iWatch-Apple's New Creation

Wearable technology, may be a dream in the past but now it is the next big thing to happen- and if anyone can make a truly desirable wearable device, it's Apple.

Apple is rumored to be developing an iWatch, which would most likely sync up with your iPhone 5 or iPad to give you updates on you’re wrist, allow you to control other devices and pull data from the cloud. 

         

                                      

The iWatch project:

Apple has a team of around 100 designers working on "a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad". That's based on conversations with "two people familiar with the company's plans".The team includes people from all parts of Apple: not just iPad and iPhone engineers but software developers, managers and marketers too - plus what seems to be a bio metric A-Team that will endow the iWatch with sleep analysis, fingerprint scanners and other health-related sensors.

Apple iWatch features

A further two informers claiming to be acquainted with Apple’s various super-plans say it is experimenting with a ‘wristwatch-like device made of curved glass’,operating on iOS. The NYT notes Corning has developed bendable glass last year called Willow Glass which could be used to wrap around something wrist, and cites Forrester’s claim that “Apple’s certainly made a lot of hiring in that area”.

There are also claims Apple is in discussions with Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, which makes a large number of iPhone and iPad parts, about producing an iWatch. Foxconn are apparently working to make more power-efficient displays and stripping down chips, aimed at multiple Foxconn customers. This Wall Street Journal report also claims Apple has hired employees with backgrounds in sensors and related tecehnologies.

In terms of size, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that there has been no official word from Apple, but that hasn't stopped the web from starting some lovely rumours. The result of such rumours seems to be that we, the internet, are expecting a 1.5-inch touchscreen watch face, that is waterproof and shock proof.

Apple iWatch battery

There are reams of speculation on precisely what tech the device would have under the hood, which at this point may seem like a rumour bridge too far – but certainly one thing that would seem obvious is some form of better battery performance, since you wouldn't want to take a watch off and charge it twice a day like can be required for a smartphone. On this point, some have highlighted a patent Apple owns for wireless charging.

Competition for Apple's iWatch

The wearable watch market could be the next big tech battleground as perennial Apple nemesis Samsung has already confirmed that it has a smart watch in the works.The name of Samsung's watch may have been revealed as well, through a recent trademark filing. If the trademark is to be believed then the Samsung watch will be called Samsung Gear.

Other tech heavyweights are rumoured to be getting in on the timekeeping game too; the Apple watch may have to fight off competition from Google, which filed a smart watch patent last year and was 'confirmed' to be working on a timepiece by the good folk over at the Financial Times.

Also leaping aboard the largely-imaginary bandwagon is LG. Despite launching a disappointing phone-watch thing back in 2009, LG isn't being deterred and finally has an Apple watch baiting rumour of its own thanks to the Korea Times.
And, of course, anything Samsung and LG can do, Sony can do too - the Japanese tech giant has an experimental project called Open Smart watch in the works, putting the onus on developers to create jazzy new firmware for its existing Smart watch device.
On June 25, Sony unveiled its newest smart watch: the Sony Smart Watch 2, which is a water-resistant, NFC-toting Android phone companion.

The unique thing about apple is that 

"Apple, when you look back, is never actually the first. They let a few others, sometimes many others, experiment first. Then, they bring out the killer product that revolutionize the latest technology trends".Another point to be noted is "Apple is always Apple" none can beat them .

Source: techradar ,t3

PROJECT LOON : Powered Internet Project by Google

Google is preparing to conquer a new dimension: the stratosphere. The Internet giant is releasing 30 high-tech balloons in a trial of technology designed to bring the Internet to places where people are not yet connected.

The balloons are being sent up into the sky from New Zealand's South Island this month in the first trial of a pioneering system dubbed Project Loon.

According to Google, "Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters."

Google estimates that two-thirds of the global population is without fast, affordable Internet access. So while it sounds like something from the realms of science fiction, if successful, the project could make a difference to many people around the world.

                                            

                                                               

                                                                  Google Balloon

What are Google Balloons?

