Restoring Payphones with VoIP: AR Glasses, Smart Hubs, and More Tech News

Payphone Restoration and VoIP Integration

• 💡 Patrick Schlott is restoring old payphones and installing them for free VoIP calls in Vermont, driven by a fascination with old telephone technology.
• 📞 These restored payphones serve a public service in areas with spotty cell coverage, providing essential communication and emergency access.
• 🎯 The Tundbridge payphone had 254 off-hook events in its first eight months, with nearly 200 successful outgoing calls, demonstrating their continued utility.
• 🛠️ The core technology involves an Analog Terminal Adapter (ATA) that uses the SIP protocol to connect to a VoIP server, providing a POTS line for the payphone hardware.
• 🌐 Schlott is exploring options for a more robust system, potentially including a PBX server, as interest grows from people across the country.

Wearable Tech and Smart Home Devices

• 👓 XRE 1 Pro smart glasses are now available for $649, functioning as wearable monitors that connect to various devices via USB-C, offering a 57-degree field of view.
• ✈️ These glasses are ideal for space-constrained situations, such as travel or working in small spaces, and do not have their own battery issues.
• 🏠 Eufy is launching the Smart Display E10 for $200, a smart home hub with an 8-inch touchscreen capable of displaying up to four security feeds simultaneously.
• 🏃 Garmin's new Index sleep monitor is an upper-arm band that tracks sleep, heart rate, temperature, and breathing, costing $170 and lasting up to seven days on a charge.

Security and Corporate Tech Updates

• 🔒 Wyze's Verified View feature embeds user IDs into smart home device metadata to prevent unauthorized access to camera feeds, addressing past security vulnerabilities.
• 🎮 Microsoft is partnering with AMD to develop custom chips for the next generation of Xbox consoles, reaffirming their commitment to the gaming hardware market.
• 🤖 Amazon CEO Andy Jassy indicated in a memo that AI and automation will lead to a reduction in certain corporate jobs, while encouraging employees to learn new tools and work with scrappier teams.
• 🚀 Honda successfully flew and landed an experimental reusable rocket in Japan, marking the first such demonstration outside of China and the US, with plans for a suborbital launch by 2029.
• 🇪🇺 The European Commission has issued a formal list of complaints against Alibaba's AliExpress for alleged violations of the Digital Services Act, particularly regarding the moderation of illegal products.
• 🇮🇷 An Israeli organization claimed to have breached Iranian banks, leading to reported banking disruptions and internet restrictions in Iran, including limitations on WhatsApp and VPNs.
• 📱 The US government has extended the non-enforcement of a law prohibiting US companies from distributing TikTok for another 90 days.
• 🪙 The US Senate passed the Genius Act, which establishes rules for US dollar-pegged stablecoins, potentially paving the way for more companies to issue them.
• 💰 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that Meta has been offering significant signing bonuses to lure employees from OpenAI and Google DeepMind, though none of their top talent have accepted.
• 📺 Netflix has partnered with TF1, France's largest TV group, to carry its live channels and on-demand content, a move that could signal future linear TV partnerships in other countries.