Wednesday, May 28, 2014

drag2share: ASUS' modular PadFone X is finally coming to AT&T for $199

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/asus-padfone-x-on-att-june-6th/

ASUS Padfone X for AT&T

AT&T promised back in January that it would launch ASUS' PadFone X hybrid, but the device has been stuck in limbo ever since -- the carrier hasn't given out much more than specs for the phone-and-tablet combo. Today, though, there's finally a date to mark on your calendar. The PadFone X should be available on June 6th for $199 on a two-year contract, or $23 per month if you buy it on an 18-month Next payment plan.

The hardware hasn't changed in the space of half a year, although it's still reasonably current. The core phone is a 5-inch Android device with a speedy Snapdragon 800 processor, 16GB of expandable storage and a 13-megapixel rear camera; the 9-inch tablet shell provides a bigger screen for the docked phone as well as an extra battery and wireless charging. You can't exactly call this a timely launch, but it's still big news for Americans who've previously had to import ASUS' two-in-one device concept.

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Source: AT&T (1), (2)

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drag2share: Leap Motion's latest motion tracking tech can see your joints

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/leap-motions-beta-tracking-tech-can-see-your-joints/

The Leap Motion controller is a curious little motion sensor, but it isn't always easy to use. The hand-sensing tech has a tendency to lose sight of where your fingers are and almost every application that uses it has its own learning curve. Soon, that might change -- today Leap is launching the public beta for its next generation (V2) tracking software. This free update makes some big promises, including improved resistance to sunlight and infrared interference, better tracking algorithms and, best of all, the ability to track individual joints. We dropped by the company's San Francisco office to try it out and found the update to be a significant improvement.

"V1 is a great experience for early adopters," Leap CEO Michael Buckwald told us. "But what we want to do with V2 is make interacting with the computer the same as interacting with the physical world." Leap's new software helps. The update's predictive software allows the device to track controllers that aren't directly seen by its sensors. Buckwald showed us on a demo machine: a flat hand could easily be seen by a V1-equipped computer, but in a vertical orientation, all but the lowest hanging digit disappeared. V2 accurately tracked all five fingers. It sounds simple, but it's a game changer: developers can now implement more delicate pinch and grab motions. Buckwald pulled up a demo for that too, and asked us to pick up and toss a collection of ragdoll soldiers. It was easy, just as it should be.

The update also encourages developers to include a hand model in their applications. "The vision has always been that using leap should feel just like reaching through the screen and grabbing something," he explains. "That's how it feels with the onscreen hand -- seeing all your joints and fingers and watching it move as your real hand moves." While the onscreen limb isn't quite as flexible as the real deal, it makes the learning curve shallow. " If the actual interaction is a commodity like that, the focus can be on being creative."

The update is available to developers now, but there aren't many applications that use it just yet. Still, it's an encouraging evolution for the Leap Motion controller, and bleeds of the same thing the device always has: potential.

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drag2share: Intel will let you build your own 3D-printed robot later this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/intel-robot-kit/

Intel CEO brought a robotic companion named Jimmy with him on stage at Code Conference today. Jimmy is a 3D-printed robot capable of walking, talking, moving his arms, dancing and even tweeting, and it's the key to Intel's vision of the future of robotics. Starting later this year, the company will make an open source robot kit with 3D-printed parts available to consumers for $1,600, with a research version for $16,000. The former will run on Intel Edison, the company's computer-on-a-chip, while the latter will be powered by a Core i5 processor.

How is the kit set up? The hardware designs will be available online for anyone to build the basic parts using a 3D printer, but the kit itself will contain all of the other parts which you can't print: The motor, batteries, processor and wires are the primary items you'll need to get started.

It's pretty crazy to think that you may soon be able to get your very own personalized robot for just $100 more than Google Glass. But such a kit is part of Intel's goal to lower the barrier of entry to robotics, hopefully making it possible for more people to grab a Jimmy of their own without taking out a second mortgage.

Since the robot is open source, this opens the door for users to download whatever they want to customize their new creation, and gives developers the opportunity to build apps for the same purpose. The idea is that you'll be able to personalize your robot to perform various functions: The sky's the limit, but possible use cases include grabbing a drink for you, singing along, translating and so on. Eventually, Intel plans to offer an app market to expand the capabilities of your robot.

