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Friday, March 28, 2014

drag2share: Science gets closer to artificial life with first synthetic chromosome

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/scientists-have-created-first-ever-man-made-chromosome-1553312707/@caseychan

Science gets closer to artificial life with first synthetic chromosome

Science, man. An international team of scientists have made a major breakthrough in synthetic biology. For the first time ever, they were able to insert a man-made, custom-built chromosome into brewer's yeast to not only create a life form but one that also passes down its man-made genes to its offspring. We're closer to creating artificial life.

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drag2share: Foodini is a 3D printer for everything from burgers to gnocchi

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/27/foodini/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Who wants a 3D printer for just candy when you can have one that prints a five-course dinner instead? That's the idea behind Foodini, a new 3D printer that takes fresh ingredients and turns them into a culinary masterpiece. The device can do things like make custom ravioli, your own unique crackers or cookies, or even an intricate dark chocolate vase (if you just have to print candy). Its creations are made by filling the printer's "food capsules" with fresh ingredients and then inputting a recipe for the device to create. Foods can be printed in just a few minutes and eaten right away (if they're made from pre-cooked materials) or cooked after printing. Foodini is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter to manufacturer its first run of the printers. $1,000 gets you in line to get one in January 2015, and a $2,000 investment can have you throwing your first printed dinner party by October of this year.

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drag2share: Philips adds web-connected tap switch, white-only lux bulb to Hue lighting lineup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/28/philips-hue-white-bulb-and-switch/

Think you're all done building out your Hue lighting collection? Think again. Philips' latest product is one you're likely going to want to own. The tap switch, available later this year for $60, lets you control connected lights wirelessly by tapping one of four buttons. More impressive, however, is the switch's ability to turn lights off and on without requiring a power source of its own. The device is powered by kinetic energy, so a tap creates enough juice to complete each task. Philips is also announcing a new "lux" bulb, which looks and operates like traditional Hue units, albeit without the 16 million colors. This bulb emits only white light, but it's reportedly very bright. Lux is set to retail for $40 per bulb (compared to $60 for the color version), or $100 in a set of two bundled with a Hue base as well. Like the switch, lux will ship in Europe and North America after the summer.

Filed under: Household

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drag2share: Philips Hue targets the ultra high end with $3,500 3D-printed luminaires

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/28/philips-hue-luminaires/

Philips' Hue collection of app-controlled LED bulbs has never been the cheapest option for lighting a room, but the company's existing products are at least priced to be accessible to many homeowners. That's absolutely no concern when it comes to this latest lineup of lamps, however. The table and pendant luminaries (a fancy word for light fixture) were designed by WertelOberfell and Strand+Hvass. These works of art are still perfectly functional, though -- each is capable of displaying any of 16 million colors, with full wireless control. These 3D-printed fixtures are hardly affordable, however. A selection of table lamps will be available for pre-order beginning March 31st for €2,500 (about $3,500) while the pendant versions will retail for a whopping €3,000 (about $4,150).

Filed under: Household

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

drag2share: Philips' new LED bulbs are powered over Ethernet, provide occupancy and climate info to office managers

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/27/philips-power-over-ethernet/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Get ready for a whole new generation of connected lightbulbs. Philips latest concept replaces an office's traditional electrical wiring with Ethernet, used to power LED bulbs and pass info to and from each lamp. Each fixture outputs light, but also collects information from a variety of sensors. A motion sensor can track the number of employees in a given area, for example, while a thermometer can report back on the current temperature. Facility managers can track any section of the office in realtime, adjusting lighting and heating from a smartphone app to save on utilities whenever possible. Of course, as you'll need to replace traditional cabling with Ethernet, the installation itself is sure to cost a pretty penny. Philips quotes a 50-percent reduction in installation costs for PoE over traditional wiring with new installations, however, so if you're planning to refurbish an office this is definitely an interesting option to consider.

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drag2share: A Microscopic Lens-Free Image Sensor Could Turn Anything Into a Camera

Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-microscopic-lens-free-image-sensor-could-turn-anythin-1552714005

A Microscopic Lens-Free Image Sensor Could Turn Anything Into a Camera

This tiny piece of glass may not look like much, but in fact its surface is cleverly etched to capture light, and it contains a small chip to process the incident light. Yep, it's a tiny camera that could provide any object—however small—with the means of capturing images.

