Mereja

Author: Zach Walton

  • Here’s The Science Behind Google Glass [Infographic]

    Have you ever wondered how Google Glass works? Sure, we all know it’s a wearable computer that displays information on a small glass panel over the eye, but do you really know how it works? Do you know the science behind Glass, and how it works with our eyes?

    If you find yourself asking these questions, check out this new infographic from Martin Missfeldt. It explains the science of Glass, as well as the science of our eyes, in an easy to understand way.

    Here's The Science Behind Google Glass [Infographic]

    What many people may not realize is that Glass doesn’t display information via a screen, but rather projects light directly into the eye. That is how those wearing Glass are able to see the real world with only a small layer of augmented reality content overlapping everything else.

    Unfortunately, the effect is lessened for those wearing glasses as lenses dissipate light, including the light projected from Glass. I guess that’s what futuristic contact lenses and brain interfaces are for.

    [h/t: Mashable]

  • Flash Player 11.7, AIR 3.7 Introduce New Features And Tools

    Adobe continues its tireless march of improving its software with new updates being released for both Flash Player and AIR today.

    First, Flash Player is now up to version 11.7. The latest version introduces better security “through sandboxing enhancements.” The Flash Player team has also fixed “high priority bugs, and issues that were reported by our community and partners.”

    In other Flash news, Adobe recently previewed the next version of Flash Professional codenamed “hellcat.” The main takeaway is that the next version of Flash Professional will be built for x64 architectures, and it will be “10 times faster” than Flash Professional CS6.

    AIR received a pretty sizable update as it made the move to version 3.7. The mobile development suite introduces the following features:

    …we are introducing exciting features such as captive runtime debugging capabilities for android apps; which let developers create and debug their Android apps quickly and easily. We are also excited to introduce the capability to force CPU Render-mode on some iOS devices. Using this feature, a developer can turn on CPU rendering for specific iOS devices, and utilize GPU rendering for others.

    You can grab Flash Player 11.7 here, and AIR 3.7 here.

  • The Pirate Bay Moves Its Domain To Greenland

    In early 2012, The Pirate Bay moved from its traditional .org domain to a .se domain to avoid the fate that befell Megaupload. For over a year now, The Pirate Bay has not moved from this domain, even when it was blocked in the UK and other European countries. That all changes today, however, as the most infamous site on the Web is making another move.

    TorrentFreak reports that The Pirate Bay has now moved from its old .se domain to a new .gl domain. Those attempting to visit the old .se domain will be automatically redirected to the new domain.

    So, why the sudden move? The Pirate Bay thinks that Sweden will seize its .se domain in the coming days. The move was made to make sure that users experience no downtime even if a seizure were to take place.

    As TorrentFreak points out, the move to a new domain may also bypass the current IP blocks in place in the UK and other countries, if only for a short while. Even if these countries were to block the new IP address, The Pirate Bay has claimed that it has hundreds more in backup to counter any blocking attempts.

    It will be interesting to see what happens from here. The Pirate Bay has already moved its servers out of Sweden to make sure physical raids can’t target it, and now its moving around the digital seas to avoid domain seizures. The Pirate Bay has been playing this cat-and-mouse game for years, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna end any time soon.

  • Homosexual Necrophilia Is Apparently A Thing In Ducks

    What do you do when you see a male duck attempting to have sex with a dead male duck? Most would probably be a little weirded out and walk away. One biologist, however, saw a rare occurrence in nature, and decided to publish a study on it. That study earned him the prestigious Ig Nobel Prize, and a place in history.

    The discovery of “gay dead duck sex” is the focal point of a recent TED talk that’s more fascinating than it sounds. In it, Dutch biologist Kees Moeliker, talks about his strange discovery, and how it has changed his life.

    The moral of this story is that you might just win an award for writing studies about necrophilia in animals.

    [h/t: LiveScience]

  • Tearaway Could Be Just What The Vita Needs

    It’s no secret that the Vita is performing poorly in the West. The expensive handheld from Sony is a wonderful machine, but its hist cost of entry and lack of software make it an unattractive option for gamers looking for sophisticated experiences on the go.

