Bluetooth 5 About to Be Rolled Out; Snapchat Working on Google Glass Type Product
Posted: June 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AR, Beacons, Bluetooth, Bluetooth 5, Google Glass, GoPro, Internet of things, Snapchat Leave a commentThe Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the group that sets the standards for the low power wireless standard, is going to rollout Bluetooth 5 next week. Theverge.com reports that it will have 4 times the speed and double the range of the best Bluetooth now available. It will also offer much more support for connectionless services…like beacons that can help people navigate around, both in buildings and outside. The added range and speed are particularly aimed at all the Internet of Things devices popping up for your home.
Snapchat is working on a Google Glass style AR headset, according to businessinsider.com. Snapchat has snapped up a couple of hardware specialists from GoPro, and a tech recruiter from Google’s Project Aura, the division that came up with Google Glass. These strengthen rumors of a Glass-type product from March when it leaked out that Snapc had hired an eyewear designer and a man specializing in miniaturized low power electronics. They are now listing jobs for a 3D mobile software engineer and mobile prototype developer, among others. Stay tuned.
Web Creator Working to Reinvent It; Apple Will Live Stream WWDC Keynote June 13th
Posted: June 8, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Live streaming, Micro payments, Peer to peer, Web 2.0, World Wide Developers Conference, World Wide Web, WWDC Leave a commentA group of scientists got together this week in San Francisco to look for ways to create web 2.0. Tim Berners-Lee came up with the world wide web 27 years ago, originally for scientists to find info easily. Commenting on the present day web, Berners-Lee said “It controls what people see, creates mechanisms for how people interact. It’s been great, but spying, blocking sites, repurposing people’s content, taking you to the wrong websites — that completely undermines the spirit of helping people create.” The New York Times says Berners-Lee and his group are working on coming up with a more peer-to-peer web that would be much less suited to spying on people or hoovering up their information, and might include a micro payment system, so that advertising wouldn’t be the only model to pay for it, and would ease the need for all our information for targeted advertising.
Apple will live stream the keynote for the World Wide Developers Conference Monday, June 13th. According to macrumors.com the stream will be available over apple.com, and via an events app on Apple TV. We’ll cover the hilights of announcements right here.
Bendable, Foldable Samsung Smartphone by Next Year; In-Flight Wi-Fi to Become Much More Useable
Posted: June 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Airlines, Folding screens, Gogo, in-flight Wi-Fi, phablets, Samsung, Skype, Smartphones, Viasat Leave a commentSamsung has developed the tech for folding screens to the point they may roll out smartphones with it next year. Engadget.com picked up a story from Bloomberg saying that a couple of devices will have flexible OLED screens- one folding like a cosmetic compact and another that transforms from a 5-inch smartphone-sized screen to a roughly eight inch screen …basically, converting from a phablet to a tablet. If the rumors hold up, we could see these by Mobile World Congress next February!
If you’ve tried it, you know in-flight Wi-Fi is more like in-flight dial up…but that’s about to change. According to bgr.com, American has signed a deal with Viasat, and is ditching Gogo. Where Gogo has relied on ground stations, Viasat use satellite tech to get Wi-Fi to travelers. They are claiming 12Mbps to every passenger, which would be enough to stream movies, make Skype calls (with some lag) or surf the web without feeling like you want to commit homicide. Gogo is also rolling out a satellite system, but it only gives 70 Mbps to the entire plane to share, which won’t be much better than what they already offer. American’s fleet should be equipped with the Viasat faster internet by September 2017.
Outlier iPhone 7 Rumor; Xbox One Getting Cortana; Zuck’s Social Media Accounts Hacked
Posted: June 6, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Cortana, Facebook, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, LinkedIn, Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Pinterest, Twitter, Xbox One Leave a commentThere are enough rumors and renderings out that we pretty well think we know what the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be like. Here’s an off the wall one picked up by bgr.com, though. It’s from MobiPicker, and they’re saying the the 7 will have 16, 64, and 128 gigs of RAM, but the Plus will have 32, 128, and 256 gigs. Also, the 7 will get two 12 megapixel rear cameras, and the Plus 21 megapixels. The Plus is also rumored to lose the Lightening port and get USB C. This is the only source claiming these things, so keep that in mind!
Microsoft has announced that Xbox One will get Cortana support in a summer update. TechCrunch.com reports that it won’t be just limited to gaming functions, either. You can use Cortana to check with friends, start a party, and search for nearby restaurants. Beta testers should be getting the update shortly, with a rollout to everybody in waves later this summer.
