Leaked: Nokia 5.2-inch Android phone images surface ahead of launch

Leaked: Nokia 5.2-inch Android phone images surface ahead of launch

Tech wpb   07:11

 5.2-inch Nokia Android phone leaks in live images ahead of launch In Picture: Nokia Lumia smartphones are pictured in a shop in Warsaw, January 11, 2013.Reuters
Soon after Nokia confirmed to participate in the upcoming MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2017 in late February, scores of rumours are flooding the internet about the device's features. Now, a purported live image of the mobile phone has surfaced online.

Technology blog PlayfulDroid has got hold of the Nokia mobile phone's pictures. In one of the photos, the device is shown to have to Nokia's engraving on the top right corner with a camera placed to its left side and a speaker at the centre. At the bottom, the phone has one big rectangular physical home button and capacitive-based 'Back' and 'Recents' button to its left and right corners, respectively.

It is believed to be the long-rumoured 5.2-inch Nokia D1C model, but going by the images, it looks like the Nokia device might be a prototype model, as the second photo shows some circuit parts protruding from below the display.

We believe Nokia is still testing the mobile phone to fit the right hardware, so that when launched it will be on par with the rival brands.

Though Nokia's devices are manufactured by HMD Global Oy, it will make sure the device matches Finnish brand's previous phones.

5.2-inch Nokia Android phone leaks in live images ahead of launchPlayfuldroid
Rumour has it that the company is also working on flagship phone code-named Nokia P, which is expected to boast Qualcomm's most powerful CPU yet, Snapdragon 835 backed by 6GB RAM.

It has to be noted the MWC 2017 will witness the start of Nokia's second innings in the smartphone business after it sold the mobile division to Microsoft and signed no competition agreement four years earlier in 2012.

Watch this space for more news on Nokia's products and MWC 2017.

CAN YOU TELL THIS CAR ISN’T REAL? HDR MAKES ‘GRAN TURISMO 4’ UNBELIEVABLY BELIEVABL

CAN YOU TELL THIS CAR ISN’T REAL? HDR MAKES ‘GRAN TURISMO 4’ UNBELIEVABLY BELIEVABL

Unbelievable wpb   01:02

 

Your TV has been letting you down, racing game fans.

You’ve been using a color format known as standard RGB, and it’s not quite capable of modeling all the colors the human eye is capable of seeing. No matter how closely the developer of the Gran Turismo series, Polyphony Digital, came to rendering the real-life cars that appear in its driving simulator, they were never quite perfect — some colors just were beyond the capabilities of technology.

“Over 10 percent of the cars in the real world that have been included in Gran Turismo in the past were actually outside the color range of the sRGB that TVs were compatible with,” said Gran Turismo Producer Kazunori Yamauchi earlier this month at Sony’s PlayStation Experience.

That’s going to change in 2017’s Gran Turismo Sport, Yamauchi explained during a technical briefing at PlayStation Experience. Today, the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro support High-Dynamic Range (HDR), increasing the range of usable colors in an image, and “wide color gamut,” which increases the number of colors the screen can produce. Combined, these new technologies produce far more realistic graphics, allowing photographers, videographers, and game designers to recreate even conventional images in a whole new light.

More: Sony Playstation 4 Pro Review

The easiest example of how HDR and wide color works is an image of a sunset. On a standard set there are, in general, fewer colors, and less contrast between them. The screen can’t display subtle color and brightness variations very well, and it’s stuck rendering a smaller set of colors. HDR and wide color make it possible to see more subtle variations in color (say in the shades of orange in the sunset), and give the display more color capabilities in general. It’s a lot easier to show than to tell.

In other words: Gran Turismo Sport is going to be even prettier than most players expect.
LEARNING, AND CREATING, A NEW TECHNOLOGY

Yamauchi said Polyphony has been looking to take Gran Turismo Sport into HDR and wide color since the developer started working on the game three years ago. To do that, Polyphony had to capture real-world images in HDR and wide color in order to recreate them. It doesn’t sound that crazy except that, at that time, they were entering unprecedented territory.

“Three years ago when we started developing Gran Turismo Sport, there were actually no HDR images anywhere in the world.”

“The world of HDR is something that most of the world hasn’t stepped into. It’s really uncharted territory.” Yamauchi said. “Three years ago when we started developing Gran Turismo Sport, there were actually no HDR images anywhere in the world.”

But the Polyphony team still needed a way to recreate our world in HDR and wide color, so it set about finding a way to do it.

“In order to make the game compatible with HDR, we had to start by developing a camera that can actually capture the world within HDR format,” he said. “As a result, we ended up developing a camera that has 100 times the dynamic range over a standard digital camera today.”

With the new camera, the team was able to shoot images of cars in conditions that showed them how they wanted Gran Turismo Sport to look. They set about developing the game to get that sort of visual fidelity, and in a big way, Polyphony started to revolutionize television and gaming visuals.

