The Verge has reported that Microsoft is in the process of inducting Kinect features in its next Windows phone, code named “Mclaren”. The Mclaren was introduced to the world through phone tripsters EVLeaks.
The phone will be a successor to the Lumia 1020 and will boast propriety technology like 3D touch and Real Motion. These features will assist in interaction with the phone without actually touching the display.
Kinect is now integral to the Xbox experience
Kinect was reveled at the 2010 E3 conference. Kinect made sense on a large screen system like the Xbox. Its features which made technology invisible was appreciated by people. The question that everyone seems to be asking is whether a phone version of Kinect will actually have some benefits or will be just another gimmicky add-on.
Some of the reported features include the ability to answer a phone call by just bringing it to your ears or cutting a call when the phone is dropped back in the pocket. The phone can also be put on a table to start an speakerphone conversation. These features have to be utility based or else they will end up as the Air Gestures in the Samsung phones.
The phone will also be fitted with pressure sensing instruments on the sides to detect changes in grip. They want to make external buttons completely obsolete. One of the way this can be used is gripping the phone can power on the device. Even the Camera can be zoomed in and out just by doing the usual pinching motions near the device.
These features were originally intended to be used on the Windows 8.1 powered Nokia Goldfinger phones. This phone is now being pushed back for a later release, while the Mclaren is being given priority. This is one more way in which Microsoft is pushing the Nokia name off the edge. Some have said that Nokia’s innovations are being stripped for profitable parts in Microsoft’s research labs.
The new UI will be inspired by Zune Mixview
The phones will also have a tiny UI renovation with the Kinect induction. When pointed above a tile it will open multiple floating tiles. This is inspired by the Zune Mixview. The tech makes sense on a big screen where there was minimum learning curve, but in a small screen it will be a whole different story. Microsoft would have had to go back to the drawing board to make the technology featurable on a handheld device.
Now as these are still leaks and we’d have to wait for the device to come in our hands before we comment on the functionality of these features. This of course will be a good experiment to look forward to. Microsoft Xbox’s Kinectic abilities suit it well for a home entertainment system, but it has to take some real efforts to convince people that hovering fingers over your phone is as good as having a touch response.
Sorry, the kid inside me just wanted to get his emotions out. If you were close to me when I heard the news, you would have lost your hearing for a while, like my fellow mates did. Now this is what me and my kind have been waiting for. Z-man is in the house!
With Z-man everyone can get the Spideman experience.
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a pair of paddles that lets anybody climb glass walls. You can’t shoot webs though, so maybe this may be closer to what Tom Cruise used to scale the massive Burj Al-Kalifah in Dubai in Mission Impossible 4.
With the Z-man, a 99 KG climber was able to climb and descend a 7.6 meter vertical glass wall. In one trial the climber carried 22.6 KG’s of extra weight too.
The inspiration for the design comes from the Gecko. Geckos are cute little lizards who come in all kinds of colors and have an annoying voice which gives them their name. Come to think of it, they are pretty self-obsessed calling out their own names all day long. Listen to this and tell me it’s not annoying to hear:
Coming back to the how they inspired DARPA, is their expertise in climbing almost any surface in the world. They have tiny bristles on their feets called Satae which give them the ability to stick on anything they desire from living room walls to even the walls of International Space Station. This adhesive property doesn’t need any kind of liquid and is also self-cleaning. It can literally balance its entire body on one toe. This ability is present in almost 60% of Gecko species.
Geckos incredible ability to climb any surface was the inspiration of Z-Man
The military had one major issue with climbing technology. It’s old, really old. Ropes have been used by combatants for thousands of years and are still being used today. A bit of investment in these would have made life easier for thousands of warriors, instead of making useless and extremely expensive Nuclear weapons.
Z-man takes inspiration from the natural forces and with the help of nanotechnology and bio mechanics to give Gecko-like ability to humans. There will also be everyday uses of the technology. This can be used by Glass cleaners in offices around the world. DARPA is working for more consumer intergration of the technology too.
Z-man currently is a work in progress and it will take a while to fully induct the technology in the armed forces. This might be a boon during urban combat.
If we get technologies like this right, we can handle situations like a Chitauri Invasion without the Avengers. But yes can we please have real life Avengers already? Come on DARPA, why don’t we have a real-life Captain America or Spiderman already?
Alternative fuel is the talk of the town. With the environment degrading with each passing day and more and more people joining the sane club of those who accept the climate change reality. The race to find the next best fuel is intense. Ethanol seems to be the immediate answer to the issue.
Now is the time for Alternative fuels
There are many contenders for the title of the best alternative fuel. There is everyone’s favorite; Solar energy. This is in fact the cleanest and the best fuel for our civilization. There have been massive investments around the world to substitute solar power as an alternative to coal based power.
