Google Glass has been the talk of the town in the technology world since the announcement of it way back in June of 2013 at the Google I/O. Google Glass pretty much started the wearable wave, and was the inspiration for many smaller startups such as Recon Jet and others. Just the idea of having a always accessible computer on your face was astonishing in itself, not even taking into account the drawbacks. For instance, one of the biggest setbacks for many people is the design itself. Many internet-goers have maing to very clear how nerdy and uncool Glass looked. It was rumored that Google were designing complimentary regular glasses that were custom made to fit Glass, and that would be the logical thing to do. That turned out to be true, as we learned today.
Google has come out with 6 different pairs of glasses: 3 frames, 3 shades. The three come in slightly different variations to the main category, and overall this is a big improvement from the geeky design they had previously. But don’t get me wrong, the geeky design is still in the top left corner of the glasses, but the well designed pair of regular glasses certainly dilutes the nerdiness.
One more big change has been made to Google’s Glass project. As of today, you can officially buy Google Glass, if you live in the US. It is still in beta, but they have released the Explorer Program to anyone who wants it. For $1,500. The price is also a setback, and many people will wait until it goes down, which it will eventually. Google hinted at this when they released a one day sale to get into the program a couple months back. The program is still held only in the US, and will undoubtable be later released into other countries. It will be interesting to see what changes they make from now to the final version, and also what the feedback will be from the many new Explorers that will join.
This was bound to happen. After the internet exploded over two games, Flappy Bird and Threes, it was inevitable that someone would make parodies of them, the most popular being 2048 and Splashy Fish. These two games each had at least 40 different parodies combined, and it was getting a little much. But then someone had the brilliant idea of combining the games. And that’s how Flappy48 was born.
In Flappy48, instead of a bird, you are the number 2, and in between the overhanging tubes are more numbers you can combine with. Like Flappy Bird, it is extremely hard and frustrating. Like Threes, you get the urge to just play it again. I know it’s not the first, and it’s certainly not the last, but come on, it’s getting a bit ridiculous. You would think by now the fad of these parodies would fade away, but no, they’re still going strong. And now this game will bring along a whole new type of combination parodies ………. sigh.
But if you do want to play it, which I suggest you do, but only once, go here.
When Apple announced their new iPhones at the company’s recent September 10th event, a number of innovations were introduced into the new 5s line, led by the “Touch ID” fingerprint scanner. Afterward, Touch ID received some uncertain feedback from podcasters, bloggers and tech fanatics, many of whom questioned its overall security. Of course, Apple wouldn’t (shouldn’t) release it unless they know it works most of the time and is safe (or they just have a good lawyer).
The Setup Success Screen
One concern was that thieves, for some crazy reason, would want to get into your iPhone so bad they would cut off your finger to get the fingerprint. This concern spread about, prompting Apple to address it: “The technology is built in a way that the (fingerprint) image has to be taken from a live finger,” says Sebastien Taveau, chief technology officer at Validity Sensors. “No one in biometrics wants to talk about cut fingers and dead bodies, but at the end of the day we are still asked to remove the fears of consumer and make sure that they understand that (a severed finger) will not work.” The way it does that is by using radio frequencies to detect “sub-epidermal” layers in your skin which only work if you are alive. So, if you were worried that someone would cut off your finger to look at your worthless emails and wickedly change your Facebook status, you’re thankfully wrong. In other words, it appears Touch ID is safe after all. Then again, who knows how easily someone could hack into it, but let’s not worry about that right now.
Well, the title is sort of self-explanatory here. The online Apple Store is down due to the fact that they are updating for the new products that will be coming out in the WWDC 2013 this morning. Most likely, these products will not be software, for those will not be ready yet, but hardware. Supposedly, new Macbooks should be coming out. Check out my full rumor preview for more information!
So far, 3D printing has been used for fast and cheap production, online customizable toys and jewelry, and much more cool stuff. It is also being used for researching replaceable organs and other medical replacements, which, given time, will save lives. But, it hasn’t saved a life yet. Until now.
A Model Of Kabai’s Trachea And The Split
Kaiba Gionfriddo, a child who was born with tracheobronchomalacia, had his life saved by 3D printing. Tracheobronchomalacia is a disease that weakens your Trachea. When Kaiba was born, the doctors thought he was a goner. At the last minute, though, researchers at the University Of Michigan had a last minute brainwave. They designed a splint especially for Kaiba that would stabilize the trachea and allow it to grow around it. This had to be made relatively quick, of course, and they didn’t have time to have it specially hand-carved by a trachea expert. The only option was 3D printing. So, they printed it off, and surgically implanted it into Kaiba’s trachea. It was successful.
