Wonder why only a handful of mobile devices support wireless charging? It’s partly because the standards are horribly fragmented: companies have to choose between technologies like PMA , Rezence and Qi , and it’s not clear which of those will last. Broadcom might put the issue to bed with its new (and awkwardly titled) BCM59350 chip, though. The hardware lets gadgets charge using any existing wireless technology — you won’t have to hunt for specific charging pads. It can also handle up to 7.5W of power instead of the usual 5W, so your gear might charge faster than it would using old-fashioned wires. Broadcom isn’t naming customers or estimating release dates, but test samples have already gone out to “select” partners. It’s doubtful that the chip will resolve confusion over standards; that’s going to require fewer standards or greater compatibility, either of which could take much longer. However, device makers may now be more comfortable including wireless power in their products. It won’t be shocking if it’s much easier to get cable-free charging in your next phone or smartwatch. Filed under: Cellphones , Peripherals , Mobile Comments Source: Broadcom

Taken from:
Broadcom’s new chip lets your phone use any wireless charging standard

Tonight at Code Conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella brought his Skype team onto the stage to prove that his company’s got the next big thing. Taglined “the pre-beta of magic, ” the service, called Skype Translator, turns your real-time conversation into a Star Trek -like universal communicator. You can speak to someone who speaks a different language; the service adds the other person’s translations for you in subtitle format at the bottom of the screen. It’s not an immediate translation: You’ll need to wait until the other person is done speaking before the service starts whirring away. We’ve seen similar demonstrations in the past, but the key point here is that the beta service is due out by the end of the year, and will be on all devices that run Skype. The company isn’t committing to specific language support yet, but it likely will be a matter of which ones Skype is able to do the best at launch. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Microsoft Comments

View post:
Skype Translator will let you chat in real-time with people in other languages later this year

Google has been tweaking its self-driving car project for years, but now it’s taking another big step. Later this summer it will start testing prototype vehicles it’s designed from the ground up , instead of merely retrofitting existing vehicles. Announced tonight the the Code Conference, the new prototypes aren’t equipped with a steering wheel, mirrors, pedals or other vestiges of vehicles gone by, and for now are limited to a maximum speed of 25MPH. As explained in an early preview to Re/code , the car is driven entirely by computer, with backup automated systems for brakes and steering that would take over in case of a failure of the primary setup. So far, Google says it’s not planning to sell the vehicles itself, but is looking for “friends and partners to bring them to market. Following rumors from late last year, the automated cars could partner with a “friend” like Uber for a delivery service that runs on autopilot. Take a peek at a demo video after the break. Developing… Filed under: Transportation , Google Comments Source: Google Blog , Re/code

View article:
Google whips up its own self-driving vehicles that lose the steering wheel and pedals

A while back Google said that it would stop letting Windows users install Chrome extensions that didn’t come directly from the Web Store. The company ended up delaying the plan, but there is no more fighting it . Today users of the stable channel of Chrome on Windows will no longer be able to install extensions from outside the Web Store. That won’t impact too many users thankfully, but it could make it difficult for those that like to run experimental add-ons. If you’ve already sideloaded extensions from outside of the Chrome Web Store, those will be disabled starting today; if you want to re-enable them, you’ll have to make the switch to the dev channel of the browser. The idea is to protect users from malicious extensions that haven’t made it through Google’s screening process. Of course, OS X and Linux users can continue to use all the unapproved extensions they want. Apparently only Windows users need to be protected (perhaps from themselves). Filed under: Internet , Software , Google Comments Source: Google

More:
Google cuts off Chrome extensions that don’t come from the Web Store