THE BYTE

Welcome to the BYTE, where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.

This week we’re taking a BYTE out of the winter housing market, BnB’s being all about the experience, new software that will make you wonder what you really said, new drone applications, and a map may never be the same. Dig in!

Generally

Who? What? Where?

Americans are staying put as mover rate hits historic low. Millennials are moving inward, away from the coasts and more new homes are on the way.

Tell Me More, Tell Me More

The U.S. Census Bureau put out a report on how many people are moving homes and the numbers are down 11.2% from last year putting us at the lowest percentage of movers basically ever. Of the people that are moving, millennials specifically, are moving away from major coastal cities and moving inward. 8/10 of the biggest cities in millennial growth were inland cities with most coastal cities showing declines. Also for those people that are moving, there are more homes on the market with a 26.4% jump from last year in work beginning on new homes.

Welcome, Ready For An Adventure?

Bed and Breakfasts Have Changed Forever

Airbnb is now interested in more than just where you are staying on vacation; now they want to help with what you’re doing while away as well. Airbnb Trips is the latest innovation from the brand, but follows about the same model. Now they allow hosts to not only advertise their place but also the experiences for the people there, basically turning them into personal tour guides for their cities. This is essentially shifting the company into a full on travel agency and the services are already rolling out in over 50 cities worldwide.

Take Notes

Did They Really Say That?

With Adobe’s new program the answer that question may soon be, “Maybe?” Project VoCo is basically the Photoshop for audio. The complex algorithm built into the program breaks down more than just the words spoken but the exact sounds and even in the beta version can sound very similar to a human’s voice. With only 20 minutes of someone talking you could effectively input that, the program breaks it down, and you can type in anything for it to spit out in that person’s voice. Cue many scandals in the near future.

Drones For Days

Drones are everywhere and people are actually doing pretty cool things with them. Intel and Disneyworld teamed up for one amazing drone show to celebrate this holiday season. Another example of drones being used for good is this new company called Fleetlights. The soon to be released service allows people, primarily in places without streetlights, to walk without wandering in the dark as a drone with a spotlight follows from above.

I Believe I Can Fly

Google Earth VR now lets you feel like just that. The catch however is that it’s only really available on the very high-end VR sets for now. Regardless, flying around and exploring Paris or London as if you were there seems pretty great. Hopefully it becomes more accessible soon…

Totally Unrelated

Happy TurkeyDay

Before we all gather around and eat delicious food this weekend, here is a video of some kids trying out the thanksgiving sides from the past several decades.