ESA makes an easy-to-view archive of new Rosetta comet images
The Rosetta probe has finally beamed back the photos (among other data) it took of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, as it flew within just 19 miles of the comet’s surface. They were captured by the probe’s main imaging system called OSIRIS, which is comprised of one narrow-angle and one wide-angle camera, from June 20th to September 16th, 2014. The spacecraft has gone closer to the comet since then, but the photos illustrate what the probe was seeing as it approached the celestial body.
Those images were initially made available on a dedicated but hard-to-navigate website — thankfully, the Rosetta Downlink and Archive group has uploaded them elsewhere as albums, which are much, much easier to browse. If you’d like to take a look at what the hardworking probe sent back, you can find the photosets on ESA’s Archive Image Browser and the other data via FTP on ESA’s Planetary Science Archive.
[Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA / Daniel Macháček]
Source: ESA (1), (2), Planetgate, Planetary
Apple Pay comes to China in early 2016
As rumored (and inevitably), Apple Pay is coming to China. The company has partnered-up with Chinese bankcard network UnionPay to launch its payment system. The network, which is as ubiquitous as Visa in China, to let iPhone users pair their bank details to their Apple hardware. It arrives with support from “15 of China’s leading banks.” Like other territories, card numbers aren’t stored on devices or Apple’s servers and it’ll launch in China with support for the Apple Watch right from the start, if it’s wrist payments you’re waiting, nay aching, for. The country’s regulators still have to approve the announcement, but Apple’s press release points to a launch in early 2016 — just in time for Chinese New Year.
At the same time, Samsung has made its own deal with UnionPay and its payment system. As Bloomberg Business notes, the systems use different technology to pay for goods. Apple’s is NFC-based, while Samsung‘s system will offer magnetic strip compatibility too.
Source: Apple
Evernote’s Skitch will soon bid Android, iOS and Windows farewell
If Skitch is one of your favorite sketching and annotation apps, we hope you’re using a Mac, because it’s saying goodbye to Android, iOS and Windows on January 22nd. Evernote isn’t exactly switching the app off, so you’ll still be able to use it after that date. However, since it will no longer be updated, and it won’t be available for download on those platforms anymore, they’re bound to stop working in the future. The company says they’ve decided to kill those versions, because you can find “nearly identical annotation functionality” on the main Evernote app. It’s unclear why Skitch for Mac will live on, but we’re sure avid users aren’t complaining.
Besides Skitch, Evernote’s also killing off its Clearly browser extension that delivers distraction-free articles for reading, as well as its core app for Pebble smartwatches, on the same day. Similar to its reasoning for Skitch’s demise, the company says Web Clipper already has Clearly’s article simplification capabilities and Pebble’s Powernoter app (which it isn’t affiliated with) has Evernote-like features. From the sound of it, Evernote wants to simplify, drop products which it thinks have become unnecessary and ultimately focus on its core app going forward.
[Image credit: Heisenberg Media/Flickr]
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Evernote
Samsung teaming up with Google to make TouchWiz better than iOS
TouchWiz, everyones favorite Android skin… Ok, not exactly, but at least Samsung has been working on improving it over the years. The current version is a much more stripped down version than it used to be. However, TouchWiz might become even smoother when it launches on the Galaxy S7.
There has been some rumours circulating saying Google may be working with Samsung to make TouchWhiz much more fluent. The rumours say Google engineers are said to be directly helping Samsung with TouchWhiz’s code, so it can have “greater fluency than iOS”. Bold words, but we can only hope it’s true.
Source: ITHome
Via: Sam Mobile
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VLC media player finally comes to Chrome OS thanks to Android Runtime on Chrome
Better late than never, right? VLC has announced that they’re finally bringing their fantastic media playing application to Google’s Chrome OS, marking off the last check box on its compatibility list.
What’s interesting is how the VLC managed to get things working, since Chrome OS technically doesn’t support normal “programs” like you’d download on Windows/OS X/Linux. If you’ve ever used Chrome OS, you know it uses apps/programs that are basically run inside of Chrome, the web browser, which all use Javascript. For something like VLC, porting the program over to Javascript from mostly C and C++ code was nearly impossible, which is what has kept the player away from Chrome OS for so long.
However, since Google announced the Android Runtime for Chrome that would allow some Android applications to run on Chrome OS, the VLC developers were able to use most of the Android application’s code to run on Chrome OS without a problem. That means this version of VLC is essentially the Android app, built to work on Chrome OS. Pretty nifty workaround, if you ask me.
The first release seems to have all of the features of the normal VLC player, so you won’t be missing anything by using it on Chrome OS instead of a different environment.
source: VLC
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Uber delivering Christmas trees in Germany
Turns out Uber isn’t as evil as all the Taxi drivers say it is. Uber will be delivering Christmas trees for free to residents of two German cities, Berlin and Munich.
