Tuesday 30 April 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4 launch

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Samsung Galaxy S4 launch
Samsung Galaxy S4 launch





Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi were recently in the capital to launch the new Samsung Galaxy S4. Samsung held events in Delhi and Bangalore, where celebrity couples handed over the devices to enthusiastic customers waiting in long queues to get their hands on the phone.

The device has the world's first Full HD Super AMOLED display to showcase images at their best. Its 5-inch large screen has 441ppi for stunning viewing quality. Equipped with a 13 megapixel rear camera, the phone enables users to take pictures in many different ways. Dual Shot allows simultaneous use of both front and rear cameras. Users can choose from a variety of frame effects, which blend the two pictures naturally. Drama Shot enables users to see all the action in one continuous time-lapse image. Sound & Shot stores sound and voice in unison as the picture is taken so those special moments are captured in the truest form imaginable. Animated Photo allows the user to take a series of shots and pick one part of the photo to move while the others stay still. 

Group Play enables users to enjoy music, photos, documents and games with those around them without requiring a Wi-Fi AP or cellular signal. Users can connect directly with others to share, play and co-create content and entertainment instantly. With Share Music, they can have the same song playing on multiple phones in sync to create the best party atmosphere. 

Smart enough to detect your face, voice and motions to enable screen control with no need for finger touch activation, this device delivers effortless tasking, making life easier and hassle-free. Air Gesture allows users to change the music track they are listening to with a wave of their hand. Air View will preview photos and emails by hovering over the screen with your finger. Samsung Smart Pause enables you to control the screen by where you look. When you are watching a video, the video pauses when you look away then it starts again when you look back. 

Lara Dutta summed up the device at the launch by saying, "It's truly designed to be a Life Companion."
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Monday 29 April 2013

Forget your Keys- Use Your Smartphone!

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Forget your Keys- Use Your Smartphone! 


Sure, its happened to me more than once. I lost my house keys, left them in the wrong car, or forgot to give them to my mother who was stopping over to feed the dog. It’s a simple thing, and I should have just taken the time to have extra keys made, or hidden one under the doormat, but in this day and age I’m not sure anyone does that anymore.

Well, First Watch Security is bringing you a nifty home entry alternative, forget your keys and garage door openers, why not use your Smartphone? Working with a smartphone that employs Bluetooth 4.0 and utilizing a 128 bit encryption, The First Watch Security Smart Deadbolt or SecuRemote lets you access your doors or garage with your phone.

Any users you authorize can operate the Smart Deadbolts or garage doors via the SecuRemote app simply by tapping the unlock or lock icons on a Smartphone. Not only can you decide who gets access to your home, but when. This application works with your existing garage door opener and requires only the simple addition of an access control device. Whereas the Smart Deadbolt works with all standard door preparations, is installed with only a screwdriver, and it can run for up to two years on four AA batteries.

Okay, I guess I could like this. SecuRemote for your garage is available now, for only around 149 bucks, the Smart Deadbolt is making its way around the home show circuit and should be available soon. Check out firstwatchsecurity.com for updates, pricing, and more information. So now I suppose, I have to keep track of my phone and worry about someone hacking their way into my house? Does Bluetooth enabled home entry delight or terrify you? … Let us know.
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Sunday 28 April 2013

GOOGLE NOW MAY BE COMING TO GOOGLE’S HOMEPAGE

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GOOGLE NOW MAY BE COMING TO GOOGLE’S HOMEPAGE
Google’s award-winning intelligent personal assistant Google Now may be heading to the company’s homepage. The unofficial Google Operating System blog recently discovered the new feature mentioned in a series of code. Google Now is currently only available on Android smartphones and tablets running version 4.1 or later, and is rumored to be heading to iOS and Chrome in the near future. Adding Google Now to the company’s homepage will allow the feature to be utilized by billions of people worldwide. The source code suggests that Google Now on the Web will share the same features as on Android, allowing individuals to set a home and work location to show relevant information like weather, traffic conditions and nearby locations. Google could debut the new version of Google Now at its annual I/O Developers Conference on May 15th.
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Friday 26 April 2013

Squba, world's first swimming car!!!

