U.S. Airforce's Secretive Space Plane X-37B Returns 2 Years Later

     "The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to and examined, on Earth." Not exactly the most illuminating description on the Air Force's fact sheet but none the less we know that after two years this un-manned space plane has landed. This US Air Force space plane is just one of the two X-37B vehicles in the Pentagon's stock. It landed Friday morning in California a the Vandenberg Air Force Base at the 30th Space Wing after 22 months or 674 days in space.

     In the Air Force's statement they said "The mission is our longest to date and we're pleased with the incremental progress we've seen in our testing of the reusable space plane". This seems to be the most information that the Air Force will digress as they have only said very very little about the X-37B and its missions ever. 

     There are of course theories and speculations on what the space vehicle may be doing up there but these vary from study of extra terrestrials to satellite launching. So in short there is really no answer as to what this space plane might be up there doing. It could merely be long cruises to judge how a space plane with no human could be thrown into orbit to come back at a certain time. After all it is not easy to prefect algorithms for space plane maneuvering without testable information.

     It's nice to see either way that we still have an interest in space even since we have already gotten to the moon. Seems after that we have lost interest. Either way hopefully they are accomplishing something worthwhile up there whether they want to share that information or not.

Sources: Space
                CNet

All of Apples new Announcements from Big Event

     There were four announcements that caught attention at Apple's event yesterday. These consist of two new iPads both mini and air, a new 5k iMac and the two new software offerings in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.1. This event was not as large as the massive media event that Apple held for the announcement of the new iPhones, but still had information that many Apple fans can appreciate.

Josh Valacrel / Wired

The software news regarding OS X Yosemite is already available for a free download and the mobile operating system in iOS 8.1 will be available for download on Monday. The 8.1 system will add Apple Pay and a beta of iCloud photo libraries. It will also include Camera Roll, for those who have been missing the feature. The company has also re-worked it iWork suite in an update which is available for download today. Finally, for developers the company announced WatchKit which is an SDK which will allow apps to start being created for the AppleWatch before it is released.
     Now lets cover the new thinner, lighter more golden iPads. Apple has cut off 18% of the thickness from the iPad air (which already was brought down 20% in thickness from the its previous counterpart). Measuring in at 6.1mm thick, makes it the thinnest tablet on the market currently. In order to accomplish this Apple had to eliminate all of the micro thin layers of air between the layers of display, this was accomplished by optically bonding them together. In addition they also reduced the internal reflection and added and anti-reflective coating that supposedly will reduce reflections by up to 56%. As for the inside, the iPad air comes with a 64-bit A8x processor which offers 40% faster CPU performance and 2.5% faster GPU performance which makes it up to 180 times faster than the original iPad. It also gets 10 hours of battery life per charge.

Josh Valcarcel / Wired

     As cameras have become one of the most important features in mobile devices today, the iPad has updated its camera which is now 8 megapixels, with f/2.4 aperture. Enabling it to shoot 1080p video, take panoramas, burst mode, slo-mo and time lapse. The front camera also has been improved for FaceTime HD with a f/2.2 aperture. They also improved connectivity for the iPad with faster LTE bands and a new faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Finally the iPads also come with TouchID which will make it easy for users to take advantage of ApplePay and TouchID app extensions.
     The iPad Air 2 is available for pre-order now starting at $499 for a 16GB, $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 128GB. They have also added Gold to the colors of Silver and Space Gray.

Josh Valarcel / Wired

     The iPad Mini 3 is also available and has been upgraded to a Touch ID. It starts at $399 for 16GB, $499 for 64GB and $599 for 128GB. In addition Apple also dropped the price of the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 by $100, so you can now grab them at an all-time low price.

     Now that we have covered the iPads and new software lets talk about the new iMac which has gotten a huge resolution boost. Apple introduced the iMac with Retina Display, having a 27-inch display with a 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution (14.7 million pixels). Apple is calling it a "Retina 5k" display. This iMac will sport a 3.5Ghz i5 processor which is available to be upgraded to 4Ghz, Radeon graphics, 8GB of memory (not impressive) and a 1 TB fusion drive. This iMac will start at $2,499 but is customizeable up to $5,000.