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drag2share: Samsung launches a flexible platform of sensors for wearables

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/samsung-launches-a-flexible-platform-of-sensors-for-wearables/

At Samsung's "Voice of the Body" event today, the company announced SIMBAND, a modular reference platform for wearable health sensors that it hopes will inspire a new generation of fitness products. This prototype device you see above has a multitude of sensors built right into it, including an optical light sensor that can detect the variation of light absorption through the skin in order to come up with your pulse and other data. There's even an ECG sensor integrated into the watchband so that when you touch the clasp, an electrical route is completed.

Samsung says SIMBAND is completely multimodal -- the optical, electrical and physical components can be swapped out interchangeably, and is entirely built for customization. Another thing that Samsung wanted to drive home was that SIMBAND is designed to be very power efficient (it has a new shuttle battery) while not taking up a lot of space -- the prototype watchface on stage is only about half a size of an SD card. Additionally, it has a 1Ghz 2x ARM A7 28nm chip along with WiFi and Bluetooth technologies.

SIMBAND is designed as an open platform that allows developers to create new applications, and the SDK is slated to be out in the next few months. Through several open APIs that it hopes to release later this year, Samsung hopes to integrate the platform with SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions), its internal data collection initiative that attempts to make all that fitness data accessible to other services and devices, such as S-Health, your phone or perhaps your scale.

The potential for the platform goes beyond just fitness trackers. Samsung also says it's working on a partnership with UCSF's Digital Health Innovation Lab to see if these huge data sets can create new predictive models of health and wellness for all of us, and not just on the individual level. This way, it could provide a "truly meaningful impact on health." UCSF has said it's happy to partner with startups to ensure that their application or devices is doing what it's intended to do.

To cap off the event, Samsung announced the Digital Health Challenge, which is essentially a $50 million investment fund aimed at start-ups so that they'll adopt Samsung's open platforms and the latest health technologies.

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Source: Businesswire, Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center

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drag2share: How 'Mind Mapping' Can Revamp The Way You Work

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/using-mind-maps-for-productivity-2014-5

The organizational chart known as a "mind map" may remind you of something you drew in elementary school, but it's actually a powerful productivity tool when used correctly.

The British pop psychologist Tony Buzan coined the term in the '70s for an organizational technique that is like a web of to-do lists.

You begin with a central topic like "Tasks" (to use a general example) and then branch off into subtopics like "Work, Family, Volunteer Work, and Home" spaced out evenly. Then each of these topics gets their own subtopics, a process repeated as necessary. 

One of the main benefits of using a mind map is that it makes it easier to visualize all of the steps in a project, which helps you see gaps, set goals, and better manage your time throughout the week.

There are plenty of apps and online services you can use to create clean, easily managed mind maps, like Xmind, Mindjet, and MindNode. MindMeister is another great tool, and we'll take a look at an example made using its software.

Here's a closeup of its upper-right quarter:

mind map top right

As you can see, it functions as a way to combine your to-do list with your calendar and additional notes in a visual, easy to comprehend way.

Here's a look at the entire mind map for that project:

mind map full

Mind maps can be adjusted to scale, outlining an entire project or a single day.

Paul Klipp, president of Lunar Log! ic's Pol ish branch, wrote on Quora that he uses a mind map to arrange his weekly schedule. He spent about an hour making his first one with MindMeister and has since spent 15 minutes every Monday updating it.

He explains how he structures his weekly mind map and how it helps him get things done: "Each top-level node is a project. Outcomes are linked to projects. For each outcome, there are linked tasks to accomplish it. This approach lets me focus on one project at a time, and then on one outcome for that project so that I can discover all the tasks required to arrive at the desired outcome."

A mind map's setup also accommodates brainstorming. A project manager can present one to his or her team and have them add branches or adjust details.

Whether you're using it as a weekly planner or a project outline, a mind map can help you group concepts through associations, come up with new ideas, and stay organized.

SEE ALSO: 11 Productivity Hacks From Successful Entrepreneurs

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