Fukushima nuclear reactor will get mapped with subatomic particles
Scientists from Los Alamos National Lab have discovered how to look through and map just about anything with a new process: the science-fictionally sounding muon tomography. Even in places like the highly radioactive Fukushima reactor, the method doesn’t require any disassembly or any need for x-rays or ultrasound. Instead it logs the movement of muons (of course), a radioactive subatomic particle that exists, well, everywhere. Two giant aluminum sides are put either side of whatever needs looking into, and the system measures the trajectory of these muon particles. From this, the scientists are able sketch the object, given enough of the tiny things.
There’s a drawback however, and it’s time. There’s typically just one muon per square centimeter per minute, says Matt Durham, the paper’s lead author. This means it could take around four to six hours to scan one part of a pipe. Durham doesn’t see it as a huge issue, however: “You could have a guy come in, set up a scanning machine, go off to his other duties, then at the end come back and can make a judgement call.” If an issue is spotted, a more precise scan and inspection would happen. If not, the process continues elsewhere. With assistance from the Los Alamos lab, Toshiba built big, serious version of the muon detector, and plans to place a huge 27-square-foot slab on both sides of the Fukushima plant’s core. Whereas robots have so far struggled, the company hopes the technique will be able to detect and help pinpoint the melted fuel inside.
Photo credit: Associated Press
Filed under: Science
Source: Wired
Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure tells John Legere that T-Mobile’s Un-carrier tactics are “bullshit”
Marcelo Claure is not the man to mess around with in the wireless industry. Why? Because he will directly call bullshit on you. That is exactly what Sprint’s CEO did to John Legere of T-Mobile following the latter’s tactics becoming all too much to handle.
I give credit to @sprint for swinging the bat when they do – but #allin is a swing and a miss, guys!! #sprintlikehell http://t.co/qDxDoK3BY9
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 2, 2015
On Wednesday evening, Legere took a jab at Sprint because of its recent All-In flub that required some changes. In addition to tweeting that the carrier had swung and missed with its new plan, Legere linked to an article from Re/code that highlights disappointment with Sprint.
Claure was not happy.
The Sprint CEO, who is among the highest paid compared to his competitors, launched a series of tweets replying to Legere, claiming that T-Mobile’s new JUMP! On Demand program is a ripoff. Claure says that the program is a trap and Legere’s company has failed to inform consumers that continuously upgrading raises the monthly price. T-Mobile’s business practices, according to Claure, is a “fake show.” The best part from Claure’s tweets comes down to a single word: bullshit. He was so fed up in his very first tweet that he told Legere that T-Mobile’s Un-carrier tactics are “bullshit.”
For those of you unable to keep track of the conversation’s reverse layout, we have organized Claure’s brief rant:
“I am so tired of your Uncarrier bullshit when you are worse than the other two carriers together. Your cheap misleading lease imitation is a joke. You trick people to believe that they have a 15 dollar iphone lease payment when it’s not true. You tell them they can upgrade up to 3x but you don’t tell them the price goes up to 27 dollars when they do. You say one thing but behave completely different. It’s all a fake show. So its really #Tmobilelikehell”
Legere has yet to issue a response to Claure but that will not remain for long. We are guaranteed to see him say or do something over the top to get back at Claure’s frustration becoming apparent.
All I have left to say is that #Tmobilelikehell does not roll off the tongue as well as #sprintlikehell.
Source: Marcelo Claure (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure tells John Legere that T-Mobile’s Un-carrier tactics are “bullshit”
Samsung trademarks the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge has already gained quite the popularity over these past few months since its release. There were rumors earlier stating the existence of a larger version, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. We had some leaks few weeks back depicting the phone in a video as well as a press render leak. But as it is with leaks, there was no solid ground for establishment.
In a new turn of events, today, a USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) filing by Samsung has revealed that the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus ‘may’ indeed be real. I say ‘may’ because, these kind of listings happen almost every other week. It may be nothing more than an attempt towards brand security from Samsung by trademarking the S6 Edge+.
Adding more weight to this ‘stunt’ was the recent filing of the Galaxy S6 Note which was also assumed to be a larger version of the Galaxy S6 Edge. With the arrival of the Galaxy Note 5 intermittent its highly unlikely we’ll see another ‘Note’ device from Samsung before this year(Apart from possibly a Galaxy Note 5 Edge).
Two days back, we saw Samsung’s Project Zero 2 making the news rounds. It is said to be similar to the Galaxy S6 Edge with a larger display and a different processor. This also indicates that Project Zero 2 might be the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Samsung is just creating confusion with the code-name and USPTO filings.
