people will like. You need an Apple Watch to take…

Google Set To Win EU Approval For Fitbit Takeover Next Week

According to Bloomberg, Google is set to win conditional European Union approval for its $2.1 billion takeover of Fitbit this month. From the report: The deal could be approved as soon as next week after national competition authorities give their opinion, said the people who asked not to be named because the procedure isn’t public. The EU usually consults the so-called…

YouTube Launches Audio Ads and Ad-Targetable Music Lineups, Taking Aim at Spotify

YouTube claims to be the world’s biggest jukebox — and now it wants to wring more ad dollars from the platform’s music fans. From a report: The video giant is launching 15-second audio ads, the first format designed to reach YouTube users who listen to music or podcasts ambiently (i.e., in the background). YouTube also is introducing the ability for advertisers…

Under Armour To Sell MyFitnessPal For $345 Million, After Acquiring It In 2015 For $475 Million

Global fitness giant Under Armour announced this morning that it will be selling MyFitnessPal to investment firm Francisco Partners for $345 million, five and a half years after acquiring it for $475 million. The company also announced that it will be winding down the Endomondo platform which it also acquired at the same time for $85 million. TechCrunch reports: In a…

Garmin Introduces Esports Fitness Smartwatch For Streamers

Garmin has launched the Instinct Esports Edition, a “rugged GPS smartwatch uniquely designed for esports athletes and enthusiasts to take their gaming performance to the next level.” How is that possible, you ask? Gizmodo explains: Well, for starters, the watch adds an esports activity for tracking so you can monitor your heart rate and stress during a game. Garmin also developed…

Japan To Join Forces With US, Europe in Regulating Big Tech Firms

Japan will join forces with the United States and Europe to take on any market abuses by the four Big Tech companies, the new head of its antitrust watchdog said on Monday, a sign Tokyo will join global efforts to regulate digital platform operators. From a report: Kazuyuki Furuya, chairman of Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC), also said Tokyo could open…