Specs aren’t always accurate, especially when it comes to the frequencies supported by the devices we review — something we learned the hard way with T-mobile’s G2x last year. While both Samsung and AT&T list the radios in the awesome new Galaxy Note LTE as quadband GSM / EDGE, tri-band UMTS / HSPA+ (850 / 1900 / 2100MHz) and dual-band LTE (1700 and 700MHz, bands 4 and 17) we’ve read emails, tweets and comments suggesting that Samsung’s giant phone (or little tablet?) is also compatible with AWS (1700 MHz) for HSPA+, which is used by T-Mobile in the US. Bell, which carries the same Galaxy Note in Canada, shows it supporting 1700MHz for HSPA+, further adding to the confusion. Of course, it’s possible the Canadian handset is slightly different, but we wanted to verify the radio specs for AT&T’s model so we unlocked our white review unit with the help from our friends at Negri Electronics. The verdict? AT&T’s Galaxy Note does not support AWS for HSPA+ — it’s EDGE only on T-Mobile USA. Sure, it’s rather unfortunate considering Samsung’s flagship unlocked Galaxy Nexus features a pentaband HSPA+ radio, but to be clear, the same restriction applies to the global non-LTE version of the Galaxy Note that we reviewed last year.

via: engadget

In 1971, Hewlett-Packard commissioned a marketing study to see if anyone would buy a $395 pocket calculator. The marketer’s verdict? Make it the size of a typewriter, because nobody wants a small machine.

Luckily, Bill Hewlett ignored the marketers, and the next year, the company introduced its HP-35 Scientific Calculator. The pocket calculator was a hit, eventually making slide rules obsolete. In 2009, it was honored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as a “Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing.”

The HP 35 is part of the storied past of a company that went on to dominate the printer, server, and personal computer markets.

But after all the turmoil of the past decade, can HP come up with the next pocket calculator? You bet it can, says Prith Banerjee, the head of HP labs. He thinks that HP’s project Moonshot, announced late last year, could give birth to a big hit for the company: computer systems that are ideal for processing the 35 zetabytes (that’s 35 billion gigabytes) of data that research firm IDC expects to be created in 2020.

Banerjee may be bullish, but HP has stumbled badly in the past few years. It spent $3.3 billion trying to turn the TouchPad into an iPad killer. That project was unceremoniously dumped after just a few months on the market. And in 2007, then-CEO Mark Hurd slashed the company’s research and development budgets by 20 percent — $700 million dollars. “He burned the furniture to please Wall Street,” HP Chairman Ray Lane told Reuters last summer, saying that it would take time for HP to turn the company around.

“The problem is the constant budget cutting in R&D has a long-term impact,” says Phil McKinney, who until last year was chief technology officer of HP’s PC group. It could take years for HP to get its next hit product off the ground, and HP will have to have the stamina to stick with new products long enough to turn them into winners.

That’s the opposite of what happened with the TouchPad. “Going into the acquisition of Palm it was well understood that this needed to be a multi-year investment,” McKinney says. “All of a sudden, a year after the acquisition, they ended up killing the program.”

A few months after that, Lane and the rest of the HP board tapped Meg Whitman to run the company. But she’s walking a tightrope. With her second quarterly earnings call set for next week, Wall Street isn’t going to wait years for another killer product.

Prith Banerjee, Director of HP Labs
Photo: Robert McMillan

All signs are that Whitman really believes that HP is going to crank out the new products that will keep her company growing. In a November earnings call with financial analysts, she said that HP will bump up R&D spending in 2012 — HP won’t say by how much — and that it will count on internal development efforts for for what Whitman calls “evolutionary innovation” in 2012.

As for the next pocket calculator? It will come, but Whitman concedes that it will take time. “Listen, R&D in the technology business is a longer-term gain,” she said during the call. “I think the investments we make in 2012, you’ll start to see in 2014 and 2015. I wish I could tell you differently, but it’s not true…. We cut out a lot of muscle in R&D at this company, and we have to invest back in it.”

Since taking over, Whitman has very “engaged” with the labs and has made Banerjee a direct report. Previously, he had reported to the company’s Chief Strategy Officer. “She felt that HP Labs, the central research arm, is so important in terms of innovation for a technology company that she felt no this needs to be a direct report to me,” Banerjee says. “So we feel honored and thrilled, but it’s not just on paper. I mean, she is now tracking us on a very regular basis.”

That means that she’s tracking Project Moonshot too. Moonshot means low-powered servers right now, but HP has a few other technologies: its memristor memory chips — essentially a low-power alternative to flash — and photonic optical interconnects that could link up servers or even processors themselves. Banerjee thinks that new nanostore chips, which marry low-power processors with memristors, could be the ticket.

