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Bring thermal vision to your phone with this camera add-on
Source: Seek Thermal
5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
Michael Clifford Fires Back at Abigail Breslin's Diss Track
Stars Most Stylish Selfie of the Week
Stars Most Stylish Selfie of the Week
5-Minute Outfit Idea
5-Minute Outfit Idea: An Effortless, Polished Look to Try This Weekend.
Facebook suffers outage
Facebook suffers outage affecting users worldwide!! .
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Bring thermal vision to your phone with this camera add-on
Source: Seek Thermal
Playing 'Portal 2' might make you smarter
Playing 'Portal 2' might make you smarter
"Them games'll rot your brain, you know," said the fictional midwestern mom that we've invented for the purposes of this story. Grudgingly, we'd accept her admonishment, put down our copy of Sonic the Hedgehog and go back to playing "educational" titles like Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego. Now, however, it turns out that a game like Portal 2 is better for your brain than an actual brain-training game like Lumosity.
A team down at Florida State University sat 77 lab rats undergraduates in front of the games for eight hours, with their problem solving, spatial skill and persistence tested before and afterward. The results showed that the Portal 2 players showed "significant increases" in their scores once they'd spent time with Wheatley and GLaDOS while the Lumosity gang, er, didn't. It's only one study with a limited sample set, for sure, but maybe the next time that fictional midwestern mom starts moaning about your rotting brain, you can hand her the report and tell her to shove it.
[Image Credit: Alphacoders / Medowar]
Source: Gamasutra (Scribd), Science Direct
A team down at Florida State University sat 77 lab rats undergraduates in front of the games for eight hours, with their problem solving, spatial skill and persistence tested before and afterward. The results showed that the Portal 2 players showed "significant increases" in their scores once they'd spent time with Wheatley and GLaDOS while the Lumosity gang, er, didn't. It's only one study with a limited sample set, for sure, but maybe the next time that fictional midwestern mom starts moaning about your rotting brain, you can hand her the report and tell her to shove it.
[Image Credit: Alphacoders / Medowar]
Source: Gamasutra (Scribd), Science Direct
Saudi Arabia: 2 million in Makkah for start of hajj
Saudi Arabia: 2 million in Makkah for start of hajj
Associated Press
Makkah, Saudi Arabia — An estimated 2 million Muslims are streaming into a sprawling tent city near Mecca for the start of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia says there are 1.4 million visitors to the kingdom for the hajj.
The pilgrims are heading on Thursday to Mina, about five kilometers (three miles) from Makkah, where they will spend the night in prayer and supplication.
The hajj, a central pillar of Islam, lasts about five days.
Missing from this year's hajj are pilgrims from the countries hardest-hit by the Ebola virus.
Saudi Arabia banned hajj and work visas this year for people from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea as a precaution to avoid the spread of Ebola during hajj, which sees massive crowds of people from around the world gather in Makkah.
Dubai detectives to get Google face-recognition technology
Dubai detectives to get Google face-recognition technology
Reuters
DUBAI - Dubai police plan to issue detectives with Google Glass hands-free eyewear to help them fight crime using facial recognition technology, a police spokesman in the wealthy Gulf Arab emirate said.
The wearable device consists of a tiny computer screen mounted in the corner of an eyeglass frame and is capable of taking photos, recording video and playing sound.
The spokesman confirmed a report in Dubai's 7 Days newspaper that software developed by Dubai police would enable a connection between the wearer and a database of wanted people.
Once the device "recognized" a suspect based on a face print, it would alert the officer wearing the gadget.
The gadget would be used in a first phase to combat traffic violations and track vehicles suspected of involvement in motoring offences. A second phase would see the technology rolled out to detectives, the spokesman said.
The U.S. Internet company said in a blogpost in May that anyone in the United States could buy the gadget for $1,500.
Dubai's decision appears in line with the authorities' determination to spare no expense in equipping the police.
