function – Page 46 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Smart, contact-free thermometer gets temperatures for almost anything

There’s no shortage of smart thermometers out there, but they tend to have one or more catches: many only work in certain conditions , aren’t very pocketable or require some kind of contact . JoyWing’s upcoming Wishbone may just tackle all of those problems in one fell swoop. The tiny, Y-shaped gadget plugs into your smartphone’s audio jack and uses an infrared sensor to gauge temperatures without contact, regardless of whether you’re pointing it at your baby’s forehead, a hot drink or the great outdoors. It should be both accurate and fast (just two seconds to get a reading, the company claims), and the matching Android and iOS apps will let you track conditions over time. It won’t cost much to get a Wishbone if you’re interested, although it’s unsurprisingly more expensive than basic, single-purpose thermometers. JoyWing is crowdfunding the project, and it’ll take a pledge of between $26 to $35 to set a device aside for yourself. You shouldn’t have to wait long if you do plunk down some cash. The company plans to produce and deliver the first Wishbones in April, so you could be using it just in time to detect bouts of spring fever. Filed under: Household , Peripherals Comments Source: Kickstarter

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Smart, contact-free thermometer gets temperatures for almost anything

Facebook and Instagram get knocked offline… for about an hour

Snowmageddon might not be all that fun those experiencing it on the East Coast, but it could well be affecting the rest of us too. Starting around 1am ET, Facebook and Instagram were both inaccessible, as well as apps that require FB credentials. Tinder, for exmaple, also went down in the process — globally. (We saw problems accessing servers across the US, Europe and Asia.) We’ve also seen Hipchat and, er, AIM also knocked offline at the same time. Snow in the servers? Or maybe it was a DDoS attack? We don’t know just yet. Facebook and Instagram have just come back after an hour. Interestingly, as TechCrunch noted , Facebook’s other app, WhatsApp went strong through out. Filed under: Internet , Facebook Comments

Apple giving away TV shows and music with ‘Free on iTunes’

Free stuff is always great, especially if people actually want what’s on offer. Apple now has a special section called ” Free on iTunes ” where you can find TV shows and music freebies if you’ve already blown through your monthly entertainment budget. It features TV episodes from 12 Monkeys , Eye Candy and others, as well as music from bands like Purity Ring and Houndmouth. As 9to5 Mac points out, Apple offered a similar service before, but this time, the focus seems to be less on hits and more on material that’s still looking for an audience. Filed under: Software , HD , Apple Comments Via: 9to5 Mac Source: Apple

Bitcoin’s first licensed US exchange opens with approval from 25 states

Virtual currency bitcoin is starting to get its act together. A startup funded with $106 million from the New York Stock Exchange as well as banks and venture capital firms, is set to launch the first licensed US bitcoin exchange. Coinbase reckons it’ll add increased security to traders as well as monitor real-time pricing of the world’s foremost cryptocurrency. If you’ve forgotten , unlike normal currencies, bitcoin is traded virtually and isn’t backed by a central government: reasons why the currency often fluctuates severely. The collapse of Mt. Gox last year stung investors, both professional and otherwise, for a total sum of around half a billion dollars. As the WSJ notes , the value of a bitcoin is currently around $240: it was stood at $1, 200 per ‘coin. The startup’s founders have managed to gain licenses from half of the states’ financial regulators, including (importantly) both New York and California. The exchange can only do business in the states in which it’s gained approval, taking 0.25 percent from most transactions, with the first two months charge-free. The exchange already has 2.2 million “wallets” on file, and plans to operate in 30 countries by the end of the year – it’s already set up in 19 of them. Meanwhile, Gemini ( backed by the Winklevoss twins ), has claimed support from an as-yet unnamed New York bank. The legitimacy of Bitcoin is on the increase, but for those of you hoping that the value of Bitcoins will evaporate into nothing and you’ll never have to read about them again — well, it’s not looking good. Filed under: Internet Comments Source: WSJ

