Apple Reportedly Opening New R&D Center in Cambridge, England
Apple is planning to open a new facility that includes research and development operations in Cambridge, England within the next few weeks, reports Business Weekly (via MacGeneration).
90 Hills Road, which is said to be location of Apple’s new offices in Cambridge
The company’s new offices are said to be located at 90 Hills Road, which is described as a prestigious corporate building and is located near the likes of headquarters belonging to Microsoft and Sony. More than 1000 technology companies have established offices in Cambridge since 1998, with the region earning the nickname of “Silicon Fen” in reference to Silicon Valley. Other companies including microprocessor manufacturer ARM and wireless communications company Broadcom also have campuses in Cambridge.
According to the report, Apple is aiming to start with 20 employees in its new offices, and will look to grow to a total of 40 employees in the coming year. The UK was also said to be working hard for the past 25 years to persuade Apple to establish an office in Britain. Apple has numerous R&D centers around the world, including buildings in Israel, Shanghai, Taiwan, and more.
Sainsbury’s new app will let you skip the checkout
Scan-and-pay isn’t a new concept inside Britain’s major supermarkets, but Sainsbury’s is keen to ensure it plays a key role in its shopping future. The grocery chain today announced that it will soon begin trialling a new shopping app that’s designed to cut down the time spent doing the weekly the shop. According to Sainsbury’s, the app will let customers fill their baskets using their phone, guide them to the in-store location of their chosen products, and then let them scan and pay. Everything is handled inside the app, which skips the checkout to reportedly cut down bagging and payment time to “seconds.” Although Sainsbury’s has also teamed up with Zapp to let you pay at the checkout using your mobile from early next year, a spokesperson tells us that the two payment systems will be independent of each other. The supermarket says it will begin trialling the system with its own teams in the coming weeks, before rolling it out to Nectar cardholders sometime in 2015.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Sainsbury’s
Arduino sensors let ballerinas ‘paint’ with their pointes
What if you could paint with your shoes? Electronic Traces is a pair ballet pointe shoes that sends a dancer’s movements to a nearby smartphone. Using Lilypad Arduinos, they record pressure and movement whenever they touch the ground. This data can then be visualized by an accompanying app, allowing dancers to view their performances after the fact, or compare them to others’.
Electronic Traces is the degree project of Lesia Trubat, a designer who graduated from Barcelona’s prestigious ELISAVA design school. Turbot has high hopes for the shoes, hoping the methods applied can be of use to other dance disciplines, and that they can aid in dance classes. Additionally, they could be used to bring an additional visual layer to dance performances, as demonstrated in the video below.
Filed under: Wearables
Via: Prosthetic Knowledge, Make
Source: Lesia Trubat
Android 5.0 Lollipop for the LG G3 leaked just a day after being officially announced
Man do these guys move quick. Just a day after LG officially announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop for the LG G3 was coming next week, we already have a leak of the software for some of you lucky people to enjoy. The leaked build is specifically for the F400S variant of the LG G3, so it probably won’t be useful to all of you LG G3-toting folk, but for those who do, we can’t wait to see how it turns out for you. If you are interested in checking out, make sure to head over to the XDA forum page here where the original post was.
LG surprised us all yesterday with its announcement to start rolling out Android Lollipop this week, albeit start only in Poland, but it’s still likely to be the first Android device to be updated. Notably, this update comes before even Nexus and Motorola devices which have held the honour of first cab off the rank previously. Seems like it’s going to be a race to see who can update their devices next or before the Holiday season.
What do you think about Android 5.0 Lollipop for the LG G3 being released first out of all smartphones? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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BBC gives Radio 1 its own video channel on iPlayer
In a bid to serve the differing radio tastes of the nation, the BBC’s line-up of numerical stations have provided live broadcasts and catch-up content for a number of years. Radio 1, which primarily serves around 40 percent of Brits between the age of 15 and 24, has experimented on YouTube and various social networks to engage more with its listeners, but the lure of iPlayer appears to have proved too strong. Today, the radio station has got a new dedicated presence on the Beeb’s streaming service, offering access to an array of live and on-demand video from Radio 1’s live events. It launches with plenty of content, including Live Lounges with Taylor Swift, Teen Awards coverage and a brand new chart show, putting more “Watch” in the station’s Listen, Watch, Share tagline.