Kabai Gionfriddo
Not only was Kabai saved, he was also mended. The splint help fix the trachea, then (this is ingenious) it just dissolved. When the researchers at Michigan printed the splint, they printed it using a biomaterial. That way, it all went smoothly and he didn’t have to undergo another surgery. And, when he got to go off ventilator support, he was fine. He hasn’t needed it since. This is a great discovery, and hopefully it can be recognized and used on other tracheobronchomalacia patients, and help save more lives.
The Google I/O is finally here! There has been many interesting releases so far, many about Google Maps. But, one of the announcements was actually not that surprising, yet very helpful. It was the information that Google will be adding a hands-free search option to their search app. This means that you can use voice search without tapping a botton to activate it. All you have to do is say a phrase. Can you guess what it is? If you said “Ok Google”, you were right. But where have we heard this before?
The “Ok Google” Demo At The I/O
Google have set a new record. They have now managed to copy THEMSELVES. Their new Google X project, the wearable computer glasses Glass, uses the now-famous phrase “Ok Glass” as the main method of control. Even though the phrase has been declared “weird” at times by Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google. Obviously, they didn’t take this into account.
The Voice Search On A Chromebook
Although “Ok Google” may have it’s flaws, it is still a big jump in Google’s goal to make everything hands-free. Google Glass and all these phrases are signs that much of Google X is dedicated to researching hands-free technologies. Hopefully they can come up with a good hands-free tech to make life much easier. “Ok Google”, you win this one. Just don’t expect me to say “Ok Nexus”.
Man, it seems like every second there is something new about Google Glass. Anyway, Google recently released a video on how to use Google Glass. That means that anyone – even YOU! – can go out of their mind with temptation and learn how the amazingly lucky Explorers use their Glasses. Still, gives us a lot of information, including some VERY interesting surprises. But I won’t give any more away. Here it is:
The first thing you probably thought when watching the video was “Google Glass has a Touchpad?!?” Yep, before now, only the explorers knew about the touchpad. We all though it has operated completely be voice. But, actually, the touchpad is a big part of glass. Still, the now-famous catchphrase “Ok glass” is used more than the touchpad, and is the most impressive feature in the whole thing (which is saying a lot). It may sound cool, but Google chairman Eric Schmidt admitted that talking out loud to Glass may be “weird” at times, such as in the bathroom.
The Touchpad
What exactly does the touchpad control? Well, it controls the previously unknown timeline. The timeline is where you get all your helpful information in slides like what time it is, the weather, past photos, texts and probably where apps will go. And of course, like a timeline, any slide to the right is happened earlier, and any slide to the left is coming up or now like the weather or a plane flight. To control the timeline, just swipe left or right on the touchpad to go through slides. To interact with the slide (sharing photos ect.), just touch while on the slide. To go back to the page before, just swipe down. And when you’re done using Glass, you just navigate to the home page and swipe down, and it will go into stand-by mode.
A Projection Of What The Timeline Is Like
The announcing of the timeline really opens our eyes to Google Glass. Before now, it was like if Apple said, “Hey guys! We are making a super-cool new iPhone 6. The best feature is blah blah blah. That’s all we can tell you. Sorry.” Now that we know the platform, it personally makes me want Google Glass more. With the timeline, you can easily access all your past and future information. The timeline doesn’t just bring your future to you, it IS the future.
We all knew this was coming. Twitter has started work on a Twitter app for Google Glasses. Or have they? Twitter user Shivster Muddler has supposedly taken a picture using Google Glass and posted it on Twitter. The Tweet had the caption: Just shared a photo #throughglass. Here it is:
It is very mysterious, though. Since then, Shivster’s account has been deleted, so I had to use a Tweet showing Shivster’s original Tweet. Sounds fishy, doesn’t it? It could have easily been set up, but we do have some evidence. Venture capitalist John Doerr has alluded to Twitter making their predicted Google Glass app. Still, there is no solid proof.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin wearing Google Glass
Twitter is only starting the social media-on-Google Glass craze. There will surely be many more to follow, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+(already built in), Facebook, and more. Of course, we all definitely need to be able to Tweet a picture without anyone knowing. Still, whether good or bad, we can pretty much assume Twitter will be coming out with an app for Glass.
April Fools Day is about celebrating fools. People who are so gullible, they’ll believe everything. April Fools day have almost become a tradition for people in America, and big companies have caught on to it to. Here is a round-up of everything that happend on April 1, 2013:
Google Nose
If you’ve searched the web this morning(April 1, 2013), which you probably have, you might have noticed Google’s new addition to its browser, Google Nose Beta. Google Nose Beta allows you to smell anything, from wet dogs to the inside of an Egyptian tomb, right from your browser. It unlocks infinite possibilities. Google have already started working off it, making AdScent Beta, advertising with smells, Foodles, Google Doodles with smells, YouTube Nosed Captions, comments with smells on YouTube, and Scratch and Sniff E-books.
