Places and Things

One of the biggest announcements at IFA 2018 so far has been Acer’s new Predator Thronos gaming chair (I mean that literally — it’s almost five feet tall and weighs over 485 pounds). Sitting down in the Predator Thronos is an experience all its own. from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/8/30/17799330/acer-predator-thronos-gaming-chair-hands-on-ifa-2018 https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12755465/THORNOS_SYNC.00_07_47_16.Still003.jpg

from https://store.google.com/product/titan_security_key_kit http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Earlier this month, Apple became the first American company with a market cap over $1 trillion. That was mostly due to the iPhone, possibly the most profitable product in modern history. from https://www.businessinsider.com/9-people-who-knew-the-iphone-was-going-to-be-a-flop-2017-6 https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/54b9458469bedd3745d23c95-750-500.jpg

The second quarter of the year is always the slowest one for iPhone sales, as consumers hold off for the new models announced in September, but that didn’t stop the iPhone from topping US smartphone sales … Counterpoint Research includes the snippet in a new report today. from https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/29/iphone-sales-q2-2018/ https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/08/apple_union_square_023.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1500

Past group photos of White House interns under President Donald Trump have drawn criticism for showing a group of overwhelmingly white young people. This summer, the White House didn’t make much progress on diversity — they just didn’t release the photo. from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/29/17793104/white-house-intern-picture-summer-2018 https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ODlunhfGSWxghZyJGvg_PqGFO8I=/0x0:3000x2000/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3000x2000)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/12669761/Summer_2018_White_House_intern_class.jpg

Let's get right to it: The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is available for $1540.32 on Walmart. Normally, this model Surface is listed at $3144.99, saving you a whopping $1600 on this killer 2-in-1. Under the hood, the Surface Book 2 is packing pretty nice power for a 2-in-1 laptop. from https://mashable.com/2018/08/28/microsoft-surface-book-2-walmart-deal/ https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/nTJvyhoizS-DAzPz8367VOiEEGM=/950x534/filters:quality(90)/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F835393%2F11550417-b323-4892-bce3-c8680575d57d.jpeg

(CNN)Hurricane Maria caused an estimated 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico, according to a new report from George Washington University. Researchers calculated excess deaths that occurred in the US commonwealth between September 2017 and February 2018. from https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/28/health/puerto-rico-gw-report-excess-deaths/index.html https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180320165732-puerto-rico-prepares-for-direct-hit-from-hurricane-maria-exlarge-169.jpg