Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, April 05, 2014

drag2share: This Android add-on lets you multitask with your Chromecast

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/04/autocast-plugin/

AutoCast add-on for Android sending to Chromecast

There are already quite a few Chromecast-savvy apps out there, but João Dias' newly completed AutoCast may be one of the most flexible. The Tasker add-on for Android lets you send a wide range of content to Google's media stick in your choice of layout, including multiple things at once -- you can get notifications while you're watching video, or play music while browsing video. You can also create custom home screens that show useful info like battery levels or weather, and it's possible for multiple users to share control over a single Chromecast app, such as an image editor. AutoCast won't address every possible function you might want, but it covers a surprising amount of ground by itself.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD

Source: Google Play, joaoapps.com

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drag2share: Gresso's Azimuth is the dual-SIM phone the rich have been waiting for

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/04/gresso-azimuth/

The 1 percent have long had smartphones from Porsche and Vertu to quench their high-end thirst, but when it comes to dual-SIM handsets, the elite have had to settle for something a little more ordinary. For those in need, Gresso created Azimuth, the first dual-SIM luxury handset. Starting at $2,000, the phone is made of titanium, with both the keys and logo crafted out of 18K or white gold. Since appearances are all that matter, you're getting some pretty low-end specs under the hood, including 2GB of "internal memory," a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and a tiny 1,100mAh battery. To put things in perspective, Samsung's Galaxy S5 starts with 16GB of built-in storage, a 16-megapixel camera and a 2,800mAh battery. The difference being, anyone can buy an S5. Only 999 Azimuth's will be made, because no one who's anyone wants a phone 1,000 people can own.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Via: Pocket-Lint

Source: Gresso

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drag2share: Amazon's Dash lets you refill your pantry using your voice and LEDs (updated)

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/04/amazon-dash-amazonfresh/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Let's be real: Amazon isn't going to stop until you can go your entire life without setting foot in an actual brick-and-mortar store. Now the company wants to make buying groceries and sundries from its AmazonFresh same-day delivery service even easier, and it's doing it with a tiny little gadget called the Dash. Yes, move over Fire TV -- Amazon's newest bit of hardware is a free (for now?), WiFi-capable barcode scanner.

Alright, maybe it's a bit more complex than that. It appears to be a pint-sized ~~laser scanner~~ LED scanner that'll capture the barcode of whatever items you need, but you can add to your list by speaking the name of the product into a built-in microphone. That voice-recognition bit seems like it would be better suited to generic products like apples, but the teaser video shows a young lady adding guitar strings to her cart -- presumably you can fine-tune choices like that once you jump onto the AmazonFresh site or mobile apps.

Word of the Dash definitely came as a surprise (especially on a lazy spring afternoon), but it falls right in line with Amazon's existing hardware plans. These days the e-commerce giant is all about pushing low-cost gadgets to reduce the friction of buying more stuff. Itching to read some Feynman? Fire up the ol' Kindle. Need to watch the last season of Luther? It's just a few clicks away on the Fire TV. What's really neat (if maybe a little scary) is that Amazon has finally found a way to make that formula work for real, physical products. Sadly, chances are you won't be using one of these things anytime soon. The AmazonFresh service is still only live in parts of California and Washington State, though rumors maintain that New York will get access to the program at some point.

Correction: We thought the Dash used a laser like most run-of-the-mill barcode scanners, but Amazon has confirmed that it actually uses an LED scanner instead. Sorry for the mix-up.

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drag2share: This is Earth's malware threat, visualized

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/05/this-is-earths-malware-threat-visualized/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Ah, nothing like good old fashioned scare tactics to get you to install anti-virus software. In a thinly veiled advert for its security suite, Kaspersky Labs has created a real-time cyber threat map -- painting the globe with six shades of malware. The brightly colored map lists Russia as the world's most infected country, followed closely by the United States, India and Vietnam. It's a mesmerizing visualization, but take it with a grain of salt: the data it presents is pulled exclusively from Kaspersky's own security network, which might explain why the Russian security outfit's home turf is the "most infected." More users in the motherland probably translates to more virus' detected. That said, if you're looking for a colorful view the world's malware, you won't be disappointed. Check it out at the source link below.

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drag2share: This Chart From IBM Explains Why Cloud Computing Is Such A Game-Changer

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/7pz0U48_1Zw/this-chart-from-ibm-explains-why-cloud-computing-is-such-a-game-changer-2014-4

All of the industry's biggest tech players are going gaga chasing the cloud-computing market these days:

Cisco just vowed to spend $1 billion to build a new cloud to compete with Amazon's Web Services.
Microsoft spent about $8 billion on cloud computing R&D in 2011 and spends billions more each year on its cloud data centers in 16 regions around the world.
IBM is spending $7 billion to beef up its cloud.
Oracle is in the process of building a cloud, too, with parts of it already being used by beta testers, CEO Larry Ellison recently said.

