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Trends with Benefits: Raptor robots, VR coasters, Beast Mode loves lemonade

Trends with Benefits: Live weekly tech news roundup

The DT Car Awards are officially out! And it was a long road getting here. We share some behind-the-scenes tales from this epic endeavor, including some behind-the-scenes tales of our celebrity judge, Marshawn Lynch. Which popular fast food chain did he order 3 gallons of lemonade from? Find out! Jack and Holly were able to take a spin in a few of the cars alongside, and let us know about some of the tech features they found most impressive.

Facebook is investing heavily in live broadcasting, and this week it received a big boost in publicity. Congressmen took to broadcasting via Facebook and Twitter when C-SPAN was taken off of the air, during a live sit-in. With the proliferation and push for regular users to start Live Streamng their lives, we discuss where we think it’s all heading.

Want to take sharing your life a step further? The Perfect Memory Smart Pro Camera is designed to be on at all times, worn on a chain around your neck, recording everything. When an event happens you want to post, you double click it, save the last five minutes, and the program will edit a ready-made video for you. The convenience is undeniable. But what about privacy? Would you wear one? Would you be agitated if someone around you did?

Virtual reality has crept into all sorts of odd applications, but one of the most novel has to be Six Flags’ New Revolution Virtual Reality Roller Coaster. You wear a Samsung VR while you ride, and the VR experience is synced to the real-life movement of the coaster. Holly had a chance to ride it at Six Flags Magic Mountain and shares what it was like. Hint: Watch out for the loop.

Boston Dynamics is known for producing impressive, yet somehow unnerving, robotic creations. The latest is SpotMini, a robot dog with an elongated “neck and head” that appears to identify a dirty glass to place in the dishwasher and even recycles soda cans. It moves kind of like the raptors from Jurassic Park. Could you get over the creep factor and invite one into your home?

Today’s episode features Holly Smith, Jack Phan, Nick Mokey and Greg Nibler. Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits, and send your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We also broadcast the show live on YouTube every Thursday at 2:30 pm PST.

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Greg Nibler
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Greg has worked as a Host, Producer, and Writer in radio and television since the early 2000s, working for such companies as…
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