Saturday, March 02, 2013

Polaroid to make Socialmatic Camera a reality for fans of Instagram, recursion

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/01/polaroid-to-make-socialmatic-camera-a-reality/

Polaroid to make Socialmatic Camera a reality for selfaware Instagram fans

Instagram owes its distinctive identity to Polaroid's OneStep cameras; it's now time to return the favor. Socialmatic has signed a deal for a production, Polaroid-branded version of its 2012 Socialmatic Camera concept you see above, which translates the mobile app's retro icon to a real-world, instant-print shooter. While technical details are scarce, the agreement will see accessory maker C&A Marketing build and sell the design sometime in the first quarter of 2014. If the finished Polaroid work is anything like the concept, it could be more than a novelty with its interchangeable lens system, 4.3-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, WiFi and 16GB of storage. We don't know if the camera will ship with Android, but we hope it does -- there would be an appropriately Xzibit-like aspect to running Instagram on top of an Instagram-shaped camera.

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Via: DVICE

Source: Socialmatic

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The 'Great Rotation' Out Of Investing

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-great-rotation-out-of-investing-2013-3

Since 2004, interest in 'stocks' and 'bonds' has plunged by more than 50%. Despite a renaissance for bonds in 2008, and stocks in 2009, the 'Great Rotation' appears to be 'out of investing'. Google Trends also shows that, as expected, 'Bonds' have been more popular than 'Stocks' since the crash - a development the Fed is so desperately trying to reverse, by imposing ever stricter central planning, ironically the reason why most have "just said no" to an authoritarian, inefficient, and farcical policy instrument formerly known as the market. Is it any wonder so many retail brokerages, commission-takers, and asset-gatherers are advertising day-in, day-out and constantly reassuring with the "it'll all be 'ok' in the long-run" meme?

Google Trends search for "stocks" and "bonds"

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Friday, March 01, 2013

The Miracle Bendy Displays of the Future Are Still Years Away

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5987599/the-miracle-bendy-displays-of-the-future-are-still-years-away

The Miracle Bendy Displays of the Future Are Still Years AwayThe frustration with devices like a hypothetical iWatch—or a completely imaginary roll-up tablet (maybe a Vaio or something?)—is that they're made up of parts, and sometimes those parts don't exist quite yet. Or, in the case of Corning's brilliantly flexible Willow glass, they exist, but no one knows quite how to use them yet.

The bottom line, according to a recent Bloomberg interview? All the bendy gadgets you've ever dreamed of are possible. Just not quite yet.

Companies like Apple and other major OEMs have had access to Willow Glass since June, according to Corning Glass Technologies president James Clappin. But the nature of the material—broad sheets that can roll up like a newspaper—has left its partners stymied over how exactly to implement it:

"People are not accustomed to glass you roll up," Clappin said after an event marking the opening an $800 million factory for liquid-crystal-display glass. "The ability of people to take it and use it to make a product is limited."

Clappin's timeline? Three years. Three years before we see what's probably the next truly life-altering breakthrough in gadgetry.

That may seem like a long time to wait for an iWatch (assuming you care about that sort of thing in the first place), and who knows? It could also just be a head-fake. We could see Willow glass products in our stockings this Christmas. But even if it's the full three years—or longer, that's three years that companies have to plan out the software, the guts, the design, all the other pieces to the flexible tech puzzle. Three years to dream, to plan, to build. The future feels a long way off, sure. But at least we'll be ready for it. [Bloomberg]

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Some People Are Filming a "Documentary" Using Google Glass in New York Right Now

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5987675/some-people-are-filming-a-documentary-using-google-glass-in-new-york-right-now

Some People Are Filming a "Documentary" Using Google Glass in New York Right Now There's a lot of really weird stuff that happens on any given day in New York City. Which is why I like to take the occasional day off during the week just to walk around and take in my surroundings. Take, for example, this random video shoot I came across of some grungy folks equipped with Google Glass in the Lower East Side.

When asked if they were shooting a commercial for Glass, the production guys told me they were helping out with a "documentary" and that it wasn't a commercial. Bullshit. I mean, Glass isn't available to the public yet (duh) and there aren't even very many Google employees who have them in New York.

