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Iphone

Submission + - iPhone 5: Apple's 16:9 compromise (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Apple’s iPhone 5 can be summed up with the following words: Another row of home screen icons. Watching Tim Cook and Phil Schiller unveil the sixth-generation iPhone was like experiencing the world’s most drawn out (120-minute!) train wreck. It’s not that the iPhone 5s hardware specs are disappointing (though they’re certainly not overwhelming), it’s how the smartphone was presented that pushed me over the edge. Apple has this way of presenting everything — whether it’s an awesome new display or humdrum headphone jack — in such a way that you should feel blessed, as if Steve Jobs himself has sat atop Mount Sinai, received divine inspiration from Him, and then somehow transcended the laws of physics to bring you the most glorious technological manna. Normally, once you cut through the heavenly hyperbole, there is just enough meat to keep people happy: In 2010, the Retina display really was cutting edge; in 2011, Siri was unique. This year, though, Apple tried to convince us that it had stolen a 16:9 display from the gods, ushering widescreen into the land of the living — but as we all know, everyone except for Apple has been doing 16:9 for years. Since the iPhone's inception in 2007, it has always used a 3:2 display — first at 480x320, and then doubled to 960x640 to allow for perfect scaling. With the iPhone 5, every one of the 700,000 3:2 apps in the App Store will be letterboxed — they will have black bars above and below. Developers can update their apps to 16:9, of course — but then what happens if you try to run 16:9 apps on legacy 3:2 displays? Apple has been mysteriously quiet on this front."
Network

Submission + - Preventing another Carrier IQ: Introducing the Mobile Device Privacy Act (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Lawmakers in Washington have turned their sights on mobile device tracking, proposing legislation aimed at making it much harder for companies to track you without consent. The Mobile Device Privacy Act makes it illegal for companies to monitor device users without their expressed consent. The bill was introduced Thursday by Massachusetts Democrat Representative Edward Markey, co-Chair of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus. Much of the impetus for the bill came from last year’s Carrier IQ debacle, where it emerged that the company's software was found to exist on both iOS and Android devices on AT&T and Sprint’s networks. While the company denied any wrongdoing, the software captured keystrokes and sent the details of your device usage back to the carriers. That news set off a firestorm of criticism, including the attention of Senator Al Franken, who grilled the company and received some details on Carrier IQ’s intentions. If passed, the legislation would require the disclosure of including tracking software at the time of the purchase of the phone, or during ownership if a software update or app would add such software to the device, and the consumer gains the right to refuse to be tracked. This disclosure must include what types of information is collected, who it is transmitted to, and how it will be used."
Intel

Submission + - Intel predicts ubiquitous, almost-zero-energy computing by 2020 (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Intel often uses the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) as a platform to discuss its long-term vision for computing as well as more practical business initiatives. This year, the company has discussed the shrinking energy cost of computation as well as a point when it believes the energy required for “meaningful compute” will approach zero and become ubiquitous by the year 2020. The idea that we could push the energy cost of computing down to nearly immeasurable levels is exciting. It’s the type of innovation that’s needed to drive products like Google Glass or VR headsets like the Oculus Rift. Unfortunately, Intel’s slide neatly sidesteps the greatest problems facing such innovations — the cost of computing already accounts for less than half the total energy expenditure of a smartphone or other handheld device. Yes, meaningful compute might approach zero energy — but touchscreens, displays, radios, speakers, cameras, audio processors, and other parts of the equation are all a long way away from being as advanced as Intel's semiconductor processes."
Science

Submission + - CERN's Higgs boson discovery passes peer review, becomes actual science (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "CERN’s announcement on July 4 — that experiments performed by the Large Hadron Collider had discovered a particle that was consistent with the Higgs boson — has passed a key step towards becoming ratified science: Its findings have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Physics Letters B, effectively becoming science in the process. Before we actually know what the new particle is, CERN, the LHC, and the CMS and ATLAS teams must perform additional tests. The LHC had been scheduled to shut down for upgrades, but following the July announcement it has instead been smashing protons together nonstop, to produce more data for CMS and ATLAS to analyze. By December, it is hoped that both teams will have a much better idea of the properties of the new particle, and whether it is actually the Higgs boson."
Power

Submission + - 5.9 watts: The world's most efficient high-end computer (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Dutch hardware hacker, Emile Nijssen (nickname Mux), claims he has built the world’s most efficient high-end desktop computer: An Intel Core i5-3570K with 16GB of RAM, 64GB SSD, and other assorted bits, that consumes just 5.9 watts when idling and 74.5 watts at full load. Your desktop PC, by comparison, draws around 30 watts while idle and 150 watts at full load. How does one go about building a 5.9-watt computer? Well, fortunately Mux is one of those hardware hackers who takes lots of photos, produces his own illustrative diagrams and graphs, and records everything that he does in minute detail. In essence, though, Mux does two very cool things: He undervolts the CPU, and then he actually modifies the motherboard with various voltmods and efficiency tweaks to reduce the power consumption even further."
Privacy

