Hasta La Gadget!

Remember the other day we reported that Microsoft was working on a Switch to Windows Phone app for Android? Well the good news (?) for Android users is that if you wanted to see if jumping switch to the Windows Phone platform might be a viable one, at least as far as app availability and alternatives are concerned, the app has been released and is available for download via Google Play. The app is also available for Windows Phone users via the Windows Phone Store which we guess will help them find apps that are available for the Windows Phone platform, or at least a suitable alternative.

For those wondering what the app is about, basically the Switch to Windows Phone app is developed by Microsoft and relies on Quixey’s search engine to help Android users find if the apps they are currently using on their phone is available on Windows Phone as well, or perhaps help them find a close alternative which can get the job done as well. Since app availability is pretty important when it comes to choosing platforms, this will no doubt help Android users learn if switching platforms will afford them the same familiarity that they are used to. Of course there are other factors that helps decide if a smartphone is worth purchasing, so this is just one aspect of it.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry Q10 Now Available In Canada, AT&T To Offer LG Optimus G Pro Exclusively,

Amazon has started rolling out a new version of Lovefilm Instant on the Playstation 3 in the UK and Germany, with new countries and platforms to follow. The update brings a better search engine and recommendations, along with a new Watchlist feature and revised UI that lets you track content currently being watched via the homepage. Viewers in the launch countries will also notice another welcome change: they can finally watch TV and movies in HD on the PS3. There’s no word on exactly when other Instant platforms will see the upgrade, but we’re assured it will get to everyone “in the future.”

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon

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Security concerns around Google Glass and what data access those casually – or nefariously – picking up your wearable might have has prompted the first DIY lock system for the headset, Bulletproof. Resembling the standard Android lockscreen, but adding some head-detection smarts to prevent you from having to swipe in a code every time you want to use Glass, Bulletproof is the handiwork of Explorer Edition owner Mike DiGiovanni.

As others have observed, Glass lacks any sort of locking system, which means that when you’re not wearing it – or supervising it – it’s possible that anybody could pick the wearable up and start digging through your data. That’s potentially not the most worrying exploit, however; as arch-tinkerer Jay Freeman pointed out this week, with the right software and a microUSB cable, a well-placed hacker could install surveillance malware onto your Glass and joyride every app you use, every photo and video you take, and potentially even track your location when wearing the headset.

DiGiovanni’s app addresses that concern in a straightforward way. Since Glass has no keypad, it uses a combination of user-customizable swipes and taps on the trackpad on the side of the eyewear to enter an unlock code. That access then stays valid all the time you’re actually wearing Glass.

Take it off – or have it pulled off your head, whether by a thief or someone keen to try it themselves – and Glass automatically re-locks.

Since Google isn’t exactly keen on native apps running on Glass at this point, preferring web-based services that hook up through the Mirror API, you’ll need to do a little modification if you want Bulletproof on your headset. As it’s a native Android app, Glass needs to be put into debug mode, and then ADB used to install it. You can find the source on GitHub.

Glass has thrown wearables security back into the spotlight in recent weeks, as issues of privacy and data management become increasingly discussed as more of the headsets work their way into the wild. Much of the concern voiced has been about what goes on in-front of the camera, particularly since the Explorer Edition units lack any sort of clearly visible indicator that recording might be taking place. At present, only the glow of the eyepiece could be used as a sign that Glass is capturing video; some have suggested that Google should have fitted a red LED on the outside, or even a sliding cover that could entirely block out the lens.

[via LivingThruGlass]

Google Glass Bulletproof lockscreen adds unofficial wearable security is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Everyday Robots, the Ones That Have Forever Been Coming… They Might Actually Get Here?
Well, in Japan, anyway. Two massive companies and one or two government agencies have assembled some intriguing and aggressive robot launchpad situations, and the game might be changing from “what the distant future will bring” to “what’s going to be in place in 3 years.”

Before jumping into to why things are different this time, it’s important to be fair to those less enthusiastic or perhaps bitterly incredulous about such claims. Wild projections and plans for robotic life accessories, robotic nurses, doctors, cops, soldiers, and perhaps even friends & lovers have long been subject to entirely reasonable criticism and dismissal. Very rightfully so, because all the amazing robots of the future have been kinda perpetually just that; of the future.

It’s easy to discredit theories and hopes and what-ifs, but it gets tricky when non-intuitive collaborations arise and money starts flowing in from both the private sector and the government. As it often does with the robots, Japan’s recently taken a few big steps:

First, global automotive & industrial powerhouse Honda announced a new robotics-related development partnership with Japanese construction & real estate giant Sekisui House. Honda makes three assistive robots: UNI-CUB, a rolly self-balancing chair-bot, and the mobility-assistive robots Bodyweight Support Assist and Stride Management Assist (more energy put into engineering than naming, but forgivable – previous coverage here). Teaming up with Sekisui House looks to be an avenue for Honda to sort of insert its robots beyond demos and gimmickry and directly into homes – homes ergonomically designed with humans and their robotic appliances & amenities in mind.

