Amazon Drones? How About Drones Launched From A Delivery Van?
Posted: July 29, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Cortana, Drones, Electric vans, FAA, Horsefly, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Microsoft Edge, Windows 10, Windows 8 Leave a commentWhile Amazon is trying to get the FAA to let them use a band of protected airspace to fly their delivery drones in, Workhorse has applied to that agency for special permission to launch delivery drones from the back of its electric cargo vans! As the van tools around, the roof-mounted HorseFly UAV selects, transports, and drops off the correct parcel right outside its recipient’s front door. Besides driving the route, all the driver has to do is watch to make sure the drone’s landings go ok. Engadget.com reports that the HorseFly drone can fly for up to a half hour carrying 10 lbs. This idea may ‘fly’ better than Amazon’s plan to have drones fly from their warehouses all the way to people’s homes.
Yes, at long last, it’s here…and by most accounts, it’s good. The antidote to terrible Windows 8, Windows 10 is out. According to bgr.com…somewhat in jest…the best new feature is that it’s NOT Windows 8, but actually there’s a lot more. The beloved Start menu is back, for starters. Probably the best new feature is a decent web Browser called Microsoft Edge…which is faster, sleeker, and far less clunky than Internet ‘Exploder.’ Microsoft hasn’t actually killed old Internet Explorer yet, but will be nudging companies to leave it and move on. The Cortana voice assistant is pretty good, but doesn’t work with all systems…some computer microphones, for example, don’t support it well. You will see the update tool appear, but be aware unless you really want to dive into the weeds to update right away, you’ll be put in line for the update to be pushed out to you.
Increased Storage in Next-Gen iPhones
Posted: June 29, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A9, Apple, Bing, deCarta, Google, iPhone 6S, Mapping, Memory, Microsoft, Samsung, Uber Leave a commentApple is apparently talking about returning to Samsung for memory in the next iteration of iPhones. 9to5mac.com says they aren’t looking to go over 128 gigs, but will drop the 16 gig model, making 32 gigabytes the entry level memory in the iPhone 6S models. It was already reported that Samsung is supplying the A9 processors. The killer feature that we know of as the phones have entered early production is Force Touch, ported from the Apple Watch.
Microsoft has sold some Bing maps assets to Uber, and along with them, around 100 data collection engineers that worked on Bing. Geekwire.com reports that Uber was already bulking up in the mapping department, having bought mapping software company deCarta in March. Uber has been relying on Google Maps in their app up to now.
Office for Android Now Available on Phones & Roost Battery Opens Orders
Posted: June 24, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, iOS, Kickstarter, Microsoft, Office for Android, Roost Smart Battery, Smartphones, Smoke Alarm, Tablets, wi-fi Leave a commentAfter being dropped for Android tablets in January, theverge.com says Microsoft has released Office for Android smartphones. It’s just about identical to the iOS version…not as robust as the tablet app, but great for quick drafts and edits on your smartphone. It has full Dropbox and OneDrive support for file storage.
Last fall, we covered a Kickstarter for the Roost Smart Battery. Thenextweb.com reports they’ve gone live to the public for preorders. The Roost battery turns your existing smoke alarm into a smart connected one. A 9 volt battery pack is $34.99, and a twin pack is $64.99. You can order through Amazon or GetRoost. They ship in September. The Roost batteries connect over WiFi to your home network, and they have Android and iOS apps for monitoring when you’re away.
Some Early Crash Statistics on Self-Driving Cars
Posted: June 19, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Delphi, Google, iBall, Microsoft, PC on a stick, Self Driving Cars 1 Comment
The California DMV has released brief details about 6 accidents involving self-driving cars. 9to5google.com says 5 of the 6 were Google’s, and one was from Delphi. In 100% of those crashes, the OTHER driver was at fault…not the self-driving car! No injuries occurred in any of them. This lends creedance to the thought that once all vehicles are self-driving, accident rates will plummet.
Microsoft has unveiled a $140 PC on a stick. The USB drive-sized PC runs Windows 8.1, and has an Intel Atom quad core processor with 2 gigs of ram and 32 gigs of storage. It can connect to TVs and monitors via HDMI, has a mini-usb port, and has Bluetooth. The PC on a stick is made by iBall, and goes on sale in India next month. No word on upgradability to Windows 10, or when it might be released in the US.
Google Now Takes a Leap Forward & More on Microsoft’s Surface Hub
Posted: June 10, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Google, Google Now, Microsoft, Surface Hub Leave a commentAs things move further towards software and assistants that actually work, bgr.com reports that Google Now can answer a new set of questions without the user including place names or addresses. If you’re standing in front of a restaurant, you can ask ‘when does this restaurant open,’ and Google Now will answer based on your location. If you’re next to a monument, you might query ‘when was this built,’ and it will tell you. A spooky cool new feature just announced by Google at an event in Paris.
We now have more information about Microsoft’s Surface Hubs. The 55 and 84 inch hub displays first shown in January will be out in September. Primarily intended for business conference rooms, they are a cool $6999 for the 55 inch model and $19,999 for the king sized 84 inch screen. Both feature 100 points of multitouch, 3 simultaneous pen inputs, dual hi res cameras, and microphones that reduce background noise during conference calls. They run a slimmed down version of Windows 10. Preorders open up July 1st.