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Squba, world's first swimming car!!! 









Touted as the "world's first real submersible car", the sQuba was apparently inspired by the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. According to a company representative at the Motorshow, the convertible sports car works just like any regular automobile on land. But once it hits the water, three engines powered by onboard Lithium-ion batteries convert the car into a submersible vehicle capable of going at 6km/h on water and 3km/h underwater up to a depth of 10m. However, unlike Bond's bubble-sealed Lotus Esprit submarine, the sQuba remains open-topped and won't leave your tux all dry and pressed when it gets to land again. 

Not surprisingly, the concept sQuba needs to come with diamond-coated non-slip textile seats and fabrics that drain off water quickly, among other innovations. It's just a pity the exhibitors weren't able to demo the vehicle's underwater capabilities. Now that would really have been a treat for car enthusiasts. 

For the Motorshow, the sQuba will be landlocked. Fortunately, the sQuba isn't the only highlight at this year's event. Car makers also unveiled a handful of new vehicles, including the Subaru 7-seater Exiga, third-generation Honda City and new Nissan Murano SUV. Visitors will also get a chance to see the Honda RA108 Formula One car up close.
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Thursday 25 April 2013

SolTech’s Gorgeous Glass Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy

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SolTech’s Gorgeous Glass Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy
SolTech’s Gorgeous Glass Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy
SolTech’s Gorgeous Glass Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy

Alternative energy is known to be a lot of things – cutting edge, earth-friendly and forward thinking – but sadly looking pretty isn’t one of them. Well SolTech is changing all that with their gorgeous glass solar-thermal roof tiles. As if it’s not cool enough that these transparent shingles are able to heat your home by using a simple system to store energy from the sun, they also look like a million bucks!
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Wednesday 24 April 2013

The REAL caller ID- App that can turn your iPhone into an identity scanner unveiled

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The REAL caller ID- App that can turn your iPhone into an identity scanner unveiled





An iPhone case containing a host of biometric sensors capable of turning an iPhone into a hi-tech ID scanner has been revealed.
Stratus, made by US firm AOptix, can scan a person's iris, fingerprint, voice, and face.
The app, is expected to be used by law enforcement agencies and passport control staff around the world. It is hoped the system could soon replace current systems, which require a laptop and larger scanners.
In February, the Department of Defense paid AOptix $3 million to develop an enhanced solution using the tool that was revealed today.
The app will cost £130 ($199), with the case costing extra - although its price has not been confirmed yet.
'Until now, biometric identity verification has been delivered either by fixed location solutions or difficult to use mobile products with limited functionality,' said Alan Goode, Managing Director, Goode Intelligence,a firm which has been trialling the system. 
'By leveraging the capabilities of the iPhone, and its own deep experience in identity solutions, AOptix is providing an ideal mobile identity platform which will greatly expand the use of biometrics to many new applications and markets.'
The firm believes its system is the first to use an iPhone. 
To use it, users simply slip their handset into the special case and then launch the app. 'Our objective in developing AOptix Stratus was to create a product family that would deliver the benefits of biometric identification to a host of new users,' said Chuck Yort, Vice President and General Manager of Identity Solutions at AOptix. 
'We’ve received a great deal interest from law enforcement and border control, national and civil ID programs, and defense. 
'We anticipate AOptix Stratus will be embraced by healthcare, disaster relief, humanitarian aid and other areas where identity verification is essential but previous biometric techniques have been impossible or unacceptable. 'We’ve received strong encouragement from our partners and end users throughout our development and beta process and are delighted that the product is now available for purchase.'
Experts hailed the gadget as a major step forward for security.
'The launch of AOptix Stratus provides a capability for Smart Mobile Identity around iPhone that will open up a new range of applications for biometrics,' said Dr. Peter Waggett, Emerging Technology Program Leader at IBM. 
'The product provides the basis for an ecosystem of Smart Mobile Identity products and apps that we will use to develop and deliver solutions.' Watch the video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2310041/Look-phone-ID-app-scan-face-eyes-fingerprints-voice--iPhone.html
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Microsoft Updates Its Bing Apps For Windows 8, Adds Offline Mode, RSS Feeds To News App

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Microsoft Updates Its Bing Apps For Windows 8, Adds Offline Mode, RSS Feeds To News App




Microsoft today launched updates for five out of its six Bing Apps for Windows 8. With this update, the News, Finance, Sports, Travel and Maps apps – all of which are installed by default on Windows 8 systems – now all sport a number of new features and improvements that, as Microsoft puts it, “make it easier to customize and personalize them to best suit your needs.” The company also announced an update to the Bing Weather App, but this new version is not available yet.

