Consumer
The Lead
HotSpot 17: New Supercomputer is Worn Around the Neck
June 17, 2013 1:51 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development, WDD | News | Comments
On the HotSpot, a patent-pending supercomputer you wear around your neck, a new study finds that hands-free technologies create dangerous mental distractions, experts tell us how to be more private, and researchers are leveraging Wi-Fi signals to detect movements without sensors.
HotSpot 17: New Supercomputer is Worn Around the Neck
June 17, 2013 1:51 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development, WDD | News | Comments
On the HotSpot, a patent-pending supercomputer you wear around your neck, a new study finds that...
HotSpot 17: New Supercomputer is Worn Around the Neck
June 17, 2013 1:51 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development, WDD | News | Comments
On the HotSpot, a patent-pending supercomputer you wear around your neck, a new study finds that...
Intelligent Glasses Designed for Professors
June 17, 2013 12:26 pm | by Ana Herrera, Carlos III University of Madrid | News | Comments
The proposed Augmented Lecture Feedback System (ALFs) seeks to improve communication between...
FREE WDD Email Newsletter
CSR Combines Audio and Connectivity to Drive Connected Car Applications
June 17, 2013 7:16 pm | by CSR plc | News | CommentsCSR plc has announced the launch of the CSRC9300, the first auto-grade chipset to combine Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity with audio capabilities. The complete solution will enable car manufacturers to deliver future connected car applications, such as Miracast over 5Ghz, and keyless entry using Bluetooth v4.0.
Apple Details Government Requests for Data
June 17, 2013 1:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe company, like some other businesses, had asked the U.S government to be able to share how many requests it received related to national security and how it handled them. Those requests were made as part of Prism, the recently revealed highly classified National Security Agency program that seizes records from Internet companies.
Secret to Prism Program: Even Bigger Data Seizure
June 17, 2013 1:03 pm | by Anne Flaherty, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn the months and early years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, FBI agents began showing up at Microsoft more frequently than before, armed with court orders demanding information on customers. Around the world, government spies and eavesdroppers were tracking the email and Internet addresses used by suspected terrorists.
Automated ‘Coach’ Could Help with Social Interactions
June 17, 2013 11:57 am | by MIT | News | CommentsNew software developed at MIT can be used to help people practice their interpersonal skills until they feel more comfortable with situations such as a job interview or a first date. The software, called MACH (short for My Automated Conversation coacH), uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis...
'Watch Dogs' Video Game a Sign of the Times
June 17, 2013 11:47 am | by DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment | News | CommentsAcross the dizzying, colorful show floor at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, there were games on display where players could become all manner of things, like a throat-slashing 18th century pirate, zombie killer, a guardian of the last city on earth, music-making sorcerer, ruthless Roman general, shape-shifting creature, goblin slayer and Batman.
Intelligent Glasses Designed for Professors
June 17, 2013 11:40 am | by Carlos III University of Madrid | News | CommentsScientists at la Universidad Carlos III of Madrid have developed a system based on augmented reality that, thanks to intelligent glasses, enables a professor to see notes or comments on the contents of a lesson and to see if the students understand explanations or if, on the contrary, they are having doubts or difficulties.
Lightweight Microsoft Office Available on iPhone
June 14, 2013 9:32 am | by ANICK JESDANUN, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsMicrosoft's Office software package is coming to the iPhone for the first time Friday, offering people the ability to read and edit their text documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations at the doctor's office or at a soccer game...
New Array Measures Vibrations Across Skin May Help Engineers Design Tactile Displays
June 14, 2013 9:28 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | News | CommentsIn the near future, a buzz in your belt or a pulse from your jacket may give you instructions on how to navigate your surroundings.Think of it as tactile Morse code: vibrations from a wearable, GPS-linked device that tell you to turn right or left, or stop, depending on the pattern of pulses you feel.
Engineering Newswire 42: Futuristic Airplanes Carry Passenger Pods
June 13, 2013 2:01 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsThis week on Engineering Newswire, we’re building Hyperloop transportation, putting paralyzed people behind the wheel, and riding futuristic airplanes that carry passengers in pods. This episode is brought to you by Smalley Steel Ring Company, the exclusive manufacturer of Spirolox Retaining Rings and Smalley Wave Springs for more than 50 years. Request samples to try in your application today.
Privacy _ the Online Generation Wants It
June 13, 2013 9:03 am | by MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer | News | CommentsThat attitude showed up most recently in a poll done over the weekend for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and The Washington Post. The poll, tied to the disclosure of broad federal surveillance, found that young adults were much more divided than older generations when asked if the government should tread on their privacy to thwart terrorism.
Panel Backs Introduction of Digital Learning in U.S.
June 13, 2013 8:44 am | by DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press | News | CommentsA week after President Barack Obama's call for U.S. schools to be outfitted with high-speed Internet within five years, an independent panel that studied the lack of technology at school says digital learning, including the super-fast Internet connections, can be introduced even sooner.
