Tag: engadget

Waze sued for allegedly stealing map data

Google and its mapping service Waze are being dragged to court over allegations that Waze stole data from a rival’s map database. The lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday by PhantomAlert alleges that the navigation app used proprietary data from PhantomAlert without permission. Both apps share road, red light and traffic information. According to PhantomAlert CEO Joseph Seyoum he noticed that Waze was using the same fictitious location information in its app that his company had used to test PhantomAlert. The only way Waze would have that fake location data is if it was using information from Seyoum’s company. In a statement Seyoum said, “I started PhantomAlert seven years ago as an entrepreneur with a dream, and now that dream has been crushed by companies that are profiting from the years of blood, sweat and tears our team put into our product.” PhantomAlert lawyer Karl Kronenberger alleges that Waze used his client’s data to increase its value and become more attractive to potential buyers. Both Google and Facebook were reportedly interested in purchasing the mapping app with Google securing the deal for around $1 billion n 2013. The suit seeks monetary damages and an injunction against Waze and Google regarding the app. Google has not responded to queries for comment about the lawsuit. Filed under: Transportation , Google Comments Via: CNET Source: PhantomAlert Tags: google, Lawsuit, Mapping, Waze

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Waze sued for allegedly stealing map data

Just add water and this squid-inspired plastic heals itself

While you’ve been busy scarfing down fried calamari rings, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have been doing something else with squid . Namely? Studying the cephalopod’s ring teeth for a way to create a material that heals when water’s present , much in the way that those tentacle-bound choppers do. The way the report spotted by Popular Science tells it, the researchers were able to reproduce the type of proteins found in the self-healing squid teeth and trigger bacteria to make it in a lab environment. To test just how strong the new material was, the scientists formed the protein into the shape of a dog bone and cut it in two with a razor blade. After pressing the two segments back together, dousing them with a bit of water and applying pressure, the pieces fused and were still as strong compared to before they were cut. Like PopSci notes, this type of material could be used to coat things deep-sea internet cables or perhaps help biomedical devices have a longer lifespan, but is still a ways off from primetime. That and it still needs to be tested against shark bites , of course. [Image credits: Getty/Jeff Rotman (lead), Demirel Lab/Penn State (lab photo)] Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Popular Science Source: Penn State University , Nature Tags: bacteria, nature, protein, science, SelfHealing, squid, squidteeth, UniversityOfPennsylvania, upenn

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Just add water and this squid-inspired plastic heals itself

ASUS unveils the Intel-powered, Windows 10 VivoStick

Intel generated a storm of interest when it launched the HDMI-based Compute Stick , but is anybody willing to buy a tiny, under-powered PC? Who knows, but ASUS has just launched its own model that trumps Intel’s in nearly every way. It’s a lot less clunky-looking and one-ups Intel’s Atom CPU with a Cherry Trail model, while adding an extra USB 3.0 port and headphone jack for good measure. Otherwise, it has the same 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage, and works in the same way: you plug it into any HDMI TV, add a keyboard and mouse, then compute away on Windows 10. At least, we hope so. As we noted in our review , Intel’s stick is far from a powerhouse and not quite up to its primary task of serving music and video streaming to your TV and sound system. However, at $129, the ASUS VivoStick runs a bit less than Intel’s $150 Compute Stick, which might make it worth the gamble. Availability has yet to be determined. Filed under: Wireless , Storage , ASUS Comments Tags: asus, ComputeStick, HDMI, IFA2015, PC-on-a-stick, PC-on-a-TV, USB3.0, VivoStick

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ASUS unveils the Intel-powered, Windows 10 VivoStick

