The Technology Thread

[Teelie]

Sadly not. Google's "don't be evil" policy seems like a distant memory, Amazon's fiesty start-up smell is gone and replaced with the stink of corporate greed and Uber I'm not sure what to make of.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Starbucks Will Pay For You to Go To Arizona State Online, If You Want

Coffee empire Starbucks plans to announce an unusual partnership with Arizona State University Monday to pay for the (online) college education of its 135,000-odd U.S. employees—even the ones who leave.

From the New York Times:

The program is open to any of the company's 135,000 United States employees, provided they work at least 20 hours a week and have the grades and test scores to gain admission to Arizona State. For a barista with at least two years of college credit, the company will pay full tuition; for those with fewer credits it will pay part of the cost, but even for many of them, courses will be free, with government and university aid.

The offer extends to employees of Starbucks-operated subsidiaries—Teavana, La Boulange, Evolution Fresh, and Seattle's Best—too. The program has been dubbed the "Starbucks College Achievement Plan" which Arizona State says will come with the threat of "an innovative retention model to support the unique needs of working students." From Arizona State's release:

Partners will have a dedicated enrollment coach, financial aid counselor and academic advisor to support them through graduation. The program also will include adaptive learning services to help students progress at the right pace for them, networking and community-building opportunities and additional resources to help students plan their educations.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is forthcoming about his company essentially paying for employees to eventually leave. "I believe it will lower attrition, it'll increase performance, it'll attract and retain better people," he tells the Times.

No word on what everyone who toiled making frappucinos at Starbucks during college before this program gets, aside from the pangs of indignation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/u...e-education-to-thousands-of-workers.html?_r=0

This is a cool idea from a major company. I wonder if more will follow their lead

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Satellites Are Now Cleared to Take Photos at Mailbox-Level Detail

The Department of Commerce just lifted a ban on satellite images that showed features smaller than 20 inches. The nation's largest satellite imaging firm, Digital Globe, asked the government to lift the restrictions and can now sell images showing details as small as a foot. A few inches may seem slight, but this is actually a big deal.

Thanks to the new ruling, Digital Globe says it'll be able to show "key features such as manholes and mailboxes." That's not exactly Enemy of the State style surveillance capabilities, but it does make it possible to use satellite imaging instead of aerial photography for things like monitoring agriculture and disaster relief. Jobs that we thought would be handed off to drones could actually go to satellites instead.

Of course, there is some concern over privacy. Sharper satellite images also mean people will be able to see people more easily and better discern details of private property. At least one information law expert says there are "national security considerations" at stake.

But the country's leaders who support higher resolution imaging suggest that the opposite is true. Sen. Mark Udall says that if we didn't green light sharper satellite images, a foreign company would've. Udall argues that the Commerce Department's decision will "allow industry to build and deploy systems capable of best meeting our national security needs and retaining U.S. leadership in a competitive international industry." In other words, it's not just safe but also good for business.

Now that Google's doubled-down on satellite imaging with its $500 million purchase of Skybox, we're surely going to see more eyes in the sky. Skybox itself plans to launch 24 satellites into orbit that can handle high res images. Digital Globe will launch a new satellite in August that will have that manholes-and-mailboxes capabilities. And if you don't like it, well, there's nowhere to run.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27868703

I think for the most part this will be a good thing

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

It Only Takes This Electric Bus 15 Seconds To Charge At Every Stop

Because battery technology still relatively sucks, electric vehicles like buses that have to run all day long usually stay tethered to a spiderweb of overhead cables. But as an alternative to that costly infrastructure, researchers at the EPFL have developed an electric bus that can recharge itself at every stop in as little as 15 seconds.

[YT]Ag1hcOonlpU[/YT]

Converting a city's surface road mass transit system still requires the charging stations to be installed at specific stops along given bus routes, but it requires far less of an investment than stringing up and maintaining overhead power lines, or tearing up the streets to install underground inductive charging cables.

There are some challenges facing the proposed system, though. The researchers who created the charging stations are also working on software that can help a city figure out exactly where they'd need to install the charging stations to keep a network of buses running reliably.

In its current form, given the amount of power being transferred, only a single bus can charge at one time. And making another bus wait introduces delays that can propagate across the network. So implementing the system requires not only an investment in the hardware, but also a city rethinking routes, and how its existing surface mass transit system operates. Still, even with all of the logistical overhead, it could be a more promising path forward.

It's actually a pretty good idea, greener buses are always a good thing

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The ISS Will Get a Custom Espresso Machine With a Few Space-ifications

Just like any hard-working professional, an astronaut can use a good cup of coffee first thing, which is why Lavazza has developed a new custom espresso machine for use in space, destined to find a home aboard the International Space Station.

