Advances in Computers thread

[ScienceRocks]

OWC Envoy Pro Mini SSD USB released, 120GB to 480GB
Lindsey Caldwell | Apr 16, 2015
0

Other World Computing (OWC) launched its latest collection of thumb-sized solid state drives (SSD) today at an industry trade show in Las Vegas. OWC's Envoy Pro mini SSD utilizes a USB 3.0 port and can run on Mac, PC or Linux. The biggest point that sets SSD drives apart from traditional USB drives is the transfer speed. This OWC model can sustain speeds of up to 433 Mb/s and has a max speed of 500 Mb/s.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Mobile wallets more popular in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else

by Mariella Moon | @mariella_moon | 4hrs ago

In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile wallets are a huge deal. While it's been that way for years, the World Bank's latest Global Financial Inclusion database gives us solid details on just how prevalent they are in the region. According to the report, 12 percent of adults (64 million) in the area have mobile wallets or what Africans call "mobile money accounts," which aren't connected to banks. Half of those people have traditional bank accounts, but the half rely solely on their phones for their financial needs. It seems to be especially popular in Kenya, where 58 percent of adults access their money through a mobile device.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Startups put digital technology in the grocery aisles
1 hour ago by Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mike Hansen, a resident of this small, southeastern Wisconsin town, got a computer six years ago but has yet to set up an online connection.

Hansen, however, has started borrowing an iPad from the service desk at a nearby Piggly Wiggly store to do his weekly grocery shopping.

The attraction: an app the grocer makes available to its customers. It gives them savings and loyalty points while they're shopping and provides valuable data to the grocer and product manufacturers.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-startups-digital-technology-grocery-aisles.html#jCp

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-startups-digital-technology-grocery-aisles.html#jCp

 

[ScienceRocks]

DARPA Cortical Modem connects brain directly to computer for 'electronic telepathy and telekinesis'

A brain-computer interface has been developed by the US Defence Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is capable of laying a heads-up display over a user's natural vision.
The "cortical modem" also holds the potential to cure sight loss and enable "electronic telepathy and telekinesis" according to noted futurist Peter Rothman, writing for H+ Magazine.
While still a long way from production, the direct neural interface (DNI) chip would be shaped like a coin, around 1cm wide, and could conceivably cost as little as $10 (£6.50).
As outlined at the Biology is Technology conference in Silicon Valley last week, the interface provides a direct link between the brain and an external device or software through manipulation of the visual cortex.

 

[ScienceRocks]

In 2017, Norway will be first country to shut down FM radio

April 19, 2015

Norway will shut down FM radio in the country beginning in 2017, Radio.no reports. The Norwegian Ministry of Culture finalized a shift date this week, making it the first country to do away with FM radio entirely. The country plans to transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) as a national standard.

http://www.theverge....d-fm-radio-2017

 

[ScienceRocks]

Camlet Mount connects a smartphone or tablet to your DSLR
By Emily Price
April 19, 2015
13 Pictures

The integration of cameras in smartphones and tablets has seen many become accustomed to the oversized viewfinder provided by such mobile devices. But such devices can't compete with dedicated DSLRs or mirrorless cameras when it comes to image quality and features, which is why Vancouver-based Camlet Products and New York-based IC Art NY have created the Camlet Mount to connect a mobile device to your camera.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Chipless tracker could transform barcode industry
18 minutes ago

Barcodes on packaged goods could soon be a thing of the past with the rapid expansion of chipless tags, and Monash University researchers are at the forefront of developing this technology.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-chipless-tracker-barcode-industry.html#jCp

 

[longknife]

In 2017, Norway will be first country to shut down FM radio

April 19, 2015

Norway will shut down FM radio in the country beginning in 2017, Radio.no reports. The Norwegian Ministry of Culture finalized a shift date this week, making it the first country to do away with FM radio entirely. The country plans to transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) as a national standard.

http://www.theverge....d-fm-radio-2017

Digital Audio Broadcasting - all over Europe and Asia. Why not here in the USA or Canada or Mexico? Are we falling behind on this? Or is it something the FCC is blocking?

 

[ScienceRocks]

In 2017, Norway will be first country to shut down FM radio

April 19, 2015

Norway will shut down FM radio in the country beginning in 2017, Radio.no reports. The Norwegian Ministry of Culture finalized a shift date this week, making it the first country to do away with FM radio entirely. The country plans to transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) as a national standard.

http://www.theverge....d-fm-radio-2017

Digital Audio Broadcasting - all over Europe and Asia. Why not here in the USA or Canada or Mexico? Are we falling behind on this? Or is it something the FCC is blocking?

We don't have the political will to do such things...It would take a government that was willing to do it. Certain anti-government people would go wild.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

“We’ve had 80 years of linear TV, and it’s been amazing, and in its day the fax machine was amazing,” he said. “The next 20 years will be this transformation from linear TV to Internet TV.”

