Monday, September 16, 2013

The Best Web Browser for iPhone

Source: http://lifehacker.com/the-best-web-browser-for-iphone-5831636

The Best Web Browser for iPhone

While mobile Safari does most of what you'd need from a smartphone web browser, and there are many alternatives that fill in the gaps, we prefer Chrome. Google's browser offers excellent features, synchronization, and simplicity at no cost.

Google Chrome

Platform: iPhone (and iPad)
Price: Free
Download Page

Features

  • Unlimited browser "tabs"
  • Syncs with your Google account to provide you with Chrome data from other browsers, including passwords, bookmarks, and more
  • Saves sessions so you can access sites on your mobile on the desktop, and vice-versa
  • Instant search
  • Easily navigate with helpful gestures
  • Private browsing mode

Where It Excels

Google Chrome for iPhone inherits the goodness of its desktop counterpart. Chrome's syncing abilities truly make it wonderful, allowing you to take pretty much any data associated with Chrome and your Google account and have it on every single device the browser supports. That means you always have your bookmarks, passwords, history, search shortcuts, and so on. Google really does sync well, and that's where Chrome shines beyond Apple's Safari. That said, its other features pretty much stack up evenly. You might prefer its user interface or that of any other browser. Its feature set doesn't set it above a variety of other third-party options. When you want to know why Chrome is the best, just look at its syncing abilities. That's where it wins.

Where It Falls Short

Chrome doesn't have a lot of features. It doesn't beat out mobile Safari in a variety of areas for this reason. As mentioned in the previous section, we like Chrome because it syncs so well. No other browser—including Safari—does such a great job. If you use Chrome on the desktop, you'll probably want it on your mobile. If you don't, however, you lose its main advantage. When it comes to a mobile browser, you generally want to match yours with your choice on the desktop to keep data in sync. We think Chrome does the best job on the desktop so naturally we feel you ought to make it your browser of choice on your iPhone as well.

The Competition

Atomic, our previous top pick, has just about every feature you could possibly want in a mobile web browser (or a desktop web browser for that matter). You can clear history, cookies, and all sorts of other crap you don't want lying around on your mobile. In fact, Atomic will do it for you on quit so you don't even have to remember. You get proper tabbed browsing, which can be extended into kiosk mode (full screen) to make more room for the web page. Atomic even has advanced features like a download manager that can decompress zip archives, an ad blocker, and the ability to save web pages locally. It's easy to use, endlessly customizable, stable, and only costs $1 for the full version. It's really a fantastic browser with a great balance of all the things you'd really need, but might feel cumbersome to those who don't want a desktop-like experience.

Perfect Web Browser is a common alternative to Atomic, offering many of the same features and a fairly similar interface. It attempts to provide a desktop experience on your iPhone, but it definitely achieves that better on the iPad thanks to the extra screen real estate. It costs the same as Atomic (unless you want the iPad version, too, in which case Perfect will cost you an extra $4) and there's very little different, but we've used both for some time and just prefer Atomic. You may disagree, and at $1 each there's little risk in trying them both out.

360 Browser has an interesting user interface with lots of navigation shortcuts and adds support for Flash. Yes, Flash—that thing Apple basically banned from your iDevice. It also has support for Firefox sync so you can easily grab all your bookmarks, tabs, and passwords. Like the others, it'll only cost you $1.

Previously mentionedMeteoric Download Manager is technically not advertised as a web browser, but it works as one just the same. You won't get a desktop-like browsing experience, but if your focus is downloading and managing files it is an excellent option.


Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

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Flies See the World in Matrix-Style Slow Motion

Source: http://gizmodo.com/flies-see-the-world-in-matrix-style-slow-motion-1325474137

Flies See the World in Matrix-Style Slow Motion

If you've ever sat puzzling over a fly's ability to outmaneuver your swift slap of death almost every. single. time—puzzle no more. According to science, you're just measly Agent Smith to the bug's Neo; new research shows that a creature's perception of time is directly related to its size, meaning flies live in a world where time passes as if in slow motion.

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This Extra Lens Is Like a Megaphone For Your DSLR's Pop-up Flash

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-extra-lens-is-like-a-megaphone-for-your-dslrs-pop-1325596701

This Extra Lens Is Like a Megaphone For Your DSLR's Pop-up Flash

It might occasionally come in handy as a bit of fill light for a shot, but your DSRL's pop-up flash is a poor substitute for a dedicated flash perched atop your camera. It makes sense why it sucks; it's designed to be small and compact enough to fold away. But with Rogue's Safari Flash Booster added to the mix, all of a sudden your DSLR's pop-up flash isn't so crappy any more.

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Virgin Mobile Is Using A Clever Eye-Tracking Trick To Get People To Watch Its Video Ad

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-mobile-uses-blinkwashing-to-get-attention-2013-9

Virgin Mobile is using a cool webcam technology to make its latest video ad an interactive experience that encourages viewers not to click away.

