Researchers use creepy robo-baby to figure out why infants smile
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a robotic infant to test a hypothesis that babies can (and regularly do) manipulate their mothers into smiling on command. Turns out that your 4-month-old progeny is a lot craftier than you thought.
The team first observed the interaction between 13 mother-child pairs and analyzed them along four categories: how often just the kid smiled, how often just the mother smiled, how often both smiled and how often neither smiled. This initial study, which assumed that each party was attempting to influence the other, found that mothers most often tried to maximize the time both they and their kids were smiling. Their babies, on the other hand, most often smiled only as a means of getting their mothers to do the same. That is, moms were primarily motivated to make both parties smile while babies were almost exclusively in it just to be smiled at.
Using the statistical analysis from this initial study, the team then programmed this mechanical monstrosity, named Diego-San (what, was “nightmare fuel” already taken?), to smile like biological babies do. They then set Diego loose on 32 undergrad test subjects. According to the team’s study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS One, “the duration of participant-only smiling was significantly longer for the controller based on the inferred infant goals than for each of the other 3 control conditions.” Which is exactly what real babies are after. In fact, the study concluded that “infants exhibited sophisticated timing behaviors to achieve their goals.” In short, these kids are using all of their cunning to effectively trick their parental units into doing exactly what they want: smiling at them.
Via: Spectrum IEEE
Source: PLOS One
Apple fixes an iOS 9 bug that kept you from upgrading
The launch of iOS 9 was supposed to be a joyous occasion if you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, but it didn’t always work out that way. A bug left some stuck on the “slide to upgrade” screen, preventing them from using their gear unless they rolled back to iOS 8 or started fresh. If you’re one of those glitch victims, you’ll be glad to hear that relief is in sight: Apple has released an iOS 9.0.1 update that (you guessed it) makes sure you get past that upgrade screen. It also tackles a few other hiccups that could sour your initial experience, including one that prevented some alarms and timers from playing. As such, you’ll probably want to check for the update right away. And if it’s too late to avoid the worst, Apple’s support site (linked above) has a guide to getting your device back to normal.
Via: Computerworld
Source: Apple
Chevy’s Android Auto update will reach cars in March
Buying a brand new Chevy with the hopes of using Android Auto during your daily commute? You’ll have to sit tight for a while before that dream becomes reality. The car maker has announced that an Android Auto software update will only reach its 2016 model year vehicles this March, starting with those which have 8-inch MyLink touchscreen systems. That’s going to be a long half-year wait if you’re eager to get Google Maps directions through the center stack. The good news? Chevy is promising that all vehicles with 7- and 8-inch MyLink displays (ranging from the Spark to the Corvette) will eventually have Android Auto, so you won’t have to drive one of the brand’s swankier machines to get a smartphone-powered infotainment deck.
Source: Chevrolet
[APK inside] Get the Note 5’s Screen-Off Memo feature for your Note 3 or 4
For some, the Screen-Off Memo feature is one of the biggest selling points of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. I personally have a friend who was sold on the device after hearing how he could eject the S-Pen, take a quick note, re-insert the pen and the phone just saved it for future viewing. It’s one of the most simple and useful features on any phone out there.
But if you had a Note 3 or a Note 4, you were out of luck. Until now.
Both the Note 3 and Note 4 have the famous S-Pen but the feature didn’t exist for the two phones. Now user xperiacle from XDA Developers has released an APK you can download and install to gain the feature. Xperiacle is a “Recognized Developer” on XDA who has made many contributions to the community. Note that this isn’t a port of the feature from the Note 5, it’s an app the developer wrote themselves to emulate the functionality.
If you’re interested in obtaining the Screen-Off Memo feature for your Note, head on over to XDA developers. Make sure you read the entire post before installing anything. The app is easy to use but please make sure you’re informed before you decide to make the leap and use any app you can install from outside the Play Store.
Source: SamMobile
The post [APK inside] Get the Note 5’s Screen-Off Memo feature for your Note 3 or 4 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Deal: Kmashi 15,000 mAh external battery pack only $13.50!
Battery, battery, battery. This little block inside every mobile device out there has us going crazy on the daily. There’s nothing worse than running out of juice in the middle of the day, especially during those times when you can’t simply tether yourself to a wall and charge up. It is these times when you realize a portable battery pack is more necessary than we wish it was – these things are life savers!
Looking to get a portable charger? There’s plenty of options out there, but we must say you would be hard pressed to find a deal that beats today’s offer on the Kmashi 15,000 mAh portable battery pack. Usually priced at $59.99, the battery is currently on sale for $19.99. On top of that, customers can use coupon code “YURUURCO” to get an extra $6.49 off, effectively bringing the price down to $13.50! Shipping is free for Prime users or if you spend over $35 in your order.
