Tag: whether-or-not

Starbucks offers AR tours of its lavish Shanghai coffee shop

Starbucks has a long, long tradition of using tech to bring you into its coffee shops , and that will be truer than ever with the latest supersized Reserve Roastery location in Shanghai. The beverage behemoth will use a mobile app to offer guided augmented reality tours of the coffee-making process when the restaurant opens on December 6th. Point your phone at equipment like the roaster or cask and you’ll get an explanation of what happens as beans eventually turn into your venti latte. The chain is offering virtual badges for participating in the tour, and you’ll get a “unique Roastery filter” to mark your trip. We’re not sure who’s excited to show that they’ve visited a Starbucks (even if it’s a very elaborate one), but it at least means you’ll have a virtual record of your trip. There’s no mention of whether or not you’ll see this AR experience in other Reserve Roasteries (we’ve asked about future plans), but it’s reasonable to expect that this won’t be available at your corner Starbucks any time soon. This is more about turning your visit into a mini event and encouraging you to linger a while longer. As it is, we could see other restaurants following suit if this catches on. Source: Starbucks

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Starbucks offers AR tours of its lavish Shanghai coffee shop

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1070 Ti battles AMD’s latest video cards

NVIDIA has largely been sitting pretty since the GeForce 10-series arrived and gave it a comfortable performance lead in the graphics realm, but things have changed: AMD’s Vega cards are at least fast enough that you might consider them instead. Needless to say, NVIDIA isn’t about to let that situation stand. It’s launching the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, a $449 upper mid-range card that could outperform the $399 Vega 56 and undercut the $499 Vega 64 on price. For all intents and purposes, it’s very nearly as powerful as a GTX 1080: you have the same core clock speed as the pricier board, and only slight hits to the CUDA core count (2, 432 vs. 2, 560), texture units (152 vs. 160) and boost clock (1, 683MHz vs. 1, 733MHz). About the only major difference is that you’re still limited to ‘just’ GDDR5 memory instead of the speedier GDDR5X on the 1080. Pre-orders are starting today ahead of the November 2nd release, and it’s notable that both the Founders Edition card and the official suggested retail price are the same. You’re not necessarily paying extra to go with the first-party design this time around. The real dilemma is whether or not it’s worth springing for the 1070 Ti, at least those models that cling to the stock specifications. It’s entirely possible to score an overclocked GTX 1070 for less than $400 if you play your cards right, and the Vega 56 (if you can find it; it’s not as common) still packs quite a punch. The 1070 Ti is mostly alluring if you prefer NVIDIA hardware and want near-1080 speed without paying the well over $500 it typically costs to get a full-fledged 1080. With that said, keep an eye out for overclocked third-party boards that don’t carry a significant premium — those may hit the sweet spot and give you a reason to jump to the 1070 Ti instead of sticking to the regular 1070 or AMD’s offerings. Via: Ars Technica Source: NVIDIA (1) , (2)

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NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1070 Ti battles AMD’s latest video cards

In-flight Netflix will be available on more airlines in 2018

Netflix’s in-flight streaming is available through a few carriers around the world, but it’s far from a staple of air travel. More often than not, technological limitations will force you to download that new show before you leave home. It could be far more common going forward, though. Netflix is launching an initiative that will use its mobile device encoding technology to make Netflix accessible on aircraft that don’t always have the luxury of fast satellite internet access . As you might have already surmised, mobile encoding uses far less bandwidth than what you get on the desktop. A “DVD quality” stream uses just 250Kbps, for instance. You won’t confuse that with a 4K HDR stream at home, but it’s good enough for a seat-back display or a tablet. And importantly, it won’t clog an aircraft’s WiFi network. You’d still need a reasonably fast connection to serve a large volume of passengers, but it beats having to limit access to just a few people or none at all. Partnerships with airlines should kick off sometime in early 2018. Netflix isn’t naming specific allies, but it’s safe to say that this opens the door to carriers that couldn’t even consider the idea before. The big question is whether or not it’ll work as well in practice as it does in theory. This could be great for avoiding the mediocre movie and TV selections you frequently find on airlines, but it won’t help much if it renders airborne WiFi unusable the moment there’s a new Stranger Things season .

