The Technology Thread

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The Genius Behind the iPod Is Now In Charge of Google Hardware

If you're curious about the future of Google hardware, just look at Nest. That's according to the Verge and the Information, which published a piece today claiming that Nest CEO Tony Fadell has been put in charge of Google's consumer hardware division. Fadell, it bears mentioning, was the lead designer of the iPod. Fate is a funny thing, isn't it?

Based on the report, Fadell "owns" the consumer hardware division at Google—that includes everything from the Pixel to Chromecast. Though Google doesn't actually make most of the hardware it puts its name on, the acquisition of Nest indicates that may soon change. Meanwhile, Nest itself just bought Dropcam, the cloud-based surveillance camera company, which means that Google now owns Dropcam, too. So though we think of Google as a company that doesn't focus in hardware, it already owns two companies that make a bevvy of advanced products, from thermostats to cameras.

And in that light, Fadell is definitely the right man for the job. Looking back a decade, Fadell led the charge in transforming another technology conglomerate struggling to find its footing in the consumer hardware market: Apple. As the Senior VP of Apple's iPod division, Fadell was the originator of the first iPods on the market. And during his tenure there, he transformed a niche product into a cultural phenomenon.

It was remarkable coup for Apple, and it sounds as though Google is interesting in borrowing a little of that magic for its own struggling hardware efforts. But that doesn't mean buying Nest was all about buying its CEO. No—Google is just as interested in the company (and its data) as it is in its CEO's brilliance as a designer.

https://www.theinformation.com/Google-larry-page-right-hand-man

Well this could lead to some very cool stuff in the future

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The ISS Is Getting an X-Ray Machine That Works in Space

Human bodies are of course not built for microgravity. We've long known that astronauts lose bone mass, but studying the process in space is tricky. The International Space Station is getting its first medical X-ray to examine on-board lab mice and rats. But making a space X-ray machine was no easy task.

The Bone Densitometer developed by Techshot will finally let astronauts study how rodents lose bone mass in real-time. It's essentially a modified version of a common, microwave-sized lab machine, but getting it to work in space required some clever engineering. For one, you don't want a mouse floating around in the machine, so the tray has a sticky, reusable, Post-it note-like surface. As New Scientist explains, some basic components were also replaced to live up to NASA's space safety standards.

For example, the scanner's wires are normally insulated with polyvinyl chloride. This material can produce a toxic gas when heated, a serious hazard in the cramped quarters of the ISS. The space-ready scanner uses Teflon instead. And stainless steel components replaced any made of tin or zinc, as these metals can grow slender crystalline "whiskers" that might break off and cause damage.

The Bone Densitometer—along with 20 live mice and rats—is expected to blast off in August aboard the newt SpaceX next cargo supply trip. The rodents will have a couple of months to acclimate to space (and lose bone mass) before experiments start in December.

http://www.newscientist.com/article...RSS|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|online-news#.U6hWDo1dWTQ

This is great news and will have a direct impact on the space faring future of humanity

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

How the "Spirit" of Japan Is Helping Build a Better Stealth Fighter

Our relationship with Japan has improved considerably over the last several decades, but this chummy relationship definitely has its limits, which manifests specifically inAmerica's unwillingness to sell Japan any of our new F-22s. That's why Japan has decided to build a better warbird than the Raptor, all on its own.

Our refusal to share the new plane wasn't the only factor. The primary reason was that, at the start of the century, the Japanese Self Defense Force's stable of Mitsubishi F-22s and and F-15s were quickly becoming obsolete, hence their overtures of buying a few Raptors from the US. Upon that refusal, Japan took it upon itself to domestically develop a 5th Generation stealth fighter jet to augment its aging flyers. And after nearly a decade of development, the initial prototype for the platform is nearly ready to fly: the ATD-X (Advance Technology Demonstrator-X), nicknamed ShinShin ("Spirit"), a technological testbed and showcase for Japan's most cutting-edge avionics.

