drag2share: People Use This App To Chat With Each Other Through A Hidden Feature In Apple's Software

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/firechat-app-uses-hidden-ios-7-feature-2014-4

FireChat — a new anonymous messaging app that has been download more than 100,000 times since it launched — uses one of the coolest features we've seen so far for people to talk to each other.

The app harnesses a feature in Apple's mobile software, iOS 7, called a Multipeer Connectivity Framework. This is found on all Apple devices and enables a direct connection to other devices over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi without the need of an Internet connection to act as an intermediary.

FireChat is a hybrid of Snapchat and Whisper: the app lets you send anonymous messages to a chat room filled with random people, but the messages are not stored anywhere and are quickly deleted when you close the app.

Anonymous chatting apps are big right now, even though some people think they might just be a fad. But more than just an anonymous chatting app, FireChat is actually a new way to chat, where people can connect regardless of whether they're connected to the Internet or cell service.

The app could come in handy if you're at a crowded concert where lines of communication are typically clogged. FireChat would let you quickly share photos and comments with the people around you without interference.

FireChat is an interesting app, but it's far from perfect. For now, the app is only available for iOS, but you can see what it looks like below:

The set up process is really easy. All you need to do is create a username. It can literally be anything.

The app barely provides a demo. After you finish the setup process, you're immediately thrown into a chat room titled "Everyone." CNET writes that this part of the app randomly organizes 80 people from around the country into one room. The conversation moves fast, and you can literally talk about anything. The downside is you still need some form of data connection for it to work.

Swipe over to the right to go into another chat room called "Nearby." This part of FireChat is supposed to enable more-personal conversations but only works within certain distances. If other people are on the app within around 100 feet, you can quickly jump into the room and start talking.

SEE ALSO: If you're bored of regular TV, use this app to find something new to watch online

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drag2share: These Adorable Penguins Can Show You How Skype Is Trying To Revolutionize The Classroom

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/skype-in-the-classroom-2014-4

Since Skype launched its education initiative, Skype in the Classroom, nearly three years ago, the community has really taken off. 

To date, the program has helped more than 80,000 teachers in 235 countries collaborate on more than 8,000 lessons taught over Skype. 

Teachers create profiles that list things like where they're located, the ages of their students, and the subjects they teach. Meanwhile, Skype has partnered with organizations like NASA, Penguin Books, SeaTrek.org, and Microsoft, who post upcoming Skype lessons for teachers to enroll in so they may take their students on free, virtual field trips.

With Earth Day on the horizon, Skype shared an adorable video of a class of UK students getting an interactive lesson about endangered penguins from Rifqah Taliep of The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds.

The video encompasses the initiatives goal: To use technology to give students amazing, immersive educational experiences that they couldn't get from reading a textbook or watching a film. Instead of reading about endangered penguins, they can see them, while asking an expert questions, live. 

 

Without stepping outside the classroom, the students learn about real-world wildlife rehabilitation.

The idea is that learning about something by actually seeing and interacting with it, makes the topic more exciting and memorable for the students.

By registering for the Skype in the classroom community, teachers receive free Skype Group Video Calling for 12 months as a spec! ial bene fit of the program. 

Watch the full video here:

SEE ALSO: Oprah wants you to put down your smartphone and just say hello to someone instead

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drag2share: Airtame wireless screen-mirroring dongle shipping in October for $99

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/airtame-wireless-hdmi-dongle-shipping/

Airtame, the Danish startup that received our Best of CES 2014 award for its awesome wireless video dongle, has confirmed that it will be shipping its first lot to its beta users this month in July. Better yet, the device has since been upgraded from a single-core Freescale chip to a dual-core version, along with dual-band WiFi and hardware acceleration on all three PC platforms: Windows, Linux and Mac. Over 15,000 Airtame dongles have been pre-ordered so far, and these will start shipping in May or June October after some tweaking based on the beta feedback.