    Sony is hoping to at least remedy the software problem in 2013 with a number of high-profile releases. One of the more interesting, and charming, games to come out of Sony’s initiative is Tearaway, a new action/adventure game from Media Molecule. PlayStation fans have come to know and love Media Molecule for its LittleBigPlanet franchise, and now its bringing a new kind of game to the Vita.

    Tearaway will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Vita on October 22. Physical copies of the game will feature reversible cover art for those want to display the female protagonist on the box.

  • Aspiring Authors Looking To Self-Publish Have A New Option In Nook Press

    Self-publishing is increasingly becoming the norm, instead of the exception, in today’s digital world. Services like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and Apple’s Breakout Books make it easy for new authors to publish their books and get plenty of exposure. Now Nook wants in on it, and is using its parent company’s own self-publishing business as the backbone.

    Nook announced today the launch of Nook Press, a new self-publishing portal for authors that want to get on the Nook store. The service is being built upon the foundation laid by PubIt!, Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing business. Authors who are already on PubIt! will be able to transition to Nook Press without any problems.

    “We’re thrilled to bring all the new and exciting features of Nook Press to existing PubIt! authors and new writers looking for a quick, effective and free one-stop self-publishing platform that delivers high-quality eBooks to millions of book-loving Nook customers,” said Theresa Horner, Vice President of Digital Content at Nook Media. “Nook Press authors bring variety, new voices and value to Nook’s ecosystem that allows us to continue to offer our customers a great selection of noteworthy eBooks by independent authors at unbeatable prices.”

    Authors who choose to go with Nook Press can look forward to the following features:

  • Instant Access: The “Quick Start” option lets writers try out the tools before they commit to becoming a vendor, all they need to sign up is an e-mail address. “Live Chat” offers writers instant support and personalized answers to questions at every stage of the publishing process. The service is available Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm EST.
  • One-stop Service: Authors can write, edit, format, and publish their work in one place with exclusive content tools all at no cost, and sell books to millions of Nook customers within 2-3 days.
  • Easy ePub Creation and Editing: With new content creation tools, authors can easily upload a manuscript just once, then continue to write and edit directly within Nook Press, quickly and easily turning their work into a professional-quality ePub file.
  • Integrated Collaboration: Nook Press allows authors to safely and quickly invite their network of friends and editors to read and comment on any Nook Press project in a secure environment.
  • Easier-to-Read Sales Reporting: Visually-enhanced sales report allows authors to easily track daily sales and track month-over-month progress.
  • Pathways to Passionate Readers: With Nook Press, authors can publish once and reach millions of customers using Nook and Nook Reading Apps in the US and UK.
  • Unbeatable Merchandising Opportunities: Nook Press offers authors robust merchandising opportunities in the Nook Store and Nook ecosystem, including a new Nook Press Nook Channel on Nook HD and Nook HD+ coming soon. Select content will be in social media campaigns, e-mails and newsletters directed to millions of Nook customers, resulting in broader audience reach, more sales and new independent bestsellers.

    • All of that sounds nice, but what about royalties? Authors publishing on Nook Press can expect compensation royalties of 65 percent for books between $2.99 and $9.99. Authors will receive compensation royalties of 40 percent for books costing less than $2.98 or more than $10. Authors can charge up to $199.99 for their books.

    If all the above sounds good to you, you can get started on your self-publishing journey by visiting the official Nook Press site.

  • Xbox Special Event Planned For May 21 [Report]

    After Sony revealed the PlayStation 4 in February, everybody turned to Microsoft expecting a reveal of the next Xbox. Previous rumors suggested an April showing, but a new report says that we won’t be seeing anything about the new console until May.

    Paul Thurrot revealed during the latest “What the Tech?!” podcast that Microsoft would be unveiling its next Xbox on May 21. The Verge was able to confirm the date with sources close to Microsoft saying that the event was originally schedule for April, but was pushed back to May for an unknown reason.

    There wasn’t much more information revealed about the console, but Thurrot did throw out one interesting tidbit – the price. He claims that the next Xbox will retail for $500, but will only cost $300 if the consumer chooses to go with a subscription service. A subscription model would be nothing new for the company as it already offers the Xbox 360 for $99 with a two-year contract that has the consumer paying a monthly fee for Xbox Live.

