Archive for the ‘Tech Gadgets’ Category
Apple Stores are increasingly seen as a sign of affluence, a sign that a neighborhood “has arrived.” It turns out that some cities are more anxious to arrive than others, offering Apple sweetheart deals to open new stores — deals … Continue …
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/raspberry-pi-team-teases-camera-add-114042176.html
While the telecommunications industry has advanced to the point where owning a smartphone is like carrying around a personal computer wherever you go, progress is moving more slowly for the actual “phone” part of the handheld device
“While there is huge innovation in the marketplace by iPhone and Android, all of that is on the data side meaning the voice call hasn’t changed,” remarked Rob Williams, a former Microsoft and RealNetworks executive who now runs Sidecar Communications. “It has the same experience and features as when we were plugged into the walls.”
From that preamble, you probably won’t be shocked to learn that the Sidecar app – which launches today on Android and iOS devices – is all about enhancing the experience for users while they are actually talking on their phones. Specifically, the free app lets users share video, photos and other data in real time with others while they are on the line. Beyond serving as a business or virtual meeting application, the purpose of Sidecar is to let people share the spontaneity of life’s experiences in real time.
“You may never want to share spreadsheets on the call,” Williams said. “But you do want to see the smile on a kid’s face.”
Here is a glimpse of how Sidecar actually works.
Free calls for everyone
Unlike other apps which enable free or substantially cheaper phone calls over Internet connections, but limit calls to recipients who also have the app installed, Sidecar enables users to make calls to anyone in the U.S. or Canada over a wireless network. The ability to share added media, of course, does require that both users have the app installed. If you are calling over a 3G or 4G network, carrier rates will apply.
Sidecar is the second service launched by Williams’ company, which he co-founded with RealNetworks founder Rob Glaser. The company, which has 10 employees based in offices in Seattle and San Francisco, previously tried a Facebook-enabled video conferencing service called SocialEyes.
“SocialEyes wasn’t able to work across web and mobile,” Williams said. “It’s very hard to build a great mobile experience that is also a great web experience. We realized we couldn’t be both and we chose mobile.”
Williams added that his team is focused on refining Sidecar and generating a critical mass of users before investing time in monetization, which will eventually be done through premium services. The company is backed by Seattle-based Ignition Partners.
A tale of two platforms
While Williams and Glaser have a deep history with Microsoft, making Sidecar accessible to Windows-enabled smartphones upon launch was never really a consideration.
“The opportunity costs prevent entrepreneurs from focusing beyond Android and iOS right now,” Williams said. “I’d love it if Microsoft manages to make Windows a bigger part of the market. It’s up to them and not me.”
Find great Android games here
Article source: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/12069-do-you-see-what-i-see-new-sidecar-app-lets-users-share-live-video-photos-while-talking
Television recording service TiVo has created a set-top digital video recording box specifically designed to make it possible to stream recorded TV shows to your iPad or iPhone.
Called the TiVo Stream, the device connects to your local Wi-Fi Internet service and uses it to connect your TiVo DVR box on your television to other devices on the network, including your iPad or iPhone, as The Verge reports. The TiVo Stream uses your existing service coupled with your own Wi-Fi network to transfer recorded TV shows from your DVR to your iPad for offline viewing or when you’re away from home, and also allows you to stream recorded shows to the tablet so long as they’re already recorded to your set-top box.
The Verge reports that TiVo’s new app to go with the streaming service works better for viewing videos than Netflix or Hulu, making it quick and easy to skim back through pages. Users can also expect some pretty fast transfers between devices, amounting to about four times the speed of what it takes to actually view the video. But not everything is transferrable, TiVo reports, including some premium shows from networks such as HBO – those will need to be viewed on you original TiVo set-top box.
Eventually, it sounds like the TiVo Stream will actually be capable of streaming live TV and other programs from DVR to iPad, although currently that functionality doesn’t exist. You can’t currently just shoot TV shows straight to your iPad from your TV, although a fairly simple workaround allows for something similar. Since the TiVo Stream can transfer to the iPad programs it has recorded, setting a video to record and then transferring it while it is being saved to the hard drive still works, allowing users to watch TV at a point that’s almost live.
TiVo doesn’t have a final release date the TiVo Stream or its accompanying apps and updates. The company also showed off its IP set-top box, which can spread TiVo service to a number of TV sets throughout the house without the hassle of buying new boxes and setting them all up.
