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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Did a Car Company Really Just Make the Best Password Manager We've Seen? [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920197/did-a-car-company-really-just-make-the-best-password-manager-weve-seen

Imagine if when you sat down at your computer it recognized you and unlocked all of your web accounts. No more logging in to anything. That's the promise of this new app by Ford. Yes, the car company.

Like other companies Ford has been using NFC keys for a while. When you're close to your car, it unlocks. So easy. Now the company has created Ford Keyfree, a Chrome extension which does essentially the same thing for your passwords. Your "key" is your smartphone. When you're close to your car, your phone talks to the Chrome extension via Bluetooth and automatically enters all of your passwords. When you walk away, the extension logs you out. Brilliant.

Ford Keyfree is a slick, intelligent piece of work. It turns out Detroit CAN innovate. As you can see from the video above it's obviously a marketing gimmick, and there are some practical security concerns. Isn't it kind of weird that all someone needs to get into my sensitive accounts is my phone? What's the proximity radius? Furthermore, since the app uses Bluetooth, it'll put a strain on your battery.

The app is only available in France right now. Ford reportedly plans to bring its password manager to America soon. [Fast Company]

Brilliant Spinning Heatsink Cools CPUs 30 Times More Efficiently [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920224/brilliant-spinning-heatsink-cools-cpus-30-times-more-efficiently

Most computers use a two-step process to cool the CPU. First, a heat exchanger pasted to the processor draws the warmth away. And then a combination of a heatsink and fans dissipate it away from the PC. But by merging those two steps into one, this spinning cooler ends up being greater than the sum of its parts.

The Sandia Cooler was developed by the Sandia National Labs who do enough research to know a thing or two about how to effectively cool a computer. The most interesting aspect of the cooler is that it doesn't attach directly to the CPU using thermal paste—which isn't possible given it's always spinning. Instead, it sits a mere thousandth of an inch above the processor, which creates what's called an air bearing that's actually just as efficient at transmitting heat.

And as the heat moves from the CPU to the cooler, it's almost immediately blasted away via a series of fins spinning at 2,000 rpm. As a result, Sandia claims the system is at least 30 times more efficient at cooling a processor than traditional heatsink and fan methods.

And not only is it also far quieter, but the blades are spinning far too quickly to ever collect dust. So while it lets you safely overclock your system, it's also automatically keeping it clean at the same time. And maybe that's the real innovation here. [Sandia National Laboratories via Dvice]

Google files for a patent on peer-to-peer location finding, says cell tower triangulation is for chumps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/google-files-for-a-patent-on-peer-to-peer-location-finding/

Crowdsourcing map data itself isn't a surprise; it's been the cornerstone of OpenStreetMap and is about to get a big boost through iOS 6. Crowdsourcing actual positions is still a relatively untapped resource, however, and Google thinks that it might just be the ticket to getting a device's location when GPS alone doesn't cut it. Much as your current phone uses triangulation between cell sites to help speed up a position lock, a technique in a new Google patent application uses the physical distances between nearby devices to get a complete picture, even if GPS is completely on the fritz. The peer-to-peer technique still needs an internet connection to reach the central service piecing information together -- there isn't much help if you're in areas where reliable internet access isn't always guaranteed. Likewise, there's no certainty that Google will use the patent in a future build of Android or Chrome OS. If it does, though, at least some of us may say goodbye to the days of our map positioning going haywire the moment we drive through a tunnel or step into an office without WiFi.

Google files for a patent on peer-to-peer location fin! ding, sa ys cell tower triangulation is for chumps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb [Led]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920090/here-it-is-the-worlds-first-remote+controlled-led-light-bulb

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb Don't you hate getting all bundled up under the covers, your pillows in the perfect scrunch position under your head, only to realize you didn't turn out the lamp on the opposite end of the room and there's no way you'll be able to sleep with that bright bulb shining in your eyes all night? I do. And I do this all the time.

Luckily for everyone, INSTEON, manufacturers of the best-selling and most reliable home-automation technology today, have come up with the perfect way to avoid finding yourself in the predicament ever again: the world's first remote-controllable LED light bulb.

