The magic behind Apple’s Touch ID technology has received an unveiling in the form of the company’s latest pair of patent applications. One of the patents describes the various parts of the button itself and how it senses and reads a finger touching it. The other patent discusses how the fingerprint data and verification are […]
On Thursday, Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to enact a ban on 3D printed guns. It’s a pre-emptive move, because so far there hasn’t been a single report of 3D printed firearms showing up in Philly. As an assistant to the bill’s author told Philly Magazine, "it’s just based on internet stuff out there."
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The ol’ keyboard and mouse combo have proven nearly as versatile as personal computers themselves, but there are still cases when a more responsive or intuitive physical interface is needed. For example, many musicians today use MIDI controllers and sequencers. Palette aims to be that alternative interface to computers, and one that adapts to your needs.
Palette is a nearly infinitely expandable control interface. It has a power module that connects to computers via USB and control modules – buttons, knobs and sliders – that connect to the power module and to each other. Each module has two RGB LEDs that shine through its perimeter, and you’ll be able to customize the way those LEDs light up. Speaking of customization, the power module also has an OLED screen that displays the profile you’re currently using for your setup.
When it launches, Palette will support only OS X and a few programs – the Adobe Creative Suite, DJ software like Ableton and Traktor plus a few “basic web apps” – but its inventors are working on an SDK so that developers can make their programs compatible with Palette. That will be crucial to the success of this system. And if Palette does take off, we can expect more modules to come out, such as joysticks, jog dials and more. I think this has the potential to be revolutionary. It can help not just professionals but non-techies and perhaps even disable people as well.
Pledge at least $89 (CAD) (~$84 USD) on Kickstarter to get a four module Palette kit as a reward. Higher pledges get you more control modules, and there’s even a reward tier for modules with wooden cases. I’d love for Palette to be compatible with mobile devices. Imagine playing a light DJ set using only your tablet and your Palette setup, or playing Spaceteam with real controls.
[via Digital Trends]
The NSA just can’t get a break these days. The latest Snowden paper revelation shows the spy agency speaking plainly last year about pursuing unlimited vision of the digital world. The top secret paper, entitled “SIGINT Strategy” (SIGINT being Spy for “signals intelligence”) was distributed internally Feb. 23, 2012. The paper expressed a plan to […]
Granted, $2,700 is still a pretty steep price to pay, but if you’ve already bit the hi-fi bullet and picked up Bang & Olufsen’s satellite dish-inspired BeoPlay A9, you’ll probably be happy to learn that the speaker just got Spotify Connect. If you’re a premium subscriber to the streaming service (more money, we know), you can hit play on the speaker to stream your music from the cloud, the minute you get home. You can control the music from your mobile device, but you don’t have to worry about pairing it with the speaker. Hey, no one ever said convenience was cheap.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Source: Spotify
A new patent application published by the USPTO (via MacRumors) shows some more detail around Apple’s use of Touch ID and the fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5s. Apple has been mostly quiet about the specifics of how the tech works, while generally asserting that the fingerprint information never goes to a server, and only remains on the phone itself in a “secure enclave” which isn’t accessible by the rest of the system or third-party devs.
The patent describes a system that not only siloes data on the Touch ID “enclave” section of the A7 processor, but that also encrypts the fingerprint maps registered on the device to make it that much more difficult for any thieves to even attempt to pull the data off in any kind of usable form. The enclave is a one-way street, too: the system can check new fingerprints against the stored ones, but there’s no way to check or call up the stored fingerprints at all for external examination once they’re registered.
Otherwise, the system works likely as you’d expect it to, checking against stored profiles for possible matches (and using stored lower resolution templates based on variables like different angles to make it more likely to correctly ID your finger). But another patent also published this week shows a breakdown of all the components within the Touch ID hardware, and explains how the actual sensor hardware can be hidden behind an opaque lens that’s been printed with an “ink assembly.” It’s likely this needs to be uniform to read correctly, however, as Apple notably left off its small rounded square icon on the 5s home button, after that has graced each since the iPhone’s initial introduction.
These patents provide a little more clarity on what exactly is going on when you rest your finger or thumb on that 5s home screen and have it magically unlock, and it’s reassuring to see just how much thought Apple has put into making sure the info truly is secure.
I’ve yet to play Animal Crossing: New Leaf – or any Animal Crossing game for that matter – because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to put my 3DS down if I get that game. It seems really addictive. If it’s already got its hooks on you, check out Edberg Panganiban’s Etsy shop, where he sells 3.75″ hand painted resin figures based on the game.
As of this writing these two dudes are the only ones left on Edberg’s shop, but you can also have him make figures out of your Animal Crossing character. Just reach out to him and send him a couple of images of your character. However, his services seem to be in demand at the moment and he’s announced that he won’t be able to finish future orders in time for Christmas.
Head to Edberg’s Etsy shop RezArmy to place an order. It’ll cost you more than a few bells to get a figure though. According to Polygon Edberg charges $40-$50 (USD) for figures with simple details and no accessories and up to $100 for more elaborate designs and accessories.
[via Polygon]
You pop on a goopy strip, and a short while later you’ve got teeth as white and gleaming as polished tile. But how do those strips work? Wired explains, and when you zoom in to the individual ions flying around, it looks a lot like a sci-fi space attack.
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AT&T announced on Tuesday the release of the Unite Pro LTE hotspot from Netgear. This mobile WiFi device, scheduled to be released on November 22nd, features a 2.4 inch touchscreen display and has some upgrades from its Unite predecessor. The Pro will manage up to 15 simultaneous wireless connections with a 16 hour batter life, upping it from 10 devices and 10 hours in the previous model.
The price is increasing a little as well, however. While the Unite when for 99 cents with a 2-year contract, the Unite Pro is $49.99 with a 2-year contract. More details are available in this video below from AT&T.
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