Electric Objects wants to put the digital art world on your wall

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/electric-objects/

Digital photo frames are one of those product categories that seemed like a good idea at the time. As it turned out, no one really wanted a low-resolution LCD screen in their living room that needed to be plugged into a chunky power brick just to display pictures of their kids. New York-based startup Digital Objects believes it's fixed that problem with the EO1, "a framed high-definition screen and integrated computer that hangs on your wall and brings art from the Internet into your home." Or, as founder Jake Levine calls it, a screen that doesn't "make you feel like shit."

The EO1 is a 23-inch HD matte display that runs off an Cortex-A9 processor, more than enough to handle animated GIFs and javascript visualizations. You can load any image you want off the web, but the EO1 is really meant to be used with a digital storefront that offers images from both cultural organizations like the New York Public Library and the Museum of the Moving Image, and digitally native outlets like Digg, to.be and Giphy. But unlike previous attempts at creating a frame for digital art you can't take images off an SD card or load them via USB. You can't even connect a keyboard or mouse -- the EO1 is meant to be accessed via the company's iOS and Android apps.

As to whether the EO1 makes you feel like shit, it's hard to say -- the early prototypes we saw at Electric Objects' office still laid bare the inner workings of the device, with the earliest versions running Android on a Raspberry Pi. But the final version will tuck that all away, and the thick black plastic frame and matte finish wouldn't be out of place in an art gallery -- or suburban living room. It's a bit too heavy to hang on a single nail, though, and you're still going to have to plug it in, albeit with a cord resembling the one from the Macbook Air.

So while we're still not itching for a way to put our favorite GIFs on our office walls, apparently someone is -- the Electric Objects Kickstarter campaign has blown through its goal of $25,000 with over $200,000 in pledges in the first day. Some have even bought into the tier where you receive five EO1 units -- and we doubt they're buying them to show off the best Oprah GIFs.

Filed under: Displays

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Source: Electric Objects, Kickstarter

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'Watch Dogs' web app turns real data into a virtual surveillance state

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/watch-dogs-we-are-data-visualizations/

It seems like there's even more truth to developer Ubisoft's ode-to-hackers, Watch Dogs, than we first thought. Like we've previously reported, the game's depiction of a smart city that connects drawbridges, traffic lights and its population's smartphones (among other things) all to a single operating system is closer to fact than science-fiction, but the game studio has taken the notion one step further. With the We Are Data web app, you can wade through maps of publicly available geo-location information like tweets, Foursquare check-ins and even traffic light and CCTV camera placement -- all stuff you can find in the game's Chicago. As of now, you can only live out your Aiden Pearce fantasies with info from neighborhoods in London, Berlin and Paris, but there's quite a bit to click on should you be so inclined. The available datasets aren't nearly as extensive as, say, something like Urban Observatory's, but it's pretty neat nonetheless. If searching for public restroom-locations from your desk isn't quite your cup of tea, you could always leave the browser tab open in the background -- its ambient city sounds are oddly calming.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, HD

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Source: We Are Data

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drag2share: Supreme Court said Aereo is a cable company, so now it wants to be treated like one

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/aereo-survival-strategy/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Despite Aereo's best efforts, the Supreme Court decided that its service was too much like cable TV and therefore its unlicensed streaming of TV broadcasts were illegal. Now, after putting its service on pause, Aereo has filed a letter with the US District Court saying that since the Court said it's like a cable system, it is entitled to the same statutory license that cable companies pay broadcasters. CEO Chet Kanojia sent a message to users and supporters explaining "The Path Forward" with a link to the letter, but hasn't laid out a timeline for the service's return. That's one of the reason's broadcasters are still fighting the new move, saying (in the same letter) that it's "astonishing for Aereo to contend the Supreme Court's decision automatically transformed Aereo into a 'cable system' under Section 111 given its prior statements to this Court and the Supreme Court."

[Image credit: AP]

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LG has a very flexible 18-inch display, promises 60-inch rollable TVs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/09/lg-roll-up-tvs-flexible-oled/

It's been a while since we've seen any new curved or flexible displays following LG's G Flex and Samsung's Galaxy Round smartphones. LG Display is thinking bigger now. It's announced that it's been able to create an 18-inch OLED panel that has enough give and flexibility to roll into a tube that's a mere 3cm across. The prototype currently has a resolution of 1,200 x 810, while it's a new polyamide film on the back of the panel (instead of the typical plastic) which offers the panel substantially more flexibility -- and it's also even thinner.

Alongside the flexible demo, LG's also crafted a transparent OLED panel which has triple the transmittance of existing see-through LCD displays -- that means the picture looks much better and less hazy. According to LG Display's SVP and Head of R&D, In-Byung Kang, he's confident that "by 2017, we will successfully develop an Ultra HD flexible and transparent OLED panel of more than 60 inches." Crank up that resolution and bring on the roll-up TVs.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Science, LG

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Silent Circle expands its encrypted calling service to 79 countries

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/10/silent-circle-out-circle-expansion/

Silent Circle's mobile apps have helped make calls, messages and storing contacts more secure, but to enjoy its encryption benefits other people would need to use the same service. That could no longer be a problem for some, after the company announced its expanding its Silent Phone service to let users make truly private calls to non-Silent Circle members worldwide. While some users have been able to use the iOS and Android apps to make calls to standard mobile and landlines, like you would with Skype or Viber, Silent Circle's encrypted "Out-Circle" calling service was limited to users in a select number of countries. From today, subscribers enrolling in the service will be given a unique ten-digit Silent Phone number to make and receive calls in 79 countries without a roaming charge in sight. If you've ordered the Blackphone, you will, of course, be pre-subscribed to Silent Phone (although you'll have to set up Out-Circle separately) and the company's other anti-surveillance services. Starting at $12.95 for 100 minutes, Out-Circle isn't the cheapest package out there, but you can't put a price on privacy, right?

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

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Source: SIlent Circle: Out-Circle

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