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How to charge your iPhone wirelessly at Starbucks
Now that Starbucks and Duracell are rolling out a nationwide wireless charging initiative at Starbucks stores, will it work with your phone? Not a lot of us have phones that can … Continue reading
Researcher uncovers method to harvest every Gmail address
This week a security researcher by the name of Oren Hafif revealed a method for collecting every single Gmail address in existence. This method was not a hack - nor … Continue reading
You hate Facebook ads: Now you can change them
Facebook is changing the way it shows adverts, giving users more control over the topics and advertisers they see in their News Feed, even if it's not going to let … Continue reading
Nokia Lumia 630 Review; help us, Cortana, you’re our only hope
Windows Phone is primed for a serious update, but can it make headway into the mid-range market? With Android holding sway in the "lesser-than" category, Microsoft aims to move into … Continue reading
Is Amazon Prime Music worth it?
Amazon recently introduced their streaming music service, which finally opens up their massive catalog for our listening pleasure. They've also entered a crowded, changing music landscape which has migrated from … Continue reading
The three failures of 3D phones
With Amazon's supposed 3D-capable smartphone headed our way inside a week, it's once again time to discuss why 3D phones aren't the smartest buy right off the bat. What we're … Continue reading
Tesla pledges patent openness to boost EV market
Tesla is opening up its electric vehicle technology, promising not to sue anybody who uses its patented tech in the hope of spurring greater adoption of eco-friendly drivetrains after becoming … Continue reading
Slingbox M1 spotted trying to resurrect wireless video shifting
Things have been quiet from media streamers Slingbox of late, but thanks to the FCC we've got a glimpse of a new model, the Slingbox M1, which looks set to … Continue reading
No Twitch for Wii U as Nintendo says it’s not fun
It's not fun to watch video games with Twitch, apparently - so says Nintendo this week after lighting up E3 2014 with a load of games that'd otherwise give great … Continue reading
Vessyl smart cup tracks coffee and more for IoT hydration
Vessyl thinks you have a drinking problem, and it's convinced a $200 smart cup is the answer. Promising to bring the Internet of Things to something as old-school as how … Continue reading
Nokia HERE grabs Medio for context-savvy navigation
Nokia's HERE division won't be happy until its maps are the navigation equivalent of Skynet, with news that it's acquiring predictive analytics specialist Medio for the next generation of "cognitive … Continue reading
PS4 Set Maker turns console camera into DIY TV show
After the PlayStation 4's camera saw heavy usage with networks like Twitch for gaming broadcasts near the end of last year, Sony appears to have seen the light. The next … Continue reading
Amazon details Prime Music
Amazon's new Prime Music streaming service quietly slipped out to Prime subscribers overnight, but now the retail giant has detailed the audio add-on and just how it will compete with … Continue reading
Google’s satellite plans may include Virgin Galactic investment
It would appear that Google is ramping up their efforts to bring the whole world internet access with a tipped investment in Virgin Galactic. Insiders have let it be known … Continue reading
iOS 8′s split-screen surprise leaks on iPad
While we've seen the split-screen functionality of iOS 8 in code before, today's video comes as a bit of a surprise. After all, Apple didn't show off any split-screen abilities … Continue reading
Beats by Dre Powerbeats2 Wireless cut headphones cord
Beats by Dre has revealed its first set of wireless earphones, the Powerbeats2 Wireless, hooking up to your iPhone or another source via Bluetooth, and promising up to six hours … Continue reading
Huawei tackles US off-contract market with Ascend Mate2 4G
Huawei isn't waiting around for US carriers to embrace its phones, instead launching a new plan to offer them direct and unlocked to users, with the Ascend Mate2 4G the … Continue reading
Google I/O 2014 app is up – what we expect to see at I/O
We should now be counting the days to the big I/O slated to take place late this month. And to make sure that you've dotted your i's and crossed your … Continue reading
Parrot Jumping Sumo rolls into the US in August
Parrot will be bringing two new MiniDrones into the US market in two months, and these two are nothing like its most popular product, the AR Drone. Unlike its flying … Continue reading
Incredibly thin bezels shown on a new Samsung Galaxy F “S5 Prime” leak
The number of "actual" device shots of what is supposedly the Galaxy F, a.k.a. Galaxy S5 Prime, is starting to increase. Here we have another one, but this time, all … Continue reading
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 totes 1-inch image sensor, 4K
Panasonic has introduced a new digital camera, the Lumix FZ1000. This latest entrant falls into the compact camera category, and as such holds the distinction as first of its kind … Continue reading