During his presentation, Yamauchi showed images from Gran Turismo Sport of cars from manufacturer McLaren, first in sRGB, and then in wide color and HDR. In sRGB, one paint job appeared more orange, but flipped to the HDR image, it was obviously red. The same was true with deep yellows and oranges. In sRGB, Polyphony had no choice but to flub the actual colors of the cars it was trying to recreate. Yamauchi said the majority of the colors McLaren uses for its cars actually fall outside the sRGB range — with Gran Turismo Sport, Polyphony can finally show them as they really are.

Where HDR really shines is in lighting. Much of Yamauchi’s presentation was dedicated to showing how Gran Turismo Sport handles light in different weather conditions. Dramatic images that use a lot of light and contrast, like sunsets, look gorgeous, but subtler things, like how cars look as they pass through different lighting conditions as they move around a track, are also benefiting from HDR to better approximate what you’d see if you watched a real race.

It’s all about producing a greater range of light intensity, or luminosity. On standard TV sets, the range of luminosity the screen could put out went up to about 100 “nits,” Yamauchi explained — a nit is a unit to measure light intensity. Blu-Ray video and HDR movie theaters, by contrast, are going for a range of about 1,000 nits. The TV used in his presentation was capable of a range of about 1,500 nits.

“In order to make the game compatible with HDR, we had to start by developing a camera that can actually capture the world within HDR format.”

Gran Turismo Sport, Yamauchi said, will support a range of up to 10,000 nits, far beyond what even the upcoming crop of TVs’ capability to handle — Polyphony has to wait for TV tech to catch up.

While the PS4 Pro’s ability to output up to 4K resolution undoubtedly improves the game’s visual fidelity, it’s the realism offered by HDR that seems to make the biggest difference. That said, combining all of these technological capabilities is what creates the best possible picture, and that is only possible on thePS4 Pro.

“As of today, the world of 4K 60-FPS HDR and wide color is something that’s only available on the PS4 Pro,” he said. “It’s something that’s only available to be seen on a game console. So the package media that you’re used to today, the movie theaters and the broadcast media, they’re not going to reach this level for some time to come.”
KEEPING UP WITH PS4 PRO

The good news is that even if you’re not a PS4 Pro owner, you can still tap into some of Gran Turismo Sport’s visual capabilities. HDR and wide color do require new, high-end TV sets to enjoy, but Sony’s update adding HDR support to all PlayStation 4 consoles means that even older PS4s are compatible with the tech. You don’t need a PS4 Pro to enjoy some of the improvements Gran Turismo Sport has to offer, if you’ve got the TV for it.

During the demo, Yamauchi showed a direct comparison between Gran Turismo Sport running on a standard RGB, non-HDR TV, and the game running on a set that supported HDR and wide color. And while there was definitely improvement to be seen, we should point out that the standard version of Gran Turismo Sport is a looker, too.

Still, though, the visual improvements, and all the work that it took to create them, are helping Polyphony reach its overall goal: recreating the real feel of driving.

“What we’ve been doing really hasn’t changed at all since we started with the first Gran Turismo,” Yamauchi said. “For 20 years, we’ve been always aiming toward a single objective, and that was to show beautiful cars, to show beautiful lights, and that objective hasn’t changed since the first Gran Turismo.

“It’s a little bit at a time, but the driving physics has improved over the years, the sounds as well, and the expressions of light have improved. But still, I don’t think we’ve reached the point where we’re able to really represent how fun it is to drive a car yet. But you do get a sense that you are getting much, much closer than we’ve ever been.”

HEIMPLANET’S NEW PACKS AIM TO BANISH SWEATY BACKS WITH 3D FOAM

HEIMPLANET’S NEW PACKS AIM TO BANISH SWEATY BACKS WITH 3D FOAM

AWESOME TECH YOU CAN’T BUY YET: RECORD-PLAYING ROBOTS wpb   23:59

Does the name Heimplanet ring a bell? No? Well, even if you don’t remember its name, there’s a good chance that you remember the company’s flagship product: that crazy inflatable, geodesic tent that popped up on the web a couple years ago. The Cave, as it’s called, was the company’s first big product release — but now its back with something new on Kickstarter.

This time around, Heimplanet decided to rethink the backpack and continue its geodesic design theme with the Motion Series — a pair of innovative packs that aim to do away with the dreaded “sweaty back syndrome” that plagues most backpacks. Heimplanet built these suckers with a clever 3D foam backing that promotes airflow and keeps your back dry while you hike, but without adding any extra bulk or weight to the pack itself.

Five years ago, German company Heimplanet blew our minds with its geodesic tent, the Cave. Using a one pump system with its patented multi chamber, which allows evenly displaced air, inflating into the coolest-looking tent ever made. Why would you stay in a Holiday Inn type tent, when you could have the Standard Hotel of tents?

Following the Cave, would Heimplanet be a one-hit wonder, or will it be able to continue making slick and functional gear that pushes the boundaries of the what we think gear should look like? Heimplanet is attempting to answer that with the new Motion Series of backpacks.

The Motion Series are thus far just two backpacks that continue Heimplanet’s theme of 3D, geodesic designs. To help do away with sweaty “back bath” syndrome of many packs, Heimplanet uses a 3D foam panel to allow airflow between the pack and your back.


