via techielobang.com
The HTC Rhyme
The HTC Rhyme is something of a delicate matter, as it is HTC's firstphone that is said to have been designed with a female audience in mind. Yet it comes in dull colours and looks quite a lot like every other HTC handset we’ve seen so far.
PENTAX Q-REVIEW
Let’s get one thing straight from the start. The Pentax Q is quite an incredible camera to behold. It’s tiny. But not only is it tiny, it also looks great.
NIKON 1 V1
Nikon has announced two new compact system cameras: the Nikon 1 V1 and the Nikon 1 J1. We got our hands on both new cameras today, so until we can bring you our Nikon 1 V1 review
The ULTra Personal Rapid Transit System
"Think of it as a horizontal lift," says Fraser Brown, managing director of ULTra, the company that has built a new way to travel to Heathrow Terminal 5 from the business car park
THREE MIFI HSPA
Three has updated its MiFi range with the new Huawei E586 complete with HSPA+, and we have managed to get our hands on one to test out all its mobile internet goodness
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Color Of Music | Fast Company
Unless you're a synesthete (or deep into LSD), you won't see bright red hues for soft tones or dark blues for a high riff. But there's still a way you can experience the Color of music.
That's Color, as in Bill Nguyen's $41 million proximity-based photo-sharing service. MyStream, an app that launched in late March, is a music-sharing app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that lets users listen to music on the devices of other nearby users. Like Color, and an increasing number of social location-based apps, MyStream is optimized for "elastic networks."
Rather than base its social graph on friends or followers, the users that will show up in MyStream's "elastic network" are only those in one's vicinity. Open up the app, and you'll see users who are in the same Bluetooth range or on the same Wi-Fi network; you can't listen to a friend's music library if he or she is on the other side of town. If a user is nearby, a library of selected music will appear, which you can stream for 90 seconds or so and have the option to purchase via iTunes.
"The point is not to share your music with all of your friends or followers," says founder Richard Zelson. "It's more about real-life: Who's around you? Who are you with?"
While it's plenty fun to share pics with friends nearby (Color's UI issue aside), photos are only really social when you or people you know are in them. But even two strangers can get into the same popular song. And whether it is Pandora's discovery engine, Spotify's shared playlists, or Turntable.fm's virtual DJ party, there's already a mess of music services offering playlist sharing with friends. MyStream mixes in strangers and a healthy dose of serendipity. You likely won't know or care about the people pictured in the photo sets of your fellow commuters, much less care to strike up a conversation or ask about them. But without saying a word, you can discover that the guy on the other end of the train is grooving to the new Beyoncé, and the two of you can share a head-bob or a subtle shimmy. One of you might even decide to buy the album and keep the experience going after you arrive at your destination.
MyStream's Zelson is just 24 and worked in real estate before coming up with the idea while traveling abroad with friends. "Sometimes my friend would let me use his headphones, and sometimes we'd use a portable speaker," Zelson says, recalling how he shared music on the trip. An idea popped into his head: Why not create a platform to allow real-time streaming between devices?
After putting together a business plan, Zelson raised $300,000 from family and friends to hire developers and build the service; he's raised another $500,000 from investors since then. The app, which is free at the moment, will eventually go on sale for a small price; additionally, MyStream earns a standard commission from Apple for every song purchase it helps drive through iTunes, and plans to incorporate banner advertising in the future.
For Zelson, it was all about "creating the real-time sharing experience." When firing open MyStream, there is no login--just the option to add a nickname, if you'd like. When playing with the app around the office, a coworker was able to stream Sisqó's "Thong Song" (the remix, naturally) via his iPhone, from down the hall. It's a very convenient and fun way to share music quickly, just as you might via the iTunes desktop client with roommates on the same Wi-Fi network--and without the hassle of sending an MP3 via Dropbox or exchanging headphones.
But, as with most proximity based elastic networks, the issue is scale. Without nearby users, the app is pointless, akin to broadcasting shortwave radio in the middle of the Pacific. Color has experienced similar issues thus far, and is looking for solutions.