Now, this isn't the first time Glass has been spotted in New York but it's the first time I've personally come across it here. The other time was at I/O last year when I tried on Sergey's own personal pair. It was underwhelming given the demo mode was embarrassingly dated, as Brin told us before a few of us donned the glass-less Glass.

Anyway, my feeble attempts to glean any more knowledge about this shoot were thwarted by the fact that, well, I knew what they were and I was asking too many questions. Also, #ifihadglass I would have snapped some higher quality shots than the ones here in this story because, you know, when there's a creepy dude circling around with this phone out, you tend to go and hide in the production truck.

There were four or five Glass wearers, most of them cyclists, sitting in front of Frank's Chop Shop waiting for… something. They milled about for a few more minutes and quickly descended into the tattoo shop next door to shoot their "documentary." And thus ended my brief encounter with Glass in New York, which was quickly followed by an insistent homeless or psychotic person—or both?— who wanted to shake everyone's hand.

We'll see in a few months time if they were shooting a doc or another commercial about some grungy older cyclists getting tattoos in New York. Honestly, if nothing else it's just refreshing to see someone use Glass for something other than a skydive.

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Solidoodle 3D printing stores set to bring 'upscale fashion shopping' to Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/28/solidoodle/

Looking for an "upscale fashion shopping experience" in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan or Belarus? Solidoodle's got your back. The company is set to launch 3D printing stores in those areas, featuring its low cost 3D printers and "lifestyle" items created on said devices. The Russian store is set to be the first to open this summer. The company also used its press conference today to announce plans to sell printers in Brazil, Canada, Korea and Japan, as well as a join initiative with Georgia Institute of Technology's Mars Society to test the devices in "harsh environments like Mars" (places like Utah, apparently). More info on the announcements can be found in an exceedingly enthusiastic press release after the break.

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Autodesk releases Socialcam 5.0 with HDR video, color correction

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/28/Autodesk-socialcam-HDR-video/

Autodesk releases newly branded Socialcam 50 with HDR video, color correction

Autodesk's been trying to bring its special effects expertise to bear on various handheld apps, and now its turning to cameras with its first release of Socialcam (version 5), since it bought the app last July. With the release, it's bringing updated visual effects, 720P resolution, HDR video with one-click mapping, color correction and a new logo to the to the app's estimated 20 million users. You'll be able to grab it gratis for iOS at the App Store today, or on Play for Android at an unspecified date next week. We're not sure if future releases will include the ability to add creatures to your vacation snaps, but we can always dream. There's more info in the PR after the break, or hit the source to grab it.

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Source: App Store

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Telefonica shows off streaming 4K video on home fiber

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/01/telefonica-shows-off-streaming-4k-video-on-home-fiber/

Telefonica shows off streaming 4K video, won't make it fit your ISDN line

The future of TV is supposed to involve streaming video, and it's also supposed to involve 4K TVs -- but melding the two has been difficult. Telefonica wants to show that the feat is at least possible with mere mortal connections: it's been using Mobile World Congress to show 4K video streaming on a 100Mbps fiber-to-the-home link. As our Spanish teammates can attest, the (admittedly very local) demo works as well as you'd hope, providing all the fine details without buffering or other hiccups. There's no estimated timeframe for a commercial service, but we wouldn't hold out hope of a version that would fit on cable or DSL when there's a raw 40Mbps bitrate.

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Source: Engadget Spanish (translated)

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Thursday, February 28, 2013

LG Cinema Beam short-throw laser projector and 100-inch screen released in Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/lg-cinema-beam-hecto-laser-projector/

LG Cinema Beam shortthrow laser projector and 100inch screen released in Korea

One of LG's more surprising product introductions at CES 2013 was its "HECTO" laser projector, which -- when combined with its accompanying 100-inch screen -- is capable of tossing a 1080p image from just 22-inches away. While we'd heard it's coming to the US in March, the projector is out in Korea today branded Cinema Beam TV, available for those ready to drop 9 million won ($8,322) on the package. It has a claimed 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and can accept video via WiDi or Miracast for wireless streaming from a PC or mobile device, while LG also says its laser light source is eco-friendly thanks to a mercury free design and extra long lifetime. The price tag is said to be around $10K when it ships here, apparently the company feels its unique capabilities make it a perfect fit for commercial installations like sports bars, or just high-end home theater customers that value its small footprint.

