Apple iOS 8 Can Scan Credit Card in Safari

Apple has recently revealed that their upcoming operating system iOS 8 have lot of fantastic features to surprise users but the most amazing feature is credit card scanning. The feature enables you to use the iPhone's camera to scan your credit-card when prompted by a website during online transactions.

The feature of passwords and auto fill option already available in iOS 7, which allows you to store credit card details for future purchases online. The new feature uses character recognition to translate the image of your credit card into distinct numbers on your iOS device, according to 9 to 5 Mac.

There is also another less-publicized feature of iOS 8 is that it generates random media access control (MAC) addresses when scans for Wi-Fi networks, a dynamic that will make it slightly more difficult for marketing companies to track you via your MAC address. Given the many changes in iOS 8, a few more surprises will likely crop up in the coming weeks.

Share your reviews and ideas. . . !

Dropcam Wireless Video Monitoring Camera

Dropcam is a wireless camera that allows you to connect via Wi-Fi for Monitoring purposes. Recently company announced about Dropcam Cloud Recording that its subscribers will receive update of their software to support people detection. 

In shorts, the software would be able to tell the difference between your dog running across the room or a human walking through an open door and that’s really cool and incredible.

The ratings of Dropcam Pro and Dropcam are Amazon's best-selling products in the Camera and Photo section, and the brand is Amazon's best-selling surveillance camera.

The cameras are not only affordable but they are extremely easy to set up. All you have to do is just connect a Dropcam to your Wi-Fi and then configure the camera using your computer laptop or any of android device or IOS devices (iPhone and iPad, etc). 

You can use this camera in various ways like security camera, baby monitor and weather camera or as a way to easily monitor your pet activity. Users can tune in wand watch video streams live or also can also choose to capture or record video on the cloud, where they can be made public or private anytime. You can get live demo anytime on the official site of Dromcam. 

Control Flies' With Laser Beams

Neuroscientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are using thermo-genetics — a technique that controls neurons using heat — to help understand the neural circuits responsible for complicated behavior such as courtship. The research includes triggering mating impulses in flies, Nature reports

Barry Dickson and his team were able to make flies "fall in love" with a ball of wax using the Fly Mind-Altering Device (FlyMAD). The device tracked the flies with a video camera while they flew around a box, targeting them with an infrared laser that delivered heat to their heads. The researchers also targeted neurons associated with muscle coordination, which made the flies walk backward.

Prior research has found that TRPA1, a heat-activated protein, is in part responsible for behaviors such as mating and decision-making in flies. When the protein is added to neurons associated with specific tasks, they can be controlled when triggered with heat.

Targeted with a laser in the current research, the modified flies displayed mating rituals directed at the wax, circling the object and vibrating its wings. After the laser was shut off, the behavior continued for another 15 minutes, implying that it was the heat that caused the attraction.

Dickson told Nature that optogenetics, a similar technique that controls neurons with light, proved successful with mice, but has not been tested on flies. The process required that a fiber-optic cable be embedded into a mouse's brain — something that isn't possible on a creature as small as a fly.

Future research could include testing the TRPA1 method in conjunction with one that uses channelrhodopsin, a light-activated protein. The FlyMAD research was presented at a conference in October and has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. - Mashable

7 Inventions Killed Their Inventors

Being on the cutting edge of technology isn't easy. There are long hours, grueling work, and all the expectations after you make a name for yourself — not to mention the danger.

Few greatest inventions of early 19th and late 20th century were really killer because they caused death of their inventors.. Some of these inventions, like the propeller train, died alongside their inventors, while the rocket-propelled car has managed to lived on.

We recognize a few of the inventors who have lost their lives in the name of advanced technology. But that propeller train could probably make a comeback. - Mashable
Image Via: visual.ly

Samsung Galaxy S5

Features of Samsung Galaxy S5 got more attentions than Galaxy S4. Galaxy S5 is totally different from Galaxy S4 as someone took the DNA of this smartphone and improves it mostly. In short it is about what customers demands for. 

If you're looking for a smartphone that has a better camera, brighter screen, high speed processor and in a solid design, then the Galaxy S5 is exactly about what you're looking for.

Samsung Galaxy S5 has everything in it trending in latest smartphone era: smart camera, quick connectivity for online applications or other use, personal fitness tracking, protection, and a 'modern and glam' look. 

Samsung Galaxy S5 Design

Actually it's little superfluous to discuss about the technology inside phone before dealing with the main question: does it look attractive? No more shiny plastic or laughable attempts to make it look like a leather notebook – while it is still plastic, it's a lot more grip-able and feels a lot, lot nicer in the hand.

