Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, January 13, 2011

RIM's WebWorks SDK: make apps compatible with both PlayBook and BlackBerry 6

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/rims-webworks-sdk-make-apps-compatible-with-both-playbook-and/

RIM's adding yet more incentive for developers to give its PlayBook tablet a chance. The company's just launched a beta of WebWorks SDK, a collection of tools that lets you package up your web applications, with access to the hardware capabilities, as apps compatible with both the PlayBook and BlackBerry 6 smartphone devices. RIM also released a handful of new SDKs and extended the free PlayBook offer to March 15th. If you're the sort who dreams in binary, hit up the relevant links below.

RIM's WebWorks SDK: make apps compatible with both PlayBook and BlackBerry 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Akai SynthStation49 dock / giant keyboard combo is less portable than its predecessor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/akai-synthstation49-dock-giant-keyboard-combo-is-less-portable/

You may or may not be familiar with Akai's previous iPad dock / keyboard combo, the SynthStation. The thing is, the original SynthStation's keyboard was miniature, and the dock was designed for the iPhone -- presumably so that it was simultaneously portable. Well, the new Akai SynthStation49 adds a full keyboard, though it obviously loses that portability. Regardless, the SynthStation49 packs nine MPC-style pads, dedicated pitch and mod wheels, and transport controls. The internal audio boasts 1/4-inch outputs, and the hardware is MIDI supporting, so you can use the keyboard as a MIDI input device. This one is currently awaiting certification from Apple, so we can't say when it'll be released, nor do we have pricing. Hit up the source link for more details.

Akai SynthStation49 dock / giant keyboard combo is less portable than its predecessor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Samsung Forte Android phone with LTE for MetroPCS leaked?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/samsung-forte-android-phone-with-lte-for-metropcs-leaked/

Things look to finally start to get interesting with hardware selection on MetroPCS' LTE network -- a network that still offers nothing more than the Samsung Craft dumbphone to tame those wild 4G speeds several months after the commercial launch. The latest leak here is for a device allegedly called the Forte -- also from Samsung, naturally -- that features a sliding landscape keyboard along with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5 megapixel camera, and Android 2.2 at launch, all specs that would suggest this might be a Galaxy S-branded device. What we don't know is whether the Forte is the same as the SCH-R910 that was leaked for MetroPCS a few days ago; Samsung Hub's tipster claims there are two LTE devices in the pipeline here, so they could be different (perhaps one with a keyboard, one without) even though the tops are identical at a glance.

Samsung Forte Android phone with LTE for MetroPCS leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PhoneArena | source

source

Samsung Hub | Email this | Comments

Seas0nPass Jailbreaks Your Apple TV In A Jiff

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/13/seas0npass-jailbreaks-your-apple-tv-in-a-jiff/

Seas0nPass is an Apple TV jailbreak app that allows for a quick, painless jailbreak on most systems, thereby allowing you to install “extra” apps including XBox Media Center, Boxee, and Plex. You can download the application here and instructions for use appear here. It is OS X-only right now although future versions should run on Windows.

What does jailbreaking really get you? Sadly, very little right now except a slightly buggy version of media streamer Plex and SSH access to the box. With the hard drive removed, there is precious little space on the Apple TV and, whereas previous jailbreaks allowed you to upload non-iTunes video the the device, the new homebrew apps allow only for the streaming of previously unavailable files.

Using Big Data and Analytics to Automate the Sales Cycle

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/01/how-big-data-makes-the-most-of.php

Big data and analytics have found their place in the sales cycle. In particular that part of the business known as maintenance and renewals.

A method to aggregate and analyze multiple data sources is working for ServiceSource, a cloud services provider that offers a combination of managed services and its software to analyze data and help increase customer renewals.

ServiceSource represents a new generation of cloud services providers that are growing fast by offering a combination of managed services and SaaS-based tools that integrate with enterprise technologies, be they SaaS-based or on-premise.

Sponsor

Gartner Research predicts the cloud services market to increase from $68 billion in 2010 to about $149 billion by 2014. The companies providing cloud services are focusing to some degree on using data and analytics to provide an initial framework that is integrated into the SaaS environment.

