The Technology Thread

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Shrimp Sold at Walmart and Costco Are Produced by Slave Labor

Next time you're out buying seafood, consider getting the lobster. A Guardian report reveals that shrimp sold across the U.S. and U.K. are produced in part by slaves off the coast of Thailand who endure unimaginable violence and abuse.

Charoen Pokphand Foods, or CP Foods, the world's largest shrimp farmer, is based in Thailand, and sells to retailers incluing Walmart, Costco, and Tesco. To feed its shrimp, the company uses a product called fishmeal, which it buys from suppliers who operate ships manned by men who are unwillingly sold into labor.

The Guardian, which spoke with several escaped slaves, reports truly horrifying conditions on the fishmeal ships. Laborers work 20-hour days for no pay, and are tortured, beaten, and sometimes murdered. Some are given meth as fuel for a long shift. One former slave described the experience as such:

"I thought I was going to die," said Vuthy, a former monk from Cambodia who was sold from captain to captain. "They kept me chained up, they didn't care about me or give me any food … They sold us like animals, but we are not animals – we are human beings."

Another man detailed witnessing an unfathomably gruesome killing:

Another trafficking victim said he had seen as many as 20 fellow slaves killed in front of him, one of whom was tied, limb by limb, to the bows of four boats and pulled apart at sea.

When asked about the slavery, a CP spokesman claimed the company does not have "visibility" of the extent of the "issues" in its supply chain:

"We're not here to defend what is going on," said Bob Miller, CP Foods' UK managing director. "We know there's issues with regard to the [raw] material that comes in [to port], but to what extent that is, we just don't have visibility."

In another statement, the company — which claims it can eliminate its use of fishmeal by 2021 (seven years from now!) — pats itself on the back for making "good progress" in working with the Thai government to eliminate forced labor in the country, where nearly 500,000 people are believed to be enslaved:

"We can do nothing, and witness these social and environmental issues destroy the seas around Thailand, or we can help drive improvement plans. We are making good progress."

The government, by the admission of one of its own, is complicit in the practice. Because boat owners depend on slave brokers, an anonymous official told the Guardian, the state would rather turn a blind eye to the abuse.

All of the retailers contacted for the story said they were against human trafficking and forced labor, and several claimed to be working with CP Foods to end the practice. Of course, there's something everyone can do to pitch in while CP is still buying from slave ships, stores are still buying from CP, and the Thai government is allowing all of it to happen: stop buying shrimp.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-d...rmarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour

Everything that is cheap comes with a price somewhere down the line

 

[Teelie]

The only shrimp we eat come from the Gulf of Mexico so at least mine is (presumably) slave labor-free.

Although I do question the legitmacy of some of these claims, particularly the one where a victim was allegedly quartered using four boats.

 

[Teelie]

Google buys satellite imaging company Skybox for $500 million

Google Maps was only the beginning. Now they are branching into the photography of the planet itself.

Google has just acquired satellite imaging company Skybox for a cool half-billion dollars.

According to Inc. magazine, the Mountain View startup launched its first “minibar-sized” satellite into orbit in November 2013 and will launch eight more by the end of 2015. It plans to have 24 satellites in its constellation by 2018. With Google’s backing, though, that timeline could get accelerated.

Skybox is unique because it’s one of the rare companies to provide high-resolution photography from space. The company wants to use computer analytics to unlock valuable data from satellite images—potentially worth a lot of money to future clients.

As a 2013 Wired profile outlined, this data could include frequently updated information like “how many parked cars are in all the parking lots of Walmarts across America.”

“Skybox and Google share more than just a zip code,” the company wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. “We both believe in making information (especially accurate geospatial information) accessible and useful. And to do this, we’re both willing to tackle problems head on—whether it’s building cars that drive themselves or designing our own satellites from scratch.”

Ars Technica

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

HP Invented a New Computer That Could Make Data Centers Obsolete

Hewlett-Packard is developing an entirely new kind of computer. But this isn't some cheap laptop, quirky mobile device, or whatever else you assume HP makes these days; this is a snarling industrial-strength beast that could replace an entire data center with a single unit the size of a refrigerator.