The ATD-X, being a single-seat demonstrator, measures 46.5 feet long with a 30 foot wingspan—that's only 1/3 the size of what the production aircraft would measure. But despite its chibi size, the ATD-X is loaded with among the most advanced flight systems on Earth.

While many of its systems are still under wraps, initial reports suggest that its engines will utilize 3D thrust vectoring to help control the aircraft while lessening its reliance on aerodynamic control surfaces. the engines themselves are thought to be incredibly powerful, especially given their slender stature. As Aviation Week explains,

The power of the IHI demonstrator engine is surprising. It would generate 50% more thrust than the General Electric F414, two of which power the BoeingF/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The Super Hornet's thrust is not notably high for its empty mass, 14.6 tons (32,100 lb.), but in a twin-engine installation the output of the IHI demonstrator would be abundant for a larger, budget-straining aircraft. It does seem that Japan is looking for a twin aircraft: In a single installation, the engine would be adequate for only a modestly sized fighter, hardly suitable as an F-15 replacement.

The ATD-X is also rumored to employ fly by optics controls, which is like fly-by-wire but using the massive increase in data throughput speeds that fiber optic cables provide. What's more, fiber optics aren't affected by EMP blasts, thereby fortifying the aircraft against such attacks. And in addition to its Multifunction RF Sensor, which handles both electronic countermeasures (signal jamming) and electronic support measures (signal boosting), the entire skin of the plane may be impregnated with antennas to help actively reflect radar beams, making the plane as stealthy as it wants to be. And while the demonstrator isn't armed, there have been rumors that the production fighter might be outfitted with microwave-based weaponry.

[YT]6f_llNeQl7s[/YT]

The most fascinating system however may well be the proposed Self-Repairing Flight Control Capability. This electronic nervous system will be able to detect faults and damage to the aircraft's flight control surfaces and recalibrate, while in flight, the remaining control surfaces so as to maintain control of the aircraft.

The JASDF expects the STD-X's maiden test flight to take place later this year. If everything goes according to schedule, the 5th gen fighter, dubbed the F-3, will enter production around 2027.

http://www.defenceaviation.com/2014/01/the-importance-of-mitsubishi-atd-x-shinshin-to-japan.html

With all the problems the US military has been having with their new birds we just may be the ones doing the buying for these bad boys in the future

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Chicago's New Lamp Posts Will Track Pollution and Count People

The walls—or lamp posts, at least—have ears. Chicago is rolling out some new street furniture, and it will be able to measure air quality, monitor noise and even count pedestrians.

The Chicago Tribune explains that the "curled metal fixtures" will appear on Michigan Avenue lamp posts as soon as July, and will measure air quality, light intensity, sound volume, heat, precipitation, and wind. They'll also monitor cell phone traffic to count the number of people passing by.

A joint initiative between the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, the idea is to gather fine-grained detail about what's happening within the city, to understand how people use it—and impact upon it—better. In turn, it should help show where air pollution is on the rise, or if a narrow sidewalks are creating choke points.

Residents worried about privacy should be able to rest fairly easy, though: the project is designed to store the data it collects in anonymous forms. "Most companies don't care about you, they care about people like you," Gary King, director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences at Harvard University, told the Tribune.

It's not the first time a city has gathered Big Data from its streets, but it could be first time permanent infrastructure has rolled out across an entire urban landscape. If initial trials go to plan, there will be "hundreds more across the city in years to come as the project expands into neighborhoods," and planners hope it will provide a permanent system of data collection boxes for researchers.

Watch_Dogs is real!

Although it's a tad on the creepy side it is also pretty cool and could lead to a lot of valuable info about the city

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The Military's Mini X-Ray Camera Can See Through Your Suitcase

American Science and Engineering (AS&E) just released a tiny new X-ray gun with some impressive capabilities. Roughly the size of a breadbox, the Mini Z Backscatter imaging system can find contraband in bags and see through car doors. It could also someday also be plugged into Oculus Rift for a full-on X-ray goggle experience.

