It's not a new image, but I just saw it popping again on my feed and I had the irresistible urge to get in there, to enjoy this bath during that sunset until I look like a California prune.
GPU maker Nvidia has been riding a wave of renewed relevancy lately as the popularity of deep learning continues to grow. Over the weekend, the company tried to capitalize even more on the craze by releasing a set of libraries called cuDNN that can be integrated directly into popular deep learnin...
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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-fire-phone-smartphone-99-cents-2014-9
Amazon dropped the price of its first smartphone, the Fire phone, from $199 to 99 cents with a two-year contract with AT&T.
Even with the slashed price, the phone still comes with a year of Amazon Prime, which includes free shipping on millions of items as well as a growing selection of free movies, books, and music.
Amazon launched the phone July 25, and it was widely seen as a bit of a flop with slow usage growth, according to market research (Amazon hasn't released any sales numbers).
The phone has two main unique features: Dynamic Perspective, which allows it to react to how it is held, and Firefly, which can scan more than 100 million objects and make it easy to buy them on Amazon.com.
Amazon also announced that Fire phone will be on sale in the U.K. and in Germany starting Sept. 30.
Here's the statement from the company:
Dynamic Perspective, Firefly, world-class customer support with Mayday, free unlimited cloud storage for photos, 32GB of storage—and, for a limited time, customers get 12 months of Prime membership with Fire phone, which includes unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes from Prime Instant Video, access to over a million songs to download or stream from Prime Music, over 500,000 books to borrow from Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and free two-day shipping on tens of mil! lions of items. Now there’s another great reason to buy Fire—it’s just 99 cents with a two-year contract. Customers can purchase Fire on www.amazon.com, www.att.com and in AT&T stores nationwide.
“Fire is now 99 cents with a two-year contract, plus customers get one full year of Prime included,” said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Devices. “With access to all of the Prime content, Mayday, 32GB of memory and free unlimited cloud storage for photos, plus the exclusive Dynamic Perspective and Firefly features, Fire is another example of the value Amazon delivers to customers.”
SEE ALSO: We Wanted To See If People Were Excited About Amazon's Fire Phone — Here's What We Found
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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.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/intel-realsense-technology-to-change-computers-2014-9
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."
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).
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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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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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/big-picture-infrared-satellite-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.
Filed under: Science
Source: DigitalGlobe
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/google-details-object-recognition-tech/
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.
Via: GigaOM
Source: Google Research Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/05/intel-core-m-chips-detailed/
Indisputably, the star of this year's IFA show is going to be wearables: round ones, flashy ones, head-covering ones. After that, though, you're also going to see a lot of super-thin tablets and 2-in-1 PCs, many of them made possible by Intel's new low-power Core M chips. Intel first teased these processors earlier in the summer, in the form of a 7.2mm-thick tablet that was even thinner than the iPad Air. Now many such systems are about to go on sale, which means it's time for Intel to fully explain what these new chips are capable of.
To be clear, although these CPUs fall into the "Broadwell" family -- the one that comes after the current Haswell line -- these are not the replacements for Intel's fourth-generation Core processors, the ones inside most new high-end laptops. Those won't come until sometime next year. Rather, Core M is the follow-on to the current "Y series" of Haswell processors, which are already used in some 2-in-1 PCs, like this one. Indeed, Core M is also meant for 2-in-1's (plus super-thin notebooks); it just promises faster performance and longer battery life. You know, like you'd expect on a new chip.
Because Intel moved from a 22-nanometer process with Haswell to a 14-nanometer one with Broadwell, this new crop of PCs will be both thinner and lighter than was previously possible for a full-fledged PC. In particular, Intel says some of these devices will measure as little as 7mm thick, though the company has warned from the beginning that not every Core M device will be as thin as that iPad Air-like tablet we mentioned earlier. Again, all this is possible thanks to some significantly shrunken components. The motherboard alone is 25 percent smaller and is now about as wide as a dime and slightly taller than a quarter. In total, the die size is now 37 percent smaller.
As for power consumption, the power draw can go up to 6W, though Intel says the typical TDP for systems on the market will be 4.5W. As a result, the company claims you can expect up to 1.7 hours more battery life versus Haswell-Y depending on the use case, with the biggest gains coming from local 1080p video playback. These systems should run cool enough, too, that just about all of them will be fanless. (You could technically do this with a 4.5W-TDP Haswell CPU, though most PC makers chose not to.) Additionally, Intel says CPU performance is up to 50 percent faster, with Intel's integrated HD 5300 graphics notching a 40 percent performance improvement.
Other features of these processors include Wireless Display 5.0; Intel's Smart Sound technology, which allows the device to wake on voice; and native support for PCIe storage disks. Core M chips will eventually support the WiGig wireless docking standard as well -- just not at launch, according to Intel. That last bit is important, as it's a key step in Intel's plan to one day enable PCs with zero cables or ports.
All told, more than 20 models with Core M are on the way, according to Intel. For now, Intel is shipping three different processor SKUs, the specs of which you can find in the table below. More CPU options will follow early next year, including some vPro-enabled chips for corporate-issued machines. Eventually, too, Intel still says prices will drop as low as $599 -- just don't count on seeing anything that cheap right away. Everything you'll see here at IFA is likely to be a bit pricier.
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Intel
Source: Intel
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/05/another-levitating-bluetooth-speaker/
When I met with OM Audio in Manhattan to check out what the company was calling the "world's first levitating Bluetooth speaker," I didn't bat an eye. I had never myself seen a levitating speaker before that day, and a thorough internet search turned up nil. As it turns out, a Taiwanese company has been showing off a very similar (albeit non-functioning) device for months. ASWY, based in Taipei, is here at IFA in Berlin demoing a production-ready version of its own speaker, which at this stage looks much more polished than the OM Audio prototype I saw last month. Audio quality is quite good, as well, and while a noisy trade show floor isn't the best place to test a speaker, it sounded better than the OM model I was able to experience in a silent room.