The overall construction is more solid, but the device is markedly bigger compared to the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. There's a lot more Note DNA in the Galaxy S5 than ever before, that's for sure. In fact, the design of the Galaxy S5 is one that evokes the S2 more than anything else, as it's more rectangular in shape. It's certainly a departure from the 'inspired by a blade of grass' creation of the S3.

This time +Samsung Mobile  includes an impressive feature in Galaxy S5 that it is waterproof and dust-proof to an IP67 rating, which means it's almost resistant to dust and waterproof to a depth of 1M for 30 minutes – more than enough time to fish it out when thrown down a toilet.

What's more impressive is that this phone still packs a removable cover and battery – while yes, it is a really fiddly cover to clip back on, to be able to access the power pack and microSD card slot is a really good move.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Screen

With the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S5, once again Samsung was a victim of its own hype. We were all expecting a grand step forward, the first manufacturer to bring a 2K screen to the masses. But it's just a Full HD Super AMOLED version, one that's actually a little less sharp in theory than before as it's now 5.1- rather than 5-inches, meaning it's down from a 441ppi to 415ppi on the new version. It's not massive, but it is a drop when we were expecting something higher-res.

Ever since the Galaxy S2, Samsung has been faced with an impossible task: make its smartphones so great that they blow the world's collective mind time and again.

Since that phone, one of the handsets that like the HTC Desire and the iPhone 4 changed the expectation levels of the phone buying public, it's hard to say that it's come close to managing the same feat again.

The display shouldn't be sniffed at though. It's sharp, clear, and when placed next to the S4 is clearly a step forward in terms of Super AMOLED technology. Although Samsung wouldn't confirm it to me, I'd guess that there are more full pixels stuck in there – the color reproduction was a step forward again, and movies looked so much better again.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Interface

Like the 2K display we were expecting big things from the new UI on the Samsung Galaxy S5, and there has at least been a bigger jump forward here.

The notifications bar is the biggest change that I could see, with the whole area looking a lot different to the standard version Samsung has employed with TouchWiz over the years.

There are now quick links to the likes of S Finder and Quick Connect, which allow you to theoretically move through the phone at greater speed.

The former is the same thing as Google Search, it seems, with more information drawn in from the web. It's the kind of thing you'd need to spend more time with to see if it fits in with your lifestyle, as it could either be a really quick way of flicking around or a waste of valuable screen space.

Quick Connect seems to make a little more sense, as it takes the best of things like AirDrop and AirPlay from Apple and moves them all into one place. You can also DLNA stream from here, and makes the Galaxy S5 a really connected hub of the home.

The settings button seems to have gone a bit mad though – now there's a massive long list of all the settings options (under the guise of being quick) but there appeared to be a number of repeated items here – definitely one to dig into further with the full review.

Galaxy S5 Fingerprint Scanner

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting Samsung to bring a fingerprint scanner to the mix for the Galaxy S5, as there were few signs that it had nailed the technology just yet.

In terms of what we've actually been given, it's a middling effort. On the one hand, the scanner is actually pretty accurate and gives an added level of security. On the other, you still have to wake the phone by pressing the home or power button before you can scan, which adds an extra step that Apple doesn't make you go through.

The action can be misinterpreted, as it's a straight scan down from the screen to the bottom of the home key, although I noticed its accuracy was pretty good right from the start.

It's a few steps behind Apple's decent integration of TouchID in the iPhone 5S, but miles ahead of the finger-based abomination on the back of the HTC One Max.

Couple that with the work Samsung has done to sign a deal with PayPal to offer payment security, and you can see why I'm pretty excited about this option.

The TouchID payment security extends only to iTunes purchases, so being able to shop the web and pay for stuff with your digit is truly forward-thinking.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera

The camera on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is probably one of the most improved elements of the handset, and that's not because it's leapt forward to a 16MP sensor.

The megapixel count these days is largely irrelevant, but the hardware's ability to process and take pictures should be considered a much larger part, and Samsung has managed that well. Oh, and of course there's Selective Focus, which allows you to alter the focus of the shot after it's taken.

This looks like it's going to be big news in smartphones this year, but it looks a lot like a gimmick to me if the S5 is anything to go by, which is a shame when it's such a tough task for the phone to process.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Fitness Tech

One of the key pillars of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is the fitness technology that's contained within it - and while it's going to be a big part of the phone's marketing, as well as a popular topic for all technology firms in the next year, it's not a standout feature.

