Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Insert Coin: Instacube is a hip, Android-based digital photo frame for your Instagram feeds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/instacube-instagram-digital-photo-frame-kickstarter/

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Insert Coin Instacube is a hip, Androidbased photo frame for your Instagram feeds

Ever wished you had another option aside from using Instagram's mobile apps and permalinks for viewing your retrofied photos? The folks at D2M certainly did, resulting in what it likes to call Instacube. The square gizmo is essentially a 7.5-inch (2.5 inches deep), OneStep-themed digital photo frame purposed specifically for displaying and interacting with Instagram photo feeds. Up front, a 6.5-inch LCD touchscreen (600 x 600, the full resolution of photos on the service) allows you to tap between pictures and type when needed. Apart from that, three physical buttons on its top handle power, switching feeds and favoriting photos. Basically, the unit looks out for your specified hashtags so it can follow multiple Instagram feeds and automatically cycle through the images -- niche yes, but it's still undeniably cool.

Android runs the show (no word on what version) atop an undisclosed ARM processor that's bundled with 4GB of storage and 256MB of RAM, while b/g/n WiFi keeps it connected to Instagram independently. Speaking to its OS, tinkerers should be pleased to know that D2M plans to continually enhance its functionality, and potentially open it up to developers. Also worth note, Instacube sports a buil! t-in rec hargeable battery, allowing you have it operate completely untethered when the mood strikes.

Interested in pledging your own coin to help fund the project? 1,000 backers can get in on their own Instacube for a cool $99, after which it'll jump to $150. Another 1,000 can get a duo for $199, and the same goes for a limited edition "vintage spring" green variant that'll set you back $249 a piece. Past that, bulk options are on offer maxing out at $5,000 for 40 units, and $10,000 for 25 and a "Design Experience" with D2M. All in all, the Instacube project has 31 days to reach a $250,000 funding goal, with the first units set to ship in March 2013 if all goes well -- hopefully we'll see more than just renders of it well before then. Hit up the project at source link and the video overview past the break if you're interested in liberating your Instagram snaps to that larger display.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Instacube is a hip, Android-based digital photo frame for your Instagram feeds

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Insert Coin: Instacube is a hip, Android-based digital photo frame for your Instagram feeds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes and Noble sees quarterly sales surge, losses fall to $41 million

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/barnes-noble-2013-q1/

Barnes and Noble sees sales surge, losses fall as quarter ends in profit

Barnes & Noble has had a quarter worth remembering, bringing in $1.5 billion and reducing its losses to $41 million -- down from $57 million last year. Retail business was up, thanks to the closure of Borders branches and blockbuster sales of Fifty Shades of Grey, while College sales increased quarterly losses by $2 million to $14 million. While online sales fell 7.6 percent and the Nook business remained flat, the company saw digital content purchases skyrocket by 46 percent -- and the company couldn't produce enough GlowLight devices to satisfy demand. Wondering about the company's tie-up with Microsoft? There's still no news beyond that it hopes the new partnership will be up and running by the fall.

Continue reading Barnes and Noble sees quarterly sales surge, losses fall to $41 million

Barnes and Noble sees quarterly sales surge, losses fall to $41 million originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS outs LG Motion 4G in tandem with unlimited all-you-can-eat plan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/metropcs-outs-lg-motion-4g-in-tandem-with-unlimited-all-you-can/

MetroPCS outs LG Motion 4G in tandem with unlimited allyoucaneat plan

LTE doesn't have to mean premium pricing -- just ask MetroPCS. The budget carrier, notable for its recent launch of VoLTE, has announced the availability of a limited time promo service bundling unlimited voice, text and data dubbed Wireless for All. And to help give that initiative a proper public splash, the company's tossed in some new kit: LG's Motion 4G. That handset, a humble 3.5-incher, is actually the first Android 4.0 device to bow on the company's lineup and bears a familiar dual-core CPU setup clocked at 1.2GHz, HVGA display, 5GB of internal storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD), a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video and 1,700mAh battery. As ICS handsets come, it's certainly no big leaguer, but at $149, plus the addition of that all-you-can eat $55/mo plan, it's hard to find fault with affordable. Skip on past the break to peruse the company's official presser.

