FIFA 14 now available as a free download for iOS, Android

EA Sports on Tuesday announced the worldwide availability of FIFA 14 on mobile. Called the most popular sports franchise in the world by EA, the game is available now as a free download in five different languages on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore.

source:http://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news/fifa-14-now-available-for-android-and-ios-423161

Google Glass has some competition, say hello to GlassUp

The jury is still out on whether wearable computing is really the next big thing in mobile technology, but that certainly won’t stop eager developers from moving in on the market early.

Google Glass may have brought wearable technology in to the headlines, but Francesco Giartosio had started his augmented reality project, called GlassUp, two years ago. The project takes the form of pair of glasses, and it will display SMS messages, emails, and notifications, much like Google Glass does.

Before Google Glass, everyone said our project was a silly project

But that’s really where the similarities end, as GlassUp is simply a second-screen output for internet-connected devices, which is quite similar to what the Pebble smart watch does. One key difference is in the way information is presented, information is presented in the center of your vision, rather than off-center like Google Glass.

GlassUp doesn’t have a powerful CPU, so it can’t do any real processing on-board, and it doesn’t even have a camera either. But this may end up working to GlassUp’s advantage, as it could end up being a bit cheaper than Google’s offering. Giartosio says that the device will be priced at $399 and should offer around 150 hours of standby battery life and eight hours of continuous use, thanks to its lack of a powerful CPU.

The start-up project is also heavily focused on appearances, and is determined not to make you look like a “cyborg”. If you’re unsure about the slightly cyber-punk look of Google Glass, the Italian made GlassUp may be a more stylish alternative.

article source: http://snatz.com/news_daily/article/18175712238885929764-13-07?newsSetId=3193&newsSet=NewsDailyLatest&chainName=GlassUp+%7C+Project+Glass 

Audi to include super-techy ‘Matrix Beam’ headlights on 2015 A8

In-depth look into some of the lighting technologies currently in the works at Audi. One of our favorites was the Matrix Beam headlight system.
Matrix Beam takes into account satellite navigation location, as well as onboard video camera images to adjust lighting. The system is so precise, however, that Matrix Beam is capable of illuminating “the areas between several vehicles in complex situations,” according to an Audi press release, which is demonstrated in the photo in the above photo gallery with the man holding a flashlight and two beams of light on either side of him.
Audi has dialed-in the Matrix Beam system and will be implementing it into the refreshed 2015 A8. Sadly, it won’t be coming to the States.
Why not? Presently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires automakers to have both a high- and low-beam setting on the headlights. Since the Matrix Beam would do both automatically, Audi does not include such a switch. Audi and several other European automakers have petitioned the NHTSA to change and update these regulations so that they better reflect the current state of lighting technology. Good luck with that, Audi and friends.
Audi is set to unveil the refreshed A8 with Matrix Beam headlights at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show.

article source: http://www.digitaltrends.com

Recycled Yahoo IDs are now up for grabs.

Yahoo on Monday officially opened the flood gates to allow users to claim a more desirable username that was once owned by someone else. Users have from now until August 7 to request their top five choices for a new Yahoo ID according to a blog post on the subject.

In the event your top choice isn’t available, Yahoo will try one of your backups and so on. The company said they will send out an e-mail in mid-August informing users which of their selections are available with a link to claim it. You’ll need to act fast though as the link is only valid for 48 hours.

Tracking latest iWatch patents, rumors

With an application filed on June 3 and made public last week, Apple is seeking to trademark "iWatch" in Japan. This comes on the heels of news that the company filed for the trademark in Russia last month.

Of course, this has added new energy to rumors of Apple releasing the iWatch later this year, however the trademark news must be taken with a grain of salt: Major tech companies like Apple are constantly filing applications for trademarks in order to protect themselves if a certain product were to exist. An iWatch may be in the works, but by filing the trademarks, Apple is seeking to make sure it has rights to the name, no matter what.

Here's a summary at the patent applications that have fueled the iWatch rumors to date:

September 2012: Apple was granted a patent for an electromagnetic induction system that could allow a device to be charged by shaking, a technology that would certainly be useful for the iWatch.

December 2012: The company was awarded a patent for a new process for creating high-quality curved glass.

February 2013: Apple was granted a patent for an "integrated touch sensor and solar assembly," which would allow a solar panel to capture energy from the sun while also being an optical sensor of a touchscreen. This technology could allow for Apple to make compact yet highly capable and energy efficient gadgets, like an iWatch.

Also in February, a patent for a "bi-stable spring with with flexible display," originally filed in August of 2011, made headlines. The patent describes a full-length, bendable, touchscreen display, and also a "slap-bracelet" mechanism for attaching the device to the users wrist for a custom fit. Additionally, the device would be able to sync with iPads, iPhones, and other Apple devices.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple had been granted a patent, originally applied for in January, for a curved, flexible battery. Rumors circulated that the curved battery would be part of an iWatch or an even more mysterious Apple product: a bendable smartphone.

Many analysts have taken the information from these patents and assumed the iWatch will launch later this year, but noted KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record for predicting Apple product rollouts, expects the iWatch to ship in late 2014. Kuo released a report on May 22, writing that the iWatch will be Apple's first move into the wearable tech field, against Google Inc's glass, which is still in its "explorer" phase, wherein a select group of consumers were chosen to buy the new device for $1500. Moreover, he said the device will have a 1.5- to 2-inch screen and will focus on biometrics, which could provide heightened security features as well as health-care apps for measuring heartbeat, blood pressure, distance walked in a day, and more.

