#HTE

The “B” is now capitalized, the yellow has been dispatched in favor of a more readable green, and the ascending bird visible in the negative space has had its tail clipped. Say hello to the new Bing logo. Microsoft is set to reveal a new visual identity for its search service today, and it’s given Advertising Age an early preview of what it will look like.

The current update is mostly a refinement of the logo introduced in late 2013, with Microsoft telling Ad Age that the changes were motivated by the desire to display well “across Windows devices and services.” Rik van der Kooi, Microsoft’s chief of search advertising, has also reiterated that the company is “all in on search” and working to expand Bing’s reach and audience. The…

Continue reading…

#HTE

If 2016 is the year of connected gadgets doing all the things smartphones can’t, Sony is taking the idea to the extreme. The company’s newest appliance, the Multifunctional Light, performs an absurd amount of functions you’d never expect — and maybe don’t even want — out of an overhead fixture. (But don’t expect whoever named it to win any creativity awards.)

It can communicate with other appliances like air conditioning units and thermostats with data from its humidity sensors, talk to your TV using infrared to turn it on when its motion sensors detect you’re in the room, and act as a household intercom system equipped with speakers and a microphone. It even has a microSD card slot for some completely inexplicable reason. All of these…

Continue reading…

#HTE

Acura’s concept car at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, the Precision Concept, is basically a textbook for Acura’s new design language, which means you’re going to see many of the elements on this car in new, real Acura models in the very near future.

It’s good news, then, that the Precision Concept looks kind of great.

The proportions of the car lend it a “four-door coupe” feel in the same vein as cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS and BMW 6 Gran Coupe: long and low. The rear suicide doors almost certainly won’t make it to production — nor will the “floating” rear seats that are supported by buckets connected to the side sills — but many of the interior elements will, including the center-mounted touchpad that “floats” above the center…

Continue reading…

#HTE

Few automakers need a breath of fresh, creative air as much Acura does. Sure, the upcoming NSX helps — but the rest of the lineup (read: the part that normal people can afford), peppered with boring blocks of angular metal, just doesn’t inspire much emotion.

That’s where the Precision Concept comes into play, introduced at NAIAS in Detroit today. It looks almost nothing like an Acura, and there are very, very few design elements that evoke any Acuras that are currently on the road. As the name implies, this isn’t a real car — rather, it’s a design study that gestures toward “a bolder, more distinctive future” for the brand’s upcoming models. Basically, it’s a near guarantee that you’re going to see bits and pieces of the Precision…

Continue reading…

#HTE

CES is about the future of technology, but it’s also about the future of people: what we’re capable of doing, how we live our lives, and who we’re able to be with and work beside. This year, over 170,000 people came to Las Vegas to make that future happen. We decided to meet a few of them.

Script excerpted from “The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood” by James Gleick.

Directed by Tyler Pina, James Temple, Kimberly Mas, and Mark Linsangan. Edited by Tyler Pina and Kimberly Mas. Narrated by Jacob Kastrenakes.

Continue reading…

#HTE

The Avista looked great in Buick’s press photos. Now that I’ve seen it up close, I can confirm that it’s just wonderful from every angle. It’s just a concept car right now, but Buick must build it. I won’t accept any other outcome.

This lithe, sparkling blue coupe is based on the same GM platform as the Chevy Camaro and offers up 400 horsepower courtesy of a twin-turbo V-6. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if Buick not only made this car, but ended up offering a performance version with, say, a big V-8. Crazier things have happened, and there’s some precedent for it — Buick does offer the Regal GS, a performance-minded variant of an otherwise unremarkable family sedan.

If you get a chance to hit NAIAS during the public days,…

Continue reading…