Thursday, January 31, 2013

First Fully Transparent Smartphone Unveiled

This is obviously an early prototype but it's still interesting. It brings to mind last year's Microsoft demo video.

This week Polytron has unveiled the world's first fully transparent smartphone prototype to the world.

First Fully Transparent Smartphone Unveiled By Polytron
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/worlds-first-fully-transparent-smartphone-unveiled-by-polytron-31-01-2013/

BlackBerry Z10 review - Engadget

Blackberry have launched their new phones running their new operating system and the first reviews are not overwhelmingly positive (although they all have a few nice things to say about the Z10). Engadget's detailed review seems to capture the prevailing sentiment:

But, tragically, there's really nothing to love. Nothing in the Z10 stands out as class-leading...

Blackberry's job was always going to be difficult, given the strength of the opposition, and it looks like they've scored, at best, a near miss. 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Amazon Q4 profits fall 45 percent.

Amazon hasn't had a good year, it seems:

Amazon, as best I can tell, is a charitable organization being run by elements of the investment community for the benefit of consumers. The shareholders put up the equity, and instead of owning a claim on a steady stream of fat profits, they get a claim on a mighty engine of consumer surplus.

I like buying from Amazon because their prices are low and their customer service is good. If I was a shareholder I would be less than happy but maybe I just don't have the necessary vision. 

Slate: http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/01/29/amazon_q4_profits_fall_45_percent.html

Hat Tip to Daring Fireball: http://daringfireball.net

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Ubuntu phones to come with a terminal

The terminal application is the headline feature picked up by Ars Technica but for me the most interesting feature is this one:

Ubun­tu phones will even become full PCs when docked with a mon­i­tor, mouse, and key­board

A phone with a decent dock solution that could act as a complete desktop replacement could be very appealing, especially if it was fast enough to run full commercial applications. Even more interesting would be a powerful Windows phone with this feature; Visual Studio and MS SQL Management Studio on a phone, for example, would be very cool (Surface doesn't really count, unless it can be docked to form a desktop replacement).

The holy grail (and my personal fantasy) would be an iPhone running Parallels running Windows driving a 24" external monitor (or two monitors, or maybe a hi-res head-mounted display like Google's Glasses) with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Portable, fast, light; perfect for travelling. Maybe next year?

Ubuntu phones to come with a terminal—prepare your command line skills
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/ubuntu-phones-to-come-with-a-terminal-prepare-your-command-line-skills/

River Thames to bathe in upgraded long-distance WiFi

This is from a press release but it still looks like a good thing:

Smart Wi-Fi Enables High-Speed Wi-Fi Access for Millions of Passengers Along 27 Miles of the Thames River

River Thames to bathe in upgraded long-distance WiFi
http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/river-thames-wifi-upgrade/

The Rainbow Bridge, and why it must be destroyed

Most amusing:

Call me a hard-hearted old git, but one side effect of losing a pet to old age is the number of well-meaning yet nonsensical messages of commiseration we have received from complete strangers on the electric Facebook.

If you haven't experienced the writing of Scary Duck (Not Scary, Not a Duck) you should wander over to his site and have a browse. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Autonomous Camera-Bearing Drone

I have absolutely no need for one of these but it's still very neat. 

LA100 is the world's first aircraft designed for the users with no piloting background. It is a fully autonomous UAV (drone). Just connect the battery, launch it, and it will come back to you after 5 minutes of flight (limited for safety purposes) at the height of 80m-100m. The whole system, ready to fly, comes at 990€ only (without GoPro camera).

Lehmann Aviation
http://www.lehmannaviation.com/la/la100.php

Retreating rebels burn Timbuktu's science manuscripts

This is tragic:

> Islamist rebels have set fire to the Ahmed Baba Institute and a warehouse containing valuable scientific manuscripts dating back to medieval times.


Destroying cultural artefacts seems to appeal to Islamist groups. Are
they ill-educated, blinded by religious dogma or merely stupid?

New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/mobile/article/dn23113-retreating-rebels-burn-timbuktus-science-manuscripts.html

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Google faces legal action over alleged secret iPhone tracking

I don't understand how Google manages to get itself into these situations. Surely they know that circumventing privacy controls is going to annoy people?

Google is facing a fresh privacy battle in the UK over its alleged secret tracking of the internet habits of millions of iPhone users. An estimated 10 million Britons could have grounds to launch a privacy claim over the way Google circumvented Apple's security settings on the iPhone, iPad and desktop versions of its Safari web browser to monitor their behaviour.