For those who aren't familiar with Airtame, this is an HDMI dongle that you plug into a monitor or TV. With the software installed on your PC, you can wirelessly mirror or extend your desktop to one or multiple remote screens equipped with the dongle. What's more, you can also choose to do so over your home network or over a direct WiFi connection (while somehow still maintaining your PC's internet connection). The team claims that the performance is superior to that of existing Miracast dongles and Chromecast, featuring a low 25 to 30ms latency that's good enough for gaming -- as we found out at CES. The Chromecast, on the other hand, has a one- to two-second delay (plus it's not really made for screen mirroring); and we've yet to come across a Miracast pairing that works reliably.

The Airtame dongle will eventually support smartphone and tablet video transmission, as the team received a lot of requests for a way to beam local content to the remote screen. However, app developers will need to use Airtame's SDK to enable this feature -- there will be supported apps at launch, and the dongle will also have its own browser that can be controlled from your mobile device.

In terms of retail availability, you can already pre-order the $99 Airtame dongle via the official website, or you can wait for its launch at select large, but unnamed retailers in the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Russia and some Asian countries will get the dongle later, as they require local safety certifications.

Update: We have been notified of a change in delivery date after this article went up, so we've updated the dates accordingly.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless, HD

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drag2share: Samsung confirms thinner and lighter Galaxy Tab 4 tablet range

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/samsung-confirms-tab4-tablet-range-will-be-thinner-and-lighter/

Though the FCC already ruined the surprise, Samsung has just launched three new lower-tier Galaxy Tab 4 tablets. The series consists of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, 8-inch Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 and -- wait for it -- the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 4 10.1. The design has changed substantially from the Galaxy Tab 3, instead following the lead of the Galaxy Tab Pro series with thinner bezels and less weight. Unlike the high end range, though, the Tab 4's specs are squarely aimed at the mainstream: a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 1,200 x 800 WXGA graphics, Android 4.4 KitKat, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of memory, a MicroSD slot and 3/1.3-megapixel front/back cameras on all models. All three will launch with LTE Cat 4 capability from the get-go, along with Samsung services like Link and WatchOn. They're set to arrive this quarter in black and white colors, with no pricing yet -- but we'd figure on around the same as last year's $300 Galaxy Tab3 8.0.

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

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drag2share: This quarter-sized chip platform could power future Android Wear devices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/mips-ingenic-newton-android-wear/

While Intel has backtracked on its "Edison" chip size claims, another Android Wear partner is claiming that its system-on-chip is the size of the proverbial SD card. Imagination Technologies (MIPS) has just revealed the Newton platform based on its MIPS architecture, built by chip-making partner Ingenic. It uses Ingenic's power-sipping, Android-compatible 1GHz JZ4775 CPU (similar to that in the GEAK watch), to help it give smartwatches and other wearables 30 hours or more of battery life. A laundry list of other features is also baked in, like support for up to 3GB RAM, 720p video, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, MEMS sensors, health care sensors and USB support. Device makers can pick and choose those options thanks to the modular design, which also allows for rapid prototyping. In theory, that will help Android Wear hardware makers turn their designs into products more quickly -- and fulfill Google's ambitious product launch timetable.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: MIPS

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drag2share: Google to focus on portrait shots and effects with improved camera app

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/google-new-android-camera-app/

We know that Google has been looking to bring more advanced photo features to Android for a while, but it may soon be ready to show off what it's been working on. Sources aware of Google's plans have confirmed to us that the search giant is currently testing a new version of its camera app that will sport a refreshed UI, a background-blurring effect for portrait shots, and improved panorama and Photo Sphere modes. As part of its overhaul, we're told that Google has finally fixed issues with the default camera's photo framing, allowing users to snap images with a new 100-percent no-crop viewfinder. That means you'll see exactly what your Android device will capture before you hit the shutter button, with no unwanted objects creeping in at the edges.

The company is also said to be making the camera app more extensible, by opening support for third-party filters. This will allow developers (and Android enthusiasts) to create and import custom effects inside the stock camera app. The camera app's portrait skills may see some improvements too, with the addition a new lens blur mode that will take photos with a shallower depth of field, mimicking the effects you'd typically see in Nokia's Refocus app and HTC's new One.! New hig h-resolution panorama and Photo Sphere modes have also been added, improving the quality of your sweeping shots.