The 60W, $29.99 bulb can be dimmed via a remote control available for both iOS and Android. As soon as the bulb is screwed in, its unique network address (which is printed on the bulb itself) is instantly recognized by the INSTEON network (or any nearby devices)—which means you'll be able to easily swap bulbs out without having to go through an annoying linking process.

With the most reliable, expandable, brilliant remote control system built right in, it's easy to grow your home network. Link one INSTEON LED Bulb to as many controllers as you want-including keypads, motion sensors, door sensors or even your smartphone. Or, link multiple bulbs to a single controller and turn them all on or off at the same time.

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb

With intuitive tap, double-tap and press-and-hold controls, customize INSTEON LED Bulb's settings to suit any ambience through smooth dimming transitions and a wide range of brightness levels. And installing INSTEON LED Bulb is as easy as 1-2-3:

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb

It's a modern tech twist on the old clapper. "App on—app, app—App off—app, app."
[Press Release]

The Retina MacBook Pro Can Drive Four Screens Simultaneously [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920134/the-retina-macbook-pro-can-drive-four-screens-simultaneously

The Retina MacBook Pro Can Drive Four Screens Simultaneously The new Retina MacBook Pro is an incredible piece of hardware. On its spec sheets, Apple claims it can support "up to two external displays", but it turns out that's bull. In fact, it can support three external monitors.

Hey now. That's some impressive graphics performance from a laptop. This set-up has been tested by several people independently—including The Verge and OWC—and the results are impressive. OWC in particular reports being able to run the following displays:

Retina on laptop @ "best for Retina"
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt/DisplayPort
LG monitor @ 1920 x 1200 via HDMI

Perhaps more impressive is the graphics performance on each and every display—after all, a static display on four monitors isn't much use unless you can actually do something useful with it. Again, leaning on OWC's test, it seems the MacBook has no issues:

"Moving images and media didn't create any lag and we were able to play video on all four displays simultaneously."

Four videos, simultaneously, with no lag. On a laptop. That's pretty sweet. For the record, Apple officially claims the MacBook "simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays." But we know better.

Of course, running three external displays from a laptop is (i) a pain in the ass and (ii) not as efficient as using a beefier computer. But it's still nice to know it can handle it. [The Verge, OWC]

Image by The Verge

Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini: Leaner, Meaner, Faster, Thunderbolt-Equipped [Storage]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920071/drobo-5d-and-drobo-mini-leaner-meaner-faster-thunderbolt+equipped

The Drobo family of products are generally respected amongst professionals and tech nerds, but the one complaint was that the dynamic storage arrays were too slow. Drobo listened, and now they're answering back with the Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini, two devices designed to handle the most demanding of file transfers.

For the uninitiated, Drobo is a storage controller that isn't unlike a RAID array or home server. But unlike those devices, Drobo doesn't just mirror one drive onto another drive; rather it finds the most efficient ways to mirror data between drives, constantly rearranging and optimizing its data backup, but always ensuring that your files are redundant.

The Drobo 5D isn't radically different from previous-generation devices, as it can still accept up to five 3.5-inch drives, and allows you to swap them out on the fly. though there are a few noticeable additions. First there's USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity, which means that it has the throughput for blazing transfer times. Secondly, Drobo says they've updated the internal guts of the storage controller, so that those new connections aren't lost on hardware that is bottlenecking itself. And finally, an SSD has been added to speed up data access and read times. Drobo says that there will be a 3x-6x performance boost over older models.

The Drobo Mini is an all new product, designed for the travelling creative professional. The Mini accepts up to 4 2.5-inch drives, and like the Drobo 5D, has Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connections. The portable array has been ruggedized to survive the bumps and knocks generally associated with travel, and also has an SSD for a speed boost. Expect to see the Drobo 5D and Mini release this summer for $800 and $600, respectively (and no, that doesn't include actual storage). [Drobo]

Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/chromium-os-gets-ported-to-raspberry-pi/

DNP Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi

Hexxeh has already proven his love for Chromium OS and the Raspberry Pi, obviously the next step was for the hacker to combine his passions into one project. Thus was born Chromium OS for the tiny ARM-powered computer from the UK. The initial commit of the port was officially approved by the Chromium team, meaning that anyone lucky enough to get their mitts on the board can download the code themselves. Of course, there's a long road to hoe before we see a stable version -- if we ever see such a thing. Right now the OS does little more than boot up, but if the embedded version of Chromium can be made to function without issue it could make browsing the web on the Broadcom SOC-sporting PC much less painful. Then again, performance is a big question mark. Seeing how much the 700MHz ARM11 chip struggled with the Midori browser, we wouldn't hold our breath for miracles. Then again, the underlying system is far less demanding than a full fledged Linux distro with a desktop. Hit up the source link to download Chromium OS for the Raspberry Pi yourself.

Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/project-moonshot-take-two-hps-low-power-gemini-servers-let-go/

Last we'd heard of HP's Project Moonshot, that effort to create low-energy servers was set to ride on the back of the Calxeda SoC. But for the rollout of its production-ready "Gemini" models, the company's changed tack, replacing the previously announced ARM chips for Intel's Centerton. Why the sudden swap? Well, it seems that new Atom processor delivers the same energy-sipping promise of its predecessor, while also adding 64-bit support, a broader software ecosystem, error correcting code memory and hardware virtualization. That's all well and good, but when you boil it down to layman's terms, HP's really just angling for the ultimate in efficiency and it plans to do that by providing these compact servers in "a [smaller] footprint" than currently available setups. The system's still not quite ready for primetime consumption, given its very recent public outing, however, demo units are in the pipeline, with a planned launch for the end of 2012. If this sort of back-end geekery gets your blood flowing, feel free to hit up the official presser after the break.

Continue reading Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton

Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Windows Phone 8 Will Be Powered By a Snapdragon S4 Plus Processor [Guts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920057/windows-phone-8-will-be-powered-by-a-snapdragon-s4-plus-processor

Qualcomm and Microsoft are continuing their cozy relationship with Snapdragon S4 Plus processors set to power Windows Phone 8.

A couple weeks ago, Qualcomm launched tiers for the Snapdragon platform. The S4 Plus is built for a wide array of smartphones. It's dual-core, up to 1.7GHz, up to Adreno 305 GPU, it has built-in 3G and 4G LTE, USB 2.0, and Bluetooth. It's a nice bit of kit, and for the geeks out there it will be the Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960, specifically, according to Qualcomm.

It's interesting that they would only mention the Plus at this point, because Microsoft said today that Windows 8 would support multiple cores (up to 64 cores, which are of course powered by fairy earwax and happy thoughts). The S4 Pro is the one that can have up to four cores and an Adreno 320 GPU, but we've not seen any of these yet, so perhaps they're just waiting to announce that at a later date. Regardless, nice to know where your guts are coming from. [Qualcomm]

CinePro Turns Your iPhone into a Digital Cinema Camera [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5919808/cinepro-turns-your-iphone-into-a-digital-cinema-camera

CinePro Turns Your iPhone into a Digital Cinema Camera iOS: One of the drawbacks of using the video camera on your phone is the complete lack of control. While good automatic settings are useful in a lot of situations, there are times when they fail to achieve the look you want. While our expectations are fairly low for these tiny cameras, they don't have to be. CinePro supercharges your iPhone's video recording capabilities, providing everything from manual controls to fancy filters.

CinePro offers a lot of cool features. To start, you can set the frame rate, white balance mode, exposure, autofocus mode, and ISO. You can leave certain settings on auto and others on manual. The entire top row provides you with quick access to all the changes you can make. On the bottom row, however, you can choose filters and even make adjustments to them. CinePro includes several stock filters to start you off, but allows you to add more for $1 per pack (as an in-app purchase). Even if you don't go crazy with all the filter packs, the $1 it'll cost you to just get the standard app is worthwhile if you want a little more control over your video recordings. It's not going to turn your iPhone into a true cinema camera, but it's a great step in the right direction.

CinePro ($1) | iTunes App Store

Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/kinetis-l-series-mcus-use-arm-cortex/

Freescale aims to drag 8- and 16-bit manufacturing into the modern era with a 32-bit MCU that's cheaper than a cup o' Joe. The ARM Cortex-MO+ based Kinesis L series MCU is now available in alpha to interested parties, it's capable of sipping a scant 50 µA/MHz of power and will cost just $0.49 when you buy 'em in lots of 10,000. While the cheap chips will no doubt go on to help power the internet of things, the associated debut of a $12.95 development board coming in August will also be a boon to developers and hobbyists. The platform will allow "quick application prototyping and demonstration" according to the company, and provide a GUI tool for generating start-up code and device drivers. So, if you've gotta have that new beer dispenser mock-up running at a full 32-bits, check the PR after the break.

