drag2share: Add Your Contacts to Google+ Directly from the Gmail Sidebar [Gmail]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5866422/add-your-contacts-to-google%252B-directly-from-the-gmail-sidebar

Gmail received a minor update today that allows you to manage your Google+ contacts directly from the sidebar. While this is convenient if you're you're a fan of the social network, it's particularly helpful if you want additional context about your Gmail contacts. When you add one to a circle in Google+, a little label will show up with the name of that circle. This can help you get a better idea of who this person if they're not someone you interact with regularly. Circles can also help inform you of the content of the email, if, for example, the person contacting you is a member of your hiking club.

Additionally, the new Google+ integration will keep contact information up-to-date automatically. If you're tired of adding or changing phone numbers, addresses, and other details of your contacts, you can let Gmail take care of that by pulling information directly from Google+.

Check out Google's official post for more details and screenshots, or just log into your Gmail account to check out these new features. (Note: The rollout is still underway so it may take a few days before you start to see them.)

Gmail and Contacts get better with Google+ | Official Gmail Blog

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drag2share: Can Watson's Mega-Brain Help Rid the World of Patent Trolls? [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866391/can-watsons-mega+brain-help-rid-the-world-of-patent-trolls

IBM's Watson is most famous for handing Ken Jennings his ass on Jeopardy, but since then the supercomputer's talents have been used to help doctors diagnose and treat disease. But Watson's greatest trick might still be ahead of it: beating back the scourge of patent trolls.

A key part of Watson's medical mission is the scanning and cataloging of millions of drug discoveries buried in medical journals and patents. Through IBM's Strategic IP Insight Platform, Watson has cataloged some 2.5 million chemical compounds. IBM has donated the database to NIH, which is a boon to scientists all over the world because it includes troves of otherwise hard to find information about expired patents.

But as ExtremeTech suggests, there's no reason the technology should be limited to medical patents when it could be used to go through all patents. It would not only make sifting through them easier, it could help battle patent trolls, too:

Then there's battling the patent trolls. SIIP is almost entirely about analyzing the state of play and producing actionable analytics. If a malevolent patent troll targets your company, SIIP could help you find prior art, or perhaps secure a protective licensing deal with an IP behemoth like IBM.

Of course, as ExtremeTech points out, it could also backfire; trolls could use SIIP to suss out weak companies with weak patent portfolios and sick their legal beagles on them at will.

So it's a double-edged sword. SIIP could be used to both help or hinder our current patent calamity. For now at least, IBM doesn't have plans to apply SIIP outside of medicine. But in time, hopefully Watson will rise to a higher calling: vanquishing of trolls like it did so many Daily Doubles. [ExtremeTech via HackerNews; Image via IBM]

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drag2share: Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/08/google-introduces-currents-magazine-like-news-reader-for-androi/

Google's rumored Flipboard competitor is finally here, and it's ditched the Propeller codename for something a little more appropriate: Currents. The app is available for both Android and iOS -- in tablet and phone-friendly formats -- and delivers a more magazine like reading experience for perusing your consumable content. The free app offers you a swipeable, graphics-heavy way to read material from partners like AllThingsD, PBS, Huffington Post and Fast Company, as well public Google+ feeds and RSS. You can even import your Google Reader subscriptions -- and it all gets cached for offline viewing. Of course, the whole thing is integrated with Google+ too, for quick and easy sharing. For publishers, Google is providing self-service tools for customizing how their content is displayed in the app. You can go download it now in the Android Market and in the iTunes App Store for free but, before you go, check out the video after the break to see it in action.

Update: It looks like Currents is US only for the time being. Sorry international readers, you'll just have to find some other way to shove traditional magazines towards extinction.

Continue reading Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video)

Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Rubber Band Macro Lens Fits Any Smartphone [Genius]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866259/rubber-band-macro-lens-fits-any-smartphone

This is simply genius. Since smartphone cameras don't have lens mounts, attaching a macro or zoom lens usually requires a cumbersome case. But by embedding one in an elastic band, this macro lens can easily be used on any smartphone.

If I had to nitpick I'd point out that the Macro Cell Lens Band does end up covering the iPhone 4's flash, but I never use it for anything other than a flashlight anyways, so I'm ok with that. And since the band can be used on any smartphone, that may not actually be an issue for other users.

For just $15 it's the cheapest and easiest way to add macro capabilities to your phone, and here's to hoping they've got a wide angle and zoom version in the works, or a single band that includes all three. [Photojojo]

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drag2share: Apple Continues Working On Kinect-Like Tracking With Projected Controls and Glasses-Free 3D [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866273/apple-continues-working-on-kinect+like-tracking-with-projected-controls-and-glasses+free-3d

File this under cool shit we probably won't see for a long time. Apple just recently filed filed an expanded patent application for a system that would detect hand/head motion around a computer and let you manipulate projected image controls.

There are a whole bunch of systems at work here, and they all sound cool. Hand-controls, such as gestures, would be read with the help of an infrared laser which creates a volume of space (i.e. a 3D box). Anything your hands do within that box can be read and interpreted by the computer. But aside from gestures, how would you make fine adjustments? Apple has a plan for that, too.

The patent doc also talks of a system for projecting virtual images onto surfaces (i.e. your desk) using a system of several projectors and mirrors. These images, "knobs, sliders, buttons, and so forth" would be projected into the volume of space which is being monitored by the laser. You could then manipulate these controls and receive video and audio feedback (since haptic feedback would be impossible... for now...).

The third component of awesome is the glasses-free 3D. Here Apple would employ motorized head-tracking cameras, so that a good 3D image is delivered regardless of where your head is. The camera may also be able to track head or eye motion in a way that would allow you to scroll or zoom without having to use your hands at all. Sign me up for that.

Now, keep in mind this is just a patent filing and there's no telling how this could change and evolve (after all, they filed something similar not long ago). Or it could be scrapped outright. Or it could be integrated into Apple HDTV, delivering a sort of all-in-one XBox Kinectian experience (except they don't have games, yet). Besides, we know that Apple has been looking into holographic multi-touch systems for a while. It seems like they are trying to sneak in late to a game where they currently have no foothold. All that said, none of the technological elements in this recent patent are really outside the realm of possibility—it's just a clever combination of things that exist today. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they have a working prototype in Cupertino already. If you enjoy sifting through the details of patents, here ya go. [Unwired View via SlashGear]

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