With help from creative agency Mother NY and digital production lab Rehab Studio, Virgin Mobile produced an advertisement in which the on-screen video changes every time a viewer blinks. The advertisement uses eye-tracking technology and viewers' webcams to change the video scene. The video shifts between a series of goofy scenes made by production company Greencard Studios.

All of the clips feature the same script about Virgin Mobile's $35 monthly phone plan, with the idea being that making an interactive ad would get people to focus on the YouTube video long enough to hear Virgin Mobile's pitch. Here's what the demo video looks like:

Virgin Mobile is calling its interactive eye-tracking experience "Blinkwashing."

The ad is the final piece of Virgin Mobile's "Retrain Your Brain" campaign, which seeks to draw attention to its low-cost data plans and convince people to switch over. If you have a webcam on your computer, you can try it out for yourself here.

SEE ALSO: Why People Need To Stop Obsessing About The Google Glass 'Pay-Per-Gaze' Emotion Tracking Patent

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Pew survey: 21 percent of US cellphone owners get online mostly through their phones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/16/pew-cell-use-survey-2013/

Pew study finds that 34 percent of Americans primarily use their phones to hop online

There have been signs that Americans are leaning more and more on the smartphone as a primary internet device, and nowhere is that clearer than the latest edition of Pew's Cell Internet Use survey. The research group found that 21 percent of American cellphone owners now get online chiefly through their handset, up from 17 percent last year. Offline users, meanwhile, have been reduced to a minority -- 63 percent of US cell owners have hopped on the internet from their phones at some point. The PC isn't going away anytime soon, but it's clear that the traditional computer is just one internet client among many.

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Source: Pew Internet

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Article: Box launching Notes word processor to close the gap with Google Drive

Box is unveiling an online word processor called Box Notes, in a move that could help to put the cloud storage service's features closer on par with that of Google Drive. Though it's just getting started, it appears that Box Notes should have a fairly mature feature set right out the gate, includ...

http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/16/4736228/box-announces-notes-word-processor-beta

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People With 10k Instagram Followers Stay Free In This Hotel

Source: http://gizmodo.com/people-with-10k-instagram-followers-stay-free-in-this-h-1318364597

People With 10k Instagram Followers Stay Free In This Hotel

A picture is worth a thousand words and having 10,000 Instagram followers is apparently worth more than $150. At the recently opened 1888 Hotel in Sydney, Australia guests can stay one night for free if they contact the media department to show their social media mettle and follow the hotel on Instagram, of course.

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Google Glass no longer requires tethering plan for smartphone data sharing

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/15/google-glass-bluetooth-tethering-without-data-plan/

Google Glass no longer requires tethering plan for smartphone data sharing

An Explorer Edition of Glass is already a pricey piece of tech, and smartphone tethering plans required to give it a mobile Internet connection have only made ownership that much more expensive. However, there's good news for Google's guinea pigs: the latest update to the headgear quietly implemented a way around the additional monthly fees. With XE9 loaded onto headsets, the companion Android app pipes data to and from the hardware, bypassing both the smartphone's Bluetooth tethering settings and extra plan previously needed from some carriers. To match the change, the application's notification icon sports two arrows to signify the flow of info. We doubt telcos will be fazed by this development for now, but we don't know if that'll hold once Glass arrives on shelves and hits the streets en masse. We've contacted Google to find out if the feature will make it to retail units.

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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Google Maps updated for Android with sponsored hotel details, better navigation

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/14/google-maps-updated-with-sponsored-hotel-details/

Google Maps updated for Android with sponsored hotel details, better navigation

Now that Google has finished updating its Map app's UI, the company can focus on the finer details: navigation, documentation and monetization. The Android app's latest update tweaks hotel search results by adding sponsored rate and booking links, which places a tiny "ad" icon next to services that paid for exposure. Navigation has been also been improved, with better traffic and route information, and the side menu now has a "tips and tricks" option that inelegantly opens a maps help page in your device's web browser. Check out the official update notes at the Google Play link below.

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Source: Google Play

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SanDisk's CFast 2.0 card is the world's fastest memory card of any kind

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/14/sandisks-cfast-2.0-fastest-memory-card-ever/

SanDisk's first CFast 20 memory card is the world's fastest,

About a year after the CompactFlash Association announced the CFast 2.0 draft spec, SanDisk has revealed its new Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 memory card. The first of its kind, SanDisk says read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds of up to 350MB/s make it the world's fastest memory card, period. Speed isn't the only improvement either, as the cards claim a tougher, pinless design and even unique serial numbers that owners can register with customer support. For now however, its use is going to be quite limited. The only camera ready for it at launch is the just-announced Arri Amira, although the Arri XT and Classic (with the XR module) cameras can also use it with an adapter. For those still using traditional CompactFlash storage for their 4K shooting the company is stretching the limits there too, with a new 256GB card that it says has the highest capacity ever. That extra storage will cost you however, with a price of $1,809 for the new 256GB version. There's no word on a price for the CFast 2.0 cards or their USB 3.0-equipped reader, but pro videographers in the US and Europe should be able to find them soon at specialty shops and Arri-authorized locations.

