Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, June 23, 2014

drag2share: Watch lightning strike around the world in real time

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/23/lightning-strike-map-worldwide/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

There's a mesmerizing new project from an organization called Blitzortung.org that lets you see real-time lightning strikes around the world. It works using a network of volunteers willing to purchase and set up a $275 or so detection kit consisting of an antenna system, amplifier and controller. Once activated, each station can spot the radio signals from a lightning strike and transmit the precise time and location to the Blitzortung.org's servers. From there, the lightning is displayed (complete with bug-zapper sound) on one of five maps including North America and Europe, along with a line between the strike and detecting station. Curiously, a sensor in New York can pick up lightning in Cuba, for instance, since the low frequency RF waves from lightning can travel thousands of miles. Hit the source if you want to participate, or just check the maps to marvel at another striking example of crowd-sourcing in action.

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drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

Article: Super cheap Smart Home kit brings automation to the masses

If you're wondering when home automation might tip into the Walmart-level mainstream, here's a sign: Archos' Smart Home starter kit is now on sale. Along with two cameras, two movement tags and two weather tags, they're throwing in a controlling tablet, all for $250 -- or $25 each for the cameras...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/20/archos-smart-home-kit-available-250/?ncid=rss_truncated

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Sunday, June 22, 2014

This Might Be Volantis, HTC's 9-Inch Nexus Tablet

Source: http://gizmodo.com/htcs-9-inch-nexus-tablet-will-be-called-volantis-1594280149

This Might Be Volantis, HTC's 9-Inch Nexus Tablet

Android Police just published renders and specs on a rumored 9-inch HTC Nexus tablet. With an 8.9-inch, 2048x1440 display, Tegra K1 processor, and zero-gap aluminum body, Android Police's intel says the device, named Volantis, will launch later this year at $400 for 16GB. Though it might not look exactly like the render above. [Android Police]

Friday, June 20, 2014

drag2share: The rise of the super-fast industrial 3D printerOak Ridgeâs monster machine3D Systems bets on the assembly line

source: http://gigaom.com/2014/06/19/the-rise-of-the-super-fast-industrial-3d-printer/

3D printers are slow; so slow that in the time it would take to print a screwdriver, you could just drive to the store and pick one up with a half hour to spare. And that's a problem when a manufacturing job calls for creating units as quickly as possible.

And the frustrating thing is that existing 3D printers could technically print faster. It's just a matter of using an extruder that puts out thicker ropes of material, allowing the printer to lay down more material with the same number of movements. But thicker layers means sacrificing the printer's resolution, because the place where one layer ends and the next begins becomes obvious.

So a national lab and a corporation set out in the past year to completely reinvent the concept of the 3D printer. Here's what they are working on.

Oak Ridge's monster machine

Oak Ridge National Laboratory decided to make a faster printer by embracing thicker layers. Using Cincinnati Inc.'s huge BAAM 3D printer, it is working toward a machine that could print 200 to 500 times faster than a standard desktop 3D printer.

A few more details about the Oak Ridge-Cincinnati partnership emerged today on 3DPrint.com, which reported that BAAM is capable of printing objects as large as tables and chairs by extruding plastic in layers 0.3 inches wide. Chairs recently on display at the RAPID conference each took about 2 hours and 30 minutes to print. On a normal printer, a chair would take days to print and need to be printed in pieces.

The BAAM 3D printer. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Inc.

The BAAM 3D printer. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Inc.

The site also reported that Oak Ridge is considering processing 3D printed objects after they are printed so that they appear smooth. This could involve sanding or treating the plastic with a chemical like acetone, which is commonly used to make desktop printed items smooth.

The lab plans to take orders for the machine around the end of the year, according to 3DPrint.com, and will be capable of producing just a handful every year.

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drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

Chrome's latest experiment is three soccer mini-games with a samba beat

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/20/chrome-experiment-soccer-games/

We've had the World Cup doodle, and now Google's Chrome is getting into the Beautiful Game's big tournament, with three experimental games that connect between your smartphone and browser. (Well, the third title, Shootout, can be played on your phone). Compared to prior titles, however,, they're a little lame. We found controls on our iPhone to be,well, outright unstable. Rather than our lack of skill, which is usually to blame for our low scores, a buggy connection and unresponsive controls were what usually stopped our keepie-uppies. Slightly insipid gaming aside (c'mon, they're free and neither Infinite Kick nor Space Kick have an end), the best part is the Brazil-flavored soundtrack. Top scores and bragging rights belong below in the comments, please.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Gaming, Google

Source: Kick With Chrome

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Report: A 2.5-Inch Display Apple Smartwatch Is Coming Soon

Source: http://gizmodo.com/report-apple-smartwatch-production-starts-in-july-1593352240

Report: A 2.5-Inch Display Apple Smartwatch Is Coming Soon

If rumors are to be believed, Apple's entry into the smartwatch world is coming soon: Reuters says production will start in July, with an expected launch date sometime in October. And it's going to be (literally) big.

