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Submission + - Racing a Real Car While Wearing an Oculus VR Headset (wsj.com)

Submitted by pbahra
pbahra writes: In a race that fuses video-game technology and real world driving skill, two professional drivers, on two separate but identical tracks, have raced against each other--effectively blind--while wearing virtual reality headsets attached to their crash helmets. The drivers hurtled around the circuit in two identical 2015 V8 Ford Mustangs, trusting that what they were seeing on their Oculus Rift DK2 VR headsets was a true, real-time representation of how their cars were performing on the actual track. One of the main challenges: tracking the cars’ exact positions as they sped around the track without the need for re-calibration. This was necessary so that an exact match could be achieved between what was happening on the physical track and its representation on the VR screens.

Submission + - IKEA Unveils Furniture That Charges Your Smartphone Wirelessly (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by pbahra
pbahra writes: Swedish furniture maker Ikea unveiled a new range of furniture that it says can wirelessly charge some mobile devices. The Swedish furniture giant made the announcement on Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Ikea’s introduction of wireless charging functionality on some of its new furniture heats up the battle for a global wireless charging standard, of which there are currently three, all struggling to become the global leader.

Submission + - The Quiet Revolution of Formula E Electric Car Racing (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by pbahra
pbahra writes: The greatest emotional trigger at any auto-racing event is the noise. In Nascar, it is the earthshaking growl of V8 American muscle. In Formula One, it is the chest-rattling wail of 15,000 rpm. To some the sound is repellent. To others it is like an opera.

But what if there is no sound at all?

Welcome to the quiet world of Formula E, a global racing series for electric cars, which debuts this month in Beijing.

Submission + - Mobile Operator Grabs 4G Lead in UK But Will Anything Work on It? (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Finally, the U.K. is going to get a 4G mobile-Internet service. For a country that was once at the cutting edge of mobile telephony, its lack of a high-speed mobile broadband was becoming a severe embarrassment. Everything Everywhere, Britain’s largest mobile network operator, has been granted permission by U.K. regulator Ofcom to provide next-generation LTE services as early as Sept. 11. Although Ofcom’s ruling is a significant step for the U.K.’s telecoms future, the choice of frequency — 1,800 MHz — means that devices that can take advantage of the much faster data speeds that LTE offers—theoretically up to 100 megabits a second—are limited. Currently the only significant market using the frequency is South Korea. While 1,800 MHz is in use in a small number of European countries, and in Australia, numbers of users are small in comparison to the U.S.. This means devices may be harder to get and cost more. So anyone who thinks their new iPad is going to zip along at 4G speeds is going to be disappointed; the new iPad only supports U.S. LTE frequencies. For the same reason, those hanging on for the new iPhone, expected to be announced on Sept. 12, in the hope that it will be LTE-compliant are unlikely to have good news. Even if there is a new iPhone, and even if it is LTE enabled, will it operate on Everything Everywhere’s frequency?"

Submission + - Why the Middle East is a Good Place for Women Tech Entrepreneurs (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Conferences for start-ups and entrepreneurs often feature "pitch contests," slots in which aspiring entrepreneurs take to the stage to sell their ideas to the audience. Last month's ArabNet conference, held in the Lebanese capital, was no different. What was different, however, was the number of pitches from female entrepreneurs. The stereotype has it that women in the Middle East are subjugated, oppressed and barely let out of their houses. But if that is the case, how come 40% of the pitches were from women—a higher percentage than is typical in equivalent conferences held in Europe? Nor was this closer-to-equal representation of women unique to ArabNet--other conferences in the region boast similar ratios."

Submission + - The Demise of Kodak: Five Reasons (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Kodak’s declaration of bankruptcy earlier this month closed a glorious chapter in the history of photography. With the introduction of the first automatic snapshot camera more than 110 years ago, Kodak transformed photography from an alchemy-like activity dominated by professionals into a hugely popular one that became an integral part of people’s lives. Photography had been mostly confined to professionals who took formal portraits in studios. Kodak got photography out of studios and into family life. Understanding how it did this is vital to grasping the reasons for its failure. Thus, when digital technology arrived in the photographic industry, Kodak inhabited a world that was largely its own creation. There was no one more steeped in it than Kodak. This became obvious to me when I spent a day with Kodak’s top management in their Rochester headquarters in the U.S. about 11 years ago. But by the end of the day, I was convinced that this company was not going to be around much longer. Here are the top five reasons for Kodak’s demise:"
Government