    Interestingly enough, Thurrot also says that the internal Microsoft documentation he has mentions the always online requirement that stirred up quite a bit of controversy last week.

    As for the event itself, The Verge’s report says that Microsoft will be holding a small event in May to officially unveil the console and a few of its core features. The company will be saving most of its big announcements, however, for E3 in June.

    [h/t: NBC News]

  • Windows XP Users Only Have A Year Of Official Support Left

    Windows XP remains one of the most popular operating systems on the planet, especially for businesses that don’t feel like upgrading to Windows 7 or 8. That popularity will surely continue for years to come, but Microsoft won’t be along for the ride starting next year.

    As per its support schedule, Microsoft announced that it’s dropping extended support for Windows XP in April 2014. That means that businesses and users alike have a year to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Doing so will ensure that users continue to receive support in the form of security updates and patches from Microsoft.

    Of course, Microsoft would love nothing more than to move more people to Windows 8. The new OS isn’t doing that well among consumers (except for gamers), but a forced upgrade from Windows XP may at least push some companies into buying bulk Windows 7/8 licenses.

    There are some problems with that though. In April of last year, we looked at how forcing users to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8 was going to cause some headaches for businesses that rely on Windows XP and its compatibility with older software. Upgrading to a newer OS would require more than just buying a bulk license – it would require the company to rewrite core software.

    As companies plan on upgrading from Windows XP, there are some companies waiting to pounce on those unsure of Windows 7 or 8. One in particular is Canonical, stewards of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. The company has been pushing Ubuntu’s enterprise capabilities for some time now, and the allure of a free OS would certainly be appealing to some.

    While we certainly can’t see what the future holds, we can at least look back on a good 12 year run for Windows XP. It was arguably the most popular Windows OS ever released, and it reigned during the golden age of PCs. Those days are long gone, but we can at least look back fondly at that green hill desktop that reminded us that the grass truly was greener on the other side of the personal computing revolution.

  • CISPA Is Looking Better, But Privacy Proponents Still Aren’t Satisfied

    Rep. Adam Schiff announced on Friday that he would be introducing a pro-privacy amendment to CISPA that would force companies to remove any identifiable information from data it shares with the government. Surprisingly enough, the bill’s authors seem to be taking this amendment, and other pro-privacy amendments, seriously.

    The Hill reports that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger will be adding a number of amendments to CISPA during its markup this week. Rogers insists that CISPA is “not a surveillance bill” and the proposed amendments will reportedly clear up any misconceptions people have about it.

    So, what kind of misconceptions will these amendments clear up? The first would strictly limit what government agencies could use the collected information for. Opponents suggest the current CISPA would allow government agencies to use collected information for non-national security purposes. The amendment would make it clear that any information collected under CISPA must be used only for national security purposes.

    Another amendment would make sure companies are held to the same standard as government agencies. In other words, it would require companies to use any information they receive from government agencies for cybersecurity purposes only.

    One of the more interesting amendments would forbid companies from launching retaliatory attacks against those who launch attacks against them. It’s not exactly a pro-privacy amendment, but it would help keep trigger happy companies under check while the authorities investigate cyberattacks.

    Privacy proponents are obviously happy to see CISPA being improved, but they still have one major issue with the bill. They feel that any information obtained by the government should be sent to a civilian agency, like the Department of Homeland Security. The current bill isn’t exactly clear on which agency companies would share information with, but one interpretation sees CISPA allowing companies to share information directly with NSA, a spy agency with little governmental oversight.

    The currently proposed amendments don’t address all the problems, but it shows that the House Intelligence Committee is at least wanting to address some of the problems privacy proponents have with CISPA. That’s more than what the committee did last year as it passed CISPA without even allowing arguments for proposed amendments to be heard.

  • Don’t Expect To See Nationwide Google Fiber Anytime Soon

    It was revealed over the weekend that Austin, Texas will be the next city to receive freedom from monopolistic ISPs thanks to Google Fiber. Of course, the announcement kicked off a new round of people from other cities asking Google to bring Fiber to them next. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that most may never see Google Fiber.