That is a lot of battery for the price, guys. Just to put it into perspective, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a 3,000 mAh battery. This Kmashi battery has 5 times more battery than the latest Samsung phablet! The battery comes fully packed with a microUSB energy input, a couple full size USB ports (2A and 1A) a switch and a battery indicator light.
You really can’t go wrong with this one, so go ahead and buy one if you are on the search for a good battery pack. Who is signing up?
The Big Picture: Los Angeles’ light pollution, as seen from space
What you see above is a stunning image of California (and surrounding areas), captured from space by astronaut Scott Kelly. But what quickly stands out is Los Angeles, with its bright lights shining through and morphing into one massive, glowing spot. As Quartz points out, this shows the city’s massive light pollution problem — which, in the past, has been subject to countless research pieces and even a Kickstarter book/video series. City of Angels? More like City of Lights.
#California, your bright lights invite this morning. #GoodMorning from @Space_Station! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/g3zN9TaYUf
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) September 23, 2015
Via: Quartz
Source: Scott Kelly (Twitter)
Microsoft teams up with Baidu to push Windows 10 in China
Microsoft has struck a partnership with Chinese internet giant Baidu, as it continues to focus on getting people on Windows 10. Via blog post, the Redmond-based firm said the idea behind this business alliance is to make it easy for Baidu customers to upgrade to its new OS, as well as offer personalized browsing and searching experiences for users in China. For example, Baidu.com — which has more than 600 million active users — will become the default homepage and search engine for Microsoft’s Edge browser. In return, Baidu is expected to bring standalone, universal apps for cloud, search, maps and video over to Windows 10. Microsoft adds there are currently 10 million devices running the fresh operating system in that country, a huge chunk of the reported 45 million-plus total number.
Source: Microsoft
New leak shows colors of the HTC One A9
Being less than a week away from HTC’s announcement event scheduled for September 29th is yielding a significant uptick in leaks regarding one of the smartphones they are expected to reveal, the HTC One A9. HTC will be competing for attention that day against none other than Google which is expected to officially announce Android 6.0 Marshmallow and their new Nexus smartphones. So it may not be a surprise to see news leaking out to help garner some interest for HTC, like a newly posted image that appears to show several color options for the HTC One A9.
Thanks to Evan Blass (@evleaks) we have our second look at the HTC One A9 just today. The first image was a close-up of the device being held in someone’s hand. This new image looks like it may be some marketing material. The image shows the front, back and one side of the HTC One A9 in six different colors. The colors include Acid Gold, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet, Carbon Gray, Rose Gold, and Cast Iron.
In response to the Twitter post by @evleaks, some have noted that the device shows on-screen buttons, including a home button, in addition to the physical button that has been noted on the device. Most people believe the physical button is a combination fingerprint scanner and home button, but with a software home button, it may just be a fingerprint scanner.
Anyone out there considering this smartphone from HTC?
source: Evan Blass (Twitter – @evleaks)
Come comment on this article: New leak shows colors of the HTC One A9
Vertu’s posh smartphone is probably more powerful than yours
If you’re going to shell out $9,900 or more on a smartphone, you’re either nuts or you’ve really made it in life. Or both. Either way, Vertu’s done its part by updating its flagship luxury smartphone line, the Signature Touch, with pretty much all the best specs available in the current market. As CEO Max Pogliani put it, this “is the most complete Vertu smartphone that we have ever produced.” Most notably, this new titanium device runs on Android 5.1 and packs an octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset with 4GB of RAM, along with 64GB of internal storage plus another 64GB on the included microSD card (expandable up to 2TB). Funny how at a time when mainstream players like Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus are staying away from microSD expansion, Vertu found no issues with this feature and has therefore chosen to side with spec-hungry folks like us this time.
“It is the most complete Vertu smartphone that we have ever produced.”
While this new model may look similar to its predecessor, it is slightly bigger and heavier thanks to its larger 5.2-inch 1080p LCD — a notable jump from the old 4.7-inch offering — and thus a larger piece of scratch-proof sapphire screen. The more generous 3,160 mAh battery may have made a contribution here as well. Other not-so-obvious additions here include Quick Charge 2.0, support for more LTE bands and up to 300 Mbps of downlink via carrier aggregation. Don’t worry, the cool ceramic ear pillow, ruby key, front-facing stereo speakers, Qi wireless charging, NFC and aptX Bluetooth audio on the previous model are here to stay.
Moving on to cameras, the main imager has been upgraded to a 21-megapixel resolution with f/2.2 aperture (though f/2.0 à la Moto X Pure Edition would be better), a dual-tone LED flash, phase detection auto-focus and 4K video recording. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is stuck with the same old 2.1-megapixel resolution, so hopefully there’s at least some improvement in image quality. To our surprise, gone is the Hasselblad partnership, but Vertu has since recruited ArcSoft to focus on the camera’s software. We’ll just have to wait and see if the results are any good.