Carnival’s floating IMAX theater is the cruise line’s version of sunblock

Not to be outdone by Dolby opening its own large-format theater, the folks at IMAX are putting one of their massive screens on a cruise ship. Yes. Really. IMAX says that not only is this an industry first, but that the screen will be three decks high and debut next spring on what’ll be the cruise line’s biggest ship: the newly minted Vista . The outfit promises recent flicks and classics alike will be shown, in addition to IMAX documentaries. The best way to have seen Interstellar isn’t all that the Vista has in store for avoiding the sunlight, either. Next door is what Carnival’s calling the “Thrill Theater” where you can check out “multidimensional special effects experience.” Given Carnival’s less – than – stable history, we’re going to imagine that rules out a 3D version of The Poseidon Adventure . [Image credit: Cog Log Lab / Flickr ] Filed under: Home Entertainment , Transportation , HD Comments Source: IMAX , Carnival

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Carnival’s floating IMAX theater is the cruise line’s version of sunblock

‘Doom’ designer John Romero tells you about the game while playing it

Most Blu-rays and DVDs these days come with filmmaker commentary tracks, but it isn’t too often you get to hear a game developer give play-by-play while running through something they created. That’s the thrust behind the latest episodes of Double Fine Productions ‘ “Devs Play” YouTube series , spotted by P olygon . Here we have one of Doom ‘s co-creators John Romero playing a handful of maps from the legendary first-person shooter that runs on basically any platform . He breaks down everything from the work that went into differentiating it from id’s other FPS Wolfenstein 3D , how the team used texture irregularities to denote secret rooms and even how he’s watched speed runs that not even he can replicate. Oh, and he designed the first level last, incorporating everything he’d learned throughout the other missions to make the initial one the most interesting. Perhaps best of all? Seeing just how enthusiastic Romero remains about the game some 22 years later. Well, that and his luxurious mane of course. There are 10 episodes total running between 10 and 20 minutes each, and we’ve embedded the first clip below. Each is presented in 1080p60 and makes for excellent Chromecast material, if you ask us. Filed under: Desktops , Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD Comments Via: Polygon Source: Double Fine Productions (YouTube)

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‘Doom’ designer John Romero tells you about the game while playing it

Expedia buys Travelocity, but don’t expect much to change

How much does it cost to buy one of the biggest brands in online travel? Only about $280 million , as it turns out: That’s how much Expedia paid in cash to acquire Travelocity today from its parent company Sabre Corporation (no relation to these the makers of the critically panned Pyramid ). So what does that mean for you, the average vacation-loving consumer? We reached out to Expedia to clarify matters (their spokesperson didn’t offer much in the way of new info), but don’t expect things to change dramatically… if they change at all. Thing is, Expedia already owns a slew of other big-name travel sites – think Hotels.com, Hotwire and Trivago – all of which started off as independent companies before being snapped up by the former Microsoft company. In case you don’t feel like searching, yes, all of those sites still exist and still proffer flight and hotel deals to people in search of their next big sojourn. The events that led to today’s announcement were set into motion back in 2013 when Expedia and Travelocity cooked up a deal that basically saw the former offer its travel platform to be painted over in the latter’s colors and served up to Travelocity customers. In other words, the lines between Travelocity and Expedia have been pretty blurry for the past year and change anyway; it was basically just for Expedia to tap into its rivals pool of loyal customers. And if you don’t like the idea of giving your money to a veritable travel juggernaut? Well, mainstay travel companies Orbitz and TripAdvisor join upstarts like Hipmunk, Kayak and Hitlist as worthy players that have so far escaped Expedia’s clutches. Let’s see how long they hold out. Comments Source: Expedia

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Expedia buys Travelocity, but don’t expect much to change

