Apple Launches Yosemite ‘AirDrop Test Fest’ For AppleSeed Members [Mac Blog]
Apple has sent out invites to multiple AppleSeed testers to invite them to participate in a “AirDrop Test Fest” to fix any potential bugs in the file sharing service ahead of the launch of OS X Yosemite.
AppleSeed and the AirDrop engineering team would like you to join us for an AirDrop Test Fest. What’s a test fest? At Apple we often hold test fests when we want to focus our efforts on a new feature or enhanced function of OS X. Now we want to bring that experience to our seed participants. We would like you to help us test the new AirDrop in OS X Yosemite.
According to 9to5Mac, invited users will see a notice located in the Feedback Assistant app bundled with the public beta of Yosemite. Testers are given guidelines for testing the feature, including two Macs running Yosemite.
What do I need? To participate in the AirDrop Test Fest you will need at least two Macs from the following:
– 2012 Mac or later for new AirDrop
– Any Mac for Legacy AirDrop (old Mac to Mac only)
The Macs will need to be running the latest seeded build of OS X Yosemite. If you also want to test with your iPhone or iPad you will need device with a Lightning connector running iOS 7 or iOS 8.
Apple’s “AirDrop Test Fest” will last from today, September 24, until Sunday, September 28. Apple has set up a special discussion topic for the event, inviting testers to contribute observations and results, and the company will be providing a “special AirDrop survey” that guides users through usage scenarios the company would like to explore.
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DHL will do delivery-by-drone, but only for one tiny European island
While Netflix laughs, Amazon petitions and Google runs tests in New Zealand, DHL is about to actually launch drone delivery for its customers — sort of. Of course, it’s a rather limited launch, since the only eligible recipients are residents of Juist, a German island in the North Sea. DHL has been testing its PaketKopter system since late last year. Now, in partnership with the German government, it’s established a flight path for its UAVs to take off and fly themselves 12km from a harbor in Norddeich to the island at a height of about 50m (164 feet) and up to 18 m/s (about 40mph). There’s still no plans to use these for regular service, but you can get a peek at the drone in action by checking out the video after the break.
While any flights will be monitored constantly from the ground, it’s on autopilot from takeoff until landing. Unlike Google’s Project Wing, it won’t dangle or drop deliveries, instead PaketKopter lands at a pad and then a courier takes it the rest of the way to one of the island’s 1,500 or so residents or vacationers. Another limitation is that for now it’s only serving up medications, and only during certain times during the week and on weekends. covering times when the local ferry isn’t available.
http://www.engadget.com/embed-5min/?sid=577&playList=518431322&responsive=false
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Reuters
Source: DHL
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Engadget Daily: Handling the Blackberry Passport, discovering the world of Findery and more!
What’s the deal with Blackberry’s new square-shaped phone? Brad Molen took it for a spin and, as it turns out, the Passport’s not as awkward as it seems. That’s not all we have on deck, though — read on for the rest of Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
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Report: New Nexus devices in October, Android L due in November
Just a few days ago, WSJ reported that Google and HTC are working on a tablet together, reportedly Nexus 9, and Paul O’Brien also tweeted that it will be released on October 16. Now, we have some more confirmation from Android Authority on the tablet, and also they are talking about the rumored ‘Moto Nexus‘ as well, which will be the first ever Android L smartphone.
They agree with Paul on the release date of the Nexus 9, and also they further agree that Google will introduce Android L and a new Nexus hardware during mid October as well, but the final version of Android L won’t be officially available until November 1st. Well, that’s some confusion there. The source is unclear about it, because we don’t know whether it is the date when the new Nexus device will be sold or shipped. However, I am sure we will have some confirmation in near future.
One thing we know for sure is that Google got a few projects up their sleeves, and sooner or later, the cat will be out of the bag. What are you thoughts? Let us know in the comment box below.
Source: Android Authority
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Samsung Galaxy A pricing and launch details surface
Samsung is planning to release a trio of new smartphones under a new brand known as the Galaxy A. According to SAMMobile, the name of the phones will be Samsung Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7. Samsung Galaxy A3 is the lowest end phone in the trio, and it will cost around $350 and $400. About the Galaxy A5 and A7, they will cost around $400-$450, and $450-$500 respectively.
Samsung is planning to release them during the third quarter of the year, however Galaxy A7 will hit selected markets. In the picture below, you can see the Galaxy A5.
The smartphone is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. This series is probably focused towards people who are looking to get their hands on smartphones with premium feel yet affordable price tag.
Do you have any thoughts about the new series? Let us know in the comment box below.
Source: SAMMObile
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Facebook offers more details on its internet-beaming planes
We’ve known about Facebook’s ambitious plans to bring internet to developing areas via drone for a while now. At the Social Good Summit this week, Facebook Connectivity Lab’s Yael Maguire revealed more details about what the social network is hoping to accomplish. Speaking with Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore, Maguire said that the UAVs would need to be able to fly for months, or even years, at an altitude “above the weather, above all airspace.” For those counting, that’s around 60,000 to 90,000 feet. Luckily for Facebook and the Internet.org initiative, it has already looked into solar-powered options that can make trips lasting up to five years. Maguire went on to say that a regular-sized drone won’t suffice, so the “planes” will have to be “roughly the size of a commercial aircraft, like a 747.” As you might expect, the effort is certain to face regulatory hurdles, including how many of the vehicles a single pilot can oversee. Eventually, the goal is to have one person steering “up to 100″ of the internet-carrying planes at a time. “We can’t have one person per plane if we want to figure out how to connect the world,” Maguire explained. For now, there’s a three to five year window for employing the UAVs, and the lab hopes to see the first one take flight for testing next year.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Source: Mashable
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HTC hints that it’s unveiling an action camera on October 8th
Those claims that HTC is making an action camera just got much more concrete. The company has posted both a RECamera teaser site and a video (below) which not-so-subtly hint that the adventure-oriented shooter should launch on October 8th, the same day as HTC’s “Double Exposure” media event. While there aren’t many giveaways in the clip, it shows both a swimming pool dive and a wide-angle lens — this is undoubtedly a waterproof device meant to take on the likes of GoPro. There’s nothing here to confirm rumors that the camera will have a 16-megapixel sensor and wireless networking, but you’ll only have to wait a couple of weeks to get the full scoop.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, HTC
Via: Android Central
Source: RECamera
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Multitasking may be affecting the density of your grey-matter
Reading this article on a laptop while watching TV and idly scrolling through tweets on your phone? You’re a multitasker, and it may be changing the structure of your brain. New research from the University of Sussex suggests that people who simultaneously use multiple media devices on a regular basis seem to have less grey-matter density in a particular region of the brain than folks who use just one device at a time. That isn’t to say that media consumption is rotting your brain, however — researchers say it’s more of a link than a cause: it’s not clear if multitasking causes less-dense grey matter or if people with certain brain structures are simply more prone to multitasking.
