Technology News Pipe

LG's Got a Shiny New Watch, and a Crazy Smartphone to Go With It

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:39:15 +0000

LG’s Watch Urbane is one of the best-looking Android Wear watches you can buy (admittedly, not a high bar). The second edition takes the same formula, and adds a sprinkling of LTE. Oh, and there’s a bonkers new smartphone with two screens.

LG's new superphone has two screens and two selfie cameras

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:39:00 +0000

LG's renaming its powerful flagship smartphone series, here's the V10 and it marks a new smartphone start, with some notable features all on the front of the thing. The company is literally doubling down on features, with two five-megapixel cameras...

LG's 2nd Watch Urbane is the first Android Wear device with LTE

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:28:00 +0000

Tonight LG took the wraps off of the new V10 phone and its latest smartwatch, the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. Like the first model, it has a circular display but one-ups its predecessor by arriving as the first device to combine Android Wear with a b...

Former Cisco CEO: China, India, UK Will Lead US In Tech Race Without Action

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:05:00 +0000

Mickeycaskill writes: Former Cisco CEO John Chambers says the US is the only major country without a proper digital agenda and laments the fact none of the prospective candidates for the US Presidential Election have made it an issue. Chambers said China, India, the UK and France were among those to recognize the benefits of the trend but the US had been slow — risking any economic gains and support for startups. "This is the first time that our government has not led a technology transition," he said. "Our government has been remarkably slow. We are the last major developed country in the world without a digital agenda. I think every major country has this as one of their top two priorities and we don't. We won't get GDP increase and we won't be as competitive with our startups. The real surprise to me was how governments around the world, except ours, moved."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The First Decent Smartwatch That Doesn’t Need Your Phone

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:00:49 +0000

Hang on, let me call you back from my watch.

The post The First Decent Smartwatch That Doesn’t Need Your Phone appeared first on WIRED.

LG’s New Phone Has Two Screens, Plenty of Other Crazy Features

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 02:00:24 +0000

Be You, indeed.

The post LG’s New Phone Has Two Screens, Plenty of Other Crazy Features appeared first on WIRED.

NASA's trippy Ceres map shows what the dwarf planet is made of

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 01:58:00 +0000

No, you're not looking at an artist's watercolor impression of the Moon. That's NASA's false-color map of Ceres, generated using a mix of infrared and visible light filters onboard the Dawn spacecraft currently orbiting the dwarf planet. The resu...

'Splosion Man' developer Twisted Pixel is leaving Microsoft

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 01:39:00 +0000

Twisted Pixel may have gotten into Microsoft's good graces (and the company itself) through games like Splosion Man and The Maw, but it didn't stay there for very long. The developer has revealed that it's being spun out from Microsoft Studios rou...

Online Lender SoFi Seems To Push Back IPO Plans, Raising $1 Billion

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 01:33:21 +0000

Back in May, Mike Cagney, the CEO of online lender Social Finance, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that his company was “profitable and as any private company we want to be opportunistic about when we go public,” adding that, “realistically in the next 12 months, it will happen.” That plan might have just changed. This morning, SoFi, as the company is… Read More

Popular German Dating Site LOVOO May Use Fembots to Lure Men into Paying for Membership

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 01:15:00 +0000

After the Ashley Madison fembot scandal , this scenario sounds familiar. Internal documents leaked by whistleblowers at dating site LOVOO, which boasts 36 million users across Europe, reveal the company used bots called “promoter bitches” to flirt with men and get them to spend Euros on the site.

Google Maps for iOS shows you the fastest way to travel in one page

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:56:00 +0000

Google Maps for iOS has become a lot easier to use when you're in a hurry and quickly need to check how to get to your destination. The app now shows you all the possible ETAs for all the transportation types it supports in a single page, just like...

You can now download Apple's OS X El Capitan through the Mac App Store

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

Apple has officially launched OS X El Capitan today after a series of betas, bringing a collection of new features to the operating system. Anyone currently running OS X 10.6.8 or newer can download 'El Capitan' through the Mac App Store free or charge, with the download size clocking in...