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Source: SanDisk (1), (2)

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Saturday, September 14, 2013

Adafruit tutorial turns your Raspberry Pi into an ad-blocking WiFi access point

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/adafruit-tutorial-raspberry-pi-ad-blocking/

DNP Adafruit tutorial turns your Raspberry Pi into an adblocking WiFi access point

Ads can be a buzzkill, especially when they're so pervasive they become distractions. Luckily, Adafruit has a new tutorial that turns your Raspbery Pi into a WiFi access point that doubles as a mighty ad-blocking machine for any device -- be it an iPad or an Xbox -- that connects to it. All you need is a working internet connection, a Raspberry Pi booting Raspbian, a WiFi adapter, an Ethernet cable and the necessary software (which the tutorial breaks down for you). It should go without saying, but Adafruit also includes a reminder to whitelist the ad-supported sites you frequently visit. Blocking ads might improve your online experience overall, but it's always a good idea to support the people who provide you with free content. To get started, check out the tutorial at the source link below.

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Source: Adafruit

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Visualized: Canon 35mm CMOS sensor captures fireflies in HD (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/visualized-canon-35mm-cmos-sensor-fireflies/

Visualized: Canon 35mm CMOS sensor captures fireflies in HD

Canon impressed us back in March when it unveiled its 35mm full frame CMOS sensor, which is capable of recording footage in extremely low-light situations. This time around, the company set its sights on the Yaeyama-hime fireflies on Ishigaki Island off the coast of Japan. Shortly after sundown, the Canon team managed to capture a forest full of lightning bugs in full HD in near-dark settings. To watch the video in all its bioluminescent glory, mosey on past the break.

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Canon

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Sony BRAVIA Smart Stick revealed, it's Google TV in a Chromecast-looking dongle

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/sony-bravia-smart-stick-mhl-google-tv/

Sony BRAVIA Smart Stick MHL dongle revealed with Google TV and Sony apps

The Sony NSZ-GU1 Google TV device we've seen pop up in FCC filings has been at least partially revealed today, and it's called the Sony BRAVIA Smart Stick. The blog post doesn't specifically mention any Chromecast-style features, but it is an MHL dongle that runs both Google TV and Sony's own BRAVIA apps. The features are just like Google TV boxes Sony has released before, with a remote (that the FCC filings showed is at least similar to the previous ones) that has QWERTY and voice search support. Additionally, its "picture-and-picture" feature lets users see a browser in one window and TV in another. Since it's a true Google TV device it can install and run Android apps from the Play Store, but any other details will have to wait until it's officially announced on Sunday (the truly dedicated can dig into the source code, linked after the break). Of course this does leave one other question: Now that app support is available as a simple plug-in dongle, does that mean Sony is going to ship plain-jane HDTVs and leave the "smart" features for add-on accessories like this one?

Update: @CJ_000 points out the web-based instruction manual is up on Sony's site, and should answer most questions about how it works. It also lists the pre-installed apps, and at least so far, Hulu Plus is not among them. We're not seeing any DIAL-related features available to start with, so now we really want to know when it will be available, will it work with TVs other than Sony and how much will it cost?

Update 2: Reader Bryan points out a page in the manual that confirms this accessory is only for 2013 model year (and later) Sony HDTVs.

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Source: Sony Blog

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Friday, September 13, 2013

Intel reportedly acquires Indisys, gets an edge in natural language recognition (update: official)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/intel-reportedly-acquires-indisys/

Intel acquires natural language firm Indisys, further embraces natural interface technology

Intel is quickly transforming its dream of perceptual computing into reality: the company will soon ship motion control technology, and it acquired the gesture interface firm Omek back in July. The chip giant may not be done yet, as there are reports from Spain that it has acquired Indisys, a small natural language recognition company. Details of the buyout are scarce, but the move would give Intel its own voice control software; it wouldn't have to license code from third parties like Nuance. We've reached out to Intel to confirm the acquisition. If real, the Indisys takeover might have come at just the right time -- Intel is swinging its attention to wearables, and voice control is now more of a necessity than a luxury.

Update: Intel just confirmed to us that it acquired Indisys on May 31st, and that the deal has already closed.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: ABCdesevilla.es (translated)

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Very First Verizon LTE Nexus 7

Google Nexus 7 LTE alive and kicking it on Verizon Wireless LTE




























































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Tetrapod quantum dot LEDs could lead to cheaper, better HDTVs soon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/tetrapod-quantum-dots-materials-led-lcd/

DNP QUANTUM DOTS IN YO TV

Until Sony started shipping its Triluminos HDTVs, the future of quantum dot (QD) technology in real-world products was mostly theoretical. Now, a company called Quantum Materials has started shipping its "Tetrapod Quantum Dots" material to an unnamed Asian electronics manufacturer, hinting at the possibility of other QD-enhanced products on the market. The company didn't mention any particular devices, but this tech has the potential to create displays that are brighter, more energy-efficient and have greater contrast than the competition.

