I tried Apple’s new gadget before it’s even out yet – it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt

APPLE has just announced its new HomePod 2nd generation device, and I was lucky enough to be one of the first to listen to the smart speaker. It was certainly eye-opening – even though all the magic happened in my ears. 1 Listening to the HomePod 2 is like a whole new speaker experienceCredits: Apple Apple says its HomePod 2 is a smart speaker with “breakthrough sound and intelligence.” The listening experience certainly highlighted the impressive capabilities of the gadget that were put to the test. The HomePod 2 can sense its surroundings and adapts sound in real time …

Garden catalog season gives gardeners a chance to explore, shop for next year’s seeds

January begins the annual flight of vegetable, flower, and fruit tree catalogs to your mailbox or inbox. Depending on your level of gardening, the catalogs are starting to arrive frequently and en masse. β€œIt used to be you would get either a vegetable catalog or a fruit catalog or flower catalog,” says Richard Hentschel, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Many catalogs now contain something for everyone, including the garden gadget addicts.” It used to be that Swiss chard was green, but now it is also available in shades of pink, orange, yellow, gold, white and purple. Illinois gardeners should…