Submission + - Crafters of ACTA to Blame for Confused Reactions (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Europeans will take to the streets this weekend in protest at the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an international agreement that has given birth to an ocean full of red herrings. That so many have spawned is, say critics, in no small part down to the way in which this most controversial of international agreements was drawn up. If the negotiating parties had set out to stoke the flames of Internet paranoia they could not have done a better job. Accepted there are two things that should never be seen being made in public—laws and sausages—the ACTA process could be a case study of how not to do it. Conducted in secret, with little information shared except a few leaked documents, the ACTA talks were even decried by those who were involved in them."
Government

Submission + - Revolutionary Wants Technology to Transform Libya (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "It isn’t often you get the chance to meet a real revolutionary. It is a term cheapened by misuse, but Khaled el Mufti is a revolutionary. It is no exaggeration to say that the role he played in the Libyan uprising last year was crucial; had he and his telecoms team failed, it isn’t hard to think that Col. Muammar Gadhafi might still be in power. Today, Mr. Mufti is a telecoms adviser to the interim government and heads the e-Libya initiative, a bold plan to use the transformative powers of technology to modernize the Libyan state, overturning 40 years of corruption and misrule under Gadhafi. Mr. Mufti is an unlikely revolutionary, a softly spoken network-security engineer with a degree from Imperial College in London. Almost by chance he was in his native Libya when the revolution took place, working on a project with BT in the capital, Tripoli. When a large protest was called for Feb. 17 in Benghazi, he told his BT colleagues to leave, and he headed for Benghazi. It was quickly apparent that the key communications technology for the rebels wasn’t the internet, but the mobile network. “Having shut off international calls, we thought it was very likely he would shut down the mobile network.” In utmost secrecy Mr. el Mufti and a small team started to plan and build their own system. They had one major stroke of luck."
Android

Submission + - Renault Opens Up the 'Car as Platform' (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Renault has launched what it describes as a “tablet,” an integrated Android device built into its next range of cars, effectively opening the way to the car-as-a-platform. The device, called the R-link, will be integrated into the forthcoming Renault Clio 4 as well as the Zoe electric vehicle, according to Patrick Hoffstetter, Renault’s chief digital officer. Renault will roll it out across the full range, he said.
At the Le Web conference last year, Renault’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, announced the company’s intention to open up the car to developers, safety considerations not withstanding. “The car is becoming a new platform,” said Mr. Hoffstetter. He said the seven-inch device can be controlled by voice recognition or by buttons on the steering wheel. “We need help now,” he said. “We need developers to work on apps.” When it launches, there will be about 50 apps bundled with the device, mostly written by Renault. “We will open a Renault app store for people to download their own apps,” he said. Although Mr. Hoffstetter would not be drawn on the exact terms for developers, he said there would be a revenue share."

Submission + - Augmented Reality Aids Cybersquatting (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Layar, based in Amsterdam, is working on products that take augmented reality in a slightly different direction. You can now interact with any object, brand or anything really. It gets pretty complicated but the implications of what AR is doing are quite significant. For those not familiar with Layar, it is a platform that allows anyone to build an AR app. You use your mobile phone's camera to view the world and since your phone knows where you are and what you are looking at.The implications are profound. One of the most interesting apps that someone produced was a virtual tee-shirt shop. It was placed in the 20 most expensive shopping streets in the world, selling t-shirts. Stop and think about that for a minute. He built a virtual shop where a real one already existed. His shop was accessible via a mobile phone, the real one was accessible through, well, being real. That means that real space and virtual space can be owned by different people. There will be lawyers."
Advertising

Submission + - Digital Tech and the Re-Birth of Product Placement (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "When you think of product placement on television you tend to think of cumbersome 1950s examples where the actor would cheesily turn to camera and hold up say a bar of soap—where do you think the sobriquet soap opera came from—to deliver his line. Perhaps to save all of us the artistic murder, the practice was prohibited in Europe, but recently the prohibition has been relaxed and a U.K. start up is offering digital producers the chance to inject products realistically in post production with full directorial control. The problem with existing physical product placement is that there are no clear business plans, and the process is incredibly slow. In Europe, legal constraints prohibit directors from re-writing scripts to include products, so any placement has to be done at the creative stage. “This means 9-12 months to get the result from the idea of introducing a brand into a show to broadcast,” says Mark Popkiewicz, CEO of MirriAd.
For three of its four years, says Mr. Popkiewicz, the company was building and perfecting the technology that allows it to process, in quicker than real time, video to identify opportunities to inject products after shooting, and the parallel technology to scan the product and inject it into the video unobtrusively. The key to success is two fold: artistically how well the products blend into the movie, and commercially, how successful it is for the advertisers."
Government