For example, Marketo is one of the fastest growing SaaS providers. It provides marketing automation services. And who can deny Salesforce.com's growth? The service has had considerable success with its sales automation technology.

Gary Liu of ServiceSource said in an interview earlier this week that its growth can in part be attributed to the demands companies are facing from Wall Street to boost revenues.

That's also what we hear from Marketo. Companies are searching for incremental revenues. Automation is providing a way to do that.

Here's how it works for ServiceSource customers:

The client gives access to the data sets.
The data is put through the ServiceSource data management engine. The data is normalized and then put into an intelligence platform.
That allows ServiceSource to do benchmarking and tie it to metrics within a dashboard environment.

The enterprise is just getting a taste for the power that automation offers. Sales has traditionally been a manual task where the relationship is of the first importance. That's still true. But the use of automating technologies that integrate with a SaaS platform is what we expect to continue to see as the year unfolds and the cloud services market expands its scope.

For ServiceSource, the challenge is in showing its systems work and can provide increased revenues for the organization. In a smart twist, ServiceSource proves itself by earning its compensation on how sales increase. The pay for performance model is apparently pretty popular with chief financial officers. Now there's a shocker!

The system seems to be working. ServiceSource says that it is seeing a 20% increase and sometimes as much as a 40% increase in customer renewal rates.

And the proof of its success? ServiceSource recently announced its intentions to pursue an initial public offering. That has to be worth something, don't you think?

Discuss

The Largest Molecule Ever Made Could Be Used to Deliver Drugs

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/most-massive-synthetic-molecule-could-be-used-deliver-drugs-or-make-new-materials

Organic chemists in Switzerland have built a ginormous virus-sized macromolecule — it has 170,000 bond-forming chemical reactions — calling it a major step in the creation of molecular objects.

The molecule, called PG5, is the biggest synthetic molecule with a stable, defined form. Similar structures exist in nature, but they are hard to duplicate, because they fall apart during creation, as New Scientist explains. Future molecular objects would need to keep their structure regardless of their environment, and PG5 is a step in this direction. Its structure is similar to that of a tobacco virus, and it keeps this rod-like structure in various conditions — it resists flattening out on a surface, for instance.

PG5 is 10 nanometers in diameter and weighs as much as 200 million hydrogen atoms. This is far bigger than the previous record-holder, polystyrene polymers that were only 40 million hydrogen atoms. Still, it's only a fraction of the molecular weight of DNA.

New Scientist describes how researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich built their molecule, adding benzene and nitrogen branches to a carbon-hydrogen backbone. Synthesizing the whole molecule required 170,000 reactions, and the result is a foldy, tree-like structure. Scientists say PG5 could hold drugs in its multitudinous branches, and it is a step toward molecular objects that keep their forms regardless of their environment.

There are plenty of synthetic nano-objects, but these are made of multiple molecules, not a single, gigantic crablike one.

The molecule was described in a recent issue of the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.

[New Scientist]

Mysterious 7-inch Viewsonic Android tablet breaks cover, reveals little

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/mysterious-7-inch-viewsonic-android-tablet-breaks-cover-reveals/

Let's see, if there's a ViewPad 10 and a ViewPad 4, logic would dictate that a ViewPad 7 couldn't be far out, right? Unfortunately for those convinced, Viewsonic actually has a 7-inch ViewPad on the market already, and the device you're peering at above most certainly isn't it. This gem was spotted by CarryPad at Zinio's CES booth, complete with Android 2.2, the outfit's own content software and... well, who knows what else. Chippy noted that booth attendees weren't exactly hip with him toying around with the device, though he did remark that performance seemed snappier than usual when compared to the other 7-inchers out there. So, will Viewsonic come clean with its LTE-enabled, 7-inch miracle-of-a-tablet? Highly doubtful, but who said dreaming was a crime?