Researchers: Thousands of Medical Devices Are Vulnerable To Hacking

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

itwbennett writes: At the DerbyCon security conference, researchers Scott Erven and Mark Collao explained how they located Internet-connected medical devices by searching for terms like 'radiology' and 'podiatry' in the Shodan search engine. Some systems were connected to the Internet by design, others due to configuration errors. And much of the medical gear was still using the default logins and passwords provided by manufacturers. 'As these devices start to become connected, not only can your data gets stolen but there are potential adverse safety issues,' Erven said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We've Solved the Longstanding Mystery of These Spiky Ice Pillars

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:20:00 +0000

Penitentes are nature’s ice sculptures: snowy pillars that form high in the Andean glaciers, where the air is particularly dry. Now physicists have figured out not only how these pillars form, but also why they tend to form at preferred spacings between columns.

Oceanographers invent device that tracks even the tiniest jellyfish

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:14:00 +0000

With barely two percent of the seafloor explored, we know a whole lot less than we'd like to about the Earth's oceans and its myriad of residents. Among the more numerous but less studied oceanic animals are soft-bodied like squid, octopi and jelly...

How To Keep IoT Hunters And Poachers Out Of Your Food And Farms

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:29 +0000

A drone equipped to “sniff” Zigbee flew over an Austin neighborhood in early August and found almost 1,600 devices. It’s a sign of how ubiquitous these technologies have become, and how we use them every day — despite their vulnerabilities. As we connect more devices to our lives, I can’t help but wonder, can hackers hurt, hunt or poach our local food… Read More

The Long Arm of the Galaxy Desktop

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Like we’ve said before, sometimes less customization is more, and this beautiful desktop from reader Mackenzie is another great example of how just a couple of skins—not too many—make all the difference. Here’s how she set it up.

New broadband satellite launched

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:56:26 +0000

A satellite designed to provide high-speed internet services to 200,000 Australians living in rural areas is launched from South America.

LA and NYC's Public Transit Systems Got In a Twitter Fight Over Baseball

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:52:19 +0000

New Yorkers like to make fun of LA’s subway. Angelenos like to make fun of how New York is a raging hellhole of gentrification that reeks of desperation and greed, but with great trains! So with their baseball teams meeting in the playoffs, it’s only natural that their transit systems start talking smack.

Dormant Virus Wakes Up In Some Patients With Lou Gehrig's Disease

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:48:00 +0000

MTorrice writes: Our chromosomes hold a partial record of prehistoric viral infections: About 8% of our genomes come from DNA that viruses incorporated into the cells of our ancestors. Over many millennia, these viral genes have accumulated mutations rendering them mostly dormant. But one of these viruses can reawaken in some patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive muscle wasting disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. A new study demonstrates that this so-called endogenous retrovirus can damage neurons, possibly contributing to the neurodegeneration seen in the disease. The findings raise the possibility that antiretroviral drugs, similar to those used to treat HIV, could slow the progression of ALS in some patients.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AOC announces 16 inch 1080p USB 3.0 monitor (E1659FWUX-PRO)

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:47:35 +0000

While some people have the luxury of a beautiful office, not everyone is so lucky. Many people, myself included, work wherever they can -- Starbucks, in a parked car, or a kitchen table to name a few. This is actually freeing, and can be conducive to creativity, but I digress. The downside, of course, is having to work with a single laptop display -- a multiple monitor setup can be a godsend for productivity.

Believe it or not, there are portable secondary monitors, which you can attach with USB to a laptop, tablet, or desktop if need be. Today, AOC announces a 16 inch USB 3.0 variant, featuring 1080p. It supports both Windows and OS X, but Linux distros may work too. Best of all? Not only is video transmitted by USB, but so is the power -- a single cable! Plus, the price is very affordable.

"Its 300cd/m2 brightness makes it the brightest in its class. The widescreen monitor receives both power and signal via a single USB cable for plug-and-play connection. This means it does not require a power cord or VGA cable, so you have one less cord to worry about. It is ultra-lightweight and slim for maximum portability, making it perfect for displaying visuals such as business presentations or adding a second monitor to your desktop for increased productivity. The Mac and PC Compatible HD Pro USB Monitor is the perfect solution for the frequent traveler who needs to pack multiple displays, as it easily fits into a suitcase and comes with a carrying case. The monitor also comes with a foldable stand that goes from landscape to portrait view mode with auto-pivot. It is available for today on Amazon.com for $199", says AOC.

