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Showing posts from May 12, 2013

MIT crafts analog circuits from living bacteria

Previous work on using organisms as circuitry has usually involved shoehorning parts of the digital world into a very analog environment. MIT has just found an approach that uses the subtlety of the natural world to its advantage: the circuits themselves are analog. By combining genes that produce similar molecules in response to different inputs, the school's scientists have created bacterial cells that perform basic math -- the exact quantity or ratio of a given molecule is the answer. The approach offers a much wider range of results than a binary circuit (10,000 versus 2), and it exploits the cell enzymes' inherent ratio awareness to do some of the hard work. MIT wants more variety in genetic ingredients before it can produce a truly universal system, but its work could lead to organic sensors that are much simpler and more precise than their digital peers.

The CW will stream TV shows on Apple TV for free

This week many TV networks are putting on "upfront" where they lay out their content plans for the next year, and The CW President Mark Pedowitz announced it's bringing full TV episodes streaming to the Apple TV . The CW already has ad supported full episode streaming on several platforms including iOS and Android, Windows 8 and it launched last month on the Xbox 360 (pictured above). Pedowitz indicated the network is working to reach more viewers on more platforms, so Apple TV is probably not the last. In a note to MacRumors The CW confirmed it will mirror the experience on other platforms, with episodes available the day after they air, no cable TV

How Google updated Android without releasing version 4.3

Google covered a lot of ground in its three-and-a-half-hour opening keynote at Google I/O yesterday, but one thing it didn't announce was the oft-rumored next version of Android. However, persistent rumors insist that the elusive Android 4.3 is still coming next month—if that's true, why not announce it at I/O in front of all of your most enthusiastic developers?The answer is that Google  did  announce what amounts to a fairly substantial Android update yesterday. They simply did it without adding to the update

Google Maps adds better directions, suggestions, and 3D Earth rendering

Google today announced a new version of its mobile Maps application and talked about the new things it's doing to fill out Google Maps . At the Google I/O conference Wednesday, Google outlined several improvements to both the desktop and mobile versions of its Maps app and a new user-contribution feature called Map Maker . Map Maker will allow users to add their own data, which Google may then incorporate. The new version of Google Maps will allow users to zoom in on maps and see 3D renderings of buildings while searching for locations. Users will now be able to see whether their friends have rated places using a new five-point rating scale that will be introduced across all Google Maps incarnations. The partnership with Zagat ratings and reviews will persist into the new version alongside the new five-point ratings.

Android to get built-in Bluetooth Smart Ready support this year

As powerful as Android can be, Bluetooth is one of its glaring weaknesses: the absence of a default Bluetooth framework has led to inconsistent implementations from both device builders and app developers. Google is at last covering that gaping hole, however. As hinted earlier today, it's incorporating Bluetooth Smart Ready support (that is, Bluetooth 4.0 on a dual-mode chip) in an upcoming version of Android. Having a common platform should allow for more reliable behavior, not to mention fewer roadblocks to using low power Bluetooth Smart (single-mode Bluetooth 4.0) devices like the Fitbit Flex. There's only one catch that we can see, so far: when Google hasn't said how soon we'll get that Android upgrade, wireless peripheral lovers will have to remain patient.

International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield makes first space music video

Canadian astronaut and outgoing International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield has recorded the first music video in space while floating in zero gravity, strumming an acoustic guitar and crooning his own rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" as a special farewell before heading back to Earth. The lyrics tweaked a bit here and there are particularly fitting "Ground control to Major Tom Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on Ground control to Major Tom Commencing countdown, engines on Detach from station and may God's love be with you"

Nokia Lumia 925 is coming to T-Mobile in the US

In the US, you'll be able to pick up the just-announced Nokia Lumia 925 on T-Mobile. In T-Mobile's press release it lists all the specs of Nokia's 4.5-inch device, but no details on pricing or release date. Follow along with on our live blog for all the updates as they happen. Developing...

Nuance Dragon Notes brings quick, spoken memos and messages to Windows 8

Sometimes, the smallest and simplest apps make the most sense . Take Nuance's new Dragon Notes for Windows 8, for example. Unlike its NaturallySpeaking cousin, it's not a universal tool: instead, it's narrowly focused on the voice dictation of memos, email, social networking updates and web searches. That limited scope leads to a very simple interface, however, and slims down the price from $100 to a far more accessible $20. Fans of minimalism can grab Dragon Notes directly from Nuance on May 15th, although they'll need to spend $10 for every language they speak beyond English

Saudi telecom seeks help of Hackers for monitoring encrypted Twitter data according to e-mails.

  Mobily , a Saudi Arabian telecommunications company with 4.8 million subscribers, is working on a way to intercept encrypted data sent over the Internet by Twitter , Viber , and other mobile apps, a security researcher said Monday. Moxie Marlinspike , the pseudonymous cryptographer who has identified several security bugs in the secure sockets layer protocol used to protect website transactions, said he learned of the project after receiving an e-mail from company officials. Carrying the subject line "Solution for monitoring encrypted data on telecom," it said the project was required by "the regulator." Marlinspike believed this meant the

Amitabh Bachchan and Leonardo DiCaprio working in Hollywood movie "The Great Gatsby"

Amitabh Bachchan has called his belated Hollywood debut in The Great Gatsby "just a friendly gesture" but would not mind doing an encore if he comes across something interesting. "I don't look upon it as my Hollywood debut. It is just a friendly gesture and nothing more. It is just a small scene with Gatsby and his friend, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire . Meyer Wolfsheim is looked upon as some kind of mentor to Gatsby in the story," Bachchan told PTI in an interview over phone from Mumbai.