Nicknamed "The Machine," the new hardware is still being pieced together at HP Labs—the research division of the company—and it sounds like it's taking it awfully seriously. Businessweek reports that the company "will bring the Machine to market within the next few years or fall on its face trying." Indeed, Martin Fink, the head of HP Labs thinks that they "have no choice" but to.

So what's all the fuss about? Well, precise details are scant, but Businessweek claims that it's a completely new form of computer architecture that could entirely replace the forms of computing we're used to: different memory, super fast data transfer, new operating systems written from the ground up. New everything, and so powerful that a unit the size of refrigerator could replace an entire data center.

According to Businessweek, the Machine was conceived around two years ago when Fink pondered what might happens if he combined all the individual projects that HP Labs was working on. Rolling everything together—from the new form of memory called memristors to data transfer using light instead of copper wires—he pitched the idea to HP's CEO Meg Whitman. She insisted more money be sent the way of the Labs.

Now, the engineers reckon they'll be able to release the system within the next few years, and HP is expected to release more details at a conference later today. That could be the first HP announcement we've been excited about in a very, very long time.

http://www.businessweek.com/article...e-hp-may-have-invented-a-new-kind-of-computer

Sounds cool as hell if they can pull it off

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Comcast Wants To Turn Home Routers Into Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

In the coming weeks, Comcast is rolling out a new feature that turns residential customers' new Xfinity Wi-Fi routers into public hotspots. The rollout starts in Houston on Tuesday, and the company says it'll be in millions of homes across the country by the end of the year. That's a big hotspot!

It's easy to have mixed feelings about this idea. On the one hand, it's wildly convenient. What Comcast is essentially doing is creating the country's largest public Wi-Fi network by simply enabling people to share their connections. Of course, it's not entirely public. You have to be an Xfinity customer to be able to log on to the new super hotspot, but as long as you pay your bill, there's a decent chance you'll never have worry about Wi-Fi again.

Then there are the inevitable caveats. The first thing that comes to mind is performance-related. Specifically, if a bunch of strangers are tapping into your home connection, won't that slow down you Game of Thrones downloads? Comcast says it won't. Only five people will be able to log onto a single home network at once, and the network is designed to handle the load. That, of course, remains to be seen.

There's also the creepy aspect. Comcast's messaging about the new program is very friends-and-family oriented. "Instead of coming over to your house and saying, 'Hey, what's your Wi-Fi password?' your friends can just connect to the Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot," Amalia O'Sullivan, Comcast's vice president of Xfinity Internet Product, told the Houston Chronicle. The network simply pops up as "xfinitywifi," and again, any Xfinity customer can join. However, you have to have a new Xfinity router for your home network to work as a public hotspot.

But do you really want to share a connection with someone you don't know doing whatever they do on the internet through your connection? What if they're downloading Game of Thrones illegally? What if they're really into child porn? What if they're hacking into the Pentagon? The list goes on. (Update below)

Comcast is automatically enrolling all Xfinity customers in the new program. If you're an Xfinity customer and don't want your router to become a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you can opt out by calling Xfinity or going to the preferences section on the account page of Comcast's website. And if you don't want to be a part of Comcast's continual creep into a nationwide monopoly on internet service, well, good luck finding another option.

All that said, easier access to the internet is a good thing. So if Comcast manages to avoid all those pitfalls, this could be a potentially great service for customers. We'll have to wait and see how it really works.

Updated 3:20: Comcast followed right up with an answer to the questions about security that this new service raises. "In order to use the xfinitywifi SSID in a home, the person has to authenticate their device or log on to that hotspot so any of that data usage and activity is the responsibility of that end user, not the home owner's," Comcast's Charlie Douglas told Gizmodo. It's unclear if this process will also offer protection against data breaches.

http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2014...outer-into-a-public-wi-fi-hotspot/#24139101=0

Well that is a novel idea

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Facebook Is Now Using Your Browsing History to Target Advertising

Facebook has announced that it's to start using app and website data from your browsing habits to provide more targeted ads—and you'll have to opt out if you don't like it.

The feature, which will hit Facebook accounts in the coming weeks, will provide advertisers with the information required to target Facebook ads more directly. That already happens elsewhere across the internet, but Facebook's previously never used the data in this way. So, look at a new product online—say, a TV or pair of shoes—and you can expect to seem them on your blue feed.

