Tag: compare-your-gadgets

Google is purging hacked spam from your search results

It’s bad when your web searches include sites that are mainly marketing fluff , but it’s much worse when that fluff has been hacked into legitimate sites that you wouldn’t visit otherwise. Well, Google has had enough of this attempt to game the system. It’s tweaking its algorithms to “aggressively” cull hacked spam from results, leaving you only with sites that intended to include the content you’re looking for. While the changes will only affect about 5 percent of searches when all is said and done, that could mean a lot if it helps you avoid compromised pages and the malware that might be lurking inside. [Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan] Source: Google Webmaster Central Blog

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Google is purging hacked spam from your search results

Windows 10 is now installed on 110 million devices

With Windows 10 being a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users, it’s no surprise that many have jumped at the chance to see what Microsoft’s latest OS has to offer . In fact, only a day after its release, the company counted 14 million installs , which sky-rocketed to 75 million less than a month after that. At the “Windows 10 devices” event today, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson provided a brief update, announcing that figure has now reached a whopping 110 million. That’s quite the number, especially considering Windows 10 has only been out for around 10 weeks . The overwhelming majority of installs are coming from regular consumers, too, with just over 8 million attributed to business PCs. Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here .

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Windows 10 is now installed on 110 million devices

Android Marshmallow begins rolling out to Nexus devices today

As expected , Nexus owners are in for a treat this week as Google’s latest OS revisions begins rolling out to select devices. According to a post on the Official Android Blog , the Nexus 5, 6, 7 (the 2013 model), 9 and Player are all in line to receive the over-the-air software update starting today. The newly released Nexus 5x and 6P handsets, of course, come with Marshmallow already installed. [Image Credit: Shutterstock] Source: Android Blog

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Android Marshmallow begins rolling out to Nexus devices today

Adobe’s ‘core’ design apps are now all touch-friendly on Windows

When the Surface Pro 3 was announced last spring, Adobe revealed that it was working on touch-friendly versions of its design apps for Windows. At today’s Max event , the company announced that its collection “core” apps are ready to accept your swipes and taps on compatible devices, like Microsoft’s slate, with new Touch Workspaces. Photoshop and Illustrator already had some touch-based features, but now there’s an expanded software lineup that’ll let you get hands-on with your work across audio, video, motion graphics and graphic design projects. This means that Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects and Audition all accept input with your fingers, in addition the regular ol’ keyboard, trackpad or stylus. And Photoshop’s finger-friendly tools have been revamped to improve performance. Adobe’s timing couldn’t be better either, as Microsoft is poised to announce some new devices in a matter of hours. Source: Adobe

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Adobe’s ‘core’ design apps are now all touch-friendly on Windows

Daimler tests a self-driving, mass-produced truck on real roads

Daimler’s dreams of self-driving big rig trucks just took one step closer to reality. The automaker has conducted the first-ever test of its semi-autonomous Highway Pilot system in a production truck on a public road, driving an augmented Mercedes-Benz Actros down Germany’s Autobahn 8. While the vehicle needed a crew to keep watch, it could steer itself down the highway using a combination of radar, a stereo camera array and off-the-shelf systems like adaptive cruise control. The dry run shows that the technology can work on just about any vehicle in the real world, not just one-off concepts. This doesn’t mean you’ll see fleets of robotic trucks in the near future. Daimler had to get permission for this run, and the law (whether European or otherwise) still isn’t equipped to permit regular autonomous driving of any sort, let alone for giant cargo haulers. Still, this could make a better case for approving some form of self-driving transportation. Even though there’s still plenty of work left before this tech can handle any situation, it’s good enough that it can be trusted in run-of-the-mill vehicles at high speeds. Source: Daimler

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Daimler tests a self-driving, mass-produced truck on real roads

‘Ta.co’ Bell now offers online ordering

Got a hankering for Taco Bell but just can’t bring yourself to wait the 3.5 minutes it takes to slop your order together? Well, you’re in luck. The fast food franchise chain recently debuted a new, faster way to order your Chalupas: no, not your mobile phone , the internet! The online menu is available at Ta.co (or just Tacobell.com/food if you’re unhip). Simply click on the food and drinks you want, customize each item with everything from black beans and guacamole on your Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme to Lava sauce and a three cheese blend on yourDouble Decker Taco Supreme (or other equally-silly named edible). Once you’ve finalized your order, the system will direct you to the nearest participating Taco Bell for pick up. Unfortunately, no, Taco Bell won’t also deliver it — unless you live in one of a few select cities . Via: HuffPo Source: ta.co

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‘Ta.co’ Bell now offers online ordering