For its part, Sekisui House appears to have recognized robotics’ imminent matriculation beyond hope & theory into practical, pressing consideration – followed by implementation. It’s telling that a company with no real vested interest in robots yet an obvious and fundamental interest in profit wants to get dialed into Honda’s stuff early and often.

Second, item #2 in the big developments department is that, just days ago, the Japanese government detailed plans to begin large-scale funding for assistive robotics research and development in conjunction with consumer-end subsidies for the consumption of robot-based healthcare. Important here is that it’s not projected funding for some vague, far-off day to be decided after the completion of a survey or study or what have you, it’s funding for this fiscal year. To move forward in incorporating practical robots into human healthcare, alongside the R&D push are initiatives aimed at revising insurance codes to cover assistive robotic devices and/or services for the elderly or disabled.

For the R&D part, the government initiative calls specifically for the following:
• A motorized robot suit that can assist in lifting or moving elderly and otherwise impaired patients.
• An ambulatory robot that can help the elderly and others walk by themselves, even on inclines.
• A portable, self-cleaning robot toilet that can be placed in living rooms or bedrooms.
• A monitoring robot that can track the movements and whereabouts of dementia patients.

Conveniently, we once again see Honda’s options for early adopters:

And with a little careful market positioning and some decent design, Sekisui House will have just the place to put them.

The Why: an Unstoppable Force Meets a Fleet of Robots
Readers interested in the big breakdown of Why Japan? and Why Now? should leap on over to our March 2013 piece and get hip to what translates pretty directly as The Nation-Wide Existential Really Kinda Big-Deal Population Problem: “Dear Assistive Robot Industry, We Need You! Sincerely, Rapidly Aging Japan.”

The very basic recipe for Japan’s motivation toward developing robot labor breaks down like this:
1. The affluent children of two post-war baby-boom generations have for several decades been increasingly unmotivated toward the baby making, 2. the resulting birthrate in Japan has dropped far lower than 2.0 (which would be a replacement set for the two parents, i.e., population equilibrium), 3. Around 98.5% of Japan’s 130 million or so humans are ethnically and racially Japanese, and to put it gently, foreign residents aren’t so likely to be asked how long they hope to stay, but when they’re going home. That is to say, it’s unlikely that an immigrant labor force will be allowed or would want to take care of: 4. Nearly 40% of Japan’s population is 55 or older.

Therefore: robots.

It’s Worth Believing This Time:
In Japan, and really anywhere in the world, the pop-culture image of robotics and their capabilities is served up in sci-fi fantasy. As such, the reality can be a bit deflating, and one cannot really fault the average citizen for feeling that the promise of advanced robotics has been a long wait for a train that never arrived – and probably never will.

However, along with nearly every other branch of science, robotics is now subject to the massive leaps in computational capability that’ve put everything technology-related, i.e., the entirety of human civilization, into super-tech overdrive. To the slightly robo-dorkier among us, it’s clear that we’re entering new territory, and the future – the near future, is very bright.

And another way to tell is when seemingly unrelated Japanese companies start aligning robotics initiatives, and rather conservative government agencies start earmarking real robo-cash. This should be very, very interesting.

_________

Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

Props to Jason Falconer at Gizmag for the heads-up on Honda/Sekisui.
Thanks to the Yomiuri Shimbun Online.
Images: Honda & Sekisui House

Qualcomm’s been doing very well lately, and most of those chips it builds are for mobile devices that demand a lot of data to serve their owners’ needs — and as more and more folks jump on the smartphone bandwagon, the demand for data will continue to grow exponentially. Today at Qualcomm’s What’s Next in Mobile event in Santa Clara, California, the company told us more about its plan to help build a network that’ll be able to serve up the data all its SoC’s need. The goal is to give us 1000 times the capacity of what we currently have. One of the key parts, as Qualcomm sees it, is small cell base stations in homes, offices and retail spaces working in tandem with the large cell towers that currently adorn so many roofs and mountain tops — the same thing ex-FCC head honcho Julian Genachowski talked about last year.

You see, macrocells (read: towers) can blanket wide areas in signal, but they struggle to penetrate the innards of buildings, which is where small cells come in handy. For those who aren’t familiar, small cell base stations like femtocells and picocells have been around for years, helping to boost cell signal in small areas by hooking into a local wired network. Until now, these small cells have served as a small-scale supplement to macro networks, but Qualcomm CTO Matt Grob sees them comprising a much bigger chunk of the network of the future. According to him, there are a few issues with using them in an expanded role, however.

Filed under: Mobile

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