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Source: LG Korea

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Stretchable, serpentine lithium-ion battery works at three times its usual size

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/stretchable-serpentine-lithium-ion-battery-works-at-3x-size/

Stretchable, serpentine lithiumion battery works at three times its size

While we've seen more than a few flexible batteries in our day, they're not usually that great at withstanding tugs and pulls. A team-up between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois could give lithium-ion batteries that extreme elasticity with few of the drawbacks you'd expect. To make a stretchable battery that still maintains a typical density, researchers built electrode interconnects from serpentine metal wires that have even more wavy wires inside; the wires don't require much space in normal use, but will unfurl in an ordered sequence as they're pulled to their limits. The result is a prototype battery that can expand to three times its normal size, but can still last for eight to nine hours. It could also charge wirelessly, and thus would be wearable under the skin as well as over -- imagine fully powered implants where an external battery is impractical or unsightly. There's no word yet on whether there will be refined versions coming to real-world products, but we hope any developments arrive quickly enough to give stretchable electronics a viable power source.

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Via: ScienceDaily

Source: Nature

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Bendy Batteries Will Power Our Cyborg Future

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bendy-batteries-will-power-our-cyborg-future-2013-2

stretchy battery

Our cyborg future may not be far off.

An ultra-stretchy battery could one day be used to power bionic eyeballs, brain-wave monitoring devices and robotic skins, new research suggests.

The new device, which embeds tiny lithium-based batteries in a silicone sheet, can stretch up to three times its initial length and could be recharged wirelessly, Yonggang Huang, study co-author and a mechanical engineer at Northwestern University, wrote to LiveScience in an email.

The new battery is described today (Feb. 26) in the journal Nature Communications.

Powering devices

For decades, science-fiction writers have envisioned dystopian worlds in which humans and machines are seamlessly integrated with bionic implants. But powering the cyborg future requires a way to conform power sources to these futuristic devices. [9 Cyborg Enhancements Available Right Now]

Other researchers have developed stretchy and paper-thin batteries before, but most didn't deform much or have the ability to recharge wirelessly, Huang wrote.

Toward that end, Huang and his colleagues embedded tiny lithium-ion batteries in a framework of conducting wires arranged in a repeating S-shaped pattern that, like a fractal, looks similar at several scales. The whole arrangement is printed onto a stretchable silicone sheet. The wires themselves are brittle, but uncoil like a spring, allowing the whole device to be flexible without forcing the delicate lithium-ion batteries to break.

stretchable batteryTo demonstrate that the concept actually worked, the team powered a red light-emitting diode (LED) while stretching and twisting the battery.

The researchers envision the battery being used for wearable gadgets, implantable brain-wave monitors, or other bionic devices.

While the new design is incredibly innovative, it wouldn't produce enough power to keep a laptop, or even a large light bulb, running, said Gao Liu, a chemist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who is developing stretchable batteries for transportation systems, but who was not involved in the study. That means it mainly would be useful for a few narrow applications, such as biological implants that don't require very much power, Liu said.

"It's for a niche market," Liu told LiveScience. "You really need to find a market where you don't really need much energy, but you need to deliver the energy on the spot, where you couldn't use a wire."

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+

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Onkyo launching six fresh Android SlatePads in Japan on March 8th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/onkyo-android-slatepads-japan/

Onkyo launching six fresh Android SlatePads in Japan on March 8th

Onkyo is best known in the US and most other markets for its audio gear, but in the past, has tried its hand at PCs, music services, and even a dual-screen netbook. The company also occasionally dabbles in tablets, and will soon be releasing no less than six new Android-powered "SlatePads" in Japan. On the bottom rung is a 7-incher with miserly specs: 1.2GHz Cortex-A8 CPU, 800 x 480 res, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage and ICS to sticky-up your fingers. Dual-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A9 processors, 1GB RAM and 4.1 Jelly Bean are found on the rest of the range, which includes another 7-inch, one 8-inch, one 10.1-inch and two 9.7-inch models. All will be available from March 8th, with damage starting at 10,480 yen (around $114) and topping out at 28,800 yen (approx. $313) for the 9.7-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 res option. You can check out the finer details in the Japanese PR sourced below, but know these aren't likely to make it stateside -- not unless you want to pony up the extra dough to import one, anyway.

