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Tech: Texas' unlikely hero during their power cut

Author
Paul Stenhouse,
Publish Date
Sat, 13 Jul 2024, 11:32am
Houston residents trying to monitor blackouts in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl discovered that city's largest electric utility had no working outage map. So they had to rely on an alternative: a burger app. Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Houston residents trying to monitor blackouts in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl discovered that city's largest electric utility had no working outage map. So they had to rely on an alternative: a burger app. Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tech: Texas' unlikely hero during their power cut

Author
Paul Stenhouse,
Publish Date
Sat, 13 Jul 2024, 11:32am

Samsung had their big mobile product launch event 

The sixth generation of the Fold has a much less noticeable crease in the middle of the screen. Samsung is using a new display coating. 

Galaxy Buds 3 - looks like the Apple EarPods got a Tesla Cybertruck styled makeover. There are some quite prominent angles! 
 
But it's the Galaxy Ring which got the headlines, the first major brand to launch what is effectively a health tracker on your finger. It comes with an accelerometer, heart rate sensor, and skin temperature sensor to allow you to track sleep, heart rate data, and activity. It comes in gold, silver, and black on a titanium frame. It is a ring though so it can't be adjusted, which is why they have a sizing kit. It'll be an Android-only product, but when connected to your phone will allow you to do a double pinch gesture to control your phone’s camera or dismiss an alarm hands-free. 


 
Texans got help tracking the power outages from an unlikely hero 

The "Whataburger" burger chain app turned into a lifeline for people in Houston to know where in the city had power. The app has a map feature to show all the store locations which conveniently has a feature to show which stores are open and closed. And because there are so many locations in Houston, seeing the clusters of stores closed gave a very clear visual of the power situation in the city. 

 

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