The Z in Mini Z refers the company's mobile ZBV imaging system which is basically an X-ray-equipped cargo truck that can see into shipping containers. The new handheld version works the same way but on a much smaller scale. The tool allows authorities to scan objects on the fly—say, bags at a security checkpoint—or in hard-to-reach places—like under airplane seats. Since AS&E is the same company that makes giant body scanners at airports, it's uniquely suited to such a task.

The Mini Z can't see through everything. (It's also not a weapon.) It's great at peering through fabrics and sheets of metal, though brick walls remain a bit of a challenge. The imaging system is also tuned to pick up on organic materials, like drugs, currency, and explosives. What's maybe most impressive is not only how it shrunk X-ray tubes down to a handheld size but also its ability to shoot X-ray beams continuously and send the image to a nearby laptop or tablet. It also only uses about 10 watts of power, a trickle compared to the 3,000 watts the larger imaging systems use. It also costs $50,000, about half of what the larger systems cost.

So far, AS&E has been marketing the new Mini Z to the military, law enforcement, and border patrol operations. They're serious about the Oculus compatability, too. All it would take the military to have fully functional X-ray glasses is a little bit of software development. "It's one of the first things we thought of for this, " AS&E vice president Joe Reiss told Defense One. What's the hold up on the development piece, then? It seems like we should probably give our soldiers as many Superman-like capabilities as possible, right?

http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2014/06/military-now-has-x-ray-guns/86965/?oref=d-river

More cool X-ray tech. Amazing that they can shrink this stuff down so small now.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

For $10,000 This Company Will Turn Your Audi Into An Autonomous Car

If you're unwilling to wait for Google or an automaker to bring an autonomous vehicle to market, Cruise will sell you the privilege for $10,000. The start-up says it can retrofit your ride with cameras, sensors, and computers to enable semi-autonomous driving. But it's only for Audis and it's not fully baked.

The kit is called the RP-1, and it's only available for the 2012 or newer Audi A4 and S4, and will only be sold in California, where Google has spearheaded autonomous car regulations.

The kit includes an array of sensors that mount to the top of the car, along with actuators to control the steering, brakes, and accelerator, and a computer mounted in the trunk to control it all. Basically, it's what Mercedes already offers on the S-Class, sans a roof wart.

Cruise is only making 50 to start, won't deliver them until next year, and it will only work on highways in the Bay Area. So yeah, it's a new toy for VCs and Facebook stock lottery winners.

Like Google's far more expensive systems ($75-100k per car), Cruise's setup still relies on mapping data to keep cars from pin-balling around. Without detailed maps, it can't traverse even the straight expanses of west Texas highways. And it also doesn't work in rain, fog, or even the dark.

And then there's the liability issue. How is a startup – even one headed by the same guy that founded a handful of companies that have been sold to Autodesk and Google – going to handle the legal ramifications if something goes wrong. Cruise isn't saying, yet.

But it does admit that the system is still in its formative days, and it's in the process of doing closed course and endurance testing, and then plans to bring in third parties to evaluate the safety. But with Mercedes and Infiniti already offering similar integrated systems, and Cadillac, BMW, and others launching their own next year, the question is whether a $10,000 retrofit without the backing of a large OEM is really worth your cash and safety. Based on the number of Google Glass adopters in the Bay Area, that's probably a resounding "Yes!"

[YT]uEQqQj_zyHI[/YT]

http://www.getcruise.com/

I think I will pass until this tech gets more fleshed out. I guess I will just have to drive my Audi the old fashioned way

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Inside the Disaster Housing NYC Is Testing For City Emergencies

More than eight million people live in NYC. And when a natural or human-made disaster strikes, there's a good chance it'll leave some New Yorkers without homes. That's why this summer, NYC's Office of Emergency Management is testing out a fast, cheap, and comfortable solution: Meet the Prototype.

Technically, it's called the Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype, a three unit temporary home built to replace urban housing destroyed in a natural disaster. The units can be deployed as soon as six months after a disaster, which seems like a long time to me—but it turns out that where long-term temporary housing is concerned, that's lightening-fast.