Continue reading MetroPCS outs LG Motion 4G in tandem with unlimited all-you-can-eat plan

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MetroPCS outs LG Motion 4G in tandem with unlimited all-you-can-eat plan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Swann TrueBlue 4000 series D1 DVRs pack up to 8 cameras, 1TB of storage for home security

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/swann-trueblue-4000-series-d1-dvrs/

Swann TrueBlue 4000 series D1 DVRs pack up to 8 cameras, 1TB of storage for home security

Home security may not have reached all-seeing aerial eye proportions, but Swann's TrueBlue 4000 series of D1 DVR systems can place up to eight digital peepers throughout your island fortress or humble abode. With a resolution of 480 x 704 pixels, the cameras offer "DVD-quality" video and feature night vision with up to 65 feet of visibility. Those hankering to remotely keep tabs on their homestead can load up the free SwannView app for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian to watch live video on mobile devices. Footage can also be viewed on monitors using HDMI or VGA connections and can be backed up through USB, eSATA or over a network. The maximum one terabyte of storage space nets continuous recording for up to 30 days -- or longer if the device's motion detection settings are flipped on. A 500GB base model with a quartet of cams rings up at $549.99, while the more expensive $649.99 and $749.99 models each pack 1TB hard drives and eight channel support. However, only the priciest of the trio comes packaged with the octet of cameras. Head past the break for the full PR and a glimpse of the rig in action.

Continue reading Swann TrueBlue 4000 series D1 DVRs pack up to 8 cameras, 1TB of storage for home security

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Swann TrueBlue 4000 series D1 DVRs pack up to 8 cameras, 1TB of storage for home security originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint's network

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/motorola-photon-q-4g-lte-review/

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review

The future of Motorola post-acquisition may still be a mystery, but the manufacturer has managed to stay quite active over the last few weeks: it unveiled the Atrix HD, its first smartphone with an HD display and native ICS build, and there's already much anticipation around Verizon's Droid RAZR HD ahead of the holiday season. For the here and now, however, it's Sprint's turn to soak in the Moto love with the Photon Q 4G LTE. (Say it five times fast.)

Naturally, the name of the phone doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination. As you'd expect, it's a follow-up to last year's Photon 4G that trades WiMAX for LTE and adds a full-sized QWERTY keyboard. What the name doesn't tell you, though, is that this phone costs a lofty $200 on contract, and ! features a qHD ColorBoost display (not to be confused with the Atrix's 720p screen, which uses the same branding). In other words, it's gotta be pretty good to have any success at that price point. How does the latest Googorola device hold up against the rest of Sprint's LTE lineup? Is it worth the premium? Follow us southward to find out.

Continue reading Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint's network

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Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint's network origin ally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/21/intellectual-ventures-launches-kymeta-satellite-broadband-spinoff/

Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises satellite broadband hotspots

Intellectual Ventures is best known for its tendency to sue everyone, but it's going some distance to mend that bruised image through a newly spun out company, Kymeta. The startup hopes to improve the quality of satellite broadband through mTenna-branded, Ka-band hotspots made from metamaterials -- substances that can boost and manipulate a satellite signal while occupying virtually no space, leading to self-pointing transceivers that are just a fraction of the size of what we use today. That still amounts to equipment the size of a laptop running at a peak 5Mbps, although it's small enough that Kymeta sees hotspots reaching individual customers who want access from a boat, a car or the field. We'd just advise against tossing out the MiFi too quickly. Kymeta doesn't expect the hotspot to be ready before late 2014 at the earliest, and that leaves many questions about how much of a hit we'll take to the pocketbook.

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Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, August 08, 2012

You Can Actually Afford Dell's Probably Awesome 27-Inch UltraSharp Monitor [Monitors]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5932870/you-wont-have-to-take-out-a-loan-for-dells-new-27+inch-ultrasharp-monitor

You Can Actually Afford Dell's Probably Awesome 27-Inch UltraSharp MonitorDell is dropping a nice new 27-inch monitor that isn't too spendy—the UltraSharp U2713HM. It's Dell's first to use AH-IPS, or advanced high-performance IPS, a technology that's supposed to improve on both color and clarity. Though it was only announced on the company's Japanese site, the screen looks like it will only cost around $637. A pretty fantastic deal!

The 2560x1440 res LCD has four USB 3.0 ports, as well as HDMI, dual-link DVI connector, DisplayPort, and VGA-out. No Thunderbolt like Apple's screen of the same size, but then again, it's $367 cheaper, and that's a tradeoff we'll happily take. [AV Watch via The Verge]

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Hydroponic Garden Blends Into Your Kitchen For Year Round Herbs [Hydroponics]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5932863/hydroponic-garden-blends-into-your-kitchen-for-year-round-herbs

Hydroponic Garden Blends Into Your Kitchen For Year Round HerbsIf you're not an avid gardener it's hard to stay on top of keeping indoor plants like herbs and spices watered and cared for. So consider this Urban Cultivator like a personal gardener. It's designed blend in with your other kitchen appliances, but it keeps a small herb garden alive and well all year long.