But Zelson believes audio sharing is a big enough draw to populate a network. "Music will be the driving factor," he says. "That's where we may differ from Color."
via fastcompany.com
The Next Space Telescope Might Fly Commercial | Fast Company
The Planetary Science Institute (an august body involved in active space missions and science education around the world) has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Xcor Aerospace to get a human-operated observatory flown beyond the atmosphere aboard Xcor's suborbital Lynx spaceplane. As well as offering a laundry list of benefits compared to bigger orbital telescopes, including comparatively smaller costs, it's also a sign that the burgeoning commercial spaceplane business could bolster scientific research.
PSI wants to use Xcor to get its Atsa telescope system into space. Atsa is much more flexible than a space-based telescope like Hubble, albeit with dramatically smaller optics and thus scope for observing deep space objects. However, Atsa is ideal for looking at objects within the solar system, particularly those bodies that hang out near the Sun, which makes them all but impossible to observe from ground-based telescopes thanks to that pesky atmosphere getting in the way and scattering all the light.
Lynx's spacecraft can be flown from its launch site on a specific trajectory that'll put Atsa in optimal viewing position once it clears the atmosphere, enabling pinpoint observations during the several minutes the Lynx is actually in space. Because an expert human operator is aboard, there will be fewer of the sorts of delays in optimizing a typical space-telescope observation, and if a mistake is made or an observation turns up promising data that needs further investigation, it's merely a question of paying for Lynx to pop into space again. There's also the benefit from the spaceplane's short turnaround time on the ground, which could allow for multiple time-staged observations of a planetoid or asteroid flying near the Sun. And if something technical goes awry with the telescope itself, it's simply a matter of hauling it back to the lab, fixing it, and returning to space.
NASA is savvy to this sort of low-cost observation, and has been trying to bolt a giant observatory into the side of a jumbo jet, along with launching many of its own suborbital observation rocket missions. The benefit that space planes like Xcor can offer is that they allow access to ex-atmospheric domains for clearer observations, they're much cheaper than flying orbital missions aboard the Shuttle (now no longer an option), the ISS, or as a dedicated space satellite, and they allow for direct human troubleshooting. Considering that the Hubble itself is aging, and the successor James Web Space Telescope looks to be in planning and funding trouble (tragically, from a science point of view), it looks like commercial spaceflight will prove to plug a small but important capability gap.
Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
Read More: The End Of The Shuttle Program Could Mean A Hotel On The Moon, Space Mines, And A Lot Of Pollution
via fastcompany.com
Barack Obama's Economic Policy Platform
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CEO Book Club
Book Excerpts
Omar Kahn and Paul B. BrownBook Review
Einhorn Throws The Book At Allied
Helen Coster
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn explains his tenacious (some would say obsessive) interest in Allied Capital.
via forbes.com
Beware of “Group think” | Jack Lynady
I got kicked out of an ‘Institutional’ small group 5 years ago because of group think. My ideas and thoughts on spiritual life were not in line with theirs…
One thing I am learning to do is to love others no matter what they think or where they are in life. Sometimes I see in them thoughts that I used to agree with, and it is not fair to expect them to simply agree or think what I now think. Someday they may, but their journey in life needs to get them there in their own time. Then again, they may never think like I do, and that’s OK. Another thing I am learning is, if I don’t think what they think, maybe someday I will, and it wouldn’t be fair to shun them because I currently don’t agree.
Ultimately I want to grow in Love and Wisdom, Im learning to do both by accepting people for who they are and what they think, no matter how different it is from who I am or what I think.
By no means is it always easy, or I always ‘get it right’, it is a journey…and that is where the joy is.
via jacklynady.com
Android Quick App: Starfield 3D Live Wallpaper | Android Central
This one's pretty simple, folks. If you like stars, space, spaceships, or Star Trek and/or Star Wars, I've got the live wallpaper for you. It goes by the name of Starfield 3D Live Wallpaper, and it's about as straightforward as they come.
Starfield 3D Live Wallpaper has a settings of menu of only give choices: Stars, Speed, Background, Battery, and Reverse. Stars and Speed are fairly obvious: adjust the slider to determine how many stars are on the screen at once and how fast you're blazing by in your ship (X-Wing? Starship Enterprise?).
Background is a simple check box, and enabling it adds a static image of about six galaxies that are far, far away. It kind of detracts from the overall slickness of a solid black background, but if realism is your thing, the option is there.