It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Google faces legal action over alleged secret iPhone tracking | Technology | The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/27/google-legal-action-secret-iphone-tracking?CMP=twt_fd

Anonymous Hacks U.S. Government Website

I don't, as a general rule, like this sort of thing:

The hacktivist group Anonymous hacked the U.S. federal sentencing website early Saturday, using the page to make a brazen and boisterous declaration of "war" on the U.S. government.

That said, it will be interesting to see what Anonymous have been able to uncover. I would be surprised if it was seriously compromising to the individual judges but it could be embarrassing to the US Government. All Governments need to be embarrassed from time to time, if only to remind them that nothing remains secret forever.

Anonymous Hacks U.S. Government Website, Threatens Supreme Court 'Warheads'
http://mashable.com/2013/01/26/anonymous-hack-government-website-declares-war/

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Unlocking Your Mobile Phone Is No Longer Legal in US

This is just weird. Why even bother to change the rule? What does anyone gain from this? Who cares what consumers do with their own phones? Strange stuff.

Mobile phones purchased beginning Saturday can no longer be legally unlocked by U.S. consumers to enable them to work on different networks.

Unlocking Your Mobile Phone Is No Longer Legal
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/01/mobile-phone-unlocking/

Friday, January 25, 2013

Apple's record profits contrasted with Amazon's hopes to turn a profit

This:

report by Bloomberg writer Mark Gimein contrasted the two companies, noting that while Apple reported quarterly earnings of $13.5 billion this winter, Amazon has only reported a total of $5 billion in earnings spanning from 2003, the first year it turned a profit, through the end of 2011, the full last year it has reported earnings.

I'm not convinced that it is useful to compare Apple and Amazon, given the differences in their businesses, but it's certainly interesting. 

AppleInsider: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/24/apples-record-profits-contrasted-with-amazons-hopes-to-turn-a-profit

Apple cuts ties with supplier after audit reveals 74 cases of underage labour

Apple has previously been criticised for failing to police it's suppliers but even if that criticism was once fair (and there's been little evidence in support of the claim in recent years) it is clear that Apple's efforts are continuing:

> Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics (PZ) was found to have 74 violations over the course of the year, and was summarily axed


Actions of this sort should help foster further improvement across Apple's supplier base, which is good news for workers and, ultimately, consumers, since nobody wants their phone to have been made with inappropriate labour or under unhealthy conditions.

The Verge: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/1/25/3914252/apple-severs-ties-with-supplier-after-audit-reveals-74-cases-of

Thursday, January 24, 2013

London's Second Biggest Conservatory

I bet you didn't know this place existed (I certainly didn't).

Visit the second biggest Conservatory in London and explore our hidden tropical oasis in the heart of the city. 

Barbican - visitor information - conservatory
http://www.barbican.org.uk/visitor-information/conservatory

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Misfit Wearables - Activity Tracker

I'm in the market for an activity tracker but I haven't yet decided which one to buy. My decision isn't eased by the flood of new devices that have either just launched or are about to hit the market. When it arrives, the Shine from Misfit Wearables looks like it might be worth considering (if the battery life and app are good enough).

Misfit Wearables
http://misfitwearables.com/

The Surface Pro Is Priced Just Right - TechCrunch

This is, I understand, good value for money if you're in the market
for a "professional" tablet:

> For $1,019 the Surface Pro offers a Core i5 CPU with an Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU. There's 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort and a digitizer pen


Sounds like a lot of money. Windows 8 must be absolutely fantastic to
make full use of this hardware and to justify the price. It'll be
interesting to see one in action; anyone planning to buy one?

Techcrunch: http://m.techcrunch.com/2013/01/23/haters-gonna-hate-2/?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+loopinsight%2FKqJb+%28The+Loop%29

PlugBug World - Twelve South

This is brilliant for anyone carrying a MacBook and an iPhone. If I
weren't stuck with a Sony Vaio notebook, this gadget would be right at
the top of my travel accessory list.

Twelve South: http://twelvesouth.com/products/plugbugworld/

Monday, January 21, 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Barclays Cycle Superhighway Route 2 to be Extended

This looks great. If this style of cycle track layout was rolled out on my route to work I would definitely want to use it.