Samsung tests 5G technology to download movies in a second

  SEOUL : Samsung Electronics on Monday said it had successfully tested super-fast fifth-generation ( 5G ) wireless technology that would eventually allow users to download an entire movie in one second. The South Korean giant said the test had witnessed data transmission of more than one gigabyte per second over a distance of two kilometres. The new technology, which will not be ready for the commercial market before 2020 at the earliest,

Samsung patent records screen TV that fits viewer

Samsung has patented this week, indicating that a technology can eventually produce televisions with flexible screens. In South Korea , however, the patent was presented a year ago. The project also provides for the installation of a "member of panel disfiguration ", placed in the back of the monitor to adjust their movements. The controller is connected to a menu offering various options, such as changing the screen, customize the angle toração, bending direction and precise degree and thus allows the movement of the TV . According to the document, you can also adjust the image so it does not get distorted on the television, also by means of the remote control will work with bluetooth or infrared connection.

Corkcicle Chillsner Beer Chiller: A Chill Idea

Warm beer may be something the international crowd is in to, but here in the States , we need our beer cold, and the Chillsner Beer Chiller from Corkcicle is here to help get the job done. Simply freeze it up, insert into any bottle of warm (or not so warm) beer, and drink right through the gadget itself. With a heatwave coming any week now for many of us, it can’t come soon enough. Unfortunately, they’re temporarily out of stock as we speak, but note the word “temporarily.” Bookmark this one, and never drink a beer at room temp or higher again.Buy it from Here

Now the Time Encircles Your Finger

Everyone wants to be in time to the world so it needs to use a watch. It should be so easy to carry and usage. At “ CES 2013 ? a Bracelet wristwatch was launched with e-ink technology. Later this, Apple, Gnomio and LG introduced different technologies in the watch media. Now here is upcoming a new innovation, a watch, equipped within a ring, easy to wear and the watch has no extra rather than the ring, named as RingClock, designed in stainless steel body. The RingClock would display the time with three independent rings. Each ring moving around the main ring then encircles your finger. Light marks then you can read the time.

Apple iPhone 6 ‘appears’ on Vodafone UK store

  While there have been a lot of rumours about the upcoming iPhone model, there have been very few evidences about the device's existence. Now, technology website Stuff has revealed that it received an image which shows that the next Apple smartphone will be called iPhone 6, not iPhone 5S . The report says that the image is of Vodafone UK's till system, showing an inventory that clearly names the model as '4G iPhone 6'. Recently, French website Nowhereelse.fr released the image of an internal document of Japanese telecom operator KDDI . This document states that the upcoming iPhone will be announced on June 20 and hit the

World Trade Center becomes tallest US building at 1776 feet

  The spire for the top of One World Trade Center is hoisted into place at the top of the building in New York City, on May 10, 2013. The spire has been put in place on One World Trade Center bringing the iconic structure to its full, symbolic height of 1776 feet.

How hackers allegedly stole “unlimited” amounts of cash from banks in just hours

Federal authorities have accused eight men of participating in 21st- Century Bank heists that netted a whopping $45 million by hacking into payment systems and eliminating withdrawal limits placed on prepaid debit cards . The eight men formed the New York-based cell of an international crime ring that organized and executed the hacks and then used fraudulent payment cards in dozens of countries to withdraw the loot from automated teller machines, federal prosecutors alleged in court papers unsealed Thursday.

A wireless network with frickin’ laser beams on the ceiling

A new product called Beamcaster distributes beams of light to create wireless networks , providing an alternative or supplement to Wi-Fi and eliminating much of the cabling used to connect office workers to the Internet and corporate networks.RiT Wireless, the makers of Beamcaster , demonstrated the technology this week at the Interop networking conference in Las Vegas. A Beamcaster "optical distribution unit " is mounted on a ceiling, distributing invisible beams of light to eight "smart outlets." (You might call them " frickin' laser beams .") In a typical

GamePop console offers Netflix-style subscription for mobile games on the TV

Following the success of Kickstarter projects like Ouya and Gamestick, yet another company is trying to bring mobile gaming to the living room TV. BlueStacks is hoping to set its GamePop console apart with a subscription-based all-you-can-play model covering a curated selection of 500 titles.BlueStacks began taking preorders for the new console today  ahead of a planned winter launch, but it isn't actually selling the hardware yet. Instead, users who commit to a year's subscription at $6.99 a month will get the console and controller for free.

Android 4.3, Google Babel, and the Nexus 7: What’s in store for Google I/O?

Google ’s annual developer conference is mere days away, so expect a giant heaping of announcements in the near future. We absolutely know the keynote will take place on Wednesday, May 15, and there we can hope for a number of new products and features to be unveiled. But truthfully, for now, we can only assume and guess at what those might actually be. Plenty of rumors cropped up to fuel this intrigue, most of them surrounding Google’s forthcoming Nexus devices. But there are a few related to new features within Android , like an integrated