Windows 10 Release Date & Prices Leaked
Posted: June 1, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Microsoft, Newegg, NREC, Self Driving Cars, Uber, Windows 10 Leave a commentThe cost and release date of windows 10 may have been leaked by a reseller. A page at newegg.com shows a release date to hardware makers of August 31st, according to zdnet.com. Newegg.com is taking preorders, and lists the Home edition for $109, and Professional edition $149, again to hardware makers. Ed Bott of ZDnet says Newegg also jumped the gun on preorders for Windows 8 in 2012.
Update: The Official Windows blog at blogs.windows.com announces Windows 10 will be available as an upgrade starting July 29th, and you can reserve an edition now.
Uber has wooed away a number of staffers from Carnegie Mellon University’s robotics department. The verge.com reports that the exodus started in January, and now nearly a third of the staff has joined Uber. It’s not uncommon for the National Robotics Engineering Centre to be doing work for external clients, and the staffers that have moved to a nearby building will also be wrapping up projects at Carnegie Mellon’s NREC. This is yet another indication that the move to self-driving cars is getting into high gear. Uber plans to be moving into their own new 53,000 square foot facility in San Francisco’s Mission Bay area by the end of the year.
Google Prepares to Enter the Internet of Things OS Sweepstakes
Posted: May 22, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Clipboard, Google, I/O, Internet of things, Microsoft, OneClip, Pushbullet Leave a commentGoogle reportedly may unveil an internet of things OS at their I/O conference next week. According to a report in The Information picked up by theverge.com, it runs on low power devices, and gives them the ability to communicate with other connected devices in proximity. The OS has had the code name ‘Brillo,’ but will likely carry an Android name when it’s rolled out. It’s expected to work on everything from refrigerators to small monitoring gadgets. The biggest issue with the internet of things may well end up being which OS to go with, since Google, Apple, Microsoft, Huawei, Samsung, and others are all angling to be in this market!
Microsoft is quietly working on an app that will at as a clipboard across your devices, whether iOS, Android, Windows Phone, or Windows PC. Thenextweb.com points out that this would compete with the Pushbullet app in many ways. Microsoft’s OneClip auto detects if the item on the clipboard is a URL, physical address, phone number, text snippet, or image, and categorizes it for you.
Tiny LiteOS Prepares for the Internet of Things
Posted: May 20, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Android, AWS, Cloud, DOS, Google, Huawei, Internet of things, iOS, LiteOS, Microsoft Leave a commentHuawei is readying their minuscule operating system, LiteOS, to power everything from wearables to cars to the electronics around your home. The system is 10 KILObytes! For a little perspective, Apple’s iOS 8 takes a gigabyte of space, and ancient DOS 2.11 was 28 kilobytes! The mini-system is designed for zero configuration, auto-discovery, and auto-networking. The verge.com says it isn’t intended to compete with iOS or Android, but to power small internet connected gadgets from light bulbs to toothbrushes.
From the very small to the biggest on the block…or in this case, the planet. Despite growing competition from Microsoft and Google, Amazon is the 800 pound gorilla of the cloud world. According to geekwire.com, Amazon Web Services not only increased market share in 2014, but operates more cloud capacity than the next 14 providers combined! Google cut cloud prices by 30% just yesterday, to try to grab more share, but it’s a long climb. Microsoft’s strategy is to provide more complete services for a price, where Amazon sticks to a la carte pricing. Microsoft’s revenues from cloud were up 96%, making them the leader by that metric.
Microsoft OneNote & PowerPoint Apple Watch Update
Posted: April 22, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2 for 1, Kickstarter, LED lamps, Marker-free writing board, Microsoft, OneNote, Philips, Powerpoint, Wicue Leave a commentWith the Apple Watch launch a couple of days out, Microsoft has updated its OneNote app to take dictation from the wearable. 9to5mac.com says Redmond has also updated the PowerPoint app to support Apple Watch.
The venerable white board is moving into the 21st Century. It’s Wicue, a Kickstarter campaign for a large, marker-free smart liquid crystal writing board you write on with your finger. It can be controlled from your iPhone or Android smartphone, too. It should ship before Christmas.
Philips has just opened the door to LED light bulbs replacing standard bulbs more quickly. Geek.com reports they just came out with a 60 watt equivalent LED bulb for $4.97! Even cheaper…you can get a 2 for 1 pack starting in May at Home Depot.
Strong Galaxy S6 Sales Affect Apple’s Next iPhone Model
Posted: April 18, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Galaxy S6, Google, Halo, Halo Spartan, iPhone, Microsoft, Samsung, TSMC Leave a commentThe strong pre-sales of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge may indirectly hurt future iPhone 6s sales. Bgr.com says Apple had previously announced that the new A9 processors would be built entirely by Samsung, but now Samsung may not be able to keep up with the demand as Galaxy sales pick up. Now, Apple will look to Taiwanese maker TSMC to build 30% of their processor chips. TSMC already builds chips for the present iPhones.
Google now lets you install apps directly from search on Android. According to thenextweb.com, when you search for an app, there’s an install button right with the search results that takes you directly to the Google store and downloads the app.
Microsoft has enjoyed a lot of success with their Halo game franchise. Forbes.com reports that Redmond has released Halo spinoffs for iOS, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the gamer favored Steam machines. The 3 Halo Spartan games can be bought in a bundle for $9.99 in the various app stores.
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