Tag: features

These 8K displays may end up on your next tablet

Most of us have barely touched 4K content, but the keen folks in Japan are already showing off some 8K displays, and we’re not just talking about those of conventional TV sizes. At CEATEC, NHK brought along three upcoming 8K panels that may end up on future tablets, laptops and monitors. These include JDI’s 17.3-inch LCD that was just announced last week, as well as Ortus’ insanely sharp 9.6-inch LCD (that’s a whopping 915 dpi!) from May, and Sharp/SEL’s 13.3-inch OLED display. Even though the OLED panel was unveiled back in June last year, it’s still by far the best 8K display out of the three; it’s as if you’re looking into another world, thanks to the combination of high contrast, strong vibrancy plus insanely sharp resolution. Alas, there’s no launch date for any of these just yet, but a spokesperson from NHK hopes to see these come out before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will be broadcast in 8K .

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These 8K displays may end up on your next tablet

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

TrueCrypt Windows encryption app has critical security flaws

If you’re still using TrueCrypt to protect your Windows disks, even though its developers abandoned it and said it was “not secure” last year, you may want to stop that. Google Project Zero researcher James Forshaw found two “privilege elevation” holes in the popular software that would give attackers full access to your data. Worse yet, TrueCrypt was audited earlier this by a crowdfunded team of iSec security researchers and found to be error-free. Google’s James Forshaw said on Twitter that the miss was understandable, though: “iSec phase 1 audit reviewed this specific code but Windows drivers are complex beasts (and) easy to miss.” Forshaw hasn’t disclosed the bugs yet, saying he usually waits seven days after a patch is released. He and other researchers agree that the vulnerabilities — which can reportedly be exploited by “abusive drive letter handling” — weren’t deliberately installed. And they won’t, of course, be fixed in the original program’s code. @v998n @VeraCrypt_IDRIX I don’t tend to open up security bug reports until 7 days or so after the release of the patch, just in case 🙂 — James Forshaw (@tiraniddo) September 27, 2015 However, if you’re using TrueCrypt because “free” is a good price, there are other options –VeraCrypt and CipherShed are open source forks of TrueCrypt, and VeraCrypt has already patched the bugs. Suffice to say, you should stop using TrueCrypt within the seven day window before Forshow releases the exploitable code. Even if you do, however, we likely haven’t heard the end of this type of Windows vulnerability. VeraCrypt’s Mounir Idrassi gold Threatpost that “These are the kind of vulnerabilities that exist in (lots of) software on Windows, ” and that will be (and have been) used by hackers for years. Via: PC World Source: James Forshaw (Twitter)

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TrueCrypt Windows encryption app has critical security flaws

Uber starts testing pre-paid service for events in NYC

Uber is launching yet another new product , but this one targets a specific group of people: event organizers, especially those tired of fielding calls from guests who can’t make it due to car troubles. The service called UberEvents allows organizers to buy and secure passes ahead of the occasion to send to guests, clients or whoever needs one to get to the location via email. Guests will only have to enter the code under the Promotions section of the Uber app to hail a ride. Now, nobody will be able to use car issues as an excuse anymore, and party planners won’t have to worry about how to send drunk guests home. Uber is initially making Events available to Business users and select people in New York City, though the service will be accessible by everyone in the metropolis within the coming weeks. Via: TechCrunch Source: Uber

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Uber starts testing pre-paid service for events in NYC

‘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

Watch the first trailer for ‘The Angry Birds Movie’

Yes, folks, it’s all happening. The first trailer for The Angry Birds Movie has arrived. Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly (both first timers), and written by Jon Vitty ( The Simpsons ), the animated film seems to focus on the origin story of why these famous birds are, well, angry. Red, perhaps the most popular character, is voiced by Jason Sudeikis, while Danny McBride does the honors for Bomb — you know, the black bird who likes to blow up. The rest of the cast is made up by other well-known stars , including Bill Hader, Josh Gad, Maya Rudolph and Peter Dinklage. Interestingly enough, The Angry Birds Movie is now slated to hit theaters in May 2016, a couple of months earlier than originally announced . Source: Angry Birds (YouTube)

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Watch the first trailer for ‘The Angry Birds Movie’

Fighting game inspired by ‘My Little Pony’ needs cash to become reality

Them’s Fightin’ Herds started life as My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic , a fighting game created by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fans and starring characters directly from the show. That project was shut down when Hasbro sent the developer, Mane6, a cease-and-desist order in February 2013 — but it was reborn when Friendship is Magic producer Lauren Faust and Skullgirls studio Lab Zero Games hopped on board. Now, Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a serious fighting game starring a cast of original characters designed by Faust and running on Skullgirls ‘ engine. This week, Mane6 launched a $436, 000 Indiegogo campaign to fund 18 months of full-time development on Them’s Fightin’ Herds , and in two days it’s raised more than $100, 000. This time around, it looks like crowdfunding is magic. Via: Gamesradar+ Source: Indiegogo

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Fighting game inspired by ‘My Little Pony’ needs cash to become reality

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