Category: reader

Microsoft plans Surface launch event on September 23rd in NYC

With no shortage of rumors about a next-gen Surface and Surface Pro — not to mention significant price cuts for both those devices — it’s no surprise that Microsoft is about to launch some new hardware. Redmond just sent out invitations to a press event scheduled for September 23rd, and it’s pretty clear from the image that the company has a new tablet (or two) to share. Will we see a smaller-screened Surface this time around, and can we expect a slew of new accessories ? Stay tuned — we’ll be bringing you all the news live from NYC. Filed under: Tablets , Microsoft Comments

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Microsoft plans Surface launch event on September 23rd in NYC

This Impossible Software Can Make 3D Models From a Single Photograph

It was predicted that computer graphics would one day give everyone the ability to create their own blockbuster film. But the software used for modern visual effects is still pretty complicated for the average user. At least until this magical software that can almost instantly turn a still photo into a 3D model is available. Read more…        

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This Impossible Software Can Make 3D Models From a Single Photograph

Instagram adds 50 million users in six months, will start selling ads next year

Instagram revealed its user base for the first time back in January , and after topping 100 million users February 26th a blog post today says its community has grown to “more than 150 million people capturing and sharing moments every month”. That means it’s added 50 million users in the last six months, growth that’s survived and thrived through the company’s acquisition by Facebook, ToS outrage and the introduction of video . There’s value in that many eyeballs however, and COO Emily White tells the Wall Street Journal it will begin selling ads in the next year — time to find out if it can balance popularity and profitability. Filed under: Internet , Software , Mobile , Facebook Comments Source: Instagram (Tumblr)

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Instagram adds 50 million users in six months, will start selling ads next year

Will There Be One Ring To Rule the 5S Home Button?

There have been rumors for about a month that the iPhone 5S home button is going to be ringed in silver. Clayton Morris even told This Week In Tech that he was “unequivocally” sure about the change , and that the home button would otherwise have the same concave design. Other leaked photos have supported the rumor, though as usual their authenticity is somewhat questionable. Read more…        

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Will There Be One Ring To Rule the 5S Home Button?

Ars Test Drives the "Netflix For Books"

Ars Technica reviewer Casey Johnston gives a mildly positive review to the Oyster book-rental app (and associated site), which intentionally tries to be for books what Netflix has become for movies: a low-price, subscription-based, data-sifting source of first resort. For $10 a month, users can read any of the books in Oyster’s catalog (in the range of 100, 000, and growing), and their reading habits are used to suggest new books of interest (with some bum steers, it seems, at present). It’s iOS-only for now, with an Android version expected soon. I’ve only grudgingly moved more and more of my reading to tablets, but now am glad I have; still, I don’t like the idea of having my books disappear if I don’t pay a continuing subscription. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ars Test Drives the "Netflix For Books"

Research Shows E-Cigs Might Be As Good For Quitting As Nicotine Patches

“Taking a drag from an e-cigarette may be just as safe and effective as slapping on a nicotine patch for smokers struggling to quit, according to the first physician-run trial to compare the two products.” That’s according to research recently published in The Lancet (PDF) and reported by Bloomberg. Why is this significant? From the article: “If European and U.S. regulators treat e-cigarettes as medical devices, yet leave cigarettes on general sale, tobacco makers ‘will retain their market monopoly, and we will never learn whether e-cigarettes would replace traditional cigarettes if allowed to continue evolving and competing with smoked tobacco on even terms, ‘ [wrote clinical psychology professor Peter Hajek]. The results will also be presented today at the European Respiratory Society’s annual meeting in Barcelona. E-cigarettes have taken Europe and the U.S. by storm. In France, there are more than 1 million regular users, according to a government-commissioned report published in May. Sales worldwide will probably approach $2 billion by the end of this year and top $10 billion by 2017, according to a forecast by Wells Fargo & Co.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Research Shows E-Cigs Might Be As Good For Quitting As Nicotine Patches

400 Million Chinese Cannot Speak Mandarin

dryriver writes with this excerpt from a thought-provoking report at the BBC: “China’s Education Ministry says that about 400 million people — or 30% of the population — cannot speak the country’s national language. Of the 70% of the population who can speak Mandarin, many do not do it well enough, a ministry spokeswoman told Xinhua news agency on Thursday. The admission from officials came as the government launched another push for linguistic unity in China. China is home to thousands of dialects and several minority languages. These include Cantonese and Hokkien, which enjoy strong regional support. Mandarin — formally called Putonghua in China, meaning ‘common tongue’ — is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world. The Education Ministry spokeswoman said the push would be focusing on the countryside and areas with ethnic minorities.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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400 Million Chinese Cannot Speak Mandarin

Austrian Professor Creates Kindle E-Book Copier With Lego Mindstorms

An anonymous reader writes “Using a Lego Mindstorms set, a Mac, and optical character recognition, Austrian professor Peter Purgathofer created a makeshift ebook copier. From the article: ‘It’s sort of a combination of high tech meets low. The scanning is done by way of the Mac’s iSight camera. The Mindstorms set does two things: Hits the page-advance button on the Kindle (it appears to be an older model, like the one in the picture above), then mashes the space bar on the Mac, causing it to take a picture.’ Purgathofer calls the creation a ‘reflection on the loss of long established rights.’ Check out the Vimeo video for a demonstration.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Austrian Professor Creates Kindle E-Book Copier With Lego Mindstorms