More control is coming to the ads you see, too: soon, Facebook will add a drop-down menu to ads which will allow you to remove a brand from your ad interests. Facebook points out, though, that you'll have to opt-out with the Digital Advertising Alliance to stop your browsing habits being shared with advertisers. Privacy activists, you may start shouting... now.

http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/06...ng-people-more-control-over-the-ads-they-see/

I pay so little attention to any ads on the net these days I'm not sure if this even matters to me

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Starbucks Is Installing Wireless Charging in Stores Across the U.S.

Starbucks has announced that it plans to install Powermat wireless charging in stores across the U.S. after a small-scale trial proved successful.

The Powermat Spots will first be installed in stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, before being rolled out in the company's coffee shops nationwide. The west coast will see the wireless charging spots first, during 2014, while the rest of the U.S. will catch up in 2015. Each store should receive at least 10 charging spots.

At the moment, there are two dueling wireless charging standards: Qi, backed by companies like HTC, Nokia, Samsung and Sony, and PMA. The Starbucks program uses Duracell Powermats, which use PMA so it's a serious win for that standard—and could, perhaps, be enough to finally make it mainstream. Perhaps.

While not all devices are currently compatible wireless charging, let alone Powermat, you can purchase a fairly inexpensive receiver "ring" that allows you to take advantage of the charging points. It's not clear whether Starbucks will sell these directly or not.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/12/5...ing-out-powermat-wireless-chargers-nationwide

Getting closer and closer to having wireless everything all the time which is awesome

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The World's Biggest TV Can Be Yours for $1.7 Million

A British company called Titan just unveiled a new TV, and it's ridiculous. At 370-inches, it's the largest television in the world, and at $1.7 million, it's also got to be the most expensive. But who could say no to 4K resolution on a screen that's the size of a house?

Fittingly named Zeus, this giant TV is good for both indoor and outdoor uses. In fact, one of them is going to be on display at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it'll show World Cup games. This isn't just a gimmick, either. You can actually buy one of these monstrosities, while supplies last. Titan made four of them, and two are already sold. The identity of the owners will remain confidential, so we'll have to wait until Cannes to see the Zeus in action. Nevertheless, it looks just like this Titan display but four times the size:

Seriously, though, this thing is massive. On its website, Titan uses an elephant to illustrate just how large it is. It's big enough to watch 20 channels at once, which is an actual feature. It's also more than twice the size of Panasonic's 152-inch, the last holder of the record for the world's biggest TV. And it better look great for that seven-figure price tag. Like, historically great.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/129...oal-is-the-world-s-first-1-million-television

I can't even imagine dropping a million on a tv but I would love to hook up my PS4 to that behemoth

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Lowe's Is Putting (Kinda Sorta) Holodecks In Some of Its Stores

If you've ever done any home improvement, you know how hard it is to visualize what a finished room will look like. That's why Lowe's is going to start putting so-called Holorooms in its stores. These augmented reality chambers show your finished project before you've even started.

Lowe's is completely transparent about the extent to which the Holoroom is inspired by science fiction. As the first project out of its new Innovation Labs, the Holoroom aims to create an immersive experience for customers to visualize their home improvements. Using a tablet, you simply pick out the products you want to see, and enter the Holoroom to see what they'll look like in the room you're renovating. It's unclear from the announcement what specific technology is powering the actual room, though it is a good hook to get you into the store. You can, however, take home a print out of the design and share the design with friends through a smartphone app.

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So it's not exactly a Holodeck, but it is a step in the right direction. While the augmented reality experience on the in-store tablet is neat, just imagine what Lowe's could do if the Holoroom were powered by Oculus Rift. In the meantime, you'll have to settle for the Holoroom solution which is being rolled out this year, starting in Toronto. It's still better than drawing pictures on notebook paper.

http://www.lowesinnovationlabs.com/...owes-holoroom-and-home-improvement-innovation

Neat gimmick they have here

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Best Buy Will Deliver a Dryer for Free But the Power Cord Has a $70 Fee

What with Amazon and Google Shopping Express winning the world's laziest misanthropes' affections, other companies are left doing everything they can to stay in the fight. In Best Buy's case, that means offering free shipping on major appliances—and (apparently) praying that folks don't realize the $30 required cord ships for more than double that.