“Media multitasking is becoming more prevalent in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our cognition and social-emotional well-being,” Sussex neuroscientist Kep lee Loh said. “Our study was the first to reveal links between media multitasking and brain structure.” Loh says that more study is required to determine if the brain is changing behavior or if behavior is changing the brain — but if it’s the latter, the work could support previous studies that suggest that heavy media multitasking can make users more susceptible to depression, anxiety and distraction. Care to read the research for yourself? You can find it at Plos One at the source link below.
[Image credit: Getty / Petrovich9
Filed under: Science
Source: Plos One, University of Sussex
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Google Chairman Eric Schmidt: Competition Between Apple and Google is More Brutal Than Ever
Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and former SVP of products, Jonathan Rosenberg, recently published a new book entitled “How Google Works, which explores topics like corporate culture, strategy, talent, innovation, dealing with disruption, and more. The duo have done an interview with Bloomberg to promote the title, with Schmidt commenting on the state of affairs between iOS and Google and Apple’s new larger-screened iPhones.
According to Schmidt, competition between Apple and Google is more brutal than ever before, with “enormous, enormous racing” going on between the two companies, which ultimately has “enormous benefits for consumers worldwide.”
In fact I would say that this brutal competition between Apple and Google over Android and iOS has enormous benefits for consumers worldwide. If you look at the innovation on the Apple side and on the Google side, that competition which I think is the defining fight of the computer industry, it benefits global at the billions of people level.
When questioned about how he feels driving past an Apple Store and seeing people lined up around the block to purchase an iPhone, Schmidt said “I’ll tell you what I think. Samsung had these products a year ago.” The interviewer further notes that nobody “had a huge party” and Schmidt reiterated that Samsung had larger phones first once again. “I think Samsung had the products a year ago. That’s what I think.”
Re/code has also published a short excerpt from “How Google Works,” where Schmidt writes about a meeting he had with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2010. During the meeting, Jobs made it clear that he believed Android was based on Apple’s intellectual property, and Schmidt worried that a dispute was brewing.
The two had sat outside at the California-cuisine-oriented cafe, discussing Google’s growing mobile operating system, Android. Steve was convinced that the open-source operating system was built on intellectual property created by Apple. Eric responded that we hadn’t used Apple’s IP and had in fact built Android on our own. But his argument was to no avail. “They are going to fight us,” he thought.
The excerpt goes on to detail the friendship between Jobs and Schmidt and the release of the iPhone in 2007, which led to Schmidt stepping down from Apple’s board due to the similarities between iOS and Android. It also covers the differences between Apple’s closed system compared to Google’s open system, and why both methods work.
Apple’s control model works not just because of Steve Jobs’s excellence, but also because of how he organized the company. At Apple — just like Google — the leaders are product people with technical backgrounds. When you build a team of great, smart creatives, and put the world’s uber-smart creative in charge, then you have a good chance of being right most of the time. And when you are right most of the time, then a highly controlled model can yield tremendous innovation.
Schmidt and Rosenberg’s full 15 minute Bloomberg interview contains additional details on the relationship between Google and Apple and is well worth watching. Their new book, “How Google Works,” can be ordered on Amazon for $24.
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iPhone 6 Subjected to Bend Test, Proves More Durable Than iPhone 6 Plus
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus has been receiving a huge amount of attention over the last day, following reports of users seeing significant bending after placing the phone in a pocket.
A video made yesterday demonstrated the just how far the iPhone 6 Plus is able to bend, and now the video’s creator, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, has created a second video to test the iPhone 6 and several other Samsung devices.
Surprisingly, the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 appears to be much less malleable than the larger iPhone 6 Plus. While the iPhone 6 Plus bent significantly near the volume buttons under the force inflicted by Hilsenteger, he is unable to do as much damage to the iPhone 6. Aside from a small dent, the phone remains intact. “This one is far more durable,” he says.
Based on his preliminary testing, Hilsenteger does not believe that iPhone 6 users will see the same issues that some iPhone 6 Plus users are seeing in regards to bending. As we noted yesterday, it’s unlikely that the force Hilsenteger used in the original video will be replicated inside of a pocket, but photos of bent iPhone 6 Plus devices have suggested that it does not take much force to cause a slight curvature in the device.
Bending issues are not limited to the iPhone 6 Plus, as bending has been seen in prior versions of the iPhone, including the iPhone 5 and 5s.
Apple has not commented on the iPhone 6 Plus bending incidents, but iPhone 6 Plus owners can likely prevent bending by removing the phone from their pockets before sitting or by placing the device in a rigid protective case.
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AIVAnet 