Eton's New Boost Turbines Double (or Quadruple) Your Battery Life
Source: http://gizmodo.com/etons-new-boost-turbines-double-or-quadruple-your-ba-1279891344
Unless you own a RAZR MAXX
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
ASUS' new PadFone Infinity unveiled with Snapdragon 800, microSD slot and design tweaks
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/17/the-new-padfone-infinity-snapdragon-800/
Just as promised, today ASUS has made its new PadFone Infinity official in Taipei, and there are definitely no surprises in the specs. The main update here is obviously the 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, along with the addition of a microSD slot plus a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. Unsurprisingly, the internal storage options have been lowered to 16GB and 32GB, which is understandable with that new storage expansion capability.
One very subtle change that we missed in the leaks is the new diamond cut on the metallic backside, which gives the phone a more premium and solid look than the original version. To accompany that, the new PadFone Infinity comes in two new color options: "Titanium Black" and "Platinum White."
The software has also been given a gentle facelift, courtesy of a more consistent design language throughout the system -- from the simplified icons to the UI of some of the built-in Android apps. Since this is based on Android 4.2 instead of 4.1 out of the box, we should also see some performance boost as well. The good news for existing users is that the original PadFone Infinity will also receive this update, but there's no time frame for the roll-out just yet. %Gallery-slideshow84453%
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS
Fujifilm's X-A1 mirrorless ILC arriving this month with 16.3-megapixel APS-C sensor, $600 price
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/17/fujifilm-x-a1-mirrorless-entry-level-ilc-camera/
Fujifilm is swelling its retro-tastic line of X-Series cameras with the X-A1, an entry level model for wannabe photojournalists worldwide. The shooter comes with a 16.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS, although be warned that this isn't the X-Trans sensor that made the X-Pro 1 and X-M1 so alluring -- that's been reserved for the high-end. Instead, you'll get wireless image transfer, a 3-inch 920k-dot tilting LCD and five film simulation modes. Video-wise, the unit will shoot 1080p clips at 30fps, capturing sound with its built-in stereo microphone. The retail package will come with a f/3.5-5.6 24-76mm equivalent kit lens with optical image stabilization, and will set you back $600 when it lands later this month.
Filed under: Cameras
drag2share: The 5 Most Dangerous Celebrities To Search For Online
NEW YORK (AP) — If you're curious about Lily Collins and head to the Internet to find out, beware — McAfee has ranked the actress as the most dangerous celeb to search for online.
Collins— who starred in movies such as "Mirror, Mirror" and "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" — posed the biggest risk of landing on a malicious site, according the computer security company; last year Emma Watson topped the list.
Female celebrities were the overwhelming lure to malware; Avril Lavigne, Sandra Bullock, Kathy Griffin and Zoe Saldana rounded out the top five; "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm was the only man in the top 10.
A person could be led to malware after doing a general search and clicking on dubious links, but risks increased when searchers added phrases like "free apps" or "nude photos."
Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Article: How Intel will bring a “good enough” tablet to the US market by Christmas—for less than $100
Intel is about to do something that would have seemed crazy under previous CEOs: the company will start competing at the lowest end of the microprocessor market. This is a company that built its reputation, and its manufacturing infrastructure—hugely expensive and unique among makers of microproc...
http://qz.com/124393/intel-100-tablet-by-christmas/
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Article: Privacy breach or public safety? Teens' Facebook posts monitored by school district
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California school district is trying to stop cyberbullying and a host of other teenage ills by monitoring the public posts students make on social media outlets in a program that has stirred debate about what privacy rights teenage students have when they fire u...
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Article: How Facebook plans to make internet.org happen
As part of its idealistic — or cynical — quest to connect the world, Facebook, Ericsson and Qualcomm released a hefty white paper Monday as part of their internet.org program. The goal of internet.org is to provide connectivity to everyone in the world by reducing the cost of delivering data and ...
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/16/how-facebook-plans-to-make-internet-org-happen/
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Article: Twitter Users Seeing Influx of Spam Accounts Adding Them To Lists
Twitter users are finding themselves dealing with a new, but ambiguous onslaught from spammers. But instead of directly getting your attention with a mention or a direct message, they're hoping to entice you by adding you to lists. This isn't a new tactic being utilized by those with malicious in...
http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2013/09/17/spammers-are-back-on-twitter-and-this-time-theyre-coming-after-you-through-lists/
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Article: Facebook explains secrets of building hugely scalable sites
Facebook, which joined up with Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm, and Samsung to launch Internet.org a few weeks ago, has already produced something for the ostensibly public-minded initiative.
It has published a white paper detailing some of its secrets to success.
Internet.org laun...
http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/16/facebook-explains-secrets-of-building-hugely-scalable-sites/
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Monday, September 16, 2013
Six Sweet Things You Can Automate With NFC and Your Android Phone
Source: http://lifehacker.com/six-sweet-things-you-can-do-with-nfc-1323120090
You know NFC. It's that feature on your phone that you insist is really cool and some day you'll totally find a use for it. Well, today is that day.
