Author: kenmay

Vudu starts streaming 4K movies to the Roku 4

Vudu’s 1080p HDX streams were once considered high quality for streaming movies over the internet, (now they’re even watchable on phones ) but in the last year Amazon and Netflix surpassed them with 4K resolution and even HDR. Now Vudu is stepping up its game with some 4K flicks, currently available only through the new Roku 4 . For the moment it has 12 movies viewable in 4K (check the list after the break), with prices of $10 for a rental and $25 – $30 to purchase. According to Vudu, you’ll need an 11Mbps connection to stream the high-res versions that it’s marked Vudu UHD. The option will be coming to other platforms including Vizio’s 4K TVs soon, and for the ones that can handle it, there’s support for HDR and Atmos surround sound too. 1. San Andreas 2. Man of Steel 3. Edge of Tomorrow 4. The Lego Movie 5. Magic Mike XX 6. Jupiter Ascending 7. Sherlock Holmes 8. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 9. The Great Gatsby 10. Into the Storm 11. Focus 12. Run All Night

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Vudu starts streaming 4K movies to the Roku 4

3D-Printed Teeth Can Kill 99% of Dental Bacteria

An anonymous reader writes: A research group in the Netherlands has developed a new plastic resin that can destroy most dental bacteria when used for the creation of dental appliances via 3D-printing. The process involves embedding antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salts inside extant dental resin polymers. Since the salts are positively charged, these disrupt negatively-charged bacterial membranes. The process is also being mooted for use in the creation of knee arthroplasties, and in the manufacture of children’s toys and food packaging. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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3D-Printed Teeth Can Kill 99% of Dental Bacteria

Scientists stretch metal to make it stronger

You’d think that stretching metal would make it weaker, but just the opposite is true… on a very small scale. Researchers have developed a technique that pulls nanoscopic metal crystals to eliminate defects. By gently and repeatedly stretching the crystal, scientists move “dislocations” (rows of atom-level defects) to free surfaces, where they’re ultimately forced out. The result is a metal that is considerably less likely to crack or otherwise fail over time. You may not see this technique used to improve larger (that is, visible) metal, like what you see in buildings or vehicles. The same trick that improves nanoscale metal tends to make things worse at the macro level. However, it could be very helpful for processors and any other device where even the tiniest breaks could cause big problems. Don’t be surprised if you’re one day using electronics that last for years longer than you’re used to. Source: Carnegie Mellon University , PNAS

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Scientists stretch metal to make it stronger

New Homeland Security policy demands warrants before deploying StingRays

The Department of Homeland Security announced a substantial policy change Wednesday regarding how it employs cellphone-tracking tools like the StingRay system. These cell-site simulators have been in use for more than a decade. They allow law enforcement to find cell phones either by directly searching for a known device or find an unknown device by sniffing for signaling information from the simulator’s immediate vicinity and triangulating that data. The new policy explicitly demands that DHS personnelle acquire a warrant before deploying the devices unless an exception, such as the imminent loss of human life, destruction of evidence, or to prevent the escape of a fugitive felon. Wednesday’s announcement follows a similar decision by the Department of Justice last month. [Image Credit: Getty] Via: Verge Source: Department of Homeland Security

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New Homeland Security policy demands warrants before deploying StingRays

