Monday, September 08, 2014

HP's Chromebook-like 'Stream' laptop is real, but not as cheap as we thought

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/hp-stream/

Don't believe everything you read, kids. When we first saw leaks for the HP Stream, a $199 laptop primarily meant to be used online, like a Chromebook, we were pretty excited -- here was something as affordable as a Chrome OS device, but running full Windows. It turns out, however, that although the Stream is indeed a real product, it's not as cheap as we all thought. HP just formally unveiled it, and it's actually going to start at $300, not $199, as previously reported.

That disappointment aside -- a $199 Windows laptop would have been sweet -- the specs match up perfectly with the rumors. This is a 14-inch machine, with a 1,366 x 768 display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of local storage and a low-powered AMD A4 Micro processor that allows for a fanless design. On the outside, it looks similar to HP's Android-powered SlateBook, with bright-colored accents, two USB ports (3.0 and 2.0), an HDMI socket and a microSD slot. Even the weight is basically the same, at 3.8 pounds. Similar to how Chromebooks come with 100GB of Google Drive storage, the Stream will include 100GB of OneDrive space, free for two years.

The Stream ships later this month, on September 24th. The higher-than-expected price aside, we still hope to check one out -- ultimately, having more alternatives to Chromebooks is a good thing. Until then, what say you guys? Anyone out there buying? Sound off in the comments.

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This Technology Straight Out Of 'Minority Report' Is Real — And Soon We'll Be Using It Every Day

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/intel-realsense-technology-to-change-computers-2014-9

realsense blade4 gaming

This post is sponsored by Intel

Imagine you had the ability to video conference your boss at the beach while making it look like you were sitting in your living room. What if you could arrange photos on your computer by flicking your wrist, without even touching the screen? Or your computer could read your face and detect what emotions you were feeling, right at that moment?

While these futuristic abilities sound like scenes straight out of "Minority Report," they actually exist. Since 2012, Intel has invested a great deal of effort into its RealSense program. What Intel refers to as "perceptual computing" allows computers to "see" depth the way the human eye does, using an integrated 3D depth and 2D camera.

Business Insider Studios was recently given a personal tour of Intel's Innovation Lab, located in Santa Clara, to learn more about RealSense 3D technology. Intel's Director of Perceptual Computing Dr. Achin Bhowmik and Application Engineer Dmitry Ivanov led the tour, giving us a glimpse of several demos that showed the 3D camera in action.

"It's about giving the computer the ability to perceive the user and the world," explained Bhowmik. "As humans, we constantly see the world in 3D. We know how far things are, we know the shape of the environment around us. We wanted to add these same human-like senses to the computer to reinvent what the machine does."

RealSense 3D before after

What began as a bulky attachment in its beta stage has shrunk into a sliver of a device that can now be embedded into electronic equipment of almost any size. Intel's RealSense technology comes in three forms: a front-facing camera (which captures facial movements, tracks fingers and hands, and detects backgrounds and foregrounds), a rear-facing ca! mera (th at can scan and measure rooms and objects), and a snapshot camera (which can alter photo backgrounds after a photo has been taken).

Intel Hand Tracking.JPG

fedex.JPGOne can't help but ask: Do we really need this technology? What's wrong with using a controller to play a game? Or swiping your screen to flip through photos? Bhowmik argues that advances like this don't make us lazy, but rather make our lives easier. "The same argument was made for the automatic car," Bhowmik said. "Initially people thought, 'What's wrong with having a stick shift?' But automatic cars became hugely popular because they made people's lives easier — the same way touch screens simplified computing devices by replacing or augmenting the mouse."

By the end of 2014, Intel RealSense 3D cameras will come already installed in computer devices made by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Fujitsu, NEC, and Toshiba, to name a few. Brands like Crayola, Skype, Scholastic, and DreamWorks have plans to incorporate the technology into their individual applications. 

Bhowmik thinks computer devices are only the beginning for Intel RealSense technology. "This technology started with laptops and tablets, but we believe that it'll eventually be everywhere," said Bhowmik. "Everything that's autonomous — such as robots and drones — should have senses. The human senses receive information via seeing, hearing, touching, etc., and the human brain processes that information to allow comprehension of the physical world and enable effortless movements and interactions. The same should go for these devices."

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Article: Toshiba adds 1080p IPS display and Skullcandy audio to its Chromebook 2

Having joined the Chromebook party earlier this year with the first Chromebook to feature a 13-inch HD display, Toshiba has followed it up with its Chromebook 2. On display it IFA, Toshiba's second-generation Chromebook will come in two versions that continue the 13-inch display tradition and bri...

http://www.gizmag.com/toshiba-chromebook-2-ips-skullcandy/33711/

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The Big Picture: Infrared satellite images reveal the true extent of a forest fire

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/big-picture-infrared-satellite-imaging/

DigitalGlobe's satellite reveals a forest fire through infrared imaging

DigitalGlobe's recently launched high-res imaging satellite isn't just in orbit for the sake of creating pretty pictures; it can also uncover things that you might never see at all. As proof, the company has posted before-and-after imagery of a California forest fire that shows off the advantages of WorldView-3's shortwave infrared sensor, which can easily see past clouds and smoke. Suffice it to say that the sensor's effect is dramatic -- areas that would have been completely obscured are suddenly in plain sight, revealing both the perimeter of the blaze and its intensity. The hope is that firefighters will use overhead shots like these to pinpoint areas where they're needed most, saving people and whole regions. It could be a while before emergency teams are pulling up satellite views at a moment's notice, but it won't be surprising if aircraft-based fire recon eventually becomes obsolete.

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Source: DigitalGlobe

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Google's latest object recognition tech can spot everything in your living room

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/google-details-object-recognition-tech/

Google object recognition spots items in a living room

Automatic object recognition in images is currently tricky. Even if a computer has the help of smart algorithms and human assistants, it may not catch everything in a given scene. Google might change that soon, though; it just detailed a new detection system that can easily spot lots of objects in a scene, even if they're partly obscured. The key is a neural network that can rapidly refine the criteria it's looking for without requiring a lot of extra computing power. The result is a far deeper scanning system that can both identify more objects and make better guesses -- it can spot tons of items in a living room, including (according to Google's odd example) a flying cat. The technology is still young, but the internet giant sees its recognition breakthrough helping everything from image searches through to self-driving cars. Don't be surprised if it gets much easier to look for things online using only vaguest of terms.

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Google Research Blog

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