Battery is quite possibly my favorite choice, as it makes your default flying speed tied to your battery level. Have a charged battery, zoom right along. Have an almost dead battery, though, and expect to drag along in deep space, just waiting for a
The Double Fine Art of Lee Petty
As one of the most imaginative video game developers in the business, it's a pleasure today to highlight the work of one of the artists at Double Fine, the studio behind games like Brutal Legend, Psychonauts and Trenched.
These images and paintings are the work of Lee Petty, who after serving on projects like 2004 strategy game Evil Genius and 2005 shooter Project Snowblind moved to Double Fine, where he's now Art Director.
In this gallery you'll find some of his work from the three games above, along with recent downloadable title Stacking (and a few pieces of personal work as well).
Oh, and if you're in the area, Petty is also contributing work to Dig for Fire, an exhibition celebrating iconic rockers The Pixies, which will be open from September 9 to October 1 at C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice, California.
To see the larger pics in all their glory, either click the "expand" icon on the gallery screen or right click and "open link in new tab".
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!
via kotaku.com
New wireless-charging tech may be in store for future iPhone
Apple may bring wireless charging to the iPhone in a future iteration, but it likely won't use the same induction charging technology popularized by Palm's Touchstone charger. Instead, the company will likely implement more exotic near field magnetic resonance charging currently being championed by wireless power startup WiTricity.
Induction charging works by inducing a current in a coil of wire from one device to another. A charger device (Palm's Touchstone charger, for instance, or a mobile device "charging mat") contains a large coil of wire inside. When a current passes through the coil, it creates a small magnetic field around the coil. When a second coil—embedded in a mobile device like a smartphone—is brought into close proximity of the first coil's magnetic field, it induces a current to pass through the second coil.
This technique is the same one that is used to build power transformers—essentially, the charging coil and the device coil act as a transformer with an air core. The downside to this method is that power is transmitted wirelessly over very short distances. In effect, the device has to be in contact with the charging device to work. Also, power transmission isn't particularly efficient.
Near field magnetic resonance (NFMR), on the other hand, can work over much larger distances. The power source is a relatively low power magnetic resonator, which creates a stronger magnetic field than a typical induction charger. Devices then use a tunable resonant circuit that can "dial in" to the specific frequency of the power source. The tuned resonance increases efficiency, as high as 90 percent—while increasing the size of the usable resonant field.
(A side benefit of the technology is that magnetic fields are safe for living things compared to radiated energy.)
The technology was originally developed between 2005 and 2007 by a team led by MIT physics professor Marin Soljačić. WiTricity was founded in 2007 by Soljačić and others to commercialize the technology. Two years later, WiTricity CEO Eric Giler demonstrated the technology using a modified iPhone during the 2009 TED conference.
Wireless Electricity - WiTricity Showcase TED 2009MacRumors pointed out that a recent Wall Street Journal report about upcoming iPhone hardware revisions had briefly mentioned that Apple was exploring wireless charging. The site then drew a connection to an international patent application, filed by Apple and published in May of this year, titled "Wireless Power Utilization in a Local Computing Environment."
A magnetic resonance field around a computer (202) could power or charge a keyboard (204), mouse (206), and "portable media player" (208).Building on WiTricity's techniques and citing Soljačić's research, Apple's patent details the use of a desktop or laptop computer as a NFMR source, either with a built in resonator or alternately using a USB dongle. The computer could then power or recharge wireless devices, including keyboards, mice, and—you guessed it—mobile devices like iPhones and iPods. The devices would need to be within a meter of the computer to automatically couple and start receiving power. Furthermore, devices could "de-tune" themselves after fulling charging or entering an idle state to reduce power consumption.
Even if Apple is exploring wireless charging and made the effort to file a patent on one useful process for the tech, there's no guarantee that it will show up in a future iPhone anytime soon. Still, combined with iOS 5's upcoming WiFi syncing, wireless NFMR charging could eliminate the need to ever plug an iPhone into the wall or a computer ever again. That prospect leaves us hopeful that Apple will find a way to implement NFMR sooner rather than later.
Further reading
via arstechnica.com
Solving The Scoble Problem In Social Networks | TechCrunch
Editor’s note: Guest writer Rocky Agrawal blogs at reDesign and Tweets @rakeshlobster.