There are Wind and Geothermal energy options which are also seen as good long term solutions for the global energy crisis. These options are great for electricity solutions but we still have major issue of pollution from automobiles around the world. These gas based monsters will take forever to replace to electric car systems which are still in developmental phase. The alternatives are not yet efficient enough as their internal combustion engine counterparts.
So how do we take on the menace of fossil fuel powered, greenhouse gas emitting vehicles which have become so essential for our lives that it’s hard to imagine a life without them. As India imports around 70% of its petroleum needs, the need to find alternatives is extremely important. The immediate solution can be found in Ethanol.
Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Government of India (GOI)
As seen by the official Government of India figures, India’s fuel bill has been rising yearly. The sector that consumes the most fuel is transportation. Urgent steps need to be taken to reduce the massive expenditure on fuel or else we would have shortage of funds for developmental initiatives for education, healthcare and social improvements.
Ethanol is an organic compound that can be made with corn starch, sugar cane, sugar beet, grain, barley, hemp, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, sunflower, fruit, grain, wheat, straw, cotton, other biomass and many more. It can also be made from the by-products of sugar processing plants. Considering the amount of sugar that is in our food today, it seems there is a lot of sugar waste (molasses) out there. Currently most of it goes into the production of alcohol (Hail Old Monk).
Ethanol can be blended in with the petrol to make it more environmental friendly. Not just that, it can help to battle the meteoric rise in fuel prices. It needs an extra step in the distillation process and for this sugar plants can be retrofitted for an Ethanol treatment facility.
There are many blending options. There is e10 with 10% blend to e85 which is an 85% blend of Ethanol to petrol. The e10 can work in any vehical that was made after 1980 and e85 works with flexible fuel cars. Ethanol has about 35% oxygen which helps burn up completely thereby emitting less toxic gases.
Indian Transport and Shipping minister wants to encourage Ethanol blending
Recently the new Transport Minister of India, Nitin Gadkari declared an initiative to blend ethanol to save foreign exchange. Indian oil companies have expressed a desire to buy ethanol but they can’t find enough supply here. One of the prime reasons for this is that alcohol companies give higher prices for molasses than Ethanol producers.
According to Nitin Gadkari’s company Purti group; which is a producer of Ethanol, if 140 crore litre of ethanol can be procured in an year, it can save about Rs. 63000 Crores of precious foreign exchange on petrol.
This action, while commended for being an economically directed initiative is also being berated for its short sightedness. India has been facing the wrath of food inflation for a while. If there is a shift in the agricultural sector from food crops to fuel crops it can severely increase food prices. Also as there is an acute shortage of talented agricultural scientists, educating the farmers on increasing the efficiency will be an issue.
Currently in the world market US and Brazil are the top manufacturers of ethanol. They produce around 90% of the world’s ethanol. While US’s production is more grain based, Brazil opts for Sugarcane. As India is the second highest producer of the sugarcane, it can easily exploit that statistic in its favor. India has a biofuel policy but what is really required is long term commitments from the top brass. Investment in education of farmers to manage sustainability between food and fuel crops should also be a parallel priority.
There is also a major issue with Ethanol, if a sustainable plan isn’t worked out, farmers will dedicate a lot of land and may even clear forests for its production. This will negate whatever benefit is gained from blending it with petrol. In fact, cutting down forests adds more greenhouse gases than any other source.
Recently a group of Stanford University scientists have discovered a process by which Ethanol can be harvested without using plant agricultural resources. The process involves passing Carbon monoxide through an “oxide-derived” copper electrode. The team is now looking into making the process more efficient so that land resources can remain just for food instead of being pressurized into fueling stomachs as well as fuel tanks. This kind of developmental research and innovation should be encouraged by the governments everywhere.
Solar Powered Electric Cars are our best bet for a sustainable future
Overall the major issue with Ethanol still is that it is a short term action plan and we have to focus on long term solutions. One sure shot solution that comes to mind is Electric Vehicles. EV’s technology unknown to many is about a 100 years old. They were abandoned because of malicious campaigns against it and the cheap availability of fossil fuels in that era.
We are now close to exhausting accessible fossil fuels reserves. Exploring new places to extract oil from earth comes at a cost like the incident with BP’s Deep Water Horizon. The need for alternative transportation investment is extremely crucial right now. The time for inaction is long past gone.
If only farts could power vehicles, we Indians would have had free energy for life.
Now this is just the kind of news that all the prospective iPhone buyers were waiting for. We have learnt that after the major 3.2 billion dollar acquisition of Beats by Apple, the company is going to include their earphones with the next iPhone.
The Dr.Dre and Jimmy Lovine created brand of music gear has become the staple across the music scene. This was Apple’s biggest acquisition till date as they remain conservative with their spending. This conservative approach helps them to put resources in R&D which then helps them to stand out from the crowd.