Nike’s power-laced ‘Back to the Future’ shoes arrive in 2016

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few hours, then you know today is Back to the Future Day . In the trilogy’s second film , Michael J. Fox’s character Martin Seamus McFly, better known as Marty, gave us a glimpse of how things would look on October 21st, 2015. And even though the future according to the movie may have not been fully accurate (which is okay), Marty’s power-laced Nike sneakers are indeed a reality . While the sportswear juggernaut did release the Mag in 2011 , that version didn’t use the self-lacing technology we saw in Back to the Future Part II . But don’t worry, the actual Marty McFly shoes are coming in spring 2016, Nike has confirmed. Tinker Hatfield, Nike’s VP of creative concepts and the man who designed the Mags, also sent a letter to Fox saying , “Although the project started as science fiction, we’re now proud to turn that fiction into fact.” “The first pair of self-lacing Nike Mag shoes is in New York City, ” a Nike representative said to Engadget early Wednesday. As for where exactly the limited edition sneakers are, well, interestingly enough, Fox is scheduled to be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight. Yes, this means the 2015 Nike Mag is likely going to make its debut on the show — and it looks like Fox is already wearing the pair . Naturally, there’s no word on pricing, but in similar fashion to the originals, they will be sold at auction to benefit the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. Michael J. Fox models the first self-lacing @Nike Mag pic.twitter.com/bgPWM5CKBE — michaeljfox.org (@MichaelJFoxOrg) October 21, 2015 Source: Nike

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Nike’s power-laced ‘Back to the Future’ shoes arrive in 2016

Intel Develops Linux ‘Software GPU’ That’s ~29-51x Faster

An anonymous reader writes: Intel is open-sourcing their work on creating a high-performance graphics software rasterizer that originally was developed for scientific visualizations. Intel is planning to integrate this new OpenSWR project with Mesa to deploy it on the Linux desktop as a faster software rasterizer than what’s currently available (LLVMpipe). OpenSWR should be ideal for cases where there isn’t a discrete GPU available or the drivers fail to function. This software rasterizer implements OpenGL 3.2 on Intel/AMD CPUs supporting AVX(2) (Sandy Bridge / Bulldozer and newer) while being 29~51x faster than LLVMpipe and the code is MIT licensed. The code prior to being integrated in Mesa is offered on GitHub. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Intel Develops Linux ‘Software GPU’ That’s ~29-51x Faster

Western Digital To Aquire SanDisk For $19 Billion

 Western Digital just bought a bunch of memory cards. The storage giant just announced that it has agreed to buy SanDisk Corp for about $19 billion. This comes after speculation that SanDisk was shopping for a buyer. The deal values SanDisk at $86.50 a share, which is a 15% premium on the previous day’s closing price, giving the company a value of $15.4 billion. SanDisk is currently up… Read More

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Western Digital To Aquire SanDisk For $19 Billion

Apple Tells US Judge It’s ‘Impossible’ To Break Through Locks On New iPhones

An anonymous reader writes: Apple told a U.S. judge that accessing data stored on a locked iPhone would be “impossible” with devices using its latest operating system, but the company has the “technical ability” to help law enforcement unlock older phones. Apple’s position was laid out in a brief filed late Monday, after a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York, sought its input as he weighed a U.S. Justice Department request to force the company to help authorities access a seized iPhone during an investigation. In court papers, Apple said that for the 90 percent of its devices running iOS 8 or higher, granting the Justice Department’s request “would be impossible to perform” after it strengthened encryption methods. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Apple Tells US Judge It’s ‘Impossible’ To Break Through Locks On New iPhones

Couple sues Pandora and SiriusXM over copyright in pre-1972 songs

(credit: Getty Images) An Illinois couple who owned several recording companies specializing in doo-wop, jazz, and rhythm and blues have filed suit against the major satellite and Internet radio companies over their playing of pre-1972 songs. It’s the third lawsuit that highlights how the patchwork of state copyright laws over older music is putting a drag on Internet radio—sound recordings made before 1972 aren’t protected by federal copyright but are protected by many states. On Monday, Arthur and Barbara Sheridan filed two lawsuits in New Jersey federal court: one against Pandora and Sirius XM  (PDF) and another against iHeartMedia  (PDF), the parent company of online music service iHeartRadio. Their lawsuits seek class action status, looking to represent owners of pre-1972 songs. The companies have derived “significant benefits,” including “millions of dollars in annual revenue,” by playing those songs without permission, the suit alleges. “The Pre-1972 Recordings, when created, were the novel product of mental labor embodied in material form,” the complaint against Sirius and Pandora states. “Plaintiffs and the Misappropriation Class thus have property rights in them as recognized by New Jersey common law.” Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Couple sues Pandora and SiriusXM over copyright in pre-1972 songs