Discovered by a reader over at The Consumerist, this tricky little bit of fine print is either a pretty sketchy deliberate move or an egregious oversight on the part of Best Buy. Either way, it really takes some of the fun out of free delivery. As the reader's email points out:

Turns out, that free delivery only applies to the dryer itself. They charge you $69.99 to deliver the power cord along with the dryer. Dryers don't come with power cords. They must be purchased separately because there are two types.

We spoke to a Best Buy customer service representative over the phone who was able to confirm that the $70 shipping fee on the $30 cord was, in fact, legit. And while customer service reps aren't always completely clued in, but it seems that Best Buy has a standard shipping fee for any appliance-related products that don't hit the $399 minimum to qualify for free shipping—that is, $399 per product, not total. So any (in this case necessary) add-ons will seriously cut into the freeness of that shipping.

So whether that questionable fee is actively malicious or not, it turns "free" into something that's anything but.

http://consumerist.com/2014/06/11/best-buy-delivers-your-appliance-for-free-power-cord-for-70/

So does that mean I can just go pick up the cord if I don't want it delivered?

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Supreme Court Would Like To Know How Much Pomegranate Is In That Juice

Coca-Cola's Minute Maid label sells a product it calls "Pomegranate Blueberry" juice that contains 0.3% pomegranate juice and 0.2% blueberry juice. Today the Supreme Court ruled that yup, yessiree, a competitor like POM Wonderful can sue for deceptive labeling of said product.

The case turned on lawyerly arguments about preemption and statutory interpretation. POM, you see, had sued Coca-Cola under the Lanham Act. That's the federal trademark law which allows competitors to sue each other for "unfair competition" due to false or misleading labeling. Coca-Cola tried to dodge the claim by arguing that it had met the juice labeling standards set by the FDA under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. It tried to claim those standards pre-empted unfair competition claims.

Justice Kennedy, writing for a unanimous pomegranate-and-blueberry-loving Court, knocked out both those arguments. First he pointed out that the word "pre-emption" is out of place here, since that idea really only applies when a federal law displaces a state one on the same issue. Then he noted that the country could very well use both FDA-enforced labeling standards and litigation by righteous-pomegranate-warrior competitors like POM to keep the beverage lords honest.

While nature of the dispute relieved Kennedy from actually having to state the level of his obvious outrage against those apple-and-grape-purveying malefactors Coca-Cola, he came awful close:

The position Coca-Cola takes in this Court that because food and beverage labeling is involved it has no Lanham Act liability here for practices that allegedly mislead and trick consumers, all to the injury of competitors, finds no support in precedent or the statutes.

Antioxidant lovers across the nation may now join together in song.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinions.aspx?Term=13

Glad Coca-Cola got put in it's place. Pretty insane they could market it like that

 

[KevanG]

99.5% stuff and 0.5% what is advertised, that's reasonable.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Tesla Will 'Open-Source' All Its Patents

Tesla Motors just went "open source," at least in spirit. CEO Elon Musk announced this morning in California that the nascent electric car company will open up all its patents "for the advancement of electric vehicle technology." And he did it with a meme, which is awesome.

Musk made the announcement on the company's blog in a post called "All Our Patent Are Belong To You." He wrote that "intellectual property landmines" could inhibit other companies from putting electric cars on the road, and so they will be applying the "open source philosophy" to their patents.

The main development with this announcement is that Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against companies that want to use its technology "in good faith," Musk said. (It's not clear exactly what "in good faith" means, or how that will be enforced by the company.) As some of you readers pointed out, it's not pure open source so much as it is selective enforcement of their patents.

Musk wrote that initially, Tesla created patents for fear that large automakers would copy their technology and use their resources to overwhelm and overtake them.

The "unfortunate reality," he said, is that large automakers aren't moving quickly enough with electric cars, with those vehicles making up less than 1 percent of their total sales. (He did not name any specific automakers when making this claim.)

"In general, I think patents are a relative weakness for a company," Musk said on a conference call to reporters. "It means they aren't innovating, that they aren't moving fast enough."