None of the updates will rock your world, but all of them are welcome additions, especially because they often felt somewhat limited in their early iterations.

Those of you who are still coming to grips with the upcoming demise of Google Reader, for example, will appreciate the fact that the Bing News app now supports RSS feeds and offline reading. In addition, the app now also features more customization options so that you can “keep tabs on specific story categories, topics, or news sources that matter to you.” The Maps app now includes traffic incident notifications and improved driving, transit and walking directions. Users can also now bookmark locations they visit regularly to their start screen. The Finance app now includes an updates watch list and real-time U.S. stock updates, and the Sports app adds 29 new leagues. The Travel app now includes content from Lonely Planet and Frodor’s, as well as Frommer’s, which the original owners just bought back from Google.

The Weather app also received a few interesting new tools, including the ability to get weather conditions at ski resorts in 24 countries around the world (just in time for the end of the ski season), as well as better moving weather maps.
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Quick Look-The Black Mist Samsung Galaxy S4

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Quick Look-The Black Mist Samsung Galaxy S4






I'm on the gorgeous Italian island of Sardinia this week, for the annual pre-IFA Global Press Conference. A chance for the industry and the press to get together and look ahead to the main show in Berlin in September, in a truly stunning setting. Several consumer electronics manufacturers have partnered with the conference, including Samsung -- well, Samsung Electronics, at least. So, what's this we see here, then? Looks an awful lot like the Black Mist Galaxy S4. Nestled front and center in the Samsung booth, the soon to be released Galaxy S4 is here. And, since I've not yet seen the S4 for myself, I spent a few minutes taking a look. 

Firstly, the color. If I were to buy a Galaxy S4, this is the one I would have. Without doubt. I love white phones traditionally, but the Black Mist has the white one pegged. On the Galaxy S3, the black version had a slight purple tinge to it, as we saw at last years IFA show when we first saw it. But, the Black Mist on the Galaxy S4 has a tinge of grey to it, and held up in the right light looks closer to the color of the Titanium Grey Note 2, than to black. 

Since we already did a hands on video with the phone, there's little point in doing another. And, truth be told, the lighting at the Samsung booth here is worse than usual. So, to avoid rambling, I've put together some of my early thoughts on the Galaxy S4. 

Design - On the whole, I like it. I always felt the display on the Galaxy S3 was too small for the housing, and there was too much space between the display and the home button. The new 5-inch display leaves much less in this regard. 
Size - Honestly, I'm not a fan of large phones, from the perspective that I have small hands. But, the Galaxy S4 feels so much nicer to hold than, say, the Sony Xperia Z. It's a big phone, make no mistake, but it doesn't feel as big to hold as some of the competitors. 
Display - Good, but outdone by the HTC One I think.. Not really much else to say. You won't be disappointed by it, though.
Software - It's still Touchwiz, and I'm not a fan, but that's down to taste. That said, there's a lot of cool stuff in there that folks are going to love. Its fast, and it's pretty darn smooth. Not a fan of how Samsung has broken up the settings menu into different tabs, but at the same time I can understand maybe why they did it that way. 
Build quality - Yes, it's plastic. But it doesn't offend me nearly as much as it did on the Galaxy S3. It's a fingerprint magnet, but the matte finish on the sides is much more pleasing than the shiny chrome plastic on its predecessor. Then again, it's a far cry from the construction of the HTC One. 
Summing up, would I think about buying one? Yes, I would. I've never felt the urge to pick up a Samsung phone before, there's always been something that's turned me away. One of the big attractions here is Android 4.2.2, which I'm seeing as a statement of intent from Samsung. I'm still not a fan of the physical home button, but personally I'd still take it over where HTC has put their home button on the One. It may only be an iterative design from the previous device, but it works, and it works well.

