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SpaceXs Starlink is offering customers in Venezuela free access to its internet service after the US captured the countrys president, Nicolás Maduro. According to CNBC, some areas of Caracas and other parts of the country lost power and internet connectivity in the wake of the operation. Starlink says its focus is on enabling connectivity for new and existing customers to support the people of Venezuela. At the time of writing, Starlink does not yet appear to formally operate in the country, as its availability map states that service there is "coming soon." Still, Starlink says it is proactively applying service credits to active accounts in Venezuela until February 3. Those who have paused or canceled their service but still have the necessary Starlink hardware can also reactivate their account at no extra cost for now. Of course, those without a Starlink terminal wont be able to take advantage of this offer right now. We are actively monitoring evolving conditions and regulatory requirements, Starlink said on a support page. While we do not have yet have [sic] a timeline for local purchase availability, if and when there are updates they will be communicated directly through official Starlink channels and reflected on this page. SpaceX previously pledged to offer free service in Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country in 2022.US forces carried out airstrikes and a ground operation to capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday. The US has indicted the pair and others on several charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy. Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered the appointment of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting president in Maduros absence. According to the Department of War, US President Donald Trump has declared that his administration "will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement" takes place. Trump has also laid out plans for American companies to tap into the South American country's oil reserves.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/starlink-offers-free-internet-access-in-venezuela-following-maduro-raid-102705135.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Over the last ten or so years, L'Oréal has brought a taste of beauty tech to the masses at CES 2026. This time, it has three devices to show off: the Light Straight + Multi-styler as well as the helpfully named LED Face Mask and LED Eye Mask. Dont let the unassuming names mislead you. These three products actually harbor some unique traits. The Light Straight (and multi-styler, which Im going to just call the Light Straight from here on), for instance, uses infrared light to help generate the heat required to style your hair. Meanwhile, the LED Face Mask is different from those made by companies like Dr. Dennis Gross, Omnilux, Therabody and Shark. Instead of fairly hard shells that sit rigidly on your face, L'Oréals version looks to be pliable and thin. I havent seen this in person yet, though I do intend to do so as soon as possible, but the pictures of the LED Eye Mask look, and I mean this in the best way, ridonkulous. Not only do they appear supple, but they also seem to be transparent, with bulbs and wires you can see inside. In some of the images that the company provided, the masks are completely awash in red as the lights are on. In others, only parts of it are red. One of them even shows the masks sitting in a little carrying case and they almost look like wireless earbuds. I havent seen any photos of the LED Face Mask but I can imagine theyd be fairly similar to these.The L'Oréal LED Eye Mask in a carrying caseL'Oréal According to the press release, this ultra-thin, flexible silicone mask is currently in prototype form and was developed in collaboration with LED solutions company iSmart. The company said this mask delivers light directly to the face in 10-minute automatically timed sessions. Thats not too different from existing red light masks, but LOréal said it believes the key to the masks effectiveness is its advanced, transparent support, which integrates a skin-safe microcircuit to precisely control the emission of two selected wavelengths of lightred light (630 nm) and near-infrared light (830 nm).Since the mask is only launching in 2027, there arent details yet on pricing and availability, though the companys global vice president of tech and open innovation Guive Balooch told Engadget that it would be a premium product that would sit somewhere below the highest priced offerings currently out there.One of my problems with full-face LED masks is that my skin always feels too parched under them, because you have to use them on clean, dry skin for 10 minutes at a time. Balooch told me that L'Oréal would have a serum developed to be used with its mask that would help with that, while also improving the effectiveness of the light treatment.That certainly is intriguing, and Balooch indicated that creating formulations that are designed to work with devices like the LED masks is a future direction for the company. A pair of hands using the L'Oréal Light Straight and multi-styler on a person's hair. L'Oréal Im also interested in the Light Straight, which like the companys AirLight Pro uses infrared light to help dry or style hair. According to the companys press release, hair straighteners with ordinary heating places can reach temperatures of 400°F and higherabove the threshold at which keratin denatures, leading to weakened cuticles, breakage and reduced shine. For context, I used to turn my flatiron all the way up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit to tame my tresses (though these days I find a more reasonable 330 degrees is good enough).LOréal says the Light Straight and its patented infrared light technology can help provide exceptional styling results at lower temperatures, to better protect the health of the hair. The devices glass plates never exceed 320 degrees, and the company says its testing found that the Light Straight is three times faster and leaves hair twice as smooth as leading premium hair stylers. Im not sure how you would quantify smoothness, but Im hopeful the results do pan out in the real world. The Light Straight uses near-infrared light that LOréal says penetrates deeply into hair fibers to reshape internal hydrogen bonds. It also has sensors onboard with built-in proprietary algorithms and machine learning to adapt to your gestures to maximize individual experience. Im not sure what that means, but I hope to find out more this week at CES. Given the Light Straight doesnt launch till 2027, its not surprising that pricing and other details arent yet available. But for now, Im keen to see companies continue to investigate novel, hopefully healthier ways for us to look and feel beautiful.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/loreals-ces-2026-beauty-devices-include-a-skin-like-flexible-led-mask-070000576.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Samsung announced its newest portable projector ahead of its First Look showcase at CES 2026, but you might have been a little confused as to whats changed. The company says the Freestyle+ is nearly twice as bright as the 2022 Freestyle projector, rated at 230 ISO lumens, which was pretty underwhelming. The new Freestyle+ can output at 430 ISO lumens. If this is the first youre hearing of ISO Lumens, its an internationally standardized rating for projectors, intended to standardize manufacturers' claims of brightness. It still looks very similar to its predecessors, with 160 degrees of rotation that makes it easy to set up in most homes, Airbnbs or meeting rooms. Samsung added support for Q-Symphony, allowing you to connect it to the companys soundbars, if you conveniently have one nearby. While the sound quality of its built-in speaker was hard to test in the middle of a post-keynote trade show floor, youll probably want to augment the built-in speaker, if only because its so small. Vision AI, mentioned several times during Samsungs CES keynote, is also built into the portable projector. You can summon Bixby to adjust settings and whatever youre watching. Based on the demos I saw, youll need to speak into the remote to access Bixby. Other improvements bring the projector into 2026, with keystone correction and focus. The Freestyle+s AI OptiScreen can calibrate projections to different wall surfaces and colors to improve visibility even on your most vivid walls. Mat Smith for Engadget The updated 3D Auto Keystone corrects distortion even when projecting onto uneven or non-flat surfaces, such as corners, curtains or angled walls. Its hard to put into words, but pointing the Freestyle+ to a corner, or at an undulating curtain, and watching the image morph and contort was almost hypnotic. The premise is that you can point this at any area of your home (or even, say, the side of a tent), and the 3D Auto Keystone will flatten the image in seconds. Theres also Screen Fit, which automatically adjusts the image to match a projector screen size. The Freestyle+ can project up to a 100-inch 1080p image, at maximum. However, Wall Calibration might be the most technically impressive in a device this size. It detects and analyzes the color of the projection surface and recalibrates the images color tone to minimize the effect. It can even detect and match a wall pattern to reduce visual interference, which worked well in person. The Samsung spokesperson used the aforementioned Bixby voice commands to calibrate the screen. If theres still something to address, its that this portable projector must be plugged in to operate. When that can be either a power bank or a wall outlet, it seems a bit cheeky to call it portable. Samsung typically announces prices and launch dates once the CES dust has settled, but it's set to arrive in the first half of 2026. Previous iterations cost around $900, but early impressions suggest its a versatile, petite projector. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/samsung-freestyle-plus-projector-hands-on-ces-2026-060840386.html?src=rss
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