OpenROV Trident underwater drone blows up on Kickstarter
OpenROV’s Kickstarter campaign for the Trident drone still has 45 days left, but it has already raised six times its $50,000 goal. It’s not another quadcopter or glider, though, it’s a remote-controlled, camera-equipped underwater UAV. The Trident isn’t OpenROV’s first underwater drone — in fact, the team raised funds via Kickstarter years ago for another model, as well. However, the Trident has a more hydrodynamic design, a wedge-like body that can move more efficiently and slip through narrow gaps in between rocks or other objects. Plus, it’s small enough to carry in a backpack and to fit under a plane seat when traveling.
Like its name implies, the Trident’s software is open-source and allows users to add capabilities as they see fit. Out of the box, though, it can already do a lot of things, including running a lawnmower pattern, so it can capture images or videos (1080p at 30fps) of a patch of sea floor and create a 3D model of the area. Unfortunately, the cheapest options are already gone on Kickstarter, and the cheapest amount you can pledge to get a unit, which comes with an 82 feet tether and a topside buoy, is $799.
Filed under:
Robots
Source:
Kickstarter, OpenROV
Tags: drone, kickstarter, openrovtriden
Facebook will display missing child alerts in UK News Feeds
Facebook’s enormous userbase makes it a powerful tool for distributing public service announcements. To maximise this potential, the company is introducing “Child Rescue Alerts” in the UK today, which will appear in your News Feed with crucial information about a recently missing person. Instead of a blanket broadcast, however, Facebook will usually filter these alerts so they’re only visible to people nearby. The idea being that if you’re within a designated search area, there’s a better chance you’ll have seen the missing person, or be able to keep a look out for anyone matching their description. Of course, you can also share these alerts to everyone in your network, increasing their reach.
The first six hours in a missing child case are often called the “golden hours” — a critical period holding the best odds of their safe return. With Facebook’s new alert system, crucial information — a description and a photo of the child, as well as their last known location — should spread more quickly than before, giving police the best available intelligence. Facebook says the alerts will only be issued if a child’s life is in danger, or they’re believed to be at risk of serious harm — so if you see one in your feed, you should give it your full attention. “While we of course hope that we don’t have to use this system, this partnership with Facebook will make a huge difference in extending the number of eyes and ears on the ground when the worst happens,” Jo Youle, CEO of Missing People said.
Filed under:
Internet, Facebook
Tags: alert, childrescuealert, facebook, missingchild, MissingChildren
Big banks want to adopt Bitcoin tech for the financial sector
Whenever you make a Bitcoin transaction, it’s recorded on a public ledger called “blockchain.” Now, a handful of big banks have partnered (PDF) with New York firm R3 to adopt the cryptocurrency’s database system for use in finance. These nine banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays, will help the firm develop standards and agree on the underlying architecture that the sector will use. After that, they will decide where the software can be applied and then test it out to be sure. Due to the way blockchain works, it has many potential applications: for instance, it could speed up the process of tracking ownerships or the transfer of assets between two people.
The Senior Vice President of Emerging Technologies at State Street, Hu Liang, believes “these new technologies could transform how financial transactions are recorded, reconciled and reported — all with additional security, lower error rates and significant cost reductions.” For this new system to be effective, though, all banks and everyone else in the financial market must agree to use it. In addition to the financial sector, IBM has also been eyeing Bitcoin’s blockchain technology: the corporation is also working to adopt it for use on a new international payment platform.
[Image credit: btckeychain/Flickr]
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
Recode
Source:
R3 (PDF)
Tags: banks, bitcoin, blockchain, finance, wallstreet
Last Chance: Enter for your chance to win a Nexus 6 AND Nexus 9
All the deals that we’ve been featuring here at AndroidGuys, have required you to make some type of purchase. Not today. Today’s “Deal” is a giveaway, where you can enter for a chance to win both the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.
We last ran this giveaway back in the beginning of August, but thanks to Stack Commerce, we are bringing it back. All you need to do, in order to enter, is head on over to our Deals page, sign up for AndroidGuys Deals powered by StackCommerce, and voila, you’re entered.