By Richard Devine | Apr 20 2013 | 10:30 am |
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Monday 22 April 2013

Hybrid energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations and sunlight

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Hybrid energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations and sunlight
Hybrid energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations and sunlight




Devices that harvest energy from the environment require specific environmental conditions; for instance, solar cells and piezoelectric generators require sunlight and mechanical vibration, respectively. Since these conditions don't exist all the time, most energy harvesters don't generate a constant stream of electricity. In order to harvest ubiquitous energy continuously, researchers have designed and fabricated a hybrid energy harvester that integrates a solar cell and piezoelectric generator, enabling it to harvest energy from both sunlight and sound vibration simultaneously. The researchers, Dae-Yeong Lee, et al., from Sungkyunkwan University and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, both in South Korea, have published their study on the hybrid energy harvester in a recent issue of Nanotechnology. "By using the hybrid energy harvester, two different energy sources can be utilized in one platform," coauthor Hyunjin Kim at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology told Phys.org. "Thus the total output power from the hybrid harvester can be increased compared to each separate harvester. Furthermore, by harvesting two energy sources in one device, continuous output can be generated even when only one energy source is available." To design the harvester, the researchers turned to silicon nanopillar solar cells for the sunlight harvesting half of the device. Previous research has shown that silicon nanopillar solar cells are promising candidates as photovoltaic devices due to their low reflection, high absorption, and potential for low-cost mass production. After fabricating the cells using a plasma etching technique and annealing processes, the researchers coated the top of each cell to prepare it for placement of the piezoelectric generator, which was stacked on top using a spin coating method. Last, top and bottom electrodes sandwich the device. The entire harvester has a height of just a few hundred nanometers, with the bulk of the height coming from the 300-nm-tall nanopillars in the solar cell. In tests, the energy harvester could generate electricity from the solar cells with a 3.29% conversion efficiency. At the same time, the harvester could generate 0.8 V of output voltage when exposed to a 100-dB sound. The hybrid device suggests that harvesting both solar and vibration energies can enable more efficient harvesting in certain environments compared to a device that harvests just one kind of energy. "This energy harvester can be very useful where there is no electric grid connected," coauthor Won Jong Yoo at Sungkyunkwan University said. "For example, this device will be useful in moving vehicles such as moving boats, trains, automobiles, etc. The output of 0.8 V is just preliminary data. If we optimize the device structure and fabrication condition, the output power will be increased significantly." In the future, the researchers plan to fabricate all-flexible hybrid energy harvesting devices using plastic substrates in order to harvest mechanical energy more efficiently. More information: Dae-Yeong Lee, et al. "Hybrid energy harvester based on nanopillar solar cells and PVDF nanogenerator." Nanotechnology 24 (2013) 175402 (6pp). DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/17/175402 Journal reference: Nanotechnology
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Solar powered water splitter to produce hydrogen!

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Solar powered water splitter to produce hydrogen!

Solar powered water splitter to produce hydrogen!


The process of splitting water into pure oxygen and clean-burning hydrogen fuel has long been the Holy Grail for clean-energy advocates as a method of large-scale energy storage, but the idea faces technical challenges. Stanford researchers may have solved one of the most important ones.


Solar energy is fine when the sun is shining. But what about at night or when it is cloudy? To be truly useful, sunshine must be converted to a form of energy that can be stored for use when the sun is hiding. The notion of using sunshine to split water into oxygen and storable hydrogen fuel has been championed by clean-energy advocates for decades, but stubborn challenges have prevented adoption of an otherwise promising technology.

A team of Stanford researchers may have solved one of the most vexing scientific details blocking us from such a clean-energy future.

The team, led by materials science engineer Paul McIntyre and chemist Christopher Chidsey, has devised a robust silicon-based solar electrode that shows remarkable endurance in the highly corrosive environment inherent in the process of splitting water. They revealed their progress in a recent paper published in the journal Nature Materials.

