iPad Pro On Sale Wednesday; ‘Periscope Glass’ Cracking On New Google Nexus 6P’s

Posted: November 9, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple’s huge 12.9 inch iPad Pro goes on sale Wednesday, November 11th. According to thenextweb.com, Apple says it will take a few more days for it to show up in the Apple stores. They claim it will be huge for productivity, with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, and it will need to be with competition from the hot Microsoft Surface Book. Base price starts at $799 for 32 Gigs wi-fi only, $1079 for 128 Gigs, wi-fi and cellular. Oh…and for all that productivity, plan to hand over another $99 for the pencil and $169 for the Smart Keyboard!

A problem is showing up on the newest Google flagship smartphone, the Nexus 6P. Businessinsider.com, 9to5google.com, and others report that the so-called ‘periscope’ panel of camera glass across the top is spontaneously cracking for some owners…NOT from a drop. Some users have said they’ve heard the glass snap while the phone is laying on a table, leaving a little pile of glass shavings under it. The phone launched in late September, and is made by Huawei. No comment so far from Google.

Amazon Prime Music Now Available Off Line; Google Merging Chrome OS into Android

Posted: October 30, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has dropped a small but significant update to their Prime Music app. According to 9to5google.com, you will now be able to store offline music on a device’s SD card for playback when you’re not connected to the web. The update also adds support for Android Wear smartwatches. With SD cards becoming less ubiquitous in smartphones, no word on whether Amazon will extend the feature to the main memory of smartphones. At any rate, the updated app is available free at the Google Play Store.

Speaking of Google, it appears that they’re moving towards merging Chrome OS into Android. Theverge.com says to look for a demo of the combined system at Google I/O next year. It will take some serious changes under the hood to get Android to run everything on laptops, and when the final new system is rolled out in 2017, Chromebooks will obviously get a new name…Androidbooks, perhaps? Google has noted that they are not exactly ‘killing’ Chrome, so there may actually be 3 different systems moving forward.

Google Shows New Smartphones, Tablet, & Drops New Chromecast

Posted: September 30, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google rolled out two top line smartphones at its big Nexus event in San Francisco Tuesday…first, the brand new Nexus 6P. It’s made by Huawei and sports a 5.7-inch AMOLED display, powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor. The 6P has a unibody aluminum design. For comparison it weighs 178 grams… Apple’s new iPhone 6s Plus has a smaller 5.5-inch display and it weighs 199 grams.
It comes with 3GB of RAM, a 12.3-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing selfie camera, a massive 3,450 battery and either 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of storage. So how much? it starts at $499 off contract, and you can preorder at the Google Play store, with shipping sometime in October.

Google also showed a smaller handset…the Nexus 5X. This year, Google is taking a page out of Samsung and Apple’s playbook and offering two distinct flagship phones, one with a smaller screen and one that’s phablet sized. The Nexus 5X features a 5.2-inch LCD display with full HD resolution. A 2GHz 6-core Snapdragon 808, and 2GB of RAM. The phone will be available with either 16GB or 32GB of storage. It sports a 12.3-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front facing camera, and fingerprint scanner. The Nexus 5X will start at $379 with no contract, and like the 6P, it’s available for preorder now in the Google Play Store, and ships in October.

Google rolled out an actual tablet, too… the Pixel C. This tablet, unlike the Pixel devices that preceded it, will launch not with Chrome OS, but with Android — 6.0 Marshmallow to be exact. There’s an optional detachable keyboard you will probably want. This tablet is amazingly made by Google, and not just built for them.
The Pixel C features a 10.2-inch screen. It will ship sometime in November, starting at $499 for the tablet itself at 32 GB (and $599 for the 64 GB), and $149 for the attachable keyboard.

As you heard or read here last week, the 2nd generation Chromecast is out. Besides the lollypop shaped dongle, the device offers improved WiFi and connectivity features, a new home screen that features new “feeds” for displaying content on-screen while your device is in standby, and “Fast Play,” which allows your devices to connect to Chromecast faster and easier than ever before…the Chromecast Audio, including Spotify support is also out now. Chromecast 2.0 is $35. You’ll be able to grab one from the Google Store, Best Buy, and Walmart.

