David Lidsky's Blog, page 2762
March 22, 2016
Think Different, Apple: Scrap The "Special Events"
To make us care about its product announcements, Apple needs to take a page out of the Steve Jobs handbook and kill them.
Dreary, claustrophobic, and middling aren't words that anyone ever used to describe Apple's product announcements when Steve Jobs was at the helm. But they serve just fine for yesterday's affair, in which CEO Tim Cook and a series of drab Apple executives announced a 4" iPhone, a powerful iPad Pro, and a number of smaller improvements, ranging from pretty watchbands to significant upgrades of its mobile operating system.
In The Store Of The Future, Your Shopping Bag Connects To The Internet
In Adobe's prototype of a future retail store, shopping meets the Internet of Things.
The Internet of Things is coming to shopping bags. Adobe, which has been pushing to succeed in the retail analytics market, is selling customers on a prototype "Store of the Future" that features RFID chip-enabled shopping bags that allow users to purchase items just by putting their bags on a checkout counter.
Virtual Reality Device May Help Diagnose Concussion Victims
The Eye-Sync is a device that can detect abnormal brain activity after a collision in less than a minute.
People suffering from concussions may find that virtual reality can help diagnose their condition.
Google In "Early Stages" Of Expanding Internet Access In Cuba
Eased trade restrictions will allow it to bring high-speed Internet to one of the least-connected countries on the planet.
Google is the latest company to expand its reach into Cuba during President Obama's historic visit to the long-isolated island nation.
ResearchKit Apps Now Allow Users To Upload Genetic Data
23andMe has developed a module of sorts for Apple's platform for medical researchers and patients.
For researchers, mobile app-based studies offer an opportunity to get to scale quickly and inexpensively. And now, in a potential boon for the nascent field of genomics, academic institutions can incorporate a snapshot of their participants' genetic information into their iPhone-based studies.
ID Verification Startup Jumio Files For Bankruptcy
Assets could be sold to early backer and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Severin.
The once-hyped identity verification startup Jumio has voluntarily begun Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, reports TechCrunch. Jumio was launched in 2010 and got early backing from Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin, among others. The company created an innovative way to check and verify the authenticity of photographic identification by allowing a user to simply hold that ID up to a webcam or mobile phone's camera. Some of its major clients include United Airlines, Airbnb, and EasyJet.
This Robot Can Explore The Deep Seas For Half A Year At A Time
Boeing has created a unmanned undersea vehicle that doesn't need support from a surface ship.
Unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) have been a staple of sea exploration for years now, yet they've always had a limitation: They've needed constant support from a human crew on a surface ship above, which adds to the vehicle's costs. These UUVs have also either been required to be tethered to the support ship on the surface, limiting the UUV's range, or to return to it to charge its batteries, limiting how long it can explore the ocean depths and also requiring the support ship to follow nearby. But those limitations are about to be a thing of the past, thanks to Boeing's new UUV called the Echo Voyager, Wired reports.
A New Idea In Activewear: Panic Buttons For Your Pants
Apparel brand Yogasmoga is investing in a wearable device that alerts a user's contacts when he or she is in distress.
If you go jogging at night, there are a few nightmare scenarios that may occasionally cross your mind: spraining your ankle, getting mugged, or being sexually assaulted. Right now, there are many smartphone apps, such as Real Alert or SafeTrek, that allow you to ping your contacts if you're in trouble. The problem is, by the time you fumble around with your phone to open the app, it might be too late—and in any case, phones are usually the first thing to get stolen.
March 21, 2016
In Order To Replace The PC, The iPad Is Becoming More Like One
With the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple wants people to give up their laptops for good.
Although Apple has never shied from the idea that people could replace their aging laptops with iPads, the company has never made the pitch as directly as Phil Schiller did at Monday's product launch at Apple headquarters.
Surprise! The DOJ Says It May Have Another Way To Unlock The San Bernardino iPhone (Updated)
The court grants the feds a stay on Tuesday's Apple encryption hearing.
The Justice Department has filed a surprise 11th hour motion to delay Tuesday's long-awaited hearing on the iPhone encryption battle between the FBI and Apple. It had previously said that it needed Apple's help to unlock the iPhone 5s of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, but it now believes it has another way to access the phone.
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