Thursday 23 October 2014

​Sony Xperia Z3v Review: A Fantastic Phone With a Dated Design



​Sony Xperia Z3v Review: A Fantastic Phone With a Dated Design

More likely than not, you've owned at least one Sony product during your short time on Earth. Perhaps you rocked a Walkman, grew up gaming on PlayStation, or watched a favorite movie on... Betamax? You'll notice there's not a smartphone in that mix. But perhaps the Xperia Z3v—the v stands for Verizon—might convince you to pick one up.
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Turn Playgrounds Into Game Controllers With This Motion-Sensing Clip



Turn Playgrounds Into Game Controllers With This Motion-Sensing Clip


An afternoon spent playing on a smartphone or tablet isn't exactly the most healthiest way for a kid to spend their free time—but at this point mobile devices are a part of life and aren't going away. So a few enterprising folks came up with a clever over-sized clip called the Hybrid Play, that attaches to moving playground equipment and turns swings and teeter-totters into interactive game controllers. Kids don't have to give up their mobile games while ensuring they stay active enough to live past 35.
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Christian Bale to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic




Christian Bale will star as late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic from director Danny Boyle. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin confirmed the decision in an upcoming interview with Bloomberg Television today, adding that the Oscar-winning actor didn't even have to audition for the role.
"We needed the best actor on the board in a certain age range and that’s Chris Bale," Sorkin said. "He didn’t have to audition. Well, there was a meeting."
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Nike is working with Apple to expand the digital frontier of wearables




Although Nike seemingly abandoned future FuelBand hardware, the company is working closely with Apple to advance wearables overall. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Nike CEO Mark Parker says he is "bullish" on the company’s relationship with Apple. "As I look ahead at what's possible with Nike and Apple...technologically we can do things together that we couldn't do independently," explains Parker. "So yeah, that's part of our plan, is to expand the whole digital frontier in terms of wearables and go from...25 million Nike+ users to hundreds of millions."
While Parker doesn’t commit to any direct hardware work with Apple, his desire to grow the Nike+ user base hints at Nike’s plans to dominate fitness tracking as a service rather...
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Man turns iPad into tactile interface for whatever he wants




Florian Born's Modulares Interface B.A turns the iPad touchscreen into a modular mosaic of physical buttons, sliders, and knobs. The core idea behind the project is to find a solution for the lack of haptic feedback in multi-touch devices, such as Apple's famous tablets.
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Google is partnering with Oxford University to improve its A.I.




Google is assembling a team comprising some of the world's most renowned artificial intelligence researchers to create... something? Back in January, Google bought A.I. company DeepMind for a reported $400 million, and no one really knew why. Now,... read more

Some Xbox One users can already add custom backgrounds to the console




The folks in Microsoft's Xbox One update preview program are a pretty privileged bunch. Hot on the heels of this week's announcement that the next patch for its new console will bring custom backgrounds, Redmond's giving that access to the testers... read more

Microsoft Is Stopping Free Xbox Music Streaming



Microsoft Is Stopping Free Xbox Music Streaming

From December 1st you will no longer be able to stream Xbox Music for free on your PC, phone or favourite web-accessing device.
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China Scrambled 1,226 Troops to Stop a Single Drone



China Scrambled 1,226 Troops to Stop a Single Drone

When an unauthorized flight passed near Beijing airport yesterday, China scrambled 1,226 military personnel, 123 military vehicles, 26 radar technicians, two fighter jets and two helicopters to stop it. Turns out, it was a single mapping drone.
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Thursday 16 October 2014

Google reports $16.52 billion in revenue, profits stutter as ads move to mobile




Google posted mixed results for its third quarter this year. Revenue was $16.52 billion, not excluding traffic acquisition costs, a 20 percent rise over the same period in 2013. But its profit of $3.72 billion was down slightly from the same period in 2013, when it reported $3.76 billion in profit. Analysts were expecting the company to generate earnings per share of $6.53, but Google reported an EPS of $6.35. The stock was down a little, about 3 percent, based largely on that miss.
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Buy an iPad mini 2 while you still can




Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, spent roughly 29 seconds talking about the brand new iPad mini 3 today. Schiller is a man who's normally eager to showcase his company's latest hardware achievements, but this afternoon he sped over the 7.9-inch tablet in record time. There was a single slide dedicated to what's gone into the "upgraded" iPad mini. Apart from the addition of Touch ID, nothing looked different from last year. Apart from Touch ID, nothing is different from last year. And yet by the end of today's event, Apple somehow wound up with five iPads in its product family. Something's gone wrong.
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Apple's 2014 iPad event: A closer look at the numbers




There are a few things you can count on when Apple releases a new iPad: it will be thinner, it will be faster and there will be a LOT of hyperbole. Amidst the claims of magical devices, record-breaking sales and "very cool stuff" there are also a lot... read more

The Earth's Magnetic Field Could Flip Within a Single Lifetime



The Earth's Magnetic Field Could Flip Within a Single Lifetime

Earth's magnetic field is constantly shifting, and roughly every 200,000 to 300,000 years it flips north and south completely. We're currently overdue for a switcheroo—and scientists now say it could happen in a time as short as 100 years, potentially altering life in unexpected ways.
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Apple slipped some amazing SIM news in with the iPad Air 2


Apple slipped some amazing SIM news in with the iPad Air 2

Apple glazed over one of the coolest things it announced today by failing to mention it at all during its iPad Air 2iPad mini 3 and Retina iMac keynote.
In fact this breakthrough isn't even featured on Apple's main iPad Air 2 hub; you have to click through to the "wireless" page just to see it.
But when you do, you'll learn that Apple is launching a new "Apple SIM" that is more versatile than any SIM we've seen before.
According to Apple, it lets users choose from a number of different short-term wireless plans from select US and UK carriers - and you do it right from the iPad.

Travel bug

"So whenever you need it, you can choose the plan that works best for you - with no long-term commitments," the site says. Plus you can potentially choose short-term data plans from carriers in other countries when you travel.
The Apple SIM comes preinstalled with every iPad Air 2 that has cellular capabilities.
Participating carriers include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and EE in the UK, but hopefully more get on board soon.
It is a bit odd that Apple is debuting this awesome new capability in the iPad instead of the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, which launched in September, but no doubt Apple has its reasons.

Twitter's Audio Cards Put Music Right in Your Tweets



Twitter's Audio Cards Put Music Right in Your Tweets

Twitter is launching a new music feature that lets people embed audio in their tweets. This means just like you can put a photo or video in a tweet, you'll be able to insert audio soon too. Twitter is partnering with Soundcloud to let people listen to music in their timelines on iOS and Android.
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Casio Taps the 1980s for Its Retro Line of Smart (Looking) Watches



Casio Taps the 1980s for Its Retro Line of Smart (Looking) Watches

These days only people going for the ironic look would consider a gold digital watch a classy way to spruce up an outfit, but back in the 1980s they were cutting edge technology and high style. So Casio is bringing back a small collection of its swankiest designs in gold and silver for all you hipsters looking to complement your spats.
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Get OS X Yosemite Right Now [Direct Link]



Go Download OS X Yosemite Right Now

A few hours after announcing that it would soon be available, Apple has finally released OS X Yosemite to the public. Download it here right now.
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Saturday 11 October 2014

Report: Apple Pay To Launch One Week From Now



Report: Apple Pay To Launch One Week From Now

According to a leaked Walgreens memo seen by MacRumors, Apple Pay will go live for the pharmaceutical giant on October 18th. Given that Walgreens was listed as an Apple Pay launch partner, that could well mean that Apple Pay will go live nationwide in just seven days time.
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Marvel is releasing an adorable dancing baby Groot toy this December