The new route would bring substantial changes to the road layout to improve safety for cyclists, including:

  • 3km of new cycle lanes, including 2.4km segregated cycle lane along Stratford High Street
  • Improved road surfaces and fewer obstructions to make cycling more comfortable
  • New road markings and signs showing journey times and links to existing cycle routes
  • New innovative bus stop and traffic signal bypasses to help cyclists get ahead of other traffic and improve safety

Citizen Space - Barclays Cycle Superhighway Route 2 extension – Bow roundabout to Stratford Town Centre
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/cycling/cs2extension

Kim Dotcom’s ‘Mega’ Now Open to Public

I wonder how, or if, the other cloud storage firms will respond?

Basic, non-paying users of the site will get 50GB of space to use. Premium users can choose between three tiers of storage: 500GB, 2TB and 4TB, which respectively cost $13.29, $26.59 and $39.90 per month.

50GB is a lot of storage to give away. My only concern is that the US government might try to shut it down. I think I'll sign up to bag my username and see how things go.

Kim Dotcom's 'Mega' Now Open to Public
http://mashable.com/2013/01/19/kim-dotcom-mega-open/

Saturday, January 19, 2013

How Apple Is Destroying Android | Mac360

If you're even slightly interested in the ongoing battle between Apple and Google for control of the smartphone market, this article might be of interest.

On the surface, at first view, and as promulgated ad nauseam by today's short sighted tech pundits, Android is winning. How so? Market share. Elsewhere in the forest, almost out of sight, Apple is slowly destroying Android.


Thanks to The Loop (http://www.loopinsight.com/) for the link.

Friday, January 18, 2013

School Kicks Out Sophomore in RFID Student-ID Flap

It's amazing what some people believe (or claim to believe):

The Hernandez family, which is Christian, said the badge, even without the RFID tag, signifies Satan, or the "Mark of the Beast" warning in Revelations 13: 16-18.

What next? Students stop going on field trips in case they fall off the edge of the world? Teachers refuse to mark papers written on a Sunday? Idiots.

School Kicks Out Sophomore in RFID Student-ID Flap
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/01/school-kicks-out-sophomore-in-rfid-student-id-flap/?cid=5404124

Zero Clutter

I quite like the idea of reducing clutter; this might be a nice way to actually achieve it.

Today I'm going to intro­duce you to a method I call Zero Clut­ter. It's about only hav­ing the essen­tial things in your life, and clear­ing out the rest. It's about devel­op­ing the habits that keep your life clutter-free...

Zero Clutter
http://zenhabits.net/zero/

Royal Institution Could Sell Its Building

This is pretty awful. It would be very sad if the Royal Institution had to sell its building.

The Royal Insti­tu­tion on Albe­mar­le Street, May­fair has long been in dire finan­cial straits and may now have to sell off all or part of its build­ing to keep afloat.

Royal Institution Could Sell Its Building
http://londonist.com/2013/01/royal-institution-could-sell-its-building.php

The Panasonic Toughpad Press Conference - LOOK, ROBOT

This is a brilliant description of Panasonic's Toughpad launch in Munich.

> Like most journalists everywhere, I am hungover.


Read it all: http://lookrobot.co.uk/2013/01/14/the-panasonic-toughpad-press-conference/?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+loopinsight%2FKqJb+%28The+Loop%29

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Beijing skylines yields dramatic view of choking city

New Scientist is full of interesting articles. Here's a short one looking at Beijing's pollution problem, which looks pretty bad.

Short Sharp Science: Beijing skylines yields dramatic view of choking city
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2013/01/beijing-skylines.html

Snow at Copenhagen Airport

Unlike the UK's airports, snow doesn't really disrupt flights in Copenhagen. You can just about make out the snow clearing machines in this photo; there are loads of them, which isn't really economic at Heathrow.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Audi's auto piloted A7 can drive itself

Wired have a short write-up of Audi's new self-driving car. Interesting stuff. I wonder, if it works, how long it will be before this technology is mandatory? And dos anyone really believe we still need (or want) drivers on trains?

Audi's auto piloted A7 can drive itself: Wired goes hands-off
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/14/audi-auto-piloted-a7-can-drive-itself

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Bluetooth Sticker Ensures You'll Never Lose Your Keys Again

This is very neat. One to back on Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/sticknfind).

StickNFind solves that problem for you. Stick these tiny Bluetooth-enabled, coin-sized discs directly onto an object and then track them through an app. The app basically turns your smartphone into a radar screen so you can track the location of the sticker.

