IProgresu!

[miril]

Profitand de deja faimoasele conferinta de presa si lansare ale lui Apple, una, poate nu chiar istorica, chiar daca Steve Jobs (ne-a) lipsit, avand loc chiar astazi, voi posta/vom posta aici toate noutatile in materie de tehnologie moderna...progresista. De aici si IProgresu! Iata cam ce a continut conferinta de presa a lui Apple, astazi, in care s-a lansat printre altele IPhone 4S:

http://live.gizmodo.com/

[miril]

IPho New(s):

New Apple iPhone 4S: All the Information
Apple's new iPhone 4S is just last year's design loaded with a new brain and more memory. It will run your apps faster and Apple's new iOS5's Assistant, an artificial intelligence program that listens and interprets your orders, and a new camera.

It just looks exactly the same, but there's plenty of changes inside:

Design
It's the same old design as the iPhone 4. Nothing to say here. Same materials, same look. Plus: Your current case will work.

The guts
• CPU and graphics: The iPhone 4S now has the iPad 2's dual-core A5 CPU. It also has dual-core graphics, which will allow for faster and more detailed 3D. Apple claims this hardware combination makes the iPhone 4S seven times as fast as the iPhone 4 on games, and two times as fast on normal tasks.

• Internet speed: Like rumored, the new iPhone 4S runs on faster HSPA+ networks. That means that your telephone will download stuff faster from the Internet. Before it was up to 7.2 Megabits-per-second downloads. Now they claim two times as much: 14.4Mbps. This depends on the carrier, of course. I don't know about you, but on AT&T I never get the maximum speed they claim.

Apple claims that, in real life situations, they are fast or "faster" as the competition's phone on faster 4G networks. We will test that claim.

Update: AT&T has pointed out that their phone will be faster than Verizon and Sprint's because their iPhone 4S models will only run on CDMA. The speed boost will only work on HSPA+ networks. If you want that download speed increase, it seems that the only option is AT&T. In addition to that, Verizon and Sprint's iPhone 4S would only do voice or data. AT&T's iPhone 4S will do both simultaneously.

Full size• New camera: There's a new camera in the iPhone 4S. Its sensor is 8 megapixels, compared to the previous 5 megapixels. Much better than before. The most interesting thing is the sensor, however: It's a CMOS backside illuminated sensor. Apple says that gets you 73% more light than the iPhone 4 sensor. The latter was already quite impressive, so I can't wait to try this one. Apple has also remodeled the lens system, with five lens elements. They say they get now f2.4, which is very good.

The camera system is also faster than the previous version.

• New HD video: With the new sensor and new lens system, the camera now shots video at 1080p video with real-time image stabilization and temporal noise reduction.

• Battery life: Apple claims the new processor doesn't impact the life of the battery. All the contrary. They say it will give you 8 hours talking battery life with 3G networks. If you set your phone to 2G, you will get 14 hours of talk time. 3G web browsing will give you six hours of battery life, while Wi-Fi access runs up to nine hours.

Video playback sets the battery at an impressive 10 hours maximum, while music goes up to 40 hours. These numbers best the iPhone 4's previous theoretical battery life.

• New antenna design: Apple says that they have changed the antenna system, presumably to solve the signal attenuation problem.

• Storage: The iPhone comes now with 16, 32 and 64GB of storage.

Siri, the smart assistant
Apple is also including Siri in the iPhone 4S, which will only run in this model (and presumably the iPad 2). The reason is the need for a faster A5 processor.

It can call people, play music, send and receive text messages and emails, reading them with a natural human voice or set up events and meetings, remind you of stuff... You can also dictate in any app.

But the key about Siri, according to Apple, is that it isn't just voice recognition. It really understands natural language and follows complex commands. It's conversational too, so it will reply back to you and you can reply back to it. Think Enterprise's computer vs the current crop of voice recognition software.