Nexus 6
…
The Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 are the two latest Nexus devices to be released from Google. Even though there are rumors swirling around a Nexus 5 2015, and a Huawei Nexus, these are still two great devices to get your hands on. Let alone the fact that if you win, you don’t just get one or the other, you win BOTH!
If you want even more of a chance to win these great Nexus devices, once you’ve signed in, you will be provided with some links to share on social media. If you convince your friends and followers to enter, your chances of winning are increased, giving you more of a chance to get these awesome devices.
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals Page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
The post Last Chance: Enter for your chance to win a Nexus 6 AND Nexus 9 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nova Launcher 4.1.0-beta2 arrives with new customization features
A new beta version of Nova Launcher has arrived, bringing with it a selection of tweaks to help further customize your home screen just to your liking. The latest update includes a new search bar skin and automatic icon size normalizing.
If you don’t like the new colorful search bar implemented by Google recently, you can now swap it out for a greyscale variant inspired by Android Marshmallow. Nova Launcher includes a selection of persistent search bar options, ranging from classic to modern designs. You can find them located under Desktop > Persistent Search Bar in the app’s options menu.
Nova users who love to mix and match their icons will probably also get some use out of the new “Normalize Icon Size” option, which is located under Look and Feel. This shrinks down any overly large icons to make them fit with the Material Design guidelines, which should help tie your theme together.
The latest beta version also includes a couple of under the hood tweaks. Runtime permission have been implemented for Android Marshmallow and there are a selection of optimizations and bug fixes for everyone.
If you aren’t already participating in the Nova Launcher beta program, head on over to this link to join up. You can download the app for free from Google Play.
Sony clarifies its new waterproof guidelines, still sounds ambiguous
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Last week it was revealed that Sony had changed its waterproof guidelines slightly, with a statement on its support website telling users to “remember not to use the device underwater”. Well, Sony has come out to clarify its new waterproof guidelines, and well, they said pretty much what we expected them to. Here’s their full statement:
“Sony Mobile is committed to providing the highest standards of product quality and customer service. Xperia models that feature levels of dust and water-resistance are validated independently and based on Ingress Protection (IP) standards agreed and used across the industry. We have every confidence in the qualities of Xperia devices, which are built to exacting technical standards and are designed to perform to high standards in normal usage.
“The recent changes to guidance we provide to our customers are designed to more clearly illustrate the best ways to protect devices in day-to-day usage. We communicate necessary precautions, and the specific parameters of ingress protection ratings, to help customers to protect their smartphones and tablets in line with the applicable warranty we provide.
“We have also recently updated our marketing visuals to better advocate sensible usage of our devices. The warranty terms provided for our products remain the same and any customer concerns will continue to be considered on a case by case basis in line with these terms.”
If you’re finding it hard to cut through the diplomatic language, basically what Sony is saying is that they design their devices with certain waterproof capabilities in mind, but reserve the right to judge on a case-by-case basis whether a warranty claim is legitimate or not. It’s a little bit disappointing that Sony has had to change its standpoint on this – no doubt because it’s costing them quite a bit in warranty claims – but business is business and Sony has to protect themselves somehow.
What do you think about Sony’s new waterproof guidelines? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: XperiaBlog
The post Sony clarifies its new waterproof guidelines, still sounds ambiguous appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Moto X Style and Moto 360 (2015) are now available to pre-order in the UK
The Moto X Play has been available to buy in the UK for a couple of weeks now, but readers who have waited to get their hands on Motorola’s Moto X Style and Moto 36 (2015) can rejoice! You can now pre-order your preferred device directly from Motorola’s online store in the UK.
The 32GB Moto X Style can be pre-ordered for £399, providing you don’t choose to add a custom wood or leather rear panel via Moto Maker which bill bump the price up another £20. For another £35 you can snag the 64GB version, which is quite reasonable. Unlike some handset manufacturers (I won’t mention Samsung or Apple), Motorola isn’t ripping people off for an extra 32GB of storage and you can still add up to another 128GB to that by inserting a MicroSD card. At present, delivery is estimated around October 8th, so there’s still a couple of weeks to wait. Click here to pre-order your Moto X Style.