Bluetooth Sticker Ensures You'll Never Lose Your Keys Again
http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/never-lose-keys-or-kids-again/

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Panasonic's 20-Inch Tablet

I don't think this is something I would ever need or want but it would certainly be interesting if you had an application that requires lots of high-res real estate. 

Img_07001

Here's a Close-Up Look at Panasonic's 20-Inch 4K Tablet
http://mashable.com/2013/01/08/panasonics-20-inch-4k-tablet/

Article: These Star Wars Typography Prints are Pure Win

Very cool, if you're a Star Wars fan (and who isn't?).

These Star Wars Typography Prints are Pure Win
http://nerdapproved.com/approved-products/these-star-wars-typography-prints-are-pure-win/

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For

It seems the US won't be building a Death Star. Probably the right decision, given current financial issues. They cite several reasons, including:

> The Administration does not support blowing up planets.


Source: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking

Friday, January 11, 2013

Tiny molecular machine apes cellular production line

This is very neat:

Manchester scientists have developed a tiny molecular machine that mirrors the function of the ribosome, which builds the proteins in our body's cells.

Source: BBC News

Why I Won’t Be Using BetaPunch for User Testing | Danielle Morrill

Brilliant. A sharp lesson in the misuse of social media:

This morning, I happily tweeted about the serviceUserTesting.com, which I've been using to get brutal but extremely helpful feedback on user experience at Referly.

I love usertesting.com

The Twitter account for user testing startup BetaPunch replied (see the full thread of tweets here), asking why we weren't using their service instead.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Tonfisk Design Milk Jug

This is very neat:

NEWTON* is a new way of serving sugar and milk. Based on gravity, the clever mechanism keeps the sugar bowl still while you tip the pitcher. Newton is designed so that the sugar bowl can be easily removed for refilling the milk jug but stays securely in place during pouring.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Apophis asteroid: Large space rock flies past Earth

Stargazers have their uses:

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in potentially hazardous asteroids. So far they have counted more than 9,000 near-Earth asteroids, and they spot another 800 new space rocks on average each year.

You just know that sooner or later they'll find one on a collision cause and then asteroid-deniers will come out from under their rocks and say that the science isn't reliable and that God promised not to destroy the earth again and that actually it's the Earth colliding with the asteroid and so we shouldn't try to do anything about it anyway. In the meantime, at least someone is watching out for these rocks, just in case.

Jessops camera chain in administration

Sad news, but not terribly surprising.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20958659

Microsoft Officially Ditching Messenger, Switching Users to Skype in March

At last: 

Windows Live Messenger will officially retire this March, Microsoft announced Tuesday in a mass email to the chat service's users.

The cost of selling Galaxies | asymco

Have you ever wondered how Samsung manage to sell so many Galaxies and how they became the second most profitable company in the mobile phone market? In a word, marketing.

> It might be surprising to note that Samsung spends considerably more than Apple and Microsoft. But it also spends more than Coca Cola, a company whose primary cost of sales is advertising.


Check out the last chart on the page linked below; it's quite astonishing.

Source: http://www.asymco.com/2012/11/29/the-cost-of-selling-galaxies/

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

HTC Income Falls 91%

Brutal figures.

> HTC Income Falls 91% Because Samsung (Not Android) Is Winning - Tim Culpan for Bloomberg on HTC's most recent quarter: Fourth-quarter operating income for the...


Source: http://parislemon.com/post/39949845287/htc-income-falls-91-because-samsung-not-android-is

Monday, January 07, 2013

Vuzix Smart Glasses - M100

This is a nice piece of kit, especially if it ends up costing a third of the price of Google's Glasses:

Vuzix smart glasses M100 is the world's first enhanced "Hands Free" smartphone display and communications system for on-the-go data access from your Smartphone and the Internet.

Sunday, January 06, 2013

The folding cycle helmet by Overade

This is very neat:

Our folding bicycle helmet is a unique innovation in its market : in the folded position,the helmet's volume is divided by 3.

The folding helmet by Overade - Ulule
http://www.ulule.com/overade/

Electric Trains Could Soon Become Hybrids

Regenerative braking systems on electric trains would appear to be a no-brainer but the first systems are apparently only now being trialled in Germany. Replacing all the trains in Europe (or even the UK) might take a while, given the working life of our rolling stock, but if the technology works it may make sense to upgrade lines with lots of narrowly spaced stations; London Underground, maybe?

