Jul 16
Astronomers have spotted a new moon orbiting Neptune—the first to be discovered in over a decade—by studying images that were archived all the way back in 2009.
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Jul 16
Microsoft’s Lab of Things now in open beta, lets researchers study all the things
Posted in: Today's Chili
Microsoft has released the first beta version of Lab of Things (LoT), and it’s much more than just a fun name. LoT enables researchers to access data from connected devices around the world, collaborating and sharing it as they see fit. If, say, someone in the lab at University of Michigan wanted to determine how much TV people watch in London, all they’d need to do is install sensors as they please. Well, that and install a computer running HomeOS onsite to collect and transmit said data to an Azure Storage account. In theory, this gives academics a robust set of deployable tools without requiring coding knowledge to use them. The Windows company is taking a hands-off approach to the info, too — researchers retain all rights to whatever they collect. The catch is, the LoT license doesn’t allow for commercial use. The source link has a cute video explaining everything, but you’ll need Silverlight to play it.
Filed under: Household, Microsoft
Via: The Next Web
Source: The Lab of Things
Jul 16
Acer has ditched plans to push Thunderbolt on its Windows PCs, turning instead to USB 3.0 despite being the first PC manufacturer to support Intel’s high-speed connection. According to Acer, which first included Thunderbolt on the Aspire S5 ultrabook in early 2012, it’s a matter of cost, USB 3.0 offering comparable speed among other advantages, and the continuing shortage of peripherals actually using Thunderbolt technology that have soured it on the port.
“We’re really focusing on USB 3.0 – it’s an excellent alternative to Thunderbolt,” Acer spokesperson Ruth Rosene told CNET. “It’s less expensive, offers comparable bandwidth, charging for devices such as mobile phones, and has a large installed base of accessories and peripherals.”
Acer was one of a trio of PC manufacturers said to be shifting interconnect attention to Thunderbolt back in 2012, including ASUS and Lenovo. Since then, Dell, HP, and Gigabyte have all released laptops or desktops with the port, which offers 10 Gbps in each direction simultaneously.
Apple is the company most associated with Thunderbolt, however, including the port on all of its current MacBook notebooks, and most of its Mac desktops. The new Mac Pro 2013 will even debut Intel’s second-gen version, Thunderbolt 2, with even greater bandwidth.
Whereas the current Mac Pro is a sizable tower, the new version is a far smaller cylinder. Instead of offering multiple internal bays for expansion, Apple expects Thunderbolt 2 to be used, with six ports in total, each offering daisy-chaining support for up to six devices, for a total of 36.
Exactly what devices will be hooked up is perhaps Acer’s lingering concern. The market for Thunderbolt peripherals remains small, with high-speed external storage often using SSDs the most common application. They’re expensive, however, and target a niche audience; even the new Mac Pro includes USB 3.0 ports, recognizing the connectivity standard’s ubiquity.
Acer abandons Thunderbolt in favor of cheaper USB 3.0 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 16
Batman’s collection of villains are a strange bunch, where most of them are just plain mad. After all, villains tend to have this lust for power, while some of them are totally insane that they just want to introduce nothing but anarchy to the world. The Riddler, however, is willing to tempt the world’s greatest detective with his collection of riddles, that sometimes ends up as irritating. Still, here is the $349.99 Batman Arkham City Riddler Tropher Replica that allows you to display it on a shelf, be it at home or at the office.
The reason why it costs so much is because this has been hand-sculpted, hand-finished, and hand-painted, so you can be quite sure that no two of these are the same, as there should be some subtle differences between them. Not only that, the Batman Arkham City Riddler Tropher Replica would look a whole lot better in the dark and at night thanks to a beautiful LED effect. This is an officially licensed DC Comics collectible, so who knows, it might even be worth something many more years down the road when you are old and feeble, while Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight remains young, strong and rich in the comics.
[ Batman Arkham City Riddler Tropher Replica copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Jul 16
A federal jury has just taken a bite out of patent licensing firm WiLAN’s business plan, ruling that HTC, Sony, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson didn’t infringe any of the four patents it sued them over. The latter two companies fended off three wireless base station claims, while Sony and HTC defended a fourth involving handset technology. HTC said it believed that WiLAN “exaggerated the scope of its patent” to extract royalties, while a spokesman for Alcatel-Lucent said it believed the company “was stretching the boundaries of its patents” — all of which were invalidated by the court. WiLAN has been fighting such battles on numerous fronts for many years, including one reported to have resulted in a large settlement with Intel. Though it said it was disappointed by the decision, the IP firm still has pending litigation against Time Warner and Comcast, among others. Those cable firms may be hoping a White House patent reform bill will be tabled sooner rather than later.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony, HTC
Source: WSJ (subscription), Bloomberg
Jul 16
New leakages have emerged from battleship Xperia, with specs beefing out what we previously knew about the forthcoming Xperia i1 phone, also known under the development name Honami. And also known as a 20-Megapixel whopper.
