Source: http://gizmodo.com/i-bought-an-apartment-just-to-rent-it-out-on-airbnb-1458666661
In 2012 I bought an apartment specifically to rent out on airbnb. I've been managing it remotely for the past year. This post includes everything I learned as well as some revenue numbers.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-quadcopter-turns-into-a-self-balancing-rolling-whe-1458696855
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have managed to teach a quadcopter some impressive new tricks that vastly expand its capabilities past flying. Their Multi-field Universal Wheel for Air-land Vehicle—or MUWA for short—features variable pitch propellers so the thrust can be directed in opposite directions, allowing it to balance on edge like an autonomous bike wheel.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/05/bublcam-360-degree-camera/
Many of the 360-degree cameras on the market will only shoot footage on a horizontal plane, which isn't very helpful if a subject sails overhead. Bubl's upcoming, baseball-sized Bublcam should provide a more complete view of the world. The gadget's four cameras are arranged in a tetrahedral layout that captures seamless, spherical images; software for Android, iOS and PCs lets viewers pan anywhere in the shot, much like they would with Google's Street View. It's also relatively internet-savvy thanks to its built-in WiFi, which lets owners both stream to a nearby device and upload their recordings to Dropbox, Google Drive and Younity. Bubl is crowdfunding the project, with pledges starting at $399 CAD ($383 US plus shipping) for those who want a Bublcam to call their own. Should the company reach its $100,000 goal, backers should get their extra-immersive cameras beginning in May. Check out a demo of the playback software after the break.
Filed under: Cameras
Source: Kickstarter, Bubl
Source: http://gizmodo.com/good-news-fitness-freaks-nikes-move-app-which-brings-1458662128
Good news, fitness freaks: Nike's Move app, which brings Fuelband functionality to the iPhone 5s using its M7 motion-sensing co-processor, is now available in the App Store.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/square-enix-project-flare/
Streaming game services are nothing new, but Square Enix thinks they need a fix. Today, the company behind Final Fantasy and Deus Ex: Human Revolution (seen above) announced a new cloud gaming platform that it claims kills game latency dead. It's called Project FLARE, which it describes as a "technological breakthrough in cloud game architecture." It claims to harness the power of "virtual supercomputers" to offer powerful performance and incredible "Hollywood-level" animation that current streaming services just can't handle. Though Project FLARE is just exiting its R&D stage, Square Enix has already engaged Ubisoft as an early partner. It's currently shopping its technology around to other developers, and hopes to bring games to beta in about two years.
Jacob Navok, Square Enix's director of business development, tells us the secret sauce behind Project FLARE is a technology that lets them run CPUs and GPUs in separate servers to turn up the graphic potential and efficiency of any game. In a hotel room in San Francisco, the company showed several demonstrations of this, such as incorporating video streams into Final Fantasy gameplay, real-time camera switching in Agni's Philosophy and the ability to dramatically increase the number of objects on screen in Deus Ex without affecting the game's frame rate. Since developers can now fill the screen with lots of items, Navok hopes this will result in far more realistic battle and crowd scenes in the future.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Project Flare
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/nikon-df-camera/
Reincarnation is the new innovation -- the camera industry's latest salute to days gone by comes compliments of Nikon. The 16.2-megapixel Df blends a full-frame sensor and modern capabilities with a "timeless design." It may look like something you just dug out of your great grandfather's secret chest in the attic, but people on the other end of your images will assume those snappy shots are the product of a serious professional tool. And they'd be right -- even if pros prefer something more modern for their day jobs, the Df stands up extremely well on paper. In fact, it contains the same incredible sensor found on the flagship D4, along with the same level of weather proofing you'd get with the D800 -- all wrapped in a 710-gram (1.56-pound) body that feels great and is the lightest in Nikon's full-frame range.