The coffee machine, which is known as the ISSpresso—no, really—is a joint project between the Italian coffee company, Argotec, and the Italian Space Agency. Weighing in at a heft 44 pounds, it will arrive aboard the ISS in November 2014, along with Italy's first female astronaut, Air Force Captain Samantha Cristoforetti. But what, pray tell, is different about making espresso in space?

Actually, not as much as you might expect. First, the pressure required inside an espresso machine are high—between 8 and 10 bar—which gets astronauts living inside a highly expensive and sensitive satellite a little nervous. So, the plastic tubing which usually carries the steam has been replaced by a steel version capable of withstanding 400 bar. That should do. (Incidentally, the pressure aboard the ISS is equal to that on Earth, so it boils at the same temperature of 100C.)

Elsewhere, the output from the machine obviously required some thought, too. Rather than spewing hot coffee into microgravity, the machine pumps the brew out into small plastic pouches, not dissimilar to something you might carry blood donations in. Sadly, that means the results will have to be sipped through a straw.

And how does it taste? Well, its flavor profile is dulled because it's impossible to smell the coffee that's being imbibed—and the missing scent is a key component of tasting any food or drink. On the plus side, though, the espresso does at least pack an intense flavor even without smell, so it'll be better than the instant coffee currently in use.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-06/14/isspresso

Glad to see our astronauts can get a good cup of joe before they do all their experiments now

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

These Wireless Earbuds Charge While They're in Your Pocket

These are perhaps the headphones of the future: earbuds which use Bluetooth to beam audio to your ears, with small rechargeable batteries to eliminate cables, in perhaps the smallest package of its type we've seen.

Called "Earin," they're designed by a group of ex-Sony Ericsson and Nokia engineers and are currently being funded on Kickstarter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they've already secured over half of their $300,000 target. The batteries last a claimed 3 hours—so, not amazing—but they come with with a solid carry case with integrated battery, which allows you to charge them while you safely store them in your pocket.

All in, it seems a fairly practical version of a piece of technology that should really be worn George Jetson. A $170 contribution will secure you a pair sometime in January 2015 if the drive is successful. Which it really, really should be.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1629248706/earin-the-worlds-smallest-wireless-earbuds

Cool concept but I'd be afraid of losing them easily

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

How to Stop Facebook From Using Your Browsing History

Earlier this week, Facebook announced that it was going to start using all of that ever-so-illuminating app and website data it collects to serve us with more targeted ads. In other words, Facebook is getting ready to use your browsing history to benefit advertisers. Here's how to stop them.

Of course, just because you're getting some new (and highly necessary) controls over how Facebook shares your data doesn't mean it's going to stop collecting the data in the first place. So while we can at least somewhat limit how all of our salacious internet habits are being used, it doesn't mean the cache of data itself is going away.

What's more, the new feature is opt-out, so in order to keep your browsing history away from prying third-party eyes. You'll need to actively head over to the Digital Advertising Alliance here and let them know you're not willing to share.

Note: if you're using AdBlocker Plus or anything else that disables cookies, you're going to need to turn that off before you'll be able to opt out.

Once there, you'll see the above screen. Select the "Companies Customizing Ads for Your Browser" tab, and scroll down until you see Facebook.

Click the little check box next to Facebook, and as long as you're here, feel free to scroll through and check off any other sites you'd like to stop forking over your most private internet deeds. Once you've clicked to your heart's content, hit "Submit."

Now, considering how many of us also use the Facebook app, you're probably going to want to do the same for your mobile device(s). For iOS users, open settings and go to General>Restrictions>Advertising (under the "Privacy" section). Flip the switch for Limit Ad Tracking, and you're all set.

If you're using Android, go to Google Settings>Ads>Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads, and that's it—you're free to browse in peace.

Facebook advertisers won't be able to cater to you quite so creepily, and your privacy is left just that much more intact. Of course, that's not to say that Facebook's advertisers would do anything malicious with the data, but considering all that we do out on the internet's wild frontiers, better safe than sorry.

After reporting on this change last week I figured some of you out there may want this information to limit the new stuff

 

[Teelie]

I'm on their page but it won't work even though I've given it the proper permissions. Appears to be broken. How appropriate.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Did you disable adblock?

 

[Teelie]

I disabled adblock and noscript. I even tried IE (bleh) and the main page reports offline.

Strangely, it works in IE but the main page does not. I've done it from there now. I'll have to figure out why Firefox is not working though.

 

[KevanG]

I can't get 17 of the companies to work including (not surprisingly) Google.