This thing actually seems smart, judging by the demos. It actually interprets what you are saying. You don't talk to it using commands. You just talk to it like you would talk to another person. So instead of asking "tell me the weather today" you can just say "Do I need a raincoat?" and it will reply "It sure does look like rain today!" Or if you say "Wake me up tomorrow at 6am" it will automatically set up the alarm for you. Or "hey, remind me to buy milk later" and it will remind you to buy milk as you pass near a grocery store—yes, Siri is location aware.

Siri also pulls information from Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha to give you smart answers to your questions. You can even ask him for definitions, which Siri will read out loud.

Apple has not disclosed if Siri would be available for developers, but I don't see why not. It's only logical to expect all apps to be integrated in the assistant flow, so you can ask Siri to buy you two tickets for Avengers playing around 7 on a Sunday. That's the kind of stuff this thing seems able to do, although we would have to try it to know.

Full sizeSiri will only support English, French and German in this release. Apple says that they will keep expanding the services as time goes by.

Price and availability
The iPhone 4S would be available in black and white. The 16GB model would be $199, 32GB for $299 and 64GB for $399. The iPhone 4 would still be available in black for $99. All these prices require a contract.

You can pre-order the iPhone 4S on October 7. It will be available on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint on October 14.

iPhone 4S international availability : Initially, the iPhone 4S will only be available in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan.

http://gizmodo.com/5846504/new-apple-iphone-all-the-information

[miril]

IPhone, IProbleme:

http://www.romanialibera.ro/tehnologie/gadgets/cum-modifica-smartphone-urile-modul-in-care-functioneaza-creierul-239732.html

[miril]

ITunes, (daca) IBani:

http://www.go4it.ro/internet/itunes-in-romania-cine-da-1-euro-pe-un-mp3-8822470/

[Bancaru]

O sa fii one man show. Doar tu IPad.

[miril]

Nici chiar asa. O sa las IPad-ul acasa si o sa abordez si alte subiecte in asa fel ca fiecare sa IBe posibilitatea sa contribuie la topic. IProgresu!

[miril]

RIP!

http://www.apple.com/

tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

[Bancaru]

IBăieţii...

[miril]

IGenius: How Steve Jobs Changed The World -Program pe Discovery Channel, la ora 23:00, ora Romaniei, cu reluare 2 ore mai tarziu.

[miril]

IB&O:

http://www.t3.com/reviews/bang-and-olufsen-beosound-8-review

[miril]

IJobs, IBibliografie!

http://www.zf.ro/business-international/biografia-lui-steve-jobs-de-ce-a-refuzat-sa-si-intalneasca-tatal-biologic-si-ce-pretentii-avea-de-la-barack-obama-8892649

[miril]

IApple, ITv!

http://www.zf.ro/business-hi-tech/steve-jobs-tradeaza-planurile-de-viitor-ale-apple-cu-ce-spera-gigantul-sa-sparga-piata-8892591

[miril]

IIT, IViitor!

http://www.gandul.info/financiar/planul-in-10-pasi-al-gigantilor-it-pentru-romania-8885696

[miril]

IPod, IMusica!

http://www.adevarul.ro/life/Revolutia_iPod_0_576542808.html

[Bancaru]

Eu mereu par sa am ceva de comentat, dar articolul asta a fost facut dupa documentarul de la Discovery despre aceeasi problema - evolutia (din multe puncte de vedere) a IPod (Pad) - urilor.

[miril]

ILamultiani, IPod! Variatiuni pe aceeasi tema, cu ceva artificii si un pahar de sampanie, poate.

http://www.libertatea.ro/detalii/articol/10-ani-de-la-apartia-iPod-ului-361139.html

[miril]

IBibliografie:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/25/steve-jobs-biography-walter-isaacson-review

[miril]

ISiri, ILove You:

http://www.realitatea.net/siri-de-la-iphone4s-nu-face-dragoste-video_881655.html

[miril]

IMRI, IBrain, IMusic, IJoy. Or Not.

Is this the code to joy? The Sunday Times Andrew Smith

I suspected a day would come when music writers did their jobs wearing rubber helmets, with electrodes stuck to their skulls — I just didn’t know it was already here. Welcome to the world of Dr Eduardo Miranda, director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research at ­the University of Plymouth.

