Friday, April 26, 2013

What the Future of Wearable Technology Will Look Like

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5995406/what-the-future-of-wearable-technology-will-look-like

It's going to look silly! But more seriously, it seems like we're all going to have to accept that wearing technology is going to be the real future and not just the imagined future of science fiction movies. We won't know we're in the future until we're wearing technology like Google Glass or Apple's supposed iWatch. PBS Off Book decided to take a look at what that future of wearable technology would look like.

It makes sense right? Technology starts big and ends up on us somehow. Like a giant clock tower turned into a wall clock turned into a pocket watch turned into a wristwatch. Or computers being room sized to tower sized to laptop sized to phone sized... to on our body. PBS says:

As computing moves from our desktops to our phones, we look into the future to see how technology will become increasingly ingrained in our movements and our active lives. From the Nike Fuelband to Google Glass, consumers are already seeing hints of the future of wearable devices. They have the possibility to make us more knowledgeable about ourselves and our surroundings, and connect us with each other in an uninterrupted, more intimate way. From DIY wearables to high-tech sensors and smart fabrics, the years ahead will show how integrated technology can impact our lives for the better.

[PBS Off Book]

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Who Actually Uses Math at Work?

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5995408/who-actually-uses-math-at-work

Who Actually Uses Math at Work?Let's admit it together. We all kind of suck at math. It's okay! Numbers are evil. And back in high school when you were forced to struggle through Algebra and Geometry and Algebra again and if you were especially unlucky, Calculus, you probably thought to yourself when in the hell would you ever use all those stupid theories, equations and computational silliness in real life. And the truth is you won't use them! Who needs math!

Okay, you definitely need the basics of math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. but anything more advanced? Leave it for the mathematicians to wrinkle their brain with. The Atlantic found the graph above which was made by Northeastern University sociologist Michael Handel. Handel surveyed 2,300 workers throughout the 2000's to figure out how much advanced math is being done at people's work.

If a person is good at math and wants to work in a job that requires math skill, hell, by all means go study more math! But for someone who will never work with numbers in any sort of way passed addition and subtraction, why the hell are they taking advanced math classes every single year of high school? Head over to The Atlantic to see more of the math on math like which jobs require more math (blue collar or white collar jobs). [The Atlantic]

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Facebook to acquire Parse, promises easier cloud-based app development

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/facebook-parse/

Facebook to acquire Parse, promises easier cloudbased app development

Hot on the heels of its Mobile Developer Conference, Facebook today announced its intentions to buy cloud-based app development service Parse, a company with which the site has collaborated in the past. According to a post on Facebook's Developers blog, the purchase will go a ways toward helping devs, "rapidly build apps that span mobile platforms and devices." The acquisition will bring a number of cloud-based tools like data storage, user management and notifications to Facebook developers. For each company's take on the news, check out the source links below. We also spoke to a Facebook spokesperson, who told us, "This is an acquisition, not a talent deal." As for financial terms, they wouldn't say.

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Source: Facebook, Parse

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AT&T launches Digital Life home automation and security platform

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/atandt-launches-digital-life-home-automation-and-security-platform/

AT&T launches Digital Life home automation and security platform

It's been a long time coming. Seriously. AT&T first teased us with Digital Life way back in February of last year. Now the home security and automation platform is finally ready for prime time. Starting today customers in the 15 launch markets (Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, LA, Miami, SF, Seattle, Austin, Philly, Riverside, St. Louis, Denver, Boulder and the New York/New Jersey metro area) can put in their orders, provided they live in a single-family, detached house. There will be two packages to choose from: Simple Security and Smart Security. The former is a pretty standard alarm system with sensors, an HSPA-based base station and a 24-hour backup battery, for $30 a month and a one-time installation fee of $150. Smart Security is where the real fun happens, though. The basic version starts at $40 a month, with a $250 installation fee, and includes your choice of three additional features including a motion sensor, carbon monoxide sensor, glass break sensor, smoke sensor or a takeover kit. From there you can add on additional packages, like energy management or a camera system, for between $5 and $10 a month! , plus t he cost of installation. Those costs can quickly add up too. Those two add-ons alone could push the price of installation as high as $650.

To go along with the launch AT&T is also releasing its remote control app, which will be available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and, "eventually," BlackBerry. Through the app you can lock doors, adjust your thermostat, turn on and off lights or appliances and check your security cameras. The most powerful feature, though, is the ability to create programs that can automate tasks, send alerts and trigger events based on data from the sensors. For example, if the glass break sensor on the kitchen window is tripped, the system can be set to turn on the lights in the room and start recording a video. Eventually, AT&T even sees the ability to integrate with the location services on a cellphone for additional automation options. If you're hankering for more details, check out the PR after the break.

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Dell outfits XPS 10 with LTE, asks $100 for the privilege

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/dell-outfits-xps-10-with-lte-asks-100-for-the-privilege/

Dell outfits XPS 10 with LTE, asks $100 for the privilege

The FCC told us that an LTE ready version of the Dell XPS 10 was coming, but there's nothing like official confirmation: it's here, and it runs on AT&T. Dell officially announced the variant's availability on its community blog, identifying the radio the feds uncovered as a Qualcomm Gobi modem, a natural fit for the tablet's 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU. The LTE option is only available for the device's 64GB configuration, and adds $100 to the tablet's total purchase price. Nobody said getting LTE on your Windows RT slab was cheap.

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Via: CNET

Source: Dell

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