[Thanks, Olivier]

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Via: Tabl3ts

Source: Onkyo

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Dell intros Latitude 10 enhanced security for all your governmental tableting needs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/dell-latitude-10-security/

Dell intros Latitude 10 for all your enhance security governmental tableting needs

Government agencies need some tablet love, too. Dell knows this, and the company's looking to make some headway in that space, along with other areas like healthcare companies and financial institutions that require a high level of protection on their CE devices. The enhanced security version of the Latitude 10 Windows 8 slate features all manner of safe-keeping technologies, including dual-authentication with a smart card and fingerprint reader. There's also a Trusted Platform Module, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Computrace Support and a Noble Lock Slot. All of those security measures help the device comply with regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Federal Information Processing Standard. You can pick up all that security, along with a dual-core Atom processor today for $779.

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Rambus Binary Pixel brings single-shot HDR photos to phone cameras

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/rambus-binary-pixel-brings-single-shot-hdr-photos-to-phone-cameras/

Rambus Binary Pixel brings singleshot HDR photos to phone cameras

Most high dynamic range photography 'cheats' by merging multiple exposures into a composite image, which can lead to blurry shots. While HDR camera technology is catching up and will even let us record HDR video on our smartphones, Rambus believes its new Binary Pixel technology can achieve the effect with less waste. Its new imaging chip tries to replicate the human eye's range through setting light thresholds and oversampling the scene in both space and time. The results are more natural shadows and highlights down to the pixel level, with processing processing fast enough for video. The overall image reportedly suffers from less noise as well. Companies will have to talk to Rambus to implement Binary Pixel, although it's a considered a drop-in technology that should talk to existing processors and camera sensors, whether it's for smartphones or point-and-shoot cameras. Rambus may just want to hurry if it hopes to get noticed -- it's joining an increasingly crowded field.

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Source: Rambus

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Adobe outs Photoshop Touch for phones, ready to outfit pockets for $4.99

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/adobe-photoshop-touch-for-phones/

Adobe outs Photoshop Touch for phones, ready to outfit pockets for $4.99

Jealous about your mates' ability to edit photos and whatnot via their mid-sized slates? Well, Adobe has just announced a solution that's ready to equip your handset of choice. That's right, the pro design software outfit added Photoshop Touch for phones that wields "core" Photoshop capabilities, Scribble Selection and supports those high-res snapshots. The app also sports Camera Fill and other special effects alongside the option to share creations via Facebook, Twitter, email and other applications. Creative Cloud access is here as well, with auto syncing across a device arsenal and a free 2GB storage account to boot. For iOS, you'll need an iPhone 4S, 5th-gen iPod touch or later to get in on the action while the Android version requires Ice Cream Sandwich. Ready to take the leap? A $5 purchase from iTunes or Google Play stands between you and slice of Adobe on that GS III or iPhone 5.

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Source: Adobe

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New ANT+ wireless protocol promises longer battery life for fitness gear

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/new-ant-protocol/

New ANT+ wireless protocol

The ANT wireless protocol has long been a darling of the fitness industry and is incorporated into a lot of exercise equipment, from cycling computers to GPS watches. Now Dynastream Innovations, the company behind ANT, has launched a next generation protocol that boasts enhanced encryption, lower cost, faster connections between sensors (around 60 Kbps) and less power consumption when it comes to the ANT+ standard. It's already been released on a nRF51422 SoC by Nordic Semiconductor, along with the ANTUSB-m USB stick (shown after the break), which provides quick connectivity to PCs, Macs and Android devices. Consumers will have to wait awhile until the new protocol is widely adopted, but ANT's popularity could mean that won't be too long from now.

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Source: ANT

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Freescale fashions world's smallest ARM-powered microcontroller

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/freescale-worlds-smallest-arm-powered-microcontroller/

Freescale fashions world's smallest ARM-powered microcontroller

If you're looking for an exceedingly tiny ARM-based microcontroller, Freescale says it's just cooked up the world's smallest. Dubbed the Kinetis KL02, the piece of kit is 25 precent smaller than the previous record-holder and measures up at a 1.9 x 2.00 x 0.56 millimeters. Having trouble visualizing exactly how small that is? Just take a gander at the photo above. A 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ processor has made it onto the wafer-level chip-scale package and it's paired with 32KB of flash memory and 4KB of RAM. The outfit reckons it'll be a good match for 'internet of things' devices that are tight on space, and says it beats its older L Series kin in power efficiency. Manufacturer sampling for the KL02 is slated for March, while wide availability is penciled in for July, and it'll set buyers back 75 cents a piece when purchased in 100,000-unit loads. Hit the jump for more details in the press release.

