We knew ESPN wasn’t happy with Verizon’s recently announced flexible TV plans, and now it is ready to take legal action for it. According to CNBC , The Worldwide Leader in Sports is suing Verizon over the FiOS Custom TV offering, only days after letting it be known that it objected to it. Developing…. Comments Source: CNBC
While air travel is quicker and safer than driving, it’s also louder. The continuous low-frequency drone of the engines is why some people invest in noise-canceling headphones. To help reduce that non-stop hum, researchers at North Carolina State University and MIT have developed a thin membrane to be inserted into the lightweight honeycomb structure of planes and helicopters. “At low frequencies – sounds below 500 Hertz – the honeycomb panel with the membrane blocks 100 to 1, 000 times more sound energy than the panel without a membrane.” said Yun Jing, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State University. The 0.25mm-thick membrane would only add an additional six percent to the overall weight of the honeycomb structure of aircraft. While that doesn’t seem like much, every ounce counts to airlines trying to maximize flight costs . It’ll be on them to decide whether they’d rather save money on fuel or makes cabins a better place for passengers . Filed under: Misc , Transportation , Science Comments Source: NC State University
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Ultrathin membrane makes plane cabins 100x quieter
Russian hackers may have had more success in breaching the White House network than first thought. New York Times sources understand that intruders who got into the White House’s unclassified systesm managed to collect some of President Obama’s email. They didn’t compromise the account itself, and they didn’t snap up the classified messages passing through the President’s BlackBerry. However, these messages likely included some “highly sensitive” material, like policy dicussions, schedules and staff changes — the data could have been abused in the worst circumstances. Officially, the government isn’t acknowledging the email invasion. It’s reportedly trying to keep a lid on details to avoid letting the Russians know just what data escaped into the wild. However, the revelation shows just how much of a security issue the White House faces. Unless it can clamp down on vulnerabilities, it may have a hard time keeping the President’s activities under wraps. Filed under: Internet Comments Source: New York Times
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Russian hackers scooped up the President’s unclassified email
It’s safe to say that Acer’s gone a little batty this morning – the company crammed announcement after announcement into a press conference overlooking the New York City skyline, but some of the most interesting stuff didn’t get much detail. Case in point: The company’s working on an Android-powered Predator tablet to go along with its series of angular, red and black gaming PCs and it’s going to launch by the end of 2015. At this point though, there are far more questions hanging in the air than answers. All the company spokespeople I’ve cornered have been able to confirm is that the tablet is slated for a launch during the fourth quarter of the year, and that the pointy, vaguely futuristic design you see above should stay the same right through launch in Q4. Yeah, we’re not huge fans of the look either, but an Acer spokesperson gleefully pointed out how the tablet’s triangular accents and crimson flair appeared throughout company’s updated gaming lineup. An Acer exec also briefly talked up a haptic feedback feature while on-stage, so the tablet should rumble in your hand while you’re taking hard corners in Asphalt 8 (or, you know, what supported title the company will soon play up). In addition to an 8-inch screen (no one on-site was sure of its resolution), Acer seems particularly proud of a quartet of front-facing speakers nestled into the tablet’s corners that’ll blast the dulcet groans of dismembered zombies in Dead Trigger 2 . The rest of the particulars are sadly shrouded in mystery, but it’s really no surprise why — with a launch so far off, Acer itself probably isn’t sure what’s going to wind up inside it. Of course, the bigger question is whether this thing even stands a chance. The market for gaming tablets is a pretty underserved one as it stands — you’ve got the generally wonderful NVIDIA Shield tablet with its Tegra K1, and a bunch of off-brand options that make great fodder for YouTube videos. Acer’s attempt may well be the right product at the right time… or it could serve as proof positive that people don’t actually want or need dedicated gaming tablets. It’s always the generalist tablets that seem to sell the best (probably because they don’t actively alienate anyone), but hey: We won’t turn this thing away should one land on our desks for review. Comments
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Acer’s building an Android gaming tablet to go with its Predator PCs
Today’s release of Ubuntu 15.04 is yet another installment in the slow and steady march forward from Canonical. The company knows that not every OS release needs to be accompanied by fanfare and dramatic changes to your desktop. And this edition of the popular Linux distro perfectly epitomizes that philosophy. There are basically zero user-facing interface changes, except for the ability to set application menus to always show, instead of only popping up when you mouse over them. Otherwise most of the changes are under the hood. The OS should be faster and more stable, thanks to updates to updates to the underlying system, like the Unity desktop and Linux kernel. The default apps also got some minor version bumps, including Firefox and LibreOffice. Ubuntu 15.04, or Vivid Vervet, is almost like a placeholder release. This is simply Canonical biding its time and applying Band-Aids while working towards a more dramatic revision that will accompany Unity 8, the next generation of its desktop environment. Like Microsoft, the company is pushing to unify its OS across platforms. That means one core system and a consistent UI across phones , tablets and desktops . When that goal will be realized remains to be seen, but until that time expect your favorite Linux distro to simply tread water. Filed under: Software Comments Source: Ubuntu
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Latest Ubuntu hits the web with mostly minor refinements