This technology allows companies to create LED-backlit LCDs using a single material as opposed to several on traditional ones -- this supposedly keeps costs low, although the aforementioned Sony HDTVs were anything but cheap. Quantum Materials CEO Stephen Squires specifically claims his company's tetrapod technology works with fewer dots overall and better manufacturing tech to hit the lowest cost possible. Samsung and LG have shown off quantum dot tech in years past -- we'll eventually find out if either one is the anonymous manufacturer in line to mass produce it.

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Source: Quantum Materials

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The NSA Disguises Itself as Google to Spy

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-nsa-disguises-itself-as-google-to-spy-1305996203

The NSA Disguises Itself as Google to SpyIt's come to light that the NSA has impersonated Google—and possibly other big websites—in order to intercept, store, and read supposedly secure online communications.

Mother Jones reports that the agency managed this by using "man-in-the-middle (MITM)" attacks, which are often used by high-class hackers. PowerPoint slides made public by a Brazilian news channel also suggest the technique is used by the UK-based GCHQ. Mother Jones describes how the hack works:

According to the document, NSA employees log into an internet router—most likely one used by an internet service provider or a backbone network. (It's not clear whether this was done with the permission or knowledge of the router's owner.) Once logged in, the NSA redirects the "target traffic" to an "MITM," a site that acts as a stealthy intermediary, harvesting communications before forwarding them to their intended destination.

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Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/gigabyte-brix-gaming-pc/

Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics handson

While we had an inkling that Gigabyte would be fitting its latest miniature BRIX PCs with Haswell processors, we were pleasantly surprised to learn it had also built a tiny gaming computer with Iris Pro graphics on board. Indeed, the BRIX pocket gaming PC has similar internals to the recently announced Gigabyte BRIX II -- it has an HDMI port, Ethernet, four USB 3.0 slots, Bluetooth 4.0, a Mini display port, built-in WiFi and a headset jack -- but with the added benefit of Intel's latest integrated graphics and the choice of red, yellow or black aluminum housing.

We had a chance to play around with a prototype model at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and we have to say we're impressed. We played a short round of Grid 2 and the race car looked amazing as it roared across a large 1080p TV. While the performance appeared robust enough in our brief hands-on, an Intel rep did warn us it probably won't replace a system with a dedicated GPU. The box itself is an adorable little thing that we felt was compact and light enough to bring to our next gaming party without taking up too much space in the trunk.%Gallery-slideshow84011%

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Insert Coin: Little Robot Friends teach the basics of hardware programming (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/insert-coin-little-robot-friends-teach-the-basics-of-hardware-p/

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.

DNP Insert Coin Little Robot Friends teach the basics of hardware programming video

Toronto-based Aesthetec Studio has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign guaranteed to put a smile on your face. See that little guy above? He's what the company calls a Little Robot Friend, a tiny interactive companion with an 8-bit 32K microcontroller brain that can help even the newest of newbs learn the basics of hardware programming. These customizable pocket-sized robots can perform a number of actions (like blinking their RGB LED eyes) triggered by varied stimuli, including touch, sound and changes in light. Each Arduino-compatible Little Robot Friend can also be reprogrammed with the developer's kit that Aesthetec hopes to roll out if the campaign hits its CAD$55,000 goal. To see these dudes in action, check out the Kickstarter link below or watch the video after the break.

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Source: Kickstarter, Aesthetec Studio

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Chrome 29 for iOS brings voice search with pronouns

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/chrome-29-for-ios/

Chrome for iOS with voice search

Google loves to throw small-yet-sensible interface updates into many Chrome releases, and the new Chrome 29 for iOS represents a textbook example. The browser's voice search now supports contextual pronouns like "her" or "them;" ask a question and you can run a follow-up search without mentioning the subject by name. The update also lets you quickly jump back to search results if you visit the wrong result, and it's now easier to view bandwidth savings if you have access to the experimental data compression feature. Should you like the smattering of new features, you can grab Chrome 29 now through the App Store.

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Via: Chrome Releases

Source: App Store

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Google Coder lets you build Raspberry Pi web apps in your browser (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/google-coder/

Coder tool lets you build Raspberry Pi web apps in your browser

It's undoubtedly possible to turn a Raspberry Pi into a web server, but it's not always easy. Thankfully, Google just streamlined the process with its new Coder project. The open source tool lets developers build web apps for a ready-made Raspberry Pi web server using only a desktop browser. Coder manages all the files, including any media. The mini PC, meanwhile, only requires a network connection and an SD card reader to store the server. Beyond the hardware, Coder is free to use; if you've wanted a cheap testbed for web programming, you'll find one at the source link.