Laser Razor May Help Us to Ditch Blades and Save Water

Posted: September 29, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s such a great thought, ditching razor blades and buzzy electrics for a sleek, laser razor. Such a great thought, that a Kickstarter project from Skarp Technologies blew past it’s goal of $160,000 in 2 days, and now is approaching a million in funding. Mashable.com says the Skarp Laser Razor should be out by spring. No throwing away blades, and no wasting water…although they say you can still shave in the shower if you want to. The laser melts the hair shaft right at the surface of the skin, so the roughness caused by traditional razors, which cut at an angle, are no longer a problem. What’s taken so long? One of the founders, Morgan Gustavsson, who invented Intense Pulsed Light still used for hair removal and dermatology, says getting just the right frequency…up to now, lasers could cut dark hair, but not light or gray hair. No retail pricing has been announced, but expect it in the next 6 months.

After a test run in Denver, Google is starting to equip its street view cars in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and California’s central valley with Aclima, it’s mapping technology for air quality. The googlegreenblog says this comes out of a project last year where Google partnered with the Environmental Defense fund to map methane. They will pass on what the street view cars sample to scientists and air quality experts, and hopefully eventually help Californians to enjoy cleaner air.

Thoughts On The Coming Apple Electric Car

Posted: September 22, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It was all over the tech news yesterday, and first reported by the Wall St. Journal, that Apple had put it’s Project Titan…their car project…on the front burner, and want an Apple car on the road by 2019. Google has spoken out couple times, underscoring that they are NOT planning to actually build a Google self-driving car, but will partner with car makers. Apple’s electric car project, by the way, will apparently not be self-driving. Apple will not be building their own car. As bgr.com snarked, who is going to build it…it won’t be Foxconn! I predict that Apple will have to partner with one or more actual car maker. Right now, it takes a car maker a minimum of 4 years to get a model out, and they have the actual plants and equipment to build cars at scale. Apple doesn’t, and can’t possibly be ready to produce them by 2019. Even an electric with no EPA emission requirements will still have to meet federal standards in various countries for safety. Which manufacturer or manufacturers will they partner with, and will it be sold from present dealerships or out of Apple branded car stores, like Tesla is doing? Stay tuned.

From Microsoft’s Office blog, comes something that’s NOT vaporware…Office 2016 for Windows and Office 2016 for Mac are available now to everyone. The Windows version is more tightly integrated with both Windows 10 and Office 365, and subscribers can get more frequent updates with new features and improvements. Microsoft says the Mac version had been out since July for 365 subscribers, but now is a one-time purchase option open to all with several new and enhanced Office 365 services. As is typical for Office and Microsoft products, the features and even pricing are beyond the time constraints we have here.

New, 2nd Gen Chromecast On the Way

Posted: September 18, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A 2nd generation Chromecast will drop before the end of the month. Expect it to feature improved WiFi, new feeds for the main screen and a feature dubbed ‘Fast Play.’ 9to5google.com says it will sport a new shape and various colors, too. The new feeds likely include social media feeds, and a new feature called ‘Fast Play,’ which helps Chromecast establish a connection faster and play content more seamlessly when touching the Cast button on a connected device. Google is also looking to launch ‘Chromecast Audio,’ which would allow the dongle to plug into any speaker via an auxiliary chord…Chromecast Audio will apparently have multi-room support, and the ability to mirror your Chrome or Android audio. In addition to Google Play Music, Netflix, Pandora, etc…Chromecast will add support for Spotify now. Expect the Chromecast rollout at Google’s September 29th event, when they plan to show two new Nexus gadgets as well.

You’ve probably heard stories of people in China being willing to give up a kidney for gadgets or cash. Here’s a new wrinkle…or lack of one…reported by geek.com. A sperm bank is offering an iPhone 6S in exchange for 17 milliliters of a guy’s ‘product. Since the average man’s ejaculation produces about 10 ml, a Chinese fellow jonesing for a shiny new iPhone may have to make a couple of deposits to the Renji Hospital sperm bank. The cash equivalent is about $940, by the way.