    Ars Technica reports that two analysts for Alliance Bernstein – Carlos Kirjner and Ram Parameswaran – have calculated the costs of bringing Google Fiber to most of the nation. Over five years, it would cost Google $11 billion, or four percent of its current net worth, to realize the dream of many across the nation.

    So, why is Google Fiber so expensive? First and foremost, the infrastructure costs are astronomical. The main reason you don’t see many established ISPs upgrading their services is for this very reason. Upgrading infrastructure takes time and money – both of which most ISPs aren’t willing to sacrifice when most of their customer base is apparently happy with what they have.

    The other major hurdle is of the regulatory kind. Google was lucky enough to get a range of perks from Kansas City, and Austin must be offering the same perks as well. Some cities may not be as kind, while other cities may have stricter regulations in place in regards to how utility poles, which are used to hang fiber wires, can be used.

    In short, there are a number of obstacles standing in the way of nationwide Google Fiber deployment. The projected cost is definitely one of the main reasons, but there’s a number of others that Google must take into account before deciding to bring its service to another city.

    That being said, relying on Google alone for Fiber is a fool’s game. There are other groups, like Gigabit Squared, that are working to bring Fiber to other cities across the nation. The FCC is also pushing for more gigabit networks across the nation.

    Google didn’t start the Fiber craze, but it definitely helped give it some exposure. We can only hope that the move to Austin encourages more cities and organizations to start building out Fiber networks in other cities across the nation.

  • Learn How To Use Google Drive’s New Features

    On Thursday, Google launched two new ways for web apps to interact with Google Drive. The first – app data folders – stores critical app data in its own private folder to avoid accidental movement or deletion from users. The second – custom properties – allows users to “create searchable fields that are private to your app or shared across apps.”

    To help developers fully grasp these new features, Google has thrown together a quick Google Developers Live session that addresses these features. Check it out:

  • The Internet Of 1995 Wasn’t Just For Anti-Social Geeks, It Was For Getting Email From Steve Jobs

    The history of the Internet is an area of study that’s woefully ignored by the modern generation. I was part of the generation that grew up just as the Internet was just getting started, and the generation before me can even remember a time when the Internet wasn’t even a thing.

    Unfortunately, those who came after us take the Internet for granted. Their formative years were spent with broadband speeds and unlimited access. They didn’t have to live through an era of dial-up modems and AOL installation discs littering the computer desk. For that generation, here’s an episode of Computer Chronicles, a PBS-produced series on technology, that explores the Internet of yesteryear.

    Beyond giving the young ‘uns a history lesson, this particular episode is also incredibly prophetic in how it predicted the coming war between copyright and the Internet. It also predicted the rise of amateur musicians making it big thanks to the Internet through video uploads and music sharing through multiple avenues.

  • No Assembly Required: This “Smart Chair” Assembles Itself

    Over the years, furniture hasn’t really evolved The tools we use to make furniture have evolved, but the furniture itself has remained largely the same.

    Well, that’s not the case anymore as Belgian designer and engineer Carl de Smet has created a smart foam technology that can be packed down to a small size, and then expanded to a set shape when heated. It’s like a shrinky dink in reverse. Check it out:

    Interestingly enough, the foam would allow consumers to shape the furniture into whatever shape they would want. An example from the video above is a lounging chair that can be reshaped into a short stool.

    De Smet hopes to have his expanding foam furniture on the market by next year. It seems that he also wants to bring some competition to Ikea, the current champion of cheap, easy-to-assemble furniture. He may do just that if his full-sized foam furniture behaves like current, smaller prototypes.

    [BBC News via Engadget]

  • Microsoft Is A Bit Sour Over Facebook Home

    Yesterday, Facebook announced Home, a custom Android skin that replaces the default Android experience with one that’s entirely based around Facebook. As part of the presentation, Mark Zuckerberg lamented the current state of app-centric phones, and said that Home would finally bring people to the forefront of the mobile experience.