Conceptually, splitting water could not be simpler. Scientists have long known that applying a voltage across two electrodes submerged in water splits the water molecules into their component elements, oxygen and hydrogen.

From an environmental standpoint, the process is a dream: an electrochemical reaction whose only requirements are water and electricity and whose only byproducts are pure oxygen and hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel applicable in a promising new class of renewable energy applications. In fact, hydrogen is the cleanest burning chemical fuel known. Practical challenges
“In theory, water splitting is a clean and efficient energy storage mechanism. Unfortunately, solving one problem creates another,” said McIntyre, associate professor of materials science and engineering. “The most abundant solar electrodes we have today are made of silicon, a material that corrodes and fails almost immediately when exposed to oxygen, one of the byproducts of the reaction.”

This particular problem has vexed researchers since at least the 1970s. Many had given up, but McIntyre and Chidsey have devised a clever solution. They coated their silicon electrodes with a protective, ultra-thin layer of titanium dioxide.

“Titanium dioxide is perfect for this application,” explained McIntyre. “It is both transparent to light and it can be efficient for transferring electricity, all while protecting the silicon from corrosion.”

Sunlight travels through the protective titanium dioxide into the photosensitive silicon, which produces a flow of electrons that travels through the electrochemical cell into the water, splitting the hydrogen from the oxygen. The hydrogen gas can be stored and then, when the sun is not shining, the process can be reversed, reuniting hydrogen and oxygen back into water to produce electricity.

Decades of dead ends
Other researchers had attempted to protect the electron-producing silicon electrodes. Some tried other materials, which failed for reasons of performance or durability. Some had even tried titanium dioxide, but those efforts also fell short. Their layers were either materially flawed, allowing oxygen to seep through and corrode the semiconductor, or too thick to be electrically conductive.

Yi Wei Chen and Jonathan Prange, the lead doctoral students on the McIntyre-Chidsey team, discovered that the key to the titanium dioxide’s protectiveness is achieving a very thin, yet high quality layer of material. They found that a layer just two nanometers thick was sufficient so long as it was free of the pinholes and cracks that doomed earlier titanium dioxide experiments.

With their electrodes successfully shielded from corrosion, the researchers revealed yet one more engineering ace in the hole, adding a third layer of ultra-thin iridium, a catalyst, atop the titanium dioxide. Iridium boosts the rate of the splitting reaction and improves performance of the system.

Broader applications
In side-by-side durability experiments, the researchers put their creation to the test. Control samples without the protective layer corroded and failed in less than a half-hour, while those with the titanium dioxide lasted the full duration of the test, eight hours without apparent corrosion or loss of efficiency.

The authors pointed out that their approach is general enough to work on other semiconductor substrates and to integrate other catalysts, allowing for fine-tuning of electrodes to maximize performance. Likewise, atomic layer deposition, the technique that allowed such fine and flawless layering, is in wide application in the semiconductor industry today. It should, therefore, lend itself to application on a large scale. Lastly, the results were achieved without exploring the use of other efficiency-enhancing techniques, such as surface texturing, which could further improve performance.

“We are excited about the possibilities of this technology,” said McIntyre, “as much for the electrode itself, as for the process used to create it.”

Their success might just push a promising technology one step closer to practical application and the world one step closer to a clean-energy future.

Seed funding for this work was provided by these Stanford groups: Precourt Institute for Energy, the Center for Integrated Systems and the Global Climate and Energy Project.

Andrew Myers is the associate director of communications for the Stanford School of Engineering.
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Thursday 18 April 2013

13-inch ASUS Taichi 31 with dual 1080p

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13-inch ASUS Taichi 31 with dual 1080p


The 11.6-inch Taichi 21, you'll know that its unusual dual-screen design had a pretty bad impact on battery life. ASUS is taking another crack at the whip, however, this time with the 13.3-inch Taichi that is finally shipping after a major hold-up in the US and promises a big boost to stamina -- a max of seven hours of use rather than five. If this claim stands up to scrutiny, the Ultrabook's other advantages should come back into play: namely the presence of pen or multi-touch input on the outer screen, excellent viewing angles and speakers, and a range of configurations based on either a Core i5 or i7 with SSD storage. We have no idea how pricing will compare to the $1,300 base of the 11-incher and the Taichi 31 hasn't appeared at any major retailers yet -- i.e., it still isn't quite as "available" as ASUS claims
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Wednesday 17 April 2013