Google Hasn’t Entirely Killed Off Google Glass

Posted: September 17, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google had previously said they were killing off Google Glass, but apparently, there was a change of mind. Engadget.com reports that they’ve hired engineers and software developers from Amazon’s Lab126 for what they’re calling ‘Project Aura.’ They will work on other wearables besides Glass. Apparently Project Aura will stay under the Google ‘aura,’ instead of being a separate entity under the Alphabet umbrella. Ivy Ross will still head up the operation, but she’ll report to Nest CEO Tony Fadell now.

Speaking of Amazon, they’ve shown their answer to Apple TV…it’s a Fire TV box with Alexa and 4K video support. Theverge.com says that similar to Apple’s ‘Hey Siri,’ you will be able to command Alexa to go look for shows you want to watch. Amazon plans to add reordering through amazon.com later, like with the Echo speaker. Don’t expect to be able to set alarms or timers as you can on the Echo, though. The new Fire TV box is $99. Amazon has also upgraded the Fire TV stick with newer software, and a new remote in a $50 bundle. There’s also a gamer-specific edition of the Fire TV box for $140, that comes with a useable controller and two free game downloads. It’s all open for preorder now, and all three products ship in October.

Google Looks Poised to Do Full Scale Launch of Self-Driving Car

Posted: September 14, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

9to5mac.com spotted a report last night from Automotive News that Google has hired the former CEO of Hyundai to run its self-driving car program. In an email, he mentions the cars being used by millions of people, and saving thousands of lives. Google is still saying it has no plans to manufacture cars itself, but will partner with a number of different companies. They still seem on track to have a self-driving car on the market by 2020.

Apple told Financial Times that strong weekend orders indicate the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will beat the 10 million sold the first weekend of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last year. In the past, the off-year ’S’ models have lagged behind sales of the pure numbered models. Thenextweb.com reports that the 6S Plus models show sold out right now, and the 6S rose gold models have a wait time of 3-4 weeks before shipping. We’ll know more if this sales pace will be maintained when the phones show up in stores next weekend.

Google and Twitter Partnering For Instant News Articles

Posted: September 11, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google and Twitter are partnering on making their own version of instant news articles. Recode.net says they are teaming up with a small group of publishers, and should launch this fall…joining the likes of Facebook, Apple, and Snapchat. The plan is for either Twitter users or people using Google search who click on a link via their smartphones to see the full article pop up on screen nearly instantly, instead of having to wait several seconds. A big difference between the Google-Twitter partnership and the others is that this one is based on open source publishing tools. The articles are also cached from the publishers’ sites, not hosted by Google. An interesting twist is that it will operate without either Google or Twitter branding.

It’s both amazing and a little creepy…we are on the verge of becoming like Wolverine! After a Spanish man lost his sternum and part of his rib cage to cancer, surgeons at Salamanca University installed a 3D printed replacement out of titanium. Gizmodo.com reports the implant was made by Anatomics in Australia. This isn’t the 3D printer the geek next door has in the garage…titanium is tricky…it’s a $1.3 million electron beam Arcam 3D printer. The patient was out of the hospital after 12 days, and is recovering well…and part of him is pretty bulletproof, now!

Verizon To Test Insanely Fast 5G!

Posted: September 9, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Later this year, and into next, Verizon will be testing out 5G for mobile devices. It’s insanely fast! How fast? Faster than Google Fiber’s direct connection into homes. 30 to 60 times faster than 4G. For example, you could download ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in 6 minutes over 4G, but with 5G, it’ll be downloaded to your smartphone in 15 seconds! Cnet.com says according to Verizon, some commercial deployment will start by 2017. All that blazing speed and responsiveness will become more important as we add to the ‘internet of things’ around the house and office, and more connected cars come online. South Korea and China are pushing to upgrade to 5G quickly, too…South Korea hopes to have it showing up by 2018, but Verizon may well beat them by a year.

Yesterday, Amazon announced they were rolling out restaurant food delivery via Prime Now, starting in Seattle. Google is jumping into food delivery, but fresh food and groceries, starting later this year through Google Express. According to bloomberg.com, they will begin trials in San Francisco and one other city to be named later. Whole Foods and Costco will be among the rollout partners for the grocery delivery service. Grocery delivery is already a space populated by Amazon Fresh, and startup Instacart. Note that they will be delivering fresh food…they won’t have the capacity for refrigeration to deliver refrigerated or frozen items. For those, you’ll have to drag yourself to the supermarket!

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