    The mission statement of Home seems to have caught the ire of Microsoft as the company’s VP or corporate communications, Frank Shaw, took to the company blog today to say that Facebook is late to the party. Shaw says that Windows Phone 7.5, which was introduced in 2011, was in fact the first phone based around people instead of apps.

    You could argue whether or not Shaw’s claim is true, but the company was marketing Windows Phone 7.5 as a people-first phone back in 2011. It’s understandable that the company would be a little upset over Facebook essentially stealing its nonexistent thunder.

    Shaw ends his mini-rant with the suggestion that Windows Phone is superior to Home because Home is just an Android skin. Besides, Home takes away some features from Android while Windows Phone offers all the features of Home and then some without sacrificing any core features.

    What makes this even sadder is that Home isn’t even out yet. It’s entirely unproven, and yet Microsoft is already on the offensive. As TechCrunch rightly points out, Microsoft’s readiness to attack Facebook Home shows just how sensitive it is over how nobody cared about its people-first device in the first place.

    All this leads us to the million dollar question – will people care about Facebook Home when they clearly didn’t care about Windows Phone? Facebook certainly seems to think so, but the tepid reaction to Windows Phone shows that the majority of mobile device users are probably pretty happy with their app-centric devices.

    Besides, I’m sure most Android users would prefer a better Facebook app over Home anyway.

  • Google Answers Your Questions About Its New Blink Rendering Engine

    After years of Chrome running on the WebKit rendering engine, Google announced earlier this week that it was moving to its own rendering engine. The new engine, named Blink, is a fork of WebKit, and will apparently not affect Web developers that much as Google transitions to the new engine.

    That being said, developers are going to have questions, and Google welcomed those questions with open arms during a hangout yesterday with engineering leads Darin Fisher and Eric Seidel. Some of the issues addressed during the hangout include the relationship between WebKit’s and Blink’s codebase, Blink’s support of multiple programming languages, and when we can expect to see Blink hit Chrome.

    For more on Blink, check out Google’s exhaustive FAQ.

  • You Can Play Injustice: Gods Among Us Right Now… On Your iPhone

    Injustice: Gods Among Us, the DC fighter from NetherRealm Studios, isn’t set to launch on consoles until April 26. If you really need your Injustice fix now, however, you might want to try the recently released game for iOS.

    Thankfully, the iOS version of Injustice isn’t a poorly constructed fighting game for mobile platforms. Instead, the team has created a thoughtful title that combines the cinematic fights of its console brother with an accessible collectible card game mechanic that players can use to level up their fighters.

    As an added bonus, Injustice for iOS unlocks exclusive content in the console version of the game. It’s not being said what can be unlocked, but it’s probably a few costumes or other aesthetic rewards. Still, it’s better than nothing.

    You can grab Injustice for iOS here. It’s a free-to-play title supported by microtransactions that aren’t exactly micro. There’s something definitely wrong when an in-game item costs $100, but that debate is for another time.

  • Check Out The New Uprising Map Pack For Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2

    Are you finding yourself tired of the same ol’ maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? If so, you will be pleased to know that Treyarch is set to release a new map pack on April 16.

    Activision and Treyarch revealed this week that Uprising, the newest map pack for Call of Duty 2: Black Ops 2, will feature the usual four new maps and one new zombie campaign. Three of the maps – Magma, Encore and Vertigo – are entirely new. The other map – Studio – is a reimagining of the Firing Range map. As for the zombies mode, the new campaign is called “Mob of the Dead.”

    The Uprising map pack will be available first on Xbox Live starting April 16. It will move to other platforms at a later date.

  • Mozilla Is Now Working On A Web Payment Standard

    Mozilla is all about Web standards. The non-profit has made it clear that it wants to move the Web away from plug-ins and third party services to Web APIs that will work across any browser. It’s latest venture tackles a service that many probably never thought needed fixing – Web payments.

    So, what’s wrong with our current Web payment services? Sure, services like PayPal can sometimes be a pain, but it’s not like the entire system needs to be uprooted, right? Mozilla objects to that line of thinking and offers three reasons why the current Web payment system is broken:

  • Users cannot choose how to pay; they have to select from one of the pre-defined options.
  • In most cases, the user has to type in an actual credit card number on each site. This is like giving someone the keys to your expensive car, letting them drive it around the block in a potentially dangerous neighborhood (the web) and saying please don’t get carjacked!
  • Merchants typically have to manage all this on their own: payment processor setup, costly processing fees, and possibly even PCI compliance.