 

[Teelie]

90 for me. I figured out what happened. Their https page is broken so you have to use http instead. And it still convienently can't "disable" ad tracking on most of them.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Match.com Will Use Facial Recognition to Find People Like Your Ex

Match.com recently announced a partnership with Three Day Rule, a personalized matchmaking service that will find you a date that looks like your ex. You simply send them some pictures, and they find a match. The service costs $5,000 for six month membership. And it's creepy as hell.

"I've noticed over my years in matchmaking that people have types," Talia Goldstein, the founder of Three Day Rule, told Mashable. "People have a type and it's not necessarily about height or race or hair color, but a lot of it is about face shape."

And what better way to find that special shape than 21st-century facial recognition software? You get more than just creepiness with your new super premium Match.com membership, though. Three Day Rule also supplies a professional matchmaker who will meet with you, discuss your "type," and even prescreen dates so you don't waste your time with types you won't like. The company calls this "a unique, curated online dating experience for relationship-oriented singles."

The real question is: Who will be more creeped out? Your ex? Or your potential future lover who's been robotically selected because they look like your ex and hand-curated so that you don't get bored over coffee?

http://www.onthemedia.org/story/mat...ftware-pair-users-people-who-look-their-exes/

I find this bizarre and will stick with random hook ups

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The World's Biggest Telescope Is Finally (Really) Complete

Though the massive 66-antenna ALMA array in Chile's Atacama desert has been online since last October when the last of its 54, 12-meter radios was installed, the system has only been operating at a fraction of its potential resolution. But with the delicate delivery of 12 additional 7-meter radio dishes—the last of which just reached the top of the plateau just last Friday—the ALMA is finally set to stare into the deepest depths of the observable universe.

https://public.nrao.edu/news/announcements/final-alma-antenna

Going to be a good time for space pics

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google's About to Ruin YouTube by Squeezing Indie Labels

It's official: Google is about to ruin YouTube. A company exec told the Financial Times it will start blocking videos from record labels that refuse to sign licensing deals for its forthcoming premium service, YouTube Music Pass. This is the dumbest thing Google could do, and it threatens the very heart of what has always made YouTube so special.

It's been nearly a decade since YouTube first flickered on in February 2005, and in the years since, the free video service has changed the internet forever by becoming the central destination for everything from funny cats, to protest footage, to movie trailers, and of course, music videos. YouTube is amazing precisely because it has been an easy way for content makers to share their latest creations. This is especially true for music.

YouTube is almost perfectly suited for sharing music videos that are basically the ideal short video packages that thrive on the service. Indeed, for the younger subset of listeners, YouTube is becoming the de facto way of listening to music.

More than just a way for artists to easily promote their latest singles, YouTube has become a legitimate source of income. Pre-roll advertising and services like Vevo help artists make money off the millions upon millions of plays on their songs. And YouTube's Content ID even helps artists make money off uploads that aren't their own, by placing buy links on videos submitted by users.

Though Google has pretty much always been a good shepherd of the original YouTube vision, it's been clear for a few years that the company planned to offer premium services in an effort to squeeze more revenue out of its market dominance. Why shouldn't it? It's a great service and if it can offer even more to people for a fee, that's totally fine.

Unfortunately, in an effort to build out the long-rumored YouTube Music Pass, Google's resorting to strong arm tactics that threaten to destroy YouTube. The Financial Times reports that Google has inked deals with the three major record label conglomerates (Sony, Warner, Universal), as will as a number of indies, accounting for 90 percent of the music industry.

The problem is Google's plans for the other 10 percent. The company's head of content Robert Kyncl told the FT that it plans to start blocking videos from indie labels that haven't signed licensing deals "in a matter of days." The FT says that these labels include XL Recordings and Domino records, whose rosters include Adele, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, and loads of other popular artists. In a statement to us, Google confirmed the FT story as well as its intentions to launch a subscription-based service.

Some labels are refusing to sign up because they say they're getting a raw deal from Google. They say that while the major labels have negotiated lucrative contracts, Google is offering indies comparatively bad terms. It's their right to say they don't want to sign up if they don't like the deal Google is offering them. In response, Google is drawing a line in the sand: If your label won't sign on to Google's crappy licensing deal for a new streaming service, you can't host videos on YouTube at all.

Google's bully business tactic here is bad for everyone. Users won't be able to hear some music they want, artists in the 10 percent blocked won't be able to reach their fans.

But perhaps the worst consequence is that YouTube will cease to be home for the 10 percent. What's always been amazing about YouTube is that it's the place where stars like Psy and Justin Bieber—whether you appreciate their music or not—found massive audiences, and how hundreds of other stars maintain their profile and cultivate their fan base in the post-MTV age.