Alienware Steam Machine won’t have SteamOS, runs Windows instead
Valve is delaying its Steam Machine to 2015, and naturally there will be repercussions, especially when it comes to its hardware partners. One of the first fallouts is Alienware, whose … Continue reading
Starbucks rolling out wireless charging stations
Starbucks has introduced a new way for its customers to charge up their devices: wireless charging stations. The new offering is rolling out now, having kicked off with the company's … Continue reading
Replacing your laptop with a tablet: must have accessories
The debate about whether a laptop can be adequately replaced with a tablet is a hot one, usually drawing passionate arguments from both sides of the fence. For some it … Continue reading
Amazon Prime Music makes a surprise launch
Amazon's anticipated music streaming service Prime Music has made a surprise appearance tonight, arriving ahead of the company's press event next week. This follows in line with a rumor we … Continue reading
Pebble Steel hits Best Buy with price drop in tow
Pebble Steel, the sophisticated metal-laden variation of the original Pebble smartwatch, will be arriving at Best Buy this coming Sunday, and alongside will be a price drop to $229 USD. … Continue reading
The social network bugaboo: being connected isn’t all bad
Social networking is the next great bugaboo, being pegged as the sole source of this generation's seemingly inevitable (not to mention unfounded) decline into self-obsession and isolation. It has been … Continue reading
Amazon flexes its muscle again, halts Warner Bros. pre-orders
Amazon, no stranger to controversy, has stopped taking pre-orders of Warner Bros. movies, including the much-anticipated The LEGO Movie. If this tune sounds familiar, it's because it is: Amazon has … Continue reading
Smart cities: present tech efforts hint at our collective future
The tech industry is scrambling to make us all smarter. Electrode-laden headsets have been crafted promising boosts in brain power. Homes are being connected to the wireless hivemind one accessory … Continue reading
The Magic School Bus reboot promises nostalgia in 2016
If the upcoming return of Reading Rainbow brought back fond memories of childhood television watching, Netflix's newly-announced reboot may push you fully over the edge into nostalgia: The Magic School … Continue reading
Appeals Court rules location tracking needs a warrant
A court has ruled obtaining information on the location data in your device without a warrant violates the fourth amendment of the Constitution. In a robbery trial in Florida, part … Continue reading
Mortal Kombat X gameplay shared at E3 2014
This afternoon we're being treated to an early look at Mortal Kombat X via the games creators at NetherRealm at E3 2014. This game will be released well into the … Continue reading
Oculus may sell at cost when released to the public
Through the backlash of fans and being sued by a former employer of their CTO, Oculus rages on. The device is still not ready for prime time, but edges toward … Continue reading
Tado smart thermostat adds HomeKit, SmartThings, hue & more
Smart thermostat Tado is reinventing itself as a smart home hub, adding Apple HomeKit support among other things, and taking on Nest and Honeywell's new Lyric in the process. Finishing … Continue reading
Chromecast use declining in US, research reveals
Chromecast, the tiny dongle that was supposed to do big things, may not be on track for dominance. According to a new report, usage of the Chromecast has declined overall. … Continue reading
Battlefield: Hardline Beta gameplay hands-on
When you dive in head-first to the Beta of Battlefield: Hardline, you expect things to be different from the rest of the Battlefield series. It seems like it would be … Continue reading
PDP multicolored Smash Bros GameCube controllers get cute
Nintendo has had a major impact on E3 this year, coming to the gaming scene with Super Smash Bros updates that've inspired companies such as PDP to make high-quality 3rd-party … Continue reading
Glass cuts fingers as voice commands streamline apps
Google is aiming to make Glass even more of a hands-free wearable by adding contextual voice command support to the headset, allowing more complex series of instructions to be given … Continue reading
Leaked iPhone 6 photos show “final” build (with one problem)
New (alleged) iPhone 6 photos have emerged, offering up a look at what could be the final build of the device. The device in the pictures is said to be … Continue reading
Amazon streaming music tipped for this week ahead of press event
Next week we'll be headed to an Amazon press event, but today it's been tipped that the company may reveal a streaming music program as early as Friday. Why would … Continue reading
Chromium project hints at a more touch-friendly Chrome OS interface called Athena
Based on the open source Chromium project that Google bases its Chrome OS platform on, it appears that a new project is underway to radically change the user interface of Chrome OS devices. Details are scarce and Google hasn’t announced any such changes, but there are dozens of code references in the Chromium issue tracker pointing to something called Project Athena.