Quantum Computers Are Still No Faster Than Your Average PC

Source: http://gizmodo.com/quantum-computers-still-arent-faster-than-your-average-1593365494

Quantum Computers Are Still No Faster Than Your Average PC

The D-Wave 2 is a much-hyped quantum computer, but, as scientists now report, it's not actually any faster than a regular old PC. Wait, didn't we say it was 3,600 times faster just a few months ago? Yes, and both are right. Whether one computer is faster than another is actually a mighty complicated question.

3D-printed material can carry 160,000 times its own weight

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/19/mit-3d-printed-ultra-lightweight-materials/

Researchers from MIT and Lawrence Livermore have created a new class of materials with the same density as aerogels (aka frozen smoke) but 10,000 times stiffer. Called micro-architected metamaterials, they can withstand 160,000 times their own weight, making them ideal for load-bearing, weight-sensitive applications. To do it, the team created microscopic lattice molds using a 3D printer and photosensitive feedstock, then coated them with a metal 200 to 500 nanometers thick. Once the lattice material was removed, it left an ultralight metal material with a very high strength-to-weight ratio. The process also works with polymers and ceramics -- with the latter, they created a material as light as aerogel, but four orders of magnitude stiffer. In fact, it was 100 times stronger than any known aerogel, making it ideal for use in the aerospace industry. Given that it was funded by DARPA, it could also end up on robots, drones or soldiers.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Anti-Banking Company Simple Just Made It Way Faster To Transfer Money Between Accounts

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/simple-improved-transfer-time-2014-6

Simple

There are more pain points with conventional banking than can be reasonably discussed, but retail bank Simple has set out to kill as many of them as possible. The company's latest improvement is drastically reduced transfer times between bank accounts.

Where it used to take four days to move funds from an external account into Simple (or nearly any other bank), it now only takes one day. Moving money from your Simple account to an external one used to take five days, and now it's down to three. The nightly cutoff for taking advantage of this speedier service is 10 p.m. ET — make your transfers before then each day!

From the company's blog post regarding the update:

Some banks charge a fee for transferring your money to external accounts, and only offer accelerated transfers at a premium. Today, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, for example, charge $3 to move your money to another bank. If you want that money to arrive the next business day, the fee shoots up to $10 per transfer. Note that it costs banks less than a cent to send an ACH transfer.

We don’t believe in unnecessary fees. External transfers to and from Simple will remain free for customers.

Free, faster bank transfers sound pretty agreeable to us.

Screen Shot 2014 06 19 at 12.46.32 PM

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Teenager builds browser plugin to show you where politicians get their funding

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/19/greenhouse-nicholas-rubin/

The murky world of lobby groups bankrolling politicians is garnering more attention, but is there a way to find out which representatives are in the pocket without a lot of tedious research? A 16-year-old programmer has developed a browser plugin that, when you mouse-over the name of a US lawmaker, will serve up a list of which parties have donated to their campaign funds, and the quantities. Greenhouse (geddit?) is currently available for Chrome and Safari, with Firefox coming at some point in the future -- although our lawyers have (probably) asked us to point out that the data is from the 2012 elections, so they may not be entirely up to date.

Filed under: Internet

Via: Represent.Us

Source: Greenhouse

After This Audio Illusion, You'll Never Trust Your Ears Again

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-audio-illusion-will-make-you-never-trust-your-ears-1593113324

After This Audio Illusion, You'll Never Trust Your Ears Again

It might be a little too early in the morning to have your mind blown, but this audio illusion is worth your time because it demonstrates your brain's uncanny ability to use new information to help process something that is otherwise incomprehensible.

How Amazon's Fire Phone Cameras Know Where Your Face Is Even at Night

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-amazons-fire-phone-cameras-know-where-your-face-is-1592859925

How Amazon's Fire Phone Cameras Know Where Your Face Is Even at Night

The Amazon Fire Phone's Dynamic Perspective—the famed "3D effect"—works almost as if by magic. As you look at the phone and move it around, the Fire Phone watches you back, and changes what you see. It's not voodoo, though. It's crazy camera tech. Here's a closer look at how it works, even in the dark.

FCC report checks if your internet speed lives up to the ads, and why that's not fast enough

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/19/fcc-broadband-america-report/

Since 2011 the FCC has collected data on the wired (there's a separate report for wireless) broadband speeds US residents are actually receiving to release in its Measuring Broadband America report, and now the most recent one is here. First, the good news -- based on its data (collected from "Whitebox" devices sent to around 10,000 participants that performed automated tests during September 2013), most ISPs were meeting or exceeding their advertised speeds even during peak hours. Four that couldn't deliver 90 percent or more of their advertised rate during peak hours included Verizon, Frontier, Qwest and Windstream -- all of which can expect a letter from the FCC asking why not, for whatever good that will do. So if ISPs are delivering 101 percent of advertised speeds, why are users still seeing buffering notifications and experiencing slowdowns?

