DARPA wants its military gear to get tougher, sooner
DARPA, the government agency known for its robots and other crazy futuristic inventions, just announced a new project that could lead to the quicker development of advanced military vehicles. This new project is called Materials Development for Platforms, and it aims to shorten the timespan between designing tough materials that can withstand harsh environments and having them used on actual military equipment. Apparently, such a process typically takes more than a decade (that’s why the Luke arm’s relatively fast FDA approval was darn impressive). But MDP seeks to come up with the methodology and tools to cut that down to two-and-a-half years.
The folks behind the program believe that it’s possible to achieve that if researchers start developing materials with a specific purpose in mind. As it is, many of them attempt to design holy grail materials before determining their actual applications, and assessing those creations to find out what they can be used for takes a lot of time. In order to prove that the MDP metholody works, the team agreed to develop materials that can withstand extreme heat for the outer shell of a hypersonic aircraft, as it can travel more than five times the speed of sound. The group needs to be done within the next two-and-a-half years for the program’s method to be deemed successful, so watch out for any hypersonic plane news from DARPA in 2016 or 2017
Filed under: Misc
Source: DARPA, Federal Business Opportunities
Mix beats and loop vocals with Propellerhead’s Take for iOS
If you saw Reggie Watts’ musical set at Engadget Expand (don’t worry, there’s video after the break), then you probably noticed the table full of gear he needs to construct his loops. Propellerhead — the Swedish software company behind Reason, not the electronica duo — is hoping to lighten this load with Take, a creative vocal loop recorder that’s being given away free to iPhone users. The interface is reasonably simple, offering you a wide variety of pre-made backing loops as well as three tracks that you can rap, sing or otherwise make noise on. It’s tremendously easy to use, but it won’t compensate for your lack of musical talent, which is why we won’t be sharing our ham-fisted efforts with you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Software, Apple
Source: Take (App Store)
Expert Believes Alleged iPhone 6 Sapphire Front Panel Could Be ‘Legitimate’
Earlier this week, numerous videos of the alleged front panel of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 surfaced, which showed the screen being put through stress tests involving significant bending and scratching. While those videos referred to the front panel as being made of sapphire crystal, there was no way to confirm that the display were made of the durable material.
Now, Professional Neil Alford, who is a member of the Department of Materials at the Imperial College in London, tells The Guardian that the alleged “sapphire panel” could “well be legitimate.” Alford believes that the stress tests performed on the screen indicate that the panel is made of sapphire, adding that Apple likely overcame a number of challenges in making the part thin and durable.
Alford concurs: “In my opinion the screen being shown off in the video could well be a sapphire screen. If you make sapphire thin enough, and it’s flaw free, you can bend it quite considerably because it has an enormous strength.”
He added: “I think they will be doing some sort of a lamination – binding different crystal cuts of sapphire together – boosting the toughness of the material, while they may also have induced some sort of a strain in the surface of the glass – either compression or tension – which means that it has extra strength,” he said.
Alford noted that Apple had contacted him in January 2013 to discuss sapphire screens, indicating that Apple has likely been hard at work on creating the screen afterward. Past rumors have suggested that Apple will be using a sapphire display in the iPhone 6, but other reports have claimed that the more durable material could be exclusive to the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 due to supply constraints.
Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is expected to launch this September, while the larger 5.5-inch version has been rumored to be released at the same time. In addition to a larger display, both devices are likely to include a thinner housing, a faster A8 processor, and an improved camera.
Amazon sidesteps French ban on free shipping by charging a penny
France’s “anti-Amazon” law prohibiting free shipping and discounts has now gone into effect, and Amazon quickly announced that it had conformed — technically. Though it no longer ships books for free, it only charges 0.01 euro, conforming to the letter if not the spirit of the law (French Prime members still receive free book shipping). It’s also no longer allowed to give a 5 percent discount on books, the maximum allowed by French law. Despite Amazon’s ceremonial cent for shipping, bricks-and-mortar competitors in the country now have a big leg-up. They’re exempt from the law and can still offer 5 percent discounts and free delivery — even those with a large online presence like FNAC, a French book and electronics giant. Meanwhile, Amazon could still appeal the decision to EU courts, who reportedly see the French decision as anti-competitive.
[Image credit: François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images]
Source: Amazon France (translated)
‘Lettuce’ hope so: OnePlus Two allegedly coming, codenamed ‘Lettuce’
The OnePlus One has barely started reaching the lucky few who have been able to order one, but we’ve already gotten wind that there maybe a successor to this year’s biggest surprise. This news comes from leak extraordinaire, @evleaks, who says that a tentatively named OnePlus Two is coming, and is codenamed ‘Lettuce’; as fun trivia, @evleaks also said in his tweet that the OnePlus One was codenamed ‘Bacon’. While we always expected a successor from OnePlus after the critical success that the One turned out to be, with supply of the device still very much stagnant for the general public, it seems hard to conceive the purposes of a subsequent device so soon.
This follows previous, false rumours that OnePlus was developing a tablet device, but we’ll remain quietly hopeful that this rumour is true. The OnePlus One took the Android community by surprise offering value for money usually reserved for Nexus devices with none of the compromises. Perhaps the only ‘issue’ with the phone is that access to the phone is via invites only and the roll-out of that system appears to be rather dismal.
