SAMSUNG FAMILY HUB REFRIGERATOR
N/A

Appliance connects to smartphone

Samsung's Family Hub refrigerator, which was introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, skirts the fine line between goofy and amazing. The main feature of this fridge is the large touch screen embedded on the door, which is designed to take the place of the normal mess of photo cards and sticky notes that are probably on the fridge in your kitchen. In addition, the fridge will be able to pair with your phone to get ­calendar updates, stream music and even let you watch TV, according to representatives at the company's booth.

The most-talked about feature, however, may be the cameras on the inside of the door. These take a picture of the contents of your fridge each time you shut the door. So, if you're at the store and want to know whether you need to pick up another gallon of milk, you can just check it out on your phone. The refrigerator is expected to get a U.S. launch in the spring.

WASHINGTON POST

SEN.SE SILVER MOTHER
$290

Helping hand for independent seniors

The mother hub is watching. Sen.se's Silver Mother hub, that is, which aims to help adult children or caregivers make sure that an elderly person living alone takes his or her pills, drinks enough water and goes about other daily routines.

Introduced at CES, the small plastic figure resembles a Russian nesting doll that can nudge seniors with some not-so-subtle hints — the sound of running water, for instance, might remind someone it's time to drink some water. It can also call in with recorded reminders that it's pill-taking time or send alerts to caregivers and loved ones if something seems awry. The hub comes with four sensors you can program and monitor from an app.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MICROSOFT NEWS PRO
FREE

App curates news based on social media

Microsoft's News Pro is designed to deliver news that's relevant to your professional interests. It connects to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages to learn about your work, then chooses news stories for you from various online sources.

NEW YORK TIMES