“We created a solution that’s great for all kinds of sports, activities and everyday carry.”

While a backpack may seem like a huge design departure from a geodesic tent, there is a common link. “The idea for the foam panel came from our Cairo Camo tent design,” Heimplanet Co-Founder Stefan Clauss told Digital Trends. “This design originally was developed because some of our clients asked us if we could develop something that allows the tent to melt with its surroundings, so that it will not be detected whilst wild camping. The Cairo Camo pattern was our modern interpretation of former military camouflage designs.”

The packs come in two volumes and styles – the Arc 20L and Ellipse 25L – and are both available in two colorways: purple/light grey and dark grey/green. The 3D foam molded back pad is comfortable with balanced pressure points that feel great. The backing looks super sharp, although it is tad hefty.

“The 3D pattern is made out of an EVA foam panel and Nylon Spandex that is molded onto the foam panel with the help of heat and pressure,” Clauss detailed. “The main fabric of the Motion series is 210D Rip Stop Nylon Mélange with PEVR lamination. We internally developed this nylon mélange material especially for those bags and so far you won’t find this material on any other product.”



The inside pouch has a polished computer sleeve well protected from the elements that doubles as bladder pocket for hydration systems. The external spandex storage layer for the packs are easily accessible and allow 2-way breathing for drying a shell or jacket. Each pack also has unique outer storage units that can be detached for lighter treks.






With a very long list of tech specs, one might assume that the pack would look more “techy” than chic, but the packs are stylish. Imagine if Arc-teryx and Rick Owens had a love child backpack.




“Moritz Grebe also developed our first product, the inflatable, geodesic tents,” said Clauss. “Inspiration for theses backpacks was born during his search for the perfect everyday backpack, but there was no model that combines all the functional aspects of an outdoor backpack with the stylish look of an everyday urban backpack. We created a solution that’s great for all kinds of sports, activities and everyday carry.”

The Heimplanet Arc and Ellipse packs are available for preorder now on Kickstarter with early bird pricing started at around $100

FEED IT TO THE WORMS: AUSTRALIAN COMPANY DEBUTS COMPOSTABLE COFFEE PODS

FEED IT TO THE WORMS: AUSTRALIAN COMPANY DEBUTS COMPOSTABLE COFFEE PODS

Tech wpb   23:53

comPod

You know those single-serving coffee pods that let you make precisely one mug of coffee instead of brewing an entire pot? Well, despite the fact that they’re outrageously convenient (or perhaps because of it), they’re also pretty bad for the environment. According to one study, all the little plastic K-cups produced in 2013 alone could encircle the Earth 10 times if they were stacked end to end.

ComPod wants to put an end to this pollution — but without putting an end to the glorious convenience of single-serving coffee. How? By making the cups biodegradable, of course! “ComPod capsules brew just like your favorite Nespresso-compatible capsule,” the creators explain on Kickstarter, “but they help the environment instead of hurting it. Simply brew a delicious cup of coffee like any other Nespresso-compatible pod and when you’re done, throw your used coffee capsule in your compost, garden, or worm farm. The capsule will completely biodegrade within six months.”

For many instant coffee makers, the pods which transform a small dose of concentrated coffee into a mug of java or espresso haven’t always been particularly Earth-friendly in their construction — despite the fact coffee itself is derived from an Earth-grown plant. To combat this issue, a company out of Melbourne, Australia, recently took to Kickstarter to unveil what it’s calling the compPod, a fully compostable coffee pod compatible with Nespresso’s line of instant coffee machines. While it would be great to see a versatile line of pods capable of working with a wide array of machines, comPod is a positive first step.

Developed under the idea to help make “the world a better place, one coffee at a time,” comPods boast the incredible ability to fully biodegrade roughly six months after use. As stated on its Kickstarter page, comPods creator Dan McQuinn points to the fact that billions (an estimated number) of single-use coffee pods wind up making their way to various landfills annually. A staggering amount of literally anything — even something as diminutive as an instant coffee pod — McQuinn desired a way to start unclogging those landfills.

“Coffee shouldn’t cost the Earth,” stated comPods introductory Kickstarter video. “ComPod capsules brew just like your favorite Nespresso-compatible capsule but they help the environment instead of hurting it. Simply brew a delicious cup of coffee like any other Nespresso-compatible pod and when you’re done, throw your used coffee capsule in your compost, garden, or worm farm. The capsule will completely biodegrade within six months.”

More: Indulge your cold-brew cravings with the Arctic at-home coffee brewer

For roughly $22, McQuinn allows interested backers to purchase a month’s supply of comPods — i.e., 30 capsules — to be delivered by February 2017. Though the capsules are compatible with nearly every model of Nespresso machine, save a few professional “pouch” and “capsule-holder” machines, comPods are in no way affiliated with Nespresso or its parent company, Nestle. As of this writing, the campaign had already raised just north of $1,000 to its goal of $11,177 with 25 fundraising days left

THE ROKBLOK PORTABLE RECORD PLAYER DRIVES AROUND YOUR VINYL LIKE AN RC CAR

THE ROKBLOK PORTABLE RECORD PLAYER DRIVES AROUND YOUR VINYL LIKE AN RC CAR

Tech wpb   23:49

Normally, if you want to play a record, you place your album on a turntable, which spins it and reads the tunes with a needle. RokBlock turns that method on its head. Rather than spinning the record itself, RokBlock is designed to drive around your vinyl like a little car going in circles, read the songs with a needle, and beam the audio to a Bluetooth speaker. Pretty clever, right?