HotSeat Episode 2: ZigBee for Home Automation & Lighting
June 12, 2013 4:28 pm | by Alex Shanahan, Multimedia Production Specialist, WDD | Videos | CommentsWireless mesh networking technology is not just about smart meters and saving energy anymore. Recent innovation in low power wireless control are making their way into appliances, lighting, security, and home entertainment applications. Through smartphones and tablets, users can now control their devices over ZigBee or other "Internet of Things" wireless technologies.
Capturing Lost Revenue: 5 Steps for Semiconductor Companies
June 12, 2013 3:16 pm | by Chanan Greenberg, senior director of business development at Model N Inc. | Blogs | CommentsThe global economy is on the upswing in 2013, which means semiconductor companies have a great opportunity to reap the benefits. According to analyst firm IHS, revenue is expected to grow 6.4 percent this year after two straight years of decline. As a result, semiconductor professionals are asking themselves two questions: How can we take advantage of this growth, however brief it might be? And what happens if the economy takes a plunge...
Waze Sale Signals New Growth for Israeli High Tech
June 12, 2013 9:51 am | by JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press MAX J. ROSENTHAL, Associated Press | News | CommentsWaze's popular smartphone application combines GPS navigation software with social networking features, allowing users to improve the service's directions and traffic reports with their own data. This crowd-sourcing aspect enables the service to adapt to changing road conditions, such as accidents and speed traps, in real time.
Hands-Free Texting Still Distracting for Drivers
June 12, 2013 9:51 am | by JOAN LOWY, Associated Press | News | CommentsAutomakers have been trying to excite new-car buyers, especially younger ones, with dashboard infotainment systems that let drivers use voice commands do things like turning on windshield wipers, posting Facebook messages or ordering pizza. The pitch has been that hands-free devices are safer because they enable drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.
Apple Revamps Look of iPhone, iPad Software
June 11, 2013 9:42 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writers PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writers | News | CommentsApple is throwing out most of the real-world graphical cues from its iPhone and iPad software, like the casino-green "felt" of its Game Center app, in what it calls the biggest update since the iPhone's launch in 2007. The new operating system, called iOS 7, strives for a clean, simple, translucent impression. Apple is redesigning all its applications and icons to conform to the new look, driven by long-time hardware design guru Jony Ive.
Microsoft Hypes Next-Gen Xbox One Games at E3
June 11, 2013 9:40 am | by DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer | News | CommentsThe company focused on how cloud computing will make games for its next-generation Xbox One console more immersive during its Monday presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry's annual trade show. Microsoft announced last week that the successor to the Xbox 360 must be connected to the Internet every 24 hours to operate, and the system would ideally always be online.
Search for 1st Web Page Takes Detour into NC
June 11, 2013 9:40 am | by JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, are searching for the first Web page. It was at CERN that Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web in 1990 as an unsanctioned project, using a NeXT computer that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs designed in the late 80s during his 12-year exile from the company.
U.S.: No Plans to End Broad Surveillance Program
June 11, 2013 9:38 am | by LARA JAKES, AP National Security Writer | News | CommentsThe Obama administration is weighing whether to charge a government contractor with leaking classified government secrets while it defends a much-criticized National Security Agency surveillance program as an indispensable tool for protecting Americans from terrorists.
HotSpot Episode 16: Big Brother is Watching
June 10, 2013 10:20 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsThis week on WDD's HotSpot, Big Brother is collecting phone records; DARPA's ADAPT program is looking to smart phone technologies and practices to create new ground sensors; HP unveils its all-in-one pc; and Italian start-up 2045Tech introduces a pocket breathalyzer.
Music Service, Mobile Software Expected from Apple
June 10, 2013 9:37 am | by ANICK JESDANUN, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsApple is expected to reveal a digital radio service and changes to the software behind iPhones and iPads on Monday as the company opens its annual conference for software developers.Apple hasn't said what it will unveil at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. But the major announcements are expected during Monday's keynote presentation.
Cable Operators Buff Up Guides for Internet Age
June 10, 2013 9:34 am | by RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsOver the past year or so, Comcast Corp., Cablevision Systems Corp. and other cable providers have introduced new program guides on television set-top boxes. These improved guides act more like websites, making it easier to find movies, live TV shows and on-demand video.
Microsoft to Add Outlook to Windows RT tablets
June 7, 2013 11:16 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsMicrosoft will add its popular Outlook email program to more tablets running on a lightweight version of its Windows operating system as part of a free software update this year. The Outlook 2013 app will be given to owners of Microsoft's Surface tablet and similar devices running Windows RT. That's a slimmed down version of Windows 8, a radical overhaul of the ubiquitous operating system used on most personal computers.
Casinos Ban Gamblers from Using Google Glass
June 6, 2013 12:44 pm | by Wayne Parry, Associated Press | News | CommentsCasinos in several states are forbidding gamblers from wearing Google Glass, the tiny eyeglasses-mounted device capable of shooting photos, filming video and surfing the Internet. Regulators say the gadgets could be used to cheat at card games.
Obama Govt Defends Collecting Phone Records
June 6, 2013 12:40 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. government has been secretly collecting the telephone records of millions of Americans under a top secret court order, according to a document disclosed by a British newspaper. The Obama administration defended the government's need to collect telephone records of U.S. citizens, but critics said it was a huge over-reach.
