With a compact design, sci-fi styling that includes RGB lighting, and no separate subwoofer, I was unsure what to expect from this soundbar, especially since OXS is an unfamiliar brand. The Thunder Pro is 24 inches long and just 3 inches tall, and it slotted into place perfectly under my monitor. It comes with a wired control dial, a remote control, and extra feet in the box to angle it toward you. I was immediately impressed when the bass of Dead Prez's "Hip Hop" kicked in, bouncing the passive radiators up and down. The sound is expansive, the bass is far better than it has any right to be without a large subwoofer, and the highs are surprisingly crisp.

With all the chatter about the artificial intelligence features of Intel's new Core Ultra CPUs, it's easy to forget that AMD has been busy doing AI too. AMD has outfitted many of its Ryzen processors with neural processing units (NPUs) since mid-2023, and it's continued to expand its AI offerings ever since. Acer's latest Nitro 17 gaming laptop (model number AN17-42-R9TH) is built atop an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, which sits near the top of AMD's product line. If you're engaging with AI on the desktop, you'll probably bypass the CPU altogether. With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics processor in the Nitro 17, everything from gaming to AI image generation gets a significant boost.

Although Peloton already puts cameras in its exercise bikes and treadmills, the new Peloton Guide, which is finally available after being first announced in November, is the company's first camera-specific device that uses AI-powered motion tracking to monitor your form and routines while you work out from home. There are a few notable changes between the version of the Peloton Guide that was announced late last year and the version that's finally now available--at least in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia to start. The steep $495 price tag, which actually made the Guide one of the most affordable products Peloton offers, has dropped to just $295. Part of the pricing change no doubt comes from the company's attempts to lure new users while people slowly return to gyms as the world has seemingly stopped caring about the ongoing pandemic. But the original version of the Peloton Guide was also going to include an armband heart monitor which is now an optional $90 add-on. It can also be purchased in a pricier $545 bundle with three sets of dumbbells and a mat for users not already equipped for strength training at home.

Affordable, point of care and diagnostics telemedicine will help people living in rural areas or underserved communities to access decent health care and will save more lives. One of the consequences of the pandemic is the dramatic growth of Telehealth and Telemedicine. But how can doctors and providers best care for their patients when they are not physically in front of them? What do doctors wish patients knew in order to make sure they are getting the best results even though they are not actually in the office? How can Telehealth approximate and even improve upon the healthcare that traditional doctors' visits can provide?

Nuclear power is one of the cheapest forms of generating carbon-free energy but is instead known for being the opposite. While constructing a nuclear plant is expensive and recent projects in the US and EU have suffered from overruns, operating it is cheaper than many other energy sources. It also turns out that the reason for expensive construction is not entirely technical and often has political factors outside the control of the maker. So how can these costs be reduced? A nuclear plant's costs are made up from capital and operation costs.

Data processing is growing exponentially, as a result of the vast increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence, which is now at inflection point. Currently, this all takes place in brick-and-mortar data centres containing vast supercomputers. Such infrastructures are expensive to build and maintain. They also consume an inordinate amount of electricity. NodeSwarm is Fountech's solution to this problem; a decentralized global super computer comprised of an ever growing number of individual, energy efficient, smart sockets, each acting as a node on our network.

Reolink has been on a roll lately, turning out uniformly solid and affordable security cameras. The RLC-422W ($109.99 at Amazon) continues that winning streak. It's marketed as an indoor/outdoor camera, but it's hard to imagine bringing it inside your home. This is a dome-style unit like the type you see dotting the ceiling of your favorite big-box store, and though that will likely ward off unwanted visitors who see it spying from your garage overhang, it might have the same effect on guests if you mount it in your living room. That said, you can deploy it anywhere outside your home that power is available without worrying about damage.

With every politician in DC focused on solving the problem, high healthcare costs remain a thorn in the average American's side. Everything from an invasive surgery to a regular check-up costs an arm and a leg, which unfortunately also isn't covered by your healthcare provider. However, improvements in healthcare technology could spell big savings for everyone from providers to employers to consumers. And artificial intelligence is leading the pack. I had a chance to talk with Jeff Cohen, cofounder and vice president of cognitive innovation services at Welltok, a healthcare company providing consumers with personalized guidance and incentives to optimize their health, about the effect artificial intelligence will have on the healthcare industry as a whole.

Yesterday, OhmniLabs (a robotics startup based in Santa Clara, Calif.) launched a new consumer telepresence robot on Indiegogo called Ohmni. With a lightweight design, integrated screen, and easy to use software, Ohmni is designed to be the most accessible (and affordable) mobile telepresence robot yet. Ohmni is heavily focused on ease of use, which is always a good idea when developing a robot for consumers. It arrives completely assembled (folded in half), and setup consists of unfolding it, meaning that you can send it to a relative with minimal computer experience and not have to worry. The display, audio, and video hardware are all integrated, so there's nothing to mess with there, either.

Bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion has been an ongoing challenge for robots. There's been a lot of progress over the last few years, though, especially when it comes to dynamic motions: not just walking without falling over, but also climbing, running, jumping, and more. This is where the real value of legs is: they enable robots to deal with the kinds of obstacles and terrain and situations that wheels and tracks can't. Getting quadrupeds to do these kinds of useful and fun things requires that a.) you know what you're doing and b.) you have a robot that can do what you want it to do. Unfortunately, building legged quadrupeds is difficult, expensive, and time consuming.