And for those of you who are worried about scratching up your vinyl, don’t be. “RokBlok has been engineered to prevent damage to your records when in use,” the company states on its Kickstarter campaign page. “We do this by carefully balancing and distributing the weight of the player (3.2oz) across it’s scratch-proof rubber wheels and not the needle. This makes it so the needle does not take the brunt of the weight out on your record’s grooves.”

The very name turntable conjures a pretty accurate image of how it works, with the platter that the record sits on essentially being a table that turns. That’s how all record players work, right? With its RokBlok portable record player, the San Francisco-based Pink Donut has set out to prove that isn’t always the case.

The RokBlok, as the name implies, is a fairly utilitarian-looking block constructed of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and bamboo that plays records by traveling in circles on top of them. Just place the RokBlok on top of a record, pull its lever, and away it goes. The hardware packs in a preamp and included speaker, and it also features Bluetooth, allowing it to wirelessly transmit sound to headphones or speakers located within 30 feet.

More: Shinola Runwell turntable is designed by a watch company, and it looks awesome

This might seem like a fast way to damage your records, but Pink Donut has already thought of this and says it won’t be a problem. “RokBlok has been engineered to prevent damage to your records when in use,” the company states on its Kickstarter campaign page. “We do this by carefully balancing and distributing the weight of the player (3.2 oz) across it’s scratch-proof rubber wheels and not the needle. This makes it so the needle does not take the brunt of the weight out on your record’s grooves.”

The RokBlok can play both full-sized LPs and 45s, and the company says the included rechargeable battery offers up to four hours of music playback or two days of standby time. Once it has run out of juice, two hours of charge time is all it takes to get it up and running again. The product is meant to be fun and easy to use, but even its manufacturer admits it won’t replace a high-end turntable.

While the retail price isn’t incredibly high at $100, Kickstarter backers can get an even better deal, with a single RokBlok going for $80 or even $70 with the limited Early Bird pricing. If you don’t want to spend that much but are interested in the novelty factor, the Kickstarter is also offering another kitschy record player in the SheetRok — a paper record player that uses no electricity. Backers can opt for a SheetRok with a random record included for just $15.

The RokBlok has already surpassed its $50,000 goal, with 47 days left to go at the time of this writing. The campaign comes to a close on January 24, with rewards planned to begin shipping to backers in September. For more information, see the campaign page on Kickstarer.

The NexD1 - The first Multimaterial & Electronics 3D Printer

The NexD1 - The first Multimaterial & Electronics 3D Printer

Robots wpb   23:41

3D printing has progressed by leaps and bounds over the past few years, but regardless of all the advances we’ve made, the vast majority of printers can still only print parts. If you want to create a functional electronic objects, you generally have to print multiple separate parts, add wiring/electronics, and then fasten everything together at the end.

The NexD1 aims to change all that. The printer features an innovative multi-material printing system that allows you to not only print plastic parts, but also print functional circuits directly into the parts you’re printing. In essence, this allows you to create electronic objects that are fully functional and ready to use right after you pull them off the print bed — no wiring, no soldering, and no assembly required. This could very well be the future of 3D printing.
The NexD1 by Next Dynamics is the first 3D printer to ever give high end prototyping capabilities to everyone by making Multi-Material, 3D Electronics printing, extreme precision, high reliability and fast printing times available in one exciting machine.


We took the most advanced, industrial 3D printing technology called PolyJet™, optimized and reconfigured it and shrunk the cost radically.


We call it DigiJet.

DigiJet technology is able of print a wide range of materials, including special resins with nano-particles or pigments.

Read our full coverage here. 

The Universe in a Sphere (Relaunch)

The Universe in a Sphere (Relaunch)

UNIVERSE YOU CAN HOLD wpb   06:30

In this very sphere, every one of the 380.000 lasered dots is not only a star, but an entire galaxy with billions of stars. A journey through our entire galaxy, the Milkey Way, would last 120.000 years...with the speed of light! and it contains of 300 billion stars. A journey to our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, would last around 2.5 million years with that speed. And there we are, at the first tiny dot, next to our own tiny dot in the center of this very sphere. If you add the next 100 000 Galaxies you can see the structure of Laniakea, our home supercluster. Laniakea is around 160 megaparsec in size and of cause surrounded by even larger structures.

• The diameter of the cloud of galaxies in the sphere is around 250 megaparsec (Mpc). One Parsec is equal to 3.2616 lightyears, which means, that the cloud is 815.400.000 lightyears in diameter. 815 million years of travel, with the speed of light, captured in an 8cm glass sphere. 
• With all these information, this sphere convinced me, that we can´t be alone in the universe. 

Read our full coverage here.