ASWY's product, simply called the Floating Bluetooth Speaker, has three watts of output, five hours of battery life and Bluetooth 4.0 support. You can also plug an audio source directly into the 3.5mm input, and, since there's an integrated mic, you can use the device as a speakerphone as well. Like with OM Audio's version, you'll need to use a powered base to keep the speaker in the air, but it'll operate untethered as well. The base also includes an integrated USB port, so you don't need to use a secondary adapter to charge up the device (though you can if you like). ASWY reps expect distributors to sell the speaker for $149 beginning this November. Check out the demo video below to get a feel for how it works -- we captured the audio straight from a mic attached to an Olympus E-M1 camera, and for a portable Bluetooth speaker, it really does sound good.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Source: http://lifehacker.com/create-customizable-geomaps-with-google-sheets-1630493802
If you want to display a range of data by region, you need a GeoMap. You may not have known this, but it's quite easy to create your own in Google Sheets after entering your data.
Highlight the data and go to Insert > Charts. On the charts tab of the new window you can select maps and choose which type of map you want. On the customize tab you can choose the colors and select which region you want. I created a map for the U.S., but you can choose to create a map for the world instead, or a select number of other regions.
6 Powerful Google Drive Features You're Probably Not Using | PC World
Source: http://gizmodo.com/that-wonderful-sony-short-throw-4k-projector-costs-as-m-1630944892
If you love short-throw projectors and hate money, you can officially purchase Sony's delightful short throw 4K projector for a grand total of $50,000 American dollars
Source: http://gizmodo.com/dells-27-inch-5k-monitor-is-like-filet-mignon-for-your-1630946185
For those who like to really spoil their eyes, Dell's new 27-inch monitor services them a whopping resolution of 5120×2880. That works out to 14.7 million pixels in total, and 218 PPI. That's just a hair shy of the 15-inch MacBook Pro's 220 PPI, on a display that's nearly twice the diagonal lenth. Wowza.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/05/philips-new-curved-tv-and-4k-media-player-run-on-android/
Philips has just revealed a new lineup of 4K TVs, along with a way to actually play something on them. The standout model is the curved, 55-inch curved Philips 8900 that brings Smart TV features via Android. That gives you access to the Google Play Store for apps, games and content and an interface you may find less miserable more comfortable if you're used to Android. The set itself uses Philips' three-sided Ambilight and micro dimming to adapt the viewing experience to your room, along with a 1,000 Hz refresh rate, high-quality upscaling and a curved "ribbon" stand. Unlike Samsung and others, Philips didn't explain exactly why it thought a curved screen was a good thing, other than hyping its "striking appearance" (hey, at least they're honest).
Philips (or rather TP Vision, the awkwardly-named company that markets Philips TVs) also showed off the Philips 9100, a flat, high-end model UltraHD TV in 55- and 65-inch sizes. It also gets Smart TV functions powered by Android, and the 1,000 Hz refresh rate, upscaling, and four-sided Ambilight glow. But the model's piece de resistance is Spotify integration, letting you control music with your smartphone, without actually tying it up for streaming. Unlike the curved model, it also ships with a 50 watt subwoofer.
For the budget set, TP Vision launched the Philips 7900 UltraHD TVs in 49- and 55-inch sizes. Those models are also powered by Android, but have knocked-down specs like two-sided Ambilight only (instead of four-sided), and 600Hz refresh rates -- two features that purists won't care about anyway. Like the rest of the models, the 7900 also sports minimal bezels.
Finally, if you're tired of upscaling HD content, TP Vision also announced the Philips Media Player UHD 880, joining Samsung, Sony and a few others with such a box. It'll work with all the new Philips models as well as those from 2013 and use a new HEVC streaming format (aka H.265), the standard used by video services like Netflix. The UHD 880 will be powered by Google's upcoming Android L OS, giving users the store, apps and games that also come on the TVs. Other features include WiFi, ethernet, USB and HDMI 2.0. It'll run 249 euros when it arrives in Europe early next year, but if you bought an 8000- or 9000-series model like the first two above, Philips will throw it in for free. Meanwhile, all three new 4K model lines will arrive to Europe in Russia sometime this quarter, but there's no word yet on pricing.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/05/rebecca-minkoffs-luxury-wearable/
Some fashionistas wouldn't be caught dead wearing certain smartwatches, okay? That's why you see all these fancy wearables pop up these days, including a handful of new offerings from American designer Rebecca Minkoff. Her collection's comprised of two high-tech, high-fashion bracelets like Intel's MICA, as well as a golden phone charger, made in collaboration with luxury phone casing maker Case-Mate. Each bracelet has its own function, so it wouldn't be redundant to wear them both: the $120 gold chain-linked one connects to your phone via Bluetooth and alerts you of calls and texts from chosen contacts. The $60 studded leather bracelet, on the other hand, transforms into a lightning cable that connects to a USB cable for times when you badly need to charge.
Minkoff's the latest designer to cross over to tech from the fashion industry, following in the footsteps of Diane Von Furstenberg who designed stylish frames for Google Glass, Tory Burch who teamed up with Fitbit to create a special Flex tracker, and Ralph Lauren who recently launched a smart shirt for athletes. We'll likely hear more about these bracelets when Minkoff launches them today at New York Fashion Week, though they seem pretty straightforward, so it may be best not to expect more features.Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Via: Stylelist
Source: Rebecca Minkoff
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