Link About It: This Week’s Picks
A first-ever for Michelin, a fully-autonomous drone, the effects of blue light on your skin and more
Eye Care in the Digital Age
Staring at a screen, especially for extended periods of time, can come at quite the cost: squinting (a reaction to both impaired vision and bright lights) causes wrinkles and blue light (from the sun and our screens) can cause photoaging, skin laxity (the deterioration of collagen and elastin) and hyperpigmentation (brown spots). Blurred vision is another symptom of excessive blue light exposure, and can occur when eyes dry between blinks or when squinting. Unchecked, this issue can cause further irritation and other unwanted damage including poor posture and headaches. To learn about how to protect your eyes and the surrounding skin—through eye creams that contain peptides and vitamin A to blue light–blocking screen protectors—visit the WSJ.
Image courtesy of Ariel Davis
ONA Becomes the First Vegan Restaurant in France to Earn a Michelin Star
In the town of Arès, France—not far from Bordeaux—the vegan restaurant Origine Non-Animale (ONA) struggled to gain funding before opening in 2016, but persevered thanks to chef Claire Vallée’s determination. Vallée, who used crowdfunding and a loan from an ethics-oriented bank, has now received a Michelin star for her menu at ONA—making it the first vegan restaurant in France to achieve such an honor, as well as the first entirely animal-free restaurant to do so. Last year, Michelin published an article listing several Michelin-starred vegetarian institutions that feature vegan menus. This year, no restaurants lost stars, as Michelin’s intention behind publishing a guide in the midst of the pandemic was to offer support to the ravaged hospitality industry. Read more at the Guardian.
Image courtesy of Maxime Gautier
Scout Quadcopter Set For First Fully-Autonomous Drone Flight
The USA’s Federal Aviation Administration has approved Marlborough, MA-based American Robotics’ fully-autonomous drone for flight this week, a first-ever for the aviation industry. When the drone (the brand’s Scout Quadcopter) takes off, it will reach a maximum altitude of 400 feet (out of the line of sight) and fly exclusively over rural areas. A remotely located pilot will stand by as back-up and will be able to command the craft back to safety should something go wrong. The drone’s cargo won’t surpass 20 pounds, and Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) technology onboard will assist with maneuvering away from other aircrafts. Read more at TNW.
Image courtesy of American Robotics
Beeper Unifies 15 Chats Services Through One Inbox
If you’re plagued by reliance on numerous messenger apps—bouncing from WhatsApp to Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Telegram, Discord and more—Beeper is a new singular inbox solution developed by the founder of the wearable device Pebble. The smart inbox unifies 15 services—all of the aforementioned, along with Signal, Twitter, Slack, Hangouts, Instagram and others—in one app. It’s currently rolling out to a waitlist and it won’t be free, costing roughly $10 per month. Read more at Slash Gear.
Image courtesy of Beeper
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning. Hero image courtesy of John Adams on Unsplash
