Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Google adding Public Alerts to Maps, keeps you in the loop in times of worry

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/google-adding-public-alerts-to-maps/

Google adding Public Alerts to Maps, keeps you in the loop in times of worry

You can't deny that Google often hands out marvelous tools for the masses to utilize (yes, some can be a miss), and today the King of Search is launching a fresh virtual apparatus as part of its Crisis Response project. Dubbed "Public Alerts," the feature is accessible from within Google Maps, keeping you in the loop during times of high alert. Your search query will trigger things like weather relevant to your area, public safety and earthquake alerts -- all of which are provided by the NOAA, the National Weather Service and the US Geological Survey. The Crisis Response squad says its goal is "to surface emergency information through the online tools you use everyday," which is a great idea, but we honestly hope that you don't have to use it very often. Those of you stateside can start using Public Alerts now -- as for the rest, let's hope that the search giant brings its alerts to a map near you sooner rather than later...

Google adding Public Alerts to Maps, keeps you in the loop in times of worry originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Next Xbox Could Be Six Times As Powerful [Gaming]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5879128/the-next-xbox-could-be-six-times-as-powerful

The Next Xbox Could Be Six Times As Powerful According to IGN, sources close to the next Xbox project have told them the new console will have six times the graphics processing power of the Xbox 360, and will have 20 percent more performance than Nintendo's Will U.

Sounds pretty awesome right? Too bad it's not expected to ship until October or November of 2013. Le sigh. IGN's sources have also confirmed that the Xbox 720's—or whatever it ends up being called—GPU will begin production by the end of this year, and will be based on AMD's 6000 series instead of the newer 7000 series. More specifically, it will most likely be not that far off from the current $80 Radeon HD 6670.

On one hand it's nice to see the rumors of the next-gen Xbox starting to solidify, but on the other hand, waiting until 2013 to get our hands on one is going to be arduous. [IGN]

Acer Iconia Tab A510 to hit European retailers this April?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/acer-iconia-tab-a510-to-hit-european-retailers-this-april/

Amidst the madness that was CES, Acer quietly snuck its Iconia Tab A510 onto the showroom floor, tucking the tablet into the folds of NVIDIA's booth. While the company was more than willing to fess up to the slate's specs -- quad-core Tegra 3 processor, skinned Ice Cream Sandwich UX, 1280 x 800 display -- little in the way of pricing and availability were revealed. If a report out of Germany is to be believed, however, Europeans (sorry, statesiders) might very well see the 10.1-incher hit retail as early as this April, with a €500 price tag in tow. That's all the rumor mill's wrought for now, folks, but we'll keep you posted should the news go official at CeBIT 2012.

Acer Iconia Tab A510 to hit European retailers this April? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your Brain Will Melt After You See This Negative Image [Illusions]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5879004/your-brain-will-melt-after-you-see-this-negative-image

Want to add more wrinkles to that ol' brain of yours? Stare at the colored dots on the girl's nose in the photo above for 30 seconds. Then look at a white surface (blank browser, mayhaps) and start blinking. You should see a non-negative image of the girl. WHAT. BRAIN. MELTING. WHAT. OHMYGOD. Yep, that jiggly stuff in your head just processed a negative image. Sweet. [PetaPixel]

Next Xbox console to be six times more powerful, headed for fall 2013 release?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/next-xbox-console-to-be-six-times-more-powerful-headed-for-fall/

Xbox 720, Xbox Loop -- whatever Microsoft ends up calling it, that hot rod of a console looks to be on deck for a late fall 2013 release. According to IGN's sources, this successor to the Redmond gaming throne is purported to pack a GPU based on AMD's 6000 series of chips and will boast silicon circuitry that catapults its performance past Nintendo's upcoming Wii U by 20 percent. If you're looking for a more apples to green X's comparison, this next-gen console's graphical capabilities are also reportedly six times greater than its 360 progenitor. While MS is likely holding back its monstrous new platform for a big E3 reveal, it appears the company's still whittling down its spec list, with dev kits to be issued later this August. No mention was made of its rumored Kinect 2 integration, but we're more than certain that famous hacking tech will be front and center.

[Image credit: Joseph Dumary]

Next Xbox console to be six times more powerful, headed for fall 2013 release? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google updates ToS, shares your data across its services (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/google-new-privacy-policy/

Google updates ToS, shares your data across your services (video)

You're you, right? Of course you are. If you have an Account, Google knows that too and now, with an updated and streamlined Google Terms of Service, you're even more you than ever before. The company is consolidating most of its more than 70 separate privacy documents into a single Privacy Policy that is so important it gets capitalized. The biggest change? If you have a Google Account, your information will now be shared across the company's many services. Scary? Don't fear -- the company is taking this time to re-iterate its pledge to never sell your personal information, never share it externally and to continue to support the Data Liberation Front. Viva transparency.