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Source: Coder

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Microsoft offers $200 credit for used iPads, hopes you'll become a Surface convert

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/microsoft-ipad-trade-in/

DNP Microsoft offers $200 for used iPads, hopes you'll become a Surface convert

Microsoft's new recycle-for-reward initiative doesn't target one of its own devices -- instead, it focuses on another company's popular gadget: Apple's iPad. The US trade-in program offers at least $200 in exchange for a "gently used" iPad 2, 3 or 4. You can probably get more than $200 in other places, especially for the newer slates, and you can even get cash instead of the Microsoft Store gift cards Redmond's giving out. However, outgoing CEO Ballmer and Co. are hoping you'll find the project helpful if you've been wanting to buy their products anyway -- particularly the Surface tablets, as evidenced by their prominent placement on the program's page. Before you surrender old iPads to give Surface a chance, know that the trade-in scheme will run until October 27th, which gives you time to see Microsoft's next attempt.

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Microsoft

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Hack your ride with Motobrain, the smartphone controllable fuseblock (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/motobrain-bluetooth-automotive-pdu/

Hack your ride with Motobrain, the smartphone controllable fuseblock video

Tweaking your car's electrical system can be downright scary, but one Kickstarter project hopes to make it a little easier. With Motobrain, you can control up to eight accessory circuits on your vehicle of choice (boat, car or motorcycle, basically anything with an engine) with a compact box and a Bluetooth 4.0 smart device. The power distribution unit's app displays real-time feedback and information for all the accessories it's controlling, and you can even adjust how much current each one gets. The refreshingly simple pitch page mentions GPS systems, heated clothing and dimmable LED auxiliary lights as controllable gizmos, but Motobrain could be killer for car audio, too. Some of these features may be redundant for owners of newer vehicles, but the possibilities for the automodding community are staggering. The discounted backer tier is already sold out, but as of this writing there are still 156 units left at the $260 pledge level. Now, where's our soldering gun?

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Source: Kickstarter

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Intel's updated NUC squeezes in Haswell Core-i5, HD 5000 4K graphics

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/13/intels-haswell-core-i5-nuc-overclocking-hd5000/

Intel's Haswell NUC squeezes in overclocking, HD5000 4K graphics

Intel has cranked up its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) mini-computer to near gaming levels of power with the release of its 4th-gen Core-i5 D54250WYK kit. The new model comes with the latest HD Graphics 5000, for one, and also uses Intel's Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 to ratchet the CPU clock past stock levels when the need arises. It's got the chip giant's Quick Sync video to speed up encoding, a DisplayPort 1.2 jack with 4K capability, four USB 3.0 ports, an infrared sensor, stereo/mic jacks and a gigabit Ethernet controller. There's no pricing or date yet, but bear in mind that you'll need to add RAM (up to 16GB), an mSATA drive and some kind of monitor to make it fly -- though dwarfing it with a 4K display (like this one) might be overkill.

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Source: Intel

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Thursday, September 12, 2013

drag2share: LG's Nexus 5 visits the FCC again, this time with clearer external shots

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/lg-nexus-5-fcc-again-photos/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

LG's Nexus 5 visits the FCC again, this time with clearer external shots

New FCC documents spotted by Phone Scoop have given us a closer look at what could be LG's rumored Nexus 5 handset. Curiously, photos of this D820 were filed alongside documentation for Verizon's G2 (VS980), but the clear view of the front and back appears to be of the same LG-branded smartphone that was approved by the FCC just a week ago.

The D820 offers same rounded-off top and bottom edges found on the Nexus 4, while stepping away from the glass-covered back of its predecessor. Last week's FCC filing also points to LG including a 5-inch display and a Snapdragon 800 SoC, boosting not only its size but performance too. There's also room for Qi wireless charging and support for 7-band LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac.

While the shots don't feature the same giant Ne! xus logo we saw on the mysterious LG phone used by a Google employee recently, we're almost certainly looking at the same device. We just hope he got to keep his job.

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drag2share: Darwin for a Day lets you play scientist, explore the Galapagos in Street View

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/darwin-for-a-day/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

Darwin for a Day lets you play scientist, explore the Galapagos through Street View

You can't turn back time and become the father of the theory of evolution, sorry. But, thanks to Google, Galapagos National Park, the Charles Darwin Foundation and iNaturalist you can pretend to be a 19th century British naturalist. Today, the Mountain View crew unveiled their 360-degree Street View imagery of the Galapagos Islands that it captured back in May. While you could certainly just drop the little yellow man down and start virtually strolling the paths of this volcanic archipelago with its countless unique species of flora and fauna, the groups have much more planned. For starters, there's Darwin for a Day, a site created by the Charles Darwin Foundation and iNaturalist that asks for people to play armchair scientist. You explore the islands through Street View and, as you spot plants and animals, you can catalog them and take notes on their appearance. Those observations will then be reviewed by researchers on the island who continue to di! scover n ew things about Galapagos' myriad endemic species.