“Moonshot is step one of this big dream that we have. Our end point is we are going to have these tens of millions of low-power processors connected right next to these nonvolatile memory, based on memristors. And how are we going to connect these things up? Through optical interconnects?”

“Once we do this, it’s going to be a complete killer,” he adds. “Better than the calculator.”

via: wired

It’s that magical time of year again, when everyone expects a new iPad to be right around the corner. Which in turn means an amassment of iPad 3 rumors clogging up our lives. Here’s a quick guide to making sense of them.

Take all of these with the usual large piles of salt grains. Oh, and remember: The iPad may only be two years old, but it’s already such an institution that any radical shifts in design or philosophy are almost definitely out of the question (sorry, 7-inch believers). But that doesn’t mean we don’t expect see some significant changes both inside and out.

Display

One of the iPhone’s most beloved features is its ultrasharp retina display. And while the iPad 2′s screen is no lightweight, a bump up in pixel density is one of the most hotly anticipated iPad 3 improvements. There have been numerous unsourced reports from the supply chain stating that retina screens are coming to iPad. More officially, iBooks 2 has 2x resolution images that would make a lot of sense for a super resolution iPad. But then, that was the case last year, too.

Android tablet displays passed the iPad last summer, and since then have moved into 1080p territory, so it seems far fetched that Apple would put off upgrading the iPad’s screen another year.

Guts

It’s extremely unlikely that anything other than a superfast new A6 chip will power the iPad 3, as Bloomberg and others have reported. The main question at this point seems to be whether that A6 will pack quad core power. On one hand, competitors like the Transformer Prime have moved on to quad core chips, and the incredible gaming and HD movie processing heft that upgrade entails. And both BGR and Bloomberg have recently reported that the A6 will indeed be quad core. But for what it’s worth, Apple has shown in the past that it’s willing to stand pat if it feels a spec is more than good enough for the next generation, like it did with the iPad 2′s 512MB of RAM.

Speaking of RAM, if we’re going to take the retina display rumors seriously, it would make sense that the RAM would finally see an upgrade in the iPad 3. The iPad 2′s 512MB, like the iPhone 4S’s, was buffered by the symbiotic relationship between software and hardware. But it stands to reason that the brute force required to push the massive number of pixels a 10-inch retina display would require a memory upgrade. File that under pure speculation.

Camera

iLounge cited several sources saying the iPad 3 will have an HD front-facing camera for HD Facetime. This would make a lot of sense, considering that quality front-facing cameras have found their way into phones like the Lumia 900, and people use their tablets for video chat much more than their phones.

It’s worth mentioning here that while many of these hardware upgrade rumors seem inevitable, we thought the same about the whoops-that’s-not-happening-iPhone 5. So keep that enthusiasm curbed until the official announcement.

Network

BGR recently leaked debug screenshots of what it claimed was proof of both that fancy new A6 processor and global 4G LTE, and Japanese blog Macotakara reported similar network details around the same time. Bringing LTE to the iPad before the iPhone would make sense, because the iPad’s larger battery can handle the 4G drain. Then again, a 4G iPad would almost certainly portend a 4G iPhone this summer, and it’s not at all clear that Apple considers the network mature enough to hop on just yet.

Siri

iOS 6 is still a long way off, but the iPad 3′s software warrants a quick mention because it might be the first non-iPhone 4S Apple product to get Siri, as some details in the iOS 5.1 beta reference the iPad in Siri Dictation.

Availability

Early March is the logical landing zone, with multiple reports claiming that, and the previous two models coming in early March and very early April.

And for what it’s worth, two European Amazon sites had iPad 3 instruction manuals slated for a March 29th release.

Design

The one thing that’s almost certainly not changing about the iPad is its overall look. Apple’s had wild success with the size and shape, and there’s no reason to rock the boat now. The only changes that could happen would be a very slightly thicker build if it needs to compensate for a retina display and/or a larger battery.

Otherwise?

via: gizmodo

Via: BGR

Optogenetics is a method of using light to control cells in the brain. It can be used to alter behavior, model diseases, and maybe even one day, deliver drugs right where you need them. And now, it’s wireless! With lasers!

With genetic engineering, we can design cells that respond to light (from lasers or LEDs) by activating or deactivating themselves or otherwise changing their functionality. The appeal of using light to alter cells is that we can turn light on and off at the speed of, you know, light, which allows us to keep up with the speeds at which things happen inside our cells. For example, neurons in the brain send signals to other neurons using electric spikes that occur in just a few milliseconds, but with lasers, it’s possible to very precisely control (or disrupt) these messages, and this is what optogenetics is all about.