The value-focused monitor manufacturer further says, "the HD Pro USB Monitor with its foldable flexi-stand is ideal for viewing in landscape or portrait mode. Landscape mode is ideal for presentations and Excel sheets, while the Portrait mode conveniently gives you an easy vertical view of your instant messaging programs, infographics, or search results. This monitor has a unique auto-pivot feature that automatically adjusts the image according to the display’s orientation, so you will never have to change settings as you switch between landscape and portrait mode. The AOC HD Pro USB Monitor is also VESA 75 x 75 mm compliant, allowing you to easily mount the USB monitor to any wall. Multiple USB monitors can also be simultaneously connected to a single laptop or desktop computer to function as a multi-monitor PC or Mac, thanks to the built-in Display Link USB graphics".

AOC shares the full specs below.

E1659FWUX-PRO
Pixel Pitch	0.252 (H) mm x 0.252 (v) mm
Display Area	344.2 mm x 193.5 mm
Brightness	300 cd/m2 (typ)
Contrast Ratio	500:1 (static)
Response Time	11ms (GtG)
Viewing Angle	Horizontal: 90 Degrees (CR>10)Vertical: 65 Degrees (CR>10)
Scanning Frequency	Horizontal: 48KHzVertical: 60 Hz
Optimal Resolution Recommended	1920x1080@60hz1920x1080@60Hz
Supported Resolutions	640x480@60Hz for extended mode800x600@60Hz for extended mode1024x768@60Hz for extended mode1366x768@60Hz for extended mode
Color Depth	262K
Connectors	1 x Micro USB 3.0
User Control	None
Adjustability	Tilt: 15° ~ 30°, Auto Pivot
Power Source	PC USB 5V

Imagine sitting in Starbucks, and working on your laptop. Something comes up that requires intense multitasking, so you pull out this USB display (E1659FWUX-PRO), connect one cable and you are off to the races. How cool is it to have a svelte additional monitor in your bag? The $200 investment could pay for itself quickly when your increased productivity is factored in.

It is not yet in stock at Amazon, but you can order it here now for when stock comes in.

Styrofoam-Chomping Mealworms Can Help Solve Our Trash Problem

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:45:00 +0000

Styrofoam: Cheap, convenient, and the bane of environmentalists. Americans throw away 2.5 billion foam cups every year, and the damn things just sit in landfills for millennia. Unless, that is, you sic a bunch of hungry mealworms on them.

Google and Microsoft end their years-long patent war

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:44:00 +0000

And just like that, another one of the tech industry's epic patent battles is coming to a close. Google and Microsoft have dropped all 20 (!) of the lawsuits they've filed against each other, ending their five-year dispute over everything ranging...

How To Get A Sweet New ‘GIF’ Facebook Profile Pic

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:43:46 +0000

Facebook has rolled out its new mobile profile options for some lucky users, and if you’re among them, it means you have access to the new GIF-like profile pictures. You won’t know you have the new profile unless you go check your profile on the mobile app (right now, it’s available for iOS only). Hit […]

The post How To Get A Sweet New ‘GIF’ Facebook Profile Pic appeared first on WIRED.

16 Deals Feeding Chip Biz's Merger Fever

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:42:00 +0000

The semiconductor industry has undergone an unprecedented wave of consolidation over the past 18 months, with both the volume and size of deals standing out even in an industry always been heavy on mergers and acquisitions. Here are 16 of the biggest deals.

Google and Microsoft in lawsuit truce

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:37:43 +0000

Microsoft and Google agree to end a five-year battle over patents and say they will now work together on some fronts.

The Best Hoodie You’ll Ever Wear

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:19:38 +0000

When it comes to insulation, forget cotton. This fleece hoodie will shed water while staying much warmer and, with a knit face, looks much classier than you’ll feel.

Bookie offers virtual reality racing

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:13:17 +0000

Racing fans will be given the chance to experience horseracing from the jockey's perspective.

Legal Loophole Offers Volkswagen Criminal Immunity

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:04:00 +0000

An anonymous reader writes: According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled) a loophole in the 1970 Clean Air Act could make it impossible for U.S. prosecutors to subject Volkswagen to criminal charges over its use of standards-dodging 'defeat devices' in its emissions-testing software. Prosecutors are now reported to be considering alternative methods, including (considerably lesser) charges that Volkswagen lied to regulation authorities.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Rideshare Startup That’s Landed $300M Without a Fight

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:03:58 +0000

You could be forgiven for thinking Europeans hate the very concept of sharing your car. But one company, BlaBlaCar, gets a lot of love.