Google is experimenting with helium-filled balloons that beam the internet from the sky. Developed over a period of 18 months, these jellyfish-shaped balloons are part of Project Loon that Google has commissioned them in New Zealand.

These are the helium-filled balloons that are made from a thin polyethylene film and are 15 meters (49 feet) in diameter when fully inflated.

How does these Google Balloons work?

The balloons would sail on the stratosphere's winds in a continuous circuit around the globe. The balloons come equipped with flight computers, and Google would control the balloons' altitude from the ground, keeping them moving along a desired channel by using different winds at different heights.

Once released, the balloons will float in the stratosphere above 60,000 feet (18,300 meters), twice as high as airplanes and the weather, Google says. Their altitude will be controlled from "Loon Mission Control" using special software to allow them to pick up layers of wind traveling in the right direction and form a balloon network.

If all goes to plan, about 60 people who've had a special antenna fixed on their homes for the trial should be able to connect to the balloon network. The signal will bounce from balloon to balloon, then to the Internet back on Earth. Hundreds of people will be able to connect to one balloon at a time.

                             

                                              Project Loon Grid

People behind Project Loon:

Rich Devaul, Chief Technical Architect for Project Loon, explained that the system will “communicate with specialized internet antennas on the ground. [An] antenna points up at the sky and talks to [a] balloon and each one of these balloons talks to their neighboring balloons and then back down to the ground station which is connected to the local internet provider.”

Devaul also stated that the team has “designed our radios and antennas specifically to receive signals from Project Loon only… If we didn't filter out the other signals the technology just wouldn't work.”

By early 2012, the experiment had gained status of a genuine Google X project. It also had a new leader. DeVaul, preferring to work on tech rather than management, helped hire a project leader, Mike Cassidy, a top search engineer who had started multiple companies before joining Google. Cassidy built up the team with network engineers, mapping specialists, energy experts, and ex-military operatives who were stunningly good at recovering downed payloads in wilderness terrain. (When balloons would go down, the payload would separate and glide earthward by parachute. Civilians stumbling on the scary-looking package would see a non-branded message reading HARMLESS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT, and a promise of a reward for those who called a number to return it.) When it became clear that Google needed many more balloons that its small team was able to hand-craft, Cassidy began a fruitful collaboration with Raven Aerostar, the company that makes weather balloons for NASA and created the monster bubble that took Felix Baumgartner into near space for his record leap earthward.

Advantages:

Google says the balloons have the potential to provide internet access far more cheaply, quickly and widely than traditional underground fiber cables. 

One downside is that computer users on the ground would need to install a receiver to get the signal.

                                   

Challenges Google Balloons face

Managing the flight of just one balloon in our complex and ever-changing atmosphere is a huge challenge. Trying to harmonize an entire fleet of thousands of them will be mind-boggling.

One issue that Google has had to deal with is how to keep the balloons floating roughly in the same area to maintain an Internet connection on Earth. Cassidy said the team members believe they've figured it out. "All we had to do was figure out how to control their path through the sky," he noted. "We've now found a way to do that, using just wind and solar power: We can move the balloons up or down to catch the winds we want them to travel in. That solution then led us to a new problem: How to manage a fleet of balloons sailing around the world so that each balloon is in the area you want it right when you need it. We're solving this with some complex algorithms and lots of computing power."

Google's vision:

Google's vision is to build a ring of balloons, flying around the globe on stratospheric winds about 12.4 miles high, that provide Internet access to remote and undeserved areas. The balloons communicate with specially designed antennas on the ground, which in turn, connect to ground stations that connect to the local Internet service provider, the company said.

 But if all works according to the company’s grand vision, hundreds, even thousands, of high-pressure balloons circling the earth could provide Internet to a significant chunk of the world’s 5 billion unconnected souls, enriching their lives with vital news, precious educational materials, lifesaving health information and many more.

Green Computing-The next wave in Computing

A Chinese proverb, often used by environmentalists, states

                          "One generation plants a tree; the next sits in its shade."

