In a study of select countries, adults favored in-store over online shopping everywhere except in China. There, 54% would rather shop digitally and only 16% preferred physical stores, while the rest had no opinion.Many of the tech giants driving China’s ecommerce revolution are now facing regulatory crackdowns, among other headwinds. But that won’t cost China the title as the world’s largest...

In Japan, furniture company Meuble has partnered with two chemical companies to develop a resin material from non-edible rice that would otherwise be thrown away. Dubbed RICEWAVE, the material was conceived when Meuble, Biomass Resin Holdings, and Mitsui & Co Plastics Ltd. set out to create a renewable alternative to polyethylene. “We have been thinking about product development from a new...

The reality of internet-enabled devices is falling short of consumer expectations.A home that welcomes you when the front door opens. A stove that cooks for you. Rosey from The Jetsons. These are the promises of smart home technology. But like the flying cars of that 1960s cartoon, they remain just that: promises.Sure, we have robot vacuums and voice assistants and doorbells controlled with an...

A tech and science reporter at the US Sun — an arm of British tabloid the Sun — was invited to a beer tasting with gold and lobster on the menu. The only issue is that all the delectable edibles were served in the metaverse during a Heineken event to showcase the brand’s first virtual beer.The reporter published a lackluster report about the experience yesterday and even said they’d never w...

As travel continues to recover, this report looks at the motivations and considerations of travelers in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, the UK and the US as well as trends shaping the future of travel.Travelers are focused on engaging in positive practices, including wellness activities, giving back to communities, protecting the environment, and more.Travelers are now spending more ti...

U.S. patent application, US20220006946, discloses a method for capturing and displaying a video with multiple focal planes in an electronic device. The video includes a subject with a predefined portion of the subject identified in a first focal region. The video is displayed with a focal plane of the video to be outside of the first focal region when a set of conditions is met otherwise the vi...

As Air Max Day nears, Nike has taken over a huge billboard in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area with a 3D activation that is catching the attention of locals and social media users alike.The campaign is running from March 21-27 and features the instantly recognizable orange Nike sneaker box, which bursts open to reveal numerous Air Max styles in multiple colorways while hinting at the inspiration behind e...

Artificial intelligence has significant value-creation potential in the semiconductor industry. How can semiconductor companies deploy AI at scale and capture this value?Artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) has the potential to generate huge business value for semiconductor companies at every step of their operations, from research and chip design to production through sales. But ou...

Zoom will let you show up to your next meeting as a rabbit, fox, dog, or another type of animal, using its new Avatars feature that replaces you with a virtual character that copies your expressions, Memoji-style. The company says this feature, which is included in the Zoom 5.10 update, will only let you become an animal at launch, but that new avatar options will be added in the future.Zoom se...