Daily Crunch: Mainframe

1396Here are a selection of yesterday’s Gadgets stories: Video: Lockheed?s ?Samarai? Drone Spins Like A Maple Seed Skimming Jonathan?s Card For Fun And Philanthrophy Review: Audyssey Lower East Side Speakers Japan To Invest $1.3 Billion In New Supercomputer 1DollarScan Scans And Digitizes Your Books For You ?For A Dollar?

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/13/daily-crunch-mainframe/

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MIT and US Army crafting uniforms with full-body fiberoptic sensors

MIT and US Army crafting uniforms with stealthy fiberoptic communication, sensors

Militaries want soldiers to carry an increasing amount of tech on to the battlefield, but that isn't necessarily convenient -- or comfortable. MIT and the US Army have started early work on uniforms with fiberoptic sensors that would alleviate much of that burden. By weaving in microfibers cut from a mix of specialized, fluidized materials, the partnership can build data links that cover the entire body without breaking or adding significant bulk. They could serve as basic elements of a communication system, but MIT has broader ambitions: the sensors could track wounds through heat signatures, and just might prevent friendly fire incidents by sending a don't-shoot signal when targeted with a laser sight. The fibers still have to get much thinner before the Army can offer smart uniforms as standard issue, but the wearable tech may keep soldiers nimble and, just possibly, save a few lives.

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Via: Wired

Source: MIT

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/18/mit-and-us-army-crafting-uniforms-with-full-body-fiberoptic-sensors/

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Comparing iPad Twitter app timeline views

Comparing iPad Twitter app timeline views

Earlier in the week I compared iPhone Twitter app timeline views, and since fair is fair, it seemed only right that I do the same for iPad Twitter apps. And again, Twitter's cold war with client developers notwithstanding, there's some amazing investment to be found here. Now, while the iPad doesn't enjoy the the breadth of Twitter apps, due to the larger screen there's an even better opportunity for depth. Instead of the 15 + 3 I found for the iPhone, here are 8 + 1 for the iPad.

Gridded up, there's a lot of variety, from more expansive versions of essentially the same iPhone interfaces, to bold takes on what's capable at tablet scale. Like before, I used the exact same feed point for each client, with the exception of the legacy app at the bottom. It includes an @mention so that we can see how, if at all, a client highlights or otherwise distinguishes that type of post. I also got rid of ads, wherever possible, to keep things clean. However, I didn't open popovers for basic controls, because they aren't omnipresent parts of the layout.

Here then, in order, from top left to bottom right, are:

  1. Twitter, Twitterrific
  2. Tweetbot, Tweetglass
  3. Twittelator, Osfoora HD
  4. Echofon Pro, TweetCaster
  5. Tweetie (discontinued)

Yes, once again, the timeline view is only one aspect of a Twitter app, and can't properly address features and flourishes like gestures, notifications and filters, parallax image embeds, sorting, and other ways some of the clients have innovative and provided extra enjoyment and value. We'll be covering differentiators in a future comparison.

And if you want DVD-style extras, and a peak behind the scenes of your favorite Twitter apps, check out:

Meanwhile, look over the designs above and let me know what you think. Which Twitter apps do you use on your iPad, and are they the same ones that appeal to you most in the comparison above? Any of the timelines attractive enough they encourage you check out an alternative app?

And since this all began with Phil Nickinson's Android Twitter app timelines comparison, how do you think they compare to Twitter apps for Android tablets?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ywEjpefHhPE/story01.htm

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Google Chrome now uses SPDY HTTP replacement, halves page load time

SPDY in Google Chrome
We're not entirely sure of the time line here, but it looks like Google has now rolled out the SPDY HTTP replacement to its full bevy of Web services, including Gmail, Docs, and YouTube. If you're currently using Google's Chrome browser you're probably already using SPDY.

We originally reported on SPDY way back in November 2009, when Google introduced it as yet another experiment in making the Web faster, like Go, Native Client and speculative pre-connections. Over the last 18 months, though, SPDY support has found its way into the stable build of Chrome.

SPDY is basically a streamlined and more efficient version of HTTP. At its most basic, SPDY introduces parallel, multiplexed streams over a single TCP connection -- but at the same time, SPDY allows for prioritization, so that vital content (HTML) can be sent before periphery content (JavaScript, video). All in all, the SPDY protocol can halve page load times, which is obviously rather significant.

The best bit, though, is that SPDY is an open-source project. HTTP 1.1 is a lumbering beast that needs to be replaced before low-latency real-time computing really becomes a reality, and SPDY is one of the best options currently on the table. To be honest, we're not sure why SPDY hasn't received more coverage -- it's awesome in every way. At the moment, though, the only way to help speed up SPDY's proliferation, is with an experimental Apache mod.

As far as actually 'trying it out,' your best bet is downloading Chrome, hitting up some Google sites, and then checking chrome://net-internals to see your active SPDY sessions. SPDY is a transparent replacement for HTTP, though, and as such it's rather hard to see its effects. Google's sites definitely feel fast in Chrome, but there are more technologies than just SPDY at work.