S Health was something of damp squib on the Galaxy S4, and while S Health 3.0 on the S5 is a much better app, there's still not enough there to influence the buying decision.

The Galaxy S5 has a heart rate sensor, but that's under the flash of the camera and requires you to hold your finger on it for a few seconds to get a reading of your pulse.

Once that's logged you can see how your health is improving over time as your resting heart rate drops, but because it requires you to place your finger in a certain way each day it's not a passive system, which these things need to be.

Images via: Samsung & TechRadar

Terminator Telescopic Contact Lens

Telescopic Contact Lens

Have you ever desired to have vision that could zoom in and out, like the Terminator? Well now maybe soon you can.

A team is working on a telescopic contact lens that is just over a millimeter thick. The lens is surrounded by a ring of movable components that magnify view by 2.8 times. As of yet, it is not able to compute the facial structure of what is being looked at but liquid crystal shutters allow the wearer to switch between normal and magnified vision. 

The contact lens was developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland and at the University of California, San Diego by Eric Tremblay and his colleagues. The research and development for the project has been funded by DARPA.

See Also: Sony QX10 Camera Gadget For Smartphones

So far the team has integrated the LCD shutter mechanism into a pair of modified Samsung 3D TV glasses. The lens has been tested on a mechanical model of the human eye and it is hoped that it won’t be too long before the LCD technology can be embedded directly into the lens itself, doing away with the 3D glasses.

According to New Scientist, the researches have said “Although the magnified images were clearly visible in our tests, acuity fell short of the design specification.” The team believe that if they can improve the refractive optics, then any diffraction related problems will be solved.

PS4 Sales Hit 5.3 Million While Xbox One Sits Pretty at 3.6 Million

Sony, after declaring that its PlayStation 4 was out-selling the Xbox One almost two-to-one in January, has confirmed that it has sold more than 5.3 million PS4s between its launch on November 15 and February 8. 

The Xbox One, by comparison, had sold 3 million units by the end of 2013. This is before the PS4 launches in its home country of Japan, too; once that occurs on February 22 we can expect the PS4 to surge even further ahead of the Xbox One.

See Also: Your Voice Will Drive the Xbox One Dashboard

The most interesting data only appears once we tally up both the raw sales figures and the two-to-one tidbit, however. We don’t have an updated sales figure from Microsoft — so, at the end of 2013, Sony had sold 4.2 million PS4s, and Microsoft had sold 3 million Xbox Ones. 

Then, in January, the PS4 “nearly doubled” the sales of the Xbox One, ending up at 5.3 million units by February 8. If we work backwards, this means that the Xbox One only sold around 600,000 units between January 1 and February 8, while the PS4 sold 1.1 million units.

for details:

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/176816-ps4-sales-hit-5-3-million-ahead-of-japan-launch-while-xbox-one-sits-pretty-at-3-6-million

10Gbps Fiber Network by Google

Google is developing the equipment to boost internet speed up-to 10 Gbps of data for commercial and domestic use on its network and will deploy it faster than people expect.

The one and only fastest broadband internet provider in US is Google Fiber, but according to Mr. Patrick Pichette a Chocolate Factory's CFO, its 1 Gbps connection speeds are going to increase ten-fold.

Pichette told the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference that the firm is actively developing the equipment to pump 10Gbps of data into homes and offices on its network and will deploy it faster than people expect.

Getting faster broadband into people's homes and businesses was vital to Google's own business, Pichette said. The more people used the internet, the better it is for Google, and he opined that cloud services would become much more popular if bandwidth lag were eliminated.

See Also:  Google Solar Energy Plants

While Google Fiber retains its speed advantage, the number of homes it actually reaches is tiny. The company set up a test network in Palo Alto in 2011 before rolling out its first commercial installation in Kansas City, Missouri, after strong public demand.

Next on the list for deployment is Austin, the cultural capital of Texas, and Google also spent one dollar buying up the municipal network of Provo, Utah, and will invest $18m in finding out where the network cables are and getting them up to speed.

Google's move into the ISP field was initially laughed at by the major network providers, but it has had an impact. Shortly after Google announced it was coming to Austin, AT&T told local residents that it would start a gigabit internet service of its own, albeit on a very small scale.

When asked if Google was planning other roll-outs for fiber, Pinchette refused to be drawn. "Stay tuned," he told the conference. ®

via: TheRegister

Apple Preparing Heart Attacks Prediction Sensors

According to a report, Apple is developing a sensor based wearable gadget that would be able to predict about heart attack. The effort, led by audio expert Tomlinson Holman, the creator of THX and 10.2 surround sound, can reportedly focus on the sound that blood makes as it travels through the arteries.