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In-flight Netflix will be available on more airlines in 2018

San Francisco airport can now record all visitors’ license plates

When you drive to the airport, you expect a certain amount of tracking, if just from security cameras. However, San Francisco International Airport might be taking things a step too far. The travel hub recently received approval from the Airport Commission to collect the license plate info for everyone who uses its roads and garages, storing that data for over 4 years. It’s ostensibly meant for collecting revenue from parking and commercial drivers like taxis, but SFO has permission to release that info to both local law enforcement and the FBI. Needless to say, that’s raising eyebrows among privacy advocates. The ACLU’s Matt Cagle warns KQED that the airport could become a “honeypot” for police wanting to collect information about anyone paying a visit, whether or not they’re suspected of committing a crime. Also, it’s not clear why SFO needs to preserve all that license plate data for so long. If there isn’t reason to hold on to plate info (whether for crime reports or long-term parking), shouldn’t it be erased within a matter of days? In theory, this is legal: the airport implemented its new policy in response to a law that required public disclosure and security measures for license plate data collection. The very act of scooping up license plates is theoretically legal, then. The question is whether or not SFO is managing that info in a responsible way, and it’s not clear that this is the case. About 53 million passengers go through the airport every year, and many of them drive to get there. While this could help catch car thieves and terrorists, it could also help less scrupulous authorities track the movements of activists and other innocents. Via: SFist Source: KQED News

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San Francisco airport can now record all visitors’ license plates

IBM plans to build a universal quantum computer

Companies can technically buy a quantum computer right now, but it’s not really the same as a general-purpose computer. Even if you don’t question whether or not it is quantum computing , it really amounts to specialized hardware. However, IBM hopes to change all that: it’s planning to build the first commercially-oriented universal quantum computer. The plan is to build a system with roughly 50 quantum bits (the Quantum Experience started with 5 and now simulates 20) within the next few years. That may not sound like much, but 50 qubits could be more powerful than the best supercomputers when handling some calculations — tasks that were impractical before would suddenly be within reach. Not surprisingly, you probably won’t get to use this quantum machine yourself. Much as in the old mainframe days, this computer is aimed at “business and science” customers that need to solve specific problems. To that end, IBM is helping research partners Canon, Hitachi Metals, Honda, JSR, Nagase and Samsung explore potential uses for quantum tech. The exciting part, IBM argues, isn’t so much the known performance as the possibilities. No one knows the full extent of what a universal quantum computer can do — it’s entirely feasible that the device will solve problems that aren’t even on the table right now. The biggest challenges are creating a tangible roadmap for production, and developing something affordable enough that it’s genuinely practical to use outside of a handful of cases. Source: IBM Think Blog , IBM News Room

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IBM plans to build a universal quantum computer

Color-changing hair dye responds to your environment

Just because you want to color your hair doesn’t mean you want the same color all the time. Wouldn’t it be nice if it could change with the weather, or whether or not you’re inside? You might get your wish. The Unseen has developed a color-changing hair dye, Fire, that reacts to shifts in temperature — it could be red outside and revert to a more natural color indoors. The carbon-based molecules in the dye alter their light absorption when they’re subjected to temperature changes, producing different colors that you can reverse just by heading somewhere new. Creator Lauren Bowker tells Wired that the dye is safe. It uses “less toxic” materials, such as irritants that are wrapped in polymers to minimize the damage to your hair and scalp. In theory, it shouldn’t be any more harmful than the dye you buy at the store. Fire still needs to be refined and fully assessed for safety before you can buy it. However, this isn’t one of those far-off projects that will take many years to reach shelves — there’s already production-oriented testing underway. If everything goes smoothly, you could soon have a hair color evolves from moment to moment, not just whenever you feel up to a dyeing session. Via: Wired Source: The Unseen

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Color-changing hair dye responds to your environment

