Apple-Smart Glasses & Air Pod Cams Coming; Samsung Smart TVs Get First One UI Update; Meta Partners on Ray Bans with Be My Eyes; Internet Archive-Back After Hack- Read

Posted: October 14, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Some interesting Apple rumors from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. 9to5mac.com reports that the analyst sees Apple working on some smart glasses, similar to Meta’s Ray-Bans, and also on AirPods with cameras….shades of the old Google Glass and the so-called ‘glassholes,’ perhaps. The glasses won’t be full AR glasses with displays, but rather smart glasses with built in cameras, speakers, and mics – similar to Meta’s Ray Ban glasses, which have become pretty popular. Meta sells those glasses for as low as $299, although there are more expensive frames you can pick. Besides these two- possibly in 2027-Apple also may roll out Cheaper Vision Headsets with lower quality than the Vision Pro for around $2000 in 2025. An update to the $3500 Vision Pro, dubbed the Vision Pro 2 may bow in 2026. 

Samsung is starting to roll out and One UI update for its smart TVs, which is intended to unify the software experience across devices. According to androidpolice.com, features include home screen tabs, Watch Later, and the ability to used other devices as a keyboard and mouse…which as anyone who has used the TVs can tell you, is a feature badly needed. Trying to key in passwords on the TV remote is a huge hassle. Samsung is saying they will have 7 years of OS updates for TVs getting One UI, but they haven’t specified which TV models this will apply to. The One UI will be a welcome improvement from the less-than-great Tizan system.

As cool as the Apple glasses may be, they will still be pricy, and not here for at least a year. What about now? Well, Meta is now, and partnering with Be My Eyes on an accessible upgrade to the Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. Mashable.com notes that Be My Eyes provides free human and AI support for users who are blind or have low vision, pairing them with sighted volunteer helpers who can describe a visual field or object, read text, navigate a space, or answer questions in real time. With this new integration, Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses owners can now use the Be My Eyes “Call a Volunteer” experience entirely using voice commands. All they need to do is say out loud, “Hey Meta, Call a Volunteer on Be My Eyes” to be paired with multilingual audio or video support. I have a friend who uses Be My Eyes, and also has the Meta Smart Ray-Bans, and will be interested to know how this works out in the real world. I have no doubt he will give his unvarnished opinion of this partnership!

After a major data breech last week, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is back up and running…albeit in read-only mode. Mashable.com says a post from the founder of Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle, claims that it is “Safe to resume but might need further maintenance, in which case it will be suspended again. Please be gentle.” For now, the site will not reinstate its ‘Save Page Now’ feature, which archives the page as it currently appears and generates a permanent URL. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

1st Phone With Diamond Screen Coming; Intel Smart Non-Glasshole Glasses; Galaxy S9 to Get Price Jump; iPad Crushed Competing Tablets Last Year

Posted: February 5, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cracked screens are a constant worry…even if low level…for everyone who carries a smartphone. Now, cnet.com says something better than either Gorilla Glass or sapphire crystal is on the way. It’s Akhan Semiconductor’s Mirage Diamond Glass. It can be layered on top of screens, much like Gorilla Glass, but is of course, stronger…being made from lab grown diamonds. Akhan will initially work with just one smartphone maker in each category. They are still working on minimizing glare, and pricing, but again…if all works out, we would have the much less breakable screens on phones by next year.

Two of the bigger complaints of GoogleGlass were the way they looked and the fact that ‘Glassholes’ could have the video on at any given time, which was way creepy. Now, theverge.com reports that Intel has a prototype called the Vaunt that may be what we all would have liked in smart glasses in the first place. They use a very low power laser to project the images right into your eyes…it looks like what’s on a screen, but the plus is, the glasses look just like regular…albeit….nerdy…black glasses. According to a Verge reporter who tried them out, they are comfortable enough to wear all day, and Intel says they will come in several styles and work with prescriptions. The electronics and batteries are built into the stems and frames of the glasses. Basically, they are more simple than GoogleGlass. They just display a small heads up display with simple messages or notifications, transmitted by Bluetooth from and Android or iPhone…a lot like how the Apple Watch works. Intel will launch an ‘early access’ program this year. No details yet on getting in that or cost yet.

Another rumor about the imminent Samsung Galaxy S9, and this one is about pricing. According to a leak in Britain, it will sell for £100 more than the S8. The S9 will be £789 in the UK, while the S8 was £689. converting currency, that’s $1114 in the US, with the S8 at $973. Of course, checking actual pricing in the US, the retail is $750, so expect the S9 to be set at more like $850 in the US. Still, a $100 (or £100) bump is not insignificant. It will bet interesting to watch and see how preorders are affected by this increase.

Apple’s decision to release a lower cost but upgraded iPad last year apparently hit the public’s sweet spot. Macrumors.com says Apple’s tablet sold more than Samsung and Amazon’s offerings combined in 2017! Apple pumped out 43.8 million iPads, while Samsung sold 24.9 million and Amazon 16.7 million…even put together, that’s 2.2 million less than Apple’s iPads. Apple grabbed 26.8% of the tablet market last year.

Apple Working With Hertz; Apple Buys Eye Tracking Company; An Infarm in Every Grocery Store; Oscar Meyer Weiner Drone

Posted: June 27, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has tapped car rental firm Hertz to assist with testing of its autonomous vehicles. Macrumors.com reports that Cupertino is leasing vehicles from Donlen, the Hertz fleet management unit. The info showed up in information filed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Meanwhile, Apple seems to be ramping up further towards an AR future. A story from appleinsider.com indicates they are buying a German company called SensoMotoric Instruments. They make hardware and software for eye tracking sensors, something key to augmented reality. The present tech tracks a wearer’s gaze in real time 120 times per second, which reduces input lag…that cuts down motion sickness when viewing. This tech probably won’t get into the iPhone 8, but could be important for the smart glasses Apple is reportedly working on.

What if fresh produce wasn’t trucked in and put in bags in your store, but was grown right there? A German startup called Infarm is working on indoor vertical farming that could grow herbs, lettuce, veggies, and fruit. According to techcrunch.com, this builds on something the Japanese have been doing, but brings it right into the supermarket, and on a modular scale. It could also find its way into restaurants. Infarm is partnering with EDEKA, Germany’s largest supermarket chain, to further develop the idea.

Everyone knows, and most people love, the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. Now, besides the iconic hot dog cars and motor scooter with sidecar, Oscar Mayer has launched a WeinerDrone. Gizmodo.com says it has enough lifting power to transport a single wrapped hot dog about a mile. No word on if it can hold a fully loaded dog with all the trimmings some people like, or on how it delivers it to you….I’m not wanting to pick up a cold dog that hits the ground, even if it IS wrapped!