Apple had made it clear that it is not going to combine the brand. This is a good step as Beats has massive visibility and brand recognition especially its association with the Doctor of the Hip Hop world. Apple was already selling Beats gear at its store but it will reach a lot more people since one of the most recognized brands (Apple) starts selling it along with its most recognized gadget (iPhone).
Along with this, Apple might also try to bring some kind of integration with the Beats music service, which will be appreciated by many. The service lets you personalize music based on listening habits and recommendations from expert music curators. Though this is only a speculation at the moment but a Beats music integration with iTunes might help Apple to reclaim its youthful appeal.
Now as the Apple-Beats deal has been confirmed so the chances of a Beats earphones coming to you with your next iPhone box has increased. So if you were contemplating an iPhone purchase you might want to wait a couple of months, to get your BEATS on !
A Russian supercomputer named “Eugene Goostman” was able to fool researchers and make them believe it was a 13 year old boy. The computer was able to beat the Turing test by fooling 33% of the researchers. The Turing test assess the Human like behavior of an Artificially Intelligent system (AI). It is an important story to know as there will be multiple kinds of comprehensions and speculations in the readers mind.
“Eugene” was created in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was invented by software development engineer Vladimir Veselov and software engineer Eugene Demchenko. The computer was tested along with four others at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
First and foremost let us rest assure you that Skynet or HAL 9000 haven’t been created yet. This is actually the next step in the evolution of computing. Some scientists like Kevin Warwick, visiting professor at the University of Reading, hold the view that rather than being an accomplice in cyber-crime, the system can actually help in solving cyber-crimes because it understands human perspective.
So now that you are relieved that Terminators are not going to show up, lets take the story further. The Turing Test was invented by the father of modern computing Alan Turing. He created the first model of a general functions computer. This was the base of computers and now smartphones like the one that you are reading this article on. The invention was called the Turing machine.
Alan Turing: The Father of Modern Computing
Turing was one of the real heroes of World War 2. He was a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, computer scientist and importantly a philosopher. He cracked the German enigma code which helped the Allied forces win the war. And guess how was he honored for this achievement? he was prosecuted and chemically castrated for being a homosexual. This is the perfect example of how moronic archaic beliefs hamper with real progress. Turing died in 1954 due to cyanide poisoning (a likely suicide). There is a lot they can be blamed for, but at least the British government had the good sense of declaring an Official Public Apology in 2009 and a posthumous pardon in December of 2013 (doesn’t solve anything but better late than never.)
Alan Turing also formulated the Turing test for understanding Artificial Intelligence. It is a test to determine the ability of a computer to think or exhibit intelligent behavior akin to a real human being. The test lets the volunteers ask certain questions to access the human behavior in 5 minutes and if the researchers can’t specify if the answers are from a Human or a computer, the computer wins.
Euguene must have done heavy prep to score 33%
The Russian Supercomputer, “Eugene” was able to beat the Turing test by a very narrow margin; it needed 30% to pass while it scored 33%, becoming the first computer to do so. It is not an easy feat to achieve as the test was curated by independent auditors.
Our present day way of living, our economies, a massive tech sector job market can all be attributed to the likes of Alan Turing who dared to dream in an oppressive era. While we use our computers and smartphones, we unknowingly keep the legacy of Alan Turing alive. There is also an important lesson to learn here; our judgment of people shouldn’t be based on their personal affiliations and choices but rather be on their proclivities and talents.
Jarvis might be closer than you think.
Eugene is the first to beat the Turing’s test but hopefully it will encourage others to create better AI computers. With this experiment, in a way we have created Life, though digital, but still a conscious life. While we can debate if this can lead to a utopian or dystopian future like the sci-fi movies, the fact remains that Alan’s machine has brought invaluable advancement for our civilization. So working towards a futuristic technology should be a priority for all. Maybe with the lessons we have learnt from the movies, we would be able to perfect a JARVIS instead of a HAL-9000.
Google is planning to launch 180 small satellites which will provide access to the two thirds of human population which still doesn’t have access to the internet.
The project will be organized in collaboration with Dutch satellite start-up O3b Networks Ltd. Its founder Greg Wyler is at the helm of this project. The project cost is being estimated to be around a billion dollars.
O3b has already launched satellite orbiters, 4 satellites in 2013 and they’re going to launch 4 more this year. The intention is to bring High Speed Broadband connectivity to rural areas. It plans to create a constellation of satellites with Google’s assistance.
Google will make a constellation of satellites for affordable internet for all
These orbiters will be much more efficient as they orbit the planet at a lower altitude in comparison to the conventional satellite. Geostationary communications satellites fly at 36000kms from the surface whereas O3b satellites will fly at about 9000kms. As they have a low altitude, the data delay from one round-trip between the station and the satellite will also be decreases from an average of 638 milliseconds to less than 150 milliseconds.