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drag2share: Philips' 2014 4K TVs include an Android-powered model and smaller sets

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/27/philips-2014-4k-tvs/

Philips 7500 TV set

Philips' 4K TVs last year were on the large side, but it's following up in 2014 with smaller models -- including one with a few tricks up its sleeve. The company's new 55-inch 8809 series set mates the extra-high resolution with Android, giving you both Google Play apps as well as access to your Dropbox content. It's also a capable set whether or not you like the mobile OS, with a 1GHz refresh rate and Ambilight illumination that plays nicely with both games and Hue lights. There are also 48- and 55-inch 1080p sets running Android (the 8109 and 8209 series), and you can pick up the 7809 series (pictured here) in 42-, 49- and 55-inch flavors if you're comfortable using a 4K set without Google underpinnings. All of the new 7000 and 8000 series TVs should be available in Europe and Russia in the second quarter of the year, although the Android variants aren't expected to reach the UK. Pricing isn't available at this stage, but we'd expect these screens to be more affordable than Philips' 65- and 84-inch behemoths.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Source: TP Vision (1), (2)

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drag2share: New Construction Material Is Lighter Than Water And Stronger Than Steel

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-material-is-lighter-than-water-stronger-than-steel-2014-3

Lighter Than Water, Stronger Than Steel

Researchers in Germany have made a significant advance in creating lightweight, tough materials by taking a note from bone, wood and honeycombs.

A Karlsruhe Institute of Technology team fabricated polymer and alumina composites in a regular framework structure using 3-D laser lithography. Their hierarchical microarchitecture achieved extremely porous materials with strength-to-density ratios higher than bone, aluminum or steel.

"The novel lightweight construction materials resemble the framework structure of a half-timbered house with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal struts," said Jens Bauer, a microarchitecture expert who lead the research, in a statement.

Their samples contained 45 percent to more than 90 percent air, making them extremely lightweight while also withstanding more than 46,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. They published their work recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

SEE ALSO: A Colorado Man Is Connected To 700 Sensors That Record Every Detail Of His Life

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drag2share: Singapore's Airport Was Just Named The World's Best — Again

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-changi-airport-photos-2014-3

sunflower garden at Singapore Changi airport Singapore's Changi Airport was just named the world's best airport in 2014 by the World Airport Awards.

This is the second year that Changi took the top spot in Skytrax's World Airport Awards, the most prestigious airport award in the industry.

Skytrax evaluates over 400 airports around the world for service, check-in, transfers, shopping, security, immigration, and more.

It's no surprise that Changi took the number one spot. The international transit hub has incredible amenities, like a butterfly garden, rooftop pool, movie theaters, hotels, spas, and showers, and even a four-story slide.

Last year, I visited the airport during a trip to Singapore and had a chance to explore. The bottom line: This is a place where you'll actually enjoy having a long layover.

Disclosure: Our trip to Singapore, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.

The airport is an architectural marvel. The newest terminal, Terminal 3, was designed by CPG Consultants, in collaboration with Woodhead, Tierra Design and SOM, Bartenbach LichtLabor and Hugh Dutton & Associates.

Most passengers enter the airport at Terminal 3, the newest and largest terminal at Changi, which is where Singapore Airlines is based. At 380,000 sq. m., the terminal is spacious, with high ceilings and an open, airy feel.

There's also a lush vertical garden here called the "Green Wall." It has more than 20 varieties of plants, vines, and flowers growing on it.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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drag2share: The Futuristic Liquid Nitrogen Machine That Makes Ice Cream To Order

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-futuristic-liquid-nitrogen-machine-that-makes-ice-c-1551782945

The Futuristic Liquid Nitrogen Machine That Makes Ice Cream To Order

Despite the warm wood and cheery red accents, Smitten Ice Cream can feel a bit like a mad scientist's shop. There's the industrial-sized tank of liquid nitrogen that greets you inside the entrance of its new flagship location in Oakland. And there's the billowing clouds of nitrogen when the stainless steel ice cream machines churn out personalized scoops to order.

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drag2share: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 range inbound, likely with thinner bezels and upgraded displays

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/27/samsung-galaxy-tab-4-fcc/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

We've been hearing scraps of information about Samsung's next batch of Galaxy Tabs since February, but now we have something that helps us piece them all together: An FCC filing for what looks to be the 10-incher, with the model number "SM-T805." The official paperwork doesn't reveal much, but the same model has also appeared on internal Samsung documents that suggest it possesses a 2,560 x 1,600 display -- which would be a huge upgrade over the existing Tab 3 10.1. Smaller Tab 4 models have also leaked elsewhere, with a press render of the 7-inch version (shown above, courtesy of @evleaks) showing thinner bezels than the current Tab 3 7.0, presumably resulting in a cheaper version of the highly portable (and generally very good) Tab Pro 8.4. We could be due for an official launch event pretty soon, especially with the press renders showing a date of April 24th, so stay tuned for more numerical branding fatigue.

