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Thursday, January 09, 2014

This Insane Technology That Makes Buttons Appear On A Flat Smartphone Screen Is Pretty Close To Magic

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/tactus-technology-tactile-touchscreen-2014-1

Tactus

When I sat down for my first demo with Tactus Technology, it felt like I was witnessing magic. A completely normal-looking, smooth-screened tablet had suddenly transformed into a device equipped with a little, bubbly keyboard.

The buttons had risen up out of seemingly nowhere. Then they melted back down into the screen.

Tactus creates hardware that morphs. It makes tactile buttons grow out of a screen when you need them, and disappear when you don't. You can activate buttons over your keyboard to make typing easier and more natural, or control buttons to enhance gaming.

Here's the bare bones of how it works:

Tactus has created a thin layer that can replace the Gorilla Glass on top of the touch sensor and display layers of a smartphone or tablet. The surface of that layer is a semi-elastic polymer under which there are little channels filled with a special transparent micro-fluid. To make buttons appear (for a keyboard, a game controller, whatever), you can increase the fluid pressure in a certain area. The added fluid physically stretches and raises the polymer surface.

Presto! Real buttons on your previously flat screen.

Tactus

Last year at CES, Tactus wowed crowds when it publicly demonstrated its technology for the first time. This year, Tactus is ready to bring its product to market.

Tactus CTO Micah Yairi told Business Insider that the company will be releasing a smartphone or tablet cover this year that you can use to make the buttons appear. Yairi also said that Tactus is working on partnerships to get Tactus laye! rs built into new devices within the next several years.

Check out Tactus' demo vid:

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Amazing 9 Year-Old Girl Plays Basketball Against High School Varsity Players

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-9-year-old-girl-plays-basketball-against-high-school-varsity-players-2014-1

Jaden Newman is only nine-years old and in fourth grade but she's playing on the high school varsity team because she's just that good.

As the point guard at Downey Christian High School she is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 assists per game.

Coached by her dad she's becoming a star just like her brother Julian Newman who got nationwide attention after he appeared on Conan O'Brien.

She makes girls almost twice her age look silly (via SBNation):

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Secret Sharp Encrypts Text, Can Only Be Decrypted By a Group

Source: http://lifehacker.com/secret-sharp-encrypts-text-can-only-be-decrypted-by-a-1497806470

Secret Sharp Encrypts Text, Can Only Be Decrypted By a Group

Windows: Security requires mutual trust. To that end, Secret Sharp allows you to share text-based information with a group of people that can only be decrypted if everyone (or a certain number of the group) collectively agree to access the secret.

While the sexiest uses for an app like this are probably not commonplace (most of you probably don't have a shared pool of mafia money stored in a secret Swiss bank account), it can be used for more common tasks. For example, sharing the combination to a safe or password to an online account in the event you're injured.

The app is simple enough and allows you to customize both how many people get a "share" of the secret as well as how many are required to unlock it. While you will need Secret Sharp to open it again, all of the shares can be entered in one place so only a single person ever needs to have the app installed.

Create encrypted text that can only be decrypted by combining shares | Ghacks

Will Your Novel Be a Best Seller? Ask This Super Accurate Algorithm

Source: http://gizmodo.com/will-your-novel-be-a-best-seller-ask-this-super-accura-1497802491

Will Your Novel Be a Best Seller? Ask This Super Accurate Algorithm

It's tough for humans to predict how well a book will sell until after it's published—it's something of a gamble. But now, a new algorithm can tell if a book will be a commercial success or not long before it hits the shelves—with a staggering 84 percent accuracy.

You Might Actually Be Able to Afford a 4K Monitor Soon

Source: http://gizmodo.com/you-might-actually-be-able-to-afford-a-4k-monitor-soon-1497837659

You Might Actually Be Able to Afford a 4K Monitor Soon

These days, any mention of 4K immediately conjures up images of crystal-clear definition—-and absurdly exorbitant price tags. Well, that's quickly changing. Dell's new UltraSharp 28-inch 4K screen can be yours for less than $700 when it ships later this month, and it's not alone.

Gmail now lets you email Google+ users directly, still keep your email address private if you choose to

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/09/gmail-email-google-plus-users/

Even though the rest of the tech world is preoccupied with a little trade show in Vegas, the folks in Mountain View are still working hard. Today, Google has rolled out a nifty new feature for Gmail and Google+ users: letting them email each other whether or not they've actually exchanged email addresses. That's right folks, now, when you are typing in email recipients, Gmail will make suggestions to add from your Gmail and G+ contacts, too. Naturally, users can decide which of their circles get access to their inbox, or whether to accept emails from social networkers at all. In practice, should a Google+ contact in one of your circles send you a message, it'll pop up in the Primary category of your inbox, while all others coming from G+ will wind up under the Social tab. Sound good? The feature will be rolling out worldwide soon, so look for an email from Big G telling you how to set it up in the next few days.