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Source: Freescale

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Linpus Gesture2Launch brings neat, customizable touch control to Windows 8 (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/linpus-gesture2launch-hands-on/

Linpus GestureLaunch brings neat, customizable touch control to Windows 8 handson video

You might remember Linpus from its various Linux projects, but these days the outfit is getting into apps in a big way. We've just been hands-on with its latest offering, Gesture2Launch, a straightforward concept that could prove seriously useful to those with Windows 8 touch-enabled devices. The current app has default gestures that can be assigned to an array of functions -- both to launch applications and to trigger system actions. Most of the gestures are based on letters, so to launch the calculator you'd just bring up the charms bar (which primes the system for your input) and then draw the letter 'C'. An upside-down 'U' would bring up the lock screen.

The version we played with, however, takes things a step further. It lets you create your own gestures, which ought to make them a tad easier to remember. This feature should be added soon, but for now you can see how we fared with the app in the video after the break (demoed on a rather nice Acer Aspire S7) and then it try out free-of-charge via the link below. It leaves us wondering why Microsoft didn't implement something like this out of the box.

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Source: Linpus

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Hands-free Fruit Ninja: NUIA makes it easier to code PC apps with eye control (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/nuia-hands-on-play-fruit-ninja-with-eye-control/

Hands-free Fruit Ninja: NUIA makes it easier to code PC apps with eye control (hands-on)

We know what you think this hands-on is about. That laptop you see up there has a Tobii eye-tracking sensor affixed to it, and you're probably wondering why we're still dwelling on it after getting hands-on twice at CES 2012 and once more at CES 2013. But that's not what we're here to show you today. While wandering the halls of Mobile World Congress, we came across NUIA (Natural User Inter Action), a German company whose software is designed to make it easier for developers to code apps that make use of eye tracking sensors, such as Tobii's. In particular, devs will only have to write one extension, even if they're making use of multiple sensing devices (e.g., eye control and gesture recognition).

That comes in handy for a game like Fruit Ninja, as the required gestures extend beyond the bounds of what Tobii can do by itself. (Tobii lets you do things like zoom in, select objects and scroll, but not swipe flying fruit.) If you venture past the break, you'll see yours truly trying (and occasionally succeeding) at Fruit Ninja, though obviously this game is just one use case (albeit, a very fun one). There's nothing stopping developers from applying this to creative, productivity or even enterprise apps, too. As for availability, well, it's pretty clear the hardware will have to come before the software -- a NUIA spokesperson told us she doesn't expect its kit will be commercial! ly avail able until sensing devices like Tobii become integrated into Windows 8 PCs. And if Tobii is any indication, that might not happen until next year at the earliest.

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You Can Make Gummy Bear Versions of Yourself

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5986906/you-can-make-gummy-bear-versions-of-yourself

You Can Make Gummy Bear Versions of YourselfSomewhere in between the honor of getting a bronze statue of yourself and the shame of re-creating your sexual organs in plastic is this awesome gummy bear yourself service. You can basically create a gummy replica of yourself to eat. It looks absolutely delicious.

FabCafe in Japan is offering the service for approximately $65 (6,000 Yen), which sounds like a complete steal to me. It's apparently a 2-part process that requires a 3D body scanner and a lot of gummy colors. FabCafe, which made a chocolate replica for faces, is doing this for Japan's White Day (in Asian countries, White Day is like Valentine's Day but the girls give the gifts to the guys. Awesome).