The Gaurdians of the Galaxy market on Etsy is about to suffer a devastating blow. Why? Well, because Marvel has answered the pleas of fans and announced that it's releasing an officially-licensed dancing baby Groot toy to "all major retailers." Best... read more

Carl Zeiss' VR One is a $99 answer to the Samsung Gear VR




Virtual Reality isn't quite here yet, but it's starting to look like consumers will have plenty of options when it arrives: Gear VR caters to Samsung smartphone users, the consumer Oculus Rift is currently under development and Google has even... read more

Tuesday 7 October 2014

The Only Fix For That Terrible USB Malware Requires Epoxy



The Only Fix For That Terrible USB Malware Requires Epoxy

And it's only a partial fix at that. Last week, a couple of hackers released the code for malware that exploits a serious security flaw found in every single USB device , in hopes someone will come up with a fix. They've now released a partial solution themselves, and it involves coating your USB stick in epoxy.
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A Tour of 'San Fransokyo,' the Hybrid City Disney Built for Big Hero 6



A Tour of 'San Fransokyo,' the Hybrid City Disney Built for Big Hero 6

The upcoming movie Big Hero 6 represents the first-ever partnership between Marvel and Disney, two entities known for constructing fantastical universes. So it's not surprising that bringing the story to film also required building an entire city of the future: a blend of Tokyo and San Francisco named San Fransokyo.
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Microsoft To Hold Cloud Event In SF On October 20 With CEO Satya Nadella


Satya Nadella

Mark your calendars: Microsoft is coming to town. Again. On October 20, Microsoft’s cloud crew, including CEO Satya Nadella and its Azure boss, Scott Gutherie, will be in San Francisco to talk about the “cloud” and “Azure.” We don’t have much more than that at the moment, frustratingly. Microsoft is continuing its recent history of coming to the Bay Area,… Read More

Warner Bros. Fights Piracy with an Army of Bots that Mimic Humans



Warner Bros. Fights Piracy with an Army of Bots that Mimic Humans

Thanks to an $80 million lawsuit between Hotfile and the MPAA, a judge just ordered Warner Brothers to unseal records that explained the inner workings of their super secretive system to takedown pirated content. Now, the secret's out, and it's and the secret is "robots."
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Apple may have to adjust its orders for greater iPhone 6 Plus demand


Apple may have to adjust its orders for greater iPhone 6 Plus demand

Everyone in Texas knows that bigger is better, but apparently that lesson still hasn't fully sunk in in Cupertino.
Yes, Apple made the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus the biggest iPhones yet, particularly the latter, which matches the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 almost inch for inch.
But Apple also reportedly failed to anticipate just how many new iPhone customers would opt for the larger version of the smartphone, according to DigiTimes.
Now the company has been forced to adjust its supply ratios, ceding some iPhone 6 production so that iPhone 6 Plus production can be ramped up, the site's sources said.

Live and learn

This won't go into effect right away, as it can take some time for suppliers and manufacturers to adjust their processes and facilities.
Retailers might not see the difference for some time, but the immediate effect is that normal iPhone 6 shipments will reportedly be significantly lower moving forward as the supply chain plays catch-up on iPhone 6 Plus orders.

Facebook's reportedly working on a mobile app for anonymity




Social media giant Facebook drew ire from some users recently due to its strict real name policy. Some even fled for Ello -- madness! Now, it looks like Facebook's responding to complaints with a mobile app "that allows users to interact inside of... read more

Facebook ads are about to start showing up inside your apps




Today Facebook launched the Audience Network, its new ad network for mobile apps. Here's what that actually means: starting today, you're going to see "Facebook ads" inside the free apps you use. Today, those tiny, often-annoying annoying banner ads might be provided by Google, Flurry (Yahoo), or MoPub (Twitter). From now on, many of them will be provided by Facebook. And since Facebook knows a lot more about you than many of these companies, the ads you see inside apps might get creepier — or "more relevant." It's all about how you look at things.