Apple's supposed sensor to monitor the sound of blood flowing, that device would probably ought to be worn on somebody's body. Therefore, this new information directly points to the continued rumors of an future Apple wearable gadget, normally stated as the iWatch.

The iWatch implications of the San Francisco Chronicle report are further backed by last week's news that Apple hired medical-device expert Marcelo Malini Lamego. What's more, a report in January claimed that Apple is also working on new health-focused apps for iOS.

If this new report regarding Apple's heart sensor research pans out — barring a surprise move by the company to enter the medical scanner bed industry — Apple's rumored iWatch will turn out to be far more broadly impactful than anyone could have guessed.

Motorola Mobility Device To Communicate Your Smartphone

We are talking about to communicate your smartphone with your voice, thing you need for that is just an electronic tattoo and a smartphone. A new application from Google-owned Motorola Mobility seeks a patent not for any particular utensil, but rather, for setting the table. In other words, if you have an electronic smart tattoo, and want it to speak to your mobile communications device, you can do that with your voice but you will have to do this in Google style.

But hold on for a minute, as there is a bit more to the whole concept than might first appear. The tattoo they have in mind is actually one that will be emblazoned over your vocal cords to intercept subtle voice commands — perhaps even subvocal commands, or even the fully internal whisperings that fail to pluck the vocal cords when not given full cerebral approval. One might even conclude that they are not just patenting device communications from a patch of smartskin, but communications from your soul.

Or maybe not. It has been known for decades that when you speak to yourself in your inner voice, your brain still sends neural spike volleys to your vocal apparatus, in a similar fashion to when you actually speak aloud. The main difference between the two, is that the nervous action driving covert speech as it is called, is subthreshold, and does not generate the full muscle contraction. The same might also be said for imagining throwing a baseball — it is probably not possible to even do so without simultaneously calling up and at least partially launching unamplified motor programs. Stated another way, your thoughts are your motor intentions, only they are not always recognizable as such if they are sufficiently abstracted.

The actual patent speaks of picking up an “auditory signal” from the tattoo, and converting it into a digital signal. The signals from the brain, carried by spikes on the hundreds of laryngeal nerve fibers (and other nerves modulating the vocal tract), are already digital. They bear no real resemblance to an auditory signal at this point. After transformation in the numerous muscles that control the speech organs, there is still no single signal that could be sent to a transducer to generate sound recognizable as speech. 

Looking at an image of a smart tattoo pioneered by John Roger’s Illinois-based research lab, there seems to be all kinds of sensor goodies which can be built in to pick up various biologics. I don’t know if the strain gauges could pick up an actual speech signal in the same way that a conventional microphone could, but they would certainly generate useful information. The built-in EMG and ECG electrodes would not pick up individual spikes so to speak, but could certainly generate electrical records of muscle activity, and perhaps eventually compound nerve potentials. Rogers helped to form a company, MC10, that hoped to commercialize this technology, and although he indicated that he was not involved in these recent ventures, they have joint development efforts with Motorola Mobility.

There is already a device known as a throat microphone that has been used to record an auditory signal in noisy conditions like, for example, the cockpit of a jet fighter. Developed along with the first pressure suit back in 1934, it used a direct contact microphone to pick up sound waves traveling through solid objects such as the throat wall. Later so-called throat microphones, such as the Xbox 360 accessory, only use an open-air microphone. 

They do not really exclude background noise, nor have the ability to pick up unvoiced signals. What got some folks attention recently, namely those over at Patently Apple, was a few peculiar statements in the patent regarding the recording of galvanic skin responses. These guys first heard about the e-skin tattoo from Regina Dugan, the former DARPA head who is now in charge of advanced research at Motorola. Their article notes that the e-tattoo would provide a nice way to do authentication, but the seemingly out of place inclusion of the lie detection talk certainly raises some questions.

Covert voice activation of your device in a crowd would definitely be a nice feature. Instead of actually speaking to Siri or Google Now, you could merely think your voice command. Detecting stress and other emotion could have some applicability too, although who else really needs to know if you have a lump in your throat? Perhaps I have not read that many patents recently, but there certainly did seem to be an excess of wording, and scope. Every wireless communications protocol I am familiar with was included in some form, somewhere. Not only were there definitions for words like “a” and “an,” but also actual percentages associated with a list of words like “about,” “approximately”, “essentially”, and “substantially”. Clearly this is one among several recent patents that we all may want to keep an eye on. 