I’m understating the weirdness of the situation. The electrodes, one at the front and one at the rear of my head, read electrical activity as I stare at a computer screen showing red and green “buttons” that pulse at different rates. As I look at the individual buttons, the differing pulse rates are fed from the back of my brain to a synthesizer, in which they trigger ­different notes. In this way, I can “play” the synthesizer by looking at the different buttons on the screen. If I were paralysed, I would have access to a musical instrument — as it is, I have to be all but dragged away from the thing.

There is much more to Miranda’s work, though. Recent news reports described a project, jointly led with Dr Slawomir Nasuto, of the Cybernetics Research Group at the University of Reading, in which three subjects listened to the second movement of Beethoven’s ­Seventh Symphony while lying in an MRI scanner. Data on their responses to the music, as indicated by neurological activity in different areas of the brain, was then fed into a computer program that rewrote the movement in ways designed to appeal to each listener. Miranda finessed the results where ­necessary, but they were real reflections of individual predilections, holding out the prospect of a computer program that could compose bespoke music to alter mood on demand.

So, a possible replacement for anti­depressants somewhere down the line? Or a first step towards making human ­composition redundant? The singer Jessie Ware was quoted as saying: “I hope it doesn’t wipe every musician out of a job.” You can see her point.

Miranda couldn’t be less Frankenstein-like in the flesh. He is Brazilian by birth, and his parents forced him to learn piano as a hedge against his youthful football ­obsession, then encouraged him to ­forsake music for computer engineering at university. He moved freely between the two spheres until he heard Stockhausen and the Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, who pioneered the integration of music with architecture and maths, and was an early experimenter in electronic music. Just as important, a ban on the import of computer equipment into Brazil, as the country tried to develop its own industry, forced him to build his own synthesizers and computer interfaces, and to write his own programming language. He regards himself as a composer, rather than a scientist.

The results of what became Symphony of Minds Listening are fascinating. None of the three Beethoven analogues rivals the original, to my ears, but then they weren’t designed to — for that, I would need an MRI scan. Taken together, they offer significant clues as to how we listen to music. “Music happens up here,” Miranda reminds me, tapping his forehead. “We don’t usually think of it this way, but it is a construction of the mind.”

One of his Symphony subjects was a ballerina; another a philo­sopher. The first was found to be listening with the active involvement of areas of the brain governing motion, and her bespoke Beethoven movement was more rhythmic than the others. The philo­sopher listened with increased involvement from areas of the brain associated with abstract thought, producing a bracing, arrhythmic piece that made me think of the composer Luciano Berio. Unsurprisingly, brain scans from the third subject, Miranda himself, elicited a more melodic result.

You can watch the scans and listen to the music they inspired at symphony-of-minds-listening.webs.com/listen-watch. What you see amounts to a force­ful demonstration of how unique is the process of listening to each individual.

Does Miranda fear the ­programmer Jekyll putting his artistic Hyde out of business, though? “I don’t think so,” he smiles wearily, having heard this question many times before. “It’s like the calculator, which mathematicians thought would make them redundant. These things are useful tools, but they don’t replace us, because our perceptions of the world are ­changing all the time, and computers can’t keep up with that. Culture changes, and our ­perceptions change with it.”

The difference is experience, in other words, which computers don’t have. Yet.

“I think the wonder of art is a human thing. The question is always ‘What is this communicating to me subliminally — what wasn’t the artist aware of, and why don’t I understand the effect it has on me?’ I think computer-composed music will be appreciated as a piece of music that will do something to you, as a utilitarian device, not in an aesthetic way.”

“Rather like The X Factor,” I find myself thinking. And suddenly I’m very, very scared...

WTtzAmZFtds n2O8bMlEijg OxAqyfewoss

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/music/pop_and_rock/article1259505.ece

[miril]

ILike Flowers...

http://gizmodo.com/these-arent-flowers-508164690

[miril]

IApple, IRadio:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/technology/article3784698.ece

[miril]

(H)ITech, IAliens!

