Come December 17th, futurist extraordinaire Ray Kurzweil will be joining Google’s ranks as Director of Engineering to work on projects that involve machine learning and language processing. Specifics regarding those projects, however, haven’t yet surfaced. The technologist took the announcement to pat himself on the back about predicting the arrival of self-driving cars and smartphones that can answer questions more than a decade ago, and says he’s “thrilled to be teaming up with Google to work on some of the hardest problems in computer science so we can turn the next decade’s ‘unrealistic’ visions into reality.” If things pan out how the Google greenhorn predicts, we might just see computers as crafty as Homo sapiens by 2029.
So The Hobbit is out today, and if you’re a megafan, maybe you saw it at midnight, or maybe you’re seeing it tonight. Or maybe you took off today to see it nine times in a row and are about to collapse in a pool of human waste. If you saw it, or if you’re going to see it, you’ve probably heard about (or will notice) a big change in the way it was shot. Specifically, The Hobbit is shot at 48 frames per second, and everyone’s freaking out. More »
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
It’s Friday. We’re all ready to cut out of work and enjoy the weekend. But before you do, we’ve got a couple Android gems for you to download. From a new weather app, to a classic game, these are the Android apps of the week. More »
It’s great when apps make things easier, like giving you a way to easily access information. And this round of the best iPhone apps of the week will help educate you about your neighborhood, make it easier to share photos, and much more. So dive on in! More »
If you’re a wordsmith, you’ll dig this batch of the week’s best iPad apps. We’ve got an adult spin on a popular kids game, another title that challenges you to make popcorn style stories, and more. More »
It was only a matter of time before we’d see this one, right? As has been the case with many, many other gadgets, Samsung’s Galaxy Note II is the latest one to join the “Keepin’ it Real Fake” revolution. Formally dubbed Star S7180, this phablet clone, as you can imagine, doesn’t come even close to matching the genuine Note II’s mighty spec sheet, with this 5.5-inch KIRF device said to be only boasting a dual-core MT6577 CPU with 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage and an 8-megapixel cam on the back — but, hey, at least there’s some Jelly Bean to go with that. According to GizChina, you’ll have to shell out about $150 for the Star S7180, which, all in all, isn’t too bad a deal — that’s if you don’t mind taking the faux route, of course. At any rate, you’ll find additional eye candy after the break, and, judging by the looks, it may just be Mr. Blurrycam’s best work yet.
We’re quickly approaching BlackBerry 10‘s scheduled launch, and as we go along, we’re slowly learning new details about the operating system and the devices it’ll be featured on. Today we’re getting a closer look at BlackBerry 10′s keyboard thanks to a video demo by RIM’s Vivek Bhardwaj. In the brief demo, Bhardwaj shows off a number of new features, starting right off with the look of BlackBerry 10′s keyboard.
Bhardwaj says that it was important for RIM to match the look of traditional BlackBerry keyboards, and looking at the video, it would appear the company has. Bhardwaj points out the white font against the black keys, and says that each key is “kind of maximized edge-to-edge.” He also points to the fact that next word suggestions will be in your own vocabulary, saying “the actual predictions themselves are in-key, and you simply swipe to actually type.”
It seems that RIM is attempting to do a lot with inference with the BlackBerry 10 keyboard, as evidenced by the fact that the system will actually predict where spaces should be inserted. Therefore, should you miss the space key, the system will be able to correct the error for you. BlackBerry 10 will also try to infer when you need to switch languages to type a different word, switching back when you’re ready to begin typing in your native language again.
All in all, the BlackBerry 10 keyboard sounds like a nice piece of software. The OS as a whole has some pretty impressive features, so RIM should be launching a solid system next year. The question is whether or not consumers, most of which have been abandoning BlackBerry lately, will bite. Are you interested in giving BlackBerry 10 a spin when it launches?
Cliff, the canine Diarrhea Oracle of VU University Medical Centre, may just have the worst job in the world: sniffing out hospital patient’s infected feces. More »
Sony NEX-6 kit owners have been shooting with it for weeks, but the company’s 16-50mm retractable zoom lens isn’t quite yet available as a standalone purchase. That’s set to change early next year — reps have told us that the lens should hit stores by mid-February, while the optic’s own product page now lists an estimated ship date of February 3rd. The lens, which ships with the NEX-6 for a $150 premium (compared to the $850 body-only price), delivers a focal range similar to that of Sony’s larger 18-55mm optic, matching that version’s f/3.5-5.6 aperture as well. It’s compatible with E-mount cameras, including select Handycam camcorders and discontinued models like the NEX-C3. It was also slated to ship as part of an NEX-5R kit for $800, but the company has scrapped plans for that particular package. For now, you can hit up Sony’s site at the source link below to hop on the pre-order list.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