Pocket Drone Review and Features

Pocket Drone  is an other completed project with the help of Kickstarter-funds. Its a fold-able, flying "multi-copter" that its creators titled it "The GoPro of drones." It's a tiny ( small in size as compare to other) drone and equipped with a high quality action camera capable of recording 1080 HD video or capture  photos and a rechargeable battery of 20 minutes of flights.

This Pocket Drone can be folded up to the size of a small tablet for portability. One of its outstanding feature is autopilot / follow me that allows your drone to capture your moments automatically.

"Till now, mostly people are not participating in the revolution of this awesome new technology - the cost was too great, the drones are too bulky and the software is too difficult to operate," says creators Timothy Reuter, TJ Johnson and Chance Roth wrote on their Kickstarter page.

The creators claim that their drone design is easy enough to use: It can be unpacked and launched within just 20 seconds and can be easily operated by your smartphone, an included remote, a third-party RC controller or tablet with a USB port. Additionally, the software is open source, so hackers or developers of this category can add their own fun features to enhance the ability of this pocket drone.

The Kickstarter campaign presents the Pocket Drone as a relatively inexpensive tool for aerial photographers and videographers, as it's cheaper than your average DSLR camera. Backers can purchase a Pocket Drone for $445 without a controller, or $495 for the full package.

The Pocket Drone campaign finishes funding on March 9, and has already raised more than $300,000, far surpassing its goal of $35,000.

Russian Drones Army

The U.S.’s drones have been a constant fixture on the news as of late, but it turns out that Uncle Sam’s not the only one with a lineup of drones. 

Apparently Russia is also slowly building an army of drones that is if recent pictures have anything to say about it. What would Russia do with a drone army? Your guess is as good as mine, but they probably don’t exist to make friends with other drones. As some of the pictures show, Russia’s drones can move over land and over sea. It’s probably not too big of a stretch to say that some of them can even move throughout the air as well.

Just What Do You Think That Drone Is For?

It has already been reported that many believe robot soldiers will outnumber humans by the year 2023. Robots are even now being developed that can do everything humans can do and supposedly more. With all of this news of drones everywhere you look, that doesn’t seem as hard to believe as it may once have been. The earth may be laid to rest under the attack of drones.

It’s unknown how many drones there are in the world, but I believe it’s safe to say there are many, many that we have no idea about. Maybe it’s better that way, I don’t know. What do you think? Does this news of drones alarm you at all?

source: TechBeat

Smartkey to Unlock Your Hotel Room

Yes, its not a joke Starwood app is being used by Starwood Hotels & Resorts and If you're staying at the Aloft Hotel in New York City or Silicon Valley, you'll soon be able to use your smartphone as your room key.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is adding a "virtual room key" to its Starwood app that enables NFC in your smartphone to connect your room lock.

Instead of waiting after a long line to get your key from the front desk of hotel, users can check in and set their payment method on the app. The app then becomes your room key. The Bluetooth connection in the phone connects to a sensor on the door that activates the lock. The locks are battery-powered, meaning they will work even if a hotel's computer system goes down.

Starwood's CEO Frits van Paasschen told The Wall Street Journal that he believes this new feature will "become the new standard for how people will want to enter a hotel." He concedes that the idea might "be a novelty at first" but said he thinks "it will become table stakes for managing a hotel."

The technology works using Bluetooth and will work with any iPhone 4S or higher, and Android phones running Android 4.3 or newer.

This isn't the first time using a smartphone as a room key has been discussed. As far back at 2010, Apple filed patents for using the iPhone in various travel and retail scenarios.

Starwood is going to pilot the program in its Aloft hotels in Cupertino, Calif., and Harlem, N.Y., hotels in 2014, but hopes to roll the feature out to all of its Aloft and W hotels by the end of 2015.

For those users that still want the more traditional check-in experience, that will remain an option.

New Frames For Google Glass, Prescription Lenses

Though Google glass's main appeal lies in the camera and the smart circuitry located above the right eye, at the end of the day smart-glasses are still glasses, and users would like to have options when it comes to frames and lenses.

Well, now they do. Google has announced the Titanium Collection for Google Glass, with four new extra-light titanium frames as well as two new styles of twist-on shades.

The new frame styles, which functions pretty much as your regular prescription frames, are named Split, Thin, Bold and Curve. Twist on shades are now available in a total of three varieties: Edge, Classic and Active. And even if you're not entirely satisfied with the choice, worry not: Google claims more styles will be coming.