Slack now has built-in video calling

Slack’s quest to become a do-it-all chat app continues. The company is trotting out video calling support in the Mac, Windows and Chrome versions of its client, making it easy to see a coworker or catch up with a friend. Anyone can start a one-on-one chat, while those on paid plans can have calls with as many as 15 people at once — handy for virtual meetings where your voice isn’t enough. This isn’t exactly a revolutionary feature by itself, but Slack adds its signature emoji responses to let you raise your hand or offer approval without interrupting the discussion. You can still tell the app to default to using third-party video services like Google Hangouts, so you’re not locked into Slack’s software. The feature should reach desktop users in the “next few days.” Mobile users aren’t left completely in the lurch, but they won’t get the full experience, unfortunately. They can join an active video call, but only on the audio side. There’s no mention of whether or not video calls are coming to mobile, but that’s likely given Slack’s tendency to mirror features across platforms whenever it can. The upgrade isn’t exactly coming out of left field. Facebook already has a Slack competitor in Workplace , and Microsoft has been signalling that it’s eager to take on Slack with a Skype upgrade. Video calling could keep you from considering rival apps, whether it’s just for video chats or for a wholesale switch. Via: The Next Web Source: Slack

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Slack now has built-in video calling

Nanoloop’s cartridge turns your Game Boy into an analog synth

Nanoloop has been providing ways for music and gaming enthusiasts to create tunes with a Game Boy for years now. The company is back with a new card for the original Game Boy handheld: the Nanoloop Mono. With the €69 (around $76) accessory, you can transform that classic gaming device into an analog mono synth. Thanks to one pin of Game Boy’s cartridge connector working as an audio input and a built-in amplifier, the Nanoloop Mono can generate sound and output it through the headphone jack in a completely analog fashion. The Nanoloop Mono packs in three analog filters and a noise generator on its hybrid sound chip. There’s also a step sequencer with per step control of the parameters and eight memory banks than can each hold 15 patterns per channel. While the card works best with the OG Game Boy, it will also provide some noise when used with the Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color. However, Nanoloop says sound quality suffers with those gadgets. It doesn’t work at all with the Game Boy Advance, but the company makes another card for that handheld: the Nanoloop 2.0 . While you decide whether or not to turn your collector’s item into a music making machine, the video below shows the Mono in action. Via: FACT Source: Nanoloop

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Nanoloop’s cartridge turns your Game Boy into an analog synth

Unearthed Clinton emails garner renewed FBI scrutiny (updated)

Although the FBI previously concluded that Hillary Clinton should not face charges over the usage of her personal email server, the Bureau apparently isn’t done looking into Clinton’s emails after all. “In previous congressional testimony, I referred to the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton’s personal email server, ” FBI Director James Comey said in a letter sent out Friday . “Due to recent developments, I am writing to supplement my previous testimony.” “In connection with an unrelated case, ” Comey’s letter continues, “the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.” Comey concluded: “Although the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, ” and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work, I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony.” Engadget will, of course, update as we know more. Update: The Associated Press has tweeted a clarification from an unnamed US official, stating that the newly discovered emails did not come from Clinton’s private email server. BREAKING: US official: Newly discovered emails related to Clinton investigation did not come from her private server. — AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 28, 2016 Update: The New York Times is reporting that the new emails were discovered after the FBI seized electronic devices belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her husband Anthony Weiner. Update: John Podesta, the chairman of the Clinton campaign, has responded to Comey’s letter and has called on the FBI director to “immediately provide the American people more information than what is contained in his letter”. “The director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining, ” Podesta continued. “We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July.” Via: New York Times , CNBC

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Unearthed Clinton emails garner renewed FBI scrutiny (updated)

Apple reportedly wants to use changeable E Ink keyboards

Apple’s plans for advanced laptop controls may extend beyond that rumored OLED touch strip . Both 9to5Mac and TrustedReviews report that Apple has been in talks to use a laptop version of Sonder Design’s dynamic keyboard technology, which uses E Ink to change key labels on the fly. Just how Tim Cook and company would implement the hardware isn’t clear, but it might work the way these keyboards have operated since the days of Art Lebedev’s Optimus Maximus . If so, you’d get handy labels on keys as you switch contexts, such as brushes in an image editor or different characters when you switch languages. Although Sonder has confirmed that talks have taken place, it’s not saying whether or not it has a deal. It only adds that it’s “closing B2B procurement contracts” with three laptop makers, and that Foxconn (which helped get Sonder off the ground) and E Ink are helping. Given the timing, you probably aren’t going to get a MacBook with this keyboard any time soon. Even if Apple has a contract in place (there’s no guarantee that it has), you probably wouldn’t see these livelier keyboards until 2017 at the earliest. Source: 9to5Mac , TrustedReviews

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Apple reportedly wants to use changeable E Ink keyboards