Month: April 2014

Google Mobile

Here are some of the crazy phones you can build with Google’s Project Ara

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As reported on The Verge. By Jacob Kastrenakes Google is starting to show developers what they need to do to create swappable parts for its upcoming modular smartphones, currently called Project Ara. On Ara’s website, it’s just posted the Module Developers Kit, which contains the information that manufacturers need to get started on creating modular parts. “Ara’s success is predicated on a rich, vibrant, and diverse ecosystem of modules from a myriad of developers,” one document in the kit…

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Engineering Environmental

A German Company Is Printing Food For The Elderly

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As reported on TechCrunch. by John Biggs A German company, Biozoon, is working on a 3D-printed food extruder that creates food that literally melts in your mouth, allowing elderly patients with dysphagia – the inability to swallow – to eat without choking. Biozoon uses molecular gastronomy to create food that can be “printed” using a standard extruder-based printer. The food solidifies and is completely edible but when it’s eaten it quickly dissolves in the mouth. Over 60% of older…

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Business Mobile

BlackBerry is willing to stop making phones if they keep losing money

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS BlackBerry CEO John Chen has long made it obvious that he wants to turn a profit by 2016, but it’s now clear that nothing will stand in the way of that goal — not even his company’s smartphones. While devices are still part of the plan, Chen tells Bloomberg and Reuters that he wants to avoid depending on them for revenue, and may “not be in the handset business” if the hardware doesn’t make cash.…

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Business OS

Death of Windows XP can’t quite reverse slowing PC sales

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS The official end to Windows XP support may have sent many companies into a panic, but it was good news for PC manufacturers this winter… well, sort of. Both Gartner and IDC report a big increase in PC shipments during the first quarter thanks to companies scrambling to replace old XP computers at the last possible moment. However, the two analyst groups note that the sudden spike only managed to soften ongoing declines in PC shipments, rather…

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Security

How to avoid heartburn, err, Heartbleed

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As reported on Engadget. BY SEAN BUCKLEY Don’t change your password. It’s strange advice to hear when the so-called Heartbleed bugis leaving databases all over the web open and exposed, but it’s applicable. Yes, security has been compromised for many of your favorite websites and services (including Google, Flickr and Steam, at least initially) but protecting yourself isn’t quite as easy as changing your password. Unlike past exploits, Heartbleed isn’t a database leak or a list of plaintext logins; it’s a flaw…

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Android TV

Exclusive: this is Android TV

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As reported on The Verge. By Sean Hollister Google’s plans for the living room come into focus with a simple TV interface, apps, and games Every so often, some enterprising computer company will claim they’ve finally fixed the TV. They’ll talk about how they’ve turned a dumb terminal into a smart computing platform that extends your work and play to a gigantic screen. Then, we’ll watch as the idea flops because they fail to line up…

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Application Microsoft Office Tablet

Ballmer, Not Nadella, Gave The Go-Ahead To Ship Office For iPad, Which Has Racked Up 12M Downloads

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Alex Wilhelm Update: I’m hearing that while Ballmer did intend to ship Office for iPad, it was Nadella who picked the date. This makes the below comment technically true, but perhaps slightly confusing.  Office for iPad has seen 12 million downloads to date, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made the decision to pull the trigger and release the suite, according to the company. Microsoft’s Office for iPad team took to Reddit today to check…

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Google

Google Seems To Be Considering Doing More With Chromecast’s Home Screen

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Greg Kumparak NOTE: NOT AN ACTUAL SCREENSHOT; JUST A MOCKUP OF WHAT THE WEATHER ICONS COULD LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE While I’ve been a fan of the Chromecast since the beginning, I find myself using it more and more lately. During the work day, I end up using it for all of the random videos I want to watch but that I don’t want taking up my laptop’s screen space or taking…

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Engineering Microsoft

Microsoft teaches robots how to deal with groups and draw from memory

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS Us humans are good at predicting how people will behave, particularly in groups, but artificial intelligence routines still have trouble dealing with much more than controlled, one-on-one discussions. They’ll be far more flexible if Microsoft’s Situated Interaction project pays off, though. The research initiative has produced sensor-equipped robots that can not only recognize multiple people, but infer their objectives and roles. Office assistants can tell who’s speaking and respond in kind,…

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Business Internet

Comcast could soon launch its own WiFi-powered mobile service

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As reported on Engadget. BY STEVE DENT With companies like Verizon pushing into its broadband turf, Comcast may be pushing back with its own mobile network, according to a report from The Information. Insiders claim that,like Google, it’s considering a service that would work using a combination of Comcast’s million+ WiFi hotspots and leased cellular capacity from other operators. Those could include Verizon, with which it already has a deal in place for wholesale network access. In addition, it has over…

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