Electric Trains Could Soon Become Hybrids Thanks to Regenerative Braking System
http://inhabitat.com/european-electric-trains-could-soon-become-hybrids-thanks-to-regenerative-braking-system/

First Look From The Apple Fantasy Prototype League

This sort of prediction is almost completely pointless in terms of what it teaches us about the next model of the iPhone but it's interesting to see what designers come up with. These renders are somewhat appealing but are unlikely to resemble Apple's final product.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Leikr: The new Danish designed GPS sports watch

I like gadgets, particularly smart, innovative, wrist-mounted gadgets that make life easier, less stressful or more fun. This one looks pretty good but I'm not convinced it solves any problems that aren't more elegantly handled by a smart phone.

Last year we decided to take the chance and realize our long wanted dream of a training GPS watch that every athlete would desire. That was when we created Leikr.

The Kickstarter rewards suggest a final retail price of around $300, which might be completely reasonable in terms of the component cost but seems like a lot when compared to the cost of a general purpose smart phone. That said, I'm not a big runner and maybe the weight saving (it's less than half the weight of an iPhone) and other specialisations are worth the money for someone who does a lot of running. 

Worth a closer look if you're a big runner.

Dividing one by 998001 yields a surprising result

This is unexpected:

Solving 1/998001 will generate all the three digit numbers from 000 to 999. And in order, no less.

Not sure what else to say about this.

Light Painting with Temperature

This is an absurdly clever way of taking thermal images without the insane cost of a thermal imaging camera.

Light Painting with Temperature | Max Justicz
http://www.maxjusticz.com/light-painting-with-temperature/

Sherpa 50 Recharging Kit

If you're after a high capacity solar charging solution for your mobile devices (and who isn't?) you should probably take a look at the Goal Zero Sherpa 50: http://www.goalzero.com/sherpa50.html

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Ubuntu operating system comes to smartphones

This is potentially interesting:

The Ubuntu operating system has been adapted to run on smartphones. The Linux-based software will allow users to run desktop apps on their handsets, allowing them to double for PCs when docked to monitors.

I don't plan to move away from my iPhone anytime soon but the possibility of running desktop apps on my phone and using an external monitor is intriguing. It might not be long, if smartphones keep gaining in power, before I have to re-evaluate my working setup to consider this sort of arrangement. Cool.

Will Apple Buy Waze?

Could Apple be plotting to buy Waze to help strengthen their Maps application?

Waze's international use has been growing because it is genuinely useful, especially in places where Maps remain a problem, such as in Asia and the Middle East. Because Waze maps are built on the location of moving cars, it's far more accurate than check-in apps.

Source: 
http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/02/is-apple-plotting-a-route-to-a-waze-acquisition-rumours-on-the-road-point-to-yes/

Apple to bring super-fast wifi to new Macs

Most predictions about Apple aren't really worth the time it takes to read them. This one, however, which would appear to be an incremental or evolutionary improvement in a key system component, seems plausible; it's probably only a matter of time till gigabit wifi hits the shops so the real question is when:

Sources familiar with Apple's plans have told The Next Web that Apple has struck a deal with chip maker Broadcom to outfit its new Macs with 802.11ac chips.

The article says the chips aren't finished so my guess would be that they won't appear much before the end of the year.

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

The Future Is Now

While we're on the subject of predicting the future, here are Wired's 2003 predictions for 2013 (some hits, mostly misses) and their ideas for 2023. 

Ten years ago, we boldly declared that we'd be living with phones on our wrists, data-driven goggles on our eyes and gadgets that would safety-test our food for us. Turns out, a lot of the things Sonia Zjawinski conceptualized in our "Living in 2013" feature way back in 2003 were remarkably close to what we've seen.

11 Big Tech Trends You'll See in 2013

I've pretty much given up trying to predict technology advances but Mashable are still in the game. This list seems fairly reasonable, based on the trends we've seen throughout 2012, and it will be interesting to look back next year at what actually came true.

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/12/06/tech-trends-2013/

How To Be More Interesting (In 10 Simple Steps)

This article popped up in FlipBoard today, even though it's over a year old. Interesting piece, worth reading, especially if, like me, you're basically a bit dull.

How To Be More Interesting (In 10 Simple Simple Steps)

1. Go Exploring
Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.