With the iWatch rumors so prevalent, Apple's main competitor has responded in earnest so as not to miss out on the potential market for smart watches. In March, Samsung Electronics announced it was developing a smart watch. As Lee Young Hee, the company's Executive Vice President for Mobile told Bloomberg in an interview, "We've been preparing the watch product for so long...We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them."

Samsung obviously does not value the element of surprise as much as Apple does, but considering how the Internet allows rumors to spread so wide and so fast, maybe Apple's use of secrecy is only a formality -- now part of the company's tradition.

This story was originally published on Minyanville.

Brain implants let paralyzed woman move robot arm..

Unrivalled control of a robotic arm has been achieved using a paralysed woman's thoughts, a US study says.
Jan Scheuermann, who is 53 and paralysed from the neck down, was able to deftly grasp and move a variety of objects just like a normal arm.
Brain implants were used to control the robotic arm, in the study reported in the Lancet medical journal.
Experts in the field said it was an "unprecedented performance" and a "remarkable achievement".
Jan was diagnosed with spinocerebellar degeneration 13 years ago and progressively lost control of her body. She is now unable to move her arms or legs.

Robo-arm

She was implanted with two sensors - each four millimetres by four millimetres - in the motor cortex of her brain.
A hundred tiny needles on each sensor pick up the electrical activity from about 200 individual brain cells.
"The way that neurons communicate with each other is by how fast they fire pulses, it's a little bit akin to listening to a Geiger counter click, and it's that property that we lock onto," said Professor Andrew Schwartz from the University of Pittsburgh.
The pulses of electricity in the brain are then translated into commands to move the arm, which bends at the elbow, wrist and could grab an object.
Jan was able to control the arm after the second day of training and over a period of 14 weeks became increasing skilful.
The report said she gained "co-ordination, skill and speed almost similar to that of an able-bodied person" by the end of the study.

Another Incredible Video DSLR From Canon...Canon EOS 70D

Canon has always been one step ahead of the pack when it comes to putting video in DSLRs. But the new tech in the Canon EOS 70D could change things forever.

The Canon EOS 70D uses a new 20.2-megapixel APS-C sensor. That spec might not sound all the remarkable from the outset, but the sensor's architecture is completely new, which allows the camera to achieve the fastest and most precise continuous autofocus while recording video that we've ever seen.

When recording video, DSLRs use sensor-based autofocus, rather than the optical autofocus sensors that you use when you're simply shooting photos using the viewfinder. Initially, sensor-based systems where just too slow to work continuously because they only used contrast ratios to find focus. By sacrificing a couple of photodiodes on the sensor to phase detection, the new hybrid system was able to do the work of finding focus fast enough that it was reasonable to call it effective.

Now this year, the 70D introduces a new phase-detection only system Canon calls Dual Pixel CMOS AF. That sounds fancy, and actually, it is. The new CMOS sensor's 20.2-megapixel resolution has been divided into 40.1 million-photodiode architecture so that you've basically got two diodes capturing light for each pixel.

Why? Because now there is a phase detection diode at every point on the sensor. Instead of just a few scattered about you've got a sensor peppered with phase detection sensors. (The two diodes at each pixel point synthesize, so you're not losing light sensitivity-at least, that's what Canon tells us.)

In practice, this new AF system is pretty remarkable.The speed and precision of the autofocus during video was fast and precise.

One of the nice things about the tech is that it gets rid of the old ""focus hunt"" that inches closer and closer to focus. Instead, the 70D's focus algorithms find the focus super fast and then slides the focal point smoothly into place.

The camera will be available in September for $1200 (body alone), $1349 (W/18-55mm kit lens), and $1549 (w/18-135mm kit lens).

Wi-Vi system uses Wi-Fi to see through walls...

MIT researchers have demonstrated the application of using Wi-Fi signals to track the movements, locations and number of people inside buildings. Dubbed Wi-Vi, the inexpensive and portable "through-the-wall" radar system could have practical applications in law enforcement, search and rescue operations and home security, even if it does present some potential privacy concerns.

While listening in on radio signals transmitted by standard Wi-Fi routers and access points, a Wi-Vi transceiver blankets the area with its own low-power, directional, wireless transmissions. As objects move within the target area, signals are absorbed and reflected differently. The device monitors these slight changes, giving Wi-Vi operators the ability to determine the movements, locations, speeds and the number of moving objects (e.g. people) behind walls.

Intel hopes to speed up mobile Atom chip development

Intel has a real presence in the smartphone world, but its tendency toward just one or two mobile chip releases per year makes it a slowpoke next to its ARM-based rivals. New CEO Brian Krzanich clearly isn't happy with this gap -- he tells Reuters that mobile Atom development could speed up under his watch. Although the executive is short on specifics, he notes that Intel is "evaluating" the schedule for future chips with hopes of improving their timing where possible. The proof will be in the pudding, of course -- the company needs to give opponents like Qualcomm a real run for their money. Just don't expect a similarly breakneck pace with Intel's TV service plans. Krzanich says Intel is being "cautious" about entering an industry that depends more on content than pure technology.

Yahoo to release IDs of inactive email accounts..

Yahoo is trying to breathe new life into inactive email accounts by giving away the identifications beginning next month.It represents a last chance for Yahoo users who haven't logged in for at least a year to keep the address. Yahoo plans to release the inactive accounts unless the current owner logs in again before July 15. After that, the identifications will be available to all comers and will be ready to use again in mid-August. Company isn't specifying how many emails are in the dead pool. A Yahoo spokeswoman predicted a substantial number of IDs will be freed up.