the-end – Page 148 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Google Now awarded Popular Science’s Innovation of the Year

Popular Science has given Google Now its “Innovation of the Year” award, putting it alongside past winners like the Large Hadron Collider , the Toyota Prius and the Mars Curiosity Rover . It’s august company to be sure, and the reasoning behind the decision is that it’s “the first virtual assistant that truly anticipates your needs.” The service has grown quite a bit since its initial launch — from personalized recommendations to public safety alerts and the addition of a pedometer , it seems that these are early days yet for the context- and location-aware app. Hit the Android G+ source link to read a Q&A between PopSci and part of the Google Now team to get some behind-the-scenes insight of the award-winning service. Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Google Comments Source: Android (Google+) , Popular Science

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Google Now awarded Popular Science’s Innovation of the Year

Recon updates its HUD tech, adds new view modes to MOD Live

Heads-up MOD Live lovers: Recon’s ready to update that ski slope tech with a fresher look. Available now on the company’s dedicated Engage site, is a software package that enhances the goggle’s current feature set with the addition of three view modes. Leveraging the unit’s inbuilt GPS, the new Radar setting allows users to gain more accurate positioning info, keep close tabs on fellow skiers, as well as access interactive resort maps. Users keen on a more up-close look at the surrounding slopes can shift into Perspective mode, which handily tracks head orientation. And lastly, for a pared-down experience, there’s a compass overlay that provides users with a more “traditional” means of navigation. If you haven’t already jump started your HUD-infused mask with this latest OS, you can head to the source below to get started. Continue reading Recon updates its HUD tech, adds new view modes to MOD Live Filed under: Wearables , Software Comments

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Recon updates its HUD tech, adds new view modes to MOD Live

Harwell Dekatron revived as the world’s oldest working, original digital computer

Over 60 years since the first digital computers switched on, the chances of seeing one of these pioneers in action have grown incredibly slim as time (and recycling) takes its toll. Take a visit to Britain’s National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park as of today, however, and you’ll see one working. A finished 3-year restoration effort lets the Harwell Dekatron — at one point renamed the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computation from Harwell, or WITCH — claim the title of the world’s oldest functional digital computer still using its original design. Aside from its room-filling dimensions, the 1951-era mainframe may be worth the trip just for recalling a time when there were no hard and fast rules in computing: the Dekatron operates in its namesake decimal system, not binary, and puts most of its components on full display. The computer is part of the regular exhibit lineup and should be easy to see; the daunting part may be realizing that virtually any chip in a 2012 smartphone could outmuscle the Dekatron without breaking a sweat. Filed under: Desktops , Misc , Alt Comments Via: Slashdot Source: National Museum of Computing

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Harwell Dekatron revived as the world’s oldest working, original digital computer

Firefox 17 heads out of beta, officially drops support for OS X 10.5

We’ve just seen an update to Firefox for Android , but that’s not the only revision that Mozilla has had in the works. Today also sees the release of version 17 of the desktop browser, which brings with it a number of changes and one noticeable omission. The latter is a lack of support for Mac OS X 10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard), which Mozilla first announced last month — those on Leopard can of course continue to use Firefox 16, they just won’t receive any updates. Otherwise, you can expect a new “Awesome Bar” with larger icons, more than 20 promised performance improvements and a new click-to-play functionality for dealing with outdated or potentially vulnerable plug-ins. Also receiving the bump to version 17 is the Extended Support Release (or ESR) version of the browser, which disables the automatic updating to cause less headaches for those dealing with mass deployments. You can find the full change log at the source link below. Update: As TechCrunch notes , version 17 also adds the new Social API to Firefox, although Facebook is the only site to take advantage of it so far — it now lets you add Messenger to the browser’s sidebar. Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Via: WinBeta Source: Mozilla

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Firefox 17 heads out of beta, officially drops support for OS X 10.5

BitTorrent lands deals with 20 TV makers for peer-to-peer video

The file sharing crew at BitTorrent has so far taken only tentative footsteps into the living room with its certification program . If CEO Eric Kinkler’s comments to Multichannel News are any indicator, though, the company is ready to make itself at home. He reveals that BitTorrent has signed pacts with 20 electronics makers to include its peer-to-peer service for media streaming in new TV sets, some of which will ship as soon as the end of 2012. Kinkler isn’t naming the partners, but he notes that most of the torrent-ready screens are destined for Asia and Europe rather than the US — many TV builders in American shops already have a raft of streaming video deals with the likes of Netflix, the executive says. Don’t anticipate seeing a row of BitTorrent TVs in the local big-box store, then, but do expect the firm to make a name for itself beyond software and the occasional router . Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD BitTorrent lands deals with 20 TV makers for peer-to-peer video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Multichannel News | Email this | Comments

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BitTorrent lands deals with 20 TV makers for peer-to-peer video