You Can Make Gummy Bear Versions of YourselfI don't know a single sane person that wouldn't be excited about doing this. To be honest, the gummy bear doesn't even have to really look like me for me to be happy (I'm easy to please). All I want is to taste like gummy bears. [Spoon & Tomago via DesignTaxi]

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Intel lands Altera as its biggest chip manufacturing customer to date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/intel-lands-altera-as-its-biggest-chip-manufacturing-customer-yet/

Intel lands Altera as its biggest chip manufacturing customer to date

Many of us see Intel as self-serving with its chip manufacturing, but that's not entirely true: it just hasn't had very large customers. A just-unveiled deal with Altera might help shatter those preconceptions. Intel has agreed to make some of the embedded technology giant's future field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) using a 14-nanometer process, giving Intel a top-flight customer while gets Altera a leg up over any rivals stuck on less efficient technologies. The pact may be just the start -- Intel VP Sunit Rikhi portrays the deal for Reuters as a stepping stone toward a greater role in contract chip assembly. We're not expecting Intel to snatch some business directly from the likes of GlobalFoundries and TSMC when many of their clients are ARM supporters, or otherwise direct competitors. However, we'll have to reject notions that Intel can't share its wisdom (and factories) with others.

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Via: Reuters

Source: Altera

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LG unveils world's smallest wireless charger, preps it for global availability

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/lg-worlds-smallest-wireless-charger-qi/

LG unveils world's smallest wireless charger, preps it for global availability

LG may have an obsession with hulking smartphones, but it's taken a different tact with its latest wireless charger, which is being hailed as the world's smallest. Christened the WCP-300, the pad juices up Qi-compatible devices such as the Nexus 4 (if you're not in the mood for a sliced sphere, of course) and the outfit's Optimus G Pro, Vu II and LTE II. South Korea will see the hardware arrive this week with a 65,000 won (roughly $60) price tag, but the charger is slated to roll out across the globe gradually, and the US is somewhere on its itinerary.

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Source: LG Newsroom (translated)

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US Vehicle Miles Driven Have Sunk To A New Post-Crisis Low

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/vehicle-miles-driven-2013-2

The Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Commission has released the latest report on Traffic Volume Trends, data through December. Travel on all roads and streets changed by -2.9% (-7.0 billion vehicle miles) for December 2012 as compared with December 2011. The 12-month moving average of miles driven increased only 0.34% from December a year ago (PDF report). And the civilian population-adjusted data (age 16-and-over) has set yet another post-financial crisis low.

Here is a chart that illustrates this data series from its inception in 1970. I'm plotting the "Moving 12-Month Total on ALL Roads," as the DOT terms it. See Figure 1 in the PDF report, which charts the data from 1987. My start date is 1971 because I'm incorporating all the available data from the DOT spreadsheets.

 

 

 

The rolling 12-month miles driven contracted from its all-time high for 39 months during the stagflation of the late 1970s to early 1980s, a double-dip recession era. The most recent dip has lasted for 55 months and counting — a new record, but the trough to date was in November 2011, 48 months from the all-time high.

The Population-Adjusted Reality

Total Miles Drive! n, howev er, is one of those metrics that should be adjusted for population growth to provide the most revealing analysis, especially if we're trying to understand the historical context. We can do a quick adjustment of the data using an appropriate population group as the deflator. I use the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Civilian Noninstitutional Population Age 16 and Over (FRED series CNP16OV). The next chart incorporates that adjustment with the growth shown on the vertical axis as the percent change from 1971.

 

 

Clearly, when we adjust for population growth, the Miles-Driven metric takes on a much darker look. The nominal 39-month dip that began in May 1979 grows to 61 months, slightly more than five years. The trough was a 6% decline from the previous peak.

The population-adjusted all-time high dates from June 2005. That's 90 months — over seven years ago. The latest data, for December 2012, is 9.00% below the 2005 peak, a new post-Financial Crisis low. Our adjusted miles driven based on the 16-and-older age cohort is about where we were as a nation in January 1995.

Here is a closer look at the series since 2000, which gives a better look at 2012, a flatline that rolled over in the second half of the year.

 

 

About that Population Adjustment...

I've frequently been asked why I use the CNP16OV data for the population adjustment, often with the suggestion that it would make more sense to limit the population to licensed drivers. For openers, I don't know of a valid source for the driver-licensed population. Moreover, the correlation between license holders and actual drivers is not a reliable one. Many license holders in households do not drive, especially in their older years. According to Census Bureau data on gasoline sales (courtesy of Harry Dent's research on demand curves), dollars spent on gasoline peaks for people in their late 40s and falls off rather quickly after that.