While many are awaiting the release of Android 4.4.3, the latest version of KitKat, Google is set to make these camera improvements available to users by way of a standalone update. Our sources indicate that the app will exist separately so that non-Nexus owners running Android 4.4 and above will be able to take advantage of the improvements, without having to wait for an OTA update from their device maker or carrier.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google

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drag2share: Amazon Prime signs '24' away from Netflix just before the new season airs on Fox

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/amazon-prime-24-fox/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

After four years away CTU agent Jack Bauer is coming back to TV on May 5th in 24: Live Another Day, and he's already being used as a pawn in a new battle: Amazon vs. Netflix. Until today, US fans of the show could catch up with all 192 episodes (plus 24: Redemption) on Netflix's streaming service, but now Amazon Prime is the exclusive subscription streaming home of 24. Amazon's deal with 20th Century Fox is timed to take advantage of the show's upcoming return, similar to exclusive agreements it's made for other shows like Orphan Black, Suits, Falling Skies, Downton Abbey, Justified, Workaholics, Veronica Mars,Under the Dome, and Extant.

Amazon's "pilot season" to crowdsource opinions on potential shows hasn't produced hits on par with Netflix Originals like House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, but we suppose this is another way of filling the library. For Netflix's part, it sent out a PR blast yesterday focusing on what it's adding to streaming this month, including an exclusive deal for the complete series of House M.D. plus Rocky I - V, Coneheads, Amistad and Braveheart. Of course, today only (check your calendar), there is also a very special Netflix Original for you to check out.

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drag2share: Verizon FiOS Media Server arrives as Quantum TV DVR that records up to 12 channels at once

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/verizon-fios-media-server-quantum-tv/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

We double checked the calendar too, but no, it's not an April Fools joke -- Verizon's FIOS Media Server is finally available in a few areas as a part of the new Quantum TV package. The VMS1100 upgrades the standard cable boxes used by Verizon and other providers by shoving six tuners and a 1TB hard drive into a box that then feeds TV to other smaller set-top boxes in the rest of the house over existing cable wiring (MoCA). Better still, you can add more DVRs for the ability to record up to 12 channels at once, 2TB of storage and feeds for as many as ten TVs. Unlike some other multiroom systems, users can pause and rewind live TV on the extender boxes as well, or pause a program in one room, then resume it in another room.

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drag2share: Tesla Model S is 'low hanging fruit' for hackers to remotely track or unlock cars

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/tesla-hacking/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Tesla has toughened the Model S' underbody to help prevent any more fires, but apparently it needs to add some reinforcement to its network features too. An enterprising hacker can't quite drive one of the electric vehicles away (they'd need a key fob to start the car), but holes in the auto's security apparently allow a ne'er-do-well to locate the vehicle, unlock its doors and steal your belongings. As Tesla owner and corporate security consultant Nitesh Dhanjani tells it, this "low-hanging fruit" can be picked by brute-force attacking Tesla's relatively weak one-factor password system, exploiting loopholes in the iOS app's API and by accessing the ride's network-interface jack under the dashboard. Thankfully, he found that the Model S' major systems were safe from attack.

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drag2share: Extraordinary picture: Three dragon storms sweeping the US

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-three-dragon-storms-sweeping-the-united-states-as-s-1555787976/@jesusdiaz

This is a really unusual weather situation, according to the National Weather Service: Three low pressure systems in line over the entirety of North America. NASA Goddard describes them as "three atmospheric dragons." They do look like dragons! It must be a Game of Thrones' marketing ploy.

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drag2share: How Mexico's Drug Cartels Are Driving Up the Price of Limes

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-mexicos-drug-cartels-are-driving-up-the-price-of-l-1555572876

A lime shortage is threatening the U.S. food and beverage industry, with some bars and restaurants jacking up drink prices, charging extra for a slice—or refusing to serve the citrus at all. But there's another reason to rethink that margarita: The pricey limes you're buying from Mexico might be supporting drug violence.