Continue reading Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order

Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox shows its curvy Australis tabs for upcoming unified version

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/firefox-shows-its-curvy-australis-tabs/

Mozilla is busy sprucing up and unifying Firefox, and an oven-fresh test build will see how users feel about ditching square tabs. The new curved element will be part of a future multi-platform version codenamed Australis, and Mozilla threw the build up on the designer's blog, asking downloaders to comment on the new look. Active tabs will get the rounded corners, and those not in use will have no background, appearing as just text against the titlebar. If you've been eyeing Chrome's sleek chamfers enviously and want to scope the Fox's new curves, check the source for the link.

Firefox shows its curvy Australis tabs for upcoming unified version originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu outs a trio of similar looking Lifebooks that carry Ivy Bridge over troubled waters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/ivy-bridge-lifebooks/

Fujitsu has whipped out three matching Ivy Bridge laptops of various sizes for the business-end of your life. Each of the trio comes with wither Core i5 or i7 processors, optional SSD and a nifty modular bay that lets you swap in batteries or optical drives depending on need. The 15-inch E752 desktop replacement will set you back $879, while the 14-inch thin-and-light S752 is aimed at business pros on the go, costing $899. Finally, the 13.3-inch subcompact S762 will blow a $999-sized hole in your departmental purchasing budget -- which you can start doing from today.

Continue reading Fujitsu outs a trio of similar looking Lifebooks that carry Ivy Bridge over troubled waters

Fujitsu outs a trio of similar looking Lifebooks that carry Ivy Bridge over troubled waters originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/lg-philips-tp-vision-smart-tv-alliance/

Following up on last year's promise to build a standardized SDK for creating Smart TV apps, LG and TP Vision (the new owner of Philips' TV business) have announced the creation of the Smart TV Alliance. Its goal is to create a "non-proprietary ecosystem" to encourage developers to make platform-independent apps based on standards like HTML5. One of the main problems currently for the Smart TV market is that there's many different platforms, some manufacturer specific while others like Google TV and Yahoo! Widgets play across differently branded devices. Curiously, Sharp was included in the previous announcement at IFA last fall and is not mentioned by name this time around, although the press release hints at "other Japanese manufacturers" in the process of joining that will be announced accordingly. The current plan is to release SDK 2.0 by the end of this year, until then interested devs are asked to register on the group's website for more info.

Continue reading LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps

LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/acer-aspire-timeline-ultra-m5-ultrabooks-kepler-graphics-us/

We spotted Acer's new Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 laptops at Computex earlier this month, and though we already knew some key specs (NVIDIA's Kepler-based graphics, for example), these Ultrabooks hadn't yet been announced for the US market. Today that changes, as Acer just revealed full specs and pricing details for those of us here in the states.

The Aspire Timeline Ultra M5, available with 14- and 15-inch screens, lives up to its Ultrabook classification with a 0.81-inch thick profile and up to eight hours of battery life. As we noted previously, the M5 maintains some of the Aspire M3's design cues, including the chiclet keyboard, 1366 x 768 display and thin silhouette. At the same time, it ups the premium quotient with aluminum alloy done up in a brushed-metal finish. All models include a DVD drive and 500GB of storage plus a 20GB SSD.

The base configuration will feature a second-gen (read: Sandy Bridge) Intel processor clocked at 1.5GHz, but higher-level options step up to an Ivy Bridge CPU clocked as high as 2.6GHz. The 14-inch version weighs 4.3 pounds and starts at $680 with Intel HD Graphics 4000 but is also available with an NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE GPU for $780. The $830 15.6-inch M5 features an edge-to-edge screen, along with that same NVIDIA chip, but it weighs a heftier 5.07 pounds. T! he Aspir e Timeline Ultra M5 Series will ship at the end of June -- in the meantime, check out the photos and press info below.

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 hands-on

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5

Continue reading Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus

Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $680-plus originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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