The goal is to help move the auto industry toward sustainable transportation, Musk said. He said he doesn't expect much to happen from Tesla's patent decision in the short term, but he hopes in the long term it will tilt car development more in the electric direction.

"People overvalue patents as a competitive element," he said. "I don't see it as some monumentous thing. It's more modestly helpful."

Musk said the decision does, in fact, include the technology behind their supercharger network. The company will apply for patents going forward, he said, but will keep them open source.

It's a very clever move on Musk's part, and one that has the potential to upend the idea behind patents in the auto industry. And if it does spur more electric car production by other automakers, that could help Tesla tremendously. After all, they're gonna need to get their batteries from somewhere. It could also be seen as a move to get Tesla's tech to become the standard for EVs.

Will other automakers do the same? Musk said he asked BMW to do so last night. I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you

It's official now, this seems like a cool way to do business. Here's to hoping we can get more electric cars on the road in the future

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Vessyl: A Cup That Uses Molecular Sensors To Track Everything You Drink

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Ever wished you could keep track of what you're consuming without keeping a detailed list? Meet Vessyl, a cup that can calculate detailed information about what your drinking—and sync that information with your fitness tracker and peripheral apps. The quantified self has officially made its way into our tableware.

Vessyl is exactly what it sounds like: A 13-ounce vessel that analyzes its contents and keeps track of them by beaming data to your phone through Bluetooth. Wanna know how much sugar is in that IPA? Or how many calories you just consumed at Blue Bottle? Vessyl will tell you—and it'll keep track of your habits over time. According to the company, Vessyl can do some incredible things using its proprietary technology, the details of which the company remains very mum on. Not only can it automatically calculate the sugar, calories, and caffeine in your morning cup of joe—it can also recognize brands. If you're drinking a Starbucks-made latte, it knows.

Vessyl can do all that thanks to a proprietary technology that analyzes the molecular content of each drink in realtime—a system developed by Mark One, a new company co-founded by inventor Justin Lee and designer Yves Behar, whose design studio Fuseproject created the cup's distinctive sliding cover and faceted face. This little cup is packed full of sensors, too, including a motion sensor that activates Vessyl's display when you tilt it away from you, as well as battery at the base that lets you wireless charge the cup, which has a five to seven day battery life.

Vessyl's definitive metric is something the company has named "Pryme," which is a basically a fancy new term for your total hydration throughout the day. Basically, it's how much water you've put into your body on a given day. It shows up as a tiny color-coded light on your cup, which again, you activate by tilting it away from you. You can also see plenty of other information on the cup's face, including data about calories and sugar, when you tilt it up—that way, you don't have to go to your app to see what's going on.

Of course, there are potential pitfalls with a device like Vessyl. Take the behavioral aspect of the gadget. Since it only tracks what's inside, you need to drink everything out of this one cup. Will you be pouring your beer into it while you sit at the bar? Probably not. And while you can enter drinks manually, you can also do that using conventional diet journals, for which there are plenty of apps.

Still, the promise of a sensor that can accurately identify granular information like this is remarkable. So, where you can you buy this mythical gadget? Nowhere, yet. The team is taking pre-orders on its website for $99 in order to fund a first run of manufacturing, and then the price will rise to $199. If you're all in with this idea, order now.

https://www.myvessyl.com/

I know some fitness nuts will love this cup, still it's pretty crazy technology-wise that a cup that can do this has been invented

 

[Teelie]

Facebook Is Now Using Your Browsing History to Target Advertising



http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/06...ng-people-more-control-over-the-ads-they-see/

I pay so little attention to any ads on the net these days I'm not sure if this even matters to me

I try to keep Facebook and other sites from being able to actively or passively collect data on me as much as possible. There will always be some that slip by but I'm making the best effort I can to prevent them.

There are some addons like Facebook Ads Block, NoScript, Google Analytics Opt-out and of course Adblock Plus (won't link since I'm not sure how that would be taken here) to lessen the tracking behavior of various sites.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

This machine produces edible mist in 200 delicious flavors

The Lick Me I'm Delicious laboratory is the brainchild of food inventor Charlie Harry Francis, who invented a portable nitro ice cream parlor in 2011. Now he has invented an awesome machine that produces edible mist in more than 200 flavors, including mango, chocolate, apple pie, and smoked bacon.