The new styles will be available to Explorers (users who've participated in the Google Glass beta program) as a $225 upgrade option Tuesday afternoon. Qualified users who need prescription lenses and have vision insurance from VSP can get subsidized frames and lenses.
Source: Mashable

Moto X Coming to Europe in February 2014

Motorola's flagship smartphone, the Moto X, will hit European store shelves in February, CNET reports.

The pricing will be $624 in the UK or $546 in France and Germany without a contract. That's significantly more than in the U.S., where the device sells for $399. However, Europeans are accustomed to big price differences when buying U.S.-made phones.

In the UK, customers will also be able to get the phone with a contract, starting $41 per month. It will be available from retailers such as Amazon, Phones 4U, Carphone Warehouse, O2 and Techdata.

The Moto X runs Android 4.2.2. It sports a 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED screen, a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of storage, a 2,200mAh battery and a 10.5-megapixel camera. - Mashable

5 in 1 Action Camera by Sony

The Sony HDR-AS100V is really 5 action cams in one, or a minimum of it may be. whereas the camera works simply fine mounted to a helmet or shoulder, it extremely levels-up the expertise after you have a bunch of all networked via an optional wrist controller.

Up to 5 cameras may be "meshed" during this means, letting the user alter the footage captured by every cam. The cameras themselves ar splash-proof, and may capture video at up to 1080p at 24 frames per second. At 720p, they'll record in film at a hundred and twenty Federal Protective Service or perhaps super-slow at 240 Federal Protective Service.

With multiple cameras and also the RM-LVR1 wrist controller, extreme videographers might mount cameras everywhere the body, or many bodies, to create some seriously artistic footage. The provided Play Memories software system has tools for merging material from multiple cams, creating split-screens straightforward. The footage even has time codes, though you will need a professional suite (such as Sony Vegas) to use them. The cameras' aboard GPS will integrate map views, too.

Built into the camera is Sony's Steady Shot image stabilization, which can adjust to the different kinds of vibration that goes hand in hand with action videography, whether it's gentle bumps on a ski run or the constant rumble of a motorcycle.

I got a little hands-on time with Sony's tiny but powerful action cam, as well as the wrist mount, and they're pretty fun. The camera itself is remarkably lightweight, and the white finish is pretty. Since the footage is relayed wirelessly, there's a slight but perceptible delay in the camera view on the wrist monitor, but it worked well with no dropouts.

The AS100V will be available in March. Each action cam costs $299.99, and a bundle with the wrist controller is $399.99, so a full five-camera system will set you back about $1,600. Steep, but if you get some friends in on the action, you can split the cost.

Google's Project Ara To Reveals Modular Smartphone

Google’s phone firm Motorola has declared a brand new project which will permit users to make their own standard smartphone. Project Ara can let users get a plastic phone structure, named endoskeleton, so add-on modules like a keyboard, battery or alternative sensors, giving them flexibility to customize the phone.

Motorola is functioning with the Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, who has created Phonebloks, a standard phone plan. during a web log post Motorola disclosed it had been engaged on the project for quite a year and added: “We need to try to to for hardware what the automaton platform has in deep trouble software system – produce a spirited, third-party developer system.”

“To provide you with the facility to choose what your phone will, however it's, wherever and what it’s product of, what proportion it prices and the way long you’ll keep it,” the post continued.

The endoskeleton or the frame of the phone will hold all the chosen modules in place.

“A module will be something from a brand new application processor to a brand new show or keyboard, an additional battery, a pulse measuring instrument – or one thing not nonetheless thought of,” the firm aforesaid.

A “Gimmick”

Although some are viewing Project Ara as a breakthrough, there also are those that feel it's all somewhat pointless.

Principal technology analyst at Davies white potato cluster, Chris inexperienced, feels the project is simply a “gimmick”.

“I don’t see this as being a giant deal. it's not responding to any specific demand and there's no real profit to aggregation your own device,” he said. “The days of DIY IT, individuals building their own desktop computer, are gone as a result of falling prices of hardware.”

Motorola’s next step is to ask developers to make the modules, which can be followed by a module developer’s kit.

Hacker Drone to Hijack Other Drones To Take Full Control

Hacker Samy Kamkar has engineered a changed Parrot AR Drone 2.0 — which, coincidentally, can be purchased on Amazon — that may hijack different Parrot drones within the locality, taking full control of them. Basically, it is a drone that produces zombie drones.

Kamkar dubbed his creation pirate and printed a close clarification of however it are often reproduced on his journal Tues. All you would like could be a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 equipped with a little Raspberry Pi computer device, a battery, 2 wireless transmitters and Kamkar's software package.