AmpMe daisy-chains a bunch of phones to create a multi-speaker setup

Generally speaking, if you thought you might want to blast music while out and about, you’d invest in a Bluetooth speaker. If the sound quality there wasn’t quite robust enough, you’d either get yourself a bigger speaker , or maybe even link together a few smaller ones . Either way, prepare to spend a few hundred dollars. Or not. A new app called AmpMe promises to achieve the same effect, except instead of asking you to shell out for new hardware, it daisy-chains an unlimited number of smartphones so that they stream the same song in sync, combining each handset’s speaker into something… cacaphonous.Slideshow-322368 The free app, available for iOS and Android, doesn’t use Bluetooth or WiFi, but rather, plays an audio “fingerprint” on the host device (a series of beeps, to the human ear) that gets picked up by the mic on the receiving phone. Everyone involved needs to have the app installed, and anyone joining in needs to request a passkey for the music party before receiving that unique audio code. The host can shut down the party at any time with the push of a button, whereas receivers can pause the music for, say, a phone call, and pick back up with the rest of the group, wherever they happen to be in the song. For now, the app only works with Soundcloud. Founder Martin-Luc Archambault says that’s because Soundcloud is free, making it accessible to the most people, but that his team is working on inking deals with other streaming services as well. Ultimately, he says, he wants it to be “Sonos for cellphones.” In a brief demo last week, the various phones and tablets that were paired together did indeed play music in sync, without any latency on any of the devices. AmpMe has clearly shown, then, that it’s possible to turn a series of mobile devices into an ad hoc multi-speaker setup — no small feat. The problem is that the audio quality on most phones and tablets is frankly terrible. Unless you happen to have, say, an HTC phone with BoomSound , you’re probably working with tinny, contained audio that only gets more distorted as you crank the volume. Or, in this case, create a chorus of equally tinny-sounding devices. It’s great to know that the technology has evolved such that it’s possible to daisy-chain phones like this and have them stream music perfectly in sync. Now we just need to wait the phone makers to catch up. Source: iTunes , Google Play

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AmpMe daisy-chains a bunch of phones to create a multi-speaker setup

For the first time, a paraplegic has walked without a robotic suit

A paraplegic has walked without robotics using his own brain waves, thanks to research done at Southern California’s UC Irvine . Scientists used a computer to “link” 28-year-old Adam Fritz’s brain to his legs over a Bluetooth connection, bypassing the severed region of his spinal cord. An EEG then picked up signals from his brain, which were relayed by a “brain-control interface” (BCI) computer to electrodes on his knee, triggering walking movements. Though Fritz was supported and only walked haltingly for 12 feet, the research is being heralded as a milestone — so far, paralyzed patients have only be able to walk using suits like that from Ekso Bionics . It wasn’t just a matter of strapping on the EEG cap and taking a stroll. Prior to the attempt, Fritz underwent extensive physical rehab to strengthen his muscles and learned to control a virtual avatar using the BCI device. He also made similar movements in the lab while suspended slightly above the floor. During a conversation with Sky News , Fritz dubbed the interface a “mind walker, ” and said, “it’s complete concentration. You have to think about every single step when you’re doing it.” Despite the success, the team said there’s still a lot of work to be done before patients can gain any mobility. The next step is to reduce the EEG components enough that they can be implanted in the brain, which could give patients more precise control the and the ability to “sense” pressure. Meanwhile, Fritz described the experience as “incredible, ” saying, “when you’re first injured, you’re sitting in hospital hoping you’ll walk again, but when it actually happened it was a dream come true.” Source: JNER

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For the first time, a paraplegic has walked without a robotic suit

Ultimate VR simulator throws you around in mid-air

Virtual reality headsets can trick our eyes and ears into believing we’re someplace else. Fooling the rest of the body is a little trickier though. Companies have tried spinning chairs and omnidirectional treadmills , but nothing comes close to the ” Cable Robot Simulator ” developed at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics. The player wears a wireless VR headset inside a carbon fibre cage, which is then suspended in mid-air and thrown around the room using eight steel cables. The exposed pod is able to tilt, bank and move with an acceleration of up to 1.5g in response to the VR experience. Researchers have shown off some basic flight and racing simulations, but we’re already imagining how it could be used in our favorite video games. A dogfight in Star Wars: Battlefront ? Tearing around corners in F-Zero GX ? The possibilities are endless. It’s still very much a prototype, and hardly suitable for home use, but we’re desperate to have a go ourselves. [Image Credit: Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen] Via: Eurogamer Source: Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics

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Ultimate VR simulator throws you around in mid-air

Is a Roku 4 with 4K coming this way?

It was 2013 the last time that Roku launched a new flagship streaming box, and while we still adore the 3 , the hardware can’t avoid the ravages of time. Our friends over at Zatz Not Funny are reporting that the company is gearing up to replace it with a new high-end unit, the imaginatively-named Roku 4. As well as being the fourth in the series, the hardware expected to launch with 4K video playback as its primary selling point. The rumor began when streaming service Cinema Now accidentally launched a promotion for free HD rentals with every new Roku 4. Whoops. That’s not the only piece of evidence on the rap sheet, either. UKRokuChannels discovered a 4K Showcase offering on the platform’s channel store, which was swiftly pulled by the company. It’ll come as no surprise that the company is embracing the standard, since it revealed in January that it was working on a 4K reference design . In addition, now that Amazon has added the feature to the new Fire TV , it’s only a matter of time before Roku joined in. The firm wasn’t able to respond in time for publication, but we’ll keep a beady eye on the FCC’s website over the next few weeks — just in case. Source: CinemaNow (Cached) , Zatz Not Funny , UKRokuChannels

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Is a Roku 4 with 4K coming this way?