This will be an extension of Google’s ambitious Project Loon. The ingenious project has Solar powered ballons flying at the height of about 20 kms from the surface. They use stratospheric winds for navigation for both sides of the equator. Check out this video to see how it’s done:
Apart from this, there are high hopes from Google’s acquisition of Titan Aerospace. The company is the inventor of the Solora 50, a solar powered drone which can be used for bettering telecom services around the world. The drone is massive; it has a wingspan of 50 meters and is 15 meters in length and can cruise at speeds of 104 kilometers an hour.
Google Acquired Titan Aerospace for the Drone technology
It is not just Google that is investing heavily in the broadband access business. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with his internet.org initiative wants to achieve something similar. According to him, the internet is a basic human right and we couldn’t agree more.
But the intentions of these major corporations are seen by some as self-serving philanthropy. After all Google and Facebook’s entire business is based on how many people are connected to the internet. There are still 4 billion people who don’t access the internet. Think about the vast amounts of profits to be made.
Even if they are self-interested ventures, these companies will be doing a lot of good for the people around the world. They internet has become an inseperable utility of our present culture. By connecting more people to this massive network would lead to more dialogue between the people of the world which will lead to better understanding.
Siri with her lovely voice introduced the concept of personal assistants (PA) on phones. It was the closest people could get to own their own JARVIS and wasn’t she one snarky lady. Google tried to match up to her, but they could only muster up a personality less voice.
Microsoft is now bringing its answer to Siri and this woman comes directly from the world of Halo. She has been called one of the sexiest women in video game history and GameTrailers put her in the “top 10 babes who are out of your league” list (which for gamers is probably every woman ever.) She was originally based on the Egyptian princess Nerfititi and her name is CORTANA.
Microsoft sure released an impressive introduction video for her:
Cortana was the name Microsoft used during the development process of the app. But as the developers themselves had been in love with her during their endless sessions of Halo, they pressured Microsoft to let the name be for the Artificial Intelligence infused, Windows phone 8.1 personal assistant app.
What Microsoft is really banking on though is Cortana’s ability to “chitchat” with the user. It reminds you of Scarlett Johansson-voiced character Samantha, from the movie ‘Her’. Though don’t get your hopes up yet or be discouraged that she will leave you like Samantha (or Scarlett) left Joaquin Phoenix, because Cortana is just starting out. If Microsoft’s history is to be considered, she will at most disappear behind a blue screen of death (tsk.)
The personality of Cortana is directly inspired by her AI counterpart in Halo. ‘363 Industries’ which produces Halo, was roped in to provide the backstory and character elements for the PA app. These character elements may be what gives Cortana the edge over Siri. Even if its just the predetermined responses, Cortana can carry out a flowy conversation with its user. Maybe someday she will evolve into a personal associate rather than just a personal assistant.
On the Utility front, Cortana (I am trying to use less pronouns for ‘her’ because that’s one sexy name) provides all the functions that Siri and Google Now offer; like setting reminders and calendar, weather and traffic information, writing notes and messages.
The Siri update in the iOS 8 hasn’t been a significant one. Apple has focused more on the interconnectivity element of the OS. They have also integrated Shazam with Siri with other minor tweaks to the app.
This might actually work in Microsoft’s favor. If the users are really able to have a conversation with an Artificially Intelligent PA and enjoy it, they wouldn’t really care about Shazam integration of Siri. For once, Microsoft might take a page out of Apple’s book of taking inspirations from existing technology and turning into revolutionary new idea. Cortana also looks beautiful with the two concentric circles which gets her activated.
Though Cortana doesn’t have natural conversational ability like Samantha, but somehow her semi-robotic voice has its own sex appeal. Microsoft has plans to bring Cortana to countries like UK and China though that would involve going back to recreating the database for a whole new language or accent. That bet will only payout if she performs as per her marketing hype.
As we don’t have access to her yet, we will wait to give you in-depth updates on whether Cortana can be your next best companion.
Marvel has in a manner reinvented the superhero universe. It took the usual good versus bad story lines and created an entire universe with complex characters whose stories are interlinked with one another. With the release of Avengers 2: Age of Ultron next year, Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) will conclude its Phase Two.
While everyone is waiting for MCU’s next installment, Marvel in association with NASA and the National Academy of Sciences is close to opening the Marvel S.T.A.T.I.O.N (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) exhibit at the Discovery Times Square exhibition centre.
The six month long exhibition will teach the attendees about the science of the Marvel Universe. It is one massive exhibition with 140 video screens, dozens of large-scale touch interfaces, working robotics, augmented reality, and motion response applications.
The visitor is oriented as an Agent of SHEILD (the show’s first season had an Awesome finale). The lucky ones who get to go will be treated as Agents in training and will get to play around with lots of cool stuff.