Their final announcement in the Mac Mini has a 4th-generation Intel processor, Iris and HD graphics 5000 and a 802.11ac WiFi. Complete with 2 Thunderbolt USB ports. The small Mac Mini is energy efficient and starts at $499.
Although Apple has continued to give us new product with upgraded software/hardware there were no real jaw droppers at this unveiling, but improvements are improvements and it will keep the competition on their toes for the rest of the year for sure.

Sources: Wired

Doctors report Google Glass Addiction

Google glass is finally out and being used in everyday life, but what exactly is happening to those who have these glasses on all day long. Google Glass owners have been reported as not being able to put the wearable device down, and now there is at least one report of genuinely addictive behavior reported by Doctors at Naval Medical Center in San Diego. They are claiming that a 31-year-old Navy serviceman is the first person to be diagnosed with a Google Glass-related addiction.
     The user reportedly wore the device for up to 18 hours a day and even when not wearing the device consistently reached for his right temple to use and activate his Google Glass and this was almost anytime he was asked a question. Apparently after 35 days of on-site treatment he has been getting better; the reflexive movement to the temple is not as often and he is much less irritable and more focused.

This raises concerns as a wearable device is meant to be worn all day in everyday life to assist you. However, if this is causing problems of addiction this serious it may be a risk that not many are ready to take. Of course there is no guarantee that you will get addicted, but those with addictive personalities will be more subject to this problem. This is still only one incident and a little bit of research shows that the patient was prone to compulsive activities in the past, so take this into consideration as well.

Sources: Engadget

Google Fiber to be Unleashed in Austin this December

     So it seems that AT&T's new gigabit internet is going to gain some competition this December in Austin, Texas. Google Fiber in a recent planning meeting in Mountain View detailed how it will finally roll out the service. The company's gigabit internet service is up to 100 times faster than what most ISPs can currently offer throughout the US. With these greater speeds it will also bring major opportunities to the area itself.

David Anthony program manager at the event stated: "Launching a fiber network is really three parts: planning, permitting, and construction,". He also explained that the Fiber service will begin in the southeast areas of the city and requires permits to build the infrastructure. So this will not be happening overnight in other words. "Not every part of Austin will get Fiber. But every area of Austin will have an opportunity to get it," according to Google Fiber head Mark Strama.

     As the USA has some of the lowest internet speeds in the world compared to our European friends it is about time that we receive speeds that reflect our work ethic, fast, reliable and constant. This coming from Google will most certainly add tons of opportunities to the areas it moves to and also cause competitors to get their speeds up to snuff with the competition. We may slowly be moving into the era of internet speeds that will blow our minds.

Sources: VentureBeat

               Engadget

Apple Leaks iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3

     Apple has made an uncharacteristic mistake prior to the press event later today and has accidentally revealed both of the new iPads it plans to release. Apparently an offical user guide for iOS 8 in the iTunes Store had screenshots that were updated ahead of schedule; both new iPads are pictured and plenty is revealed. From the looks of it both iPads will come with Touch ID fingerprint sensor, vbut other than that it does seem that these products will look identical to their past counterparts.

     Although we will not have the specs on these devices til later in the day, we expect that Apple will greatly improve the performance of each iPad with a more powerful A8X processor and an updated chipset. However, it is not yet clear if both iPads will match each other spec for spec. Their is some information in the user guide which suggests that burst photography mode will be on the iPad Air 2 but no mention of the mini 3 having this feature.

Either way if you were hoping for a major overhaul with design changes it seems you will be disappointed this year.  We are excited to hear what Apple has to say about these products later in the day and of course are hoping for some real improvements to the software and speeds of the iPad. In addition in a funny coincidence that this Apple leak came on the same day that Google announced its brand new tablet in the Nexus 9. Competition continues in the world of tablets!

























Sources: TheVerge

Snapchat Videos and Pictures Stored on Snapsave third-party website released.