To inhale the the mist you just need to suck it using a straw, getting "an instant flavor hit." The machine, which looks like an awesome prop from a 50s sci-fi movie, uses ultrasonic vaporization to create this fog.

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http://www.lickmeimdelicious.com/creations/mists/

I'd like the bacon one for my room please

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Aaron Paul's New Xbox Ad Accidentally Trolls Xbox Owners

[YT]pEoZbXB78NI[/YT]

Post-Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul is keeping busy by playing some Xbox and starring in an ad for the Xbox One. And because of the gaming console's best/worst feature, he's also inadvertently trolling anyone who already owns one.

The Xbox One's Kinect-powered voice controls are always on, even when the Xbox isn't. In fact, you can tell the Kinect to turn the system on, as Aaron Paul demonstrates in his commercial.

If your Kinect is listening when this ad plays, Jesse Pinkman just took over your Xbox.

Xbox, go to Titanfall! Xbox, snap TV! Xbox, how do I dispose of a rival drug dealer's body? It's all so convenient.

Paul's accidental prank is pretty funny, but nothing will ever top the Call of Duty player who changed his gamertag to "Xbox Sign Out."

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27827545

Of course it does this, how else would Microsoft show off this feature? And since when did Microsoft start caring about customers that already own their products?

 

[Teelie]

Still going to get a PS4 first.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

PS4 is better in all areas. I love my PS4

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Comcast Wants to Put Its Logo On Top of a Beloved NYC Landmark

30 Rockefeller Plaza is one of the most beloved buildings in New York City. Hell, there's even a TV show named after it. Now that Comcast, majority shareholder of NBC Universal, is growing into an Earth-swallowing corporate behemoth, they are looking to erect their huge glowing logo atop the skyscraper, replacing the GE logo that's been there for decades.

The New York Times reports today that Comcast has applied for a "certificate of appropriateness" from NYC's Landmarks and Preservation Commission, which would grant it the power to install a giant LED sign on 30 Rock. Currently occupying that spot are the initials of General Electric, which replaced the RCA logo in 1988.

Clearly, 30 Rock is a prime spot for a good old fashioned corporate pissing contest. According to the Times, if Comcast gets its way, the plans would be as follows:

As proposed, more modest 12-foot-high light-emitting diode signs that spell out Comcast in white uppercase letters would be installed on the broader north and south limestone exteriors, crowned by 10-foot-high NBC peacock logos. A 17-foot-high peacock would appear by itself on the western facade (more or less facing Philadelphia). Measured in overall square feet, the new signs would be slightly more compact than the existing G.E. signs.

It doesn't sound so bad, and honestly, what's the harm in replacing one corporate logo with another. But given how universally reviled Comcast is, especially in the wake of their proposed merger with Time Warner, New Yorkers might not be so quick to warm to the change.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/n...initials-at-30-rock.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

I could care less about it but then again I'm not from NYC

 

[Teelie]

I suppose that's better than the more honest giant middle-finger flipping logo they should be erecting.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Here's the 4K IMAX Camera That's Going to Make 3D Movies Awesome Again

If you thought 3D movies were only a fad that has already come and gone for good, think again. IMAX cameras have been used to shoot 3D films and documentaries for decades now, including immersive content for theme park rides. And the company has just revealed a new fully integrated dual 65mm 4K digital 3D camera that promises to make seeing 3D movies at your local theater worthwhile again.

IMAX is only just going public with the new camera today, but the hardware has actually been in use for a while now. In addition to internal testing within the company, Michael Bay used the camera for filming various action sequences in the upcoming Transformers film, Age of Extinction. So it's definitely one of those rare times when paying extra to see the IMAX version of a film will undoubtedly be worth it.

The camera shoots in true stereo 4K, so both of those lenses are capturing more detail than many digital cinema projectors can display. And while the camera ditches the massive 65 millimeter film IMAX is famous for, the movie-going experience should be the same when seeing the results projected with true IMAX technology in one of its giant theaters.