Submission + - FBI launches $1 billion nationwide facial recognition system (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun rolling out its new $1 billion biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. In essence, NGI is a nationwide database of mugshots, iris scans, DNA records, voice samples, and other biometrics, that will help the FBI identify and catch criminals — but it is how this biometric data is captured, through a nationwide network of cameras and photo databases, that is raising the eyebrows of privacy advocates. Until now, the FBI relied on IAFIS, a national fingerprint database that has long been due an overhaul. Over the last few months, the FBI has been pilot testing a facial recognition system, which will soon be scaled up until it's nationwide. In theory, this should result in much faster positive identifications of criminals and fewer unsolved cases. The problem is, the FBI hasn't guaranteed that the NGI will only use photos of known criminals. There may come a time when the NGI is filled with as many photos as possible, from as many sources as possible, of as many people as possible — criminal or otherwise. Imagine if the NGI had full access to every driving license and passport photo in the country — and DNA records kept by doctors, and iris scans kept by businesses. The FBI’s NGI, if the right checks and balances aren’t in place, could very easily become a tool that decimates civilian privacy and freedom."
Robotics

Submission + - DARPA's Cheetah robot can now run faster than Usain Bolt (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "DARPA and Boston Dynamics have broken their own legged-robot land speed record: Cheetah, which set a record of 18mph earlier in the year, has now been clocked at 28.3mph (45.6kmh, 12.6m/s) — faster than Usain Bolt, the fastest man on Earth. At the moment Cheetah is tethered to off-board hydraulics and a supporting arm — but the next version, WildCat, which Boston Dynamics is working on at the moment, will be able to run free in the New England savannas at speeds of up to 50mph."
Network

Submission + - FCC to review the relative value of low, high, and super-high spectrum licenses (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "The FCC is reviewing the rules it has for spectrum license ownership, particularly on how much spectrum any one company can hold. The FCC is considering this rework because the rules do not currently account for the properties of different frequencies of spectrum. There are three main classes of spectrum for cellular wireless networks: low band, high band, and super high band — but at the moment, they are all valued equally. Given that low band spectrum is valued favorably against high band and super high band spectrum in the market, and that AT&T and Verizon have by far the most low band spectrum, it makes sense for the FCC to adjust its rules in order to more accurately determine how much spectrum any one company needs."
Television

Submission + - Move over 3D, it's time for 4K UHDTV (extremetech.com) 3

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "After five years of trying to convince us that 3D TVs are the future, it seems TV makers are finally ready to move on — to 4K UHDTV. At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Sony, Toshiba, and LG are all showing off 84-inch 4K (3840×2160) TVs. These aren’t just vaporware, either: LG’s TV is on sale now in Korea (and later this month in the US), Sony’s is due later this year, and Toshiba will follow in the new year. Be warned, though: all three will cost more than $20,000 when they go on sale in the US — oh, and there's still no 4K Blu-ray spec, and no such thing as 4K broadcast TV.

In other display-related news, Panasonic is showing off a humongous 145-inch 8K (7680x4320) plasma TV, and some cute 20-inch 4K displays — but unfortunately neither are likely to find their way to your living room or office in the near future."
Power

Submission + - LG produces the first flexible cable-type lithium-ion battery (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "LG Chem, a member of the LG conglomerate/chaebol and one of the largest chemical companies in the world, has devised a cable-type lithium-ion battery that’s just a few millimeters in diameter, and is flexible enough to be tied in knots, worn as a bracelet, or woven into textiles. The underlying chemistry of the cable-type battery is the same as the lithium-ion battery in your smartphone or laptop — there’s an anode, a lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode, an electrolyte — but instead of being laminated together in layers, they’re twisted into a hollow, flexible, spring-like helix. flexible batteries have been created before — but they’ve all just standard, flat, laminated batteries made from sub-optimum materials, such as polymers. As such, as they have very low energy density, and they’re only bendy in the same way that a thin sheet of plastic is bendy. LG Chem’s cable-type batteries have the same voltage and energy density as your smartphone battery — but they’re thin and highly flexible to boot. LG Chem has already powered an iPod Shuffle for 10 hours using a knotted 25cm length of cable-type battery."
Android

Submission + - Samsung unveils Galaxy Camera: Does Android belong in your point-and-shoot? (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Today Samsung joined Nikon in announcing an Android-powered camera. The Samsung Galaxy Camera weighs 305g, features a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, 21x super zoom lens, a quad-core 1.4GHz SoC (probably Exynos 4), 8GB of internal storage, and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This compares with the Nikon S800c which also has a 16MP CMOS sensor, along with a 7x zoom f/2 lens and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Since neither unit has shipped, we don’t know anything yet about how good they are as cameras, but we do know that the companies are trying to regain some of the ground they’ve lost to smartphones by integrating sharing right into their cameras. For photographers, there are a couple of critical questions about these new models: First is whether these cameras will have enough additional functionality to justify the added cost and weight when most people already have a serviceable camera in their phone. Second, and more importantly, there is still a big question mark hanging over Nikon and Samsung’s long-term intentions for Android. If Android cameras are just standard point-and-shoots with a smartphone OS bolted on for sharing, that’ll be a wasted opportunity. It would have been easier to create a camera that instantly tethered to a smartphone instead, and let the phone do all the work. There is an exciting possibility, if Nikon and Samsung do this correctly and allow low-level access to the camera functions via Android, to really unleash the power of Android to enable new photographic solutions."
Medicine