     Pictures and videos of up to 200,000 people posted on snap-chat and stored on Snapsaved.com have been put online, supposedly posted by the same people who were behind the nude celebrity photos being released in August. These photos and videos were accessed after users of snapchat created a site that allowed users to save their photos and use the snapchat service from their desktop computers. This site is snapsave.com which allows users to upload photos and communicate with other snapchat users without having to be on their mobile device. This site seems to have been created maliciously as it has supposedly been saving and stealing snapchat users login information both username and password.

engadget.com

     By obtaining usernames and passwords through the site they could then become authorized to access Snapchat's servers and send or receive the pictures the user viewed through it and also store the information without knowledge of the user or Snapchat.
     Snapchat stated: "We can confirm that Snapchat's servers were never breached and were not the sources of these leaks. Snapchatters were victimised by their use of third-party apps to send receive Snaps, a practice that we explicitly prohibit in our terms of use precisely because they compromise our users' security."
     Even though Snapchat states that they are secure in this scenario, it was hacked last year when over 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers were stored by a site called SnapchatDB which had a hacking weakness that used to exist in the program.
     It is unclear who is behind it, but these pictures and videos have been posted up onto the web due to the information collected by this third-party site. There is no site that has all of the leaks on it, but according to one reddit user "The Snappening" was "13GB of low resolution garbage. Mundane, boring shit like "check out my new hat!" or "heehee my shoes are so silly!" Although we are not aware of what site all of these images may be posted to they are being circulated throughout the web and people are finding them.

Sources: Engadget
              TheGuardian

New August Smart Lock for Homes

     The new August Smart Lock is a lock designed with not only smart capabilities but with safety in mind as well. This era of technology has quickly put a damper on what we used to consider safe in this day and age. People are now able to create keys that unlock doors and even snap pictures of your key simply to have a copy made. Regardless one thing is for certain we are all becoming more and more comfortable with smart apps and controlling our lives with these apps. August has taken that idea and put it into effect with a new smart lock that is not so easily penetrable.

A lock that fits on any common deadbolt and eliminates the use for keys. That's what we see here and this lock will remained locked until the user unlocks it with their smart phone. We are constantly losing things as a society and one of those main things are our keys. This lock looks to put an end to that. With bluetooth technology this lock pairs with your smartphone currently only available on iPhones and Android and allows you to control when your door locks and unlocks, allowing you to customize and calibrate your settings to meet your preferences.


     There is the problem however of your smart phone dying, but August has though of an answer to that in that there will be a key that you could have with you to unlock the smart lock or if you were to borrow a friends phone, download the app and insert your password you could unlock it in this manner. This does however mean that this lock is not as safe as we thought. With the ability to simply steal someones password you could easily enter there house, this could be beneficial as you could allow multiple people to have a key to the house without having to get 10 keys made to the house. At the same time however that password could be intercepted or one of the phones lost with the app on it. However, this could apply in the same way to having multiple sets of keys as they can be easily lost and found by someone else and used.
     The August smart lock does however let you reset your password to keep people guessing so if a phone is lost or password is given out you can quickly change your information to keep your home secure. This is obviously preferred over replacing your deadbolt because someone else may have the key.

     The system still has some minor bugs that are being worked out, but they are only on the app side of things and not problems with the lock itself. Things like the app not working, crashing or not unlocking the door. As these locks are currently on the shelves already in Apple stores though we are sure that they will deal with these bugs extremely soon if not already.
     The system is extremely easy to install as all you need is the august smart lock, screwdriver and other pieces that are bundled with the smart lock. You simply take off your old deadbolt and replace it with this. The smart lock also will continue to run if the electricity goes out or WiFi disconnects as the device does not need the WiFi only bluetooth and you always have the key to manually open the lock. As their have been many attempts at creating smart locks from number codes, to finger prints this is the easiest as it's on your phone like everything else and will even unlock the door automatically when you are near the handle and lock once again when you leave. This is not simply a better lock, it is a smart lock.
     With technology on the rise it is important to not only keep ourselves up with the times, but our security as well and this lock looks to improve that for all.

Sources: August.com
             

Ambi Climate Makes Your Air Conditioner Smart

Many people all over the world struggle with keeping their homes or workplaces at an optimal temperature, not to cold and not to hot is the goal. This typically requires multiple walks to change the AC unit temperature and essentially constantly having to micro-manage the thermostat. Ambi Labs is looking to solve this issue with their new smart sensors.

This small hub/sensor utilizes local weather data, temperature, air flow, humidity and even movement detection to adjust the air conditioner quickly and accordingly with its infrared transmitter. Allowing the room to keep a more constant temperature, less thermostat micromanaging and also helps to save energy.
As shown to the left the Ambi Climate also comes with a companion app which will sync with iOS or Android devices allowing people to control room temperature and humidity from anywhere even if you are not at home. In addition the hub will use your current location and movement to automatically detect if you're home or not and even what room you are in to turn on and off air conditioners without you having to think about it. Of course you can set your own personal preferences to the ambi climate, such as preferred temperature, humidity and off/on times. If you have multiple ambi climate units you may also monitor and apply conditions throughout all the units at once.