SEX OR CYBERSECURITY? NEARLY FOUR IN 10 SAY THEY’D RATHER BE SECURE

SEX OR CYBERSECURITY? NEARLY FOUR IN 10 SAY THEY’D RATHER BE SECURE

security wpb   07:30

Ever wondered what kind of amenities you could expect if you rented a luxury apartment for $25,000 per month? California-based robotics company Savioke has your answer — and it’s a smart robot butler called Charley. Charley is a “Relay” model room service robot, capable of delivering everything from mail to takeout meals directly to your door. From next year it will be servicing the wealthy patrons of Los Angeles’ new upmarket Crescent Heights Ten Thousand building.

Read the full story here.

LUXURY APARTMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COME WITH SMART ROBOT BUTLERS

LUXURY APARTMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COME WITH SMART ROBOT BUTLERS

smart wpb   07:30

Does the idea of a snake robot that enters your body via your nose or urethra — i.e., the duct in the end of the penis through which fluids are conveyed — sound like the stuff of nightmares? Well, forget any temporary thoughts of discomfort because such a robot may just save your life one day. A bioengineering professor at Vanderbilt University, Nabil Simaan, has been busy developing snake-like robots for more than a decade.

Read the full story here.

IT ONLY TOOK 30 SECONDS FOR WHITE HAT HACKERS TO CRACK A GOOGLE PIXEL

IT ONLY TOOK 30 SECONDS FOR WHITE HAT HACKERS TO CRACK A GOOGLE PIXEL

pixel wpb   07:30

Looking for a way to swagger down the street like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, while silently informing your fellow citizens that you’re a tech-savvy early adopter? If this oddly specific fantasy happens to be one you share, you may want to check out a new Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that offers what its creators claim are the “world’s first customizable mid-top E-sneakers.”

Read the full story here.

40 TECH COMPANIES SEND LETTER DETAILING THEIR POLICY PRIORITIES TO PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP

40 TECH COMPANIES SEND LETTER DETAILING THEIR POLICY PRIORITIES TO PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP

pixel wpb   07:30

A coalition of 40 companies, called the Internet Association, have sent President-elect Donald Trump a 12-page letter detailing a road map and policies for his administration to consider. The policies highlight key areas the association, which includes companies like Facebook and Google, believe Trump should focus on in regard to the internet sector.

Read the full story here.

USERS CAN NOW DONATE TO THEIR FAVORITE NONPROFITS THROUGH APPLE PAY

USERS CAN NOW DONATE TO THEIR FAVORITE NONPROFITS THROUGH APPLE PAY

pixel wpb   07:30

Apple Pay has supported consumerism for the last couple years, but now it’s supporting a different kind of spending — that of the charitable nature. With the holiday season, #GivingTuesday, and goodwill all right around the corner, Apple has announced that its mobile payments platform now supports instant donations to nonprofits. So now, in addition to buying yourself that new winter coat, you can help keep someone else warm this holiday season, too.

Read the full story here.

SEVENHUGS’S SMART REMOTE IS A MAGIC WAND FOR YOUR SMART HOME

SEVENHUGS’S SMART REMOTE IS A MAGIC WAND FOR YOUR SMART HOME

smart wpb   07:30

It’s happening. It’s really happening. Drones are starting to deliver goods in real-life commercial settings. In New Zealand, that is. In a move that will have Amazon’s Prime Air team looking on with envy, and possibly salivating as well, a branch of Domino’s Pizza about 10 miles north of central Auckland has sent out its first drone carrying piping hot pizza to an actual paying customer.

Read the full story here.

APPLE HAS BEGUN ITS MASSIVE PURGE OF APPS FROM THE APP STORE

APPLE HAS BEGUN ITS MASSIVE PURGE OF APPS FROM THE APP STORE

store wpb   07:30

Apple’s great purge of App Store apps has well and truly begun. The company announced in September that it would be removing apps that no longer worked as intended or didn’t follow guidelines from the App Store, and that process began in October.

So how many apps did the company remove? A massive 47,300. App removals jumped up a hefty 238 percent last month. Around 28 percent of the removals were games, with the next two top categories being entertainment, which accounted for 8.99 percent, and books, which ended up at 8.96 percent.

More: Judge orders Amazon to pay back parents after their kids made unauthorized app store purchases

Data about the App Store purge comes from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, which says that while Apple does routinely get rid of outdated apps from the App Store, it’s now doing so three to four times more than it did on average between the months of January and September.


When Apple first announced the purge, it said that it would send a notice to developers, who would have 30 days to update their apps before they would be removed. While there was clearly a spike in app deletions, it’s unlikely that the purge has finished — we’ll probably see more apps deleted over the next few months, and Apple will most likely keep a close tab on apps going forward to ensure that the App Store is as up to date as it possibly can be.

We don’t know exactly how Apple defines apps as “abandoned,” but in a message to developers, it said it would delete apps that haven’t been supported “for a long time.” In other words, it’s totally up to Apple’s discretion when it comes to the apps that are being removed.

