Samsung's take on Android L looks very familiar

Samsung's take on Android L looks very familiar

Jon Fingas

Engadget

You've probably seen plenty of Google's stock Android L interface by now, but custom interfaces are another story. What will the OS look like when device makers get hold of it? If SamMobile's experience with an early, leaked version of Samsung's TouchWiz software is any indication, it will be... remarkably familiar. At least on the Galaxy S5, it looks like the current front-end with splashes of Google's Material Design philosophy thrown in. Core apps and notifications are now full of card-like, colorful elements, but the home screen, app tray and many other elements resemble what you've seen on existing Samsung hardware.
This doesn't preclude a more conspicuous interface redesign for devices built for Android L from the start, of course. Also, SamMobile is quick to warn that this is very rough code. Many animations are missing, and the performance isn't up to par just yet. And however unfinished this TouchWiz build may be, its mere existence is good news -- it suggests that manufacturers could upgrade your device to the latest Android release comparatively quickly.
Source: SamMobile

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Tesla CEO promises a self-driving model for next year

Tesla CEO promises a self-driving model for next year

Edgar Alvarez

Engadget

Last night, Elon Musk told the world that Tesla was ready to reveal its "D" on October 9th, as well as preparing us for "something else" to expect along the way. But the CEO isn't done teasing just yet. In a recent interview with CNN Money, Musk's let it be known that a Tesla car next year "will probably be 90 percent capable of autopilot," though he didn't dive into any specifics about which model(s) this comment was in reference to. "You know, so 90 percent of your miles could be on auto. For sure highway travel," the Tesla boss added. Such a thing would be possible, Musk said, by combining different sensors with image-recognition cameras, radars and long-rage ultrasonics -- which, without a doubt, paints a bright picture for future vehicles from the company. "Other car companies will follow ... Tesla is a Silicon Valley company. I mean, if we're not the leader, then shame on us."

Source: CNN Money (Twitter)

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Flipboard finally arrives for Windows Phone

Flipboard finally arrives for Windows Phone

Billy Steele

Engadget

Have you been frustrated that your Nokia handset hasn't had the same Flipboard access as your Windows PC and tablet?
Well, you're in luck.
The popular reading app has finally made its way to Microsoft's mobile OS. Outfitting Windows Phone 8.1 devices with at least 1GB of RAM, the software has been retooled specifically for smartphones with easy access to Cover Stories' highlights, search and sharing options.
It'll come preloaded on the Lumia 830 that's set to arrive soon, and compatibility for phones with less memory is in the works as well.
If your device meets the current requirements though, you can get to downloading right now.
Source: Blogging Windows, Flipboard

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Security researchers detail 'unpatchable' USB hack

Security researchers detail 'unpatchable' USB hack

Chris Velazco

Engadget

Remember Karsten Nohl? The security researcher who discovered how to infect just about any USB device with scarily savvy malware and delivered a lengthy talk about it at this year's Black Hat conference? At the time he didn't want to share the code for his exploit, but fellow researchers Adam Caudill and Brandon Wilson figured out how to pull off some of the same tricks and they've published their findings on GitHub. Why? To try and force device manufacturers to get their security acts together.
Nohl's reason for withholding his code the first time around was because he thought it was "unpatchable" -- that is, there wouldn't be an easy firmware fix for this potentially huge problem. We do mean huge, too: the so-called BadUSB proof-of-concept allowed Nohl (along with Caudill and Wilson after the fact) to manipulate files installed from an infected USB device, make an infected gadget act as a faux-keyboard that attackers could control, and in some cases relay personal information to a remote server. Some might argue that releasing this sort of information into the wild is irresponsible and dangerous, but Caudill and Wilson hope to get USB vendors thinking seriously about this potential threat by proving that there's nothing potential about it.Source: GitHub

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Nokia Here Auto displays trip info in more places

Nokia Here Auto displays trip info in more places

Billy Steele

Engadget

Nokia first trotted out its Here Auto connected car platform just over a year ago, and at this week's Paris Motor Show, the company is showing off the latest developments. In order to properly equip the rise in heads-up display tech, Here Auto now shows its info in more places around on the dash. In addition to the main display between the driver and passenger, navigation details and more can be beamed to a HUD or under the steering wheel. The central cluster's route data is "context aware," so when you're low on fuel, it'll show gas stations along the way. During the drive, passengers can employ smartphone and tablet apps to examine the trip and make the most of stops. If a nearby national park is selected, the driver can okay (or reject) the detour and directions get automatically updated. And with a new SDK, auto makers can customize Nokia's system as needed, adding in of CarPlay, Google Auto and more.
Source: Nokia Here

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Now you can test drive a Lexus RC F with the Oculus Rift

Now you can test drive a Lexus RC F with the Oculus Rift

Sean Buckley

Engadget 

Wondering what it's like to get behind the wheel of Lexus' high-performance 2015 RC F sports coupé? Now you can find out -- well, sort of. The company has built a virtual reality RC F using the car's actual steering column, foot pedals and an Oculus Rift DK2 headset. It calls the setup the Lexus RC F Rift, naturally, and it'll be at select auto shows across the nation for the next several months. The player can race the car around a virtual track, but it's not clear if the VR test drive is an accurate representation of how the real vehicle handles. At the very least, it's a novel way to get a feel for the car's interior, and a good look at how companies outside of the gaming industry may use virtual reality technology in the future.
Source: Lexus (YouTube)

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Finally, the flying car may have landed

Finally, the flying car may have landed

Philip Oltermann in Berlin

The Guardian 

From the Jetsons’ aerocar to the “spinner” in Blade Runner, via Doc Brown’s modified DeLorean in the Back to the Future films, the flying car has been part of visions of the future for so long that it almost feels retro.