From what I can piece together, Athena will alter the way users interact with windows and apps in Chrome OS, adding more touch-friendly capabilities. While Athena could lead to a Chrome OS tablet, or even a phone, it’s possible Google is simply reworking the front face of Chrome OS for touchscreen laptops. At this point, it’s far too soon to say.
I first heard of the Athena code references on Google+ from Brandon Lall, who shared a few specific URLs pointing to the Chromium issues site with regards to Athena. From there, I found several other related Athena issues being worked on. Here are just a few to give you an idea of what the project might entail:
- Athena will have a touchscreen or virtual keyboard, just as Chrome OS does today.
- Possibly similar to Google Now, Athena will use a card-based interface for some activities.
- Extensions for Athena will be supported: “[W]e need to have an extension system to athena. Possibly all we need to do is to port app_shell’s extension system to our use.”
- Something called Ares “will be the home/launcher screen in Athena as well as the launcher for Ash,” according to this Chromium entry.
Based on what I’ve found so far, Athena looks to be a replacement for, or the next evolution of, Ash, the window manager for Chrome OS that arrived in 2012. In fact, one of the issue descriptions from June 3 pretty much confirms that: “There will be a mismatch of settings between Athena and Ash, but we’ll want to share as much code as possible between the systems.”
As far as specific devices, none are mentioned in any of the code references I’ve come across. That would make sense if Athena is an improved windows manager for Chrome OS. However, Lall specifically pointed out one issue that suggests a possible tablet or phone — maybe even a wearable — that could Athena would run on: There’s mention of support for both a gyroscope and accelerometer, neither of which would typically be found in a Chromebook or Chromebox.
Touch is surely a big part of Athena because the project team is working on its first set of touch gestures. These will include dragging up from the bottom edge for “overview mode” and a split-screen mode when dragging right from the left edge; that sounds similar to how Microsoft Windows is used for multiple apps on a touchscreen device.
Might we finally see the Chrome OS tablet I’ve pined for, thanks to Athena? Possibly, although I have noted that Chrome OS isn’t truly optimized for touch, so a tablet with the current software wouldn’t be ideal. Perhaps Athena is the touch-optimized interface to change all that.
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It’s getting harder to tell what’s satire anymore, and The Onion’s new site Clickhole isn’t helping
It’s bad enough that people posting regular news headlines on Twitter or Facebook routinely need to mention that they aren’t from the parody site The Onion, because they seem too incredible and/or stupid to be true. On top of that, many people seem more than happy to share “viral” headlines on social media without even checking to see whether they are factual or not. Now The Onion has made our jobs as social-news consumers even harder by starting a site that specializes in making fun of this kind of viral clickbait, called Clickhole, which launched on Thursday.
Although the site doesn’t mention them by name, Clickhole looks and feels like a combination of BuzzFeed and a low-rent version of ViralNova or dozens of other similar sites, which appear to exist only to get as many people to share their content as possible, so that they can monetize the clicks through Google ads. And there’s no question that these sites deserve to be satirized, as much or more than CNN.