This month, New York City's Office of Emergency Management, headquartered in a tucked-away building near the Brooklyn entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, has opened up a mock of the prototype, which it plans on using in natural disaster relief zones where homes have been completely destroyed.

Each unit consists of two one-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom apartment. The unit will remain open for a year as studies will be made on living inside the units.

The idea is to make sure the home fully functions in a way to provide successful densely populated urban area post-natural disaster relief. That means giving people access enough space to live normal lifestyles—rather than forcing them into cramped or ill-fitted spaces. The units are furnished and built with accessibility in mind.

The Prototype was designed by local New Yorkers—Garrison Architects—after the Army put out a request for proposals in January of 2013. A little over a year later, the building was assembled here at the OEM, and the city, in partnership with Pratt, will study and evaluate the structure over the summer.

If you're interested in seeing the structure for yourself, you can go check it out, since it's located on the corner of Cadman Plaza East and Red Cross Place in Brooklyn. Hopefully, this is the only time New Yorkers will have to see these shelters up close.

http://www.garrisonarchitects.com/

I always wondered where all the people would go if something crazy happened in NYC. If you live near the area go check it out and let us know what you think!

 

[Teelie]

How the "Spirit" of Japan Is Helping Build a Better Stealth Fighter

Spoiler

http://www.defenceaviation.com/2014/01/the-importance-of-mitsubishi-atd-x-shinshin-to-japan.html

With all the problems the US military has been having with their new birds we just may be the ones doing the buying for these bad boys in the future

As nice and efficient as this may be, the existing military-industrial complex would never give up their exclusive rights to price-gouge the American government on shoddily designed, built, over-due, and maintanence-intensive expensive hardware.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Disgraced News Corp Executive Found Not Guilty in Phone Hacking Case

Rebekah Brooks, the former News Corp executive and News of the World editor charged with hacking a murdered 13-year-old's cell phone, was found not guilty today. Andy Coulson, Brooks's lover and successor at News of the World, who later became David Cameron's communications director, was found guilty on one count of conspiring to intercept communications.

Jurors are still deliberating on two other charges against Coulson and a charge against former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman. The other defendants in the case, including Stuart Kuttner, the tabloid's former managing editor, were acquitted.

The trial lasted eight months, and centered around revelations that News of the World had listened in on the phone calls of figures in the news, including celebrities, crime victims, and the royal family. Brooks was charged with accessing the voicemail of Milly Dowler, a missing teenager who was later found dead, in 2002.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...nd-not-guilty-of-hacking-bribery-charges.html

Anyone even remotely involved with this needs to being doing some time IMO

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

San Francisco Asks Apple to Crack Down on "Predatory" Parking Apps

Despite the tech-friendly climate within City Hall, San Francisco is coming down on a new breed of parking spot-sharing apps. The city issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Apple pull them from the App Store for violating California law.

The letter primarily targets MonkeyParking, an app that launched this Spring promising drivers $150 per month to squat in one of San Francisco's underpriced street parking while nearby drivers bid for it. In other words, the Rome-based "sharing economy" startup arbitraged the taxpayer-subsidized cost of parking. MonkeyParking's profits came from motorists camped out in popular areas while hapless circling drivers tried to outbid each other.

Appifying the homeless man standing in a parking spot and demanding a tip proved too much for San Francisco. In a press release, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera slammed the spot-sharing apps for profiting off a public resource:

"Technology has given rise to many laudable innovations in how we live and work — and Monkey Parking is not one of them," Herrera said. "It's illegal, it puts drivers on the hook for $300 fines, and it creates a predatory private market for public parking spaces that San Franciscans will not tolerate. Worst of all, it encourages drivers to use their mobile devices unsafely — to engage in online bidding wars while driving. People are free to rent out their own private driveways and garage spaces should they choose to do so. But we will not abide businesses that hold hostage on-street public parking spots for their own private profit."

Herrera's cease-and-desist demand to Monkey Parking includes a request to the legal department of Apple Inc., which is copied on the letter, asking that the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant immediately remove the mobile application from its App Store for violating several of the company's own guidelines. Apple App Store Review Guidelines provide that "Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are made available to users" and that "Apps whose use may result in physical harm may be rejected."