Filed under: Google

Source: Official Gmail blog

Article: LG Chromebase hands on: More room to work but at what cost?

The LG Chromebase is making an appearance this year's CES but it's not easy to find. I did track it down in LG's massive show floor booth; actually I tracked them down. I found the LG Chromebase all-in-one desktop in both white and black models. The Chromebase is a twist on Chrome OS devices, whi...

http://gigaom.com/2014/01/08/lg-chromebase-hands-on-more-room-to-work-but-at-what-cost/

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Article: The Eye Tribe Says It’s Shipping Its First $99 Eye-Tracking Units, Raises Another $1M

The Eye Tribe, which took the stage today at TechCrunch's CES Hardware Battlefield, is developing hardware that allows users to control technology with the motion of their eyes. In fact, co-founder and CEO Sune Alstrop Johansen told me that the company has started shipping its first units and sof...

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/08/the-eye-tribe/

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Hands On the MOSS Robotic Building Toy: A Kickstarter That Delivers

Source: http://gizmodo.com/hands-on-the-moss-robotic-building-toy-a-kickstarter-t-1497350803

Hands On the MOSS Robotic Building Toy: A Kickstarter That Delivers

If the phrase 'caveat emptor' (aka buyer beware) applies to anything, it's Kickstarter and other crowdfunded products. Wonderful things are promised by optimistic designers, inventors, and marketers, but rarely are they delivered. That's not the case with Modular Robotics' new MOSS robotic building toy, however. Having already successfully brought its Cubelets to market, the company has created a new kind of building toy that will appeal to both kids and engineers alike.

This Is the Worldâs Fastest Thin-Film Organic Transistor

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-world-s-fastest-thin-film-organic-transisto-1497748183

This Is the World’s Fastest Thin-Film Organic Transistor

It might look like there's not much to it, but you're looking the world's fastest thin-film organic transistor—and it could revolutionize the displays we spend our days looking at.

Samsung's 105-inch curved UHD TV and 85-inch bendable screen hit retail this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/samsung-uhd-release-window/

If you dug the 105-inch curved Ultra HD TV and bendable 85-inch UHD screen (above) Samsung debuted this week, we have good news. They'll both hit retail sometime in the second half of this year, according to the tech giant. If you were expecting pricing info, well, you're going to have to wait a little longer because we don't have that just yet. However, it's going to be at least six months before these sets hit stores, so we suggest you start saving your pennies right about now -- unlike other options, we have a hunch that these beauties won't be cheap.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung

Source: MarketWatch

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

These Are the Brains of the Next Bitcoin Mining Monster

Source: http://gizmodo.com/these-are-the-brains-of-the-next-bitcoin-mining-monster-1497423425

These Are the Brains of the Next Bitcoin Mining Monster

In just a few short years, bitcoin mining has come a long way, from CPUs, to GPUs, to specialized, single purpose, system-on-a-chip beasts. There's still progress to be made, though, more efficient mining marvels to build. This is that progress. Meet the (prototype) brains of an insane digital drill.

Steadicam's Curve Makes Your GoPro Vids as Smooth as Silk

Source: http://gizmodo.com/steadicams-curve-makes-your-gopro-vids-as-smooth-as-si-1496751059

Steadicam's Curve Makes Your GoPro Vids as Smooth as Silk

Steadicam—makers of all kinds of stabilizing contraptions that turn average cameramen into (seemingly) masterful cinematographers—has just introduced its smallest model yet called the Curve that's designed to keep your GoPro videos looking their best.

Article: Memloom Debuts A New Way To Tell Stories Using Photos, Video, Audio & Text

Memloom, a new startup launching today, is looking to find a niche somewhere in between blogging and photo-printing services, like those provided by Shutterfly. The idea is to get consumers not just to share their photos, but tell their stories, through a combination of photos, videos, audio, and...

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/07/memloom-debuts-a-new-way-to-tell-stories-using-photos-video-audio-text/

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Article: Intel's new smart earbuds can read your heart

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich unveiled the chipmaker's new wearable prototypes at yesterday's keynote address. Among the reference designs was a pair of smart earbuds with biometric capabilities, designed to track the user's run, record burned calories, and read their heart rate. Intel is showing of s...