     As it is on kickstarter with already over 250 backers pledging the early bird November units are already sold out. So the next shipment will take place in June 2015, just in time for summer. For more information you can visit their Kickstarter Page.

Sources: Engadget

Mercedes Making a Self-Driving Tractor Trailer could Change the Future of Shipping

     Mercedes has recently unveiled images of a new self-driving semi which they believe will change the future of shipping as we know it. From looking at it, you may think that this truck is just fancy with all of it's LED lights instead of headlights and cameras instead of mirrors, but this is the design that makes this truck self-driving. These are minor cosmetic changes as the true amazement is "Future Truck 2025" drives itself. Although these images are just of the prototype Mercedes is intent on perfecting and getting this truck ready for commercial use in the next 10 years.
     We have all seen the self-driving cars and trucks that are in development but this is the first of tractor trailers we are seeing. Many might think that a vehicle with such weight and importance should not be allowed to be automated because of the risks involved. However, in 2012, according to NHTSA 333,000 large trucks were in accidents in the U.S. alone. Of these accidents nearly 4,000 people have been killed the majority riding in passenger vehicles. In addition there has been difficulty implementing regulations to ensure that truckers get enough rest during their travels. What is going to solve this problem? Seems like Mercedes might have an answer.

The future truck complete with the "Highway Pilot" automated system. Dr.Wolfgang Bernhard, the Daimler board member for trucks and buses states: "It never gets tired. It's always 100% and sharp. It's never angry; it's never distracted. So this is a much safer system."
Of course this automated system will truly only shine on long stretches of road where speeds are steady, with no pedestrians and minimal turning is necessary. Their are enough sensors fitted all over the truck to cover the surroundings at all time so local driving and navigating cities is possible just not as easily performed.


     The new idea of vehicle-to-vehicle communication will truly help make this automated driving much simple by being able to collect data from cars around the truck, but it will be a long time until this type of communication is on most vehicles on the road, so even without this communication the truck uses its many cameras to keep an eye on every inch of the road around it.

     With technology like this emerging in the technology industry it is only a matter of time before our cars and trucks will be communicating with each other and making decisions on the road for us getting us from point A to point B.
     "The challenge now," Bernhard states, "is to leverage this momentum and to continue our open dialogue with all parties involved, so that in ten years' time the autonomously driving truck will indeed have become an accepted feature on our roads."



Sources: Wired

3D Printed Heart Helps to Save Child's Life

      A young 2 week old baby required a complicated heart surgery. Surgeons at New York hospital have given credit to 3D printing which helped them to better understand the child's heart problem. After scanning the heart using MRI's Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital was able to create a 3D copy of the child's heart; holes and all.

     Although this surgery is extremely complicated and dangerous, this 3D printed heart allowed surgeons to gain a better understanding of the child's heart and created a more possible opportunity to help the child. "The baby's heart had holes, which are not uncommon with CHD, but the heart chambers were also in an unusual formation, rather like a maze" said Dr. Emile Bacha, who actually performed the surgery when she reported to Connecticut media. She went on to say "In the past we had to stop the heart and look inside to decide what to do. With this technique, its was like we had a road map to guide us. We were able to repair the baby's heart with one operation."
     In a world where health problems are always more and more complex 3D printing technology has already proven to be something that could greatly benefit us in the future even in areas outside of the world of health. It is rumored that they are printing more 3D hearts containing common problems and will help doctors to better understand the heart and how to approach certain issues. As most doctors only get to look at hearts when someone chest is open, this is a huge deal and will help further studies of heart related issues.
     This surgery and project was funded by Matthew's Hearts of Hope which is based in Connecticut, they will be funding the next 3D printed hearts as well. The founder of the foundation Marie Hatcher stated: "This is a game changer for CHD babies with complicated heart anatomy."
     Technology certainly has gotten a foothold in with every type of industry and now that we have 3D printers as our new form of technology, it's exciting to think what life they could save next or what big project they could be building soon.

Sources: Independent