Google is working to make 4K video less of a data hog

Ultra HD 4K video is still in its infancy, but there’s no doubt the format will become increasingly popular in the next year or two. Huge players like YouTube and Netflix already support it, but delivering such high bandwidth video content remains a challenge. Google’s trying to do its part to solve that problem by developing a more efficient video compression codec called VP10. The new codec has been in the works for nearly a year, but the company gave some details about how effective it can be over the VP9 format it’ll eventually replace. In an interview with CNET , Google product manager James Bankoski said that VP9 uses half the bandwidth needed to deliver the same quality video as the popular H.264 format — and with VP10, the company is trying to cut it in half again. Reduced bandwidth usage isn’t the only thing VP10 has going for it — it should also provide shaper images, better color, and a better dynamic range between lights and dark. But despite some strong technical credentials and the backing of Google, widespread adoption of VP10 is hardly a foregone conclusion. H.264 is still the dominant video compression standard, and its successor (HEVC / H.265) will likely see widespread support. Still, this is a battle that isn’t yet won, and the dominance of YouTube means that VP10 will have a fighting chance against HEVC. The fact that VP10 is open source is another point in its favor; the licensing for HEVC could add red tape and costs for developers and devices makers. It’ll be a while before this conflict comes to a head, however: Google said it hopes to hit its performance targets for VP10 by the end of next year. Filed under: HD , Google Comments Source: CNET Tags: 4k, google, h264, h265, hdpostcross, hevc, vp10, vp9, youtube

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Google is working to make 4K video less of a data hog

Smoother movements help robots save a lot of energy

Eliminating the herky-jerky movements of robots isn’t just good for comforting nervous humans… it helps the robots, too. Researchers have developed smooth movement algorithms that slow the acceleration and deceleration of robots, saving as much as 40 percent of the energy they’d normally use. The trick is to order tasks in a way that lets robots move at their own pace without colliding into each other. Factory robots typically rush through tasks in a rigid order, only to wait for their fellow automatons to catch up. Here, they’re more flexible as to when and how quickly they get things done. You may see these more graceful robotics sooner than you think. General Motors is one of the partners in the project, and it has a vested interest in saving as much energy as it can. Robots use roughly half of the electricity at a vehicle assembly plant — if GM can save a lot of money using nothing more than code, you know it’s going to leap on that opportunity. While it’ll likely take a long time before robots ship with smoother movements from the get-go, it won’t be surprising if the underlying algorithms eventually become ubiquitous. [Image credit: Oscar Mattson, Chalmers University] Filed under: Robots , Science Comments Via: Geek Source: Chalmers Tags: algorithm, chalmers, ChalmersUniversity, factory, generalmotors, gm, robot, robotics, science, video

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Smoother movements help robots save a lot of energy

Ferrofluid ‘font’ produces trippy, one-of-a-kind art

You may have seen ferrofluid (aka magnetic ink) used for clever science demonstrations in school, but it might just get a much cooler application before long. Linden Gledhill and Craig Ward have developed Fe2O3 Glyphs , wild-looking characters created by putting a ferrofluid between glass plates and subjecting it to spinning magnetic fields. The result is a sort of anti-font — while the “letters” look like they could be part of an alien language, they’re so unique that you’d likely never produce the same effect twice. The creators are producing a digital typeface that you can use for your own projects, and they also hope to create a limited run of letterpress art prints to show your friends. You’ll need to pitch in to make both of these a reality, though. The duo has launched a crowdfunding campaign that gives you both the digital font and at least one print (either unique or copied). You’ll need to pledge at least $30 to get something in return, but it might be worth the cash if you’ve ever wanted science-influenced artwork in your home. Filed under: Science Comments Via: The Creators Project Source: Kickstarter , Words Are Pictures Tags: art, crowdfunding, ferrofluid, font, glyph, ink, kickstarter, magentic, magnet, magnetism, science, video

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Ferrofluid ‘font’ produces trippy, one-of-a-kind art

LAPD’s body cameras roll out Monday, but footage won’t be public

Come Monday the Los Angeles Police Department begins its deployment of body cameras for officers. The initial rollout is limited — only 860 of the proposed 7, 000 cameras will hit the streets at first — and the SWAT team won’t get them until sometime after mid-September, according to The Los Angeles Times . The LAPD “doesn’t plan on” making the recordings public unless a criminal or civil court case attached to them, though. The American Civil Liberties Union says that this blanket refusal to make all captured video public means that police departments can cherrypick what footage they do choose to distribute and essentially use it as PR for good deeds while keeping less-than-applause-worthy footage out of the limelight. Of course, one way around that would be setting up a YouTube channel like Seattle did , but that brings about its own set of critics. [Image credit: Associated Press] Filed under: Cameras Comments Source: The Los Angeles Times , American Civil Liberties Union Tags: aclu, bodycameras, cameras, cops, lapd, latimes, LawEnforcement, losangeles, police, rollout