Most modern Android handsets have an NFC antenna built in (sorry iPhone users, but once again, Apple has said no
Turn on Your Computer When You Get Home
Waiting for your computer to start up when you get home is yet another drag in an evening that's already wearing you down. However, leaving your machine on all day just to save yourself a few seconds will cost more than it's worth. Reddit user Captainmathmo solved this problem with an NFC tag he can tap to remotely turn on his computer as soon as he gets home.
The process requires Tasker, a Wake on LAN Android app, and a PC that has support for Wake up on LAN. You can find the detailed instructions over on the reddit thread here. Once that's done, set an NFC tag somewhere inside your home that you can tap as you enter.
Activate Wi-Fi Tethering
Sure, it might not be that difficult to dive into your phone's settings and activate Wi-Fi tethering (if you have it available), but who has the time? If you want to make it a little easier to work remotely, you can create an NFC tag that will automatically launch tethering, and then stick it to the edge of your laptop. NFC Task Launcher can be used to write to a tag for this purpose.
Share Your Wi-Fi Password with Guests
If you're like me, your Wi-Fi password is as long and complicated as your sordid and mysterious past. Rather than hand your guests a slip of paper with a bunch of case-sensitive characters scribbled on it, write the password to an NFC tag.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. InstaWifi can be used to easily share Wi-Fi passwords directly via NFC. The downside is that this requires all your guests to have InstaWifi installed. Downloading an app just to share a bit of text is a drag, so this really only works if everyone you know is doing it, too. Alternatively, you can embed a single tag with your Wi-Fi password and your guests can read it with most NFC read/write apps. If your friends don't have one of those (like the aforementioned NFC Task Launcher), that should at least be an easier sell.
Enter Driving Mode When You Dock Your Phone
Car docks are a relatively cheap way to make your phone easier to use for things like navigation while you're behind the wheel. An NFC tag can be stuck to the dock so that it automatically launches tasks or apps you need. You can use NFC Task Launcher (again!) to automatically trigger navigation to a pre-specified address, or to launch your music app and set the media volume to a preset level.
If you don't want to stick an NFC tag to your car dock (for example, if you happen to share the car with another person), this is also a great time to use an NFC keychain. It doesn't require you to carry any extra items, and placing the keychain against your phone on the way to the car couldn't be easier.
Share Contact Information
Business cards are so 20th century. With modern smartphones and constant data sync across virtually everything we do, there's almost no reason for us to manually enter phone numbers anymore. You can share your own contact info with another Android device by opening up your contacts app, tapping on your own entry (if your phone's app doesn't use one, create one), pressing your phone against the other, and "beaming" it across.
While this method is hardly time-consuming, there are still occasions where you don't want to stop someone and explain why they need to press their phone against yours. In that case, you can pass off NFC tags pre-programmed with your contact info and let them input it at their own pace. On a very simple level, you can buy NFC tags in bulk for cheap. If you want to get fancy, though, you can get business cards with NFC built in. While this may seem redundant, it can be a nice way to grab someone's attention, as well as add include a bit more info than you'd otherwise be able to print on a card.
Launch Tasker Actions
It would be outside the scope of this article to go over everything that you can do with Tasker, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that you can trigger all of them with NFC tags. To do this, you'll need to create tasks in Tasker and enable "Allow External Access" in Tasker's preferences (under Misc). Once that's done, you can use (care to take a guess?) NFC Task Launcher to trigger any named task.
All of these actions can make NFC useful on your device. However, don't forget that even basic Android functionality allows you to pass links, photos, contact info, or just about anything else between two devices simply by tapping them together. We may forget it's there, but NFC is a handy little thing to have around.
Photo by Lucy Fisher, Jason Tester Guerilla Futures, and Danny Choo.
Block Ads on All Your Devices with a Raspberry Pi
Source: http://lifehacker.com/block-ads-on-all-your-devices-with-a-raspberry-pi-1325298085
Ads can be one of the internet's more annoying things, and there are few things worse than watching a flash animation for deodorant suck up all your bandwidth. While you have plenty of software solutions to block ads, you can also do it on a deeper level with a Raspberry Pi.
This projects turns your Raspberry Pi into a wireless access point, then installs software that makes ads time out. Then, you route your traffic through the Raspberry Pi and that blocks ads on all your devices, from your tablet to your game console. Head over to Adafruit for the full guide.
Raspberry Pi as an Ad Blocking Access Point | Adafruit
The Best Web Browser for iPhone
Source: http://lifehacker.com/the-best-web-browser-for-iphone-5831636
While mobile Safari does most of what you'd need from a smartphone web browser, and there are many alternatives that fill in the gaps, we prefer Chrome. Google's browser offers excellent features, synchronization, and simplicity at no cost.