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Facebook's changing the way News Feed videos display, but it's mobile-only for now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/facebook-changing-the-way-news-feed-videos-display-on-mobile/

Facebook's changing the way News Feed videos display on mobile, but it's only a test for now

Facebook's experimenting with a new way to play videos uploaded to its News Feed, but not everyone will get to take part -- not yet, anyway. This new Vine-like feature, which will begin rolling out to a limited group of US-based mobile users, allows for videos viewed on mobile to play silently as a user browses the News Feed. Audio will only play when a user elects to click on the video, at which point it will expand for the duration of the clip. So far, Facebook is limiting these auto-play videos to those that come from accounts with verified pages (read: celebrities) and individual users, not marketers. So you don't have to worry about your News Feed getting spammed for now, although the company is evaluating whether or not to let the big bad wolves of the ad world join in. For a preview of what this new video tweak will look like, head on past the break.

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Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/12/gigabyte-brix-gaming-pc/

Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics handson

While we had an inkling that Gigabyte would be fitting its latest miniature BRIX PCs with Haswell processors, we were pleasantly surprised to learn it had also built a tiny gaming computer with Iris Pro graphics on board. Indeed, the BRIX pocket gaming PC has similar internals to the recently announced Gigabyte BRIX II -- it has an HDMI port, Ethernet, four USB 3.0 slots, Bluetooth 4.0, a Mini display port, built-in WiFi and a headset jack -- but with the added benefit of Intel's latest integrated graphics and the choice of red, yellow or black aluminum housing.

We had a chance to play around with a prototype model at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and we have to say we're impressed. We played a short round of Grid 2 and the race car looked amazing as it roared across a large 1080p TV. While the performance appeared robust enough in our brief hands-on, an Intel rep did warn us it probably won't replace a system with a dedicated GPU. The box itself is an adorable little thing that we felt was compact and light enough to bring to our next gaming party without taking up too much space in the trunk.%Gallery-slideshow84011%

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The Bonavita Immersion Dripper Combines the Best of Two Coffee Methods

Source: http://lifehacker.com/the-bonavita-immersion-dripper-combines-the-best-of-two-1293056577

The Bonavita Immersion Dripper Combines the Best of Two Coffee Methods

This new porcelain dripper from Bonavita produces the bold, full-bodied coffee you'd get from a French Press with the convenience and control of pour-over coffee. It's a great way to upgrade your coffee brewing.

The Bonavita Porcelain Immersion Dripper works like the popular and appropriately named Clever Coffee Dripper. Both have an open/close valve at the bottom of the cone that lets you steep coffee grounds for a few minutes (in a #4 paper filter) before releasing the brew into your mug. Thus, you get the best of all worlds with this hybrid press-pot-meets-pour-over, with none of their downsides. The result is smooth, sediment-free, and complex coffee with really easy cleanup.

Bonavita's porcelain version has a few advantages over the plastic Clever. You don't have to worry about the possible health risks from hot water mixing with plastic, and the porcelain retains heat better. It's also really sturdy and dishwasher safe.

One downside is the bottom of the porcelain cone has little parts that can be tricky to clean, but, again, you can run it in the dishwasher. Also, because it's opaque, when you first get used to brewing with it, it helps to use a clear or translucent mug or one of those fancy brewing stands.

You can get a couple of cups out of this at a time (or one large mug), thanks to the 16-ounce brewing capacity.

The Bonavita Porcelain Immersion Dripper also costs $40 versus the Clever's $22, but I think the porcelain dripper is well worth that small investment (as does Serious Eats).

Interested? Here's a video of the Bonavita in use from Eight Ounce Coffee:

Bonavita Porcelain Immersion Dripper | Amazon

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Google+ brings Snapseed-powered photo editing tools to desktop Chrome (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/google-plus-snapseed-chrome-nacl/

Google added Snapseed photo editing to its Google+ apps on Android and iOS back in March, and now it's bringing them to the desktop. The new tools include Auto Enhance, selective adjust editing, and filters, all powered by the Chrome browser's Native Client tech. Not familiar with how that works? Google brought Native Client to Chrome back in 2011, and it allows developers to port code written in languages like C and C++ so it runs in the browser. Vic Gundotra said on Google+ that this is the Snapseed app built for Chrome, so we'll see if more mobile apps and features follow it over.

If you're not using Chrome you'll have to live with basic crop and rotate editing tools on Google+, but even those have been shifted around to make them easier to find. Once the new options are available on your account (as usual, they're rolling out slowly over the next few weeks) all you'll need to do is select one of your photos in Chrome and hit "edit" to see them. Until then, check out the video demo embedded after the break.