[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]

There are a few reasons (not including the shameful state of U.S. broadband former commissioner Mike Copps called out in recent comments), and one that it looked closely at is consistency. The way the FCC's report measures that, is by showing how many of the service's customers get a certain percentage of the advertised speed, a certain percentage of the time. With the bar placed at 80 percent of the customers, 80 percent of the time, the only services pushing higher-than-advertised download speeds were Verizon FiOS and Cablevision. Another issue is that DSL lagged behind cable, fiber and even satellite in being able to meet its advertised speeds -- averaging 91 percent of the promised download speeds during peak periods, as compared to 102 percent for cable.

Of course, as everyone has recently become familiar with, another issue is apparent slowdowns at "certain interconnection points" during the test period. The FCC didn't include that info in this report, but says it will have new tests ready to measure the impact of network congestion by the testing period planned for later this year. It's working with services like Netflix, YouTube and Hulu to analyze the data, and previously announced it was looking into the interconnection deals between Netflix and Comcast/Verizon. In a separate blog post, the FCC specifically called out drops in broadband performance during times when internet middleman Cogent was having its disputes, and says it will release the raw data it collected.

Also, data on interconnection congestion will be made public, & @FCC will work w. Netflix, Hulu & others 2 further analyze.
- Gigi Sohn (@GigiBSohnFCC) June 18, 2014

The million dollar question(s) however, are how this report will play into the commission's actions on net neutrality, peering agreements and proposed mergers by communications giants. If DSL doesn't measure up as a competitor to cable, does this mean the Time Warner Cable / Comcast deal shouldn't go through, but maybe AT&T / DirecTV should? And who exactly is telling the truth between Netflix and the ISPs? The FCC is receiving more scrutiny than ever about its handling of all of the above -- if you need some supporting info for your comments, just hit this link.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Verizon, AT&T

Source: Measuring Broadband America 2014, Internet Traffic Exchange, FCC (1), (2) (PDF)

Intel launches messaging app that lets you speak through video avatars

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/19/intel-pocket-avatars/

It's easy to think of Intel as a hardware company, the sort of chip-making giant that helps build wearables, cable-free laptops, smart baby onesies. Today, though, the company is showing off software, for a change. The chip maker just unveiled Pocket Avatars, a mobile messaging app that lets you send video messages to friends. Actually, "video messages" doesn't really describe it. These aren't so much videos as 3D avatars that happen to speak in your voice. In particular, the app makes use of facial recognition -- a pet project of Intel's -- to mimic gestures like nodding, blinking, sticking out your tongue, and raising your eyebrows. All told, it's a lot of real-time processing, which means the messages are going to be fairly short: You've got 15 seconds to say what you want to say.

The app, available today for iOS and Android, includes an avatar store of sorts, where you can download 45 avatars, either for free or 99 cents. Of the bunch, you'll find some familiar characters, including those from the Lego series, Gumby, Care Bear and The Jim Henson Company (gotta give Intel credit for being thorough in its avatar-making deals, we suppose). In addition to sending to folks in your contact list, you can also post your clips to the usual services -- Facebook, Twitter, et cetera. That doesn't mean you should (we might unfollow you), but hey, at least it sounds less annoying than Slingshot.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Intel

Facebook's Slingshot App Sure Looks A Lot Like TapTalk

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-slingshot-looks-like-taptalk-2014-6

Facebook's Slingshot messaging app is oft-compared to Snapchat in regards to the app's function, but many have pointed out the app's aesthetic similarities to another popular app, TapTalk.

TapTalk is a video and photo app that was released earlier this year, well before Facebook's Slingshot app. People are arguing that Facebook used the look of TapTalk, combined it with the functionality of Snapchat, and added the send-one-to-see-one feature as a twist.

Let's take a look.

To start, the icons do bear a strong resemblance to each other.

TapTalk Slingshot

TapTalk also features a split-screen mode for sending and responding to messages. Slingshot usually operates in full-screen portrait mode, but a specific "React" feature does have a split-screen design for recording one's reaction to a message.

TapTalk Slingshot

To send a message on TapTalk, there's a square grid that holds small square pictures of all your contacts. Tapping a contact's square both records a picture and selects who the picture message will be sent to. The square grid carries a similar look to the pixelated aesthetic of the app's icons.

Slingshot's design also carries a distinct focus on the blocky pixelation aesthetic; each time you send a message, there's a nifty little animation that pixelates your photo and launches it away. Since you have to send a picture first in order to unlock any messages you haven't seen yet, locked messages are deliberately pixelated, too.

The similarities between Slingshot and TapTalk are certainly there, and using both apps, it's easy to get a weird sense of déjà vu &mdas! h; even though there are some significant differences in the focus of each app.

TapTalk is all about speed and streamlining the number of taps to send a message. Slingshot, on the other hand, deliberately slows down the conversation by requiring users to first send a reply before viewing a new message. It's a twist that brings a lot of delay and friction to conversations, but it also ensures people using Slingshot won't simply lurk; it forces engagement.

You could also make the argument that using pixelation as a design aesthetic isn't solely TapTalk's turf, and there are plenty of photo apps that utilize a split screen feature. But in an already crowded messaging app market, differentiation is key, and invoking the core feeling of another app is never a good thing.

It's murky and subjective territory, so we'll let you be the judge.

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