I finally blocked Robert Scoble in Google+. I have absolutely nothing against Scoble. I quite admire him, actually. He’s a great asset to the startup scene and he works damn hard. I’ve met him a few times and I’m sure we’ll meet again. But he was just getting to be way too much.
My Google+ feed was dominated by him. I tried to take a half-step and just remove Scoble from my circles. But then he became Google’s perpetual #1 suggestion for a new friend.
I’ve seen the Scoble effect elsewhere. When Scoble joined Quora a while back, his entry caused a sudden shift in Quora behavior. His legions of followers followed him onto Quora and upvoted his answers to the detriment of others. (Often, it seemed, without even reading the answer.) Quora regulars retaliated by downvoting his answers, even when they were good answers.
This is an ongoing problem with new social networks. Silicon Valley celebrities dominate the conversation. A close friend is on the Google+ top 100 list; I can’t comment on one of his posts without keeping my notification indicator lit for days at a time as his large following continually responds to the post.
While this may create a great experience for popular people in Silicon Valley and even for readers in Silicon Valley, it’s not the way to build a mass-market social network.
Although I like a lot of the content I currently see on Google+, it has limited appeal. It also has a dangerous priming effect as new entrants either look at the conversations and mimic them or decide that this isn’t their scene. It’s like peeking into a party and realizing that the people who are inside are nothing like you.
I’ve seen this happen time and time again with hyped properties like digg, delicious, FriendFeed, Wave, buzz and now Google+.
I wasn’t on Facebook in its very, very early days. But I would be willing to bet the conversation was not primarily about tech companies and the lives of tech executives. It was more likely about hot people on campus, Cambridge bars and restaurants, terrible professors, crappy weather, the success of the crew team and who hooked up with whom.
One of my early experiences with what drives social behavior online was when I was working at AOL. A portion of our team had gone to Dublin to meet with our dev team. One night we were out and my boss chugged a Guinness. I took a video of that and posted it to the failed AOL UnCut video site. I IMed the link to a friend. Within an hour, pretty much every one on our team around the world had seen it.
That type of content is a shit-ton more interesting to most people (me included) than discussions on whether Google+ should resurface a post every time someone comments or whether clicking a +1 button on a Web site has an effect on Google+.
Paradoxically, the extent to which the constraints of Twitter stifle conversation helped its growth. Because real conversation is hard using Twitter (vs. just tweeting out your own story) there isn’t the expectation that people will engage with you in it. Because tweets disappear as the firehose continues to gush, it’s easier to ignore them. I know—I’ve done it.
This appeals to a lot of the people that have popularized Twitter: A-list celebrities, media outlets, politicians and megabrands. Their primary purpose on Twitter is to relate their version of events. It isn’t about conversing with their audience. CNN doesn’t really want to talk to you. They want to talk at you. This isn’t entirely about lack of desire, it’s also a matter of time. Ashton Kutcher can’t possibly respond to every @aplusk from his 7 million+ followers.
You only need to look at recent changes in Quora to see this dynamic in action. Three key elements of Quora were the ability to comment on answers, to ask questions directly of people and to message them through Quora. I’ve built a number of great friendships through Quora’s behind-the-scenes interactions.
But Quora recently gave users the power to block all of these features. This is essential to attracting celebrities to the platform. Larry Summers and JJ Abrams blocked these features. Former D.C. schools chancellor and education reform activist Michelle Rhee recently joined Quora. I would love to engage with her on education reform (a topic I’m passionate about), but she blocked these features as well. Kutcher is one Quora celebrity who has left his account open to user interaction. (I’m not a celebrity, so feel free to ask me a question.)
The current Google+ interface would be less appealing to celebrities, because the interface is designed to invite conversation and engagement.
For Web celebrities, this kind of conversation and engagement is great. Joshua Schachter recently tweeted that he got “30 responses on twitter w/ 14000 followers, 42 on plus w/ 1500 followers.” That doesn’t surprise me at all—it’s a natural result of Google’s user interface decisions. Google+ continually resurfaces threads that get comments; Tweets keep sinking as time goes on.
How Google responds to the Scoble challenge will be interesting. Robert, I’m sorry I had to block you. But when you get back from Florida, I’d love to buy you a drink.
via techcrunch.com
Sunday, July 10, 2011
More Oracle Patents Declared Invalid - Slashdot
Please. I doubt Sun would have ever filed any of these lawsuits. They actually wanted people to use Java. I don't think it should matter that Oracle bought them or not: when Google implemented Java into Android Oracle didn't own Sun and Sun apparently didn't have a problem with what Google was doing. They were probably happy about it. By not suing, Sun set a precedent on the matter which Oracle shouldn't be able to change because of the purchase.