Last year Dubai announced it would supply its police with $400,000 Lamborghini sports cars for use at major tourist sites. Dubai's deputy police chief said the vehicles were in keeping with the Gulf capital's image.
Dubai, one of seven emirates in the UAE federation, is staging a recovery from the financial crisis it suffered during the global financial crisis in 2009. The emirate recently announced several big projects, including a huge tourism and retail development with the largest shopping mall in the world.
(Reporting by William Maclean; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Angry Birds maker Rovio plans job cuts
Angry Birds maker Rovio plans job cuts
Reuters
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HELSINKI - Finnish mobile games maker Rovio, owner of the globally successful Angry Birds brand, said on Thursday it was planning to cut up to 130 jobs in Finland, or 16 percent of its total workforce.
"We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialized. As a result, we announced today that we plan to simplify our organization ... we also need to consider possible employee reductions," Chief Executive Mikael Hed said in a statement.
According to Rovio, the Angry Birds game, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs who steal birds' eggs, is the No. 1 paid mobile application of all time.
Rovio has expanded the brand into an animated TV series and merchandising of toys and clothing, but at the same time it has struggled to retain players, resulting to its earnings halving last year.
In August, the company named Pekka Rantala, a former Nokia executive, as its next CEO.
(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by David Holmes)
Next year's Hondas will have Tegra and Android inside
Next year's Hondas will have Tegra and Android inside
Curious as to just which Honda models you'd see Android pop up in first? If you had money on the 2015 Civic, Civic Tourer and CRV it's time to collect your prize from the pool. Google's mobile OS will appear as standard equipment in those vehicles with a little help from Nvidia, naturally, and as the GPU giant tells it, Honda Connect will be the first infotainment system to run embedded Android on a Tegra chipset. Nvidia says that Connect will sport a 7-inch customizable touch-screen display that acts a lot like what you'd expect from a smartphone or a slate. Naturally that means there are swipe, pinch and zoom gestures along with an app store for the Ice Cream Sandwich-based system. How this will all play with Android Auto, though, remains to be seen.
Source: Nvidia Blog
Source: Nvidia Blog
Vertu Aster is a luxury smartphone with 'mid-tier' price, top-tier specs
Vertu Aster is a luxury smartphone with 'mid-tier' price, top-tier specs
Since the launch of the Signature Touch, Vertu CEO Max Pogliani promised that "technology will be more a merging factor and not a differentiation point" for his phones. That's literally the case with the new mid-tier Aster launched today: This titanium Android device is every bit identical to its flagship sibling device internally, just wrapped within a more contemporary and unisex design. We're looking at a 4.7-inch 1080p display, a 5.1-inch 117 carat sapphire screen, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset, a 13-megapixel Hasselblad-certified main camera with twin LED flash, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing imager, 64GB of internal storage, a 2,275mAh battery, front stereo speakers, NFC, Qi wireless charging and great LTE compatibility (though no love for China, for some reason). With the specs out of the way, let's look at why this swanky phone starts from $6,900 or £4,200. %Slideshow-228640%
While the Aster is technically the successor of the Constellation, the former avoided the path of screen enlargement (from the Ti's 3.7-inch screen to the Constellation's 4.3-inch) while managing to bring back the iconic V-pillow. By keeping the same 4.7-inch screen size on both the Signature Touch and the Aster, Vertu could risk losing appeal to a wider audience, especially in China where phablets are the norm. But Pogliani opted for a more sensible strategy.
"Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends."
"Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends; our technology is leading edge but it doesn't have to be bleeding edge. The same goes for the physical design of Vertu products. The nature of our customers and of our products mean that we have to develop what is right for them, not follow generic broader industry design themes that may be more fleeting than those of the luxury market.
"Many of our customers desire and appreciate compact size Vertu products that comfortably fit the inside the pocket of a well-tailored suit or in an expensive clutch bag."
The CEO added that this also has nothing to do with the cost of sapphire, and he even said it's possible that his company might offer larger screen sizes in the future.