What makes the Onion’s satire even more delicious — or disturbing, depending on how you look at it — is that Clickhole appears to be monetizing itself using the exact same strategy as its targets are: The site has a number of clever banner ads for things like beef jerky, and it’s going to have native advertising as well. It’s just that the content surrounding them is (theoretically) satire. And, of course, The Onion is a media entity struggling to make its way in this new digital world just like any other, satire or not.
The site’s introductory post makes it pretty clear that the purpose of Clickhole is to make fun of viral media, saying: “Today, the average website carelessly churns out hundreds of pieces of pandering, misleading content, most of which tragically fall short of going viral. At ClickHole, we refuse to stand for this. We strive to make sure that all of our content panders to and misleads our readers just enough to make it go viral. You see, we don't think anything on the internet should ever have to settle for mere tens of thousands of pageviews.”
Is it satire, or just clickable content?
Some of the site’s content also seems so obviously satirical that it would be difficult to miss — such as a video clip of a woman swinging on a swing-set, entitled “You Won’t Believe How Cheap This Stock Video of a Woman Sitting on a Swing Was,” or “19 Pictures of Beyonce Where She’s Not Sinking in Quicksand.” But others aren’t quite so obvious, including quizzes like “Which Hungry Hungry Hippo Are You?” that could have come from any non-satirical digital-news outlet, except that some of the questions seem a little odd (including: “Who’s your inspiration?” with Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the nuclear bomb, as one of the choices)
.@ClickHole (made by @TheOnion) Top story right now: "16 Pictures Of Beyoncé Where She’s Not Sinking In Quicksand." Satire or cashing in?—
David Cohn (@Digidave) June 12, 2014
Some articles dance so close to the edge of satire that you could see them being shared by people without any realization that they are supposed to be a parody, or that they are making fun of the person sharing them — like the piece “5 Iconic Movie Scenes That Were Actually Fake,” which tries to point out (fairly subtly) that all movie scenes are fake because movies themselves are fake, so the guy playing a homicidal killer in Pulp Fiction is not actually a homicidal killer, etc.
And from The Onion’s point of view, if these are shared by people who don’t realize they are parodies, that actually makes the satire even sweeter.
In a similar way, The Onion as a business wins no matter what: Either its satirical pieces are so funny and on-point that they expand the company’s audience and it gets a reputation for great satirical click-bait, or the exact opposite happens and people share the site’s content without even knowing whether it’s satire or not — at which point it benefits from the same viral click-related advertising that it is supposedly making fun of. It’s pretty genius actually, when you think about it.
Post and thumbnail images courtesy of All Things D
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Apple’s cloud media services are currently experiencing outages
If you’re having trouble with iTunes at the moment — say, your Movies and TV section on Apple TV has disappeared, or you can’t access the App Store — you’re not alone. Despite Apple’s system status showing all services working across the board, there are widespread complaints on social media Thursday afternoon that some of Apple’s media services are down. I’ve asked Apple for comment and will update as needed.
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Live blog: The Samsung Galaxy Premiere event
Samsung is rolling out all the stops for its latest press event, which is at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. It’s not likely any new Samsung products will be square though: For weeks rumors of new Galaxy tablets have made the rounds.
Join us as we live blog the event as you never know what you’re going to see at a Samsung production, both in terms of the devices and the story Samsung tries to relate to them! The event starts at 4pm PT (7pm ET) so make sure to join us then.
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Nokia buys Medio Systems to help draw “cognitive maps”
Since its separation from its handset business, Nokia has gone on a personalization binge. Nokia's now-core location-based services division, called Here, wants to create highly personalized maps that anticipate a user’s destinations and desires. To that end, Nokia is acquiring Seattle-based Medio Systems to help provide that context.