Also, all these silly patents Oracle acquired along with Sun were probably defensive-minded. It's no surprise that some of them are becoming invalidated with the scrutiny that comes with using them offensively to sue.
Expect to see the use of Java decline. If Sun had been this litigious about Java it probably would never have become as popular as it has. No one wants to worry about paying a tax to Oracle just for using a language for which many non-taxed alternatives exist.
I'm not a lawyer. Maybe the law is actually on Oracle's side, but that doesn't make it right.
China's millions dwarf Harry Kewell's demands | Stuff.co.nz
China's millions dwarf Harry Kewell's demands
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If Harry Kewell's mooted percentage-laden deal to get him to the A-League went to plan, he might earn as much as $2.5 million next season. By Australian standards, it's big money. But by Asian standards, it's small change.
Our northern neighbours might be recognised as the future powers in the global economy but in football, where Asia has struggled to make its mark, question marks remain.
However, this week marked the moment Asia signalled its true intentions when a Chinese club made an Argentinian the world's third-highest-paid player.
Dario Conca is not a household name outside his region - he hasn't even been capped by his country - but he is the reigning South American footballer of the year after shining for Fluminense in Brazil.
He is reportedly earning $184,000 a week for the next 2½ years, which places him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They are at another level, with Ronaldo earning $316,250 a week at Real Madrid, and Messi $269,000 at Barcelona.
Conca was bought by Guangzhou Evergrande, whose transition from infamy to regional powerhouse has taken less than two months. SBS journalist Scott McIntyre was in Guangzhou this week to watch the club in action as it trounced Chengdu Blades 4-0 in front of a packed house at Tianhe Stadium.
''Their rise is absolutely extraordinary,'' he said. ''Two seasons ago, both they and Chengdu were relegated after the Chinese match-fixing scandal but they have bounced back with some incredibly wealthy owners who made their fortune in the booming local real estate market. Now they have the financial muscle to compete with almost anyone, and they proved that by signing Conca. They've also got a very serious following - 50,000 fans come to their matches, and they're as impressive and passionate as anything I've seen. They're an example of the potential that exists right across China.''
Xu Jiayin, the chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group, which owns the club, is said to be worth $US443 million ($412.4m) - although Forbes estimated his wealth at $US1.2 billion as recently as 2008. He has a stated aim to keep investing in the club and ''win the Asian Champions League within three years''. They've already tied down a friendly against Real Madrid next month.
On the receiving end of the hammering at Guangzhou was Blades manager Lawrie McKinna. By comparison, McKinna has the league's smallest operating budget. Yet against what he last had at the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League, it's a different world.
''Our training base has 72 four-star accommodation rooms, numerous offices and boardrooms, six training pitches, a huge gym, sauna, spa and everything else you can think of,'' he said. ''China is setting itself to match Japan and Korea, but in future years they can match it with the biggest clubs in the world.''
While the cash flows in so, too, must the results. The owners are demanding, and sometimes selfish.
''Last week our owner sold eight first-team players. He also made the team catch a 15-hour train trip just to make a point to the government that his wealth isn't what they think it is,'' McKinna said. ''But if we escape relegation [Chengdu are three points clear], we're in line for a three-million renminbi [$430,000] bonus to be shared among players and coaches, and we collectively get a RMB600,000 bonus each time we win. Yet at Guangzhou, I hear they pay five-million renminbi bonus for a win and a two-million renminbi bonus for a draw. But if they lose, they get fined two-million renminbi. They haven't lost a game yet.''
The entire competition had a massive payday this week with the news that real estate company Dalian Wanda had pumped in $72 million of its own money into sponsoring the Chinese Super League for the next three years.
In Japan and Korea, huge investment in their domestic clubs has been going on for decades, and they are the region's established powers.
Meanwhile, back in Australia, football clings to the hope that FFA chairman Frank Lowy will open his wallet. If he wants Australia to keep up, he might have no choice.
- Sydney Morning Herald
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via stuff.co.nz