Computers impact the environment in a number of ways. Making computers requires non-renewable resources and creates manufacturing waste and pollution. Using computers requires electricity and generates heat, which is also a form of pollution. Disposing of computers creates even more trash and is potentially hazardous because of the materials in the computer. The goal of green computing is to reduce the environmental impact of computers for both the user and the manufacturer by making computers as energy efficient as possible, reducing the amount of hazardous and non-recyclable materials, and properly disposing of old machines.

Origin:

Every one of us are aware of the energy-star logo on printers computers etc. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary labeling program that is designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors, climate control equipment, and other technologies. This resulted in the widespread adoption of sleep mode among consumer electronics. Concurrently, the Swedish organization TCO Development launched the TCO Certification program to promote low magnetic and electrical emissions from CRT-based computer displays; this program was later expanded to include criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of hazardous materials in construction.

                                                             

Advantages are as below:

Cloud Computing

It is an innovative technology to help save significant energy usage. Cloud computing includes replacement of regular services with virtual servers. The distinct areas where this technology finds it use are for software application, operating systems, networking and data storage.

 Recycling

With recycling, one can save great amount of energy, money and time spent in creating these electronic stuffs. The resources utilized and the money disbursed in creating these electronic stuffs from scratch is anytime an excellent option. Only a negligible percentage of used or discarded electronic items can be recycled. 

 Shutting down your Computers

Shutting down your computers during the night assists to save a substantial amount of electrical energy. The projected amount of the energy used up in a year due to continued computer usage is $115-$160.  Using your PC for just eight hours in a day will help to save around 810 kWh of energy in a year. 

 Enhancing Algorithmic Efficiency

Green computing is also useful for enhancing algorithmic efficacy of the computers. Well-organized algorithm utilizes minimum resources thus, increasing the productivity. Therefore, without enhancing algorithmic efficiency, you cannot expect substantial energy conservation through cloud computing.    

How can technology be a boon to  Environment:

While some of the impact of computers and the Internet has unfortunately been negative, much of it has also been positive. Here's just a few of the ways that technology is helping to improve the environment:

• It helps us develop and produce new materials and technologies that are sustainable and do not harm the environment, so we can eventually stop using ones that do harm it
• It allow us to monitor and study our environment to better understand how it works and the impact of our actions on it
• It helps us create smarter technologies that respond to how we use them and adjust themselves to reduce their environmental impact, such as lights that can sense when no one is in the room and automatically turn off
• It allows us to have a worldwide virtual laboratory, so that experts from all fields can share their research, experience and ideas to come up with better, smarter solutions. Not only does this allow people far away from each other to work together, but it also reduces the environmental impact people would normally cause from traveling to meet with each other
• It allows for paperless communication like email and online bill paying toreduce the amount of trees cut down
• It allows companies to reduce shipping and manufacturing impact and to reach a broader audience

Everyone talks about doing something about the mother earth but no one finds the answer to the most basic questions 1. How? and 2 where?   well every one has to think upon this and try to find the answer.

Green computing is all about using computers but in a smarter and Eco-friendly way.

                                           

                                                

Galaxy S4 Korea, US versions:Difference?

Samsung Electronics is offering two different versions of its Galaxy S4 smartphone for its South Korean and U.S. markets. These two versions look the same on the outside but they key components inside are a different story. According to a teardown conducted by IHSiSuppli Teardown Analysis Service, the permutations of the versions in their apps processor, wireless sub-system, and user interface results in significant differences in the capabilities and pricing of the Korean and U.S. S4 versions.

The U.S. version of the Galaxy S4 with 16GB of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of Rs.12,445.65 ($229), which rises to Rs.12,880.43 ($237) when the manufacturing cost is added. The Korean edition with the same memory configuration has a BOM of Rs.13,260.87 ($244) and a combined manufacturing and component cost of Rs.13,695.65 ($252).

"With at least four different known incarnations of the Galaxy S4, Samsung is demonstrating its strategy of offering a mobile product that has appealing features and pricing—and then adapting the device to suit the tastes of varying markets or regions," said Vincent Leung, senior analyst, teardown services, for IHS. "This approach is in stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all philosophy used by Apple Inc., Samsung's primary competitor in the wireless space. While the Korean and U.S. versions of the S4 look pretty much the same and have in terms of their core electronics many same core features—such as the enclosure, display, camera and battery—the products are as different from each other as kimchee and coleslaw."