Netflix CEO claims Amazon losing up to $1 billion a year in streaming video war

Netflix isn’t sinking , but it’s certainly not the soaring brand it once was and has endured its fair share of struggles over the last several years. But, if you think Reed Hastings is shaking in his boots over encroaching competition you’d be wrong. The CEO says that Amazon will pose a legitimate threat to its streaming video dominance, but that day is still a long way off. He claims that the Kindle purveyor is losing between $500 million and $1 billion a year as it builds its empire and secures licensing rights. Of course, Hasting’s comments during an interview with Dow Jones are largely speculative; based on the value of deals in which the two have competed directly. Then again, there seemed to be some implicit admission of the costs and struggles associated with competing in the subscription video sphere during its Q3 earnings report . The company lowered its forecast for the next quarter, saying it could lose as much as $490 million. Filed under: Amazon Netflix CEO claims Amazon losing up to $1 billion a year in streaming video war originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | AllThingsD | Email this | Comments

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Netflix CEO claims Amazon losing up to $1 billion a year in streaming video war

SkyDrive gains selective syncing and right-click sharing on the desktop, searching on mobile (video)

Microsoft’s SkyDrive is now one of the centerpieces of the company’s desktop and mobile platforms, but its relative newness has denied us some of the fine-grained control we’ve taken for granted from services like Dropbox . The cloud storage service just resolved two of those common power user gripes in one fell swoop through an update to the desktop client. To start, it’s at last possible to limit SkyDrive syncing on Macs and Windows PCs just to specific folders — that poor tablet won’t reach its breaking point when someone creates a 5GB home video on the family desktop. Windows users alone see the second update, which integrates SkyDrive with right-click contextual menus for much faster sharing. Mobile customers aren’t left out with the refresh, either. Both Android and Windows Phone 8 SkyDrive users get a long-due file search as well as the option to shrink photos when they go online. Updates for the four update platforms are available at the source link, although they should push out on their own over the next two days for those who aren’t in a hurry. Continue reading SkyDrive gains selective syncing and right-click sharing on the desktop, searching on mobile (video) Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Software , Microsoft SkyDrive gains selective syncing and right-click sharing on the desktop, searching on mobile (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink Inside SkyDrive | SkyDrive | Email this | Comments

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SkyDrive gains selective syncing and right-click sharing on the desktop, searching on mobile (video)

LTE: fast, global, silenced by a $650 radio jammer

Oh gosh, we haven’t been so panicked since our phones were hypothetically possessed by demons . And come to think of it, this is theoretically far, far worse. A research group at Virginia Tech is claiming that, due to the particular way 4G data is transmitted, an LTE base station can be sabotaged using lightweight equipment that costs as little as $650. Such a thing is possible because, unlike 2G and 3G, LTE depends on control instructions that occupy only a tiny fraction of the total signal — and details of those specific frequencies have been openly published. According to the research group’s director, Jeff Reed, a single malicious operative with a hot briefcase and a bit of know-how could take down “miles of LTE signals.” If the attacker splashed out on an amplifier, they could cut off reception for thousands of people across a whole city or region. Reed stresses that there are no known instances of this happening yet, but also warns that he can see no “mitigation strategies” that can “cover it all.” Let us pray that humanity’s characteristic inability to agree on anything — including a universal LTE standard — will be our salvation. Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Science , Mobile LTE: fast, global, silenced by a $650 radio jammer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Technology Review | Email this | Comments

Everspin throws first ST-MRAM chips down, launches commercial spin-torque memory era

Who says scientific breakthroughs never amount to anything? Everspin has followed up on research developed by IBM, TDK and German researchers years back and released the first commercial spin-torque magnotoresistive RAM (ST-MRAM) onto the market. The technology works by taking advantage of electron “spin” to store data in a magnetic, rather than electronic state, providing non-volatile memory that doesn’t wear out. The company said the first chips were about 50 times the cost of flash memory by size, but where a typical NAND module can perform about 800 iOPS, ST-MRAM is capable of 400,000 — making it ideal for SSD caching and other demanding applications. Everspin has started shipping working samples of the 64MB DIMMS in a DDR3 form factor, saying that future versions will scale to gigabyte capacities and faster speeds — keeping Moore’s Law hurtling inexorably forward. Check the PR after the break for the company’s spin on it. Continue reading Everspin throws first ST-MRAM chips down, launches commercial spin-torque memory era Filed under: Peripherals , Storage Everspin throws first ST-MRAM chips down, launches commercial spin-torque memory era originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink Computerworld | | Email this | Comments

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Everspin throws first ST-MRAM chips down, launches commercial spin-torque memory era

Microsoft reveals Windows Embedded 8 and Windows Embedded Compact 2013 road map

You, the consumer, probably don’t care too much about Windows Embedded 8 and Windows Embedded Compact 2013. But businesses and OEMs, they’re pretty psyched. The next generation of Microsoft’s light-weight OS offerings will bring the improved touch and gesture support of Windows 8 to low power platforms like car computers and kiosks. In all five versions of Windows Embedded 8 will be available: Standard , Pro, Industry, Automotive and Handheld. The latter of which is built around Windows Phone 8 as opposed to the desktop system. The Industry and Handheld editions are expected to land in January, with Pro and Standard to follow in March. Compact 2013 doesn’t have a solid release window yet beyond Q2 of 2013. If you’re an impatient builder of connected devices you can download a release preview of Windows Embedded 8 Standard at the more coverage link. Continue reading Microsoft reveals Windows Embedded 8 and Windows Embedded Compact 2013 road map Filed under: Software , Microsoft Microsoft reveals Windows Embedded 8 and Windows Embedded Compact 2013 road map originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Microsoft | Email this | Comments