Even if you're constantly buying herbs at the grocery store for cooking, with a price tag that starts at $2,200 it will be a long time before the Urban Cultivator pays for itself. But there's nothing quite like fresh chives or rosemary straight from the plant to spice up a dish. And while you won't be growing full-on vegetables in this garden, there's still a wide variety of other edible plant life that will flourish under its artificial lighting. All you need to do is feed it some organic plant food once a week, and the dishwasher-sized appliance takes care of everything else. Now if only they sold one for taking care of children.

Hydroponic Garden Blends Into Your Kitchen For Year Round Herbs

[Urban Cultivator via The Awesomer]

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Google Search Results Can Pull From Your Gmail Now [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5932994/google-search-results-can-pull-from-your-gmail-now

Google Search Results Can Pull From Your Gmail NowGoogle's going to start showing you relevant information from your Gmail when you perform a regular old Google search soon. But you can try it out now before it's official.

Your email is basically a huge repository for information that you need. That's where you store travel itineraries, party details, package tracking numbers, phone numbers, and countless other important bits of data. If you enable the trial, Google will pull relevant information from your emails and display it alongside your search results. Researching an upcoming trip, for example? Your airline confirmation email will pop up in a right-hand pane.

With the launch of Knowledge Graph earlier this year, Google's whole approach to search changed. Folding Gmail into search results fits right in with the new mantra. Before, Google wanted to provide you links to information. Now it wants to scrape the sources and provide you with the information itself.

It's a further uniting of your Google identity, which could be seen as a further depletion of your privacy. But Google heading this direction is inevitable, so the best we can all do is maybe sit back and enjoy the benefits while doing our best to forget the creepy negatives.

The trial is limited to users with @gmail.com email addresses, and it will only be available on Google.com in English. If you sign up and you don't like it, you can later opt-out of the trial. No word on when a wider roll out might show up. [Google via The Next Web]

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Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Microsoft patents contextual ads in e-books, whether we like it or not

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/microsoft-patents-contextual-ads-in-e-books/

Microsoft patents contextual ads in ebooks, whether we like it or not

We have ad-supported e-reading today, but the ads always sit on the periphery at most. That makes us more than slightly nervous about a newly-granted Microsoft patent for contextual e-book ads. The development would make the pitch based on not just targeted pages but the nature of the book in question: a sci-fi novel might try to sell lightsabers, and characters themselves might slip into the ads themselves if there's a fit. Promos could be either generated on the spot or remain static. Before anyone mourns the end of unspoiled literature, just remember that having a patent isn't the same as using it -- Microsoft doesn't have its own dedicated reading app anymore, let alone any warning signs that it's about to pepper our digital libraries with marketing. If the Newco partnership results in copies of War and Peace bombarded with Black Ops II ads, though, we'll know where to place the blame.

Microsoft patents contextual ads in e-books, whether we like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plextor M5 Pro bulges SSD envelope with 94K IOPS and 540MB/s

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/plextor-m5-pro-high-performance-ssd/

Plextor M5 Pro SSD

Plextor's newly launched M5 Pro is angling to be the top dot on the SATA III SSD spec charts -- and looks like it will mostly succeed. The Marvell Monet controller lets the unit hit a continuous 540 MB/s read and 450 MB/s write speeds for the larger models, as well as a hefty 94,000 read and 86,000 write IOPS. Those figures would put it ahead of or alongside most of its competitors except in steady write speeds, but Plextor claims that hustle is not the model's only trick. It also makes use of "True Speed" tech to minimize performance drops with age, uses 128-bit error correction to eliminate data inaccuracy and offers 256-bit full-drive encryption. The 128GB, 256GB or 512GB drives will be available mid-August for prices that have yet to be determined, but it's likely to be well north of its budget namesake, the M5S. You'll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Plextor M5 Pro bulges SSD envelope with 94K IOPS and 540MB/s

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Plextor M5 Pro bulges SSD envelope with 94K IOPS and 540MB/s originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, ! 07 Aug 2 012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How This Small Machine Turns Human Waste Into Clean Water Vapor

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/zero-liquid-discharge-system-works-2012-7

Namon Nassef's Zero Liquid Discharge system uses engine heat to convert wastewater into water vapor. It's an invention seven years and several hundred thousands dollars in the making that could revolutionize how we dispose of sewage on buses, cruise ships, trains and airplanes.

