Alphabet’s Sidewalk Lab is throwing in the towel. Can any manufactured smart city succeed?

This week, Daniel L. Doctoroff announced that he’s stepping down from his role of CEO at Sidewalk Labs due to serious health conditions. Sidewalk has been limping along since the end of the Quayside project. Now, starting next year, Sidewalk products Pebble, Mesa, Delve, and Affordable Electrification will join Google, becoming core to Google’s urban sustainability product efforts. The founders started Sidewalk Labs with good intentions, but it exemplifies how manufactured smart cities fail. The sordid history of Sidewalk Labs In 2017, Sidewalk Labs announced plans for a high-tech neighborhood in Toronto called Quayside. Planned for Toronto’s waterfront, it focused on “environmental sustainability, affordability,…

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TNW Podcast: Boris comes over to co-host; Slack’s Cal Henderson talks European tech

Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Andrii is joined by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, co-founder, member of the board, and former CEO of TNW. The topics discussed include the jobs created by Dutch startups, giant state funding for energy projects, translations of the word ‘computer’, and a bunch of other things in between. In the interview section, we’re featuring a conversation with Cal Henderson, co-founder and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/jUgcNFD

The TickTime is a clever productivity gadget that just works

With so much of the world’s workforce shifting to remote labor, a whole lot of people are trying to figure out how to be productive at home for the first time. Well, I’ve been working from home for years, and I still haven’t totally figured out the puzzle. There are no shortage of apps designed to help you be more productive, but I’m not sure anything I’ve tried has had as much potential as a little gadget called the TickTime. The concept is simple but clever. If you’ve ever heard of the Pomodoro method, which asks you to work in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/2ySFso4

Hands-on: Aventon’s new Pace ebikes are sleek rides that won’t break the bank

Aventon is one of the most popular ebike companies in the US, and its Pace cruiser bikes have long been the company’s best-selling rides. Now the company is updating its Pace 350 and 500, both of which received major redesigns this week meant to make the bikes more comfortable and easier to use. I was able to spend a few days with the latest version of the Pace 500 Step-Through, and it gets a whole lot right for not a lot of money. First, some basic specs. Here are the numbers for the Pace 350: Price: $1,399 Motor: 36V, 350W Battery:… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/lPIx85u

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