Two tech geeks.

  • Apple purchased PrimeSense for mapping instead of motion sensing technology?

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    Jenxi

    While gesture control would be fun, it would be great if Apple seriously improved its mapping technology, especially outside the U.S.

    With PrimeSense, Apple Got Key Mapping Technology

    But PrimeSense’s technology is much more strategic for mapping, according to one person familiar with the company. In fact, companies like Matterport, which makes a camera for mapping three-dimensional spaces, use its chips.

    We know Apple cares about mapping. The company bought WifiSLAM, an indoor GPS company, to help it map out malls and another indoor spaces in a race against Google, which is doing the same. Sooner rather than later, our phones will pull up scans of real spaces we want to visit or may be approaching. Those two-dimensional maps will seem very obsolete.

  • Moto X from Republic Wireless defaults to calls over Wi-Fi

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    Jenxi

    Unlimited voice calls and text messaging without a contract as long as you’re on Wi-Fi? Not only does the deal sound consumer friendly, it’s pretty innovative too.

    Smartphone With Wi-Fi Smarts

    Most other smartphones can make Wi-Fi calls, but these typically require an app. Republic modifies the phone’s main dialer and texting functions to work over Wi-Fi whenever possible. You don’t have to do anything special to initiate a Wi-Fi call or text.

  • Former Nokia employees launch Jolla smartphone

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    Jenxi

    BBC reports that former Nokia employees have launched Jolla, a smartphone powered by open-source operating system Sailfish.

    The platform – originally called MeeGo – was developed by Nokia, but dumped in 2011 in favour of the company adopting the Windows Phone system.

    Nokia released just one handset running the software, the N9-00.

    Antti Saarnio, chairman and co-founder of Jolla, told the BBC in May that MeeGo – now called Sailfish – had not been given enough chance to succeed.

    The company wants to provide consumers with a more open operating system. Jolla phone is able to run Android apps. It remains to be seen if it will eventually support apps built for other platforms.

    The phone’s ethos was to provide a more “open” approach to how people used their mobiles, a contrast to the relatively closed systems used on the iPhone and, to a lesser extent, Android devices.

    “There’s different opportunities for people to get apps form different places, different stores,” he said.

  • CyanogenMod installer removed from Play Store on Google’s request

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    Jenxi

    Despite the simplification of the process, this could be a reasonable move to protect consumers, as not everybody might fully understand what they’re getting themselves into. The good news is that you can still sideload it, so there shouldn’t be a problem for those who still want to use the installer.

    Google removes CyanogenMod Installer from Play Store

    The reasoning given by Google is that the CyanogenMod Installer violates the Google Play Store’s developer terms by actively encouraging Android users to “void [the] warranty” on their devices. As we saw when we took the app for a test drive, the Installer does indeed de-hair the hairy process of unlocking an Android device’s bootloader and getting an alternate ROM installed; apparently, though, the Installer made things just a little too easy. As our Android expert Ron Amadeo noted, the CyanogenMod Installer is mostly a “one-way street,” without a quick way to return the device to its stock state—it’s certainly possible, but not with the same level of ease.

  • Evernote embraces hardware

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    Jenxi

    By now most folks already know that Evernote has entered the hardware game. It’s not easy, but I’m pretty confident that Evernote will be able to pull it off with aplomb.

    Taming Evernote’s paper tiger

    Libin says he has come to peace with the idea that paper is with us for the long term. Indeed, while more forms are coming online and digital-signature options are becoming more popular, paper forms are still difficult to avoid.

  • $7.5 million worth of Bitcoins discarded in landfill

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    Jenxi

    If you’re storing some Bitcoins around, it’s best to ensure that they’re stored properly. Those 7,500 Bitcoins would translate to about $7,500,000 when the crytocurrency reached $1,000 recently.

    Missing: hard drive containing Bitcoins worth £4m in Newport landfill site

    “You know when you put something in the bin, and in your head, say to yourself ‘that’s a bad idea’? I really did have that,” Howells, who works in IT, told the Guardian. “I don’t have an exact date, the only time period I can give – and I’ve been racking my own brains – is between 20 June and 10 August. Probably mid-July”. At the time he obliviously threw them away, the 7,500 Bitcoins on the hard-drive were worth around £500,000. Since then, the cryptocurrency’s value has soared, passing $1,000 on Wednesday afternoon.

  • Volkswagen’s Play the Road app

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    Jenxi

    WIRED.com reports on Volkswagen’s Play the Road app that tailors music to your driving.

    To begin with, VW’s boffins enlisted the help of the legendary sonic duo Underworld to help create the sounds, synths, and rhythms to create an ever-evolving soundtrack. Then they used an iPhone’s accelerometer and gyroscope to track the GTI’s maneuvers, followed by cross-referencing it with onboard video and GPS of exactly what the car was doing on the track. After that, they tethered the phone to the car’s on-board computer to get speed and engine revs, then ported it all to the Pure Data musical programming language that creates live sound.

  • Retina iPad Mini has a poorer display compared to the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX

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    Jenxi

    Cult of Android reports that the Retina iPad Mini loses out to Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX in DisplayMate’s screen comparison

    “The new Google Nexus 7 has a very impressive display that uses the highest performance LCDs with Low Temperature Poly Silicon LTPS,” DisplayMate found. “The very high efficiency LTPS technology allows the new Nexus 7 display to provide a full 100 percent Color Gamut and at the same time produce the brightest Tablet display that we have measured so far in this Shoot-Out series.”

    As for the Kindle Fire HDX, that was the most impressive overall. It’s the first tablet display to use “high technology Quantum Dots,” DisplayMate says, “which produce highly saturated primary colors that are similar to those produced by OLED displays.”

  • WeChat’s first 5 games hit 570 million downloads in 3 months

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    Jenxi

    The Next Web reports that the first 5 games for Tencent’s WeChat messaging app has 570 million downloads since August.

    Compare it with LINE to better understand what a feat this is. LINE boasts of more than 30 games but only managed to cross the 200 million game download mark in September.

    Earlier, Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi sold 150,000 of its latest phone in 10 minutes via WeChat. This underlines the size of China’s mobile market.

  • China, and the soaring price of Bitcoin

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    Jenxi

    Tyler Cowen writes about the link between China and Bitcoin.

    Capital controls in China are strict. It’s easy to bring money into the country, but getting it out (to invest or spend) is more difficult. That means there are are plenty of wealthy Chinese citizens and residents looking to move their money around the world with greater freedom.

    There is more here. And here is a map of Bitcoin flows, recommended. In other words, more entrepreneurs in China are holding Bitcoin and accepting the volatility of its value, in order to sell the asset to those looking to get money out of China.