Much like the other Vertu handsets, the Aster is offered with a range of skins and colors. The base price gets you calf leather in black, pink or blue, while £5,600/$9,100 gets you shiny snake skin in black or orange (the latter is this author's favorite), and you can max out at £5,900/$9,700 -- a "little" below the Signature Touch's £6,750/$10,300 base price -- for ostrich skin in brown or purple. This is pretty much why the Aster comes in at 11.2mm thick, which is just a tad more than the Signature Touch's.
Going back to the point about differentiation, the Aster is more affordable because it comes with a shorter "Classic Concierge" subscription -- just six months instead of a year and no dedicated agent. This may tempt those who doubt they will make full use of Vertu's signature service; and they can always renew their subscription afterwards. There's also the Vertu Certainty package that offers six months of iPass WiFi hotspots around the world, 12 months of Silent Circle communication encryption and 12 months of Kaspersky mobile security subscription. Vertu Life, a curation service that offers exclusive access to events and venues, will continue to last for 18 months -- a figure based on usage statistics within Vertu's global customer base, according to Pogliani.
"Concierge and services continues to be of significant importance to Vertu and they are a key part of our brand DNA," the exec added. "We are continually developing this aspect of our business and new partnerships with the likes of Bentley indicate the level of our vision and ambition."
On top of that, Vertu is also entering the e-commerce space. The English company will be gradually rolling out its Vertu Digital service between now and early next year, by which point folks around the world will be able to directly order personalized devices online, though they can also collect their new phones at a boutique -- we think the latter is more fun, if there's one nearby. But of course, this alone still won't win the majority of us over -- we're waiting for that more affordable Vertu device that Pogliani is working on.
Source: Vertu
While the Aster is technically the successor of the Constellation, the former avoided the path of screen enlargement (from the Ti's 3.7-inch screen to the Constellation's 4.3-inch) while managing to bring back the iconic V-pillow. By keeping the same 4.7-inch screen size on both the Signature Touch and the Aster, Vertu could risk losing appeal to a wider audience, especially in China where phablets are the norm. But Pogliani opted for a more sensible strategy.
"Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends."
"Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends; our technology is leading edge but it doesn't have to be bleeding edge. The same goes for the physical design of Vertu products. The nature of our customers and of our products mean that we have to develop what is right for them, not follow generic broader industry design themes that may be more fleeting than those of the luxury market.
"Many of our customers desire and appreciate compact size Vertu products that comfortably fit the inside the pocket of a well-tailored suit or in an expensive clutch bag."
The CEO added that this also has nothing to do with the cost of sapphire, and he even said it's possible that his company might offer larger screen sizes in the future.
Much like the other Vertu handsets, the Aster is offered with a range of skins and colors. The base price gets you calf leather in black, pink or blue, while £5,600/$9,100 gets you shiny snake skin in black or orange (the latter is this author's favorite), and you can max out at £5,900/$9,700 -- a "little" below the Signature Touch's £6,750/$10,300 base price -- for ostrich skin in brown or purple. This is pretty much why the Aster comes in at 11.2mm thick, which is just a tad more than the Signature Touch's.
Going back to the point about differentiation, the Aster is more affordable because it comes with a shorter "Classic Concierge" subscription -- just six months instead of a year and no dedicated agent. This may tempt those who doubt they will make full use of Vertu's signature service; and they can always renew their subscription afterwards. There's also the Vertu Certainty package that offers six months of iPass WiFi hotspots around the world, 12 months of Silent Circle communication encryption and 12 months of Kaspersky mobile security subscription. Vertu Life, a curation service that offers exclusive access to events and venues, will continue to last for 18 months -- a figure based on usage statistics within Vertu's global customer base, according to Pogliani.
"Concierge and services continues to be of significant importance to Vertu and they are a key part of our brand DNA," the exec added. "We are continually developing this aspect of our business and new partnerships with the likes of Bentley indicate the level of our vision and ambition."
