Samsung Galaxy NX Hands-On: I Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Should I?)

Source: http://gizmodo.com/samsung-galaxy-nx-hands-on-i-cant-take-my-eyes-off-yo-521312331

The first thing that strikes you about Samsung's new Android-powered interchangeable-lens camera is how big that 4.8-inch AMOLED screen looks on the back of a camera. Even when it's turned off, the blackness stares back at you like an enrapturing abyss.

Then, when you flip the camera on, the TouchWiz Android UI is right there in front of you, showing a special camera widget. Hold down the shutter, and the camera interface we saw on the Galaxy camera pops up. From there, there's an unlabeled click wheel where a mode dial would be on a DSLR. Give it a spin and it'll alternate between basic shooting modes and some of the camere's features.

It's all very speedy. Our only complaint is that Samsung didn't make a prettier GUI for the deep menu structure that's native to the NX series. Shooting photos feels like you're using a smartphone camera, but going in to tweak deep camera settings, feels like you're still trapped in the past.

This is all very modern stuff applied to the old concept of interchangeable lenses. Yup, the whole time you're using this thing, you're staring at the screen like it's a phone, so much you'll almost forget that this thing has a viewfinder you can put your eye up to. You might also forget that the APS-C guts and refined interchangeable optics you're using are so good that it might even be worth sticking you eye into that peep-hole see if you can't make the most of them.

We'l have to wait until we've taken the Galaxy NX into the real world to find out if all the newness is useful, or just a distraction. No word on what this camera will cost when we'll actually get this camera in America—if we get it at all. For more info on specs and the like, check out our announcement post.

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Stanford's Cookie Clearinghouse adds another layer of security to web browsers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/21/stanford-mozilla-cookie-clearinghouse/

People are becoming more vigilant when it comes to online privacy, so Stanford University's new initiative couldn't have come at a better time. The project, called Cookie Clearinghouse, will curate catalogues of websites whose cookies browsers should or shouldn't allow. As designed, it works along with a Safari-like patch Mozilla is testing for Firefox that allows cookies from sites you've visited but blocks third-party cookies from sites you haven't. Theoretically, that'll prevent advertisers or other entities from tracking you around the web, but the method isn't foolproof -- having a centralized list will prevent your browser from saving the cookies of an ad or a spam website you've accidentally clicked on.

To establish which sites are kosher and which aren't, the folks at Stanford are slated to meet up with an advisory board. It will be comprised of privacy researchers, law pundits, small business experts, as well as reps from Mozilla and Opera. Unlike Do Not Track -- another Stanford initiative from which this one later evolved -- advertisers don't have to opt in for inclusion on either list. It's just up to developers (other than Mozilla) to integrate this more thorough solution into their browsers' privacy options.

[Image credit: Brian Richardson]

Filed under: Misc, Internet

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Via: Ars Technica

Source: Brendan Eich, Stanford

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This Could Be The First Smartwatch That Actually Makes Smartphones Unnecessary (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/androidly-smartwatch-2013-6

A variety of smartwatches have popped up over the last year or so like the Pebble, I'm Watch, and Metawatch by Strata. The list goes on.

Meanwhile, we have knowledge of Google working on a smartwatch, and the rumor mill keeps churning around Apple's supposed "iWatch."

But now there's another smartwatch entering the market. Androidly claims to be the first full-featured smartwatch for Android.

It's a pretty big claim to make, but it seems like it could be true.

Androidly is essentially a full-fledged smartphone that you wear on your wrist. Most smartwatches out there today merely serve as a complement to your smartphone, but Androidly is able to function entirely on its own. 

Androidly allows you to make and receive phone calls, take photos, and navigate via Google Maps directly from your wrist. The smartwatch has a built-in speaker and microphone, but you can also sync it with a Bluetooth headset for making calls.

It can also connect to Wi-Fi so you can browse the Internet, watch YouTube videos, and so on. It's probably not ideal for most people to watch videos on a 2-inch screen, but it seems to be a nice added feature. 

Meanwhile, Androidly allows you to install any Android application from the Google Play Store. That means you can access apps like Facebook, Cut The Rope, Twitter, and Angry Birds directly from your wrist. 

Androidly is currently available for pre-order at prices varying from $229 to $269.

Here are the full specs, in case you're interested:

• Weight: 160 g
• Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1.4 cm
• Operating System: Android 2.2
• Processor: 416 MhZ
• Memory: 256 MB RAM
• Removable Storage: 8 GB SD included., Upto 16 GB SD.
• Phone: 2.5 GSM network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• Wireless: Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi B/G
• Camera: 2 Mega Pixel
• GPS: GPS with A-GPS
• Sensor: Accelerometer
• Screen: 2 inch, Capacitive Touch Screen., 320×240 Resolution.

SEE ALSO: Apple And Samsung Are Best Poised For A Smartwatch, Says Wearable Tech Veteran

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One of the World's Largest 3D Printing Companies Just Bought MakerBot

Source: http://gizmodo.com/one-of-the-worlds-largest-3d-printing-companies-just-b-514412184

This afternoon, 3D printing giant Stratasys announced the $403 million acquisition of MakerBot. And while it won't change anything about MakerBot's brand, Stratasys could supply the know-how to scale up business in a big way. That could mean more stores, more factories, and even more offices.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know much about Stratasys; The Minnesota-based company has spent the past 33 years specializing in the commercial side of rapid prototyping, selling systems for as much as $100,000 a pop. But they’ve made several pointed attempts to break into the consumer market since 2010, when they partnered with HP to make and distribute a line of desktop 3D printers.

That ill-fated deal was cut short last August, after only two years. And in April of last year, they merged with the Israeli 3D printing startup, Objet, which makes a printer that uses a variety of materials (including paper) to print. After that $1.4 billion deal, MakerBot represented one of two remaining companies that posed real competition in the desktop printer market—and Stratasys has just eliminated it.

The acquisition probably isn’t much of a surprise, given MakerBot’s race to expand. In April, the company opened a new 50,000-square-foot factory in Brooklyn to accommodate demand for the desktop Replicator 2 (check out our tour, below). And today, MakerBot founder Bre Pettis confirmed as much, saying, “we have an aggressive model for growth, and partnering with Stratasys will allow us to supercharge our mission to empower individuals to make things using a MakerBot, and allow us to bring 3D technology to more people.”

According to the announcement, MakerBot will continue to function under its own brand and direction, but will share what reps call “intellectual property and technical know-how.” So no, this won’t affect their Brooklyn cred—though it may bring more midwesterners through town.

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The Hilarious Difference Between Google and Bing in One Picture

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-hilarious-difference-between-google-and-bing-in-one-514496087

You use Google. Or maybe, just maybe you use Bing. Sometimes one is better. Sometimes the other is prettier. Sometimes it's the other way around. Whatever. The most hilarious, ridiculous difference between the two though? How they auto-complete the Xbox One. Google Instant finds words like terrible, ugly, a joke and so forth. Bing? Just one. Amazing.

Now I wonder what Bing and Google think of Google Glass. [@evlbzltyr via The Atlantic]

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