They will get to learn to operate Iron Man’s suit, see the neurological effects of Bruce Banner’s transformation into the Hulk, and physically test themselves against Captain America. The agents will also get to see some of the memorabilia from the attack on New York which was defended by the Avengers. There are some amazing visuals at the S.T.A.T.I.O.N.
Its almost like entering into Tony Stark’s workspace
The organizers approached NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for authentic scientific content. The MCU itself is a very science centric universe. Across the Movies and the TV shows, it tries to explain the events with a scientific perspective. They even backup the supernatural phenomenons of the universe with scientific explanations. Here is an example from Thor 2 of regular dialogues from which downplay the supernatural elements:
Loki: “I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God, just like you.”
Odin: “We are not gods! We’re born, we live, we die, just as humans do.”
Loki: “Give or take five thousand years.”
Joss Whedon, Director of Avenger 1 & 2, is one of the major science fiction Directors who have tried to interlink fictional narratives with real science. His brother Jed Whedon took an even more indepth scientific approach while making Agents of SHIELD.
NASA has provided the S.T.A.T.I.O.N with written content, images and videos on topics like electromagnetic spectrum, black holes as powerful energy sources, and aerospace materials used in creating Iron Man’s armor.
Using the NASA’s exoplanet research technology, the “Agents” will get to map out the exoplanets and try to find Asguard.
Your ID card gives you access to an Awesome interactive website
The Exhibition also gives you an access to an interactive website for which you to us the login id given on the pass at entry (Lame.)
This unique, interactive educational display was to open on May 30th but was delayed for extensive testing of equipment. This is one novel approach of teaching regular folks about the awe-inspiring knowledge of science. We really hope that it comes to India someday.
The biggest Indian mobile company is having quite a good year. According to several leads, Micromax has just decided to cross the Rs. 20K point and enter into the premium segment with a Windows phone. Microsoft identified Micromax as one of its hardware partners at its build conference.
The phone is reported to be have a 5-inch full HD 1080p screen. The battery stands at 2600 MaH. It is expected to be priced around 23,000-25,000 INR.
In a first for Micromax, the Smartphone will be powered by Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2GB RAM. It will run Windows 8.1 operating system.
The main camera is a 13 megapixel shooter with LED flash. The selfie shooter is a 5 megapixel camera. The phone will have 16 GB of internal memory expandable to 64 GB which is a welcome step.
The specs look pretty impressive for a Micromax Windows phone. We hope to bring you a hands on review, as soon as we can, to tell you if it’s worth the glitter.
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P.S: We would like to Thank AmitAgarwal2 for bring the update on the leak on this Story. The source on twitter Leakster Inc has stated that the Snapdragon device and the Windows phone are two different devices. As this is still a leak story we won’t confirm anything yet but we appreciate AmitAgarwal2 for being an awesome IGyaani .
The Mac OS X Yosemite is out and for the first time mobile devices and computers can interact seamlessly across the Apple universe. You can trust Apple to learn from existing technology and create a refined version, with some sweet graphics and names added to it.
The possibilities on the Yosemite may be revolutionary. Of course they took their “inspirations” from existing technologies, but what they have come out with is indeed progressive for the entire industry.
After taking a departure from naming OS X after the big feline family, the naming conventions for the OS X will now be based cities of California, starting with the Mavericks. BTW, we do agree that OS X Weed was a pretty chill name for an OS but Yosemite does just fine.
We will now tell you why you should get really excited about the OS X Yosemite’s connection capabilities.
Seamless Interconnectivity Between Yosemite and iOS
Connectivity never seen before
Apple has absorbed the value of “Continuity” based apps and has given it the Apple spin. Using the benefit of their conformed device ideology they are able to do multi device interconnection way more easily than others. Apart from giving Airdrop the ability to work between the iOS and the Mac they have added an ingenious new feature called the Handoff.
Handoff:
Handoff set a milestone in terms of inter-connectivity
This is definitely a feature that will shut up the critics of Apple’s proprietary controlled devices. It gives you mirrored access across all Apple platforms for instant access. For example, the iPad recognizes what you’ve been working on and prompts you about it. You can stop working on the Mac, pick up your iPad and start working on your project right way without a second of lag.
There is no need for third party apps. There is no need to open a cloud app and download the file, it’s always there.
Not impressed yet? then check this out; you can start working on an email on your iOS phone and your Mac will recognize it and ask you if you want to work on its bigger keyboard. Who would not love that?
It is this ease of access that other hardware and software manufacturers should aspire to achieve.
Instant Hotspot:
Effortless Wifi tethering through the iPhone
This will be a rather helpful feature for folks constantly on the move or have irregular access to a Wifi connection. The Mac’s wifi identifies your phone and without any configurations sets up a hotspot with the phone and voila, you are connected.
SMS and Phone Access from Mac’s:
This is definitely the future of interlinked digital devices. Apple definitely was to be the first company to benefit from this because of its enormous hardware ecosystem.