Other key specs also stand up to scrutiny: the Df has an EXPEED 3 processor, a 204,800 top ISO, 39 AF points, a 2,016-pixel 3D matrix metering system and 5.5 fps burst shooting. In addition to the 3.2-inch, 921k-dot LCD, you can also frame shots using the pro-grade, glass pentaprism viewfinder, which has virtually 100 percent coverage and also lets you remove the visible AF points when shooting in manual focus -- something a lot of photographers will do if they're using very old lenses. Speaking of which, the Df is compatible with not only current AF, AF-S, DX and AF-D lenses, but Ai and non-Ai Nikkor glass going all the way back to 1959, the year in which the manufacturer introduced its first F-series SLR. This compatibility comes with enhanced functionality courtesy of a new metering coupling lever on the bayonet mount.
You also get a full array of dedicated dials, including EV, shutter speed and ISO, all of which have the same tactile gravitas you'd get on something like the 30-year-old Nikon F3. Additionally, Nikon is announcing a special edition 50mm f/1.8 lens, which is set to retail for $3,000 in a kit with the camera or $280 on its own. The Df will also be available individually in the US and ships later this month for $2,750.%Gallery-slideshow102871%%Gallery-slideshow103026%
If you've been thinking of upgrading up a new iPad Air, or if your old iPad is just gathering dust, Target is offering a rare opportunity to get decent trade-in value from your old model.
Keiichi Matsuda is excited about this invention and I can't blame him: A solid table that reproduces a virtual version of anything that you put under its sensors—in realtime. You can see how it reproduces the hands moving in the clip above, but there's more:
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/first-helium-filled-6tb-hard-drive/
At first glance, an enterprise-class hard drive with unparalleled areal density sounds like a pretty dull affair, right? While the new Ultrastar He6 drive from Western Digital's HGST subsidiary does fit that nap-inducing description, it's also got a couple of exclusive honors to boast about. You see, not only is this the first sealed, helium-filled HDD, but also the largest in a standard 3.5-inch footprint, packing 6TB over seven stacks. We learned during the drive's development that helium's lower density compared with air allows for this storage bump, as well as making it lighter and more energy efficient. It's destined for data centers and the like, with outfits like HP, Netflix, Huawei and CERN already registering their interest. You'd think these HDDs are pretty pricey currently, but let's hope HGST can dial its costs down and do the noble thing of bringing it to consumer rigs in the future.
Filed under: Storage
Via: AllThingsD
Source: HGST
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/google-plus-connected-classrooms/
Field trips are usually restricted to points of interest that can be easily reached by bus during regular school hours. Now, Google has a tool for enabling virtual visits to educational stops near and far via Hangouts. The folks in Mountain View have launched Connected Classrooms through Google+: a project that brings destinations students may never have the chance to experience in real life within reach inside their classrooms. Trips to the Seattle Aquarium, Minnesota Zoo and Solar Impulse hangar are the first three stops for the program, and soon enough, teachers will be able sign up for virtual tours with over 20 partners. There's also the ability to collaborate with fellow educators and access content all within the confines for Google+. For a glimpse at the potential, head on past the break for a quick video teaser.
Source: Google+ Blog
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/html5-is-still-relevant-in-mobile-age-2013-11
Mobile Web apps are written in HTML, they exist online, and can be accessed and used from any kind of phone or tablet.
Native apps, in contrast, are built expressly for a single mobile operating system like Apple's iOS, Google's Android, or Amazon's Fire OS. They are marketed and downloaded through the company's proprietary app stores. Google, Amazon, and Apple get a cut of any download revenue.
In the newest report from BI Intelligence, we explore a seeming contradiction: consumers seem to prefer native apps. But many mobile developers, particularly in the mobile e-commerce world, find that HTML is more cost-effective than a sole focus on native app development. They have been successful in anchoring their mobile strategies in HTML.
Is it too late for HTML, and its new mobile-ready version, HTML5? Will the native app tidal wave overwhelm it and relegate HTML5 mobile Web apps to permanent second-class status? Or will companies come to exploit its many advantages?
Access The Full Report And Data By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >>
HTML5's advocates see its current stasis as a temporary speed bump, before mobile audiences and developers see the light and embrace apps on the more universal and less closed-off mobile Web.
Another advantage: Native apps are written in the difficult programming languages used for specific operating systems, while mobile Web apps are built around HTML5 and related Web technologies, which are more widely known.