DHS Creating Database of Secret Watchlists 158

Posted by Soulskill from the veracity-is-optional dept.
schwit1 writes "Homeland Security plans to operate a massive new database of names, photos, birthdays and biometrics called Watchlist Service, duplicated from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, which has proven not to be accurate many times in the past. DHS wants to exempt the Watchlist Service from Privacy Act provisions, meaning you will never know if you are wrongfully listed. Privacy groups worried about inaccurate info and mission creep have filed a protest, arguing the Privacy Act says DHS must notify subject of government surveillance. DHS has admitted that it 'does not control the accuracy of the information in system of records' and that 'individuals do not have an opportunity to decline to provide information.' Additionally, the DHS Watchlist Service attempts to circumvent privacy protections established by the Privacy Act. Who's watching the watchers?"

Submission + - Nokia's Losses Powers Finland's Start-Up Culture (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "A few weeks ago Microsoft’s European chairman told TechEurope that the average amount of venture capital per head across Europe was just $7. Finland beat that with a single deal. The reported $42 million investment in Angry Birds developer Rovio translates to roughly $8 for each of the 5 million men, women and children in the country.
Finnish blog ArcticStartup has extrapolated figures showing the total average VC investment per capita for the country was $46 in 2010 while for national neighbors Sweden, the figure was about $45. But, in what the blog calls "Arctic Valley", it is Finland that is currently attracting much of the attention.
The question of why this country on the edge of the Arctic Circle should have such active entrepreneurs came up again in a conversation with Wilhelm Taht, the marketing director of Flowd, a social network for musicians and their "super-fans". It is one of several Finnish companies focused on the music business including Steam Republic and Hitlantis. "oeWith Nokia changing gear there is a lot of technical know-how all of a sudden which wasn’t available even two years ago," said Mr.Taht, diplomatically, about the savage job cuts at the struggling mobile phone giant. "oeThere's a culture of technically savvy engineers. Finns are not necessarily very talkative people, but when it comes to what they know about computers and programming it'(TM)s pretty staggering.""
Software

Submission + - Adobe New HTML5 Design Tool No Threat to Flash (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "It is a reflection of the huge interest in HTML5 as a possible alternative to Flash that Adobe’s launch of a very early preview of a toolkit for professional web developers immediately became a trending topic on Twitter. What has excited people is Adobe’s statement that Edge will, “bring animation, similar to that created in Flash Professional, to websites using standards likes HTML, JavaScript and CSS.” Across the web some headline writers been almost apocalyptic. Beta News, for instance, talks of The Final Days of Flash while SlashGear says, “Adobe Edge HTML5 app could eat Flash from the inside.” Many analysts, however, are more sanguine. “People have shown that you can do animation with HTML5, but it’s not nearly as well realized as with Flash,” said James Governor, an industry analyst at RedMonk. Nor is it the end of the road for Flash developments at Adobe according to Vishal Jain, mobile services analyst at The 451 Group."
Google

Submission + - Google Buys IBM Patents (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Google Inc. said Friday that it has purchased technology patents from International Business Machines Corp. as the Web-search giant stocks up on intellectual property to defend itself against lawsuits. "Like many tech companies, at times we'll acquire patents that are relevant to our business," a Google spokesman said in a statement.
The purchase was reported earlier by the blog SEO by the Sea, which said Google in mid-July recorded the acquisition of more than 1,000 patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patents involve the "fabrication and architecture of memory and microprocessing chips," computer architecture including servers and routers and online search engines, among other things. SEO stands for search engine optimization, or the practice of structuring websites and content so they rank well on search engines like Google. The Google spokesman declined to comment on the purchase price. It wasn't immediately clear which of the patents might be useful to Google to shield against lawsuits. Google faces patent lawsuits for many of its services, including its Android mobile-device operating system, which has become a bigger target as its world-wide popularity has risen. It is unclear whether any current lawsuits pose a threat to future revenue generated by Google's new technologies."

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