In fact, I think there's a good case for using the Census Bureau's mid-month estimates of total population (POPTHM) rather than civilians age 16 and over for the population adjustment. The reason is that a portion of total miles driven is specifically to support children's needs (day care, schools, children's activities, etc.) and the needs of elders who might have licenses but no longer drive. Ultimately the division of miles driven by either population group (CNP16OV or POPTHM), while not a perfect match with drivers, is a consistent and relevant metric for evaluating economic growth.

Here is the same population-adjusted chart, this time with the total population f! or the a djustment. In the total-population adjusted version the latest data point of -7.67% also a post-recession low.

 

 

What about the impact of volatile gasoline prices? How much of a factor has that been in the trend? I'll close with an overlay of the population-adjusted miles driven and gasoline prices since the early 1990s.

 

 

As is readily apparent, the correlation is fairly weak over the entire timeframe (+0.30). And, despite the volatility in gasoline prices since the onset of the Great Recession, the correlation since December 2007 has been even weaker (-0.28). There are profound behavioral issues apart from gasoline prices that are influencing miles driven. These would include the demographics of an aging population in which older people drive less, continuing high unemployment, and the ever-growing ability to work remote in the era of! the Int ernet.

One particularly interesting trend was highlighted in a recent study on "Transportation and the New Generation" by the Frontier Group.

From 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle miles traveled by young people (16 to 34-year-olds) decreased from 10,300 miles to 7,900 miles per capita—a drop of 23 percent. [PDF source]

The DOT "miles driven" metric is also interesting to study in the context of gasoline volume sales, which I also update monthly:

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Sigma DP3 Merrill to ship in March, deliver distance macros for $999

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/sigma-dp3-merrill-to-ship-in-march-for-999/

Sigma DP3 Merrill to ship in March, deliver distance macros for $999

Sigma may have left us waiting on details for the DP3 Merrill's launch, but not for long. It just confirmed that its next crack at a small Foveon X3 camera will reach US shops in March, when it should cost the same $999 on the street as its Merrill siblings. You're mostly getting a change in optics with the DP3 variant: it brings in a 50mm (75mm with crop factor) f/2.8 lens that allows bright macro and telephoto shots without cozying up to the subject. As long as you can live with quirks like VGA-only video, the DP3 Merrill is ready to pre-order at the source link.

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Via: SlashGear

Source: Sigma

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Google Just Got An Ally In Its Cloud War With Amazon (AMZN, GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-expands-cloud-with-rightscale-2013-2

google compute engine

Google's Compute Engine, a cloud-computing service, just scored a significant new deal.

It signed up its first reseller, a company called RightScale, reports GigaOM's Barb Darrow, who broke the news.

RightScale offers what it calls a "cloud management platform." It helps an enterprise automate routine tasks, monitor usage and monthly costs, control security options, and so on.

RightScale works with other major providers of Internet-delivered computing power and storage, including Amazon, RackSpace, HP Cloud, and Windows Azure.

RightScale's product has always worked with Compute Engine since the cloud Google launched the cloud service with much fanfare in June. But now the company will also sell Google's cloud to enterprises, and hold their hands if things go wrong. That's a big deal for a lot of enterprises who want to know someone will always answer when they call.

Darrow notes that the bigger partnership comes just a week after Amazon launched a new service called OpsWorks, which basically competes with some of what RightScale does.

As Google gets more serious about its cloud, it has a chance to be some real competition for Amazon. No one knows how to run apps in the cloud better than Google. Plus, Google promises to be! both fa ster and cheaper than Amazon Web Services.

SEE ALSO: Amazon's Star Engineer Lives On A Gorgeous 52-Foot Yacht

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Here's The Sites That Are Really Benefiting From Mobile (DIS, P, FB, GOOG, AAPL, AMZN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-mobile-audience-for-sites-2013-2

comScore has a new report on the state of mobile. In it, it reports which sites are getting "incremental" mobile users compared to the desktop. For comScore, an incremental user is one that is coming exclusively to mobile and not via the PC. In other words, it's an entirely new user. We've charted out the sites that are gaining the biggest number of mobile only users.

Chart of the day shows percent incremental audience via mobile for digital properties, february 2013

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