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Nexus 6 benchmark shows it'll outdo the current top Androids


Nexus 6 benchmark shows it'll outdo the current top Androids

Nexus 6 benchmark has appeared, showing it'll outperform top phones like the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy S5.
A listing for the Nexus 6 has appeared on Geekbench, one of the top benchmarking utilities.
It shows the as-yet-unannounced phone will offer more power than the current crop despite, with any luck, costing significantly less.
The Nexus 6 scores 3199 points in the Geekbench 3 test, roughly 10 per cent more than top phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Of course, this isn't really anything to get too excited about – we more-or-less knew the phone was going to use a next-generation Snapdragon Qualcomm chipset that would outperform current models.

Nexus 6 specs

Other information leaked in the listing suggests the phone will have a 2.65GHz quad-core CPU, almost certainly the Snapdragon 805, and 3GB of RAM.
The phone may come to need that burst of extra power as the Nexus 6 is believed to have a 2,560 x 1,440-pixel screen – significantly higher than the 1080p standard. That said, we've not experienced major issues with the Snapdragon 801-equipped LG G3, which offers the same resolution.
Google has not officially announced the Nexus 6, but we expect to hear news of it soon – the Nexus 6 was announced on 31 October 2013, and annual phone updates run like clockwork these days.

Samsung is 'doomed' just like Apple is




I want to congratulate Samsung Electronics for matching Apple on a significant measure of a company's notoriety: analyst panics. Apple can't report its earnings without someone foretelling its fall from grace and now the same is true of Samsung. Last night, the Korean company issued a profit guidance that showed significant declines relative to its performance in the previous year: 20 percent lower total sales and a big 60 percent drop in operating profits. There are serious reasons for why this downward trend is worrisome for Samsung, but there's no cause for fatalism.

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Tesco wants robots and wearables to help shape the supermarket of the future




For Britain's supermarket chains, it's no longer just a case of selling food, it's about how you can do it better. Tesco has long thought about how technology can give it an edge over its rivals, but it's now experimenting with robotics, wearables... read more

Sunday 5 October 2014

After mapping ocean floor, crews renew search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370




Six months ago, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared with 239 passengers on board after departing from Kuala Lumpur. After an initial frantic search to find the Boeing 777's black boxes before their batteries petered out, rescue crews called off efforts and began a major undertaking to map the seafloor. Now, four months later, those maps are complete, and the search is beginning anew this month as three ships plan to scour the search area for debris by dragging a sensor device just 330 feet (100 meters) above the seabed at a speed of seven miles per hour, according to the Associated Press.
The device, known as a towfish, is equipped with sonar to produced detailed imagery of the ocean floor, and they are tethered to the ships with...
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Online Native Ads Are Held To Higher Standards Than Those On TV


shutterstock_87939406

National news programs have garnered news of their own recently for adopting native advertising as a source of income. “Good Morning America” recently aired interviews with the new Under Armour spokespeople, Lindsay Vonn and Gisele Bundchen, but only those who waited until the very end of the segment witnessed the “brought to you by” disclaimer. Though some social… Read More

Steve McQueen and Analog Synths Make a Music Video I Can't Stop Watching



Steve McQueen and Analog Synths Make a Music Video I Can't Stop Watching

There are few things I love in life more than Steve McQueen movies. And there's nothing else out there that sounds like analog synthesizer music. So when my Giz coworker Andrew Liszewski turned me on to this TRS-80 music video combining the two, I couldn't take my eyes or ears off it.
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Potato Chip Boat Proves There's Far Too Much Air In Your Bag of Snacks



Potato Chip Boat Proves There's Far Too Much Air In Your Bag of Snacks

We all know the frustration of tearing open a huge, tantalizing bag of chips or nachos or Funyons or whatever and realizing the bag's 2/3rds air. Two South Korean college students just proved how empty our snack vessels are, by paddling a raft made of unopened potato chip bags across a river.
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