It’s also important to note that despite the fact that Apple is removing so many apps, the App Store is still growing. Sensor Tower says that the App Store could double in size by 2020, to a robust 5 million apps.
Also watch: Apple AirPods hit the Apple Store but too late for holiday buyers

Read More

NIKE TO OPEN NEW YORK CITY STORE LOADED WITH TECH

NIKE TO OPEN NEW YORK CITY STORE LOADED WITH TECH

Tech wpb   07:30

Nike has come a long way from its humble beginnings, when founder Phil Knight sold early shoe models from his station wagon, to its present status as the most powerful sports brand in the world. The footwear conglomerate is flexing its creative and technological muscles with its new five-story, 55,000-square-foot store in the SoHo section of New York City. According to Engadget, it will have everything from 3D-printed decorations to a Kinect-powered basketball court.

The store will also provide Apple Pay support and wall-mounted touchscreens where you can hail a helpful associate, or buy Swoosh gear on the spot. It was scheduled to be open on Friday November 11, but Sneakerwatch reports that the opening date is still TBD due to permit issues.

More: These smart customizable e-sneakers have real sole

Sean Madden, senior director of service and experiences for Nike’s direct-to-consumer division, mentions that the tech inside store isn’t the main event. These are enhanced features designed to augment the shopping experience and make it more distinctive and unique for each customer. The Kinect sensors capture body movements and display that data on the screen in front of you. Of course, if you’re impressed and feel a little giddy at this 21st century sales pitch, you might just be more inclined to buy some merch, which is the whole point of any retail store


“We’re leading the transformation of sport retail — offering the best of Nike products, services and experiences under one roof,” Heidi O’Neill, Nike’s President of Global Direct to Consumer told Modern Notoriety. “With Nike Soho we can realize the promise of personalized performance. Powered by immersive digital trials and in-store experts, this store is about elevating every athlete’s potential.”

More: Nike rolls out the first post-career Kobe Bryant sneaker

The sneaker fans at Kicks On Fire noted some other features of the massive store. The Nike+ Basketball Trial Zone is nearly half a court on the 5th floor with 23-foot ceilings. The first floor Nike+ Running Trial Zone lets consumers test shoes on a treadmill. The third floor Nike+ Soccer Trial Zone is a 400-square-foot space with a synthetic turf field floor for testing soccer shoes. Nike By NYC is a studio where you can laser engrave and print unique NYC symbols on Nike gear. And The Lounge is a women’s boutique within the store meant for services like bra fittings and pant hemming.

Oh, and there’s a water bottle station.

AGUAR WILL BUILD A CLASSIC XKSS FOR NINE VERY LUCKY, VERY RICH COLLECTORS

AGUAR WILL BUILD A CLASSIC XKSS FOR NINE VERY LUCKY, VERY RICH COLLECTORS

pixel wpb   07:30

Jaguar Classic has revealed its own work of art within the stunning Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Instead of looking forward, as Jaguar has with its all-electric I-Pace, the U.K. automaker has drawn upon its rich racing history to produce something truly remarkable. Nine XKSS sports cars will be produced for a select group of collectors and customers. Each vehicle will use a period-correct chassis and sell for more than $1,241,900.

In 1957, Jaguar honored the Le Mans-winning D-type with a road-going version, dubbed the XKSS. Of the 25 total vehicles produced, nine examples designated for North America were lost in a fire at Jaguar’s factory. At the time, Jaguar didn’t replace the cars, but now, nearly 60 years later, Jaguar Classic is settling up its debt.

More: Jaguar’s Future Looks Like This All-Electric Crossover
Nine XKSS sports cars will be produced for a select group of collectors and customers. Each vehicle will use a period-correct chassis and sell for more than 1 million British pounds ($1,241,900 U.S. dollars).“The XKSS is one of the most important cars in Jaguar’s history, and we are committed to making the ‘new original’ version absolutely faithful to the period car in every way,” said Kev Riches, Jaguar Classic engineering manager.

The body of the XKSS is made from magnesium alloy, as it was in 1957, and Jaguar Classic built a new styling buck to construct each car using the original hand-wheeling process.

To match these cars as closely as possible to the originals, Jaguar Classic combined original drawings and digital imaging techniques. Engineers started with original frames and commissioned Reynolds, a tube frame manufacturer, to produce bespoke parts using imperial measurements. Each frame is bronze welded, just like the ’50s chassis tubing.

Under each hood sits a 3.4-liter straight six-cylinder Jaguar D-type engine making 262 horsepower. The engine is constructed from new cast iron block cylinder heads, and three Weber DC03 carburetors. Period-specific four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes and Dunlop tires on riveted two-piece magnesium alloy wheels are also part of the package.

Inside, the XKSS features re-creations of original Smiths gauges and gorgeous wood. To improve safety, Jaguar Classic used more robust materials on the fuel cell. Jaguar Classics expects each XKSS will require 10,000 man hours of labor to produce.

“Everything is the same as the original cars, because that is the way it should be,” said Riches.