Facebook Home And The Promise Of Android

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Facebook Home And The Promise Of Android


Facebook Home And The Promise Of Android





If you’re an iPhone user, you might be feeling a little left behind, because Facebook launched an application called Facebook Home, touted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the “next version of Facebook.” In fact, you might be feeling this way if you’re an Android user, too. For now, only a handful of select devices can even run Home (officially) — notably missing from the lineup is Google’s Nexus 4, the latest in the lineup of Nexus-branded flagship Android phones — devices that users adopt in particular to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new app releases.

But Facebook promised that more handsets will be supported in time, as will tablets. Well, only Android ones, that is.

It’s too soon to say whether Facebook Home will live up to the company’s claims and expectations of becoming the new way people interact with the social network, or whether it will go down only as a notable experiment on the social network’s part. If the latter, it won’t be a major loss to the company, as Facebook will continue to have access to data from a core group of heavy Facebook enthusiasts. It will learn what keeps users engaged, what posts and images catch their eye and their clicks, and, eventually, which advertisements do, too. But to those who can’t download Facebook Home today because they’re using the “wrong” smartphone, it’s of small comfort to think that perhaps the product won’t ever really be as successful as Facebook promises. Because for users, what matters is not whether this grand roll of the dice pays off for Facebook itself – it’s whether you have the ability to participate in the game in the first place.

This is the challenge of the new mobile landscape.

Unlike the web, where the worst thing developers encountered was IE compatibility – and yes, that was bad – it was only a matter of time (and hair pulling and screaming) and energy to bring a new idea to everyone who had Internet access and a web browser. Because the web is built on open standards, this sort of thing is possible.

Facebook wouldn’t even be Facebook had this not been the case.

But mobile is a different story, and a potentially dangerous one in terms of progress and innovation, as Facebook Home today proves.

On the one side, you have an Android ecosystem that’s fragmented by operating system version. In fact, Google quietly changed the way it discloses that fragmentation. Now, instead of telling the developer community how many phones run Jelly Bean or Gingerbread, for instance, it tells them how many of those devices are used by people who download apps. It’s an attempt to paint a rosier picture of OS distribution patterns by focusing on the app-haves instead of the app have-nots. (Spoiler: there are a lot of people running old versions of Android out there.)

Then on the other side, there’s Apple. Because of its restrictions, Facebook Home will never be able to run as intended on iOS operating systems. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, to be clear. It’s just a statement. Apple deserves plenty of credit for helping technology become an interest of the mainstream – a group that felt its former interfaces, configurations, and command lines too complicated and confusing. Or worse, simply not fun. The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, but it radically altered the way that people interact with – and learned to love and care about – technology.

But if we’re giving Apple credit for sparking this trend, lets give them credit for potentially stalling progress here, too.

It’s only a few years into this new paradigm of computing, and things are already starting to feel a little dated. We’ve become accustomed to, bored with, and finally overrun by mobile applications. So the shift ahead of us is enabling new experiences – possibly those that put an app-centric interface secondary. Android is well on its way to enabling this, with its potential for customizations and widgets, as well as the deep hooks that apps can sink into the underlying operating system.

Apps like Facebook Home.

Facebook Home, however, is but the first high-profile example. A niche group Android users have been doing this for years on their own with third-party widgets, launchers, and replacements for core applications.

Android is not an ideal landscape overall. (See: fragmentation issues above. See also: app quality, developer revenue potential, etc.) In other words, this is a not a statement about who wins the larger war, it’s about who wins on this particular battlefront. That said, in terms of enabling a new mobile experience, Android is now more promising than iOS. Of course, you may think that Facebook Home itself is a terrible, horrible thing that you would never consider installing on your own phone, and that’s just fine.