Google Chrome now uses SPDY HTTP replacement, halves page load time originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/google-chrome-now-uses-spdy-http-replacement-halves-page-load-t/

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Press update adds DashClock Widget support

Press on DashClock

Google Reader client Press has just added support for the popular new widget DashClock just a few days after its release.  DashClock Widget provides a platform to make "extensions" that plug into the widget from other apps to put pertinent notifications and information on your screen. Users on Android 4.2 with DashClock installed now have the ability to see their Press unread count and last sync time on the widget. This should play nicely with the recent update to Press that added background syncing support.

So far we've got Falcon Pro and Press that have updated to support the widget's extensions, along with the built-in items like weather and Gmail, and we're sure to see more as DashClock Widget becomes even more popular.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/61jZkJJdLQ4/story01.htm

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IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison

Over on the Internet Explorer Blog, Microsoft has posted results from an extensive comparison of the top five Web browsers. The goal: to determine whether Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 4, Chrome 10, Safari 5, or Opera 11 is able to squeeze the most life out of your laptop's battery.

A baseline was determined with test systems sitting idle, and then browsers were pointed at about:blank, a news site, the HTML5 Galactic demo, and the IE9 fish tank demo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IE9 came out on top -- though Firefox 4 was a very close second on nearly every test. As you can see, the other browsers didn't necessarily fare quite as well, with Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera all posting significantly worse scores. In Opera 11's case, a laptop battery would last over one hour more with Internet Explorer 9 installed.


But what we'd really like to know is where did Microsoft find the dilithium crystals required to run a Galactic Total Power Consumption test...

IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/ie9-and-firefox-4-post-top-marks-in-pc-power-use-comparison/

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DealAngel Launching API To Let Other Sites Build Hotel Pricing Intelligence Into Their Wares

152781v4-max-250x250DealAngel, the site that lets you search for hotels and compare prices based on their historic and broader market value to ensure you really are getting a good deal, has launched a private beta of its API -- essentially adding a B2B element to its otherwise consumer-facing offering. It's a move that makes quite a bit of sense, too, potentially opening up DealAngel's data to additional use-cases and giving the startup an alternative revenue stream. The API should go fully public by April, while Social trip planner Gogobot is the first to add such integration. It also comes at a time when the San Francisco/Prague-based company is ramping up its European expansion: DealAngel is now able to apply its hotel pricing intelligence to hotels in the UK, Germany, and over two dozen "strategic" cities elsewhere in Europe such as Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Prague, in addition to major cities in Russia and Israel. It also targets much of North America.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HJac5qMf-l4/

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Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5%

Firefox 4 usage share graph
Using some early numbers from both StatCounter and Net Applications, Mozilla's noisiest hominid, Asa Dotzler, has illustrated Firefox 4's meteoric rise to around 5% of Web browser global usage share. Internet Explorer 9, which launched two weeks ago, seems to be enjoying a much more casual stroll in the park with just 1.5% of the global Web usage share.

Interestingly, we can see IE9 dipping between March 20 and 21, just before the 'Important' Windows Update rolled out. It's hard to say whether IE9 is only growing because of the installed-by-default Windows Update, but that small dip definitely sticks out -- did excitement peter out? Did people download IE9, try it out, and summarily uninstall it? Perhaps, given their close proximity, the stats show an attention shift from Microsoft to Mozilla?

Numbers-wise, if the bottom left corner of the graph shows 2.3 million downloads for IE9, we can guesstimate that that it has now been downloaded 5 million times. Firefox is clocking in at 37 million downloads after five days of public availability.

We wonder whether Microsoft knew its release schedule would coincide so closely with Firefox 4. Internet Explorer 9 -- a great browser by almost every metric -- was never going to do well against anything emanating from the maws of Mozilla. The main thing, though, is that Microsoft has now shown that it's serious when it comes to the Open Web. If Internet Explorer 10 is good, and 11 and 12, then we might finally see it compete with the zealous Mozillan horde.

Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5% originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/firefox-4-rockets-to-5-global-usage-share-ie9-wallows-at-1-5/

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How Secure is My Password lets you know just that

howsecureismypassword
We've all heard it before; you need to select a lengthy password, one that's hard to guess. Not a dictionary word. And it has to have some capital letters in it too, and some digits, and a symbol or two won't hurt either.

That's a handy set of rules to keep in mind, but How Secure is My Password helps us understand why they're important.

It's basically like a full-screen version of one of those password-strength meters websites sometimes use. But instead of showing you a bar going from "weak" to "strong", it shows you an estimation of how long your password would take to crack. That's a much more visceral way to understand why your password is strong.

For example, when I entered "rabbit", it came back with "your password is one of the 500 most common passwords. It could be cracked almost instantly". "rabbit5" would take two hours, "$rabbit5" would take 38 days, and "$rabbitZ5" would take 237 years. It's quite enlightening to see what a difference three simple characters can make.

How Secure is My Password lets you know just that originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/05/how-secure-is-my-password-lets-you-know-just-that/

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