Continue reading Google updates ToS, shares your data across its services (video)

Google updates ToS, shares your data across its services (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers develop 'wireless optical brain router' to manipulate brain cells

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/researchers-develop-wireless-optical-brain-router-to-manipulat/

Optogenetics might be a relatively unknown area of neuroscience, but it's one that, thanks to some new research, could soon find itself (and its rodental subjects) in the spotlight. For the uninitiated, it's the practice of manipulating animal cells using light (with a little help from gene therapy). Until now, optogenetic equipment has been large and unwieldy, making testing on subjects (read: rats) painstaking. Startup, Kendall Research, has changed all this, creating wireless prototypes that weigh just three grams (0.11 ounces). By eschewing bulky Lasers for LEDs and Laser diodes, the equipment is small enough that it can be attached to the rodents. At that point, their brain function can be manipulated with the touch of a button, and different parts can be stimulated without breeding mutant variants -- a controversial practice that doesn't even yield results in real time. The "router" is powered wirelessly by super capacitors below test area, and researchers can conduct experiments remotely, even automatically. Human applications for this are still some way off, but we're sure our future overlords will make good use of it.

Researchers develop 'wireless optical brain router' to manipulate brain cells originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco unveils Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline solutions, converts outlets into network connection points

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/cisco-unveils-linksys-homeplug-av-powerline-solutions/

Cisco unveils Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline solutions, converts outlets into network connection points

Looking to boost network range in remote areas of your humble abode? Cisco is now offering an option that turns your electrical outlets into wired network connections with speeds up to 200Mbps. Each Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline option includes an Ethernet adapter that connects to your router and a second adapter for your wired devices elsewhere -- both of which are plugged into sockets of your choosing to get things started. The Powerline then uses your home's electrical wiring for the system, saving the headache of hiding cables for that home office. The company says that the kit will play nice with most household appliances and 1-port and 4-port adapters are available now for $100 each. Want to connect sans wires? A Powerline 1-port Wireless Extender is coming in March that will create a WiFi signal for the HomePlug system. Hopefully wandering peepers won't be able to monitor activity remotely. Fingers crossed.

Continue reading Cisco unveils Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline solutions, converts outlets into network connection points

Cisco unveils Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline solutions, converts outlets into network connection points originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:12:00 ! EDT. Pl ease see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delawareans rejoice as DuPont builds OLED TV testing plant in Newark

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/delawareans-rejoice-as-dupont-builds-oled-tv-testing-plant-in-ne/

Delewareans rejoice as DuPont builds OLED TV testing plant in Newark

The State of Delaware has bust out a grant of $920,000 for DuPont's obsessed project to bring OLED TVs to the masses. It's building a facility at the Stine-Haskell Research Center in Newark with the chemicals-giant stumping $30 million out of its own back pocket. The new unit will employ 35 people to investigate the possibility of producing Organic Light Emitting Diodes for use in televisions for a fraction of the current cost. In comparison, the OLED TVs we saw at CES could retail for as much as $10,000, enough to make sure you don't ask Grandma for one next Christmas. The line will be used to test the "spray printing" methods that can print a 50-inch TV in under two minutes we saw in 2010. DuPont's obliged to keep the facility open for five years, or it'll expect angry civil servants to storm the building looking for a million dollars worth of stationery in return.

Delawareans rejoice as DuPont builds OLED TV testing plant ! in Newar k originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

drag2share: eye3 hexicopter helps your DSLR take flight for $999

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/eye3-hexicopter-helps-your-dslr-take-flight-for-999/

Your camera wants to take flight -- trust us, it does -- and an ambitious new project aims to make your DSLR's aeronautic ambitions a reality. The eye3 hexacopter is a six-armed carbon-fiber unmanned arial vehicle (UAV) that hopes to make aerial photography accessible to the masses. Designed by a couple with a hankering for robotics, the flying machine is modular (for easy repair) and navigates using a combination of Google Maps and open-source code. Those without a pilot license need not worry: the eye3 utilizes the oft-improving APM2 software for a "compact yet powerful" autopilot experience. The UAV can carry a payload of five to ten pounds, boasts three CPUs and has a 350-watt motor strapped to each tentacle. Fly past the break to watch a video from eye3's creators... get to the choppa'!

Continue reading eye3 hexicopter helps your DSLR take flight for $999

eye3 hexicopter helps your DSLR take flight for $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Google Is Betraying Itself [Blockquote]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5878799/google-is-betraying-itself

From a 2004 Playboy interview with Larry Page, in which the Google co-founder describes a very different company from the one we use now:

PLAYBOY: Portals attempt to create what they call sticky content to keep a user as long as possible.