The Moto 360 (2015) is also available to pre-order directly from Motorola’s online shop from £229 by clicking here. The Moto 360 Sport isn’t available to pre-order just yet, although you can register for updates.
- £229 – Moto 360 2015 (Men’s small – 42mm) estimated delivery date of September 28
- £269 – Moto 360 2015 (Men’s large – 46mm) estimated delivery date of September 29
- £259 – Moto 360 2015 (Women’s – 42mm) estimated delivery date of September 23
Are you thinking of springing for the Moto 360 (2015) or Moto X Style? Let us know in the comments.
Come comment on this article: Moto X Style and Moto 360 (2015) are now available to pre-order in the UK
360-degree video puts you in a bombed-out Syrian war zone
A new 360-degree, 4K video lets you see the destruction of Syria’s civil war firsthand on any virtual reality (VR) headset. It was shot by Syria’s Smart News Agency between May and July in the city of Jisr al-Choughour, at the nation’s northeastern frontier near Turkey, according to Le Parisien. The city of 40,000 is in near-complete ruins and most of the residents have fled after it was taken by rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda. The video (below) was captured by a six-camera rig mounted on the photographer’s head, then stitched together at Okio Studios in Paris.
You can watch the video on YouTube at up to 4K resolution and view all around you by swiping or mousing the video. However, the best way to watch it is with a VR headset like the Oculus DK2 or Samsung’s Gear VR. With the Gear VR on, I was able to see the destruction and isolation all around me, an unsettling way to experience such an event. However, it’s another example that VR can go well beyond gaming and has enormous potential for immersive storytelling — even when the stories are hard to watch.
Filed under:
Cameras
Via:
The Verge
Source:
Le Parisien
Tags: 360-degree, GearVR, OculusDK2, okio, Syria, video, VirtualReality, VR
Sony’s retrotastic 20th Anniversary PS4 controller lands in the UK
So, you didn’t manage to get your hands on a 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4, just like everyone else. Well, nevermind, as you can now have the next best thing. Sony has today released the Anniversary Edition DualShock 4 controller in the UK (and the rest of Europe), with its retro gray colour scheme and home button sporting the original PlayStation logo. Unfortunately, this model’s lacking the engraved touchpad found on those shipped with the limited edition console, but it’s close enough. The nostalgic pad can now be found at stores including GAME and Amazon for £50, which is probably more than you’d spend picking up an OG PS1 and a copy of Crash Team Racing on eBay — not that we should be telling you which is the better purchase, of course.
This is for the PlayStation generation. Which one are you? 20th Anniversary Dualshock 4 out now #20YearsOfPlay pic.twitter.com/Qd56UPGXCF
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) September 16, 2015
Filed under:
Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Sony
Source:
PlayStation Europe (Twitter)
Tags: 20thAnniversary, controller, dualshock4, hdpostcross, playstation, playstation4, ps4, sony
Facebook will add a ‘dislike’ button at some point in the future
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We know – most of you probably don’t care about Facebook anymore, but the reality is that Facebook remains one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, so when Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will add a ‘dislike’ button, it naturally makes the news. The plan to roll-out a ‘dislike’ button, which will join the normal ‘like’ button, was revealed during a Q&A session today, and has apparently been a multiple year discussion within the social media giant’s walls. This is what Zuckerberg had to say about it:
“People have asked about the ‘dislike’ button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it.”
This is actually kind of groundbreaking for a social media platform. Apart from Reddit, which has the downvote function, no other major social media platform (that I can think of) has any sort of acknowledgement that has a negative connotation – however, the need has arisen simply because we are humans: “If you are sharing something that is sad…then it may not feel comfortable to ‘like’ that post,” says Zuckerberg.
And for the people who are wondering why something simple like a ‘dislike’ button is so hard to add, there are far-reaching search engine optimization issues that come with such a button – does a post that has a lot of dislikes mean it is a hated post, or should Facebook’s algorithm push it out as a viral post? Obviously, we’ll leave that to Facebook, but it will be interesting to see the results whenever it is released.
What do you think about Facebook adding a ‘dislike’ button? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Facebook will add a ‘dislike’ button at some point in the future appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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