The past 24 hours have been quite a ride, eh? We’ve seen just how easy it can be to pilfer goods from an Apple store, discovered that there’s yet another internet security flaw and Cupertino has a fix for the latest version of iOS’ problems. However,…
Earlier this month, Sony announced the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact. We’re sure many are wondering when these phones will be making their way to the US, and last we heard, they are coming soon and as far as carrier availability is concerned, T-Mobile has stated that they expect the phones to arrive in the next few weeks.
Well Sony has recently started to send out invites to the media, inviting them to an event that will be taking place on the 9th of October. According to the invite it reads “You’re invited to demand great”. While it is unclear as to what the invite could be about, many have speculated that it could be to announce the Xperia Z3 lineup’s availability stateside.
It is possible that we could be hearing about an entirely new product, but unfortunately Sony’s spokeswoman declined to provide further details when asked by the folks at CNET. In any case assuming that this is indeed for the Xperia Z3 lineup, we guess we already know that T-Mobile will be carrying the device.
There have also been rumors that Verizon could be offering the device as well, but we guess we will just have to wait and see, so do check back with us on the 9th of October for the details.
Sony Sends Out Invites For 9th October Event
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While the backplate of the Moto X will come in a variety of finishes and options, the front panel however will be offered in either black or white. Unfortunately if you were not quick on the trigger with your pre-order, you might be disappointed to learn that according to reports, it seems that the white version of the new Moto X has been backordered due to overwhelming demand.
According to the Moto Maker website, it now lists the white version of the Moto X has having been delayed up to four weeks. However for those who don’t mind the black version of the Moto X, you can still order your handset via the Moto Maker website and expect it to ship in a relatively reasonable amount of time.
There are some unfortunate customers who even after they placed their order, have been notified that their shipment has been delayed due to the backorder of the white Moto X’s front panel. Motorola claims that priority has been given to pre-orders of the black Moto X and that the unexpected demand for the white version has led to a shortage.
It’s interesting to note that with the original Moto X, the black version had proven to be a more popular choice which is why Motorola might have kept more black versions in stock, but we guess it looks like consumers took Motorola by surprise.
White Moto X (2014) Has Been Backordered Due To Unexpected Demand
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Apple hasn’t updated its Mac mini computer for at least two years now. For those who are looking for something compact and slim that they can hook up to their TV or monitors, then you might be pleased to learn that the new Mac minis have been reported to debut alongside the new iPads in October.
This is according to the folks at MacRumors who claims that they have heard from their sources that October is when the new Mac minis will be announced. We have heard word earlier this year that the new Mac mini computers will launch with Intel Haswell chipsets, and an Apple support document had also referenced the computer, although it stated mid 2014 and well let’s face it, October is hardly “mid 2014”.
Unfortunately not much else was revealed by their source, such as the hardware specs that we might be able to look forward to, but like we said, an earlier rumor did hint at an Intel Haswell chipset, so perhaps that’s one of the specs that we might be able to expect. However as MacRumors points out, the timing is a little odd given that Mac mini-compatible Broadwell chipsets have been scheduled for early next year.
This means that the new Mac mini computers, if announced, will be using older technology as Intel has had to keep pushing Haswell while Broadwell was delayed. In any case take it with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more info. In the meantime anyone else looking forward to a potentially new Mac mini?
Updated Mac Mini Rumored For October Launch
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Back in August, Instagram launched a new app called Hyperlapse. For those who might have missed the announcement and our subsequent coverage, Hyperlapse is a video recording tool by Instagram that allows users to record time lapse videos using their mobile devices. What made it extra appealing was that it introduced video stabilization, a feature that was missing from iPhones until the iPhone 6.
Now the app was pretty barebones at its launch and it only supported recording from the iPhone’s rear-facing camera. Well the good news is that if you wanted to record time lapse selfies, you might be pleased to learn that the Hyperlapse app has been updated and will now support the iPhone’s front-facing camera.
This allows users to create new types of videos and thanks to the use of the front-facing camera, users will be able to keep themselves centered in the video as they will be able to see themselves better, as opposed to trying to record themselves with the rear-facing camera. Apart from the front-facing camera support, the app has also updated its design to support the new iPhones and introduced a host of bug fixes and improvements as well.
Hyperlapse is unfortunately only available on iOS at the moment. This isn’t because Instagram wanted to make an exclusive, but it was because of the different access to the camera APIs on Android that has prevented them from making an Android version. Like we said before, perhaps the developers could find a way around it, but until then it looks like Android users will have to sit this one out, for now.
Instagram’s Hyperlapse Updated With Front Camera Support
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High-end smartphones come packed with many features, such as fingerprint scanners, amazing cameras, high-resolution displays, insanely fast processors, and so on. However they also come with a price tag which might not sit well with customers who don’t think it’s prudent to spend that much on a phone.
Well if you’re shopping on a budget, you might be interested to learn that Archos has recently launched two phones and put them up for sale – the Archos 50b Platinum and the 45c Platinum. The 50b Platinum was actually announced back in August but we guess it is finally going on sale. The 45c Platinum on the other hand is a brand new device.
Both phones will feature identical hardware save for their screen sizes and cameras. The 50b will sport a 5-inch display, while the 45c will come with a 4.5-inch display. Other than that, both phones will be powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz and will come accompanied by 512MB of RAM.
They will also come with 4GB of onboard storage. The 50b will feature an 8MP rear-facing camera while the 45c will come with a 5MP rear-facing camera. The former will be priced at $119 while the latter will be priced slightly cheaper at $99.