The post The Rideshare Startup That’s Landed $300M Without a Fight appeared first on WIRED.

Knomi App Uses iBeacons And Push To Drive Footfall To Fashion Boutiques

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:01:40 +0000

Spare a thought for high end fashion boutiques. The rarefied aura of prestige and privilege they spend so long cultivating to reflect the premium brands they stock means they can’t use something as crudely effective as discounts to lure customers in store. So how do they acquire new customers? Read More

Make Granola from Anything You Have On Hand With This Ratio

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Making your own granola is easy , and can save you money over the pricey store-bought stuff. If you’re not sure how to get started, just remember this ratio: six parts dry ingredients to one part wet.

Rush Limbaugh Thinks Gizmodo Really Wants to Genetically Engineer Humans

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Gizmodo has confused Rush Limbaugh.

Facebook spices up profiles with looping video, temporary pictures, larger images and more

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:45:00 +0000

As part of a continued effort to avoid the same fate as MySpace, Facebook on Wednesday announced a handful of major changes that add a bit of spice to users’ profiles.

The Most Photogenic Locations In Each State, According to Instagram

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:30:00 +0000

If you like to take amazing pictures when you travel, these are the places in the U.S. people flock to the most in order to grab the perfect photo.

Australia’s Biggest Tech VC Firm On What’s Happening Right Now

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:22:38 +0000

Earlier this month, a three-year-old venture firm that’s focused on Australian entrepreneurs, Blackbird Ventures, raised an impressive $200 million for its second fund. That’s nearly seven times the $30 million it raised for its debut fund. It also makes Blackbird the biggest tech-focused venture firm in Australia, even while its biggest bets, including the graphic design… Read More

Virginia State Police Cars Hacked

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:21:00 +0000

ancientribe writes: Two models of Virginia State Police cruisers were hacked in an experiment to expose vulnerabilities in the vehicles and to come up with ways to protect the cars from hackers. Mitre Corp., the Virginia Dept. of Motor Vehicles, the University of Virginia, and other organizations in cooperation with DHS and the DOT demonstrated the attacks on an unmarked 2012 Chevrolet Impala and a marked patrol car, a 2013 Ford Taurus. GM and Ford even provided their comments to the press in the wake of the experiment.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Culture Clash: Coding, Software And Writing For Humans

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:00:45 +0000

There’s a lot of bad code out there. And it’s causing major problems for companies that are looking to build a more mobile-centric, transformational architecture. Specifically, bad code causes projects to take more time, more money and more resources (aka Software Crisis) — which is repeated over and over and over unless a company revisits and updates the long-standing… Read More

Palo Alto Networks And Preserving Culture From 15 People to $15B

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:00:11 +0000

Companies experiencing hyper growth also have a unique challenge: Maintaining the culture and energy that made them so disruptive in the first place. “One of the things that small companies excel at is innovation— having a culture of innovation. But what they don’t think about later is, when you get big, how do you keep that?” notes Palo Alto Networks CEO and Chairman… Read More

Take Your Marinara Sauce to the Next Level With a Little Lemon Zest

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:00:00 +0000

Marinara sauce is a classic everyone should learn how to make . If you want to make your recipe standout, a little lemon zest will really make the flavors pop.

Asana Debuts New Version Of Its Collab Software, Claims 140K Companies Use Its Service

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:59:31 +0000

This morning at Asana’s San Francisco headquarters, the startup announced a new version of its product, a new brand — logo — and, happily, some metrics about its growth. As you will recall, the startup picked up a new Head of Business from Google on Monday, announcing at the same time that it has expanded its revenue by 230 percent over the past year. Growth Asana announced… Read More

There’s a Harry Potter Jailbreak Brewing in London

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:59:24 +0000

Muggles are trying to free Dobby the House Elf, and whether or not they succeed, it's a glorious act.

The post There’s a Harry Potter Jailbreak Brewing in London appeared first on WIRED.