There are a lot of possibilities when it comes to video viewing and content distribution with the iPad, and it seems TiVo is capitalizing before things explode too greatly. Of course, TiVo might find itself with licensing roadblocks like those seen from premium channels such as HBO, which make it tougher for TiVo to push content wherever it wants. But then again, the ability to watch TV on an iPad can be hugely convenient, and it sounds like TiVo means to attract the kind of people who see the benefit of having their TV shows wherever they are, even if they’re traveling.
Surely iPad users with TiVos will likely find the TiVo Stream and its subsequent off-shoots extremely useful, and if the service works well, it may well lead to additional streaming apps on the iPad that make the device into more of a replacement TV than one to augment the experience of watching.
Discover great iOS games here
Article source: http://www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/12075-tivo-shows-off-set-top-box-for-streaming-to-ios-devices
Apple Stores are increasingly seen as a sign of affluence, a sign that a neighborhood “has arrived.” It turns out that some cities are more anxious to arrive than others, offering Apple sweetheart deals to open new stores — deals … Continue …
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-next-iphone-feature-3-95-inch-upgraded-125524918.html
Apple Stores are increasingly seen as a sign of affluence, a sign that a neighborhood “has arrived.” It turns out that some cities are more anxious to arrive than others, offering Apple sweetheart deals to open new stores — deals … Continue …
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-closes-motorola-acquisition-131018884.html
BLUFFDALE, Utah (AP) — A search prompted by a bomb threat at a U.S. Army base in Utah has ended with an FBI spokeswoman saying agents have not turned up anything suspicious.
FBI spokeswoman Debbie Dujanovic Bertram says the search with bomb-sniffing dogs ended late Monday, about six hours after the threat halted construction of a National Security Agency data center at Camp Williams and the site was evacuated.
Construction will resume Tuesday.
The FBI says it isn’t concluding that the bomb threat was a hoax, only that agents found nothing.
The NSA broke ground on the $1.2 billion cyber security center in January.
Camp Williams is about 25 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-investigates-bomb-threat-utah-cyber-center-212700930.html
NEW YORK (AP) — Google says it has completed its acquisition of phone maker Motorola Mobility and it has appointed a Google executive as the new CEO of the business.
Google says Dennis Woodside, previously president of Google’s Americas region, is Motorola’s new CEO. Departing CEO Sanjay Jha will help to ensure a smooth transition.
Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. announced the $12.5 billion deal last summer, expecting it would close late last year or early this year.
Approval from Chinese regulators was slow in coming. On Saturday, China approved the deal, on condition that Google Inc.’s Android software would remain free for other phone makers for at least five years.
Google is buying Motorola, a pioneer in the cellphone industry, to prop up its patent portfolio and help defend phone makers who use Android against litigation.
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-closes-motorola-mobility-acquisition-133834577--finance.html
Microsoft‘s upcoming Windows 8 series — featuring an upgraded cloud computing service — marks a “rebirth” of its operating systems, chief executive Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday.
Ballmer described Windows 8 as the “deepest, broadest and most impactful” Windows software ever created by the US tech giant, after the current Windows 7 sold at unprecedented rates to businesses.
“It’s really, in some senses, a dawning of the rebirth of MS Windows… It’s certainly the most important piece of work we’ve done,” he said in a speech to the Seoul Digital Forum.
Windows 8, whose preview version will be released in June, allows users readily to store and share personal data among various devices under the “SkyDrive” cloud computing service. Rival Apple already offers such a service.
The new Microsoft system will support a wider range of devices, including touch- and stylus-based smartphones and tablet PCs as well as desktop and laptop machines, Ballmer said.
The software giant has been trying to expand its presence in the booming software market for smartphones and tablets, which is currently dominated by Apple and Google.
Ballmer predicted that the cloud computing market would become dominated by a few big players.
“The number of core (cloud) platforms, around which software developers will do their innovation, is not ever-broadening,” he said.
“It’s really a quite smaller and focused number — Windows, various forms of Linux, the Apple ecosystem.”
In three to five years from now, “there will be just a few ecosystems that really can get the critical mass”, he said.
Ballmer estimated up to 500 million users will have Windows 8 next year, promising the “best economic opportunity” for device makers and app developers who adopt the new system.
Microsoft will also soon introduce Skype powered by Windows 8, Ballmer said. His company last year bought the leading Internet video and voice-calling service for $8.5 billion.
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-sees-rebirth-windows-8-system-063623385.html
Tim Cook made $378 million in 2011, more than any CEO in all of America and a little of it had anything to do with his performance. In the Wall Street Journal‘s annual ranking, Cook leads the second-highest paid chief by about $300 million, with Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison coming in at $76.01 million. Most of Cook’s compensation, however, does not come from his salary. That only (only?) brings him $900,000 a year. Most of it comes in the form of stock options, for a stock that his predecessor built.