Office 2016 will hit desktops later this year

At its Windows 10 event yesterday, Microsoft spent some time showing off how its universal apps would provide a similar experience across devices. Office was certainly part of that conversation, and today, the folks in Redmond revealed that this year’s installment of the apps would arrive before the end of 2015. The update for mobile, labeled Office for Windows 10, will come pre-installed on phones and tablets running Windows 10 free of charge, with touch-enabled Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook all included. While we’ll certainly keep our eyes peeled for an exact date, Microsoft says we can expect Office 2016 to arrive during the second half of this year. Who knows, maybe it’ll rollout in time to lend a hand when school starts back up in the fall. Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Source: Microsoft

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Office 2016 will hit desktops later this year

Windows 10’s browser includes Cortana, note-taking and offline reading

Internet Explorer is dead, long live Project Spartan! Even the most diehard Microsoft fan would probably admit that the Microsoft’s browser has become the punchline to a lot of jokes. The advent of Windows 10 has seen the outfit attempt to fix many of the gripes that users had with the last two generations of the operating system, so perhaps it’s no surprise to see that a replacement browser is in the works. Microsoft has now revealed more information about the browser project, apart from its actual name — for now, it’s codenamed Project Spartan . The new browser is designed to be everything that Internet Explorer isn’t, which is to say light, nimble and secure . To achieve that, Microsoft has built a brand new rendering engine, and given the browser a lean, pared-down look and feel. That means it won’t support Webkit like Chrome and Firefox, however, which may make web developers’ lives more difficult. However, Microsoft said the new engine would give Spartan a far more robust backbone for adding new features. One of those it showed off was “snapping, ” which lets you freeze a web page and clip out specific segments or add comments. From there, you can send whatever you clipped to a colleague using Windows 10’s built-in sharing tool. Another new feature revolves around reading — the new browser will let you reformat web content to make it more digestible, and will integrate Windows 8’s Pocket-like article reading list. In addition, Windows 10 will have built-in support for PDF files, presumably meaning that constant Adobe Reader downloads will no longer be unnecessary. Another big part of Project Spartan will be Cortana integration. Microsoft’s voice-search tool will work more like Google Now in order to predict what information you may need. For instance, if you ask for a flight time, Cortana may notice that a friend or family member already has one scheduled, and suggest that time as a response. Another example: if you’re looking at a restaurant website in the Project Spartan browser, Cortana will offer directions, photos and links to Yelp reviews. Microsoft said that the new browser would come to the PC first, and eventually arrive on Windows Phone devices later. As for Internet Explorer, it’ll be kept alive for compatibility reasons, but anybody migrating to Windows 10 who doesn’t need IE will get the new browser. From what we’ve seen, that’s a good thing — after seeing Spartan, Internet Explorer looks instantly obsolete. Daniel Cooper contributed to this report. Filed under: Internet , Software , Microsoft Comments

Super Bowl XLIX to be livestreamed by NBC

In what has become a tradition since 2012 , the Super Bowl will be streamed online again this year . The kind gesture, which is free of charge to anyone in the US, comes courtesy of NBC — the network that started the trend of livestreaming The Big Game. For Super Bowl XLIX , set to take place on February 1st in Arizona, NBC plans to have an 11-hour block of video coverage over the internet, including pre-game analysis, the popular halftime show and an all-new episode of the primetime series The Blacklist . As Variety points out , the Peacock channel intends to heavily promote its TV Everywhere efforts during the stream, hoping to drive demand for services like the NBC Sports Live Extra app — one that typically requires a pay-TV login. Online viewers can watch Super Bowl XLIX, between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots , on NBC’s website as well the Sports Live Extra application. The latter option, however, is only going to be available for tablets, since Verizon owns the rights for smartphones streams via the NFL Mobile app . For people overseas, NFL GamePass could be a solution, both for live or on-demand streaming , but you’ll have to pay a small fee if that’s how you plan to consume the biggest game of the season. [Image credit: Associated Press] Filed under: Internet , HD Comments Source: Variety

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Super Bowl XLIX to be livestreamed by NBC