It's not clear how exactly Google plans to deal with the unsigned upstart who uploads a video an blows up, but the implication that underlies Google's threat is that doesn't want YouTube to be the place where artists blow up anymore at all. YouTube's power has always been its extraordinary openness; once Google starts to wall off the service to the creators, the YouTube we all fell in love with will be dead.

Google really could seem to care less about the "Don't be Evil" thing that used to be their mission statement. It's all about the almighty dollar now

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Steaklocker Could Let You Dry-Age Delicious Beef Chunks at Home

Dry-aged beef. It's a phrase that gets fancy steak-lovers' mouths all drooly. The magic dance of enzymes and moisture reduction creates out-of-this-world flavor and tenderness that, unless you've got restaurant-grade equipment, you can't recreate at home. Steaklocker wants to change that, with a device on Kickstarter that promises to bring that meaty magic to your home kitchen.

True dry-aging takes about 21 days for full effect. Moisture leaves the meat, giving you a more concentrated flavor, and enzymes tenderize the muscle to melt-in-your-mouth butteriness. But leaving an unwrapped steak in your fridge for three weeks will probably give you the experience of e.coli poisoning, rather than five-star steakhouse dining.

So Steaklocker came up with a home-sized aging cabinet that, for a pre-order pledge of $555, runs significantly cheaper than the $5,000 or so that a restaurant-grade meat locker will set you back. And with built-in technology that promises to monitor and adjust the temperature and humidity, and a smartphone app that works like a beef baby monitor, you'll know exactly when your steaks have reached peak deliciousness. Plus, an in-cabinet UV lamp stops your raw meats from becoming a bacterial breeding ground—something your home fridge definitely doesn't offer.

As with all Kickstarter projects, caveat backer: while the folks behind Steaklocker say they've figured out the tech side of the project, and just need the funding to kick off production, in the land of crowd-funding there are no guarantees. And even with a 65-lb. capacity and Steaklocker's claim that you'll save at least 50% compared to market prices for dry-aged beef, you'd still have to grill a whole lot of steaks to break even on this investment. Then again, that would be one delicious challenge.

Of course, you can sorta-kinda fake the dry-aging process a little bit using Alton Brown's three-day fridge method. Naturally, it's not the same as the real thing. And if the difference is enough to bother you, and you've got a 34-inch gap in your kitchen cabinets that's begging for a bona-fide dry-ager, maybe it's time to steak your claim on a Steaklocker.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1343942869/steaklocker-the-first-in-home-dry-age-steak-fridge

This is an awesome idea! As a steak lover I really want this

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The BBC Is Testing Facial Recognition to Gauge Viewer Response

[YT]mI-S05VaC_A[/YT]

Did you cry when Sherlock "died"? Do you scream with disgust every time Jeremy Clarkson pops up in Top Gear? Well, the BBC wants to know your response to a number of its top shows—and it's looking to employ facial recognition technology to find out.

A pilot test group of 200 participants in the UK is being given facial coding web cams that can measure expressions including those of happiness, anger, fear, anger, surprise, disgust and sadness. The technology has been built by British start-up CrowdEmotion, recently awarded the 'Innovators' Innovator' award at the Technology Innovators Forum. The BBC is looking to eventually extend the tests to global markets for a second research period, ahead of a larger third testing period in even more international territories.

It's hoped the testing will humanize the BBC Worldwide brand, with the programming research helping to "bring emotions to life and reshape broadcast media through our findings," according to Matthew Celuszak, chief executive of CrowdEmotion. You could argue that looking to quantify human emotions is the exact opposite of a humanising act—but maybe getting rid of Jeremy Clarkson is?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...acial-coding-to-gauge-audience-reactions.html

I find it very creepy that they want to watch you as you watch TV and want absolutely no part of this

 

[DarkSentinel]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/budding-recreational-pot-industry-sparks-innovation-investment/

Watch the video. Great report t:

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

These Revolutionary Optics Could Make Battlefield Lasers a Reality

Weapons that shoot light rather than bullets are quickly becoming a reality, however their huge bulk and even larger energy consumption still demand that they be mounted on vehicles such as battleships and tractor trailers. But thanks to this newly developed optics system from the US Army Research Lab, tomorrow's battlefields could soon be crowded with light guns.

The 21-element optical phased array, known as the Adaptive Phase Coherent Fiber Laser Array system, has been in development for more than a decade as part of DARPA's Excalibur program, which aims to deploy scalable laser weapons to the battlefield using coherent optical phased array technology. This technology uses a high-speed control algorithm called "Stochastic Parallel Gradient Descent," which allows multiple smaller apertures to generate laser beams, then combine them into a larger, more powerful unified beam like the one on the Death Star that destroyed Alderaan.

