Author: admin

Mobile Security

Privacy-focused Blackphone starts shipping for $630

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As reported on Engadget. BY SHARIF SAKR  If you missed our coverage during Mobile World Congress, then here’s what you need to know about Blackphone: it’s a mid-spec Android smartphone that comes pre-subscribed to (and pre-installed with) a bunch of privacy and anti-surveillance services, for a price of $629 off-contract. It’s the offspring of a joint venture between Silent Circle andGeeksphone, who together have just announced that the first batch of devices is now shipping to customers who pre-ordered during…

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Culture Health

The link between weed and schizophrenia is way more complicated than we thought

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As reported on The Verge. By Arielle Duhaime-Ross Study finds genetic overlap between cannabis use and schizophrenia The association between marijuana and schizophrenia is historically fraught. In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists thought that smoking weed could trigger psychosis in just about anyone. Today, these findings are more nuanced, but researchers still think that cannabis can trigger schizophrenia in people who are predisposed to the disease — meaning those with family histories of the disorder. Yet, in the last decade,…

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Google

Google Revises Glass With More RAM The Day Before I/O

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Greg Kumparak Well, the timing is nothing if not interesting: one day before its I/O keynote, Google has just given the Glass hardware a small hardware upgrade. Without much fanfare, Google has quietly bumped the memory in newly shipped Glass units up from 682MB to a full 2GB. That gives Google (and Glass developers, for that matter) roughly 3x as much memory to play with. With I/O starting tomorrow, it’s more than reasonable to…

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Google

People Are Going To Dress Up Like Star Wars Characters In SF Tomorrow To Protest Google

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Alex Wilhelm No one protests like San Francisco. The scene: Tomorrow, outside of Google’s I/O conference, an assemblage of protestors will dress up like Star Wars characters to decry Google and the economic impact of the technology industry. The goal, the group told TechCrunch in an email, is to highlight rising income inequality in San Francisco, a city now infamous for its spiraling rents. Google has become a symbol for the rapid…

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History Space

Curiosity celebrates its first action-packed Martian year

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As reported on Engadget. BY STEVE DENT  Curiosity feted its first Martian year on the red planet (687 earth days) with a stiched-up selfie while NASA reflected on the Mars rover’s triumphs and setbacks. So far, it has achieved most of its mission goals, particularly its quest for evidence that Mars could have supported life. Drilling samples revealed traces of all the elements needed for life, and itspotted a streambed that once had “vigorous” water flow. The rover also found that…

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Automotive Business

Toyota’s first hydrogen car is priced to go head-to-head with Tesla

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As reported on Engadget. BY SHARIF SAKR  Sure, Elon Musk is giving away Tesla patents, but don’t be surprised if more established manufacturers politely decline his offer. Instead of batteries and electric charging stations, players like General Motors, Mercedes, Honda and Toyota are focusing their efforts on a very different sort of fuel system: hydrogen. Toyota has just revealed that its first commercial hydrogen fuel cell car, a sedan modelled on the earlier FCV concept, will be ready…

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Government Military Politics

There may be nothing America can do to save Iraq

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As reported on The Verge. By Verge Staff  Growing ISIS insurgency threatens to pull Obama back into Iraq, but his options are limited Less than four years after the withdrawal of American troops, Iraq is once again descending into chaos and violence. Islamist insurgents from an al-Qaeda breakaway group have seized large swaths of northern Iraq, and are marchingtoward Baghdad. The unrest has inflamed deep-seated sectarian divides between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq, resulting in…

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Application Automotive

With A Series Of Upgrades, Dash Becomes A Viable Competitor Among Smart Driving Apps

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Sarah Perez Dash, a smart driving app that’s something of a “Fitbit for you car,” is now rolling out a series of updates, including integration with notifications platform IFTTT, as well as an API for third-party developers, and more. The company has also beaten competitors to an international launch, which is a notable milestone for apps like this. According to CEO Jamyn Edis, Dash has now been downloaded in over 100 countries, where Dash has…

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Culture Education Engineering

University library starts ‘drone loan’ program for students

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As reported on Engadget. BY STEVE DENT  There’s good news if you’re a broke University of South Florida student who’d like to take an $1,195 DJI Phantom 2 Vision UAV for a spin: you can now sign one out from the library. Before you start preparing some kind of water balloon-dropping scheme, however, there are a few caveats. First off, all use will be supervised by library staff and you’ll have to take a course in drone operation…

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Culture Hardware Dev Tech

Soundhawk’s smart earpiece tunes out noise to augment your hearing

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As reported on Engadget. BY CHRIS VELAZCO We’ve all been there. You’re standing around, trying to have a conversation — meaningful or otherwise — but that wretched, raucous noise means all you can do is cock your head and mouth “I can’t hear you!” to your friend. San Francisco-based startup Soundhawk doesn’t want that to ever happen again. The team can’t boost your hearing to Superman-esque levels, but with a new $299 gadget they can at least augment…

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