Herrera's action also targets two other similar apps, Sweetch and ParkModo. The latter recently hired drivers off Craigslist, offering "$13.00 per hour to occupy public parking spaces in the Mission District."

San Francisco isn't completely cold on the idea of enabling "surge pricing" on street parking, as long as its the city's own version. SFpark, the city's variable, demand-based meter pricing program, has been deemed a success by city officials, progressives, and transit-first activists alike. Now San Francisco intends on rolling out the program city-wide.

Meanwhile, all three apps have been given until July 11th to cease operations, or the city will find them "potentially liable for civil penalties of $2,500 per transaction for illegal business practices."

http://www.sfcityattorney.org/index.aspx?page=599

Things getting serious over in San Fran. Something tells me though they wouldn't have much of a problem with it if they didn't have their own comparable service

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

This Beautiful Watch Is Actually a Fitness Tracker

If you've been waiting for a smartwatch that looks beautiful in a more traditional sense, your wait might be over. The new Withings Activité is a fitness tracker that can really hold its own in terms of style.

The Swiss-made timepiece from the makers of the Withings Pulse can't show you text messages on your wrist, but it can track the steps you take, the calories you burn, your sleeping patterns, and the distance you've traveled. It comes in both black and white, with a stainless steel case, a nigh-unbreakable sapphire glass face that acts as a simple touchscreen to toggle between settings, and real leather bands you can swap out for plastic ones if you're feeling particularly active.

Information that's not the time is displayed on the Activité's secondary face, which can show your percentage progress to a step goal or a sleep goal. Data beyond that is, of course, beamed back to the Withings Health Mate app on your iPhone (iOS only!) for in-depth perusal.

This beauty comes at a price though. When the Activité goes on sale this fall it'll cost a hefty $390, but for a watch that doesn't look like crap, that doesn't seem completely outrageous. While the Pebble Steel is pretty slick and the upcoming Android Wear hardware has a flair all its own, you'll be hard pressed to find a wearable with this much style. It's just a matter of how much it's worth to you.

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/withings-unveils-a-slick-fitness-tracker-disguised-as-an-analog-watch/

Looks really slick, something a lot of smart watches are missing

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google's Getting Ready to Sell You Domain Names

Google just announced a new service called Domains. It does exactly what you'd imagine it would: Helps you buy and manage domain names. Google Domains also helps you build your site, set up email addresses, and manage hosting. In effect, you can run an entire website without ever leaving the Google ecosystem.

This sounds both incredibly convenient and a little bit scary. Right now, buying and managing domains is a huge pain and often leads to dealing with awful companies like GoDaddy. Google wants to fix that with a seamless new service that lets you find, purchase, and/or transfer domains. When you use Google's service, you'll automatically get 100 email addresses and up to 100 custom subdomains. Visitors will be routed through Google's own DNS system, so they can expect a fast, dependable connection.

So that's good news. While Google Domains is only available through an invite-only beta, we can only imagine that it'll make it easier and maybe even cheaper to deal with domains. (Let's face it: Google doesn't have to do much to make its service better than what's out there.) Google has also partnered with companies like Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly, and Wix.com to provide support when building a new website for your new domain.

But once you start thinking about it, this means that Google will soon be a one-stop shop for small businesses on the web. Again, it's convenient, but we'd imagine that selling domains and helping build websites is a great way for Google to compel people to sign up for Google advertising services and enterprise tools like Drive. This makes good business sense for Google. However, some small business might not want to give Google so much control over their online presence. God knows, Google's burned us all in the past.

It feels a little monopolistic of Google, one of the world's largest internet companies, to try and take control of even more of the internet. That said, just because Google's trying to take control, doesn't mean they will. Google Domains sounds like a good idea. Let's just hope Google treats it as such.

https://plus.google.com/+GoogleBusiness/posts/Dkhw41XJigw

As it stands, I think the good outweighs the bad here but only time will tell for how long

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

You Can Now Chat Between iOS and Android Even Without Reception

FireChat, the elegant mesh networking app that lets you talk to you friends without an internet connection, just got even better. While you've been able to use the app on iOS and Android devices separately for months, a new version of the app lets you cross the platforms. It sounds pretty neat!