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Source: Josh Haftel (Google+)

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Node modular sensor gets Android compatible version

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/node-android/

Image

Variable's been promising an Android version of Node since we first heard about it in early February of last year. The company's finally delivering on that promise with the launch of the latest edition of its modular monitor. The new Node is dually compatible Google's mobile operating system and iOS. The model also features a souped up wireless sensor, a quicker processor and more memory. That version'll run you $149, a fact the company is celebrating by dropping the original iOS-only version down to $99.

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Source: Node

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ASUS reveals Transformer Book T100 with Windows 8.1 for $349, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/asus-reveals-transformer-book-t100-with-windows-8-1-for-349-we/

ASUS reveals Transformer Book T100 with Windows 81 for $349, we go handson

ASUS already added new members to its Transformer family back at Computex, and now at IDF 2013, the company's added yet another, called the Transformer Book T100. It's got a 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 IPS display, 31Wh battery, quad-core Bay Trail-T Atom CPU and runs Windows 8.1. There are 32 ($349) and 64GB ($399) storage options augmented by one free year of ASUS's WebStorage service and a micro-SD reader, plus 2GB of RAM to keep things running smoothly. Connectivity includes micro-USB, micro-HDMI, and a single USB 3.0 port in the detachable dock. The T100 arrives in stores on October 18.

Company CEO Johnny Shih, calls the T100 a transformation of the ASUS's venerable EeePC line. You see, with the EeePC, compromises were made to hit its $399 price point. Naturally, the T100 makes no such compromises, according to Shih, and in fact, he calls it a "game changer for mobile devices designed to achieve ultimate mobility." Do we agree with his glowing assessment? Read on for our hands-on impressions.%Gallery-slideshow83873%

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HP Chromebook 14 with Haswell hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/hp-chromebook-14-with-haswell-hands-on-video/

HP Chromebook 14 with Haswell handson video

Aside from the new Acer Chromebook, we also got a hands-on look at the new HP Chromebook 14. The latest Haswell-powered Chromebook from HP comes in an array of eye-popping colors -- Snow White, Ocean Turquoise and Coral Peach -- which certainly makes them the most colorful Chromebooks we've ever seen. In person, the colors seem bright and playful, though we can't help but feel they look like they belong in Toys R Us rather than an electronics store. The Chromebook's chassis is made out of plastic, which makes the whole thing seem even more toy-like. The top cover has a smooth rubberized finish, but the plastic-molded keyboard feels a bit gritty; the texture reminds us of the material used in 3D printing.

As the name suggests, the Chromebook 14 has a 14-inch display with 1,366 x 768 resolution. It looked bright enough underneath the convention center's lighting, though it's difficult to tell after just a few minutes of use. It's certainly not the lightest Chromebook we've ever held -- it measures about 0.81-inch thin and weighs in at a whopping 4.08 pounds. HP opted to adhere to the standard Chromebook keyboard layout instead of its own, and the trackpad has just a single button instead of the two found on the HP Pavilion 14. Other features include a HDMI port, 16GB of storage, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, an HD webcam, an SD card slot and a battery that promises up to 9.5 hours of continuous use. If you decide to buy one, it comes with 100GB of Google Drive for free for two years. The HP Chromebook 14 is priced at around $299.99 to start, and should be available for purchase before the holiday season. To get a closer look at the candy-colored laptops, have a peek at the gallery or hit the video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow83881%

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iPhone 5s fingerprint reader has a timed safeguard, dislikes sweaty digits

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/iphone-5s-fingerprint-reader-extras/

iPhone 5S' fingerprint sensor has a 48hour unlock window, dislikes sweaty digits

Beyond the basics, Apple has said little of how the iPhone 5s Touch ID fingerprint reader works -- we mostly know that it's inaccessible to the outside world. Thankfully, the company has shed further light on Touch ID through statements to the Wall Street Journal. To start, iPhone owners will have to unlock with a passcode if they either reboot or haven't unlocked within 48 hours. The safeguard prevents hackers from simply biding their time while they look for a workaround, Apple says. Legitimate users will also want to keep their hands dry, as the reader doesn't work well with fingers covered in sweat and other liquids. You won't want to try unlocking immediately after running, then, but it's evident that Apple already knows many of Touch ID's real-world limitations.

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Source: Wall Street Journal (1), (2)

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

HP, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba all announce new Haswell Chromebooks; HP model arriving in the holiday season for $300

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/google-and-intel-announces-new-haswell-chromebooks/

HP, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba all announce new Haswell Chromebooks; HP model arriving in the holiday season for $300

Intel has just announced a new line of Chromebooks that run on Haswell. Chromebooks have previously run lower-powered processors like ARM and Atom, though the Pixel did break the mold by running on a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i5. Upcoming Haswell Chromebooks include new iterations from Acer and HP, along with Chrome OS newbies ASUS and Toshiba. Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome and Android, came on stage to say that Haswell will offer superb battery life without compromising performance. At first glance, the Acer Chromebook on stage is a slim and light affair, while the HP model sports a larger display. Intel even showed off a special ASUS Chromebox that serves to be an extremely lightweight PC. As you might expect, there's no announcement of pricing or availability just yet, though we did hear we'll see them "over the coming months."