Archos 45c & 50b Platinum Smartphones Launched Starting At $99
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Do you know how hard it is to house-train a robot? Apparently not very. At least, not anymore, thanks to San Diego startup Brain Corporation, and its Brain Operating System, created to help robots learn and develop, much in the same way you’d train a new puppy.
BrainOS runs on a single-board computing platform and reference designs (some of which were shown off at Qualcomm’s Uplinq developer conference this week), and the company hopes to make building a robotics product as easy as creating a mobile app. Indeed, with a full Linux computer on board, it’s quite a powerful platform. The team has made it possible to program right onto the board, which has both a USB and HDMI port on it, making the visualization of data and subsequent development really easy.
The company claims the reason robots aren’t yet a part of everyday life is because they are too difficult to program, and don’t easily adapt to changing environments, which makes them a little klutzy.
BrainOS hopes to address all your clumsy robot fears, with learning algorithms that allow bots to carry out specialized tasks and adapt to new environments through training.
“The idea is you train it much like you would an animal,” said company scientist Jean-Baptiste Passot, a Ph.D in Neuroscience, adding that the robot would soon come to associate an action with a state, “so, say, if you point that way then it actually goes that way.”
The robot, he said, could be trained to navigate cluttered family environments, avoid obstacles and use simple gestures to pick up household objects for cleaning, sorting, or moving.
They could also be capable of doing much hated tasks like taking out the garbage, weeding, or cleaning up pet poop. On a more industrial level, single-task agricultural robots could be employed to carry out crop harvesting, precision spraying, or hoeing.
Of course, if you’ve ever seen Space Odyssey, you know that a robot can just as well be a system, say for home automation, or that all-encompassing buzz phrase “the Internet of Things,” where sensors and actuators are embedded all around the house in order to make it “smart.” Of course, at the moment, YOU need to be pretty smart in order to know how to program such a complicated system yourself, which is where BrainOS comes in again, as a way to replace that pesky programming with training.
Installed on a smart hub, BrainOS could allow people to customize their homes just by showing the house sensors examples of what they want. For instance, says the firm, an elderly person could teach remote-controlled lights to turn on or off in response to a hand gesture or an everyday activity such as climbing into bed. A TV could learn to pause when somebody enters the room or mute when you want to take a phone call. Automated cabinets and drawers could be taught to open and close. So instead of us having to adapt to our houses, BrainOS would allow the house to adapt to us.
The little roaming robots are still the cutest though.
“Right now 3D printing is pretty attractive, so the whole robot shell is 3D printed,” said Passot, noting that once printed, one could simply buy the brain and then assemble it all together to get “a little, cute little rover, which is kind of cool.”
When hooked up to camera sensors the robots get the gift of stereo vision, and the speaker in its belly can respond to cues and let its owner know if it’s ready to learn, or tired, or needs help. “It’s also got wifi, so it’s sort of telepathic,” Passot joked.
Ok, maybe that’s a little too creepy!
Brain Corporation wants to train robots with new OS
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Perhaps some of you guys might have seen videos in the past where gamers “prank” each other by deleting each other’s characters from their World of Warcraft accounts. Granted that these characters can be restored after appealing to Blizzard, but it probably takes time and it’s not exactly the most efficient way to go about it.
Well the good news is that one of the upcoming features in the Warlords of Draenor content patch is the ability for gamers to undelete their characters. Basically this allows gamers to restore their characters themselves in the event that they might have accidentally deleted them, although this seems unlikely as there is a two-step process when it comes to deleting a character, so this is probably for gamers who might have regretted their decision.
That being said, this feature can only be used once every 30 days and according to Blizzard, “Undeleting a character restores all of its enchantments, gems, and items fully intact. You’ll be able to get back into action right away, and your character won’t remember being deleted—we won’t tell, either.”
There will also be limitations, for example characters below level 10 and Death Knight classes at level 55 cannot be undeleted. Characters level 10 to level 29 can be undeleted within 90 days, and characters level 50 and above can be undeleted at any point in time.
In terms of character naming, if you deleted a character because you wanted to free up the name, Blizzard has this to say. “We’ll be holding deleted character names for a limited time, and the original creator can reclaim it for use on a new character during that time. If you create a new character with the same name as one of your deleted characters (let’s say Flugur), the new character must be renamed, transferred, or deleted to complete the restoration of the original Flugur.”
[Image Credit – MMO-Champion]
Upcoming Warlords Of Draenor Patch Allows For Character Undeletion
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Are you a huge fan of social networks, but over the years, you have realized that one giant stood out amongst the sea of competitors, and that would be Facebook? So much for Friendster or MySpace, or if you were to turn the clock back even more, how about e-Circles? Having said that, here is a possible competitor to Facebook known as Ello.
Ello happens to sport a new and clean design, where it is touted to be “ad-free and porn friendly” as well. Apart from that, it currently remains as a beta version of a social network. Having first been founded in March by Paul Budnitz (who happens to be the billionaire founder of Kidrobot) alongside a bunch of like-minded people, Ello got off the blocks as a private social network.
Right now, Ello remains an “invite only” social network, and its workings are extremely bare bones – we are talking about just a standard issue news/friend feed – that’s it. Forget about having a mobile version, and there are no protocols as yet when it comes to content flagging, user blocking, the works. Well, I guess the lack of a mobile version is good for one thing – you do not need to sit down with your dinner date while having the both of you check on your mobile devices! Where will Ello go from here? Only time will tell.
Ello Could Be A Facebook Alternative
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The squabble between those who want to use drones for purposes considered commercial and the FAA, which is working diligently to stamp out all such usage until it gets its regulations ironed out, has taken a new turn. As of today, the agency has approved the commercial use of drones by Hollywood, with some limitations. According to the New York … Continue reading
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