Filed under: Internet
Via: BBC Blog
Source: BBC iPlayer (Radio 1)
Fitbit’s activity trackers vanish from Apple’s online store
Those rumors of Apple pulling Fitbit activity trackers from its stores appear to have been well-founded. SlashGear and others have noticed that Fitbit’s gear is no longer available from Apple’s online store; search for “Fitbit” and you’ll come up empty.. We’ve reached out to Apple for more details of what’s going on, although many have suggested that the forced exit is due to Fitbit’s refusal to share tracking data with iOS 8’s Health app. Apple typically sells accessories that are showcases for its products, and it might not want to offer a less-than-complete fitness experience in its shops — even if you’d likely be happy in the long run. The disappearance is unfortunate if you were hoping to pick up a Fitbit Charge alongside that new iPhone, but there will still be plenty of other outlets willing to take your cash.
Via: SlashGear, Phone Arena
Source: Apple Store
Raspberry Pi’s new computer is somehow even smaller and cheaper
Everyone’s favorite mini-computer has just gotten even smaller. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is today introducing the Model A+, a revamped version of its low-end Model A board priced at just $20 (£20 in the UK). While the processor and RAM — a Broadcom BCM2835 SoC and 256MB, to be specific — remain the same as its predecessor, the new model is far smaller at just 65mm (2.6 inches) in length versus the old model’s 86mm (3.4 inches). It also draws less power and has improved audio circuitry.
The two other changes are directly taken from the higher-end Model B+. The Model A+ replaces the A’s SD Card storage with MicroSD, and adds another 14 GPIO (General-purpose input-output) pins, bringing the total up to 40. This increase facilitates compatibility with the add-on boards introduced back in July. The Model A+ is available immediately in both the US and the UK, and while the Pi might not necessarily need to be any smaller, cutting down on size and price will definitely help get the foundation’s work into more peoples’ hands.
Source: Raspberry Pi Foundation blog
Harvard used cameras to track attendance without telling students
You’ve probably had professors that got on your case for missing class, but they don’t hold a candle to what Harvard University’s faculty tried this past spring. The institution conducted an experiment that used surveillance cameras to track attendance, snapping photos that a computer analyzed to determine the number of empty seats in a given lecture hall. While the system couldn’t identify individual students, the school didn’t tell the 2,000 people involved that they were under watch — they had no way to object to the test.
The researchers say they otherwise followed the right steps, including submitting the experiment to a review board in advance and deleting the photos as soon as everything wrapped up. However, the decision to spy on students has still triggered enough of an uproar that Harvard is rethinking its strategy. The university is handing the issue to an oversight committee that was already looking into worries about email, and the review board will now refer these sorts of studies to the undergraduate Dean’s office and (hopefully) prevent ethics violations before they happen. It’s not clear if other institutions will pay attention to this incident and avoid intrusive technology in the classroom, but it at least serves as an important precedent.
[Image credit: Darren McCollester via Getty Images]
Via: Boston Globe, The Verge
Source: Harvard Crimson
Nexus 6 Inventory Expected to suffer in the Coming Months
Google has definitely had problems with inventory issues before (remember the Nexus 4?), and it seems this year won’t be any different. As the holiday season nears, Google and Motorola are still sold out of the new flagship, despite the $300 increase in price from last year’s model. As soon as Google receives new inventory on the Play Store, it immediately sells out.
Unfortunately, if you were thinking your Nexus 6 would come from your carrier, guess again. T-Mobile will get the device in stores November 12th, but Inventory will be limited. Demo devices will be aplenty though, so if you’re second-guessing the screen size, you can try it out. Other carriers will most likely not be receiving the device for a few weeks.
So, what’s the gameplan? Will you be waiting for you carrier to have Motorola’s Nexus 6 in stock, or are you going to try to catch Google on a good day? Is the Nexus 6 not for you? Leave a comment below and let us know what you plan to do.
Source: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Nexus 6 Inventory Expected to suffer in the Coming Months
More Details on Project Ara
Project Ara is quickly becoming one of the most interesting Google tech projects of the year. As everyone is extremely excited, everything we learn is very important. Google has its latest working prototype and showed it to the world at Expand NY, and it’s pretty exciting.
The Technical Project Lead over the Modular Phone project, Paul Eremenko, showed up and introduced some new modules for the smartphone, like a Pulse Oximeter that can measure blood oxygen using light. Eremenko also showed how the modules can be undocked and removed without bricking up the device.
The prototype wasn’t beautiful by any means, but it still was functional and practical. Based on the ripples the device is making and the implications of mass adoption of this technology, Project Ara is definitely worth watching over the next two months before release.
I know I will be purchasing a Google modular phone when it is available for purchase. What about you? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Source: Engadget
Come comment on this article: More Details on Project Ara
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