His software package is wherever the hacker magic happens. It makes the drone fly around, craving for the wireless signals of different Parrot drones within the locality. once it finds a match, it cuts the affiliation to its owner and takes over.

For now, the hack solely affects Parrot-brand drones. however as Ars Technica points out, "the software is built in a way to easily target different types of drones that have communication systems that are similar to Parrot."

Given the poor record of non-military drone manufacturers once it involves security, this appearance to be an added obstacle Amazon can got to overcome before the Prime Air drones will become a reality.

To find out additional regarding however this drone turns different drones into zombies, cross-check the video higher than.

Have any suggestions for this article? Share with us in comments.

Samsung and Nokia 5 Year Licensing Deal

Under a newly minted deal between the world's top smartphone maker -- South Korea's Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KSC:005930) and Nokia Oyj. (HEX:NOK1V)), Samsung agrees to pay Nokia royalties on its Android smartphones, beginning in January 2014.

I. Nokia Scores Licensing Payments From World's Largest Smartphone Maker

The deal is another crucial coup for the Finland-based Nokia, who recently opted to sell its recovering devices division to ally Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and focus its efforts on the telecommunications equipment market.  Nokia already owns a major licensing deal with Apple, Inc. (AAPL).  Apple - widely known in the smartphone "patent wars" as an aggressor -- ironically enough was on the receiving end of Nokia litigation back in 2009, which culminated in an agreement from Apple to pay licensing fees.

Apple's licensing rates (i.e. how much Apple pays Nokia per iPhone to "borrow" its "innovations" -- intellectual property) interestingly may have played a key role in the Nokia-Samsung negotiations and are also the subject of a growing controversy.

Apple and Samsung are currently locked in a second round of suits-countersuits, which will be tried in March 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California with Judge Paul S. Grewal presiding over the trial.  Ironically, that case only involves the Galaxy SII, Galaxy S3, and Galaxy Note 2 -- aging Androids which Samsung will likely have largely have stopped making by the time the case wraps up.  Apple tried to tack on Samsung's current flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, but Judge Grewal denied that motion, forcing Apple to have to likely wait for a third trial in mid-to-late 2015 on that, and possibly other devices.

Overseas Samsung has faced some minor losses, seeing brief bans of its "Galaxy Tab" product line, but has been successful in convincing foreign regulators that its workarounds eliminate Apple's infringement claims.  Notably in the UK Samsung actually was found completely innocent -- illustrating the diverse range of opinions regarding software patents and their scope.

In the U.S., Samsung lost the first round of the battle, with a hometown Californian jury -- who included jurors who had family members who were Apple shareholders -- deciding that Apple was innocent of infringement, but Samsung was guilty.  A jury ordered roughly $1B USD in damages, but $450M USD of that was awarded under improper instructions; so it's being recalculated (likely lower) at a special damages trial in November -- also in the USDC for Northern California, under the trial judge for the first case, Judge Lucy Koh.

II. Did Leaks Help Samsung Illicitly Score a Deal?  Apple, Nokia Claim So

The controversy regarding the Apple-Nokia licensing stems from the fact that Apple handed over confidential documents to Samsung's lawyers -- which were only allowed to prepare a defense for the case.  Those documents admittedly were not stamped with the appropriate confidential steal ("Attorney Eyes' Only"), due to what Samsung's lawyers claim is a "mistake".  They were also uploaded to an FTP, which Apple's law team contends was access by 223 unauthorized individuals -- including Samsung lawyers and executives involved in the Nokia investigation.

Apple cites a deposition from Nokia's chief intellectual property officer, Paul Melin who at a June 4 settlement talk with Samsung was reportedly surprised when Samsung executive Dr. Seungho Ahn knew of the secret terms of the Apple license, and reportedly use that for leverage, telling Mr. Melin "all information leaks".

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP -- the outside counsel representing Samsung admits that it made "missteps" in the case, which they "deeply regret".  But they deny that Dr. Ahn knew of the agreement, arguing that Mr. Melin misunderstood Dr. Ahn due to a language barrier (English is a second language for Dr. Ahn).

If Apple is able to nail the lawyers at Quinn Emanuel with sanctions it would be a major blow and set a difficult initial hurdle for Samsung to overcome image-wise in the second trial.  It could also seriously impact Dr. Ahn, who happens to have J.D. legal credentials from the State Bar of California.