What do you think about seeing a OnePlus Two ‘Lettuce’ sometime in the near future? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Moto X and G get banned in Germany
A ruling made at the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany on July 8th found Motorola to infringe on a patent held by LPKF – a German engineering firm – in reference to the antenna design used in the companies Moto X and Moto G devices.
Consequently, Motorola have been ordered to pay damages to LPKF and have also been instructed to recall all devices sold in Germany which infringe on the patent.
Now LPKF have found success in Germany it’ll be interesting to see if the company persue the same claims in other courts around the world.
SOURCE: GSMArena
The post Moto X and G get banned in Germany appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Chinese State-Run Media Labels iPhone’s Location Tracking a ‘National Security Concern’ [iOS Blog]
China’s state-run media broadcast today labeled Apple’s location tracking services found iOS 7 and the iPhone a “national security concern”, reports The Wall Street Journal. The broadcast cited researchers who said that those with access to the country’s location data could gain “knowledge of the broader situation in China” and perhaps even state secrets.
The Chinese government said that it began developing these concerns about U.S. technology companies after the discovery of PRISM last year, which is a secret intelligence program ran by the NSA. In its broadcast, China’s state run media said that Apple would need to “take on any legal responsibilities” if any data leaks harmed citizens.
Last year, a privacy lawsuit concerning Apple’s location tracking services in iOS was dismissed by the US District Court of Northern California. The suit alleged that Apple was collecting location data in violation of its own privacy laws, however Judge Lucy Koh ruled that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence.
In the U.S., Apple has made a number of privacy-related moves in the past year, choosing to notify users of information requests from law enforcement and backing congressional bills to increase transparency in government surveillance.
The news also comes as Apple has made efforts towards improving its presence in China over the past few years, which include partnering with the country’s biggest carrier China Mobile and opening new Apple Stores in populated regions. CEO Tim Cook has also visited the country numerous times, meeting with government officials and China Mobile executives to discuss market growth. Apple also became China’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor in Q4 2013, taking 7% of the total market share in the country.
Note: Due to the controversial nature of this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
90 percent of 911 calls made in Washington, DC lacked accurate location info
Data pulled from a recent Freedom of Information Act request reveals that an overwhelming majority of 911 wireless calls made over a six-month period last year in Washington, DC were delivered “without accurate location information to find callers who are lost, confused, unconscious or otherwise unable to share their location.” Only ten percent of calls from the first half of 2013 within the city included detailed location data. At the moment, FCC regulations demand higher location accuracy only on outdoor calls, making built-up areas like DC harder to hone in on. Public safety officials told the Washington Post that these location issues are widespread.
According to Find Me 911, carriers typically able to offer “Phase I’ data, which covers a phone number and the location of the base station transmitting the call. ‘Phase I’I data, meanwhile, includes latitude and longitude coordinates, accurate to between 50 and 300 meters. According to the data, Verizon and Sprint offered this detailed information on 24.6 percent and 23.3 percent of emergency calls. However, T-Mobile included this location data on a dire 3.2 percent of emergency calls. Worse still, AT&T only did so on 2.6 percent of calls made. Fortunately, the FCC approved new technology last year that will apparently more accurately locate callers indoors. It reckons that updated rules regarding location accuracy from wireless callers would save around 10,000 lives a year.
Via: Ars Technica
London’s black cabs may soon be forced to accept card payments
Part of the reason app-based car services like Uber and Hailo have become so popular is their quick service and no-fuss payments. Hailo, in particular, has bridged the gap for London’s black cabs, which have widely shunned card payments due to high setup and running costs. However, things could soon be made a lot easier for city commuters (and tourists) if new plans being considered by Transport for London (TfL) come into force.
The Evening Standard reports that TfL will soon launch a consultation on making debit and credit card payment facilities mandatory by 2016. Under the new proposals, the authority would scrap the surcharge currently levied against card payments, burying the average cost of a debit or credit transaction in the standard fare. That means you’d pay the same amount regardless of the payment method, and you’d no longer need to stop off at a cash machine in order to pay for your journey. Given the recent backlash over Hailo’s decision to become a fully-fledged Uber rival, London’s cabbies wouldn’t have to rely on a third party (at least for cashless payments), ensuring that riders and drivers both enjoy small wins.
[Image credit: Lars Plougmann, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Evening Standard
Computer glitch resurrects draft cards for 14,000 long-dead Pennsylvania men
Come a guy’s 18th birthday in the US, he’s afforded new privileges. Aside from being able to legally buy cigarettes, lottery tickets and porn, he also has a couple of shiny civic duties to follow: signing up for the Selective Service System and voting on a regular basis. In terms of the former, draft dodging is a pretty serious offense, as the families of very old (and most likely very deceased) men in Pennsylvania were recently reminded. According to Boston, a database operator’s error caused some 14,250 notices to go out to men born between 1893 and 1897, stating that their failure to fill out draft cards could result in fines and imprisonment. How’d that happen? Well, if you’re familiar with the Y2K Bug, the story makes a lot more sense.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s cataloging software apparently uses a two-digit birth-year field, and, as a result, the operator unknowingly selected gents hailing from a hundred years prior the actual target range of 1993 to 1997. Keystone State employees didn’t realize the issue until they were inundated by calls from understandably confused family members asking what the deal was. To its credit, the SSS issued an apology and noted that those files would be deactivated from the database and will send a personal letter of apology to President Lincoln posthaste.
[Image credit: Getty]
Filed under: Software
Source: Boston
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