Coming to rumored specs, the Galaxy S6 Edge may have a 5.4 or 5.7 inch Super AMOLED screen with a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chipset. The rest of it, 16 MP primary camera with Optical Image Stabilization and a 5MP front camera, 32GB on board storage, 3GB RAM, 4G LTE connectivity and a fingerprint scanner remain the same.
Nonetheless, it looks like Samsung is prepping up heavily for the second half of the year. News has also been going around that Samsung will have no loose ends to the arrival of Apple iPhone 6S Plus. The Galaxy Note 5 has already been hyped enough to give tough competition to the new Apple iPhone. With the clash of phablets intermittent in the coming months, Samsung might oust the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus soon, just to rival Apple.
Although, releasing both the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus may seem as a very risky strategy for Samsung since both will be flagship phablets. The only difference would be the lack of Note features in the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. Its a win-win for consumers though, since they will get to choose from more devices this fall.
Will you buy the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus(assuming it releases) over the Galaxy Note 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: USPTO
The post Samsung trademarks the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus appeared first on AndroidGuys.
‘Forza Motorsport 6’ will let you drive every Formula E racecar
The first all-electric Formula E season may have just ended in real life, but the racers will keep going when Forza Motorsport 6 arrives. Microsoft announced today that after including a single car from the series as a DLC option for Forza 5, the sequel will include ten versions of the Renault Spark SRT_01E racecar representing each team. Other cars announced today include the 1988 Lamborghini Jalpa, 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C and 1985 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex. The full list of cars announced so far (117 of 450 or so) is available on the official site, but we’ll have to get closer to its September 15th release to see the rest.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Source: ForzaMotorsport.net
Deal: AT&T HTC One M9 available for $449.99 on eBay
Looking for a good deal on a high-end smartphone? We have a pretty sweet one for you. Popular retailer eBay is currently discounting the AT&T HTC One M9 down to a much more comfortable $449.99 price point. It also includes free economy shipping, which makes for an offer you won’t really find elsewhere else so soon after the phone was released.
Is there a catch? Somewhat. The only caveat is this happens to be a refurbished device. The HTC One M9 unit you would get was either returned or defective, but it was fixed and tested it before going back to the store shelves.
Some of you may be a bit bothered by the idea that someone else had your phone for some time, but it’s really a good way to get devices on a discount. Aside from making sure the device is in good working condition, the seller assures you this product comes with an HTC warranty. It’s also worth noting this is an unlocked device, even if it is optimized for AT&T’s network. It should work pretty well with other carriers.
It’s odd to see such a new device going for a low price like this one. The HTC One M9 was released only some months ago, so this may be testament to how little excitement there is over the HTC One M9. We know the manufacturer could have done much better, and their inability to impress the audience is now resulting in abysmal selling numbers. I mean, this flagship phone’s shipments are 43% lower than they were with its predecessor, the HTC One M8.
Their big mistake may have only been that the HTC One M9 is nearly identical to the M8, though. As a phone, the HTC One M9 continues to be a pretty good device, especially if you are a fan of the manufacturer’s superior build quality and design. It’s specs are also up there with the best of the best.
You can go ahead and read our full review of the HTC One M9 to learn all the details. If it convinces you, just head over to eBay’s HTC One M9 page to sign up for this deal. You may want to hurry, as we are not sure how long this deal will last.
Who is signing up?!
Other HTC One M9 videos
.rvs_wrapper
width: 350px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left
float: left;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none
width: 100%;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center
text-align: center;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: none;
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos:not(.align_none) ul li:nth-child(2n+1)
clear: both;
.rvs_title
font-weight: 600 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
font-size: 24px !important;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right .rvs_title
padding-left: 20px;
.rvs_title a
font-family: ‘Roboto Condensed’;
color: #3a3a3a;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
padding-top: 10px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left.cbc-latest-videos ul li,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 15px 0 0;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 0 0 15px;
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a
font-weight: 400;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a .yt-thumbnail
margin-bottom: 0;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
.rvs_wrapper
width: 100%;
text-align: center;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
display: inline-block;
float: none;
vertical-align: top;
Xiaomi Mi 4i kernel source code release
The Xiaomi Mi 4i is one of the best smartphones you can get for around $200. Developers and tinkerers look for something more than just the best bang for the buck, though. They want to be able to create, flash and modify their phones’ software in order to truly customize their experience. The sad news is Xiaomi (like most other Chinese manufacturers) tends to be bad at supporting the developer community.