Submission + - Harvard creates cyborg flesh that's half man, half machine (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Bioengineers at Harvard University have created the first examples of cyborg tissue: Neurons, heart cells, muscle, and blood vessels that are interwoven by nanowires and transistors. hese cyborg tissues are half living cells, half electronics. As far as the cells are concerned, they’re just normal cells that behave normally — but the electronic side actually acts as a sensor network, allowing a computer to interface directly with the cells. In the case of cyborg heart tissue, the researchers have already used the embedded nanowires to measure the contractions (heart rate) of the cells. So far, the researchers have only used the nanoelectric scaffolds to read data from the cells — but according to lead researcher Charles Lieber, the next step is to find a way of talking to the individual cells, to “wire up tissue and communicate with it in the same way a biological system does.” Suffice it to say, if you can use a digital computer to read and write data to your body’s cells, there are some awesome applications."
Cloud

Submission + - IBM working on Watson app for smartphones (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "After conquering Jeopardy, battling patent trolls, and chasing down health insurance fraudsters, IBM now plans to bring Watson to smartphones. In essence, IBM is hoping to build a better, faster, and more professional/enterprisey version of Apple’s Siri, the voice-controlled assistant that debuted on the iPhone 4S. Each IBM Watson installation is a 10-rack supercomputer with a total of 2880 processor threads (90 Power7 CPUs clocked at 3.5GHz, each with eight cores, and each core with four threads). There is 16TB of RAM, and the entire thing is embarrassingly parallel — it can process 500 gigabytes of data per second. Now, don’t worry — IBM isn’t trying to shrink the room-sized Watson down to the size of a smartphone. Instead, we’re simply looking at a smartphone app that directly interfaces with an internet-connected Watson installation. In theory, Watson’s question answering ability would utterly blow Siri and Google Now out of the water. While Siri can set your alarms, Watson can parse a patient’s charts and provide clinical diagnoses and pharmaceutical prescriptions. Where Siri can tell you whether you’ll need an umbrella, you could ask Watson whether now is the right time to plant your crops — or for a complete walkthrough on how to fix your toaster."
Android

Submission + - The empire strikes back: Nikon announces Android-based camera (extremetech.com) 1

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Today Nikon announced the first mainstream camera powered by Android. While Polaroid has an Android model on the market, it is very limited and hasn’t attracted much attention. The Coolpix S800c combines Nikon’s imaging prowess with a set of capabilities running on Android (in this case version 2.3) that are designed to make it as easy to use for photo sharing as a smartphone. Sharing with Google+, Facebook, and Twitter is built-in, while sharing with other services will be as simple as downloading the appropriate Android application. Hardware-wise, there's a 16MP backside-illuminated CMOS sensor — a technology which helps increase low-light performance, especially for small sensors. The S800c can also capture full HD 1080p video and stereo sound, creating clips that can be uploaded to sites like YouTube and Vimeo. As icing on the cake the S800c includes GPS, which is crucial if it is to have any hope of displacing the smartphone as a primary means of sharing images. Unfortunately, beyond saying that the camera runs Android, Nikon has been incredibly quiet on the implementation. If Android is actually linked to the camera's hardware, and there's an open API, he S800c could be the basis for a very powerful photography application platform. Going further, if the bootloader is unlocked (or can be unlocked by enterprising devs) then custom ROMs might be the order of the day. Having a high-quality image capture platform that can be programmed as easily as a smartphone will open up a lot of new ground for imaging applications if the S800c is really open at a low level. We should find out more when the camera launches in September, at a price of $350."
Hardware

Submission + - Logitech releases K310 washable keyboard (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Logitech has released its first washable keyboard. We’re not just talking about “splash proof” either — you can take the K310, immerse it in up to 30cm of water (12in), and give it a good scrub. The only limitation is you can only use standard washing up liquid — oh, and Logitech says you should try to keep the USB connector out of the water, too. Once you’ve washed the keyboard, simply leave it to dry. The user guide says it takes eight hours to air dry, and that you shouldn’t use a hair dryer. There are actually drainage holes on the backside of the K310, to help speed things along. This isn't the first washable keyboard — HP and Kensington have both had models on the market for a while — but the K310 does seem to be the first reasonably attractive, consumer-oriented washable keyboard. It goes on sale at the end of the month for $40."

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