The point is, it’s a different idea. It’s not really an Android launcher, it’s only inspired by them. And even if you have no particular affinity for Facebook itself, you might for the next company that follows it. Because someone will. In fact, one already has: Korean messaging giant KakaoTalk just announced plans for a Facebook Home competitor of its own.

More will come.

And later, it won’t be just about direct copycats like KakaoTalk, or the third-party developers promising DIY “Home-like” experiences, either. Facebook Home’s existence speaks to a world where developers will be prompted to think beyond applications and the isolated experiences they deliver. With the layering, and overall well-designed nature of the Facebook Home feature called “Chat Heads,” we’ve been shown the potential to build entirely different ways of interacting with our devices. Period.

This is the path of innovation. Someone takes a bold step forward with a new idea. Eyebrows are raised, pundits opine, testers review, but ultimately a thing dies or lives in the hands of the everyday users. You.

Facebook Home itself might not make it. It challenges the status quo by making other applications less important than Facebook. That’s a radical enough idea that it could easily fail.

But the damage – whether Facebook Home succeeds or not – is already done. Facebook Home is something else. Wired called it an apperating system. That’s perfect. It exists somewhere between apps and phones. It dug out a whole new space, now begging to be exploited, experimented upon, and filled with new ideas.

And it did this on Android.

Asked if Facebook Home could ever come to iOS, Zuckerberg said, “anything that happens with Apple is going to happen with partnership. Google’s Android is open so we don’t have to work with them.”
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Saturday 13 April 2013

GOOGLE USING ‘WHITE SPACES’ SPECTRUM TO DELIVER WI-FI TO SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS

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GOOGLE USING ‘WHITE SPACES’ SPECTRUM TO DELIVER WI-FI TO SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS

We’ve already seen the potential to deploy so-called “Super Wi-Fi” networks over white spaces spectrum in the United States and now Google (GOOG) is working to use the same technology to deliver Internet connectivity to ten schools in South Africa. The Verge reports that “launching the test network is Google’s most direct effort yet to demonstrate the potential of white spaces… as a means of delivering faster internet connectivity to the developing world and other rural areas.” For those unfamiliar with spectrum jargon, “white spaces” are bands of unused television spectrum that let signals travel farther and penetrate more deeply into buildings than the standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi spectrum bands. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission first authorized the spectrum for unlicensed use on wireless devices back in 2008.
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Friday 12 April 2013

Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use

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Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use
Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use

Solar panels make energy, but they take energy to make, too. And, until about 2010 or so, the solar panel industry used more electricity than it produced, according to a new analysis. Now, the industry is set to "pay back" the energy it used by 2020.
The study looked at what went into building and installing solar panels all over the world, including everything from home installations to solar farms, says Michael Dale, a climate and energy researcher at Stanford University, in a Stanford-produced video. He and a senior scientist, Sally Benson, thought that because the solar panel industry was growing so quickly, it might actually be using more electricity than it produced. Instead, they found an industry at a crux.
"I think that this paper shows that actually the industry is making positive strides and it's even in spite of its fantastically fast growth rates, it's still producing, or it's just about to start producing, a net energy benefit to society," Dale said.
Most solar panels manufacturers now consume lots of electricity, usually pulled from coal or other fossil fuel-burning plants. Stanford News pointed to the example of melting silica rock to obtain the silicon used in most panels. The melting requires electricity to fire ovens to a temperature of about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Solar panels' energy balance is now tipping, however, because newer technologies reduce that electricity consumption. For example, some newer panels require less silicon, or waste less material in the manufacturing process. Researchers are also looking to replace silicon with more abundant affordable elements, such as copper, zinc, tin and carbon.
Dale and Benson published their full analysis in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
[Stanford News via the Verge]
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Phorce The Worlds First Smart Bag