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You can also expect to see more and more content shot in true 4K 3D moving forward, since the relatively compact size of IMAX's new camera means filmmakers aren't limited to where they can take it, or how they can use it. It's still not the kind of gear you'll want to drag along on your next vacation, but compared to analog IMAX cameras of yesteryear, it's remarkably compact.

https://www.imax.com/imax3dcamera/

This is great news for movie lovers

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

This Water-Powered Jetboard Is Almost The Hoverboard You're Dreaming Of

No, Back to the Future hoverboards won't be real anytime soon but there's a damn good substitute. All you need is a board, a speedboat, and a firehose.

From Franky Zapata, the mind behind the water-powered Iron Man-esque "Flyboard"—comes the Hoverboard, which seems to pretty faithfully emulate its namesake. It's essentially just a firehose strapped to a board, but the results pretty much speak for themselves.

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Unfortunately if you want your own, you'll have to spend some $6,000 on a unit. And that's on top of having access to your own speedboat. But Zapata Racing has been known to set up rental operations with its Flyboard so hopefully this isn't far behind. Fingers crossed!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/13/franky-zapata-water-hoverboard/#comments

Freaking sweet, if I had one I'd be at the beach every day

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google in Talks to Buy Stake in Virgin Galactic

Google is apparently in talks to buy up part of Virgin Galactic, but not to take a leisure cruise: Sky News claims that it will buy "crucial access to satellite-launch technology" to help put its new low-Earth orbiters into the sky.

The report claims that negotiations between the two parties have "been taking place for months" and are now reaching an advanced stage. It's claimed that the deal is in two parts: first, a $30 million stake in the Virgin Galactic holding company; second, an injection of "hundreds of millions of dollars" into a joint venture, with Virgin Galactic injecting its expertise to help Google with its own projects.

If the report is accurate, it suggests that Google is looking to Virgin Galactic for help with getting its new fleet of low-Earth orbit satellites into space. It recently purchased Skybox Imaging for a cool $500 million in cash in an attempt to make Google Earth a whole lot crisper—and help fulfill Google's vision of worldwide satellite-based internet access.

The deal, which is far from a certainty, would buy Google some expertise to make the best use of its new toys. It might also buy Virgin Galactic a little more credibility, too—something it's been lacking of recent time.

http://news.sky.com/story/1280919/google-in-talks-to-take-virgin-galactic-stake

Well if this goes through it will be a pretty big deal

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

U.S. Government Investigates Recent Worker Deaths at Amazon Facilities

Amazon has an aggressive schedule for opening new distribution centers around the world. The company has opened over 50 new facilities since 2010 in an effort to make same-day delivery the norm rather than the exception. But are these facilities playing fast and loose with worker safety? The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week that it's investigating two deaths at Amazon fulfillment centers in the past 6 months.

The most recent death occurred on June 1, 2014 at an Amazon warehouse in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jody Rhoads died while operating a pallet jack that toppled some shelves, crushing her. That death is still under investigation by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Another death occurred this past December, when Ronald Smith was crushed in a conveyor system while sorting boxes at an Amazon warehouse in Avenel, New Jersey. Smith's death prompted an OSHA investigation that has cited five companies for "serious violations." Amazon itself was not cited because Smith was a temporary worker technically employed by a third-party contractor. The five companies each face a fine of just $6,000 for Ronald Smith's death.

"Temporary staffing agencies and host employers are jointly responsible for the safety and health of temporary employees. These employers must assess the work site to ensure that workers are adequately protected from potential hazards," said Patricia Jones, an OSHA spokesperson in a statement. "It is essential that employers protect all workers from job hazards — both temporary and permanent workers."

Amazon has come under increased scrutiny for the working conditions at its distribution facilities, many of which use third-party staffing contractors for both full time and temporary labor.

The question of who is responsible when something goes wrong has become a hot-button issue in the world of tech-based consumer goods and services. Companies like Uber and Amazon are able to throw up their hands and deny any culpability after they've created a kind of employment firewall by using third party staffing agencies, or in the case of Uber, claim their drivers are exclusively independent contractors.

All of these companies, including Google, are in a race to become your go-to vendor for goods and services delivered "like magic" as quickly as possible. Who's actually responsible when Amazon, Uber or Google-branded magic results in injury or death? That remains to be seen.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ues-mount-amid-labor-department-scrutiny.html

Is anyone surprised by a giant corporation not caring about the safety of their workers?