The update, FireChat Love, lets you create a network where any iOS device can connect to any Android device. The old version of the app would only let you connect iOS-to-iOS or Android-to-Android. So there's no longer a need to discriminate between friends based on their choice of device when creating a mesh network. You can now just discriminate against who you actually want to talk to.

http://gigaom.com/2014/06/24/firech...-can-now-chat-without-an-internet-connection/

This is very cool and has been needed for a long time

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

This Super Simple Tourniquet Will Save a Soldier's Life in 25 Seconds

Throughout both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, IEDs have been the leading cause of death and dismemberment for US servicemen and women—mostly because the pelvic and upper leg injuries that they generate can't easily be treated with conventional tourniquets. That's why a former combat medic went ahead and redesigned the device for 21st century combat.

The SAM Junctional Tourniquet, developed on commission by Portland-based design firm Ziba for SAM Medical, is purpose-built for the chaos following an IED attack. The belt weighs just over a pound and can be deployed in under 25 seconds simply by following the simple visual instructions printed right there on the belt. Unlike older tourniquet designs, the SAM is capable of treating injuries at the waist thanks to an air-fillable bladder hidden under the nylon mesh.

The SAM tourniquet recently won FDA approval and 1200 units have since been sent to combat areas, where they're already saving lives.

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/an-ultra-simple-tourniquet-thats-saving-our-soldiers-lives/

Anything that helps save our soldiers lives is great, I can also see this doing great things in the consumer market as well, especially in war torn countries

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

New Software Can Spot Rare Genetic Diseases From Family Photographs

Spotting rare genetic disease is, by definition, a little tricky. But now a team of scientists from the University of Oxford has developed software that can spot such conditions by analyzing family photographs.

Many genetic conditions are known to exist but impossible to test for, because the gene variants that cause them haven't actually yet been identified. Instead, doctors often rely on pronounced facial features to make a diagnosis, because up to 40 percent of rare disorders give rise to distinctive differences in appearance.

If that sounds like it lacks rigor, it's because it does; very few clinicians are trained in this way, and even then it's hard work and open to subjectivity. Step in Christoffer Nellåker and Andrew Zisserman, who work in the field of computer vision and have developed a machine learning algorithm that is able to recognize a variety of rare genetic conditions from simple digital photographs, reports New Scientist.

Their algorithms were initially fed 1,363 publicly available pictures of people with eight genetic disorders—including Down's syndrome, fragile X syndrome and progeria—and spotted 36 distinct facial features that could be used to distinguish between the conditions. It worked well, but it's been expanded to spot over 90 disorders, and it's claimed that it makes it 30 times more likely that a patient will be correctly diagnosed. The results are published in eLife.

It's impressive stuff, and will be most valuable in countries where medical resources are scant. In developing countries where clinical genetics is missing entirely, children may soon be diagnosed with more accuracy than they could ever have hoped.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/elifesciences.org/lookup/doi/10.7554/elife.02020

That is a pretty amazing advancement in facial recognition tech

 

[KevanG]

Eventually Google will attempt to take control of companies only to realize they just bought them from themselves.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Robotic Forklift Valet Doesn't Even Need To See Inside Your Messy Car

Travellers flying out of Duesseldorf airport in Germany no longer have to worry about valets taking their cars for a joyride before they're parked. A robot valet nicknamed Ray starts work today, and he'll automatically deliver cars to a set of designated spots without even having to start them.

Ray doesn't even need to enter the vehicle, because it actually works as a large forklift that's capable of lifting vehicles up to 3.3 tons in weight. Travellers just park their car in a designated pickup spot, use a smartphone app to indicate it's ready to go, and the robot will automatically deliver it to one of 249 designated spaces for the service.