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Phorce The Worlds First Smart Bag
Phorce The Worlds First Smart Bag
Phorce is the future of bags and it’s an end to all charging docks. This lightweight bag features a smart solution for charging all of smartphones. Turns into a messenger, a backpack or a briefcase without any aggravation, Phorce connects and communicates with smartphone via Bluetooth at all times. It has separate sections for tablets, mobile phones, books and other gadgets. The bag will never get lost because as soon as you go out of its range, you will receive a notification on iPhone that you are no more connected to the bag. Phorce is currently available in two versions, Phorce for USB and Phorce for Mac. Both versions are perfectly the same in wireless technology but one thing that sets them apart from each other is Phorce for USB charges phones, tablets, cameras and lots of other USB-devices whereas, Phorce for Mac is capable of powering up MacBooks. Check out ! http://bonjourlife.com/page/3/getphorce.com
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Wednesday 3 April 2013

Science Confirms The Obvious- Unhealthy Eating Makes Your Bad Mood Worse

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Science Confirms The Obvious- Unhealthy Eating Makes Your Bad Mood Worse

Science Confirms The Obvious- Unhealthy Eating Makes Your Bad Mood Worse






As much as we all wish the answer to any problem could be "eat more junk food," powering through an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's when you're in a bad mood won't help you feel better, according to research from Penn State University. It'll probably make you feel worse, actually. Shocker.
Researchers gave handheld computers to a group of 131 college-age women with high levels of concern about their weight and body shape and patterns of unhealthy eating -- but not eating disorders -- and had them self-report their moods and eating behavior several times a day. They found the subjects' bad moods worsened after bouts of "disordered eating patterns," like binge eating, loss of control over food intake or intake restriction.
Imagine that: For a bunch of young women who already have body image issues, going on a massive binge when they feel bad doesn't put them in a better mood. If they were feeling negative, their mood worsened significantly after a round of unhealthy eating. Positive feelings weren't affected by disordered eating, though: Good moods didn't change either before or after eating.
The scientists presented their findings at the American Psychosomatic Society conference in Miami last week. Joshua Smyth, a Penn State professor of biobehavioral health, pointed out that the study was unique in that it studied women in the course of their daily lives rather than in the laboratory, which could lead to better treatments for women with eating disorders and weight concerns. "The results from this study can help us to better understand the role mood may play in the development and maintenance of unhealthy eating, and weight-control behaviors," he said in a statement.
The next time you're feeling down, put away your tear-soaked pint of Chubby Hubby and perhaps try laughing alone with salad instead.
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New scanner takes 3D photos of your teeth

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New scanner takes 3D photos of your teeth

New scanner takes 3D photos of your teeth





Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering in Jena, Germany, have developed a 3D imaging system that is poised to revolutionise the field of dental prosthesis.

Making dentures today is a multi-step process. Dentists take impressions of the bite, make wax or stone-material models from them, and test them in the patient’s mouth for fit before sending them to the lab for the final cast. Many dentures come back ill-fitting, requiring still more adjustments.

The 3D system, designed for the German dental technology company Hint Els, takes less time and improves accuracy. An optical scanner is inserted into the patient’s mouth, where it takes a rapid sequence of pictures from various angles every 200 milliseconds, recording the surface and shape of every tooth or gap. The dentist then inputs the images into 3D software, which conducts a pixel-precise comparison to map the patient’s mouth. Technicians are then able to create a dental prosthesis with a more exact fit.

Hint Els is currently working on commercial production of the optical scanner, called directScan, which could be available as soon as September.

Better fitting dentures are on the way.
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This Solar Powered Home Attempts to Trick the Eye

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This Solar Powered Home Attempts to Trick the Eye

This Solar Powered Home Attempts to Trick the Eye














This highly stylized, modern abode is the perfect inspiration for those seeking out solar-powered homes. The latest creation from ROW studios called the 'Ortega House' is located in Cancun in South Eastern Mexico. The home takes advantage of its sunny location by utilizing the sun's energy for cleverly concealed solar panels. 

One of the most striking features of this building is the pool's optical illusion candy cane-inspired design. The single lane statement pool features patterned mosaics in white and baby blue diagonal stripes that continue out of the pool and towards the house itself. This certainly looks like the place to take a dip on a sweltering day in Mexico! ROW is an award winning Mexico-based architecture firm that was founded in 2005 by Álvaro Hernández Félix, Nadia Hernández Félix and Alfonso Maldonado Ochoa.
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