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THE MONSTER ONEPLUS 3T IS READY TO STOMP THE COMPETITION, AND YOU CAN BUY YOURS NOW

THE MONSTER ONEPLUS 3T IS READY TO STOMP THE COMPETITION, AND YOU CAN BUY YOURS NOW

store wpb   07:30

The OnePlus 3 was not only an excellent smartphone, it was also very attractively priced, and one we heartily recommended. But now that OnePlus has debuted the OnePlus 3T, an update of the original with some exciting new specs, its older sibling has been officially discontinued. That means you can no longer buy the OnePlus 3 in the U.S. or Europe, and there are no plans to bring it back. But don’t fret — while the OnePlus 3T is less a revolutionary leap than an evolutionary move forward, it features a number of compelling improvements.


OnePlus made the big reveal during a Facebook Live session. “[OnePlus customers are] early adopters of the latest technology,” OnePlus founder Carl Pei said in an address to the company’s community. “[The OnePlus 3T] is one of the best smartphones of 2016.”


More: OnePlus 3T vs. Google Pixel XL


Is he right? Here’s what you need to know about the OnePlus 3T.


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The NexD1 - The first Multimaterial & Electronics 3D Printer

The NexD1 - The first Multimaterial & Electronics 3D Printer

universe wpb   17:19

3D printing has progressed by leaps and bounds over the past few years, but regardless of all the advances we’ve made, the vast majority of printers can still only print parts. If you want to create a functional electronic objects, you generally have to print multiple separate parts, add wiring/electronics, and then fasten everything together at the end.

The NexD1 aims to change all that. The printer features an innovative multi-material printing system that allows you to not only print plastic parts, but also print functional circuits directly into the parts you’re printing. In essence, this allows you to create electronic objects that are fully functional and ready to use right after you pull them off the print bed — no wiring, no soldering, and no assembly required. This could very well be the future of 3D printing.

Read our full coverage here.

Retroactive Precognition: future events can affect present cognition

Retroactive Precognition: future events can affect present cognition

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:11

In January of 2011, Dr. Daryl J. Bem of Cornell University wrote a controversial paper called “Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect” in which he described a series experiments he conducted seeking to prove precognition. 

More specifically, Bem presented evidence that future events can affect present cognition. Working off the premise that there are “anomalous processes of information or energy transfer that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms," Bem tested 1,000 college students for their ability to correctly intuit random information. In one study, Bem conducted a reverse memory test, having his subjects categorize random words that they would later commit to memory. 

Bem's results showed that the students were more likely to recall words in the present if they later memorized them. (Source | Photo)

Dark Matter Creates Its Own Parallel Universe

Dark Matter Creates Its Own Parallel Universe

universe wpb   20:11

Cosmologists are saying they may have discovered a second type of dark matter that is not diffuse and can interact with itself. The effects of this may have been detected as recently as 2012 by Christoph Weniger, a physicist at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, who detected strange levels of radiation at the center of the galaxy. He believes it is the signal of invisible dark matter becoming something visible.

Now cosmologists may be forced to adopt a strange view of something that was strange to begin with: dark matter may be just as diverse as regular matter. According to some scientists, this means there could be dark stars, orbited by dark planets that could theoretically harbor dark life, though what that would constitute is beyond comprehension with our current understanding of the universe. (Source | Photo)

Nightmare Death Syndrome

Nightmare Death Syndrome

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:10

The Japanese call it pok-kuri. Filipinos call it bangungot or batibat. For the Hmong people of Vietnam and Laos, it is the tsob tsuang. 

Taiwanese men, some of whom wear lipstick to bed in order to deceive nocturnal ghosts, claim it is the phi am or "widow ghost," a malevolent spirit who, much like Freddy Krueger or one of the supernatural ghouls from The Grudge, steals away the souls of young men in their sleep. All these names refer to the same thing: Nightmare Death Syndrome.

The phrase originated from an investigation in 1960, when Dr. Gonzalo Aponte was called to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam to investigate the deaths of 11 Filipino sailors, who all seemed to have died inexplicably in their sleep after days of complaining about nightmares. Though the autopsies turned up few concrete details, Aponte looked into the case further and found reports regarding Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death (SUND) dating back as far as 1917. (Source | Photo)

We live in a Multiverse that contains an infinite number of universes

We live in a Multiverse that contains an infinite number of universes

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There are a variety of parallel universe theories out there – the inflationary bubble universe, the many-worlds theory, etc. They all presuppose that there is a larger multiverse that contains our universe and many others.

One type of parallel universe envisions countless bubble universes popping up and disappearing. This would mean that the beginning of our universe, the Big Bang, was just the creation of one bubble in a vast sea of inflating universes, which will eventually pop–or whatever universes do when their bubble juice becomes too unstable. Type 2 also includes the “brane” universe, which is an evolution of string theory.

One possible implication of parallel universes is the idea that there are an infinite copies of you in an infinite number of universes carrying out every possible version of existence.

The Fermi Paradox

The Fermi Paradox

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:09

The Fermi Paradox is an argument originally made by physicists Enrico Fermi and Michael H. Hart, who presented an apparent contradiction between how many alien civilizations are thought to be out there and our lack of evidence for their existence.

