Author: admin

Application Google

Google Translate for Android now deciphers handwriting in 13 more languages

By admin | by admin

As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS If you’re an Android user traveling to the Middle East or southern Asia, you’ll likely want to grab a just-released update to Google Translate. The new app expands on a recent iOS upgrade with handwriting recognition for 13 extra languages that mostly come from the above two regions; you can now write in Arabic and Persian as well as Indian dialects like Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. You’ll also find support…

Continue reading

Military Security

‘Acoustic cloak’ could shield submarines with a cone of silence

By admin | by admin

As reported on Engadget. BY STEVE DENT We’ve seen some overly elaborate invisibility cloaks in our day, but Duke engineers have shown that lo-fi may be best for audio. After much refinement, they’ve developed a shield that can hide objects from sound waves thanks to a highly engineered pyramid shape and carefully placed holes. The stacked layers retard sound coming from any angle, so that it appears to have bounced off a flat wall when picked up by a detector…

Continue reading

Pure News

Join the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight

By admin | by admin

As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor Satellite operator hopes crowdsourcing will help locate missing aircraft Authorities have yet to locate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which mysteriously lost contact with air traffic control on over the weekend, but a satellite operator in the US hopes that crowdsourcing could help find it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Colorado-based DigitalGlobe has sent two of its satellites to survey the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, targeting areas that…

Continue reading

Internet News

Snowden: The NSA Is Setting Fire To The Future Of The Internet

By admin | by admin

As reported on TechCrunch. by Alex Wilhelm Today at the SXSW conference, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden joined the event digitally to speak about mass surveillance. Since his revelations began to spill last summer, Snowden has been a lightning rod for discussion regarding the proper role of government, and how we handle privacy as a kind. In his remarks regarding the need for more consumer-friendly encryption, Snowden condemned the NSA, his former employer, and its leaders. Painting…

Continue reading

Automotive

New Jersey is the latest state to ban Tesla’s direct-to-customer car sales

By admin | by admin

As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS Tesla’s direct-to-customer sales model just hit another big roadblock. New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission has voted in favor of a rule banning direct car sales, effectively kicking Tesla out of the state as of this April. For those keeping score, this is the EV maker’s third such defeat, following similar moves by Arizona and Texas — while Tesla won a legislative battle to go dealer-free in North Carolina, it appears to be losing the…

Continue reading

Application Culture

Starbucks app update lets you tip your barista

By admin | by admin

As reported on Engadget. BY EMILY PRICE Starting next week iPhone owners will not only be able to buy your triple-venti-extra-hot-no-foam latte using Starbucks’ mobile app, you’ll be able to tip your barista for making it as well. The king of coffee is updating its app March 19th to add digital tipping for the first time and make the app easier to navigate. If you’re not paying attention in line, a new “Shake to Pay” feature instantly loads…

Continue reading

Rumors

Rumors of an Amazon music service, TV set-top box swirl yet again

By admin | by admin

As reported on Engadget. BY MARIELLA MOON We’re still not sure whether Amazon’s truly launching a music streaming service, but if it does, you might only be able to access songs and albums for a limited time. According to the Wall Street Journal, the e-commerce company hopes to offer music streaming as part of Prime to justify an annual membership (from $79 to $119) price increase. Unlike other services like Spotify or Pandora, Amazon’s end goal is to entice people to…

Continue reading

Culture History

Digging up the brutal truth about Rio de Janeiro’s 19th century slave trade

By admin | by admin

As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Brazil, soon to host the soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, is in the midst of a frenzy of construction. Crews in Rio de Janeiro are preparing the city for the future, but as The New York Times says, they’re also discovering the truth about its brutal past. Rio de Janeiro was once a hub for the Atlantic slave trade, and teams of excavators dig into its South American soil,…

Continue reading

Science Space

See the astonishing real-life space photos that inspired ‘Cosmos’

By admin | by admin

As reported on The Verge. By Valentina Palladino NASA tweeted that it created a new album on its Flickr account with a few never-before-seen images of celestial bodies, in conjunction with Sunday’s premiere of Cosmos. Mixed with some old photos, the entire album of 43 images shows how the parts of our universe we don’t see can be amazing, scary, and beautiful all at once. Some of the photos depict phenomena seen on the 13-episode series, which remakes and pays tribute…

Continue reading

Culture

Searching For The Silicon Valley Selfie

By admin | by admin

As reported on TechCrunch. by Danny Crichton There are many benefits to living overseas, but among the most valuable is the ability to dislocate yourself from your timeworn surroundings. The typical cadence of our daily behaviors – driving down 280 every morning or getting a burger at SuperDuper before closing – suddenly and irrevocably disappear, and our minds suddenly become more active in seeking the stability of the regular. That awareness extends to analyzing our previous environment, particularly…

Continue reading