     

Processor permutations
One of the biggest differences between the two versions of the Galaxy S4 is the apps processor.

The U.S. version offered by AT&T employs the Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, costing $20.00. The Korean variation—as well as some other international versions—integrates Samsung's own Octacore Exynos 5 processor, an eight-core device that costs Rs.434.78 ($8) more at Rs.1,521.74 ($28).

The Octacore Exynos 5 enables some unique, processor-intensive applications that are not possible with the Snapdragon processor. These include eye-movement recognition, which allows a user to pause a video simply by looking away from the S4 display.

Samsung's S4 supremacy
One thing that all versions of the Galaxy S4 share is their extensive use of Samsung-made componentry.

"No other company in the world has an internal supply chain like Samsung's," Leung said. "The display, memory, apps processor, base band, RF transceiver, cameras, power amplifier and a range of other parts—all these make Samsung unique in its capability to supply key parts and capture so much value in a mobile device."

An IHS virtual teardown of the 16GB of the U.S. version of the Galaxy S4 smartphone initially estimated its BOM at Rs.12,663.04 ($233), rising to Rs.13,097.83 ($241) when the manufacturing cost is added. The physical teardown mostly confirmed the pricing and design predictions made in the virtual teardown, with some minor exceptions.

ZTE Open -- world's first Firefox OS smartphone

ZTE Open -- the world's first smartphone to run on Mozilla's Firefox OS -- is launched. The phone will be first launched in Spain, Venezuela and Colombia in mid-2013.   The ZTE Open is an entry-level smartphone featuring a 3.5-inch, HVGA TFT touchscreen display and has 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM combined with a 3.2MP camera. It supports Bluetooth 2.1, WIFI 802.11b/g/n and AGPS and has a 1200mAH battery.   Mozilla's Firefox OS is HTML5-based and completely open source so ZTE Open users will be able to run Web apps and view their favourite websites without losing any of the features they love. Mozilla's Firefox OS is free from restrictions. It provides an open standards platform for developers looking to create HTML5-based websites and apps. Developers will be able to distribute their apps through the Firefox Marketplace.

Mobile displays that change shape!

The European Union has awarded Rs.17.77 crore (€2.47 million) for a three-year project, known asGHOST "Generic and Highly Organic, Shape-changing inTerfaces" that aims at extending the next generation computer and mobile display surfaces beyond the rigid, flat surfaces which people are familiar with and allow users to physically push, pull, bend, fold or flex the display.

GHOSTs are display surfaces made of malleable materials that can change into and retain arbitrary shapes so as to display output from the system or allow new actions. At the same time, GHOSTs enable users to deform, touch, or otherwise manipulate the shape of their display surface to provide input to the system.

The collaborative European research project includes Sriram Subramanian, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, and will bring together a range of partners from across Europe to design, develop and evaluate prototypes to define the current and future challenges of making organic user experiences.

The Bristol researchers will be creating interactive visual surfaces with shape changes at the sub-centimetre scale and with rapid (sub-second) actuation to change forms. The initial prototypes will help understand the technical and scientific challenges of using smart materials to create shape changinginput and output technologies.

The Bristol team will be led by Professor Subramanian with co-investigators, David Coyle, Department of Computer Science and Jonathan Rossiter, Department of Engineering Mathematics and research associate, Anne Roudaut, Department of Computer Science.

Professor Sriram Subramanian in the Bristol Interaction and Graphics group, said: "Display technology developments mean the next generation of visual output devices will extend beyond the rigid, flat surfaces with which we are familiar and allow users to physically push, pull, bend, fold or flex the display. This will better represent on-screen content or support new modes of interaction. Such interfaces will also provide many benefits over current user interfaces by enabling people to express and communicate through touch and manipulation of physical objects."