Uber and online retailer Meine Tanne are teaming up to provide north German firs for 19.90 euros ($21.60). The trees will start being delivered on December 20th.
Germany General Manager Christian Freese said,
“It’s very conceivable that on-demand services will also become established in Germany in the long term,”
Uber has already been expanding their driving services to delivery services in the US with UberRUSH. It now looks like they might be trying out other countries too.
Source: Bloomberg
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Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge used to make a professional quality short film
I have seen tons of comparisons between modern smartphone cameras and professional cameras over the years. Each year they get closer and closer, but not quite there yet. However, that doesn’t mean an excellent smartphone camera can’t be used to film a professional quality short film and look great.
Part 1 of the film has been released by Jens Rijsdijk, Sjoerd de Bont and Kuba Szutkowski, three up-and-coming directors who used an S6 Edge as their only camera. The short film also has an interesting idea behind it as this first part was shot by Sjoerd de Bont, and the next two parts will be shot by the other two directors. However, each director must continue off from where the last one started. As you’ll see by the part 1, it could go anywhere.
Samsung is using the film as a promotion for the Galaxy S6 Edge. Either way, it still shows just how great their smartphone camera is, and how it can be used to create professional quality films in the right hands.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Samsung
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Etsy launches curated local shopping guides for four cities
Online marketplace Etsy has put a lot of effort into helping its users find local places to buy its goods, whether online or offline — the company added local listings to its mobile app and launched a same-day delivery service in NYC. Now the company is launching some new curated local buying guides for four cities: Chicago, Austin, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. (New York City is coming soon.) The content in these guides was pulled together by the Etsy Wholesale team, a part of the site that connects retailers with craftspeople who can produce goods at a higher scale. However, these local shops appear to stock items by a number of craftsmakers who also sell their wares on the standard Etsy site.
The guides were actually launched last year, but only in a physical format. To go digital, Etsy partnered with On The Grid rather than host this content on its own site. On the Grid already has a number of city guides, all created by various curators but hosted and designed in a similar fashion. Etsy’s guides follow this design, though with the signature Etsy orange color. Once you pick a city, you can browse shops based on what types of items you’re looking for or just check out a map to see what’s nearby.
All in all, it’s a nice looking site that fits well with Etsy’s own aesthetic, so consumers likely won’t be thrown off by using these tools. An Etsy spokesperson called On the Grid “a great partner because their design aesthetic, audience and mission aligns well with Etsy’s.” It sounds like these guides aren’t a temporary intiative, either — Etsy says it’ll launch more in more cities over the next year.
Via: Fast Company
Source: Etsy City Guides
Robotic ‘glove’ will allow the blind to see with their hands
A team of researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Arkansas, Little Rock announced on Thursday that they are developing a robotic wearable which will enable the visually impaired to “see” what they’re reaching for.
“We will pre-map the hand, and build a lightweight form-fitting device that attaches to the hand using key locations for cameras and mechanical and electrical sensors,” Yantao Shen, assistant professor and lead researcher on the project from the University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Engineering, said in a statement. “It will be simpler than a glove, and less obtrusive.” The device will combine tactile and temperature sensors, high resolution cameras and miniaturized microphones to sense items around it. This information — the item’s location, size and shape — is then relayed to the user via haptic and audio feedback.
“Not only will this device help blind and visually impaired people, the methods and technology we develop will have great potential in advancing small and wearable robot autonomy,” Shen added. The technology is still in development and there is no word on when it will actually be made available to the public.
Source: University of Nevada, Reno
Sony working on battery that lasts 40% longer, report claims
Sony is currently working on a high-capacity battery that lasts 40% longer on a single charge, says a report from Japanese news group Nikkei.
According to information from Nikkei, Sony has managed to develop a battery containing a sulphur compound, which stores ‘more electricity than other models’. The technology is said to be scheduled for a 2020 release, with Sony hoping to make a huge impact in the battery market.
Nikkei’s report speaks on the impact of the rumoured battery, explaining:
“Sony’s [battery] could power the latest Apple iPhone, the 6s, for 14 hours while the device is connected to the Internet, calculations show. Batteries could also be made 30% more compact while maintaining current run times, letting manufacturers build smaller devices.”
Various attempts to develop sulphur-bearing batteries in the past have resulted in shrinking capacity, but it looks like Sony has managed to overcome the issue, in part by ‘reformulating its electrolyte solution’.
Nikkei adds that the tech company now aims to improve the safety of the product and come up with a plan concerning mass production.
Potentially, Sony’s recipe for an improved battery could also result in a smaller one, which is good news for folk that like their smartphones thin.
It will certainly be interesting to see how much difference Sony’s battery makes if the rumours are true. However, if estimates of a 2020 release are accurate, we’ve got quite a wait on our hands.
Source: Nikkei
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