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/5283912/hands-on-with-intels-new-heart-rate-monitoring-smart-earbuds

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Article: LinkedIn sues to stop bots that are stealing its user profiles

Professional network LinkedIn is fighting off shady competitors that are using bots to vacuum up hundreds of thousands of its user profiles in order to compete with LinkedIn's own recruiter products, according to a new lawsuit. In a complaint filed this week in San Francisco, LinkedIn asked a cou...

http://gigaom.com/2014/01/07/linkedin-sues-to-stop-bots-that-are-stealing-its-user-profiles/

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Eyes On: Sony's Ultra Short-Throw 4K Projector Sure Lights Up a Room

Source: http://gizmodo.com/eyes-on-sonys-ultra-short-throw-4k-projector-sure-lig-1496694759

Eyes On: Sony's Ultra Short-Throw 4K Projector Sure Lights Up a Room

Earlier today Sony announced a new short-throw digital projector that lies within a sleek credenza-like rectangle, and shines glorious 4K video against the wall it's up against. We got to feast our eyes on a demo at the Sony booth today. It's lovely.

Vizio's 4K Ultra HD TVs start at $1,000 for a 50-inch set (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/07/ces-vizio-ultrahd-4k-pseries-price/

If all of the 4K -- or 8K! -- talk from CES has you jonesing for a new TV, but you're short on scratch, we've got good news. Vizio has announced pricing for its P-series of Ultra HD panels and they'll sell for a lot less than you might expect. A 50-incher will run you a measly grand. Each five-inch bump in size ups the price $400, all the way up to the $2,600 70-inch set. Given that Vizio has a solid reputation, this line could be a reliable way to watch House of Cards in its native resolution without breaking the bank.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Source: Vizio

Samsung's 98-inch 8K TV lets us go to the mall without leaving CES

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/samsungs-98-inch-8k-tv-lets-us-go-to-the-mall-without-leaving-c/

Despite announcing plans to flood the market with a number of new HD and Ultra HD TVs, Samsung still found room in its CES booth for the first 8K TV we've seen from the manufacturer. Labeled as QUHD or Quad Ultra HD, it's also only the second flatscreen with 7,680 x 4,320 pixels that we've seen, period. Still, our eyes may be getting jaded as a result of all the super high-res displays we've seen lately because this one didn't have the shock value Sharp's 8K Super Hi-Vision screen garnered with its debut a couple of years ago.

Another reason could be the demo content, as Samsung opted for a Robin Sparkles-ish mall scene that was impressive in its sharpness and realism, but didn't exactly draw us in as viewers and the crowded booth gave little room to take it all in. The demo video even magnified specific sections at time to emphasize the 8K res, but we'd prefer a reel with more action. Check after the break for a few more close up pictures and let us know if you can see the 8K difference.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung

Gigabyte's dual GPU Aorus gaming laptop is less than an inch thick

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/gigabytes-aurous-dual-gpu-one-inch/

To impress us with a gaming laptop these days requires more than just spec-bombing, but Gigabyte's Aorus has grabbed our attention. For starters, the 17.3-inch model is a mere 0.9-inches thick and weighs 6.4 pounds, rather insane numbers considering that it packs a pair of NVIDIA GTX 765M chips in an SLI configuration. In comparison, the 17-inch Razer Blade Pro is almost exactly the same size with a single GPU. To achieve that, Gigabyte made the case out of solid aluminum with a sculpted look only a gamer could love, while packing copious vents and ports to duct away the hot air. The rest of the specs are also top-tier: a 17.3-inch, 1080p display, Intel Core i7-4700HQ CPU, up to 32GB of RAM, three USB 3.0 slots, 500GB of mSATA SSD storage max, and up to a TB of 2.5-inch HDD storage. Gigabyte calls it a "powerplant on your lap," and it'll arrive around March for $2,099 -$2,799 depending on options. If you're interested, some heat-proof pants might also be in order.

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Via: The Verge

Source: Gigabyte

Intel Unveiled Some Massive Innovations Yesterday But The Only Thing People Are Talking About Is This 'Smart Bowl'

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-smart-bowl-2014-1

Intel Smart Wireless Charging Bowl reference_design

We've all got one: A large bowl that sits in the kitchen or the hall or the dining room where you put all the junk you don't have any other place for: keys, mail, rubber bands, matches, batteries, take-out menus, whatever.

At CES, the big tech conference in Las Vegas, Intel unveiled a "smart bowl" that could change all that forever. It's a wireless charging bowl: You dump your phone, iPod, earpiece, Fitbit or any other gadget that needs a charge into it and — boom! — pick it out a while later and it's fully charged.

No more wires. No more jacks. No more plugs and sockets.