Google Nose “uses” a high-tech inter sound-wave system that temporarily aligns molecules to let you smell whatever you want to smell. But say you want to smell a rose. Or a ghost. Google’s Aromabase has it. With over 15 million scentibytes, Google’s Aromabase has tons and tons of smells. And if you have an Android phone or tablet, you’re in luck. Android Ambient Odor Detection allows you to detect a scent, and send it to whoever may like/dislike what you smelled. As Google said “Your internet, smellier.”
YouTube Spotlight
Ever since YouTube started, their main goal was to find the best video in the world. So far, millions of videos have been uploaded and the contest has gone from a small question to a internet sensation. Many companies and events get information off YouTube. People post funny, cool, interesting, or just crazy stuff on YouTube. The original contest was forgotten. But, this morning(April 1, 2013), YouTube made an announcement that will change everything.
YouTube announced that at midnight, they will no longer be accepting videos, or even let the public look at previously uploaded videos. They will move on, and go back to they’re original question: What is the greatest video of all time? I know, most of you reading this will say, “Gangnam Style” without hesitation. But the judges are trying to make it as fair as possible. Still, they have to look through all the 2 million+ videos, so give them a break. It will be interesting what they will come up with, so stay tuned for my follow-up article when YouTube does announce the winner in 2023.
Gmail Blue
Ever get tired of the plain white and red of Gmail? Well, the Gmail team thought of that to. They even went as far as to making the beautiful, fast and powerful Gmail Blue.
Gmail Blue is the exact same thing as Gmail except…. wait for it……it’s all blue. The compose button. The word compose. The compose window. It’s all blue. You don’t have to set it blue. It just is. But why blue? Well, the Gmail team went through lots of colors, like yellow, green, brown, red, but found blue the most fitting. Blue also represents nature(well, green really represents nature but…). They wanted to show that nature is great, but not even mother nature could match the fastness and smoothness of Gmail Blue.
Google Treasure Maps Mode
Treasure is always something pirates leave behind. Captain Kidd, one of the more successful pirates, is soposed to have left a giant treasure hidden around the world. And recently, the Google Street View team found Captain Kidd’s maps at the bottom of a coral reef. Tons of them. All the maps they found are partially not decoded, meaning you have to hold the map a certain way or be at a certain place for the map to work. The Google team knew they couldn’t do it alone, so they decided to make Google Treasure Maps Mode.
Google Treasure Maps Mode is a virtual scan of all the maps the team found, but still with the special unlockable features. And guess what? Anyone can use it. All you have to do is go on Google Maps, and go to the place you usually go to change the type of map, and Treasure will be there. Hit that, and the virtual map will be there. Over time, the treasure map will be decoded by the world, and all we will have to do is find the treasure. Who will get the treasure is another story entirely.
Virgin’s Bottomless Plane
It’s not what it sounds like. The plane is not really bottomless, but it does have a glass bottom. I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but Virgin says tourism will never be the same. Still, it would provide a beautiful ride for everyone, not only the person with the window seat. But, if you are afraid of heights, I recommend you stay away from it.
April Fools Day is always a laugh. Wether it is food coloring or clock changing, it is always fun to watch someone be tricked. Led by Google, lots and lots of companies have followed that suit, and have made fake products or services just for laughs. It is one day of the year where designers, analysts, CEOs, product managers and most everyone else gets to have fun. But, some of the things they design are actually pretty cool, and would be awesome to have in the real world. I mean, how cool would it be to fly on a see-through plane while looking up what a wet dog smells like. Then you get a blue email telling you to look out the window, and find out you are above a clue to Captain Kidd’s treasure! In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these ideas do get into the real world someday. And I’m not kidding.
Recently, Microsoft Corp. has been fined $730 million dollars by the EU for not fulfilling a pact they made in 2009.
The pact stated that their browsers would have a drop-down bar that users could adjust to change search engines from Internet Explorer, to say, Google. But, in a Windows 7 service pack software update, they failed to provide the needed bar.
Microsoft is the first company ever to break a pledge to the EU, failing to complete the pact in 2012. Though they never completely admitted guilt, saying it was an accident. But, when you think about it, how likely is it to completely forget a pact you made with the EU, and then have 15 million people install it without noticing? Still, even if it was a mistake, Microsoft broke their pledge and most likely did deserve to get fined.
TOTW: Google's Project Ara Modular Phone May Be The Future Of SmartphonesOctober 30, 2014