The hi-tech scanner that turns actors into aliens, warts and all The Times Kaya Burgess

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00431/43755487__431629c.jpg

In the cinemas and video games of the near future, computer-generated characters will be so lifelike that individual skin cells and hair follicles will be visible, because of a new high-definition form of digital animation technology.

The distinction between real-life actors and computer graphics has already been blurred by films such as Beowulf and Avatar — which used computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create animated versions of leading actors — but until now they risked seeming rather plastic-looking.

But thanks to new super-high resolution facial scanning you will now be able to see every blemish and crease in Angelina Jolie’s virtual cheek or Zoe Saldana’s digital forehead.

Researchers at the University of Southern California and Imperial College London have developed techniques to scan centimetre-square patches of skin from the cheek, forehead, nose, chin and temple in such high resolution that a single skin cell covers three pixels on the screen.

The team has also polarised the light source used during the scanning to pick up not only the light reflecting off the skin’s surface but also light that penetrates below the epidermis and scatters back, providing greater depth and tone to the final image.

The scanning, which uses high- resolution stills cameras in a laboratory, also captures how the skin behaves under different types of light and during different facial expressions. The scanned patches can then be mapped on to a 3-D image of the actor, created with motion-capture technology.

As a result, computer-generated characters will no longer be so “plastic-looking”, according to Paul Debevec, the associate director of graphics research at USC, whose earlier techniques were used on James Cameron’s Avatar. “The bumpiness of the surface of the skin, at the micron scale, actually affects how light reflects off the surface,” Professor Debevec explained.

“That’s what makes it look healthy or oily or pasty or chalky. It makes someone look like a human being made out of organic material and not like a computer-generated zombie.” To make Avatar, artists had to go back to the CGI imagery of the blue-skinned Na’vi characters and add blemishes, such as moles or creases, by hand. This vastly increased the man-hours and expense of the film, which was nearly 60 per cent computer-generated and cost more than £150 million.

The process will now be much cheaper, Professor Debevec said, and video game developers at Activision have already created mathematical algorithms that can mimic many of the effects of the high-definition scanning, greatly reducing the time, expense and processing power needed.

This will allow hyper-realistic CGI characters to appear on video games consoles and could allow film directors to create CGI scenes in real time.

Professor Debevec said: “In the future it might be the less expensive movies that use CGI technology, while big budget movies will be the only ones who can still afford to go out on location and shoot in Paris or Bermuda and take up actors’ time.”

Abhijeet Ghosh, from the computing department at Imperial College London, helped to develop the “facial microgeometry scanning” process and was approached by Avon cosmetics company to help them to analyse the effects of make-up on the skin.

He predicted that cosmetics customers may be able to use apps in future to see how their faces would look with different types of foundation. “When you start scanning skin at that scale, it could also have medical or dermatological applications,” Dr Ghosh said.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/film/article3815697.ece

[miril]

IApp, IPortofel, IChei:

App promises to make that desperate hunt for lost wallet a thing of the past The Times Murad Ahmed

Can’t find your wallet? Forgotten where you left the keys? The frustrating search for all those mislaid things may soon be over.

Scientists have created a system that enables people to look for lost items using a special search engine on their phone or computer. Within seconds, a user will be told exactly which drawer their purse is in, or whether the car keys are behind the sofa cushions.

The gadget, called FindMyStuff, allows a user to type the name of whatever they have lost into a Google-like page or app. Thanks to a network of tiny sensors that have previously been placed on their valuables, within furniture and around the home, the app will return an answer such as: “Your keys are on the mantelpiece.”

The system, the brainchild of a team of computer scientists at Ulm University in Germany, is part of the trend for “tagging” technologies being created by companies and research groups around the world.

Florian Schaub, the creator of FindMyStuff, said that with sensors, transmitters and chips becoming ever smaller and cheaper, the world was already moving towards “digital homes”, places where almost everything we own can communicate with computers.