Fortunately for the Samsung team, Judge Grewal so far has remained unconvinced of Apple's argument for lack of complete information.  He commented in a recent hearing, "I am not yet satisfied that sanctions are warranted in this matter."

It's pretty clear based on Quinn Emanuel's defense testimony from the hearing, that Samsung did something at least mildly illegal, in failing to stamp the documents appropriately and uploading them to a potentially shared FTP.  How serious a breach this was may be difficult for Apple and Nokia to definitively prove -- as most of the critical details happened behind the veil of Samsung's servers.  In terms of image, the account is mildly damaging to Samsung although at this point the battlelines are drawn; its detractors will largely view this as another instance of "Samsung stealing", while its proponents will view it as a merry rogue, perhaps flexing the bounds of legality to battle the patent aggression of Apple and Nokia.

II. Samsung -- Profitable, but Not Safe as the Vultures Circle

With that in mind, at the end of the day Nokia did decide -- whether it was due to knowing what Samsung (illicitly) knew with respect to its Apple arrangement, or something else -- to four months later accept Samsung's licensing settlement offer.  The pair are still have a bit of negotiating to do, though as the "damages" for the bind arbitration (i.e. per unit licensing fees) will be decided sometime in 2015 (and retroactively applied to 2014 sales).

It is unclear whether Nokia will offer any special exemptions for Samsung's Windows Phone handsets. Nokia did not spare the Radar 4G Windows Phone from HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) in the pair's recent ongoing legal strife.  However, Microsoft has since received a confidential licensing agreement for Windows Phone as part of the Nokia Devices deal -- leaving it unclear whether or not Windows Phone (as a platform) has received licensing from Nokia (meaning all Windows Phones released from Q3 2013 on would likely be protected), or if the licensing only applies to Nokia Devices' Windows Phones.  The licensing pact, like the deal between Apple and Nokia, is sealed, so we may never know (given that Samsung has already settled with Nokia and HTC is likely to settle).

Nokia says it currently receives patent licensing fees from a whopping 50 OEMs.  It quite possibly may have the strongest smartphone patent portfolio in that its pioneering work in smartphones allowed it to describe in patents the basic software setup of the modern smartphone, with sufficient ambiguity in the language to broadly cover most current devices.  Better still, most of these patents weren't part of any standard, and thus aren't bound by any sort of obligatory licensing.

Samsung now is safe from Nokia, but it's still reeling from being sued by Rockstar Consortium -- a group of tech firms that includes Apple and Microsoft -- and even fellow Android OEM Sony Corp. (TYO:6758).  The suit is controversial as Apple and Microsoft had promised to the use these patents -- which come from a 6,000 patent portfolio from bankrupt telecommunications firm Nortel -- in a peaceful manner, at the time of their $4.4B USD purchase approval in Feb. 2012.

The suit is also controversial as Samsung has a licensing agreeement with Microsoft for Android, and is rumored to pay one of the highest rates of any OEM (nearly $15 USD per device).  Samsung may have paid Microsoft over $3B USD in 2012 in licensing fees on the 215 million smartphones it sold, most of which ran Android.  Given that Samsung is already paying Microsoft, it seems rather unethical that Microsoft would turn around and try to troll this cash cow for even more via shell company.

About the only good news for Samsung is that even with the new "Nokia tax", Samsung will likely remain the most profitable Android OEM in the industry, given its current large quarterly smartphone profits.

Source: dailytech

NVIDIA Unveils 7-Inch Tegra Note 7 Tablet

EVGA Tegra Note 7 Review

On the same day that Apple announced the availability of its much-anticipated Retina iPad mini, NVIDIA and its U.S. partner EVGA unveiled its own 7-inch Android tablet called the EVGA Tegra Note 7.

Equipped with a Tegra 4 quad-core processor, a 1280x800 display, micro HDMI to connect to HD televisions, 16GB of storage and a 5-megapixel camera (along with a front-facing webcam), the $199 device offers a strong Android tablet alternative to the pricier Nexus 7 and Galaxy Note 8.

EVGA claims that the device has the world’s first HDR camera in a tablet, a feature that could draw interest from those looking to use the Tegra Note 7 as their primary photo-taking device, rather than a smartphone or a standalone camera.

Aside from its speedy processor and budget-friendly price, NVIDIA is focused on showing off the power of its stylus device. In an elaborate demonstration video, NVIDIA compares the sensitivity and accuracy of its DirectStylus device with the stylus options available for the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Note 8.

As of Tuesday, e-retailer Newegg had the Tegra Note 7 available for pre-order. It will officially go on sale starting Nov. 19.

Mashable