Month: August 2013

Film Review

‘Elysium’ review: class warfare heads to space

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As reported on The Verge. By Bryan Bishop The director of ‘District 9’ turns Matt Damon into man and machine   Four years ago District 9 hit theaters, heralding the arrival of a new voice in contemporary science fiction. Writer-director Neill Blomkamp’s alien-invasion film impressed visually, portraying a gritty, realistic world that seamlessly blended humans and digital creations. More importantly, it carried on in some of the best traditions of the genre by serving as intriguing social commentary…

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Application Google

Google’s New Maps App Now Showing Local Ads Related To Users’ Searches

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As reported on TechCrunch. by SARAH PEREZ Google AdWords customers can now better target mobile device owners via an updated ad experience within the Google Maps app on Android, iPhone, and iPad, Google announced today. This news follows a recent update to the Google Maps app, which previously saw a number of changes and additions, including an updated user interface, integrated traffic reporting, Zagat reviews, changes to how business ratings display, and more. In the updated Google Maps application, advertisers…

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Business Culture News

Snowden’s Alleged Email Provider Shuts Down, Warns Against Trusting U.S. Companies

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As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN The alleged email provider of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has suddenly shut down, leaving just an ominous message in its absence. “I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision,” writes Lavabit owner Ladar Levison on the company’s front page. “I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.” The…

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Hardware Dev

Researchers exploring twisted magnetic fields for miniature hard drives.

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As reported on Engadget. By Zachary Lutz Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that the answer to more efficient storage might exist in a Chubby Checker song. Yep, by doing the twist, scientists are thinking it’ll be possible to store up to 20 times more data in the same space, which could lead to much smaller (or vastly more spacious) hard drives for consumers. The work revolves around twisted magnetic fields known as skyrmions, which can retain their structure…

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Business

ASUS pulls out of Windows RT due to financial losses and ‘industry sentiment’

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As reported on Engadget. By Sharif Sakr This isn’t a huge shock, given that ASUS has already publicly expressed woes about poor sales of its Windows RT products, but CEO Jerry Shen‘s latest comments have a surprising edge of finality to them. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he repeated that “Windows RT has not been very successful” and said that the company took a writedown on its stock of RT tablets, although he didn’t reveal the size of the…

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Automotive

Tesla Reports a Profit (Sorta) While Elon Musk Shoots Self in Foot

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As reported on Wired. BY DAMON LAVRINC Photo: Jim Merithew/WIRED   Tesla Motors’ second-quarter numbers are out, and depending on how you figure profit, the electric automaker either made $26.2 million or lost $30.5 million. Also, Elon Musk regrets ever mentioning theHyperloop. First, let’s talk profit. Tesla’s net income for Q2 was $26 million, an increase of 70 percent from Q1. However, that’s not using the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) math — or non-GAAP. If you…

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Android Application

Google begins rollout of Android Device Manager to help track your lost phone

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As reported on The Verge. By Chris Welch Google’s answer to Find My iPhone is finally here. Announced less than a week ago, some users have already begun receiving access to the all-new Android Device Manager. The Verge has been able to confirm that the service works just as Google advertised; it located a Nexus 4 within seconds, giving us options to ring the device or, barring any chance of retrieval wipe its contents completely. The map says its…

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Application Cloud

Comcast tests cloud DVR app for iOS, brings live TV and recordings to mobiles

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As reported on Engadget. By Richard Lawler Comcast announced plans for cloud based recordings with its upcoming X2 platform rollout, but FierceCable has spotted an iOS app in iTunes that’s ready for the feature. Published by Comcast Interactive Media, the Comcast Labs DVR app promises access to user’s cDVR service while behind their Comcast modem. What we can see of the UI is very basic, but the setup screens promise a “revolutionary new DVR that streams live TV and…

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Science

IBM Research reveals new silicon chip foundation inspired by the human brain (video)

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As reported on Engadget. By Nicole Lee The brain is an incredibly complicated thing, so much so that scientists have spent years trying to decipher its inner workings. IBM is one such institution attempting to crack the code of the human mind. In collaboration with DARPA’s SyNAPSE program, it developed a “neurosynaptic computing chip” back in 2011 designed to simulate some of the brain’s functions and successfully simulated 530 billion neuronslast year thanks to the world’s second fastest supercomputer. Today, the…

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Entertainment

Batman Zing! Whammo! Pows! his way to YouTube’s top superhero spot (video)

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As reported on Engadget. By Timothy J. Seppala Bruce Wayne may be on permanent vacation with Selina Kyle, but that hasn’t stopped Batman from topping YouTube’s list of most popular superheroes. Based on views and amount of content, the Dark Knight is number one, racking up 3 billion pairs of eyes on 71,000 hours of video. That’s 213 trillion hours you spent watching the antics of a flying rodent with daddy issues — or roughly 42,000 views per hour of footage. More…

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