At around $40 a day the service isn't the cheapest solution, particularly for travelers leaving the country for a couple of weeks. But for business folk who will only be gone a day or so, leaving your car with a robot probably provides a little more peace of mind, especially since you get to keep your car keys and not worry about things in your vehicle going missing.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/06/ro...ermany-parks-your-vehicle/?utm_source=mainrss

That is pretty neat stuff

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The 8 Coolest New Tricks Your Nest Can Do

Late last night, Nest announced its Developer Program: An initiative that's going to allow more than 5,000 developers to tinker and build new Nest functionality. To kick things off, it's launching with a handful of partner-enabled features, from your Benz telling your thermostat when you get close to home to your LIFX bulbs flashing red if Protect detects smoke.

Keep in mind, this is just a sort of teaser—the real fun will come from the developers who now have access to Nest's framework. And for now, many of these new features are only available with certain brands, which makes sense, since these are launch partners. We don't all drive Mercedes-Benz, and we don't all use Logitech remotes.

But remember: These launch features are just the first, Nest-produced partnerships. More are sure to come in the future, as developers and other companies start tinkering with Nest's API.

Your washer and dryer will keep clothes fresh if you're away.

If your thermostat notices you're not home when a cycle ends, Whirlpool appliances will freshen them up when you get near to make sure they're wrinkle-free. It'll also delay cycles if your Nest tells it that it's nearing a "rush hour" time when energy consumption is peaking.

Your lights will flash red when there's a fire.

Thanks to integration with LIFX, the Australian LED bulb startup, you can tell Protect to flash your lights red (or some other color) when something's up. You can also tell it to do things like turn your lights on and off when your thermostat is in "away" mode.

Nest will know when you wake up and go to sleep.

One of Nest's partners in the new program is Jawbone—which means that for starters, you'll be able to set your Nest to adapt to when you wake up and go to sleep. So if you like your house cooler when you sleep and warmer when you're awake, or some other sleep-based pattern, Jawbone will talk to your thermostat so it adjust automatically.

Protect can text your neighbor if there's smoke.

Using IFTTT—a framework that connects web apps—you can set up a nearly infinite number of alerts based around Nest. Want to let your neighbors know if Protect smells smoke? Just set up an IFTT alert for "If Protect detects smoke, text my neighbors." And yep—you can set up alerts for Facebook and Twitter to. If you must.

You can set your temperature from Google Now.

Say you want to set your temperature via your phone (or your Android Wear smart watch!). Wherever you are, just say "OK Google. Set Nest to 72 degrees." This particular one won't be available until the fall.

Nest will know when you come and go from your garage door opener.

If you have a Chamberlain or LiftMaster garage door, you can ask it to let your Nest thermostat know when you come and go, and adjust to your every-day schedule that way. This one will be available in the fall, too.

You can control your Nest using Logitech remotes.

Using Logitech's universal remote, you can set your thermostat as you would normally.

Nest will know when you arrive home in your car.

If you drive a Mercedes-Benz, first of all, congratulations. Second of all, your car can now connect with your Nest products—not only can you check them from behind the wheel, but Nest will start heating or cooling when you get near.

https://qa.preview.nestlabs.com/blog/2014/06/23/the-nest-developer-program-is-here/

The homes of the future are shaping up to pretty darn cool

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Larger iPhones Go Into Production July, Ship September

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple will put two new iPhones into production in July—one with a 4.7-inch display, the other with 5.5-inch screen—and both might ship by September.

If that rumor is true—and that's still a big if—it both reaffirms rumors and states the obvious. We're now primed to expect two new larger iPhones, and the rumor mill seems to strongly suggest that a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen are the most likely sizes that will appear. And in September? Well, given the regularity of Apple announcements, it would have to be somewhere around that time

Elsewhere in the report, people familiar with Apple's plans claimed that the new devices will be "rounder and thinner." They also added that the larger 5.5-inch phone is more complicated to manufacture than the smaller version, "resulting in lower production efficiency that must be overcome before manufacturing volume can be increased." Bloomberg also took the opportunity to reaffirm its own rumors of the phone featuring curved glass with a taper at "the edges of the screen where the bezel meets the frame of a smartphone."