PAGE: That's the problem. Most portals show their own content above content elsewhere on the web. We feel that's a conflict of interest, analogous to taking money for search results. Their search engine doesn't necessarily provide the best results; it provides the portal's results. Google conscientiously tries to stay away from that. We want to get you out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible. It's a very different model.

A lot changes in eight years. [PandoDaily via Gruber]

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drag2share: Murtazin: 'Nokia Lumia 910 will arrive in May, pack 12MP camera'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/nokia-lumia-910-12mp-camera-eldar-murtazin/

Ah, Eldar Murtazin. Sometimes he's (sort of) right, sometimes he's wrong. But he manged to predict the Nokia-WinPho love-in ahead of any official announcement and that still counts for something, right? His latest missive concerns the news of the Lumia 900's likely summer-time flight across the Atlantic. While it's not going to tout the LTE radios of the American edition, Eldar's more concerned about a phone that no-one's yet heard of. Yes, the Lumia 910, which according to the thorn in Nokia's side, will land in the old country sometime in May -- ahead of the posited June launch for the Lumia 900 in the UK. Murtazin is keeping any other details close to his chest for now, aside from the tantalizing mention of a whopping 12 megapixel camera. We know that Nokia knows exactly how to craft a good cameraphone, but we're keeping this rumor firmly in the maybe-could-be-possibly camp, right next to the salt mines.

Murtazin: 'Nokia Lumia 910 will arrive in May, pack 12MP camera' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Apple now the largest buyer of semiconductors according to Gartner

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/apple-now-the-largest-buyer-of-semiconductors-according-to-gartn/

Gartner

No one would be shocked to learn that Apple is a major purchaser of semiconductors. Heck, hearing that the company is number one on that list might not even raise too many eyebrows. But, what if you we told you last year the Cupertino crew wasn't the biggest purchaser, or even the second. In 2010 the House that Jobs Built was a distant third behind Samsung and HP but, following a significant surge thanks to the iPad 2 and the updated MacBook Air, its bumped those companies back a slot. In 2011 Apple increased its semiconductor spending by 34.6 percent, from $12.8 billion to $17.3 billion. Samsung stayed in the number two spot with a 9.2 percent jump in spending to $16.68 billion. Meanwhile HP dropped from first, spending only $16.62 billion and settling for the bronze. Check out the source link for the complete rankings from Gartner.

Continue reading Apple now the largest buyer of semiconductors according to Gartner

Apple now the largest buyer of semiconductors according to Gartner originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/klipsch-mode-m40-noise-cancelling-headphones-review/

Around these parts, we've generally had favorable opinions of Klipsch's audio products. Whether it's been something as small as its S4 line of smartphone oriented in-ears or grand speaker systems like its AirPlay-enabled G-17 Air, we've usually ended up awarding the brand our highest praise. If you'll recall, it was little over a year ago that Klipsch introduced its $150 Image One on-ear headphones -- the company's first set ever that weren't of the intra-aural variety, and a favorite of our own James Trew.

Fast forward to the present, and the company's unleashed its second proper over-the-head headphone, the Klipsch Mode M40 with active noise-cancellation. In recent years, headphones have exploded in popularity -- many companies have been furiously trying to blend good sound with fashion-forward looks. It's safe to say that's Klipsch's end game here, and is asking that you part ways with 350 bones to get in on the action.

Put simply, these aren't a follow-up to the Image Ones, but rather, a luxury pair that takes cues from the company's reference series headphones. Of course, as we've come to expect from Klipsch, the M40s do have some notable tricks up their yokes aside from their debatably fashionable looks -- the ! company promises they'll cancel noise for a massively long 45 hours on a single AAA battery, and both earcups feature an interesting dual-driver array with a 15mm tweeter and a 40mm woofer. So, have the M40s made us smitten with Klipsch all over again? Or not? Maybe something a bit more complicated? Click on past the break to find out!

Gallery: Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Continue reading Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 J! an 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Boxee Box Live TV starts shipping, Boxee 1.5 software update now rolling out

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/boxee-box-live-tv-starts-shipping-boxee-1-5-software-update-now/

Boxee Live TV now shipping, Boxee 1.5 rolling out to existing Boxee Boxes

Both have been promised as coming soon in recent weeks, and now Boxee has confirmed that two fairly big new rollouts are underway. The first is the Boxee Box Live TV dongle, which is now shipping and will let you augment your Boxee Box with some OTA TV channels for $50. You can get a closer look at it in our hands-on from CES earlier this month. Alongside it, Boxee is also rolling out its Boxee 1.5 software update, which boasts a new UI and a number of other refinements including better search, new library screens and filtering options, browser pop-up management, and the addition of Rotten Tomatoes listings. Boxee says it's staggering the release over the next 72 hours, but those eager to check it out can find instructions for a manual update at the support link below.

Boxee Box Live TV starts shipping, Boxee 1.5 software update now rolling out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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