    • To help solve these problems, Mozilla has introduced navigator.mozPay() in Firefox OS. Mozilla says the JavaScript API was inspired by Google’s Wallet API, but contains a few modifications that support multiple payment providers and carrier billing.

    Here’s how navigator.mozPay() works in its current incarnation on Firefox OS:

    When a web app invokes navigator.mozPay() in Firefox OS, the device shows a secure window with a concise UI. After authenticating, the user can easily charge the payment to her mobile carrier bill or credit card. When completed, the app delivers the product. Repeat purchases are quick and easy.

    If that sounds interesting to you, you can start testing it out right now on test builds of Firefox OS. The API can’t accept payments just yet, but Mozilla encourages developers to start working on implementing the API into their Firefox OS apps now.

    Interested developers can check out the Web payment API documentation here. If you want the code libraries, Mozilla currently has them available in Node.JS and Python. Other libraries for more languages are on the way.

  • 3D Printers One Step Closer To Creating Human Tissue

    3D printing has performed some miraculous feats in the field of medicine. Researchers are already playing around with the idea of growing organs with 3D printers, and now one university has proven that you can make human-like tissue with the technology.

    Oxford University revealed this week that its researchers have built a custom 3D printer that prints out a new material that’s composed of thousands of connected water droplets inside lipid films. This new material can perform some of the functions of the cells within our bodies, and may one day be used to either deliver medicine to targeted areas, or repair damaged tissue.

    “We aren’t trying to make materials that faithfully resemble tissues but rather structures that can carry out the functions of tissues,” said Professor Hagan Bayley of Oxford University’s Department of Chemistry, who led the research. “We’ve shown that it is possible to create networks of tens of thousands connected droplets. The droplets can be printed with protein pores to form pathways through the network that mimic nerves and are able to transmit electrical signals from one side of a network to the other.”

    The custom 3D printer, built by Gabriel Villar, is unlike anything we’ve ever see in the field. The printer is able to create networks of up to 35,000 droplets with each droplet only being 50 microns in diameter. These droplets, when combined into networks, can fold into unique shapes after being printed.

    The folding of these droplets is similar to another form of 3D printing called 4D printing. The highly experimental technology allows objects, after being printed on a 3D printer, to self assemble into new shapes.

    [h/t: 3ders]

  • Rep. Adam Schiff To Propose Pro-Privacy Amendment To CISPA

    This year’s CISPA is just like last year’s CISPA. That has some privacy groups concerned as the bill makes it easier for companies to share private information with the government while granting them immunity. To help address these concerns, one lawmaker will be introducing an amendment to CISPA next week.

    The Hill reports that Rep. Adam Schiff will be introducing a pro-privacy amendment during the House Intelligence Committee’s markup of CISPA. The amendment would make companies do their damnest to remove personally identifiable information from any data that they share with government.

    Beyond that, the amendment would also allow companies to use automated processes in removing personal information from data. The automated removal of information would serve two purposes – it would make the removal of information more accurate, and it would speed up the process to better counter cybersecurity threats.

    The amendment is a great first step to making sure CISPA protects privacy, but Schiff has indicated that he has yet to reach a consensus with the bill’s authors – Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger. Fortunately, Schiff says that the tech industry has yet to raise any objections to his amendment.

    Even with the support of industry, Schiff’s amendment may not make it into CISPA. What’s worse is that we won’t even know what actually happened until after the fact thanks to the committee holding the CISPA markup behind closed doors. Still, there’s a small sliver of hope resting on Schiff’s shoulders as the congressman said that he wouldn’t vote CISPA out of committee unless it had his amendment, or another suitable pro-privacy amendment, tacked on to it.

    Even with these proposed amendments, there’s always the chance that CISPA can worm its way through the House just like it did last year. After that, it will be up to the Senate and White House to make sure that it doesn’t go through without reasonable privacy protections.