“This is the direction we’re going towards,” said Mr Schaub. “Our system can be retrospectively fitted to be used on wallets and keychains. If you could get the tech smaller, you could use it on sunglasses and things like that. Phone manufacturers can integrate this technology into phones, and you easily make smart furniture by putting antennas inside.”

The FindMyStuff system works by putting electronic tags, the size of a postage stamp, on items such as purses and keys. The tag contains two low-power transmitters — an RFID chip and a Zigbee radio. Furniture and other fixed items around the home are then fitted with small receivers, which can also send messages over a wireless internet connection.

When someone asks the FindMyStuff search engine where their car keys are, the system is fired up. If a tagged item falls within 25cm of a RFID receiver — for example, if keys are jammed within sofa cushions — the tag is triggered. Otherwise, the Zigbee radio transmitter, which needs more power but can operate over longer distances, can be activated.

The German team will unveil the FindMyStuff system next month. Mr Schaub said that they hoped to make the system available commercially if electronics companies and furniture makers helped to build and market the product. He said that the system should cost no more than €50 (£43).

American companies such as Tile, Phone Halo and Stick-N-Find use bluetooth transmitters to attach tags on to objects. However, bluetooth connections can be unreliable, use a lot of power and have a range of around 30 metres, which is further reduced by obstructions such as walls and doors.

Mr Schaub said that his team’s system had fewer limitations. “We want to extend that idea so you can search in other rooms or environments, such as if you lost your wallet at work or at a friend’s house.”

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article3839180.ece

[miril]

IPhone You... Later. In Autumn.

iPhone 6 concept shows thinner handset with touch-sensitive home button and 12MP camera uSwitch.com Dew Alam

Just as smart looking as the iPhone 5, but 20% slimmer.

http://s0.uswitchstatic.com/_img/library/news_image/iphone_6_concept_black_by_arthur_reis_634x306x24_e xpand.jpg

Phone renders are a dime a dozen, but for once we have been graced with a concept for Apple’s next flagship phone that seems very much a possibility.

Created by Arthur Reis, a budding designer who aspires to join the ranks of Jony Ive and Shin Nishibori someday, 3D renderings of the iPhone 6 imagine a handset that looks largely identical to iPhone 5 (think: anodised aluminium casing with chamfered edges), but an impressive 20 per cent slimmer at just 6.1mm thick.

9zl15dhAkKw

The handset also features a 12-megapixel camera with an ‘iSight Pro’ sensor boasting an f/1.8 aperture and a ‘Magic TrackPad’ that replaces the physical home button with a touch-sensitive equivalent.

As far as we’re concerned, this is one of the best iPhone concepts we’ve seen, principally because it doesn’t go crazy on novel or unrealistic features as most concepts do.

Apple is always trying to make its handsets slimmer, so a more slender iPhone is within the realms of possibility. And with Samsung upping the ante with a 13-megapixel camera on the freshly launched Galaxy S4, we can certainly expect the iPhone 6 to match its competition in the imaging stakes.

The iPhone 6 is hotly tipped to land this summer, possibly sometime in July. Although there’s still a chance that Apple might stick to an autumn release cycle for new iPhone launches.

What do you think of Reis’s iPhone 6 concept? Let us know in the comments section below.

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2013/05/iphone_6_concept_shows_thinner_handset_with_touch_ home_button/

Source:

International Business Times

[miril]

iPhone 5S ‘dropping September 20th’, iPhone 6 a few weeks later uSwitch.com Jonathan Leggett

Business site names a date.

The next edition of the standard iPhone will beat its much-rumoured low-cost stablemate to market, a leading tech business site forecasts.

Dave Smith, editor of International Business Times, has hung his hat on a September 20th due date for the full-fat, full-featured iPhone 5S. His forecast is based on Apple’s previous release cycles and supply-chain rumbles.

The more affordable handset, which be titled the iPhone 6, will join it on shop shelves not too long after, he claims, with a launch event likely to happen a matter of weeks later.