If you haven’t changed your LinkedIn password, stop reading or listening to this and do it now. Venturebeat.com says Mark Zuckerberg has had his Twitter and Pinterest accounts hacked over the weekend, and it points strongly to the LinkedIn password dump of a couple weeks ago. Even the CEO of mighty Facebook can be hacked if he doesn’t change his password after a major hack and dump. Just do it!
HoloLens Rolls Out Email and Calendar Apps; 72 New Emoji Late June, Including All-Important Bacon!
Posted: June 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android N, Apple, AR, Bacon, Calendar, emoji, Google, Hololens, iOS 10, Mail, Microsoft, Unicode 9, VR Leave a commentBecause everybody needs to be working all the time, even when you’re using your Virtual or Augmented Reality system, Microsoft has rolled out dedicated email and calendar apps for HoloLens. Theverge.com says the apps look just like the standard ones, except…you know….in AR. The apps can be pinned into the side area of your view, so as not to spoil your game quite as much. Microsoft did throw in an image of the Seattle skyline at least. If you’re a developer, and have a $3000 HoloLens system, now you’re in luck…you can check your work email constantly.
72….count ‘em….72 new emoji have been approved, and will be out in Unicode 9 June 21st. 9to5google.com reports this includes the all-important bacon one, as well as a selfie one and a clown face…and as the saying goes, ‘many more.’ It’s worth noting that we probably won’t actually get our hands on these until Google releases Android N, and Apple drops iOS 10 this fall.
Xiaomi Getting Ready to Bring Their Smartphones to the US; Apple’s WWDC Starts June 13th
Posted: June 2, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, China, iOS 10, iPhone, Mac, Microsoft, Samsung, Smartphones, Watch, WWDC, Xiaomi Leave a commentAfter following the lead of Samsung and shamelessly aping Apple’s iPhone in their home country of China, it looks like maker Xiaomi is ready for their US closeup. Bgr.com reports that they have become the fastest growing smartphone maker, and now they’re coming to the US. Their latest crop of phones barely resemble the iPhone now, and they’ve purchased about 1500 patents from Microsoft. Xiaomi is known now for selling affordable smartphones with designs and specs that rival much more expensive ones, so if you’re on a budget but want a top flight phone, this could be the real deal.
We knew it was coming soon, and now we have a date. Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference will kick off in San Francisco Monday, June 13th, with the keynote at the usual 10 am Pacific. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium will be crammed to the rafters with tech reporters and developers. By noon that day, we should have lots more details about the next version of Apple’s iPhone/iPad software — iOS 10 — as well as news on Apple Watch, Apple TV and Macs. Cnet.com says they’ll have live coverage, as will a number of other tech sites. We’ll recap things right here. Stay tuned…
Atari Entering Internet of Things; Giant MySpace Hack; Mophie Adds Wireless Charging to Juicepacks
Posted: June 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Atari, Internet of things, IoT, Juicepack, Mophie, MySpace, Password breach, SigFox, Wireless charging Leave a commentAtari is launching into the Internet of Things with a line of connected objects that will debut later this year. No word on what precise devices are included, but venturebeat.com reports that the legendary video game maker will develop the devices in partnership with Sigfox, a startup based in the south of France that is building a global communications network for IoT devices. Sigfox’s network already operates in 18 countries and runs with 7 million devices.
Mashable.com says MySpace and Tumblr have recently joined LinkedIn on the list of websites that had millions of login credentials stolen and put up for sale later. Over 64 million Tumblr accounts and more than 360 million MySpace accounts were affected by the data breach. Not all of them had complete email, usernames and passwords, but 111 million had a username and 358 million had a primary password. You can’t remember your password? Well 2 of the top 4 most popular passwords in the breach were password1 and 123456.
The Mophie Juicepacks are one of the best battery cases out there…full disclosure…I have had several and really like them. Now, they have just gotten better. In addition to protecting your iPhone and giving you about 50% extra power, Mophie is introducing ‘Charge Force,’ which is a Juicepack only with added wireless charging. Techcrunch.com says the charging pad and battery case are $99, same as previous Juicepacks, but a desktop/dresser stand and magnetic vent mount for cars will each set you back about $60 extra bucks. They should be in stores and online in the next few weeks.
clarkreid 
Recent Comments