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LAPD’s body cameras roll out Monday, but footage won’t be public

The next Apple TV is reportedly much more expensive

Do you recall the early days of the Apple TV , when you could expect to pay over $100 to put an Apple-powered media hub in your living room? They might come roaring back. Sources for 9to5Mac claim that the next Apple TV should cost between $149 to $199 (the final price is still up in the air) when it ships, which is reportedly sometime in October. That’s still less than the original cost when it was new, but you could be in for sticker shock if you were expecting Apple to keep the price to $99 or less . It could make the Fire TV and Roku 3 look like relative bargains, depending on how attached you are to Apple’s ecosystem. Not that such a hike would be entirely surprising, mind you. Many of the rumors swirling around Apple’s next set-top suggest that it’ll be a much more powerful device with an A8 processor, more storage, Siri voice recognition, an app store and (in recent rumors) motion control . It wouldn’t so much be a sorely overdue update as a redefinition of what the Apple TV is — instead of focusing almost exclusively on streaming video, it’d be a Shield TV-like box that can handle gaming and other tasks suited to the big screen. And if that’s too rich for your blood, you may not have to worry. The insiders say that the third-generation Apple TV will stick around, and that it’ll get the company’s long-fabled streaming TV service . You’d miss out on the app store, Siri and other features that would likely require new hardware, but you wouldn’t have to scrounge for extra cash just to see how Apple tackles streaming media in the future. Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD , Apple Comments Source: 9to5Mac Tags: apple, appletv, hdpostcross, Set-topBox, streaming, television, tv

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The next Apple TV is reportedly much more expensive

Netflix hopes you won’t mind losing access to some big movies

Here’s hoping that you weren’t bent on watching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire or World War Z on Netflix — if so, you don’t have much time to do it. Netflix has confirmed that it won’t renew its longstanding movie deal with Epix , which will lead to many Lionsgate and MGM titles disappearing from the service come September. The company hopes you won’t mind, though. As Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos points out, there are legions of original shows lined up — Netflix is betting that you’ll be too busy watching Narcos to worry that a favorite flick just disappeared. And where is Epix going? If you believe Recode , it’s not giving up on third-party services altogether. Reportedly, it’s is “likely” to sign a deal with Hulu instead. That’s bad news for folks outside of the US (where Hulu is virtually non-existent), but it beats losing all subscription-based access. Whatever happens, it’s clear that Netflix is making a calculated move to get as much popular content as it can without breaking the bank. As you might gather, content agreements like the one with Disney are expensive — it could be difficult to preserve absolutely every deal when only some of them are likely to translate to more subscribers. Moreover, it’s getting difficult to offer a truly wide selection when there’s a race to snap up exclusives . Like it or not, you may have to subscribe to more than one streaming provider (or rent the missing titles) to cover your typical viewing habits. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD Comments Via: Recode Source: Netflix Tags: epix, hdpostcross, hulu, internet, lionsgate, mgm, movies, netflix, streaming

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Netflix hopes you won’t mind losing access to some big movies

Apple’s iPhone 6S and 6S Plus event takes off on September 9th

It’s that time of year again. Apple’s next iPhone event will take place on September 9th at 10AM PT, live at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This is expected to be the unveiling of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which are reported to have animated wallpapers , 4K video capabilities, upgraded 12-megapixel cameras and front-facing flash, among other new features. We may even see something about force-touch iPhones . The event invite is light on details, as usual, but features the tease, “Hey Siri, give us a hint.” Well, Siri? We’re waiting. Filed under: Cellphones , Handhelds , Peripherals , Apple Comments Tags: apple, iphone6s, iPhone6SPlus

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Apple’s iPhone 6S and 6S Plus event takes off on September 9th