A first patent was registered in 1903 and Waldo Waterman’s “aerobile” went on its maiden flight in 1937. Yet, 100 years later, automobiles are still frustratingly short of options when stuck in traffic.
Things may be about to change: in 2014, talk of the first genuine flying car is setting the tech scene abuzz again. In June, Terrafugia announced that it was two years away from finishing its first “roadable aircraft” , but now it looks like the US company will be beaten to the prize.

Organisers of Vienna’s Pioneers Festival, an annual conference for future technology and digital entrepreneurship, announced on Thursday that they would unveil the prototype of “the world’s most advanced flying car” on 29 October.

An earlier prototype of the Flying Roadster by Slovakian company AeroMobil reportedly took its first test flight in October last year. The latest version will be tested a day before its premiere, on 28 October.

Company co-founder Juraj Vaculik said that AeroMobil had sped up the prototyping process after having seen “enthusiastic reactions of the global engineering and design community”.

Weighing 450 kg, with carbon-fibre wings that fold behind the cabin and a flight top speed of 124mph, the two-seater promises to be more of a flying sports car than a flying family car.

“We want to make personal transportation exciting, more efficient and sustainable. With ever more cars on the roads and ever more crowded airports, travelling is no longer what it used to be,” said AeroMobil’s CEO Stefan Klein, who has been working on developing a flying car for two decades.

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Why your Apple Watch will die faster than your iPhone

Why your Apple Watch will die faster than your iPhone

Steve LeVine

Quartz 

Apple CEO Tim Cook is counting that buyers of the Apple Watch will view it not as a timepiece but as an extension of the iPhone. If they can make that mental leap, then they’ll think nothing of repeatedly plugging it in for a charge.

But they’re counting on getting through the day without having to recharge their new smart watch, they may in for disappointment - and Apple, for some flack.

The always hyper-secretive company hasn’t said how exactly it will power the watch, which Cook unveiled publicly last month. Some suspect Apple has been deliberately lowering expectations for the device’s power performance. But experts say that, given the space confines and the high demands of its electronics, the watch will struggle to last a normal 16-hour waking day on a single charge

As a result, it will probably include software that carefully regulates its functionality to conserve the battery. In other words, you likely won’t be able to actively (screen on) check your GPS, monitor your messages, instruct Siri to call your friend AND consider Apple’s latest suggestion on how many calories you can burn.

“It may be easier to solve the problems facing vehicle batteries than in a wearable,” says Samir Mayekar, CEO of Chicago-based SiNode Systems, which is working on an advanced anode for wearable devices. “The ratio of active material to dead weight in a wearable is much lower than in a smart phone or a car.”

The consensus among experts queried by Quartz is that Apple will rely on the same battery material that’s in most laptops, smart phones and every other lithium-ion battery on the planet: cobalt oxide, a chemistry commercialized in 1991.

 Cobalt is a powerful electrode material, packing more electrons into a dense space than any of its commercial rivals. But Appole can put very little of it into the tiny space inside in a watch - much less, proportionately, than can go into an iPhone battery, for example.
One recent advance that will help Apple is that the newest lithium cobalt oxide batteries operate at higher voltages than earlier versions, meaning they deliver more energy, experts say.

Venkat Srinivasan, a professor at Cal Berkeley, tells Quartz that Apple will probably use a version of cobalt oxide operating at 4.35 volts and delivering about 160 watt-hours per kg; just a few years ago, the best lithium cobalt-oxide batteries delivered only 90 watt-hours per kg. Advances in cobalt-oxide are “really remarkable,” Srinivasan says.

But it doesn’t bode well for Apple that it is already the target of complaints about battery life in connection with its iOS 8.0.1 system, used in the iPhone 6 and downloadable for older models. The company has sought to fix the problem with the release of 8.0.2. But watch-buyers may be less patient.

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iPhone 6 Dominates Android Phones In Speed Test

iPhone 6 Dominates Android Phones In Speed Test

Kerry Flynn

The Huffington Post

When it comes to unscientific speed tests, it appears the iPhone 6 beats out the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 quite easily.

In a video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, the review site PhoneBuff measured how long it takes each phone to complete a series of tasks, including opening apps and games. The phones were each rebooted and connected to the same WiFi network for the test.

The iPhone completed the technological obstacle course in 1:55, much quicker than the other two phones and more than a minute faster than the Galaxy. The M8 came in second at 2:09, and the Samsung finished at 2:58, having to reload several applications during the second phase of testing the device's multi-tasking abilities.