Smith’s logic derives from Apple’s habit of leaving 100 days between the announcement of a new operating system and the day it is made available to the public, as was the case with iOS 6.

Assuming that happens again (and it’s worth noting here that Apple typically very closely adheres to previous rollout patterns for new devices), it means that iOS 7 will drop on September 18th.

Looking once more to the last iPhone, Smith notes that it was launched two days after iOS 6 landing. If Apple does the same this time, we’re looking at a big bells and whistles event on September 20th to announce the coming on a new handset.

The mooted release of the cheaper iPhone 6 within weeks is, Smith says, aimed at avoiding “excess lines [that’s queues to you and me] at the Apple stores".

Fresh images purported to show the handset surfaced today, corroborating claims that the phone will come in a host of colour options and will swap premium materials for a more economical plastic construction.

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2013/07/iphone_5s_dropping_september_20th_iphone_6_a_few_w eeks_later/

Source:

International Business Times

[miril]

IBrain, IMini Brain:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00446/135518428_446070c.jpg

Scientists grow first ‘brain’ from human stem cells The Times Hannah Devlin Scientists

Scientists have grown functioning “miniature brains” from human stem cells for the first time, in an advance that promises to revolutionise the study of conditions such as schizophrenia and autism.

The grey pea-sized blobs, known as organoids, closely resemble the human brain at about nine weeks of development.

They were shown to have functioning neurons, which fired, and the precursors to the major cortical regions of the brain and retina.

Andrew Jackson, a geneticist at the University of Edinburgh who co-authored the research, described the achievement as a “huge step forward”.

“We’ve never grown complex structures like this before,” he said. “They will give us a completely new insight into how the human brain is formed.”

Previously scientists had been able to grow only identical groups of neurons in culture, rather than anything resembling a three-dimensional brain.

The scientists were quick to address ethical concerns that their work could lead to Frankenstein-like creations of conscious brains in test tubes.

“This would be extrapolating a long way into the future,”said Dr Jackson. “And just because something can be done, it doesn’t mean it should be done.”

The research also raises the possibility eventually of growing replacement brain parts to treat ageing or disease.

Jurgen Knoblich, who led the study at the Institute of Biotechnology in Vienna, said: “It would be great if we were able to do something like this, but I’m pessimistic.”

He said that the ultimate barrier would be the complexity of the adult brain, in which different regions are very intimately integrated by axons that link-knit together adjacent areas as well as passing from the cortex straight to the spinal cord into the body. “This was not the goal of our study,” he added.

To create the brain tissue, the researchers developed a finely tuned culture system that capitalises on stem cells’ innate ability to organise themselves into complex organ structures.

They began with human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, which they used to produce neuroectoderm — the layer of cells in the embryo from which all components of the brain and nervous system develop. Fragments of this tissue were then embedded in gel droplets that provided a scaffold for complex tissue growth and placed into a spinning bioreactor. The circulation of culture media in the bioreactor improves oxygen and nutrient supply, allowing the organoids to grow to a larger size.

After a month, the tissue fragments had organised themselves into primitive structures that could be recognised as developing brain regions such as retina, choroid plexus and cerebral cortex. At the microscopic level in the cortex, radial glial stem cells, pivotal in developing the central nervous system, were seen to generate neurons in an identical manner to that known to occur in normal development.

At two months, the organoids had reached their maximum size of 4mm, but they lacked the more detailed organisational structure of a fully developed brain.

Using patient induced pluripotent stem cells, the researchers were able to model the development of microcephaly, a disorder that has proved difficult to reproduce in mice. As expected, the organoids created using these cells grew to a smaller size.

On further investigation, they found that genetic mutations in these patients results in an earlier than normal switch in neural stem cells from self-renewal (making copies of themselves) to differentiation into nerve cells, leading to an overall reduction in cell number and size of the organoid.

Dr Dean Burnett, a lecturer in psychiatry at Cardiff University, said that the development had the potential to overcome practical and ethical issues surrounding direct brain experimentation on humans or animals. However, he added that the organoids were a long way from replicating the human brain in all its elaborate detail.