Netflix shares soared about 25 percent last week on news that it had added a record 4.9 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2015, bringing its total number of paid streaming subscribers to 59.6 million. The company beat expectations for growth and gave investors reason to believe that it still has much more room to grow.

“Think about the simplistic equation: More good content equals more viewing, more viewing means more subscribers, more subscribers means money to spend on more programming, which means more subscribers,” said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research. “It is a virtuous cycle.”

Make more science programs and stay away from bullshit!

 

[ScienceRocks]

Sony's Xperia Z4 flagship is a slight spec bump over the Z3
By David Nield
April 20, 2015
3 Pictures

We've already seen Samsung's and HTC's high-end handsets for 2015, and now Sony has joined the party. The Xperia Z4 offers a small specs bump and a similar design to last year's Xperia Z3, as well as a front-facing camera designed to make your 'selfie' shots the best they can be.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Now You Can Download Your Google History—Or Better Yet, Delete It

2

Sean Hollister and 23 others

You can now download your entire Google search history to your computer. Sound neat? That’s what I thought at first. And then I realized there were dangerous things in my search history—things way worse than my taste in porn.

 

[ScienceRocks]

AT&T finally brings its gigabit internet to Chicago's suburbs

by Edgar Alvarez | @abcdedgar | 1hr ago

Back in October of last year, we learned about AT&T's plans to launch its 1Gbps fiber network, GigaPower, in cities like Chicago. And today, more than six months after the original announcement, the company's finally flipping the switch in some areas of The Windy City -- including Elgin, Oswego, Plainfield, Skokie, Yorkville and other "surrounding communities." The U-Verse gigabit internet will be available as a standalone service and as a bundle with a cable or phone package, with prices ranging from $90 to $150 per month, depending on your selection. If you're not in any of the aforementioned zones of coverage, fret not -- AT&T says it will be expanding the service across Chicago later this summer.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Sony’s new sound bars, receivers tout 4K support, Google Cast
JC Torres | Apr 20, 2015
0

These days, speakers are just as sophisticated and talented as the TVs and components they are connected to. What's more, they are no longer simply tethered by wires and cables and have become part of a growing connected family of appliances. Today, Sony is adding six more members to that family: four sound bars and two AV receivers. Boasting more than just high-quality audio components that Sony is known for, these audio products also bring along the ability to play protected 4K content as well as support for Google's hottest streaming feature, Google Cast.

 

[ScienceRocks]

New invention expands Wi-Fi bandwidth tenfold
By Colin Jeffrey
April 21, 2015
3 Pictures

The vast range of Wi-Fi-enabled devices available today means that anyone could have several personal electronic devices all trying to connect to a network simultaneously. Multiply this by many hundreds of people in a busy public place with Wi-Fi connectivity and this often means that available bandwidth is greatly reduced. To help address this problem, researchers at Oregon State University claim to have invented a new system called WiFO that incorporates infrared LEDs to boost the available Wi-Fi bandwidth by as much as ten times.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Wearable electronics forecasts smartwatches passing activity trackers in popularity in

The NDP Group projects that 2016 activity tracker ownership will have peaked at 32 million in 2016 while nine percent of US consumers will own a smartwatch. The eventual decline of the activity tracker is part of larger trends around miniaturization and ubiquity. Smaller, cheaper chips can be integrated into more products and clothing, “enabling...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Oomi smart home system needs no smartphone
By Dave LeClair
April 22, 2015
6 Pictures

Let's face it, there's no shortage of smart home systems designed to connect everything in your home and make things easier to control. For example, both the Ninja Sphere and Revolv have recently made waves. With so many launching all the time, it takes a lot to make one stand out, but Oomi has found a way to make everyone stand up and take notice. It's promising to redefine the smart home by taking the smartphone out of the equation, and by making it quick and easy to set up and get going.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Haptics system could transmit emotions via users' hands
By Ben Coxworth
April 22, 2015




We've already seen interactive technologies that create smells or tactile sensations on command. Now, however, British scientists have developed a system that they claim can be used to make users experience specific emotions – and it does so without even touching the person.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Google wants to turn your home’s walls into screens

Right now, staring at the walls is synonymous with boredom, but what if technology could transform them into more than just load-bearing structures?

A patent awarded to Google on April 21 suggests that day is coming. The search-engine giant has outlined a projection system that can display images on a painted wall, using photo-reactive paint, according to Quartz. It may not sound remarkable at first, but when you consider the fact that a standard wall could be turned into a digital display, it all becomes a bit futuristic.

The projector would emit a beam of light that produces a “theme,” according to Google’s patent. When the light hits the wall, the paint would change into something similar to a screensaver or desktop wallpaper. A computer or smartphone would be used to control the technology. The wall itself would work like “e-ink,” changing only when the user projects a new image.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/google-gets-patent-to-turn-walls-into-screens/#ixzz3Y5FN1ees
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook

 

[ScienceRocks]

Google launches its own mobile telephone service

Google said Wednesday it was launching its own US mobile wireless service, with considerable potential savings for customers using their devices at home and for international travel.