Update: The SM-T801, likely the 8.4-inch model, just hit the FCC as well.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

drag2share: Many Consumers Still Don't See The Value Of Tablets

Source: https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/welcome

A majority of U.S. consumers who don't yet own a tablet still say they won't buy one this year. And most of them say it's because they're happy with their PC or laptop.

Roughly 53% of consumers who don't already own a tablet reported that they will not be buying a tablet in the next 12 months, according to a new Kantar Worldpanel ComTech survey.
Another 34% responded that they were unsure if they would be buying a tablet. Among consumers who were unsure whether they wanted to buy a tablet or not, 47% claimed tablet prices were too high.
Only 13% of those consumers who don't already own a tablet said they would buy one this year.
Among respondents with no plans to buy a tablet, a whopping 72% claimed that they were happy with their current laptop or PC, while 42% also said they were simply not interested in a tablet.

That last statistic is the most telling, and it indicates that tablet vendors have failed to drive home the message of what the tablet's true value is.

Most tablet-averse consumers likely look at tablets as expensive entertainment devices that are supremely lacking in productivity capabilities compared to PCs.

But it's not just PCs that are taking away from the value of the tablet.

Advancements in smartphone screen size and quality are making the tablet less attractive as an entertainment device. Why would consumers pay a few hundreds dollars for an extra, only slightly bigger device when they likely already have a perfectly good smartphone in their pocket?

One of our mobile predictions for 2014 was that more tablet-friendly productivity software would become available, making the tablet a more respectable productivity tool. With Microsoft launching Office for iPad this week, and Google building a full-fledged enterprise suite of apps for Android, expect the tablet's value to consumers and businesses to rise soon.

Click here to download the charts and data in Excel

TabletBuyers

Here is a look at some of the biggest reasons why consumers will not be buying a tablet over the next 12 months.

TabletReasons

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drag2share: V-Moda XS Headphones Review: Indestructible Cans With Runway Looks

Source: http://gizmodo.com/v-moda-xs-headphones-review-indestructible-cans-with-r-1551890986

V-Moda XS Headphones Review: Indestructible Cans With Runway Looks

V-Moda, the decade-old veteran of the new-wave of headphones is just launching a fresh set of impressively over-engineered cans. They fit you snug like a tailored suit and last as long as a tank.

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drag2share: ZTE's giant Nubia X6 has 13MP cameras on the front and back

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/26/zte-nubia-x6-13-megapixel-dual-camera/

If you believe that China gets all the good phones, this won't change your mind. ZTE's premium Nubia brand has just launched the X6, a handset-cum-tablet with a 6.44-inch, 1080p screen. As with Oppo's Find 7, ZTE lavished it with top-notch specs, including a Snapdragon 801 chip, 3GB max RAM, up to 128GB storage and a 4,250 mAh battery. The kicker, though, is the pair of 13-megapixel cameras on the front and back -- a rare setup for a non-monkey phone. The front shooter puts many smartphones' main cameras to shame with backside illumination, video auto-focus and an f/2.2 lens. The back-facing camera ups the ante with an f/2.0 lens, optical image stabilization and dual flashes. Alas, if you were looking to wrap your (presumably large) mitts around one in the US or Europe, the Nubia X6 will likely stay put in China. It's now up for pre-order at $HK 5,010, or around $640 for the top model.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Source: Engadget Chinese

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drag2share: Drobo's new storage box is faster, better at Mac backups

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/26/drobo-gen-3/

Drobo is kicking off its "biggest year" yet with an update to its eponymous flagship. The Drobo Gen 3 gains super-charged internals and Time Machine support that'll banish your bad memories of trying to use Apple's backup utility on older versions of the hardware. Rather than it eating a whole drive, users can now create a dedicated partition in the admin panel without any complicated tweaking. Pre-orders begin from today to ship at the end of April, with the base model setting you back $350 and running all the way to $1,450 if you want a 16TB unit. Unless, that is, you already own a first-or-second-gen Drobo, in which case you'll get a $50 discount if you order before June 9th.

Filed under: Storage

Source: Drobo

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