There were some individual applications that the other two phones opened quicker.
PhoneArena, a separate tech review site, followed a similar method recently in comparing the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5 and found that the iPhone was slightly slower when it opened some third-party apps -- such as Facebook and Spotify -- but faster when it came to its native software.

Of course, there's more to a phone than speed and performance, just as PhoneBuff reviewer David Rahimi admits in the video. The Galaxy S5, for one, does have a larger screen and a higher resolution than the iPhone 6.

This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post

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Exclusive: Facebook plots first steps into healthcare

Exclusive: Facebook plots first steps into healthcare

Christina Farr and Alexei Oreskovic

Reuters 

Facebook Inc already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health.
On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple Inc and Google Inc, Facebook is plotting its first steps into the fertile field of healthcare, said three people familiar with the matter. The people requested anonymity as the plans are still in development.

The company is exploring creating online "support communities" that would connect Facebook users suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new "preventative care" applications that would help people improve their lifestyles.

In recent months, the sources said, the social networking giant has been holding meetings with medical industry experts and entrepreneurs, and is setting up a research and development unit to test new health apps. Facebook is still in the idea-gathering stage, the people said.

Healthcare has historically been an area of interest for Facebook, but it has taken a backseat to more pressing products.

Recently, Facebook executives have come to realise that healthcare might work as a tool to increase engagement with the site.

One catalyst: the unexpected success of Facebook's "organ-donor status initiative," introduced in 2012. The day that Facebook altered profile pages to allow members to specify their organ donor-status, 13,054 people registered to be organ donors online in the United States, a 21 fold increase over the daily average of 616 registrations, according to a June 2013 study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

Separately, Facebook product teams noticed that people with chronic ailments such as diabetes would search the social networking site for advice, said one former Facebook insider. In addition, the proliferation of patient networks such as PatientsLikeMe demonstrate that people are increasingly comfortable sharing symptoms and treatment experiences online.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg may step up his personal involvement in health. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, a pediatric resident at University of California San Francisco, recently donated $5 million to the Ravenswood Health Centre in East Palo Alto.

Any advertising built around the health initiatives would not be as targeted as it could be on television or other media. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are prohibited from using Facebook to promote the sale of prescription drugs, in part because of concerns surrounding disclosures.

PRIVACY CONCERNS
Privacy, an area where the company has faced considerable criticism over the years, will likely prove a challenge. This week, the company apologised to users for manipulating news feeds for the purposes of research.

But Facebook may already have a few ideas to alleviate privacy concerns around its health initiatives. The company is considering rolling out its first health application quietly and under a different name, a source said. Market research commissioned by Facebook found that many of its users were unaware that photo-service Instagram is Facebook-owned, the source said.

Facebook's recent softening of its policy requiring users to go by their real names may also bolster the company's health plans. People with chronic conditions may prefer to use an alias when sharing their health experiences.

"I could see Facebook doing well with applications for lifestyle and wellness, but really sick patients with conditions like cancer aren't fooling around," said Frank Williams, chief executive of Evolent Health, a company that provides software and services to doctors and health systems.
People would need anonymity and an assurance that their data and comments wouldn't be shared with their online contacts, advertisers, or pharmaceutical companies, Williams said.

It remains unclear whether Facebook will moderate or curate the content shared in the support communities, or bring in outside medical experts to provide context.
Facebook declined to comment on its health care plans.

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Apple Watch Raises New Privacy Concerns

Apple Watch Raises New Privacy Concerns

Alexis Kleinman

The Huffington Post 

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has raised concerns about the privacy protections with Apple's new Apple Watch.Jepsen wrote to CEO Tim Cook on Monday asking about the recently introduced product's ability to store, collect and use consumers' health information.He told The Associated Press Tuesday morning he's not seeking a confrontation with Apple, but wants to meet with executives to make clear his position on privacy issues.Jepsen is asking Apple what information the Apple Watch will collect, how Apple will obtain consent to collect and share information and how Apple will review application privacy policies to make sure health information is safeguarded.A representative of Apple did not immediately return a call Tuesday morning seeking comment.Jepsen said following similar requests last year, Google required review and approval of third-party applications for Google Glass.

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LG is bringing webOS to smartwatches

LG is bringing webOS to smartwatches

Daniel Cooper

Engadget 

We can't think of anything that's had more comebacks than webOS, except for maybe The Eagles. Palm, HP and LG have all tried to turn the promising software into a rival for iOS and Android, but so far you'll only find webOS in the Korean company's line of smart TVs. Still, LG appears to be planning to extend the reach of the little operating system that could by baking it into a future line of smartwatches. The Verge has found an LG-sponsored website, since pulled, that promises a development kit for a webOS smartwatch is coming. Given that the company was quick to make the page disappear (although we've got some more images after the break), and that local rival Samsung keeps Tizen around as a bargaining tool with Google, it's certainly plausible that we'll see a webOS smartwatch in the future. The only question is if, after all this time, anyone will consider buying one.

Source: LG (Google Cache), (2)

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