So what can optogenetics do for you? Well, in one example, researchers have found that they can use optogenetics to be able to drive neurons responsible for creating dopamine, and mice who had brain lasers (BRAIN LASERS!) tuned to stimulate those neurons started to act like they were on happy drugs. The same sort of technique has also been used to control awakeness in mice with narcolepsy.

Obviously, there’s a lot of potential here, for both research and treatment. But even before we get to the point of giving humans brain lasers (BRAIN LASERS!), researchers have a lot more work to do figuring out just what other effects optogenetics might have on animals like mice. Problem is, when you have to run a bunch of fiber optic cables between your computer and the noggin of your mouse, that mouse tends to understandably not act much like a normal mouse.

As with every technology, wireless is obviously the way to go, and a company called Kendall Research has come up with a completely wireless optogenetic device that weighs only three grams. It’s designed to be plugged into the brain of a mouse and function like a wireless router, taking signals from a computer and routing them to the laser and thence into the mouse neurons. This system doesn’t just communicate wirelessly, it’s also powered wirelessly, using an array of supercapacitors to transmit bursts of power when necessary.

Optogenetics is still a relatively new field, and it’s going to be a while before you can slap a patch on your skull and push a button to solve all your problems (or get high). But this is (at least potentially) the future: instead of relying on therapy or pills, we’ll be able to genetically tweak our cells and use lasers to control our own brains directly.

via: dvice

The Scosche CellCONTROL plugs into the car’s OBD-II port, (found on all 1996 or newer cars,) and uses Bluetooth to prevent phone use including Internet, phone calls, and texts both incoming and outgoing. It’s clever enough to know when the car is in motion, allowing phone use when the vehicle is stationary, and it even knows if you plug in a hands free headset so it can unblock the phone.

Scosche sees the CellCONTROL primarily as a tool for the parents of young drivers, who might otherwise be tempted to read texts as they chime in. Any attempt to disable or simply unplug the box will result in an alert being sent to the designated administrator (i.e. Mom or Dad,) so the kid’s stroke of genius to simply unplug the box won’t work..

Scosche says the device works with over 1,200 types of phone including Android, BlackBerry and Windows 7. That means every kid who wants a car will also be asking for an iPhone, which doesn’t appear to be covered.

The Scosche CellCONTROL is available now for about $130.

via :dvice

There’s continued speculation Apple will unveil its next iPhone with a 4-inch screen. A Wall Street expert lent his voice to the chorus, telling investors the new device will begin production in June. But how will Apple increase the 3.5-inch screen and retain the iPhone’s iconic style?

Susquehanna Financial analyst Chris Caso didn’t reveal his sources on the 4-inch screen, but it isn’t the first time we’ve heard talk that Apple could follow other smartphone makers that also are expected to offer bigger displays. In late 2011, speculation arose about the next iPhone gaining a larger screen. Indeed, just recently, we reported one inventive (but probably incorrect) rumor that Apple will do away with the single button to make room for a 4-inch screen. Knowing Steve Jobs’s love of simplicity, such chatter is laughable.

Instead, what could push Apple to stretch the iPhone screen is competition. Many of Apple’s rivals are reportedly moving to the larger touchscreen as a way to attract customers. But as we’ve reported, size isn’t what really matters to consumers shopping for smartphones.

Some observers even suggest the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS could be kept at 3.5 inches while the new handset upgrades to the four-inch display. Although there is precedence for creating different price levels with the 3GS marked down to free and the iPhone 4 dropping to $99, creating differing physical footprints is totally different.

Which brings me to the question of ‘What Would Steve Do?’ Jobs detested tiny tablet screens, saying consumers would have to sand down their fingertips in order to move objects. The opposite would likely be true for larger smartphone screens. The 3.5-inch display is perfect for the average human hand — anything larger and using the screen literally becomes a reach.

So, will the next iPhone have a larger screen? Probably. But we’re unlikely to see an iPhone with a 4-inch screen. Which is how Apple has always kept ahead of its opponents, by zigging when everyone else is zagging.

via: cultofmac

Jim Starlin just post this to his facebook page, so I’m thinking it is the real deal. It’s a piece form an original illustrated novel that he’s currently working on. He’ll reveal more details as his plans are finalized, but for now I think one word will suffice: Want!

[Artwork: Mindgames by and © Jim Starlin]

via: gear live

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Not everyone is technically inclined and sometimes you need people with little technical know-how to share files with you. Droopy makes it as simple as giving them a URL pointing to your home computer/server. You run the python-based web server on your computer, make sure there is an open port on your firewall, and anyone you share the URL with can share the files as easily as sending an email attachment.

Droopy is open-source and works wherever Python does.

Droopy [via Cool Tools]