SMS can now be answered from all Apple devicesPhone calls can now be received and answered from all Apple devices
With the SMS and Phone integration in the Yosemite, you can send and receive text messages as well as phone calls across all Apple devices. Not just that, you can also dial a number you see on a website right away from your macs.
iCloud Drive:
The iCloud is built in the Finder itself so you don’t need third party apps like Dropbox or Google drive. These apps and files will appear in the exact form you have customized it on any of your devices. Here is something to cheer for the iCloud drive, it works on Windows too (Truly Winning.) The apps you use also get individual folders on the drive.
Cloud to the next level
This update has the potential to fulfill Steve Jobs dream of destroying the Dropbox. (First the Android and then the Dropbox, Jobs sure wanted to kill a lot of jobs.)
Mail:
Maildrop is an interesting feature. It allows you to instantly send up to 5 GB(yes, you heard that right) from one Apple account to another. What it really does is use the iCloud as a transfer medium for the attachment to bypass size restriction on the mail server on receivers end. It will simply show up as an attachment may whatever be the size on the mail app. On a non-Apple PC, you will receive a link to securely download the file from iCloud.
We needed Markup, we just didn’t know
Markup feature allows you to add annotations or write texts on Jpegs. It even lets you sign PDF’s right in the mail itself. The feature also recognizes the hand drawn symbols and gives them a digital look instantly.
Safari:
Visual and Functional Reconstruction of Safari
Safari has got a visual renovation with a sleeker look. The browser now has a slimmer address bar to maximize browsing area. The favorites links can be accessed by clicking on the search bar. Safari is now integrated with spotlight searches to give better results and undermine Google even in the browser where it has thrived since its inception.
Tab view makes internet browsing simpler
The Tab View is without a doubt the best feature on the new Safari. This gives a bird’s eye view of all the tabs and by organizing each tab according to its corresponding website it gives a cleaner and more efficient browsing experience. As has been with Apple, the animations are impressive.
Spotlight:
The only search you’ll need
This is also where things got interesting, its almost like Spotlight got an adrenaline shot. When the magnifying glass icon is clicked a search bar opens in the middle of the screen. It is a fast and convenient way of opening Apps and files. While searching for a file, spotlight gives a preview of the content of the document.
Not just that Apple has integrated the internet sourcing ability on the Spotlight. This allows more in-depth search results for your query and would completely make Google obsolete on the Mac.
Spotlight can also be used for instant conversions and much more. This added utility will be really easy to get hands on and quite possibly make you wish your other systems had it too. It is essentially a one-stop shop for instant information.
Design:
Clarity is added through Translucence
Translucency is the key element inducted into the Yosemite. From the Docks, it is especially noticeable in the drop down menus and the finder. New toolbars and windows are giving it a fresh new look. The dark mode indeed looks enticing to start using right away.
The clean and consistent design throughout the OS gives a sense of, dare I say it again, continuity which will be really appreciated during extended uses.
The new Today view in Notification Center gives you a quick look at everything you need to know now — upcoming events, reminders, stocks, weather, and more. It is really handy and reminds you of the notification panel on the iOS 6 and 7. You can extend the panel to add widgets from the Mac App Store to customize according to your needs.
ITS FREE:
Yes, it is free, the most featured packed Apple OS is releasing this fall and it is for FREE. Not just that, there is also an update that’s gonna get a lot of people excited. Apple will let you be a part of the Public Beta program for the OS X Yosemite. Though there will be some glitches, but it will give the fan-boy a feel of being an Apple developer.
Conclusion:
In the 25th installment of the WWDC, Apple made a good bet of focusing only on its two operating systems and interlinking them together. This was one of the most feature intensive update in a long while. This will be a revolutionary idea and we will probably see all the Apple competitors trying to provide better integration across multiple platforms on the lines of the Yosemite. It’s time that the Apple naysayers should take a break and introspect about what they are doing with their lives.
The Galaxy Note 4, successor to the Note 3 which was the bestselling phone from Samsung’s stable, is around the corner. Note 3 was a benchmark on which most of the future premium devices were designed, like the Galaxy Tab pro.
So here we give you a roundup of all the things we know about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 3. (more…)
So, its here, the moment you were all waiting for, the 25th edition of the Apple Developers conference. The WWDC 2014 brought out the Big Boy Mac OSX Yosemite. Now I should let you know I took incredible amount of pain to bring you this, battling through the laggy video on an Indian internet speed.
Lets see some of the most innovative new features of the new Yosemite.
The Looks:
Translucence is a dominating feature of the Yosemite
A lot of translucence added to the new OSX, it is especially noticeable in the drop down menus and the Dock. New toolbars and windows are giving it a fresh new look. The notification center brings it closer to a mobile device experience.