For the first time in history, a team of researchers have successfully edited the genes of a human embryo. The researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou reportedly used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to knock a gene called HBB, which causes the fatal blood disorder β-thalassaemia, out of donor embryos. This marks the first time that the CRISPR technique has been employed on an embryonic human genome. The CRISPR/Cas9 method utilizes a complex enzyme (aka a set of “genetic scissors”) to snip out and replace faulty gene segments with functional bits of DNA. The technique is well-studied in adult cells, but very little published research has been done using embryonics. And it’s the latter application that has bioethicists up in arms. On one hand, advocates for genetic modification argue that it could lead to medical techniques that eliminate devastating genetic disorders like Parkinson’s , Down syndrome or Sickle-Cell Anemia before a person is even born. On the other hand, critics warn that tinkering with the blueprints of life to prenatally destroy disease could lead to unintended genetic consequences that are even worse than whatever disease we’re trying to cure. Then there’s also a whole other argument as to whether this technique crosses ethical boundaries . “We are humans, not transgenic rats, ” Edward Lanphier, president of Sangamo and chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, recently wrote in a Nature op-ed. “We believe there is a fundamental ethical issue in crossing the boundary to modifying the human germ line.” Still, the potential for future misuse has rarely slowed the development of a new technology — just look at the automobile, assault rifle or atom bomb . According to the Sun Yat-sen research team, they eventually called off the study, not because they created genetic monstrosities, but because the technique failed so often. Out of the 86 total embryos utilized in the study, 71 survived the initial CRISPR snips, only 28 successfully spliced in the new DNA and a small fraction of those splices actually generated a functional protein. “If you want to do it in normal embryos, you need to be close to 100 percent, ” lead researcher Junjiu Huang told Nature . “That’s why we stopped. We still think it’s too immature.” The researchers published their findings in a recent issue of the journal Protein & Cell . Filed under: Science Comments Via: Nature Source: Protein & Cell
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Scientists create first genetically modified human embryo
You don’t have to wonder any longer as to what Tesla will unveil at its April 30th event — the company just spoiled things in advance. In an email to investors, the company states that its shindig will reveal both a previously-teased battery for your home and a “very large, ” utility-oriented battery. Details aren’t forthcoming (those are for the big show!), but there’s a good chance that the hardware will build on the concepts behind existing home batteries, which are often used to store excess solar power and provide backups during outages. The real questions are whether or not Tesla can improve on personal powerplants like it did electric cars, and how much you’ll pay versus the competition. You’ll likely get the answers to both riddles in just over a week. Filed under: Household Comments Via: John Paczkowski (Twitter) Source: Bloomberg
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Tesla will reveal a battery for your home at its April event
The money in your bank account is typically covered by federal insurance, but your internet payment services typically aren’t. If PayPal or Venmo went belly-up, you’d probably lose your existing balance. That won’t be a problem if you’re using Google Wallet , though. Google is now holding your Wallet funds in banks with FDIC insurance , so your digital credit is now that much safer. This isn’t to say that rivals leave you completely vulnerable — PayPal has fraud protection, for instance. However, the Wallet move means that you won’t have to go to court to get your cash back if Google goes bankrupt, no matter how unlikely that is . Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Mobile , Google Comments Source: Yahoo Finance
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Your Google Wallet funds are now insured
Comcast is bringing its twice-as-fast-as-Google-Fiber internet service to northern California. Potential customers will need installation of professional-grade equipment to access it and, you’ll have to be near its fiber network — Fresno, Monterey, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area are among the places on the list — to qualify. That’s not all, either. Statewide, it’s rolling out a 250 Mbps “Extreme 250” speed tier for cable internet customers. The telecom giant’s also boosting speeds on its existing tiers as well, with lower priced-plans getting jumps from 25 to 45 Mbps depending on the package at no added cost. Perhaps the best news about all this is that you won’t have to wait too much longer for it all to take effect. Comcast says it’ll start the cable internet upgrades in May with continued rollouts taking place the rest of the year, while the 2Gbps fiber service starts rolling out in June. And just like that, there’s another gigabit competitor in Google HQ’s vicinity with Fiber nowhere in sight. [Image credit: Shutterstock] Filed under: Internet , HD Comments Source: Comcast
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Comcast’s gigabit internet hits northern California in June
In addition to signing on a roster of big name artists to help lure new subscribers, Jay Z is handling some of the customer service duties as well. Mr. Carter is calling folks who signed up for Tidal’s music streaming service to personally thank them. It sounds odd, but the company confirmed to us “that’s 1000% true.” He’s not the only one, though, as Tidal executive Vania Schloge told Business Insider that Jack White and others are calling subscribers, too. Using one of the services’ features, artists can log in and see exactly who is listening to their music alongside contact info for those people. It’s certainly a personal approach, but one can wonder if that star-packed relaunch didn’t provide the boost in new subscriptions the company hoped. Of course, being a part owner of the project is certainly motivation to get more involved. I just wonder if Jay Z used a video phone . [Image credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Source: Business Insider
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Jay Z is calling Tidal users to personally thank them for signing up