All of which may or may not be true. But it's increasingly looking like we should expect larger iPhones—and September seems like the most obvious time for them to arrive.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ones-said-to-start-production-next-month.html

I'm an android user myself but I am curious as to how this news sits with all the Apple lovers out there.Is bigger better in your eyes?

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

NASA space rover drives on the underside of the ice

NASA just completed a test of an early prototype—maybe just an early, early precursor—space rover that may be flown to explore the Jupiter moon Europa. What's cool is that the rover is designed to float on the underside of the ice and "rove as if the underside of the ice is the ground." Up is down, down is up.

NASA says that it's the first time ever that an underwater, under-ice, untethered vehicle has been operated through satellite link. It's one of the cool technologies that can help us better understand the world we live in now while preparing us for exploration of future worlds.

[YT]sY5WQG3-3mo[/YT]

Seems like we are really gearing up to start exploring other planets and moons. It makes me sad that I don't live in a time that is already well underway on that front but on the other hand I'm excited that my daughter and grandkids will get all kinds of exciting news from tech like this

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

What the biggest companies are from each state in the US

The most popular brands in America are not always the largest companies making the most revenue. Brands that you know, stores that you go to and places that you associate with some states get replaced by faceless monoliths who basically repurpose oil, energy, technology, other people's money, etc. into more money.

The Washington Post points to this map made by Broadview Networks that shows the largest companies by revenue in each state. There are a lot of companies that I've never heard of. And maybe there are a lot of companies that people inside certain states that have never heard of them too.

Shout out to Sonoco and Cargill and all the other companies in the middle of the United States that I have never seen before. It's almost relieving to stumble upon something recognizable on this map, like a Wal-Mart until you realize you're trying to find comfort in a Wal-Mart.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...the-largest-company-by-revenue-in-every-state

Full list and bigger look at the map at the link. Crazy how every company on here makes profits in the billions

 

[Teelie]

Larger iPhones Go Into Production July, Ship September

Spoiler

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ones-said-to-start-production-next-month.html

I'm an android user myself but I am curious as to how this news sits with all the Apple lovers out there.Is bigger better in your eyes?

There comes a point where it's no longer an iPhone and it's now an iPad with a phone attached.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I think eventually it will level off, of course there will be a generation everyone agrees is too big and then we will know the size we all pretty much like. My friend has a Samsung Note 3 and says he can't imagine going back to a smaller phone, those things look stupid big too

 

[Teelie]

I've seen those and I can't imagine using a phone the size of a small paperback on a regular basis. Larger screens are nice but that is what tablets are for. If you need to do a lot of reading or play a lot of games, get a tablet, not an over-sized phone.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

A Candle-Powered Speaker Keeps Playing Even When the Power's Out

Using a scientific phenomenon known as the Peltier-Seebeck or thermoelectric effect, where a voltage is produced via a device with contrasting temperatures, this Bluetooth speaker called the Pelty can run on nothing but burning candles. So the next time you lose power during a brownout, you'll have both light and entertainment to pass the time.

The idea is similar to how the BioLite camp stove cooks your food and charges your gadgets, so the science and technologies behind the Pelty are already in use and proven. That's the good news.

The less good news is that despite it looking so polished and finished, the Pelty isn't available for sale just yet. In fact, the production-ready design hasn't even been finalized, that's why there are very few details on its battery life or audio quality. Its creators are currently raising funds on Indiegogo to help take it from functional prototype to mass-market ready, and are hoping to raise some $100,000 to help the process along.

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If you're confident they'll be successful, you can get in on the ground floor and secure yourself a Pelty with a donation of just $199. But if you'd rather hold off until they're well into production, the regular retail pricing will be closer to $300. However, even for an extra $100, streaming music from your smartphone is better than being stuck with FM radio when the power's out.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pelty-the-bluetooth-speaker-powered-by-fire

This is awesome and I want one for hurricane season