Medio started out as a mobile search engine in 2006, but it abandoned the idea as Google came to dominate mobile as well as online search. Instead, it put its contextual search algorithms to work to create predictive analytics models. According to Here's 360 blog, it's the type of technology it can use to create maps that go beyond simple search and navigation and deliver "cognitive mapping" that understands the environment within a map and how the user wants to interact with it.
Nokia Here traffic analytics in action (Source: Nokia)
For instance, a cognitive mapping app could provide a cartographic answer to the question "What is London's most fashionable neighborhood?" or "Where should I live in Chicago if I love green spaces?" according to Nokia.
Medio appears to be only part of the cognitive mapping toolkit Here is creating. Last month, Nokia acquired Desti, a kind of virtual travel agent that mines data from place descriptions and reviews. Desti then uses that data to generate more personalized and refined recommendations for sightseers and business travelers alike. With Medio, Nokia want to use its predictive engine to anticipate what users are searching for and where they are going based on their past activity and stated preferences.
As with Desti, Nokia didn't reveal any financial details of the Medio transaction. The companies expect the deal close in July.
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Dell’s DataSafe online backup bites the dust
Dell is shutting its online backup and storage service, and DellData Safe customers have a year to move their stuff or lose it, according to the DataSafe web site. The company will continue to offer Dell Backup and Recovery and is steering customers in that direction. DataSafe was more of a consumer-focused service, offered with Dell consumer PCs and laptops while Dell Backup and Recovery is more business oriented.
This move has precedent: A few years ago, Dell hardware rival HP dropped its Upline online backup service as well, said Raghu Kulkarni, CEO of iDrive, an online backup company that competes with DellDataSafe.
Dell could not be reached for comment, but the realm of online backup is hotly contested. And Dell, now privately held, has indicated it will focus on core businesses.
Other online backup options include Carbonite and EMC’s Mozy. Many people also use Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive as their defacto backup sites.
This story was updated at 12:03 p.m. PST with iDrive CEO comment.
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3D printer scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station in August
Astronauts are closer to being able to manufacture tools and parts on demand in the International Space Station after Made In Space‘s 3D printer passed its final NASA test and had its launch date moved forward to August.
NASA is interested in having a 3D printer aboard the space station because it will give astronauts the ability to create custom parts exactly when they need them. For example, after a spacewalk turned dangerous last year when an astronaut’s suit began to fill with water, the crew modified their suits with makeshift snorkels made from velcro and plastic tubing. A 3D printer could also be used for more mundane jobs like printing extra bolts, springs and tools for science experiments.
"There's literally billions of dollars of spare parts that have to be on the station because they never know what they'll need," CTO Jason Dunn said in an interview last year. "There's times when a tool is needed and the tool didn't exist."
CTO Jason Dunn and CEO Aaron Kemmer show off a 3D printed CubeSat, plus other parts that could be made aboard the ISS. Photo by Signe Brewster.
Its first task aboard the ISS will be to print 21 test parts, video of which will be sent back to Earth and analyzed. One Made In Space knows the printer works and the items it produces are useable, it will work on increasing its build volume and adding new printing materials.
The printer will leave Earth aboard SpaceX’s fourth resupply mission to the ISS. It was originally slated to launch in November but was rescheduled after passing safety tests and other required evaluations ahead of schedule. SpaceX’s resupply missions often face delays, so it is possible the printer will launch later than August.
Made In Space formed in 2010 and developed the first version of a printer for NASA in 2012. The Mountain View-based startup has tested the machine on parabolic flights, where brief episodes of near-weightlessness mimic the microgravity aboard the ISS.
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Tesla to apply open source philosophy to its patents
Looks like Tesla CEO Elon Musk is taking a pretty big — albeit very vague — leap when it comes to the company’s patents. On Thursday Musk published a blog post on the company’s site that says Tesla will apply “the open source philosophy to our patents,” in order to help the small and slow-moving electric car market grow.
Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla electric cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world's factories every day.
The post lacks specifics, but Musk says directly: “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” “In good faith” probably leaves them some wiggle room, given Tesla and Musk have never been shy about initiating lawsuits throughout the life of the company.