“Saying you can replicate the workings of the brain with some tissue in a dish in the lab is like inventing the first abacus and saying you can use it to run the latest version of Microsoft Windows,” he said. “There is a connection there, but we’re a long way from that sort of application yet.”

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/science/article3854542.ece

[miril]

ILiquid, IPhone. Six-ist. Very Metal. Indeed.

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2013/07/iphone_6_could_feature_liquidmetal_exterior/

[miril]

ITV. Next (Curved) Generation.

Next generation TVs step ahead of the curve The Times Murad Ahmed

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00501/acf48c22-7780-11e3-_501637c.jpg

Curved and “bendable” television sets, with large screens that create a cinematic experience within people’s homes, are among the new products revealed by the world’s largest technology companies this week.

Samsung revealed it was launching the world’s first bendable television set yesterday, featuring a screen that transforms from flat to curved at the touch of a button.

Meanwhile, the likes of Panasonic and LG are among the major companies hoping to entice millions of customers with high definition TVs with curved screens. The companies suggest that the concave design creates a wider field of view, meaning viewers can see more without the machines taking up as much space in the living room.

The devices are among the highlights of the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the world’s largest gadgets event, which is taking place this week. 150,000 people make the annual pilgrimage to try out the latest wares from hundreds of companies that are trying to capture the attention of technology fans and experts.

Samsung showed off a prototype of its bendable television, a device with an 85 inch screen, where a mechanical system can push the edges in and out. The technology would allow users, through a remote control, to determine how far the screen could be flexed. Viewers will be able to adjust the screen according to how many people were watching and how far they away they were sitting. The device can then be pushed flat against a wall when switched off.

“The TV seems bigger than it is,” said Joe Stinziano, executive vice-president of Samsung Electronics America. “It’s all about giving the customer control over the viewing experience.” He added that the devices created a “3D effect” without the need for special glasses and would go on sale in the second half of this year.

Samsung and LG both also unveiled “curved” television sets, with huge 105 inch screens. Panasonic showed off devices that were both convex and concave in shape. Meanwhile, LG also showed off a new “G Flex” mobile phone featuring a curved screen, a design it believes matches the contours of a persons face and means that calls will be heard more clearly.

Some analysts dismissed the curved gadgets as a gimmick, saying there was little evidence that such designs added to a person’s viewing experience. Martin Garner, from CCS Insight, the technology research group, said: “It is up to the firms is to demonstrate that the world really needs this.”

Many of the televisions, which are expected to cost thousands of pounds, also feature “4K” displays- so called because they are four times sharper than current high definition screens. Sony and Samsung were among those to show off new, flat 4K televisions, some of which are more than 100 inches diagonally.

Executives are convinced that consumers are ready to upgrade flatscreens first purchased a few years ago, and are willing to trade in their older devices for sharper images. “It’s like looking through a window,” said Mike Fasulo, president and chief operating officer of Sony.

Critics contend that 4K is unlikely to take off soon, as very few films and television shows are currently shot and produced to fit these “ultra high definition” screens. However, Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, the video streaming company, said that its latest TV series, including House of Cards, the American political thriller starring Kevin Spacey, will be produced in the 4K format. Sony also said it will unveil a suite of 4K films made by the company’s movie studio, that can be downloaded and watched on the devices.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/technology/article3967984.ece

[miril]

IWatch You, Healthfully!

Apple pregateste lansarea iWatch. Prima CONFIRMARE OFICIALA (VIDEO)

http://www.gadgetreport.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/iwatch.jpg

Apple se pregăteşte intens pentru lansarea noii game de gadgeturi inteligente cu care spera sa dea o lovitura similara iPhone-ului si iPad-ului. Potrivit expertilor, iWatch se anunta a fi cel mai spectaculos ceas inteligent din piata, urmand sa rescrie standardele in industria de profil.