Update: The New Acer Chromebook and the HP Chromebook 14 pages are now live. So far, we have the most details about the Chromebook 14, which will arrive sometime this holiday shopping season for $300. It will have a 14-inch, 1,366 x 768 display and 16GB of built-in storage with HDMI, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. Unusually, too, it will be available in an array of punch colors, including "Snow White," "Ocean Turquoise" and "Coral Peach." Find the full press release embedded below.

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Source: Chrome Blog

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New Acer Chromebook with Haswell hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/new-acer-chromebook-with-haswell-hands-on/

New Acer Chromebook with Haswell handson video

One of the first Chromebooks to come blessed with Intel's Haswell processor is the new Acer Chromebook, and we had a chance to get a closer look at it today. If it wasn't for the "new" moniker that Acer has so kindly bestowed on it, we would be hard-pressed to find much different about it when compared to its C7 predecessor at first glance. Yet it does seem just a touch lighter and slimmer, measuring around 0.75 inch thin and weighing in at about 2.76 pounds. However, the new Acer Chromebook has a supposedly much longer battery life, boasting up to 8.5 hours of continuous use. It also sports an HDMI port, two USB ports and an SD card slot on the side. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display is a little on the small side, but still looked crisp and colorful enough to our eyes. The raised chiclet keys on the keyboard felt tactile and comfortable to use, and should be familiar to anyone who's ever used a Chromebook. While we don't know its price just yet, we do know that you'll get a 100GB of Google Drive storage for free for two years with every purchase. We don't have much more information about the new Acer Chromebook to impart to you, unfortunately, but we'll be sure to update this post once we do. In the meantime, have a peek at the hands-on gallery and video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow83878%

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WiFi-equipped Arduino Yun now available for $69 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/arduino-yun-now-available/

Arduino Yun at Maker Faire

If you were wondering what happened to the Arduino Yun after it missed its original June release target, you can relax: it's now on sale worldwide. As promised, the $69 (€52) design combines a garden variety Leonardo board with a WiFi system-on-chip running Limino, giving owners a customizable wireless access point with Ethernet, USB and a microSD slot. Tinkerers can also program the Arduino component over the air using a newly updated developer environment. Those already sold on the concept can buy an Arduino Yun at the source link, while newcomers can check out an introductory video after the break.

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Via: Arduino Blog

Source: Arduino Store

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Gogo's hybrid GTO technology bringing 60Mbps download capability to airlines in 2014

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/gogoshybrid-gto-in-flight-wifi-enhanced-speeds/

Gogo's hybrid GTO technology to bring 60Mbps download capability to airlines in 2014

In a way, in-flight WiFi still seems like the future. It's the internet, in the air, while traveling at 30,000+ feet. Clearly, just having access isn't good enough, as a smattering of opponents have stepped into a segment long dominated by Gogo with snazzier, satellite-based alternatives. Over the past few years, ViaSat has stepped up in an effort to offer flyers something that Gogo's existing services won't: streaming video. While Gogo's air-to-ground network is great for latency, it struggles with bandwidth, as anyone on a crowded flight from JFK to SFO will likely attest. Today, Gogo has taken the wraps off of GTO (Ground to Orbit), described as a hybrid technology that will be "capable of delivering more than 60Mbps to the aircraft." For those keeping score, that's a 20-fold increase from where Gogo started just a few years ago.

We spoke to a company representative leading up to the reveal, who confirmed that GTO is a proprietary offering, and will lean on satellites for the downlink while using existing ground-based transceivers for the uplink. For users, that means that latency will remain low, uploads will remain sluggish, and downloads will improve dramatically. Gogo points out that precious little will need to change for airlines to take advantage; there's a new antenna, which is actually half as large as the existing one, but most everything else will remain the same. Virgin America will be the launch partner of the new service, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2014; we asked if any other airlines were onboard beyond that, but were left to make assumptions for ourselves.

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Source: Gogo

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Intel details Z3000 Bay Trail chips for tablets and hybrids, claims up to 2x CPU and 3x GPU performance

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/11/intel-announces-new-bay-trail/

Intel announces three new Bay Trail SoCs for tablets, laptop hybrids and more

Intel barely existed on the mobile scene two years ago, and yet the company's Clover Trail chips for low-power tablets and hybrids have already had a huge impact on the Windows PC market -- not least by rendering Windows for ARM (aka Windows RT) largely redundant. But Clover Trail's performance in devices like the Acer Iconia W3 or Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is far from perfect, especially with Windows 8 desktop applications and anything that involves 3D graphics, and that's why we're more than ready for its successor: Bay Trail, which is based on the next-generation 22nm Silvermont architecture. Intel has today detailed three families of Bay Trail chips, the most interesting of which is undoubtedly the Z3000-series for tablet form factors, and you can catch up on these new SoCs right after the break.

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