Mysterious 7-inch Viewsonic Android tablet breaks cover, reveals little originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Netbook News, CarryPad | Email this | Comments

Researchers develop 'liquid pistons' for cameras, medical use

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/researchers-develop-liquid-pistons-for-cameras-medical-use/

It may still be years away from any sort of practical use, but a team of researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed some so-called "liquid pistons" that they say could shake up everything from cameras to medical devices. Those pistons consist of some droplets of "nanoparticle-infused ferrofluids," which are able to oscillate and precisely displace a surrounding liquid. In the case of a camera, that could be used for a liquid lens of sorts (as seen at right), and the researchers say the same technology may one day even be used for implantable eye lenses. The possibilites don't end with optical uses, though -- the researchers say that the precise ability to pump small volumes of liquid could also be used for implantable drug-delivery systems that would be able to deliver tiny doses at regular intervals. Of course, there's no indication as to when any of that might happen -- in the meantime, you can occupy yourself with the brief but oddly hypnotic video after the break.

Continue reading Researchers develop 'liquid pistons' for cameras, medical use

Researchers develop 'liquid pistons' for cameras, medical use originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PhysOrg | source

source

Rensselaer | Email this | Comments

Japanese doctor turns hot toddy into superconductor catalyst

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/japanese-doctor-turns-hot-toddy-into-superconductor-catalyst/

It's rare that hot booze does anything more than get you drunk, and possibly make you sick, but according to Dr. Yoshihiko Takano, the drink you're sucking on could facilitate the levitation of a train. After a party for a colleague, the Japanese scientist found that FeTe0.8S0.2 (composed of iron, tellurium, and tellurium sulfide), when soaked in warm booze overnight, shows signs of increased superconductivity -- another in a long line of liquor-enhanced discoveries that could have far reaching effects on everything from consumer electronics to public transportation. Dr. Takano decided to test the material (known to become a superconductor after soaking in water) in the leftover alcohol from the party: beer, red wine, white wine, sake, shochu, and whiskey. As it turns out, red wine has the highest superconducting volume fraction at 62.4 percent -- nearly four times higher than the ethanol-water control samples. Dr. Takano and his colleagues speculate that the ease with which wine and beer oxidize could be play a key role in the increase in superconductivity. We speculate that even a superconductor gets a little hopped up after soaking in a bottle of wine.

Japanese doctor turns hot toddy into superconductor catalyst originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Phy! sorg | Email this | Comments

Drunk scientists pour wine on superconductors and make an incredible discovery [Madscience]

Source: http://io9.com/5732121/drunken-scientists-pour-alcohol-on-superconductors-and-make-an-incredible-discovery

Wine makes superconductors better at their jobs. And apparently, it makes some scientists better at their jobs too.

Superconductors behave like most metals; they conduct electricity. They do so, however, with a twist. All metal has some resistance to the flow of electricity. But when the temperature drops, superconductors get less and less resistant (and therefore more conductive). When they reach very low temperatures, their resistance drops to zero.

Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids.

When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead. About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The scientists were pleased, if bemused with their results.

So, a little sip of something turns out to make potential superconductors much better at their jobs. And, perhaps, scientists better at their jobs as well.

This Will Change Everything: Google Translate Android App Translates Real-Time Speech [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5732446/this-will-change-everything-google-translate-android-app-translates-real+time-speech

A new feature built into Google Translate for Android, Conversation Mode is a little rough around the edges, but it's basically your own personal Babel Fish. It does what Wordlens does but in real-time speech, translating English and Spanish.

It's as easy as pressing a key when the language is being spoken—let's say you're trying to order some food in Spanish. It translates what you say into the phone on the fly, and then reads the Spanish version out loud, so the waiter can understand. They can then respond in Spanish, and the phone will convert it to English, speaking it out loud.

You can imagine how crucial this would be to travellers—and while it can only compute English and Spanish for now, I'm betting Google's working on all manner of other languages. Check out a preview video of the app above, from a few months ago, or a user video below.

Android users with 2.1 or higher can download the new Google Translate now, which has a few other improvements built-in as well. [Google Blog]

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/asus-eee-pad-transformer-and-slider-another-look/

Remember those eccentric ASUS Android tablets at CES? Yeah, it's all a bit of a blur for us as well, but turns out both the Eee Pad Transformer and Slider prototypes just made it to the BETT (British Educational Training and Technology) Show in London this morning, so we decided to wander along to get our hands dirty again. Sadly, the Transformer had a bit of a rough ride from Vegas and remained dormant, but we were still able to admire its sturdy keyboard dock with great key press travel. And in case you've forgotten, said dock is also an external battery that doubles the juice up to 16 hours. UK shoppers will see this slate popping up in the stores around May or June for £379 ($597), and its docking kit for £100 ($158).

