Intel's Bay Trail CPU will usher Android into the 64-bit era this spring

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/android-tablets-64-bit-intel-bay-trail/

Sure, 64-bit support is all the rage nowadays in the mobile space, what with Apple setting off a trend with the introduction of the iPhone 5s. Now, according to Intel's CEO, tablets running Google's operating system are next and will soon be available with 64-bit compatibility. During an earnings call yesterday, Intel chief Brian Krzanich said that Android tablets using the company's new Atom-based Bay Trail processor are set to hit the market as early as this spring, bringing along a technology which so far has been limited to Windows 8.1 devices. It's also worth noting that while 64-bit slates may be arriving soon, the number of Android applications optimized to take advantage of the feature will be very low at first. Still, chances are developers will quickly take care of this as more and more 64-bit-ready phones and tablets start to become available.

Filed under: Tablets

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Source: Ars Technica

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Google is mapping the history of modern music

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/18/google-music-library-data/

It's no surprise that Google has been tracking music uploads, but what's unexpected is exactly what the search giant is doing with all of that info. Interactive maps of music's ongoing journey are charted through Play Music's users' libraries, found over on Google's Research Blog. You could, for example, trace the ebb and flow of a genre era by era (rock remains one of the biggies while electronica's presence is relatively new), or even identify which release from a band is the most prominent. Looking at the Deftones, their biggest album is 2000's White Pony, and they're near the top of the alt-metal heap overall. Music nerds could lose a few days poring over the various ins and outs of the soundtrack to their lives, so be careful who you share this with. Perhaps best of all, Google says this likely won't be the last collaboration we see between the research and music teams.

Filed under: Google

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Source: Google Research (1), (2)

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Amazon Has Patented A System For Shipping Your Stuff Before You Order It

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-anticipatory-shipping-2014-1

Amazon patented a system in December that will reduce logistics costs and dissuade customers from ever entering a physical store again by shipping your stuff before you order it, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon software will predict when a customer will order an item, then push it through Amazon's shipping process. Packed orders would wait at shipping hubs until a customer's order arrives.

At this point, it can be dispatched to the customer's address far more quickly. It's a system aptly called "anticipatory shipping."

Keep in mind this is just a patent and Amazon hasn't announced any plans to implement such a service. But it does give us a hint at Amazon's thinking when it comes to getting stuff to you faster.

The 27-page patent is loaded with technical details that you can peruse at your convenience here.

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Rock mysteriously appears in front of the Mars Opportunity rover

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/did-a-martian-throw-a-rock-at-a-mars-opportunity-rover-1503335556/@barrett

Left: a photo taken 3528 days after the Opportunity rover arrival to Mars. Right: the exact same spot 12 Mars days later. Notice the difference? NASA JPL scientists did too: "It's about the size of a jelly doughnut. It was a total surprise, we were like 'wait a second, that wasn't there before, it can't be right. Oh my god! It wasn't there before!' We were absolutely startled."

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This Is the World's First Working Cell Made From Plastic

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-worlds-first-working-cell-made-from-plasti-1503338685

Scientists have long been toiling to create artificial life, managing to produce man-made cell walls and even synthetic DNA. But now, a team of chemists has produced a functioning cell made from polymers.

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