GHOST, is a collaborative project funded by the EU under the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)-Open programme. The project involves various universities across Europe including the University of Bristol, University of Copenhagen, Lancaster University and Eindhoven University of Technology.

ROBOTS AND ANDROIDS

For hundreds of years people have had a dream that they could create mechanical helpers for man. 

Robots have come a long way since the day the first robot was built in 1927. Nowadays, these machines are used as surgery robots, service robots, and military robots. It is startling to learn that scientists are now trying to make robots human-like by infusing emotions and expressions onto them. However, eyebrows are raised about their misuse too. An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, especially one with a body having a flesh-like resemblance.  Until recently, androids have largely remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently seen in film and television. However, advancements in robotic technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots. It is hardly surprising that man should create robots 'in his own image'

What is a Robot?

What is a robot? It has become increasingly difficult to define exactly what a robot is given the rapid developments that are occurring in the science and business of robotics. Even Joseph Engelberger, often credited as the “Father of Robotics,” was said to have once remarked, "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one.”Various encyclopedias describe robots as anything from a “mechanism guided by human controls” to “a machine that looks like a human being and can perform various complex acts of a human being”. More technically, the Robot Institute of America (1979) defines a robot as “a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks."

What is an Android?

Androids, on the other hand, are humanoid robots built to realistically look and act like humans. This has unsurprisingly caused some controversies, especially in the case of fembots or gynoids (from the Greek word "gyn" meaning woman), whose aesthetic attributes and functions may be considered insulting to real women, while at the same time providing the prospect of human-like company to men. It has been argued that humanoid robots are not attempts to recreate humans, but are instead designed to work with them as well as for them through interactions in typical, everyday environments. Once this goal is fully achieved, then we can look forward to adding another definition for the word “robot.” So, a humanoid robot is a robot that can work with people.

An human looking Android 

So what, anyway, is the difference between a robot and an android?

 Well, although the terms are often interchanged or confused, a robot can be described as a machine which is capable of doing a job which would normally have been done by a human. An ordinary filter coffee machine would be too simple to fall into that category, but one with a timer which wakes you up to a fresh cup in the morning has the beginnings of a robot to it. More to the point, machines which can act autonomously, or semi-autonomously, can definitely be called robots. Whereas an android, or anthropomorphic droid, is a robot which looks humanoid and can operate in a human environment.

Future of Robots

Today we have semi-autonomous robots—surgery robots, service robots, and military robots that are used in various industries viz. automotive, electronic petrochemical and military operations. Android robots are the future. Scientists are trying to make them look realistic. Also, there are initiatives. Underway to give them natural effects and human expressions. Though practically, robots cannot have emotions, scientists now want to create an illusion that they are thinking machines. There are many benefits of using robots and I will touch upon a few of them. 

                     Robots are also fast becoming the companions to children and old people. These machines can talk and work as reminders. There are robots with screens with which parents can watch and guide their children. With advances in technology, it is expected that in the next 10-15 years robots will replace human beings in childcare. This can be serious because, then there will be more social exclusion and such a child might become a total social misfit. But we must always remember that their misuse can cause human life an enormous damage, to such an extent that we cannot even imagine.

Finally I would like to conclude by saying "In the future, our lives will be full of robots"

Apple has plans to launch cheap IPhones

Here comes a news cost-conscious customers have been waiting for! According to several media reports,Apple is planning "cheapo" version of iPhone for price-sensitive markets like India and China.

Trying hard to compete with its arch smartphone rivalSamsung, Apple may launch a smaller and cheaper version of its flagship device 'iPhone' this year.

"The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body," a Wall Street Journal report said.

According to BloombergBusinessweek, Apple had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011 and is weighing retail prices of Rs.5,265.96 ($99) to Rs.7,925.53 ($149) for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has even spoken to at least one of the top U.S. wireless carriers about its plans.

However, WSJ reports that Apple could still decide to scrap the plan. But, if the reports turn out to be true then it could be a "big strategy shift" for Apple. Apple products were never intended for "mass-market" and the company always tried to woo upper-class customers.

Is iPhone on the way of becoming another Blackberry?