What is it that has all of the biggest tech players drooling? This chart that IBM sent to its investors explains it all. To summarize, IBM says ...

85% of new software today is being built for the cloud.
One-quarter of the world's apps will be available on the cloud by 2016.
Almost three-quarters of developers say that they are using the cloud in apps they are developing now.

IBM cloud future

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Friday, April 04, 2014

Article: BitTorrent's cloud solution? Bypass it altogether

Last year's revelations of the National Security Agency's sweeping data collection programs were not particularly good for U.S. technology companies. Following the Edward Snowden leak, the D.C.-based think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation predicted that U.S. cloud computing c...

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/04/04/bittorrents-cloud-solution-bypass-it-altogether/

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Article: Pixelstick: Light painting evolved to span video and photos

Follow Duncan Frazier has made impressive stunning timelapse footage, but when he and his business partner Stephen McGuigan (working together as Bitbanger Labs) sent us a link to Pixelstick, we experienced the kind of awe that was formerly reserved for Apple product launches. Pixelstick is a tool...

http://thenextweb.com/creativity/2014/04/04/pixelstick-light-painting-evolved/

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Article: Apple v Samsung Case Highlights The New Innovator's Dilemma

Among the unedifying terminology revealed in the Apple v Samsung patent war was Steve Jobs’ belief that his company should go thermonuclear in its dispute with Google , and regard it as a Holy War. How inappropriate! Yet Jobs hit a point of real contention, rather than hyperbole, in the same ‘hol...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2014/04/03/apple-v-samsung-and-the-new-innovators-dilemma/

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Article: 'Unbreakable' security codes inspired by nature

A revolutionary new method of encrypting confidential information has been patented by scientists inspired by their discoveries from human biology, which model how the heart and lungs coordinate their rhythms by passing information between each other.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140403132111.htm

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Article: Why Random is developing an irrational browsing experience

Sometimes a company is interesting not because of the utility of what it can provide now, but because of the slightly hard-to-pin-down possibilities it opens up — particularly if those possibilities may help us navigate a new age of user interfaces and experiences. Random is such a company, and h...

http://gigaom.com/2014/04/04/why-random-is-developing-an-irrational-browsing-experience/

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Article: Fruit flies fitted with tiny backpacks to save farms

(Credit: CSIRO) The CSIRO is putting RFID sensors on Queensland fruit flies to study their behaviour in the hopes of saving Queensland's crops. What do Tasmanian bees and Queensland fruit flies (AKA Q-flies) have in common (aside from six legs, two wings and segmented eyes)? They both wear little...

http://www.cnet.com.au/fruit-flies-fitted-with-tiny-backpacks-to-save-farms-339346996.htm?feed=rss

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Article: Intel Releases $99 "Minnowboard Max," An Open-Source Single-Board Computer

Not to be outflanked by rivals, Intel has released the $99 Minnowboard Max, a tiny single-board computer that runs Linux and Android. It is completely open source – you can check out the firmware and software here – and runs a 1.91GHz Atom E3845 processor. The board’s schematics are also availabl...

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/intel-releases-99-minnowboard-max-an-open-source-single-board-computer/?ncid=rss

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drag2share: Surreal reversed footage of a man walking backwards in Tokyo

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/surreal-reversed-footage-of-a-man-walking-backwards-in-1557838387/+jesusdiaz

Surreal reversed footage of a man walking backwards in Tokyo

Enjoy this reversed footage of a man walking backwards across Tokyo, proof that a simple, seemingly silly idea can result in something strangely confusing and attractive.

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drag2share: The Most Elegant iPhone Speaker Is Just A Single Piece Of Blown Glass

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-most-elegant-iphone-speaker-is-just-a-single-piece-1557674716

The Most Elegant iPhone Speaker Is Just A Single Piece Of Blown Glass

Here is a sleek way to showcase your iPhone's looks and sounds. There are no wires or buttons or even plastic in this passive amp—just a single piece of glass, handcrafted to exacting proportions, that can wrap a room in sound.

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drag2share: Glowing Sticks and Long Exposures Turn Drumming Into a Visual Feast

Source: http://gizmodo.com/glowing-sticks-and-long-exposures-turn-drumming-into-a-1557736797

Glowing Sticks and Long Exposures Turn Drumming Into a Visual Feast

It can be mesmerizing watching a talented drummer beat away on a set of skins, but even more so when they're sitting in the middle of a long-exposure camera rig with a pair of glowing drumsticks in hand. What's usually a blur of arms and sticks suddenly becomes an intricate web of mid-air streaks and squiggles that only add to a drummer's performance.

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