The most noticeable design change is on the phone’s back plate, where you can twist the round latch to flip open the new “dramatic” gull-wing doors to access the Nano SIM slot and microSD slot. As before, under the right flap, you’ll find the laser-etched signature of the craftsman who was solely responsible for your handmade device back in Church Crookham, England. There’s also space on other parts of the back plate for personal engraving, because if you’re paying so much for a smartphone, you might as well make it truly yours, right?
Of course, we haven’t forgotten the most important element of Vertu phones: services. With the new Signature Touch, Vertu’s “Dedicated Concierge” — a service that provides a single point of contact to act as your personal assistant — is now complimentary for 18 months instead of just 12. According to Pogliani, this feature has proven to be a big driver for customer loyalty and likeness to repurchase a Vertu handset, especially since he drastically improved the relevance, quality, frequency and number of privileges offered to his customers over the last two years. Other features such as encrypted communication by Silent Circle and global WiFi access by iPass are still included.
“With a growing global appreciation and understanding of the term ‘luxury tech’, the opportunities ahead of us are many,” the exec added.
The new Signature Touch will be available globally from mid-October, with prices ranging from £6,500 (about $9,900) all the way to £13,700 (about $20,900), depending on your combination of colors and materials: Jet Calf, Garnet Calf, Grape Lizard, Pure Jet Lizard, Jet Alligator, Pure Navy Alligator, Clous de Paris Alligator and Pure Jet Red Gold.
reTXT now lets you make encrypted voice calls
reTXT, the magical app that lets you edit or delete messages even after they are sent, is now adding encrypted voice calling to its list of features. The “one touch” calling feature is completely secure thanks to end-to-end encryption, and it even lets users to make conference calls.
“The ability to call from within the reTXT messaging app, makes it easy for users on the move who frequently shift from text message to voice calls as well as for those group texts that require a vocal discussion rather than a multitude of texts,” said reTXT Labs co-founder and COO Eric Marcus.
reTXT is the only app that truly encrypts data as it does not store messages in a server farm, and messages cannot be viewed by any third party or government agency, a statement released by reTXT Labs read.
Available of Android as well as iPhone, reTXT is a paid app but it becomes free when a user gets three invitations from existing reTXT users.
Full Press Release
reTXT Adds “One-Touch” Calling to its Messaging Application
Non-intrusive calling feature makes it easy to call, text and surf the web all at the same time
TEMPE, Arizona, Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — reTXT Labs, creator of reTXT, today introduced encrypted voice calls to its secure and private multi-platform mobile messaging app that allows users to update, delete or clarify messages they have already sent. Adding voice calling to its list of features, reTXT continues to alleviate the frustration of mobile communications by removing the need to text, “call me” during a conversation, and by enabling group texts to become conference calls with one tap. The calling features, just as with all the messaging features, is secured using end-to-end encryption.
Subscription Update:
reTXT is free for everyone when three invitations are sent to non-users of the application. Download on the App Storeand Google Play Store.In addition to the calling feature, reTXT eases frustrations with traditional texting by allowing users to:
- Clarify misunderstood messages
- Edit sent messages
- Delete sent messages
- Opt in or out of group messages
- Name group messages
- Share location with one tap
- Access camera quickly to send photo and video messages
- Access microphone quickly to send voice messages
- View all non-textual media in each conversation via media browser
- Encrypt all messages end-to-end
reTXT’s clarifying feature, ability to edit previously sent messages and the ability to opt in and out of group messages are allpatent pending.
“The ability to call from within the reTXT messaging app, makes it easy for users on the move who frequently shift from text message to voice calls as well as for those group texts that require a vocal discussion rather than a multitude of texts,” said reTXT Labs co-founder and COO Eric Marcus. “Along with reTXT’s editing features utilized in text, photo, video and voice messages, the new calling feature also employs end-to-end encryption, meaning nobody can intrude on the calls our users make or texts they send.”
reTXT the First Truly Secure Messaging Application for Consumers reTXT is the only messaging application that employs end-to-end encryption, which provides uninterrupted protection of data traveling between two parties, for all messages and VOIP calls, regardless of content or device. The sending device is able to encrypt each message such that only the receiving device can decrypt it. Unlike other messaging applications, reTXT does not store messages in a server farm, and messages cannot be viewed by any third party or government agency. Only reTXT has these features on both iOS and Android.
About reTXT Labs
reTXT Labs is the creator of reTXT, the world’s first multi-platform, multi-device mobile messaging application employing features that allow users to clarify sent messages, edit sent messages and delete sent messages. Available for iOS and Android devices, reTXT can be used across multiple devices on the same account and uses end-to-end encryption to provide privacy and security for its users’ messages. For more information on reTXT, visit retxt.com.
Come comment on this article: reTXT now lets you make encrypted voice calls
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