lark

Lark is the startup you'll want to sleep with

Hark! Lark is adding new personal sleep coach software to its silent alarm clock and sleep tracker that you wear on your wrist.

Tracking how much your arm moves as you sleep, Lark sends data via Bluetooth to an iPhone app indicating how well you're sleeping. When it's time to wake up, the device gently nudges you awake with vibrations. This is especially helpful for people who wake at a different hour than their partner or roommates. Now, with today's software launch, you can not only track how you sleep but you can get personalized advice on … Read more

This Day in Tech: Apple's new cloud service, Twitter adds Follow button

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET News for Tuesday, May 31.

Cell phones and the radiation risk (roundup) Based on new findings, the World Health Organization classifies cell phones as a potential cancer risk. Meanwhile, CNET launches a series on the state of cell phone research. More

iTunes in the cloud? Apple's cloud service will be unveiled at next week's WWDC. And unless the iTunes maker can't complete licensing deals with music publishers, Apple will show off a new cloud music offering. See what we know… Read more

Lark's silent alarm wakes you, not your bunkmate

Alarm clocks are so primitive. At the appointed time, your device shrieks to life, rudely startling you awake--along with whoever is next to you.

Entrepreneur Julia Hu wants to bring modern sleep science into your bedroom with Lark, a vibrating, silent alarm buzzer you wear on your wrist. The device doesn't just buzz at the appropriate hour, though. It also beams data over Bluetooth to an iPhone app about how well you're sleeping, based on how much your arm moves. An Android version is coming soon.

The device will be sold in Apple stores starting June 14, and its available now on Lark's Web site for $129, plus an additional $60 to get the feature that shows you a seven-day personal sleep assessment based on the data the wristband collects. The sleep analysis is based on algorithms developed with the help of Harvard University sleep expert Dr. Jo Solet and professional sleep coach Cheri Mah.

"Sleep is the under-appreciated third pillar of health next to a healthy diet and regular exercise," Hu said.

In my own trial of the "Silent Un-alarm Clock" a few nights ago, Lark told me I got 6 hours and 28 minutes of sleep. It also said that it took me 32 minutes to go to sleep and that I woke up 5 times--none of which I remember. Yet apparently this level of nighttime activity is pretty good. It was worth an 8.9 out of 10 on the Lark scale of sleep efficiency. … Read more

The 404 664: Where you pick it, we stick it (podcast)

We're glad to have Jeff back from his brief hiatus last week, although we soon find out that he spent a lot of the time playing NHL 2K11 for the Wii! To celebrate the release of the game, 2K Sports made Jeff's dream a reality and invited a few journalists to play *actual* ice hockey with NHL Pros Travis Zajac and Ryan Kesler.

And in other Jeff-related news, today's show title is in reference to a tattoo he has in the works courtesy of Miss D'Jo of Lark Tattoo, a friend and listener of The 404! We're excited to see what she has in store for Jeff...we're hoping it's a 404 tattoo on his face.

While everyone else spent Saturday, September 11, in mourning and quiet reverence, Microsoft staged a mock funeral parade the day before to celebrate the passing of the BlackBerry and iPhone.

The low blow even featured mock pallbearers, a large iPhone casket, a hearse, and--for some reason--an impromptu group Thriller dance. We hate to even give Microsoft publicity for this poorly timed stunt, but it's worth it to show how far a company will go to get exposure and shut down competitors.

And as if Microsoft weren't already in trouble, Xbox Live's stringent censorship rules are under fire again, this time with regard to a person getting banned for listing "Fort Gay, WV" as his location in the player profile section. Microsoft's automated censorship bots believed the name of the city to be an individual trying to degrade the sexuality of other players, but it turns out that Fort Gay is indeed a location in West Virginia. After some complaints, the player contacted the chief of Xbox Live police, and the ban was lifted.

After the break, we're proposing some new transit rules of our own after we hear about the New Jersey Transit express trains testing a plan to silence talking altogether on the first and last trains. Granted, the plan doesn't appoint a hall monitor to seek out rule-breakers, but this doesn't seem like a half-bad idea. Tune in to hear our idea of a public transportation utopia!

We're in desperate need of good call-backs, so leave a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET and give us a piece of your mind! Also, big thanks to Alen for the BTTF Photoshop job you see up there; great work!

Episode 664 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more