RELATED: It’s So Hard Not to Care About Tim Cook’s Sexual Orientation
As part of the compensation package granted last August, Cook received one million shares of restricted stock which are worth $376.2 million. Right now that stock price is north of $550, giving Apple the highest market cap on the whole stock market. Apple is worth a lot, so Cook is worth a lot. Since Cook took over last Summer, Apple’s stock has only gotten more valuable. But how much of that has anything to do with Cook?
RELATED: Apple TV Could Be Tim Cook’s Downfall
Since the CEO took over Apple has released two products, which have pushed its stock beyond Mobile Exxon as the MVP of the market: The iPhone 4S and the new iPad. Both of those products, with few radical changes, were continuations of the Steve Jobs legacy. Both had record sales, and Apple’s stock continued to rise. Cook did have to deal with increasing competition from new devices, like the lower-priced Kindle Fire, which he handled well with statements like the following from the January earnings call: “In terms of the competetive ecosystem, the iPad is in a class all by itself.” He added, “Limited-function tablets … they’ll sell a fair number of units…but I don’t think people who want an iPad will settle.” And while Amazon said Kindle Fire sales did well when it first released the tablet, March numbers showed a Kindle Fire slump. At the end of last year, the Kindle Fire got 17 percent of the tablet market, compared to Apple’s 55 percent, reported The Wall Street Journal. By the beginning of this year, however, Amazon only grabbed 4 percent of that market, compared with Apple’s 68%.
RELATED: Apple Promotes Eddy Cue: The Next Steve Jobs?
Cook really earned his hundreds of millions with his performance during the Foxconn scandal. Apple, as we’ve noted before, has emerged from its PR mess looking as good as possible. Cook made few statements, without getting defensive. And unlike Jobs, he visited the place where his money-makers are made, getting perfect smiley photos with Foxconn workers. As Apple acted as the face of Foxconn’s worker issues, from January through March, when Mike Daisey was outed, the stock only continued to rise. For that, we can give Tim Cook (and Apple’s PR department) all the credit.
RELATED: Tim Cook Is Ridding Apple of Some of Steve Jobs’s Evils
Even if Cook got a little lucky this year, riding off of Jobs’ fame. To really make his big-bucks, he’ll have to prove he can continue the legacy. The way the restricted stocks work, Cook can’t sell half the shares before 2016 and the other half before 2021. And Apple doesn’t plan on adding anything more onto Cook’s compensation, saying in a proxy statement these shares are his paycheck for the next 10 years.
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/tim-cook-134851330.html
Samsung has accused Apple of calling expert witnesses that exhibit “slavish adoration” to the company during an ongoing patent trial between the two consumer electronics giants. As noted by patent expert Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, court documents filed by Samsung in California seek to exclude testimony made by a number of Apple’s expert witnesses on the grounds that they were biased.
“Apple’s damages expert, Terry L. Musika, writes in his report that ‘Apple has built a considerable and at times a cult-like following to all things Apple,’ ” Samsung’s attorneys wrote in a court filing, according to FOSS Patents. “That cult-like following apparently includes several experts who are appearing on Apple’s behalf in this case, and may explain why they have cast aside established scientific methods and governing legal principles in favor of slavish adoration of their client and platitudes about its alleged magical and revolutionary products, issues that are of no relevance to the claims and defenses at issue.”
The filing goes on to attack a number of Apple witnesses, repeatedly suggesting that they are among Apple’s cult-like following, sometimes referred to as “iSheep,” and therefore their testimony cannot be included in the trial. Mueller notes that Samsung appears to take particular issue with one witness in particular, Henry Urbach, who Samsung accuses of being a “loyal devotee of Apple.”
“Before being retained by Apple in this matter, Mr. Urbach wrote an essay on the design of Apple’s retail stores, entitled Gardens of Earthly Delights, describing them as ‘Quasi-religious in almost every respect, . . . chapels for the Information Age,’ ” Samsung’s motion stated. The filing also claims that Urbach referred to Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs as “St. Eve.”
Finally, Samsung notes that beyond Urbach’s potential bias, he is not a qualified witness because he “has admitted he has no experience in product design, or marketing, and therefore any opinions he could offer would be beyond his area of expertise.”
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Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-accuses-apple-expert-witnesses-being-isheep-patent-141547296.html