Apple's iPhone 6s Plus carries an estimated bill of materials of just $236

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:45:00 +0000

Companies such as Amazon are content to sell hardware at a very slim margin in hopes of making a profit via services. Apple? They demand their money up front on the cost of the hardware and as the recent teardown and cost analysis from IHS Technology confirms, Apple’s latest smartphones...

io9 Why The Nazis Believed They Could Win the Battle of Britain | Jalopnik Meet The Repair Shop With

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:42:55 +0000

io9 Why The Nazis Believed They Could Win the Battle of Britain | Jalopnik Meet The Repair Shop With The Worst Contract Ever | Jezebel Olympic-Level Troll Hijacks HLN Segment on Edward Snowden to Defend Edward Scissorhands | Kotaku What Works (And Doesn’t Work) In Today’s PS4 Firmware Update | Kinja Popular Posts

NVIDIA Launches GeForce NOW Game Streaming Service

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:38:00 +0000

MojoKid writes: NVIDIA has championed game streaming for a number of years now. Whether it be from a GeForce GTX-equipped PC to one of its SHIELD devices or from its cloud-based GRID gaming beta service to a SHIELD, Today though, NVIDIA is kicking its game streaming business up a notch by launching a new service dubbed GeForce NOW. The service streams PC games from the cloud to SHIELD devices at up to full HD 1080p resolutions at 60 fps. It may be tempting to call GeForce NOW an official re-branding of its GRID game streaming beta but that is reportedly not the case. The GRID beta is going away with the launch of GeForce NOW (an update will replace the GRID app with GeForce NOW), but according to NVIDIA, GeForce NOW was re-architected from the ground up to provide a better overall experience. NVIDIA sees GeForce NOW as sort of a "Netflix for games." There is a small monthly fee of $7.99 for a subscription, which gives customers access to a slew of games. There are too many to list but top notch titles like Batman: Arkham City, Ultra Street Fighter IV, GRID 2 and many others are included. In addition to the games included in the subscriptions price, NVIDIA will also be offering GeForce NOW users access to AAA-titles on the day of release, for a fee. The games will typically be sold at a regular retail prices but not only will users get to play those games via the GeForce NOW streaming service on SHIELD devices, they'll also receive a key for playing the game on a PC as well. To use GeForce NOW you'll need an NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV, SHIELD portable, or SHIELD tablet (with the latest software updates installed) and a SHIELD-approved 5GHz router. Your broadband connection must also offer download speeds of at least 12Mb/s. 20Mb/s is recommended for 720p / 60 FPS quality, and 50Mb/s is recommended for 1080p / 60 FPS.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Yves Béhar on How Smart Design Can Propel Social Change

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:55:30 +0000

It's going mobile.

The post Yves Béhar on How Smart Design Can Propel Social Change appeared first on WIRED.

Mars Mission: How Hard? NASA Astronauts Weigh In

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:54:00 +0000

astroengine writes: In an interesting interview with Discovery News, retired NASA astronauts Clay Anderson (Expedition 15/16) and Steve Swanson (Expedition 39/40) discussed their views on how the US space agency should select the first Mars-bound astronauts — a mission that is slated to commence in the late 2020's. While Swanson thinks that the current NASA astronaut selection process should suffice for a long-duration foray to the Red Planet, Anderson isn't so sure, saying, "(Mars) doesn't require a jet fighter pilot. It doesn't require a Ph.D. astronaut — although those people would be just fine, but I think that it's going to take people that are very good generalists, that can do many things." As depicted in the upcoming Matt Damon movie, "The Martian," Mark Watney (Damon) is thrown into an unexpected, life-threatening situation, requiring him to use his general skill set to survive on the barren landscape until he's rescued. As the first manned missions to Mars will likely throw unforeseen challenges at the explorers, it will probably be a good idea to have a crew that are adept at thinking on the fly and skilled in many different areas rather than being a specialist in one.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

What To Consider Before Connecting A Thing To The Internet

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:49:13 +0000

“The Internet of Things is about connecting things to the Internet and it’s really about the strength you can build with those connections.” Co-founder of Electric Imp IoT platform Hugo Fiennes offered perhaps the most perfect definition of the Internet of Things at an APIcon (see the full video at the end of page 2 of this post).

Wacky Photos Make You Wonder How Mushroom Doughnuts Taste

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:46:08 +0000

Vanessa McKeown takes ordinary items and combines them in weird ways. No Photoshop necessary.

The post Wacky Photos Make You Wonder How Mushroom Doughnuts Taste appeared first on WIRED.

Stay in touch on the go with Logitech's new Logi Circle home camera

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:45:00 +0000

Logitech on Wednesday announced a home monitoring camera that’s less about surveillance and security and more about letting loved ones stay in touch with each other away from home.