On top of that, Vertu is also entering the e-commerce space. The English company will be gradually rolling out its Vertu Digital service between now and early next year, by which point folks around the world will be able to directly order personalized devices online, though they can also collect their new phones at a boutique -- we think the latter is more fun, if there's one nearby. But of course, this alone still won't win the majority of us over -- we're waiting for that more affordable Vertu device that Pogliani is working on.
Source: Vertu
Apple's new iCloud tool can show if a used iPhone is stolen
Apple's new iCloud tool can show if a used iPhone is stolen
The market for used iPhone's is fraught with risk, because you may end up paying hundreds of dollars for a locked off device, or worse -- one that appears legit but can't make calls. Apple has just revealed an iCloud tool to nip that in the bud by letting you check a device's activation lock status. All you'll need is the iPhone's IMEI or serial number. If you're the rightful owner, you'll get info on how to disable any activation locks before selling. If you're buying, you'll be shown how to remove the previous account (with the seller's cooperation). The tool will be particularly useful at sussing out "doulCi" devices, which bypass the iCloud to disable activation but won't actually connect to a cell network. Meaning you won't get fooled by a stolen or lost iPhone that appears to work, but is actually... an iPod.
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Tweetbot now does justice to Twitter on your iPhone 6
Tweetbot now does justice to Twitter on your iPhone 6
Tweetbot 3 for iOS is frequently regarded as one of the better mobile Twitter apps, no matter the platform -- it's full of shortcuts and visual flair that most clients (including Twitter's own) sorely lack. It has been lagging on support for Apple's latest developments, however, which makes today's version 3.5 update pretty important. The interface now scales properly on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, giving you much more screen real estate when you're browsing tweets. There are also a few noteworthy upgrades that apply to everyone, including interactive notifications, sharing sheets and support for fetching your login from 1Password. It'll cost you $5 to get the new release if you don't already use Tweetbot, but it might well be worth the outlay if the free Twitter apps aren't quite cutting it.
Source: App Store
Source: App Store
Netflix to launch a King Kong cartoon for kids in 2016
Netflix to launch a King Kong cartoon for kids in 2016
Kids have now two mythical creatures to look forward to on Netflix: after dragons are done invading the streaming service in 2015, a colossal gorilla's slated to follow suit. The company has just announced that it's pairing up with Executive Producer Avi Arad (who also produced the Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man movies) to create a King Kong animated series, making the absence of Saturday morning cartoons sting just a bit less. This version's quite different from the Kong movies, as it's set in 2050 and depicts the famous gorilla as humankind's only hope against an army of robot dinosaurs. We'll find out whether Kong will also scale the Empire State Building in this one when Netflix begins airing it in 2016, beginning with a full-length film that's followed by 12 half-hour episodes.
Source: Netflix
Source: Netflix
Taylor Swift Debuts Her Fourth Fragrance, Incredible Things
Taylor Swift Debuts Her Fourth Fragrance, Incredible Things
The perfume's bottle design looks like Taylor painted it herself using pretty watercolors, and the cap even features her lucky number 13 incorporated into it.
Fans can't wait to smell the perfume, which smells like a mix of vanilla orchid, suede flower, musk, wild passion flower, white amber, Madagascar vanilla and Haitian vetiver. It sounds so great!
Justin Bieber Punches the Paparazzi in the Face
Justin Bieber Punches the Paparazzi in the Face
According to a source, the paparazzi swarmed Justin's car outside of his hotel and it was nearly impossible for him to even walk forward. Instead of letting his bodyguards clear the path for him, Justin took things into his own hands and shoved photographers out of the way, even punching one of them.
While we definitely realize how frustrating the paparazzi can be, we don't think Justin should get involved in any more fights with them. Between his improved relationship with Selena Gomez andhis new music, Justin needs to focus on the positive things happening in his life and not let other brings him down.
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