Your gadgets go into the bowl (probably with a bunch of other non-tech junk too) and voila! They're charged.

The irony of the announcement is that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich unveiled a bunch of new, potentially game-changing initiatives at his keynote last night: a PC the size of a golf ball called Edison and an end to the use of "conflict minerals" from African war zones in its products, among them.

Intel Smart Wireless Charging Bowl But as people left the gargantuan Venetian ballroom where he gave his speech, and as Business Insider chatted with other people at CES who had been at the event, it was clear that the bowl was the thing that really caught everyone's imagination.

Basically, we're all saying the same thing: I've got a bowl full of junk in my house, and I would totally use a smart bowl if it charged my stuff while it was in there.

There's something else going on here too. While Intel's announcements were impressive, they weren't perfect. Some of them had a somewhat sinister surveillance bent to them. Intel has a smart watch coming that allows an app u! ser to t rack its wearer — like a parent tracking their kids — for instance.

Separately, although Intel's other new devices seemed useful (like the Jarvis earpiece that can handle a conversation and manage your phone even when it's not switched on) the design wasn't great. Jarvis looks like a hearing aid, not something you'd actually wear by choice.

The smart bowl, however, was sleekly designed, simple and useful.

Everyone seems to want one. Intel, however gave few details about it. You can read Krzanich's speech here, to see exactly what he said about it. And there are some technical specs here. But as far as we can tell, right now, it's simply a prototype and not a product.

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Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Limitless Tracks How Productive You Are Online, Motivates You to Focus

Source: http://lifehacker.com/limitless-tracks-how-productive-you-are-online-motivat-1496372876

Limitless Tracks How Productive You Are Online, Motivates You to Focus

Chrome: How productive are you, really, when you're online? Unless you track your time, you might not really know. Limitless is a new extension that not only tracks your browsing habits, it also inspires you to complete your goals.

Every time you open a new tab, Limitless greets you with a productivity tip, a pleasant background, and how much time you've spent on different site categories. You can edit sites' categories in case you want to put Lifehacker into entertainment rather than productivity, for example (but you wouldn't do that, would you?). When you first set the extension up, you tell the app your goals for the new year and can also add a daily goal, to be reminded of these when you open a new tab.

Limitless also displays how long you've been on a productive or time-wasting site with a green or red number in the icon.

If you tend to get really distracted, you'll probably need a more powerful site blocker, but for everyone else, this is a helpful tool, much like RescueTime, but for your browser. A Firefox version is in the works.

Limitless | Chrome Web Store via Your Story

Razer's Modular Desktop Makes Building a PC Like Playing with Legos

Source: http://gizmodo.com/razers-modular-desktop-makes-building-a-pc-like-playin-1496479940

Razer's Modular Desktop Makes Building a PC Like Playing with Legos

Building your own computer is generally reserved for the hardcore, the devoted, the geeky. But with Razer's Project Christine, it's as easy as playing with Legos. Really big, actively mineral cooled Legos. Also it looks like a badass rack of rockets or something, which is cool as shit.

Hands On: I Just Fell In Love With LG's Flexible 4K OLED TVs

Source: http://gizmodo.com/hands-on-i-just-fell-in-love-with-lgs-flexible-4k-ole-1496503499

Hands On: I Just Fell In Love With LG's Flexible 4K OLED TVs

The other night we saw a bunch of Samsung's curved 4K TVs, including a gigantic one that could flex between flat and curved. They looked pretty good. LG's curved 4K OLED TVs absolutely blow them out of the water.

Panasonic 4K Life+Screen Television Eyes-On: Life After Plasma

Source: http://gizmodo.com/panasonic-4k-life-television-eyes-on-life-after-plasm-1496587187

Panasonic 4K Life+Screen Television Eyes-On: Life After Plasma

Yesterday, Panasonic says that its new 4K LED Life+Screen TVs have picture quality that's just as good as its recently murdered plasma line. I spent some time with the 85-incher. Plasma was wonderful, but everything's gonna be OK. There can still be beauty.

Toshiba Crammed 5 Computers in Its Shape-Shifting Concept 5-in-1 PC

Source: http://gizmodo.com/toshiba-crammed-5-computers-in-its-shape-shifting-conce-1496625032

Toshiba Crammed 5 Computers in Its Shape-Shifting Concept 5-in-1 PC

It's a concept but it's a super fun one. Toshiba's shape-shifting concept 5-in-1 PC somehow manages to be a laptop, a tablet, a convertible tablet, a canvas, and a presentation TV-type device. A few of those five might be redundant (and/or useless), but it's pretty freaking sweet to see one computer try to be everything you want it to be.

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