Of course, it doesn't help that consumers, and even many app publishers, remain confused about what a mobile Web app is, and how it differs from a native app and a mobile website. (A mobile Web app offers app-like interactive experiences, while a mobile website just serves up content and has a thin user interface.)
In full, the report:
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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/nexus-phone-evolution-gif-2013-11
The new Nexus 5 is here, and the GIF Rembrandts over at GadgetLove created this animation to show off the evolutionary stages of Google's Nexus phone up to present day.
The Nexus 5 is Google's latest and greatest phone, boasting a large 5-inch display and the new Android KitKat operating system. It even charges wirelessly, for crying out loud.
You can buy the phone from Google right here for $349, unlocked.
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Source: https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/welcome
Depending on which attribution model is used, social media's role in driving online retail purchases appears drastically different. In the case of Tumblr, a last-click attribution model undervalues the site's revenue per user by 450% compared to a first-click attribution model.
To evaluate a social site's impact on their business, many retailers rely solely on last-click attribution, in which a purchase is attributed to the last click the consumer made before purchasing an item. So, Facebook would only be credited for an online purchase if a user clicked directly from Facebook to a retailer site, and then ultimately bought.
Alternatively, in a first-click attribution model, the purchase is attributed to the first click the consumer makes toward purchasing a particular item. So, Facebook would be credited if it refers a consumer to a product page on a retailer's site for the first time, and he buys that item on a return visit.
Second quarter U.S. retail data collected by Adobe shines light on social media's important role in influencing consumers' purchases early-on in their decision-making process, well before the last click. With every social network tracked in the study, revenue per user went up when tracking first-click attribution versus last-click.
The study found that Facebook drives the most revenue per user ($1.63) on retail sites, when using a first-click attribution model. Last-click attribution only credits Facebook with $0.71 in revenue per user. But that's still higher than most other social sites.
Tumblr, the most undervalued social network when tracking last-click attribution versus first-click, achieved merely $0.16 in revenue per user based on a last-click model (the lowest of any social network tracked in the study). However, when ! tracking first-click attribution, revenue per user went up to $0.88.
We've discussed the importance of multi-touch attribution in the context of social commerce before, and this data shines light on social media's important role in influencing purchase decisions near the top of the funnel.
These findings are based on Adobe's anonymous consumer data to brand sites, which was tracked and collected by 1,000 U.S. online retailers in the second quarter of 2013.
Download the chart and data in Excel.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/maingear-pulse-17-gaming-laptop/
Maingear's normal method of constructing a gaming notebook works something a little like this: 1. Grab a Clevo chassis, 2. Crowbar as much high-power tech it can. For the Pulse 17, however, the company has decided to follow a different path. Abandoning Clevo's hardware, the company has crafted a 17-inch laptop that'll put a dent in your wallet and your friend's egos. This self-styled "world's thinnest" gaming notebook comes with a Haswell Core i7 4700HQ clocked at 2.4GHz, but which'll push all the way up to 3.4GHz when required, in addition to a GeForce GTX 765M with 2GB RAM and a staggering 16GB RAM. Up front, your eyes will be staring into a 17.3-inch 1,920 x 1,080 widescreen display, and users will have a choice of a 1TB HDD or a pair of 480GB SSDs in a Raid 0 configuration. Systems go on sale from today and will start from $2,099 -- with prices increasing depending on your build-to-order choices, naturally.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/google-security-saved-passwords-chrome-mac/
Having come under fire over its relaxed attitude towards saved passwords in Chrome earlier in the year, Google is finally looking to do something about it. In a post to his Google+ page, Chrome tinkerer François Beaufort notes that the company will now ask users to authenticate themselves using a system password before they can access saved credentials inside Chrome. Previously, users could access the list of saved passwords by pointing the browser at "chrome://settings/passwords," offering easy access should their computer be left unattended. As it stands, the feature appears limited to the latest Chromium build for Mac, mimicking the behavior of Apple's own web browser: Safari. While there's no word on whether Google intends to implement the feature inside Chrome for Windows, its inclusion on the Mac suggests it could be present inside a public release in the near future.
[Image Credit: Francois Beaufort, Google+]
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Francois Beaufort (Google+), Chromium Code Reviews
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