The new Today view in Notification Center gives you a quick look at everything you need to know now — upcoming events, reminders, stocks, weather, and more. You can also add widgets from the Mac App Store to customize what you see.
The entire cleaned up look is visually appealing.
Search Feature:
Spotlight has got the biggest Makeover
It seems like spotlight got an adrenaline shot. A Search bar is provided at the center of the screen. The search gathers information from the internet thereby giving you more in-depth results in terms of newsfeeds, Wikipedia and maps. It also adds better scrolling ability through the results.
Apple has gone out of its way to make Google obsolete for Mac users.
iCloud Drive-
iCloud Drive gives you more ease of access to the files on the cloud. It is now capable of 5 GB attachments and will work with any type of files. Now that’s some cloud storage we can get back on.
Safari:
Functional Reconstruction of Safari
Safari has also got a visual renovation with a sleeker look. The browser now has a slimmer address bar to maximize browsing area. Safari is stated to give 2 hours longer battery life on streaming video from Netflix. Apart from this, it gives more efficient tabbed browsing performance. You also get the ability to browse through all your open tabs more efficiently.
Tabbed Browsing overview makes internet even simpler
They have also powered Safari with better search capabilities; it reaches wider and includes sourced information from Wikipedia, Bing, Maps and iTunes. It has added a tab which gives easy access to favorite links without looking too cluttered.
A drop down menu with your favorite sites
Handoff:
Handoff set a milestone in terms of inter-connectivity
Apple has recognized the value of “Continuity” amongst the many screeens we posses now. Yosemite and even iOS 8’s primary function is to provide greater inter-connectivity amongst the devices. So here is this cool new feature that lets you do just that. It allows you to work on the same file from the Mac as well as your iPad while on the move. You can also work on an email from multiple devices. This is definitely one of the feature that all hardware and software makers should take notice of.
It is also a part of this increased inter-connectivity that the Yosemite now allows you to receive SMS texts on you Mac and iPads. By connecting to iCloud all your devices act as extentions of each other. You can get phone calls on these devices too. Also your Macs can now recognize your iPhone and give you the option of making it a hotspot.
Phone call, SMS can now be answered from all Apple devicesPhone call, SMS can now be answered from all Apple devices
There is also an update thats gonna get a lot of people excited. Apple will let you be a part of the Public Beta program for the OS X Yosemite. For Free. Though there will be some glitches but it will give the fan-boy’s a feel of being an Apple developer.
Conclusion
At the 25th installment of the most awaited tech conferences of the year, Apple seems to have found its groove back. The clean OS coupled with multiple new ease of access features makes Yosemite a better upgrade over the last few outings.
Seems like even Samsung is getting bored of it similar looking phone line up. The company is now in the process of releasing another Linux based OS by the name Tizen. The first phone to run on this OS will be the Samsung Z. This is a huge step from Samsung to move away from Google based Android OS and create its own unique identity.
Samsung wants an OS that can be used across its ecosystem. Tizen has already been used by Samsung on the Galaxy Gear 2 which had some good features. The Samsung Z will be its first full-fledged phone avatar of the operating system and we’ll definitely be waiting to get our hands on it.
The phone was supposed to be released at the World Mobile Congress in 2014 but it got delayed. It is now most likely to be slated to launch in the Russian market by September of this year.
The Samsung Z will be powered by a 2.3 GHz quad core processor and have a 4.8 inch super AMOLED screen. It will have a decent 2600 MaH battery. Samsung has said that the phone has ability to give maximum run time for the battery size because of its superior power saving measures.
The main camera on the phone is an 8 megapixel shooter and it will have a 2.1 megapixel selfie camera (front camera). It has an internal memory of 16 GB, which is expandable upto 64 GB via Micro SD.
Samsung Z almost looks like the usual TouchWiz fare.
Samsung has stated that it opted for Tizen because it is said to give faster boot up time and better multi-tasking capabilities. The OS also promises superb 2D and 3D graphic quality, smoother scrolling and an improved rendering performance for web browsing. Currently Tizen version 2.2 looks like a close cousin of the Android Jellybean with minute variations. So its to be seen if the above mentioned capabilities will inspire people to go for a device with a heart of Tizen.
One of the major reasons Samsung is putting its cards on Tizen is for its ability for multi-platform integration. It can be used in mobiles, wearable’s, vehicle infotainment and TV’s. In fact, Samsung just released an SDK to create apps for the Tizen based TV systems. These TV’s will have support for hand gestures, mobile device pairing and voice commands. Something most of the Smart TV’s have been banking on.
Samsung is the largest Android device manufacturer and its complete departure in the future from the market in favor of the Tizen will create a huge void. That open market space would be left for other competitors to conquer. As of now and for some considerable future, Android will continue to be the lead OS for the mobile market. It’s yet to be seen if Tizen has the boldness to take on an OS being used by majority of smarphone users.