GSMArena relateaza, citand surse oficiale din cadrul furnizorilor Apple, ca ceasul inteligent iWatch va fi lansat pe piata in luna octombrie, probabil impreuna cu un nou iPhone, si ca vor fi produse intre 3 si 5 milioane de exemplare lunar.



Asta inseamna ca Apple isi pune mari sperante ca va da lovitura cu noul iWatch.

Informatia vine sa confirme relatarile GadgetReport.ro care afirmau, recent, ca productia iWatch va incepe in intervalul iulie-august, ceea ce inseamna ca lansarea ceasului inteligent va avea loc cel mai probabil in octombrie. Producatorul taiwanez Quanta Computer, cel care va construi ceasurile iWatch, lucreaza deja la foc continuu pentru a pregati noul produs.

Potrivit surselor, iWatch ar urma sa vina cu un display OLED curbat de 1.5- 2-inchi, acoperit cu safir, si senzori care vor colecta tot felul de informatii, de la nivelul de glucoza din sange la cosumul de calorii, activitatea din timpul somnului si nivelul de oxigen din sange.

Smartwatch-ul ar urma sa colecteze, bineinteles, si datele biometrice gratie senzoului Touch ID, ce va fi importat de pe iPhone.

iWatch ar urma sa ruleze o versiune speciala a sistemului de operare iOS 8 si sa ofere acces la noile aplicatii HealthKit si Fitness-tracking.

Dincolo de forma si data de lansare, Brian Blair, analist de la Rosenblatt Securities, un specialist care tot timpul a anticipat corect urmatoarele miscari pregatite de Apple, afirma recent, citat de GadgetReport.ro, ca Apple va lansa doua modele de iWatch, cate unul pentru ambele sexe.

Ceasul inteligent Apple ar uma sa aiba, de asemenea, o facilitate care il va diferentia fata de concurenta – se va incarca fara niciun cablu, de la un metru distanta de priza.

iWatch ar urma sa fie echipat cu o bratara speciala, cu rezonanta magnetica, care va contine si acumulatorul de 100 mAh cu proprietati de incarcare wireless.

Tehnologia exista deja si ar urma sa fie folosita si de sud-coreenii de la Samsung, pe gadgeturile ce le va lansa in acest an.

Urmariti mai jos un clip video care aduna cele mai interesante concepte iWatch lansate pe internet

TLNmaRYNiQ8

http://www.gadgetreport.ro/gadget/apple-pregateste-lansarea-iwatch-prima-confirmare-oficiala-video/

[Zamo]

Miril, asta este cu dedicatie. :))

[miril]

Saru' mana! Ce surpriza placuta, Zamo! COYS! HAI PROGRESUL! Unde ai vazut chestia asta, un link, ceva?

[Johnny D]

Ce COYS, bai? Ai uitat unde esti, COYP(platanii)!:))
A postat Zamo unde nu trebuie, sa stii ca este si sectiune cu Tottenham, dar... ma rog, ideea e f reusita, mai buna era o poza cu un tun insa!:D

[miril]

Scrisesem si HAI PROGRESUL in...navy dar n-am mai controlat ce a iesit caci as fi constatat ca desi "am scris" nu am...testat.

[radut]

Scrisesem si HAI PROGRESUL in...navy dar n-am mai controlat ce a iesit caci as fi constatat ca desi "am scris" nu am...testat.

E bine oricum!Nu conteaza!

[miril]

IPicasso, IApple!

How secret of Apple’s sleek designs is drawn from Picasso’s simple bull James Dean The Times

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00749/be50893e-2190-11e4-_749243c.jpg

Apple employees are being taught to think like Picasso when they design iPhones, iPads and Macbooks.

Students at the electronics giant’s secretive Apple University have been instructed to take inspiration from Picasso’s The Bull, a series of lithograph prints in which the Spanish master breaks down a brushstroke image of a bull into an abstract line drawing.

The sleek, simple forms of Apple’s products, which are designed by a team led by the British designer Jonnathan Yves, have helped to propel Apples's annual sales past 170 million dollars.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article4173459.ece#tab-4