Today Android developers turns their heads toward the East as Xiaomi releases the kernel source code for the Mi 4i. For those who may not know, the kernel is pretty much the messenger between the software and hardware. If the software wants to initiate a call, raise the volume, power off the device or anything else, it sends a request to the kernel, which then communicates to the actual hardware.
Having access to this kernel source code will enable developers to truly play around with a device and speed up ROM development. We know the Xiaomi Mi 4i will be pretty popular, as are all Xiaomi smartphones. It is amazingly affordable and comes with a Snapdragon 615 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1080p display and a 3120 mAh battery. Honestly, that is much better than the Moto G, and it costs about the same. Read our full Xiaomi Mi 4i review to see what it’s all about.
We are sure this phone will be a hit in some markets. And the fact the kernel source code is now available will make it a much more appealing smartphone to some of you. Developers and consumers have had to wait about 2 months to get this kernel source code, but at the very least it came, which is already a victory. A lot of us weren’t expecting to see this release at all.
Want to tinker with this code? All you have to do is grab the files from GitHub. Go get them!
That’s a little bit racist: Google Photos inadvertently labels people as “gorillas”
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8150504804865896″
data-ad-slot=”8461248232″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Google Photos was a surprising star of the show at Google I/O 2015 with its new recognition feature being the most impressive of the lot. While it sounded almost too good to be true, it turns out it still has a few kinks in it, which developer Jacky Alcine found out it unfortunate fashion. While going through his collection of photos, the African-American Alcine found that he and a female friend had been labelled as “gorillas” by the recognition feature, and vented his dismay on Twitter:
And it’s only photos I have with her it’s doing this with (results truncated b/c personal): pic.twitter.com/h7MTXd3wgo
— diri noir avec banan (@jackyalcine) June 29, 2015
Unsurprisingly, Google‘s Chief Social Architect Yonatan Zunger was on the case quickly and understandably apologetic: “Holy [expletive]. G+ CA here. No, this is not how you determine someone’s target market. This is 100 percent not okay.” Zunger then worked with Alcine to investigate an issue so that a fix could be rolled out to Photos as soon as possible. Ironically, Zunger also divulged that the Photos app had a similar problem early in development when it would label normal humans as “dogs”. In an official statement given to Ars Technica, Google said:
“We’re appalled and genuinely sorry that this happened. We are taking immediate action to prevent this type of result from appearing. There is still clearly a lot of work to do with automatic image labeling, and we’re looking at how we can prevent these types of mistakes from happening in the future.”
What do you think about this Google Photos hiccup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Ars Technica via BGR
The post That’s a little bit racist: Google Photos inadvertently labels people as “gorillas” appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Jony Ive Officially Takes ‘Chief Design Officer’ Title at Apple
Apple senior executive Jonathan Ive has officially assumed the role of “Chief Design Officer” at Apple effective today, after being promoted from his previous role of “Senior Vice President of Design” nearly six weeks ago. Apple has updated Ive’s executive profile on its leadership website to reflect the design chief’s new position as Apple’s third active C-level executive alongside CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.
Apple announced in a company-wide email last month that Ive would be promoted to Chief Design Officer on July 1 and turn over his day-to-day management of the company’s design teams to Richard Howarth and Alan Dye, who have both been elevated to vice president positions. Ive will remain responsible for all of Apple’s design, with a focus on redesigning Apple Stores and other larger projects.
Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5000 design and utility patents to his name. His new role is a reflection of the scope of work he has been doing at Apple for some time. Jony’s design responsibilities have expanded from hardware and, more recently, software UI to the look and feel of Apple retail stores, our new campus in Cupertino, product packaging and many other parts of our company.
Ive spoke with The Telegraph journalist Stephen Fry last month about his decision to relinquish some of his control, stating that he is still in charge of Apple’s design departments without needing to focus on administrative and management work, responsibilities that will now fall under his lieutenants Howarth and Dye. The move had been widely expected for several years.
When I catch up with Ive alone, I ask him why he has seemingly relinquished the two departments that had been so successfully under his control. “Well, I’m still in charge of both,” he says, “I am called Chief Design Officer. Having Alan and Richard in place frees me up from some of the administrative and management work which isn’t … which isn’t …”
“Which isn’t what you were put on this planet to do?”
“Exactly. Those two are as good as it gets.”
Ive has been a full-time Apple employee since 1992, and rumors about him scaling back at the company have gained momentum over the years. Ive in the past has expressed his desire to spend more time in his native England, where he grew up, and his promotion will enable him to travel more often and possibly work remotely at times. Ive and his family currently live in an upscale neighborhood in San Francisco.