Google Chrome
Platform: iPhone (and iPad)
Price: Free
Download Page
Features
- Unlimited browser "tabs"
- Syncs with your Google account to provide you with Chrome data from other browsers, including passwords, bookmarks, and more
- Saves sessions so you can access sites on your mobile on the desktop, and vice-versa
- Instant search
- Easily navigate with helpful gestures
- Private browsing mode
Where It Excels
Google Chrome for iPhone inherits the goodness of its desktop counterpart. Chrome's syncing abilities truly make it wonderful, allowing you to take pretty much any data associated with Chrome and your Google account and have it on every single device the browser supports. That means you always have your bookmarks, passwords, history, search shortcuts, and so on. Google really does sync well, and that's where Chrome shines beyond Apple's Safari. That said, its other features pretty much stack up evenly. You might prefer its user interface or that of any other browser. Its feature set doesn't set it above a variety of other third-party options. When you want to know why Chrome is the best, just look at its syncing abilities. That's where it wins.
Where It Falls Short
Chrome doesn't have a lot of features. It doesn't beat out mobile Safari in a variety of areas for this reason. As mentioned in the previous section, we like Chrome because it syncs so well. No other browser—including Safari—does such a great job. If you use Chrome on the desktop, you'll probably want it on your mobile. If you don't, however, you lose its main advantage. When it comes to a mobile browser, you generally want to match yours with your choice on the desktop to keep data in sync. We think Chrome does the best job on the desktop so naturally we feel you ought to make it your browser of choice on your iPhone as well.
The Competition
Atomic, our previous top pick, has just about every feature you could possibly want in a mobile web browser (or a desktop web browser for that matter). You can clear history, cookies, and all sorts of other crap you don't want lying around on your mobile. In fact, Atomic will do it for you on quit so you don't even have to remember. You get proper tabbed browsing, which can be extended into kiosk mode (full screen) to make more room for the web page. Atomic even has advanced features like a download manager that can decompress zip archives, an ad blocker, and the ability to save web pages locally. It's easy to use, endlessly customizable, stable, and only costs $1 for the full version. It's really a fantastic browser with a great balance of all the things you'd really need, but might feel cumbersome to those who don't want a desktop-like experience.
Perfect Web Browser is a common alternative to Atomic, offering many of the same features and a fairly similar interface. It attempts to provide a desktop experience on your iPhone, but it definitely achieves that better on the iPad thanks to the extra screen real estate. It costs the same as Atomic (unless you want the iPad version, too, in which case Perfect will cost you an extra $4) and there's very little different, but we've used both for some time and just prefer Atomic. You may disagree, and at $1 each there's little risk in trying them both out.
360 Browser has an interesting user interface with lots of navigation shortcuts and adds support for Flash. Yes, Flash—that thing Apple basically banned from your iDevice. It also has support for Firefox sync so you can easily grab all your bookmarks, tabs, and passwords. Like the others, it'll only cost you $1.
Previously mentioned
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.
Flies See the World in Matrix-Style Slow Motion
Source: http://gizmodo.com/flies-see-the-world-in-matrix-style-slow-motion-1325474137
If you've ever sat puzzling over a fly's ability to outmaneuver your swift slap of death almost every. single. time—puzzle no more. According to science, you're just measly Agent Smith to the bug's Neo; new research shows that a creature's perception of time is directly related to its size, meaning flies live in a world where time passes as if in slow motion.
This Extra Lens Is Like a Megaphone For Your DSLR's Pop-up Flash
Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-extra-lens-is-like-a-megaphone-for-your-dslrs-pop-1325596701
It might occasionally come in handy as a bit of fill light for a shot, but your DSRL's pop-up flash is a poor substitute for a dedicated flash perched atop your camera. It makes sense why it sucks; it's designed to be small and compact enough to fold away. But with Rogue's Safari Flash Booster added to the mix, all of a sudden your DSLR's pop-up flash isn't so crappy any more.
Virgin Mobile Is Using A Clever Eye-Tracking Trick To Get People To Watch Its Video Ad
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-mobile-uses-blinkwashing-to-get-attention-2013-9
Virgin Mobile is using a cool webcam technology to make its latest video ad an interactive experience that encourages viewers not to click away.
With help from creative agency Mother NY and digital production lab Rehab Studio, Virgin Mobile produced an advertisement in which the on-screen video changes every time a viewer blinks. The advertisement uses eye-tracking technology and viewers' webcams to change the video scene. The video shifts between a series of goofy scenes made by production company Greencard Studios.
All of the clips feature the same script about Virgin Mobile's $35 monthly phone plan, with the idea being that making an interactive ad would get people to focus on the YouTube video long enough to hear Virgin Mobile's pitch. Here's what the demo video looks like:
Virgin Mobile is calling its interactive eye-tracking experience "Blinkwashing."
The ad is the final piece of Virgin Mobile's "Retrain Your Brain" campaign, which seeks to draw attention to its low-cost data plans and convince people to switch over. If you have a webcam on your computer, you can try it out for yourself here.
SEE ALSO: Why People Need To Stop Obsessing About The Google Glass 'Pay-Per-Gaze' Emotion Tracking Patent
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