We were more fortunate with the functioning Slider prototype, even though it had the same sliding issue we saw at CES. But fear not, as we were told that the engineers are already reworking the mechanism, and here's hoping that they'll do something about the flexing keyboard as well. As for software, we didn't have time to test everything, but we were surprised by the general snappiness of the current Froyo test build. And speaking of which, we're not too sure what the plan is with ASUS' Android roadmap -- even though we were told at CES that Honeycomb will be on these tablets at launch, the folks we met today said that they'll be shipped with Gingerbread instead; and even then, there's no time frame for the 3.0 upgrade just yet. Anyhow, this is less of a concern for the Slider given its July or August launch, but it'll cost you a hefty £429 ($676).

Additionally, both tablets will see their 3G variants in the UK a quarter after their respective launches, but regardless, it's never too soon to start a petition for your carrier to spread the ASUS tablet fever.

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer: another look

Gallery: ASUS Eee Pad Slider: another look

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/ios-4-3-beta-arrives-for-devs-brings-airplay-video-support-to-a/

We'd been disappointed to find that iOS 4.2 only brought AirPlay video support to built-in Apple apps on the iPhone and iPad, but it looks like that's changing soon -- Apple just posted up the first iOS 4.3 beta, which allows devs to send video from apps or websites to an Apple TV. There's also a new beta of the Apple TV software for testing it out -- it doesn't have any version notes, so we don't know if it offers any additional features as well.

There are quite a few new features included in 4.3: personal hotspot is indeed included on the iPhone, although it needs to be enabled on the carrier side to work, and the iPad's side switch can now be set back to being an orientation lock, which should make a lot of people very happy. The iPad also gains some multitouch multitasking gestures, which are pretty interesting, actually: you can use four or five fingers to pinch to the home screen, swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, and swipe left or right between apps. We're also seeing a new FaceTime icon on the iPod touch, which is nice, and 9to5 Mac noticed that the iPad now supports fullscreen iAd banners, which is less nice. Check after the break for a quick video of the iPad gestures.

Update: The Photos app has also gained new AirPlay functionality for photos and videos, and there's a slightly tweaked camera shutter sound, as well as bigger app icons in the App Store's Update menu.

[Thanks, Matt and Brian]

Continue reading iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)

iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Apple | Email this | Comments

Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/active-i-sunglasses-slyly-capture-video-plays-it-back-on-integr/

Interactive Group -- the same folks who ruined our lives last year with Cyber Clean -- are back. Seriously back. The company's latest ~~gimmick~~ gizmo is the Active-i sunglasses, hailed as the planet's smallest standalone video and audio recording / playback device. Put simply, you'll get a set of somewhat unsightly sunglasses (with "polarized lenses for optimum UV-protection," no less) with a built-in video camera right along the bridge of the nose. It's placed there for maximum stealth, and it's capable of capturing up to two hours of low-res video; after the deed is done, users can actually view it back on the monocular viewer, or if you need to break it down Jack Bauer-style, you can offload clips onto your PC or Mac via USB. There's also a TV output, a microSD expansion slot and a bundled carrying case, but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to pricing. Something tells us your local spy store may be more "clued in."

Continue reading Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display

Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this ;| Comments

Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can't imagine what's next (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/kinect-hacked-to-work-with-flash-wiimotes-we-cant-imagine-wha/

Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can't imagine what's next

It's safe to say that, on the console gaming front, the Wiimote and the Kinect are competitors. But, take a step away to the world of PC gaming, and suddenly they can get along like old chums. That's what's demonstrated in the video below, created by YouTuber demize2010, which shows Call of Duty controlled by Wiimote, Nunchuk, and Kinect, enabling reloads, knife attacks, and peeking around corners. But wait, there's more! The Blitz marketing agency has worked up a demo in which the Kinect can be used with a Flash interface, which doesn't look too dissimilar from what Microsoft uses on the Xbox. This could open the door to fancier websites -- if indeed any large number of PC owners ever actually wind up buying a Kinect. Both videos can be seen below.

Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can't imagine what's next (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PC World | source

source

demize2010 (YouTube), CNET | Email this | Comments

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)