California kill switch bill goes into effect today – all phones to come with theft protection
Smartphone theft is a huge problem – one that costs mobile consumers about $2.5 billion a year. California is one of the first to take action by introducing a law that requests every phone sold in the state to include what has been commonly referred as a “kill switch”.
California bill SB-962 was finalized last August, when we were also informed the new regulation would go into effect starting July 1st 2015. Fast-forward nearly a year later and we are seeing things come to fruition. The day has come and the law goes into effect immediately.
For those who may be out of the loop, a kill switch is a system (hardware or software) that deems a smartphone unusable if reported stolen. Apple has been implementing its own technology for some time, but they are no longer alone. In fact, a long list of manufacturers, carriers and tech companies are backing this movement, including Google, Microsoft, Samsung and HTC.
Our beloved Google kept its promise to provide an effective kill switch with the introduction of Android Lollipop. It comes in the form of Factory Reset Protection, which allows smartphone owners to set a password the user would need to input before a factory data reset is performed. This, in combination with Android Device Manager (which can lock phones remotely), makes for a full kill switch method without any loopholes.
How many of us have gotten our smartphones stolen? It has happened to most of us, which means something definitely had to be done. Not everyone was for this kill switch idea. In fact, it was voted down by the senate at first, and those who make a profit out of phone insurances (carriers, insurance companies and the CTIA) were not too happy about the possibility of losing part of its $7.8 billion yearly profits.
The issue here is that this is a proven method and it’s already reducing smartphone theft! Kill switch systems have been put into effect by some companies before the law required phone makers to do so, and it’s doing wonders. Though about 2.1 million Americans had their smartphones stolen in 2014, this is a huge improvement over 2013.
Theft went down by 32%. More specifically, New York saw a 16% drop in handset robberies, and Apple phones had a 25% decrease in losses. Another report published this February also indicates San Francisco’s theft numbers went down by 40% in the last 12 months, while London was the star with a whopping 50% reduction. And it makes total sense! If every phone out there will be unusable when stolen, thieves will have very little incentive to steal them. That is, unless they want an amazing paper weight.
Even with all these advancements, though, 2.1 million thefts in 2014 is a big number. We certainly need to do better than that. For starters, people need to make sure they know how to protect themselves and actually use these kill switches. The implementation of this law keeps you protected only if you know how to operate the tools handed to you. We all still need to educate ourselves; only then can we make kill switches ubiquitous, and hence, effective.
How many of you guys have used these kill switches? Did it ever actually help you recover your device? Do you think kill switches are even the answer? Hit the comments and share your thoughts with all of us.
Google and Yubico offering Security Key USB drives for 50% off!
Google and Yubico are partnering up to offer eligible customers a 50% discount on Yubico’s U2F Security Keys. This would bring the price down to $9, which is a significant discount over the original $18 price point. It sure is a good deal, especially when considering some companies buy these for many of their employees.
The offer is only applicable to Google for Work users, who happen to be the main target for Google’s Security Key USB thumb drives. Not sure what Security Keys are? These USB drives offer a stronger 2-step verification process that doesn’t sacrifice your precious time.
No longer do Google for Work users need to enter a password and a code sent to their smartphones every time they want to log into a secure document or account. With Security Keys, Google allows users to replace the smartphone code with hardware verification. Simply plug in a USB thumb drive into the computer and press a button when prompted. The system then recognizes your credentials and grants you access.
It’s a simple concept that also manages to keep your account secure. We all know password security is flawed in most cases, as intruders can sometimes steal your credentials with amazing ease. Not to mention, IT departments have complete control of these Security Keys. Managers can track when and where members used their Security Keys; they can also revoke the key if needed.
It’s truly a great product for those who care about security and use Google for Work. Interested customers can go to Yubico’s website and see if their Google account is supported. If it is, simply order as many Yubico U2F Security Keys as you want and go through the purchasing process as one normally would. The discount will be applied during checkout – no codes or coupons needed.
We are also not sure how long this deal will be around, so you may want to act quickly. By the way, this special edition Security Key only supports FIDO U2F. Those who need additional protocol support will have to dig deeper into the Yubico store, and this discount won’t apply then.
How many of you guys have used one of these Security Keys? Are they really as awesome as they seem? Let us know in the comments! I also have to wonder if we will ever see consumer versions of these coming to the market. I wouldn’t mind trying one of these out!
AIVAnet 