HP is close to releasing a 14-inch Slatebook, which will run on the Android operating system(OS). An Android operating system sounds more functional than an internet only Chrome OS. This also begs the question why Google went with the chrome OS when they already had a winner in the Android.
This Slatebook will be on the shelves in the US markets on 20thJuly. It is powered by a NVIDIA® Tegra® 4 mobile processor with quad-core CPU (1.8 Ghz) GPU to run high-end graphics and optimize performance. Also a powerful processor is needed for the Full HD 1080p touchscreen on the device.
The memory included is a 2GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM which is good enough for the Android Jellybean 4.3. Its a lighter OS in comparison to the other notebook operating systems. This will be a device for people who prefer functionality over performance. A touchscreen will also add to the convenience for such users. The stated 9 hours of battery life is great for multimedia enthusiasts.
This slatebooks dual color design(yellow and black) adds to its youthful appeal. The integrated Beats Audio™ – Quad speakers will be a treat for the multimedia lovers. HP could have added a swivel to the device so that it could be used as a tablet. This would have probably created a MOTO G like revolution laptop devices, but maybe they wanted to keep this one plain and simple.
The increased connectivity between the laptop and an android phone will certainly attract a lot of people towards this device. Android is the world’s most used OS and this might just be the big break that Google was looking for to enter the laptop OS market.
With its SuperSpeed USB 3.0, a USB 2.0 and an HDMI version 1.4b Jacks, the device will give a complete laptop experience with a portable OS. The device is priced at $399 on the website, but it is expected to sell at $429.
Looks like HP has found the droids it was looking for.
California based Private space enterprise SpaceX has finally revealed its Dragon V2 Space Capsule. The dragon V2 is different from its predecessor because it is capable of carrying an extremely valuable cargo, the human Astronauts.
The company’s owner Elon Musk is the real life inspiration for Iron Man. He is a phenomenal human being. He is the co-founder of PayPal, CEO and CTO of SpaceX and CEO of the world’s best electric car brand called Tesla Motors. He plans to bring in a transportation revolution with his Hyperloop proposal. He is one of the most respected and revolutionary tech entrepreneurs.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 with rocket propulsion engineer Tom Mueller. The companies economical space travel model was so well appreciated, that in 2008 SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. As per the agreement Space X will send 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station(ISS). With the retirement of the iconic Space Shuttle program in 2011, American ingenuity in space was at peril. Luckily Space X was there for rescue.
The Dragon spacecraft first docked with the ISS in 2012
The first SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully launched and docked at the ISS in 2012. It was basically a test mission to assess the capabilities of the Dragon to deliver payload to the ISS. Since then, it has completed 3 of its 12 missions. These were Cargo missions but the Dragon V2 will be capable of human flights which are extremely important considering our severely restricted means of access to space. Space research also is facing several issues because of the increased tensions between the West and Russia.
The 4.5 meter tall Dragon V2 will be the first space craft to land vertically on any surface like a helicopter. This will take us miles ahead in terms of reusability and making space travel more economical. Space X experimented with the Grasshopper rocket to achieve vertical launch and land capability. This technology will help in reducing the costs of building new rockets for every mission.
The Spacecraft has multiple backups for safety. It is powered by a main and backup engine which will ensure safe landings of the astronauts on surface; if one fails the other will take over. Dragon V2 also has a parachute as the ultimate time tested backup for landing.
Dragon V2 is fully capable of transporting Astronauts
The need for the manned SpaceX Dragon 2 to succeed is direr considering that Russia plans to do away with the ISS missions by 2020. Currently the Russian Soyuz is the only way to carry astronauts to and from the ISS. This will be a big step back for all of us if we don’t have access to space based research anymore.
Apart from Space X, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems have also cleared first step of NASA certification. Even President Barack Obama has encouraged more private investment in space exploration to speed up the research process.
Elon Musk wishes to now enter into the arena of planetary exploration with a trip to Mars. It is the only way we can ascertain the survival of the future for our species against the threats faced by our own self (global warming, wars, etc) or circumstances which are not in our control (asteroid strike or a super volcano eruption). We are in essence surviving on a living planet highly capable of getting bruised.
Space exploration has always been an aspirational area of interest for everyone, it entices us all. Throughout our history the heavens have enticed us. A scientific colleague of Carl Sagan once told him about a Stone Age tribe which was ignorant about all our scientific and technological achievements but they knew one thing, we had landed on the moon. It was a disappointment to them to know that no one goes there anymore.
In the last century, we have taken the human curiosity worth of 20,000 centuries to flight by gaining the ability to leave the surface and take a look back at our grand blue planet. If we stop now, we won’t just be disappointing that one Stone Age tribe, but all our predecessors who went to great lengths to ascertain the survival of our species. Elon Musk and the engineers at Space X deserve our gratitude for keeping that hope and curiosity alive and giving it wings to fly high.