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Jul 16
Apple is reportedly in negotiations with PrimeSense, the motion-tracking specialist responsible for the original Xbox Kinect, supposedly aiming to acquire the company in a deal tipped to be worth around $280m. Apple is said to have dispatched a team of senior engineers to Israel-based PrimeSense early this month, Calcalist reports, though talks are said to be in early stages. The Cupertino company could use the 3D movement tracking technology to allow more flexible methods of interacting with future iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
PrimeSense is best known for its involvement in Microsoft’s Xbox 360, specifically the Kinect sensor that was released roughly halfway through the console’s life cycle. Adding the ability to track individual limb movements of two players simultaneously, Kinect opened the door to new gaming styles as well as gamepad-free navigation of Xbox Live menus, among other things.
However, Microsoft opted to develop its own motion-tracking system for Kinect 2.0, as will be supplied as standard with the Xbox One when the next-gen console goes on sale later this year.
Now, PrimeSense is working on new motion-tracking architecture, and specifically a new sensor called Capri. Where the original system, found in the first Kinect, was reasonably large, Capri slims things down considerably: in fact, PrimeSense intends it to find its way into smartphones and tablets, as well as laptops and more.
That could well be where Apple’s interest comes in, with Capri being an obvious match for the iPhone and iPad. The Cupertino firm is known to have an interest in alternative interface options to the now-traditional keyboard, mouse, and touchscreen, while it has also stubbornly refused to fit touchscreens to MacBook displays, arguing that the ergonomics of reaching out and touching your notebook’s screen aren’t optimal.
The chatter of potential acquisition may well come to nothing, though $280m – as the deal is tipped to be worth – would be pocket change for Apple.
Update: PrimeSense has denied the acquisition chatter, with an unnamed source at the company telling TechCrunch that it’s “journalist delusion based on unverified and twisted hints.” The source also takes issue with the $280m price suggested, arguing tongue-in-cheek that “we’re worth 10 times that.”
VIA Engadget
Apple eyeing Kinect-creator PrimeSense in rumored $280m grab [Updated] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 16
ISS Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy and Luca Parmitano are set to commence a spacewalk on the ISS today starting at 8:10 ET. The pair will undertake the final installation of bypass jumpers, providing essential power redundancy to critical components. Other tasks to be completed on the walk include replacing a video camera, relocating wireless television kit and performing vital checks on component door covers. This will be the fifth spacewalk performed on the ISS this year, and the 171st in support of the station overall. You can watch the preliminaries right now, or head back at 8:10 to catch the action.
Update: As those watching will be aware, the spacewalk wound up being cut considerably short due to a water leak in astronaut Luca Parmitano’s helmet that required him to be assisted back inside the space station.
Source: NASA
Jul 16
I love things like 3-D movies, but my daughter isn’t even mildly impressed. I’ve come to realize that it’s because 3-D movies aren’t new to her, it’s the way movies have always been. I remember watching the holograms in Star Wars and thinking how awesome they were, I believed that one day, we would watch holographic televisions. Well, things aren’t progressing as fast as I wished they would, but the times they are a-changin.
Check out Litholo’s Hologram Kit, enabling you to make genuine, full color holograms without the pesky, few hundred thousand dollar, water cooled, professional laser, or on the other side of the scale, spending your hard earned cash for a single color (usually red) hologram-like experience, completely lacking in the wow-factor that a full color hologram brings to the table.
The Litholo Hologram Kit, was born a Kickstarter project that was quickly funded and came to fruition, allowing folks like us to make gorgeous full color holograms at home. Each kit includes a very safe, hologram quality laser diode laser ( safe enough that your natural blink reflex alone will protect you) special “instant” Hologram film, plates, darkroom light, batteries, step by step instructions and, a 100% guarantee that you will be able to make a hologram, or your money back!
So, if you’re as geeky as I am, and would like to be making around 20 of your very own awesome holograms, at home, and in under an hour each, then you’re probably going to want to grab yourself a Litholo Hologram Kit at amazon.com, for under 100 bucks. However I’m still patiently waiting for my holographic television.
[ Litholo Hologram Kits – The Future is Now copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Jul 16
My parents are research scientists and their work took us to the US when I was growing up. When we moved back to Hungary, on July 16, 1993, I saved a can of Coke on the plane home. I drank it yesterday.
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