And thanks to the ARL's work, these beams will be far less subject to physical turbulence and atmospheric interference than the current generation of weapons. What's more, it should also shrink the size, weight, and cost of future weapons systems without reducing their power. This could eventually mean ray guns, or at least 100 KW systems far smaller and lighter than the current HEL MD. It also could mean a new class of laser-based battlefield communications, a new means of missile and drone defense for ground troops, or new weapons for our own UAS fleet. The possibilities are endless.

http://www.defencetalk.com/army-dev...hase-coherent-fiber-laser-array-system-59844/

Laser super soldiers are closer than we thought eh?

 

[KevanG]

Finally something to fight Terminators with.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Rumor has it Google will unveil a new in-car Android interface at I/O next week. Dubbed Google Auto Link, the setup would let drivers control their Android phones via the car's built-in controls and display screen, not unlike Apple's CarPlay.

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...perating-system-that-will-rival-apple-carplay

Can't say we didn't see this coming

 

[Teelie]

And next week we'll be hearing how it's been hacked and can be remotely controlled by someone with malcious motivation.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Color-Changing Suit Shows Injuries That Paralyzed Athletes Can't Feel

Paraplegic athletes push their bodies to the absolute limit—and sometimes beyond. When an athlete injures a body part he or she can't feel, that can lead to some very dangerous situations. Now, a design team at Imperial College London has an ingenious solution: an athletic suit that uses off-the-shelf pressure sensing film to show where serious impacts have occurred.

The team's "bruise trousers" pair athletic Lycra pants with a pressure-sensing film originally intended to measure the gap between rollers in factory machinery and the like. The greater the pressure, the more intense the color. It's a pairing so perfectly sensible, it makes you wonder why nobody thought of it before.

[YT]bmt9lJUENcI#t[/YT]

It's hard to overstate the importance of this development. Sure, it's nice for smaller bumps, the kind of black-and-blues that a wheelchair athlete might not see until the end of the day. But for an athlete who can't feel pain below a certain point, even a vicious injury could go unnoticed. And that can sometimes be fatal, as Paralympic alpine skier Talan Skeels-Piggins tells Wired UK:

One hazard of being a high level paraplegic is Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD), which is essentially the inability to control a rise in blood pressure which will eventually—if left unchecked—result in death. One cause of AD is pain to the body initiated by severe injury. An injured paraplegic might not be aware of the severity of an injury and therefore ignore it. This could lead to AD and the complications resulting from lack of immediate care. The suit would highlight a possible fracture site, thereby allowing the individual to go to hospital for medical treatment and preventing the onset of AD.

The injury-sensing suit is still in prototype phase, with the hopes that additional testing and refining could lead to mass production and incorporation into standard athletic apparel. When that happens, it'll be a boon for all types of sports, helping to hone our understanding of which injuries should sideline an athlete for further examination. But it'll be an especially big blessing for Paralympians and the world of differently-abled athletes who push their bodies to the pinnacle of performance.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-06/17/bruise-suit

This is a cool advancement, I know a lot of physically challenged individuals go pretty dang hard

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Yelp Now Lets You Message Your Grievances Directly to Businesses

In a move that will probably backfire instantly thanks to the always lovely denizens of the internet, Yelp is now allowing you to send messages directly to business owners. All of your questions, comments, and trolls can now directly filter into the inbox of the restaurant or plumber or day care you would like to express your appreciation or hatred toward.

The plight of the internet troll (because let's be honest, this will be a staple in the troll tool belt) is getting better every day. Now your pranks and mind-bending levels of sarcasm aren't limited to phone calls, Facebook or Twitter feeds, or unkempt reviews pages. Now you can reach a business owner's inbox, for a new, more advanced level of personalized degradation. Have at it!

http://officialblog.yelp.com/2014/0...ge-business-owners-directly-through-yelp.html

I can see how some business' would welcome this and I think this option should have been there from the start but, man they aren't kidding when they say the trolls are going to eat this feature up

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

This animatronic human head looks so real that it freaks me out

I always thought that Michael Fassbender's severed head in Prometheus was so perfect an realistic that it had to be just him with his body in a green suit. Or perhaps his real face filmed and projected on a 3D model. Surprisingly, it's an awesome animatronic head made by special effects wizard Gustav Hoegen.

[YT]mCzMHJKXy1E[/YT]

This is his last animatronic showreel:

[YT]Gq1i_uPgTXU[/YT]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpSw5Q8i22ppGcPY9TtZKvA

Amazing how life-like his work is