Tesla factor floor, image courtesy of Tesla.
But the overall open source strategy is refreshing and a positive step for the electric car market, as well as a recognition that the patent system is weak and broken. Musk writes:
Technology leadership is not defined by patents, which history has repeatedly shown to be small protection indeed against a determined competitor, but rather by the ability of a company to attract and motivate the world's most talented engineers. We believe that applying the open source philosophy to our patents will strengthen rather than diminish Tesla's position in this regard.
In his pledge, Musk is following the example of other companies, which have adopted a defensive-only approach to patents. Google, for instance, is donating patents to protect the emerging cloud computing industry from the sort of lawsuits that have snarled the smartphone business. And Twitter has created an “Inventors Protection Agreement” by which the company assures its engineers it won’t turn around and weaponize their patents down the road.
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Peel gets another major investment from Alibaba, strikes alliances in China
Smart remote control app maker Peel just got another major cash infusion from China's e-commerce giant Alibaba. Peel and Alibaba didn't disclose the amount of funding, but the investment comes after Alibaba gave Peel $5 million in cash in 2013, and I hear this second round of funding is larger than that previous round.
Peel made the funding announcement at the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai this week, where it also unveiled a new mobile device maker partnership: China's TCL will pre-install the Peel app on some if the phones it is distributing under its Alcatel Onetouch brand.
Peel already has a number of these kinds of mobile device partnerships, including with Samsung, HTC and China's ZTE. Those partnerships have led to Peel having more than 75 million users that have activated the app, and use it to the tune of more than 4 billion remote control commands.
Peel CEO Thiru Arunachalam recently told me that about a third of the company's users reside in the U.S.. Now, it's evidently looking to grow its user base in China as well. As part of that strategy, the company also acquired Shanghai-based multiscreen startup Mozitek, which already has existing partnerships with local hardware manufactuers like TCL and Toshiba as well as carriers like China Telecom.
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HackerRank brings in $9 million to help companies land good recruits
HackerRank, a job-recruitment and social platforming company, has landed $9 million in a Series B round, bringing the company's total funding to $12.4M million. The company plans on spending the money to improve upon its recruitment platform technology and load up on sales and marketing staff.
HackerRank provides a type of developer-recruiting tool built on Ruby on Rails for employers seeking talent as well as coders looking to land a job. The tool works by providing coding challenges and games, custom tailored for each enterprise client, that would-be employees can tackle. If a company's recruiting staff likes what they see in how the coder solves the problem, the company can initiate the next steps in its recruiting process, thus bypassing the traditional hiring process in which an organization could potentially land a dud with a lack of developer experience, said Vivek Ravisankar, HackerRank's co-founder.
"The biggest problem right now is finding a way to objectively measure how skilled you are and what benefits the company, as opposed to where you worked and which school you attended," said Ravisankar.
Photo HackerRank Team
The company operates on the premise that programmers love solving challenges, and by seeing how a potential recruit solves developer-related problems, an organization can get a better understanding of a coder's problem-solving skills and their approach to work.
For example, a financial company can consult with the HackerRank team and develop a set of challenges that might include finding fraud within a set of credit card transactions. The challenge might lead to ten possible recruits who developed the most optimal code to discover the financial swindling; now the organization knows the skills of each developer and can then bring them onsite for an interview with confidence.
In the future, the company plans on expanding its gaming infrastructure to support all domains of computer science, including machine learning and artificial intelligence.
HackerRank, now based in Palo Alto, was the first Indian company to be welcomed to the Y Combinator—a startup-centric seed accelerator. The company has 50 employees.
HackerRank claims Amazon, VMware, Evernote and Skype as clients, among others.
Khosla Ventures and Battery Ventures led the funding round. Also joining the investment were angel investors Peeyush Ranjan, VP of engineering at Motorola Mobility at Google, Greg Badros, former senior director of engineering at Google and Dan Rubinstein, director of product management at Facebook.
Post and thumbnail images courtesy of Shutterstock user BlueSkyImage
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