If the Drake Equation is right and there are literally millions of intelligent species in our galaxy alone, it is puzzling that we have received no signals or messages from any of them. This is known as the Great Silence. 

There have been some incredibly interesting solutions proposed over the years, one of which includes the Simulation Theory. (Source | Photo)

Our Universe is a Computer Simulation

Our Universe is a Computer Simulation

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This theory supposes that because of the overwhelming likelihood of technological singularities occurring in the universe, it is quite likely that advanced civilizations–either us in the future, or aliens in a distant galaxy–have created or will create simulations. Since the number of these simulations would be in the billions, Bostrom submits that it's actually quite likely we are living in some sort of a computer simulation.

Perhaps what is most odd about the Simulation Theory is that there are actually prominent scientists and physicists who not only think it's possible, they are actively conducting experiments to prove it. A team of German physicists think that eventually we will be able to paint a better portrait of the so-called numerical simulation that is our universe. They are working to create a mini-simulation that require physical constraints in order to run. They want to see if those same constraints exist in our own universe.

Lending even more support to this mind-numbing theory, theoretical physicist S. James Gate has discovered something extraordinary in his recent String Theory research. Essentially, deep inside the equations we use to describe our universe Gate has found computer code. And not just any code, but extremely peculiar self-dual linear binary error-correcting block code. That's right, error correcting 1s and 0s wound up tightly in the quantum core of our universe.
(Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 | Photo)

Human DNA contains the signature of an alien creator

Human DNA contains the signature of an alien creator

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:08

New evidence is suggesting that instead of searching the stars with telescopes, we should have been searching our DNA with microscopes. Vladimir I. shCherbak of al-Farabi Kazakh National University of Kazakhstan, and Maxim A. Makukov of the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute claim they have discovered an intelligent signal inside human DNA. In this case, "biological SETI" as it's known, involves “arithmetical and ideographical patterns of symbolic language.” 

In other words, it's possible that an intelligent species encoded a message or signature into the very structure of our DNA. (Source | Photo)

Our handlers use Predictive Programming To Plan, Communicate, and Brainwash

Our handlers use Predictive Programming To Plan, Communicate, and Brainwash

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:07

Predictive programming is the idea that society embeds messages into pop culture media and other modes of transmission in order to psychologically prepare and incubate the general population for certain events. It is, of course, a conspiracy theory,

Many people maintain instances of predictive programming are simply coincidences on par with synchronicity and Déjà vu; others say they are sinister calling cards for shadow groups who communicate across media channels through coded signals.
(Source)

Project Bluebeam: the Government Will Engineer a False Flag Supernatural Alien Invasion

Project Bluebeam: the Government Will Engineer a False Flag Supernatural Alien Invasion

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:06

Project Blue Beam is a highly controversial conspiracy theory. Originally proposed by Canadian journalist Serge Monast in 1994, it holds that the New World Order will use advanced holographic technology in order to create a false flag alien invasion and/or a worldwide religious "awakening" in order to achieve servitude by the masses and acceptance of a one world government and religion and possibly depopulation efforts as well.

There are supposedly 4 parts to the implementation of Project Blue Beam. These stages include:

~The dissolution of major religions due to archaeological discoveries disproving them.
~A holographic "space show" in which deities and aliens appear as our overlords (it is not clear how these two would coexist).
~Telepathic Electronic Two Way Communication, via ELF(Extra Low Frequency), VLF (Very Low Frequency), and LF (Low Frequency) waves, whereby people will think they are being spoken to by the new true God or extraterrestrial overlords.
~Use of worldwide microchips to fabricate horrifying supernatural events that will make people desperate for the New World Order.
(Source)

The Singularity: We will transcend biology and live as posthuman Gods

The Singularity: We will transcend biology and live as posthuman Gods

Theories That Will Make You Lose Your Mind wpb   20:05

Futurists like Ray Kurzweil say in the coming decades humans will experience a technological singularity by which we will transcend biology itself. Intelligent civilizations such as ours, says Kurzweil, are destined to evolve into super-intelligent, possibly machine-based beings whose computational powers grow exponentially. 

After such a singularity, we would be able to harness the power of our own sun in order to accomplish interstellar feats only dreamed of in science fiction, such as creating Dyson Spheres and literally saturating the known universe with consciousness. 

Some progressive thinkers like Noam Chomsky have labeled the theory science fiction, while others question the classist undertones of the theory's transhumanist enthusiasts. (Source | Photo)

The TV Presenter who got her lost passport back via Twitter

The TV Presenter who got her lost passport back via Twitter

Unbelievable Stories wpb   04:35

Most of us can identify with the inconvenience of losing a passport. So celebrity offspring Peaches Geldof was understandably relieved when she got hers back - via the unlikely route of social networking website Twitter. The 20-year-old's passport fell out of her bag, which meant Peaches faced having to change her travel plans. But a woman found the document as she took a stroll through an East London park with her children. When the mum realised who the passport belonged to, she sent a 'tweet' to Peaches who then sent a courier to collect it. Peaches was resigned to the fact that she would need to apply for a new passport. Then she received a Twitter message from someone telling her that they had found it - she was over the moon. (Source)