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drag2share: The Toy Car Company That Launched At Apple's Developer Conference Thinks It's Solved 3 Major Problems In Robotics

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/anki-drive-and-apple-2014-3

A company called Anki made its public debut last year on one of the best stages any company could hope for — Apple's annual developer conference, WWDC.

It had been operating quietly since February 2012 to refine its product — robotic toy cars that race around a special track, all controlled by an iPhone. It's a bit like a real-life version of Mario Kart: Cars can earn powerups like faster top speeds, or weapons for disabling opponents' cars.

On the surface, it is nothing more than a toy company. But it got the attention of investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Two Sigma, and Index Ventures, who collectively invested $50 million. Marc Andreessen calls it "one of the best robotics startups I've ever seen." The company's chief product officer gave Business Insider an update on their progress recently.

Its $200 starter kit comes with a racetrack and two cars, and customers have so far collectively raced 42 million laps around the track. We asked Anki for sales numbers, but it declined to give out that data.

"The first problem anyone faces in robotics is positioning, or determining where your robot is in its environment," said Joe Palatucci, Anki's Chief Product Officer. "Second is reasoning. You have to give the robot a goal and it needs to determine the sequence of actions it needs to take to accomplish that goal. Last are the controls — this is the nitty-gritty, where you actually execute a task and command voltages to motors that manipulate and move the robot."

The entertainment factor can't be denied — "We eat our own dog food quite often," said Palatucci. "We have weekly tournaments at the office. It's a lot of! fun."

Here's a GIF from the WWDC presentation, in which Anki co-founder Boris Sofman demos Anki DRIVE.

The Anki DRIVE racetrack is made using a special ink that's transparent in the infrared spectrum even though our eyes register it as black. The bottoms of the cars use special cameras and lights that let them see through the ink to the bits of information encoded there, and this information is sent back wirelessly to phones 500 times per second as a car moves around the track.

Positioning: Solved.

Players are racing against autonomous cars controlled by Anki software. The cars don't have an onboard "brain" that enables them to "think" for themselves; this task is outsourced to the players' phones, which receive positioning data from the cars, then beam instructions back to the cars via Bluetooth LE, a wireless communications standard. Since the phone knows the location of all cars on the track, it can plan routes and attack other vehicles with its cars' weapons.

Implementing users' smartphones this way saves Anki money because it can offload the heavy lifting of "thinking" to a device that users already own. And Anki's software has proven to be a vicious opponent: When set to "hard" mode, the cars will beat a human player nine out of 10 times.

Reasoning: Solved.

When it comes to actually moving around a track, Anki's cars are electronically and mechanically identical. They derive their unique characteristics from Anki's software, which enables things like increased top speeds, the ability to execute 180-degree turns, or the ability to wield some weapons for blasting opponents off the track. "Because so much is driven by software," said Palatucci, "we can easily send updates to the App Store that still expand the gameplay after a single hardware purchas! e."

Controls: Solved.

Palatucci and Sofman began work on Anki DRIVE about six years ago while pursuing their PhDs in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. After a lot of night and weekend effort, the company sought out a partnership with Apple, which it's maintained for "the better part of a year." Anki approached Apple because "mobile phones are central to what we are doing," says Palatucci. "We thought their retail stores would be a perfect way for us to distribute, and Apple got behind Bluetooth LE two years before most others."

Since its launch at WWDC, Anki DRIVE was named one of the best inventions of 2013 by TIME, and Anki even got some attention on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. In keeping with the commitment to continue adding to the cars' software, the company released several new upgrades at the beginning of the year to make for an enhanced racing experience (there's even a horn upgrade — "honk" it and opponents' cars move out of your way).

Palatucci kept talk of the future a bit vague, but seems most excited by the fact that simple software updates can continue to make the game a repeatably enjoyable product: "It's really exciting for potential new customers to realize Anki DRIVE is an evolving experience."

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