The iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 rumor mills have been buzzing since late 2012 with reports of delayed devices and thinner hardware, and we’re rounding up all of the rumors here. [Read more]
More:
iPad 5 rumor roundup
Category: reader
$99 ARM-based PC runs either Ubuntu or Android
A new ARM-based Linux PC with a host of capabilities—including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, two Gigabit Ethernet jacks, and five USB ports—goes on sale next month starting at $99. ” Utilite , ” offered by Israeli company CompuLab, won’t be as cheap as a Raspberry Pi , but the specs justify the cost. With dimensions of 5.3” × 3.9” × 0.8”, Utilite comes with a Freescale i.MX6 system-on-chip with a single-, dual-, or quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor (which uses 3-8 watts of power). It will have up to 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory, up to 512GB of SSD storage, and a microSD slot allowing another 128GB. The PC can be purchased with either Ubuntu Linux or Android. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
USB 3.0 continues to steal Thunderbolt’s thunder
PCs that use Thunderbolt are rare, and they’re getting rarer. Chris Foresman For Thunderbolt fans hoping that the high-speed interface will catch on, we’ve got more bad news: an Acer representative talking to CNET has said that the company has no plans to support Thunderbolt in its PCs this year. Acer’s Aspire S5 Ultrabook was one of the few Windows laptops to include Thunderbolt support when it was introduced in early 2012. “We’re really focusing on USB 3.0—it’s an excellent alternative to Thunderbolt, ” said the Acer spokesperson. “It’s less expensive, offers comparable bandwidth, charging for devices such as mobile phones, and has a large installed base of accessories and peripherals.” By itself, the news of one company distancing itself from Thunderbolt might not be a big deal, but this is just another example of the trouble that Thunderbolt faces two-and-a-half years after its public introduction in the 2011 MacBook Pro. A Newegg search reveals a handful of high-end desktop motherboards that support it (five boards, all above $150), but the complete list of non-Apple prebuilt systems that have ever supported the interface is pretty short . Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments
See the article here:
USB 3.0 continues to steal Thunderbolt’s thunder
Human-powered helicopter takes the Sikorsky prize
The Sikorsky prize for human-powered helicopters has been claimed by a Kickstarter-funded startup called Aerovelo. Aerovelo’s founders, Canadians Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson, won the $250, 000 purse for the 30-second flight of Atlas, a huge quadrotor with a bike in the middle whose flight is an absolute marvel to behold.
PCWorld Magazine Is No More
harrymcc writes “After slightly more than 30 years, PCWorld — one of the most successful computer magazines of all time — is discontinuing print publication. It was the last general-interest magazine for PC users, so it really is the end of an era. Over at TIME, I paused to reflect upon the end of the once-booming category, in part as a former editor at PCWorld, but mostly as a guy who really, really loved to read computer magazines.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
More here:
PCWorld Magazine Is No More
IFTTT Brings Its Custom App Automation to the iPhone
iPhone: If This Then That is one of our favorite automation services, and now they’ve released an iPhone app so you can manage and create recipes on the go. What’s better is that you get a set of iOS specific recipes as well. Read more…
Read the original post:
IFTTT Brings Its Custom App Automation to the iPhone
To Avoid Cyber Espionage, Russia’s Switching Back to Typewriters
Hackers aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so Russian spies are wising up and taking their most sensitive intelligence offline. Not offline like off the internet. Offline like off computers altogether. Read more…
Read this article:
To Avoid Cyber Espionage, Russia’s Switching Back to Typewriters
Decapitated worms regrow their heads with old memories intact
It’s hard to let go of some memories, even if your head has been chopped off. Well, at least if you’re a flatworm. When these tiny critters are decapitated, their heads and brain eventually grow back. But more remarkable than that, so too do their previous memories. Read more…
View post:
Decapitated worms regrow their heads with old memories intact
Woman in Apple store with device strapped to chest a mystery
Police remain baffled about a woman who walked into staff areas of a Boca Raton, Fla., Apple store, a mystery object strapped to her, and claimed she needed help. [Read more]
Read More:
Woman in Apple store with device strapped to chest a mystery
Negobot: a virtual chat agent engineered to trap pedophiles
Online chat agents are far from novel, but they’re evidently getting a lot more sophisticated with age. In a bid to trap pedophiles, engineers at the University of Deusto have concocted Negobot. Essentially, the tool employs game theory in order to meticulously extract vital identification nuggets from a suspected abuser. In order to disguise itself from being a digital representation of a child , it actually employs seven different conversational agents, with each having its own way of behaving. In use, the program begins with a neutral stance that it can maintain indefinitely, and if the subject shows interest, it can elevate its approach in an attempt to get said subject to give himself / herself up. Developers are still working on language and linguistic abilities, but we wouldn’t be shocked if it ends up being put to use by certain agencies in the very near future. Filed under: Internet , Software , Alt Comments Source: Physorg
View article:
Negobot: a virtual chat agent engineered to trap pedophiles