Nassef has set up a demonstration trailer (pictured below) to show how the eco-friendly sewage elimination system works.

ZLD demo

First, sewage moves through a pipe into a small equalization tank. The equalization tank keeps the waste completely mixed. It also starts the grinding process, which reduces solids down into very tiny particles that are about 0.065 inch or less in diameter.

The mixture of liquid and small particles then moves from the receiving tank to the machine's homogenizer (the white plastic cylinder on the right next to the equalization tank). This component dissolves the tiny particles into even smaller particles. Nothing that leaves the homogenizer is larger than the ball in a ball point pen.

The fluid is then sent to an injection pump (the white plastic module on the left). The injection pump pressurizes the fluid and sends it through a nozzle into the hot exhaust stream of the heat source. In the demonstration trailer, a diesel generator is used for the heat source.

In the final stage, the engine's exhaust heat flash evaporates the fluid, killing 99.9 percent of the bacteria without chemicals. What's produced is water vapor and a little bit of mineral ash, which goes out with the exhaust. There's nothing to dump from the holding tank.  

The current ZLD unit can eliminate up to 300 gallons of sewage per day, which is more than capable of handling the 20 gallons of waste produced on a 65-passenger bus, says Nassef. 

Below is a picture of the current ZLD production! unit on its own, equipped for buses. 

ZLD proudction unit

Meet Namon Nassef, the man behind the machine >

See our list of Game Changers: 30 Innovations That Will Change The World >

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Korean scientists solve flexible battery riddle (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/korean-scientists-solve-flexible-battery/

Flexible batteries

We've got flexible displays, printed circuits, memory and even chargers -- why not batteries? So far, this has eluded manufacturers, but now researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have got the ball rolling with a high performance bendable lithium-ion version. As the video after the break (no sound) shows, the peel-and-stick type manufacturing process they devised allows the cell to provide constant juice, no matter how much it's deformed. Now the scientists are looking at ways of upping the capacity, so they can power more than just Christmas tree lights and ultimately bring "the next-generation of fully flexible" devices to market. That's no small thing, considering what some products are willing to do to fit into those tight aluminum jea! ns.

< p>Continue reading Korean scientists solve flexible battery riddle (video)

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Korean scientists solve flexible battery riddle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA announces second generation Maximus, now with Kepler power

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/nvidia-announces-second-generation-maximus/

NVIDIA announces second generation Maximus now with more Kepler

It's been almost exactly a year since we first heard about NVIDIA's Maximus technology, and today the firm's just announced an update. The second generation of the platform is now supported by Kepler-based GPUs. This time around computational tasks get ferried off to the SMX-streaming K20 GPU, leaving the 3,840 x 2,160 resolution-supporting Quadro K5000 GPU ($3,199) to tackle the graphical functions. Want to know when you can get your hands on the goods? Well, NVIDIA says starting December, with the Quadro K5000 ($2,249 MSRP) available as a standalone in October. Head down to the PR for the full spin and forthcoming workstation / OEM details.

Continue reading NVIDIA announces second generation Maximus, now with Kepler power

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NVIDIA announces second generation Maximus, now with Kepler power originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenGL 4.3 squeeze textures to the limit, bring OpenVL along for the ride

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/opengl-es-3-0-and-opengl-4-3-squeeze-textures-to-the-limit/

OpenGL ES 30 and OpenGL 43 squeeze textures to the limit, bring OpenVL along for the ride

Mobile graphics are clearly setting the agenda at SIGGRAPH this year -- ARM's Mali T600-series parts have just been chased up by a new Khronos Group standard that will likely keep those future video cores well-fed. OpenGL ES 3.0 represents a big leap in textures, introducing "guaranteed support" for more advanced texture effects as well as a new version of ASTC compression that further shrinks texture footprints without a conspicuous visual hit. OpenVL is also coming to give augmented reality apps their own standard. Don't worry, desktop users still get some love through OpenGL 4.3: it adds the new ASTC tricks, new visual effects (think blur) and support for compute shaders without always needing to use OpenCL. All of the new standards promise a bright future in graphics for those living outside of Microsoft's Direct3D universe, although we'd advise being patient: there won't be a full Open GL ES 3.0 testing suite for as long as six months, and any next-generation phones or tablets will still need the graphics hardware to match.

Continue reading OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenGL 4.3 squeeze textures to the limit, bring OpenVL along for the ride

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OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenGL 4.3 squeeze textures to the limit, bring OpenVL along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceKhronos Group (OpenGL ES), (OpenGL)  | Email this | Comments

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