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Showing posts from August, 2015

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This is my new project: VoIP, Call center service, Cloud computing, Web design and more! just hit me up at www.piratechlabs.com Don't forget to came often! Page is under construction... still

Lenovo's latest pro laptops pack 4K and Xeon processors

There are plenty of workstation laptops that claim to deliver on the promise of heavy-duty computing on the road, but they're not usually that much different on the inside than a garden variety portable.  You can't say that about Lenovo's monster new ThinkPad P50 and P70 systems, though. The two not only offer things you'd expect in this class, such as color-accurate 4K displays and pro NVIDIA Quadro graphics, but Intel's first-ever mobile Xeon processors (specifically, the E3-1500M) -- you won't have to settle for an ordinary Core i-series chip here. If you need to crunch 3D models or video when you're out of the office, one of these rigs may be your best bet. That CPU upgrade also brings the kind of perks normally limited to desktops, including support for a whopping 64GB of memory and Thunderbolt 3 ports that can handle dual 4K displays. LENOVO THINKPAD P50 & P70 Your system choice is dictated mostly by screen size. The P50 is the vaguely po...

Samsung's Gear Indie channel highlights independent VR filmmaking

Gear VR owners are about to get a whole new channel of 360-degree video content: Samsung just announced Gear Indie, an independent film channel for its Milk VR video platform. Over the next few weeks, Samsung will be hosting a showcase of 13 curated independent virtual reality films, including a time-lapse of the Mohave Desert, an experiment in first-person stop-motion animation, a comedy short about teleportation (Teleportaled, pictured above) and even a "virtual pet" simulator filmed at the San Diego Humane Society. Gear Indie is primarily a channel for watching curated independent VR films, but Samsung also plans to use the platform to help creators make content. Throughout the year, the outfit will host Gear Indie challenges asking filmmakers to create content based on a specific theme. The company is also planning a mentorship program that pairs artists with prominent folks in the VR industry. The channel is live right now on Milk VR. Content creators can learn mo...

OnePlus 2's arrival in US and Canada gets delayed

We've got some bad news for those of you in the US and Canada waiting for the OnePlus 2. While you can still purchase the new device from OnePlus.net today if you have an invite code, you have quite a bit of wait ahead of you. The company has announced in its forums that it can't ship out units to North America just yet. It'll start sending out orders two to three weeks after shipments to Europe have begun, so you might end up waiting for a month, depending on your location. OnePlus said the delay was "due to production schedules," but it didn't elaborate on what that meant exactly. In case you're still on the fence about buying the manufacturer's new flagship phone, though, make sure to check out our review before you pull the trigger. SOURCE

OneDrive will tell you when someone's editing your files

If you've ever worried that someone was editing your shared documents behind your back, Microsoft might just set your mind at ease. The folks in Redmond are rolling out an update to OneDrive that tells you when someone is editing a file you've shared, whether through a mobile notification or a daily summary email -- you'll know if someone is diving into that quarterly report a little too soon, or if that spreadsheet will be ready for tomorrow. Only some users will see these alerts at first, but they should be "widely available" in the weeks ahead. There's more beyond that. Microsoft recently added support for sharing synced folders to your desktop, and it's now making it possible to search within files that have been shared with you, not just your own material. You won't have to remember whether or not you were the first to bring up that important topic, in other words. Overall, these OneDrive updates could eliminate some of the confusion that com...

Force Touch to provide shortcuts on the upcoming iPhone

Reports came out earlier this year that the next iPhones will have Force Touch -- a feature that makes it easy to access particular content or functions by pressing down on a pressure-sensitive screen with haptic feedback. Now, 9to5mac has more details about the feature, which was introduced on the Apple Watch's screen and new MacBook's trackpad. Apparently, Force Touch for Apple's mobile devices is known internally as "Orb" and is meant to provide shortcuts for the platform. For instance, the publication's sources said pressing down on a destination on the Maps apps automatically begins turn-by-turn directions. Doing so on a song listing within the Music app, on the other hand, brings up a menu you can use to quickly add it to a playlist or save it for offline listening. You can also press down on an app on the Home Screen to bring up a special options menu: the Phone app's, for example, includes a shortcut to Voicemail. Some of its other functions c...

Galaxy studies show that the universe is slowly dying

Not to bum you out, but many scientists believe that the universe will eventually die -- stars and even black holes will release energy until there's virtually nothing left. And unfortunately, there's now stronger evidence that this inexorable decline is real. Scientists using radio telescopes have measured the energy output of 200,000 galaxies with greater precision than ever, and they've determined that these star havens are only producing half as much energy as they were 2 billion years ago. In short, the universe is fading out. This isn't surprising (entropy is inescapable in our understanding of physics), but it does downplay theories that the universe might maintain or even regain energy. This isn't to say you should worry about the universe decaying any time soon. Current models have new stars forming until well over 1 trillion years after the Big Bang, and it'll take over a quintillion years before galaxies bite the dust. Humanity likely won't b...

Pixar will open-source the code for a key movie-making tool

Fancy that you could create the next Inside Out if you only had the right tools? Pixar just made that dream a little more realistic. Mere months after giving away Renderman, the studio has announced plans to open the source code for its Universal Scene Description software, which gives multiple computer animation apps a common "scene graph" to work from. It should help movie makers streamline the production process (particularly if there's more than one company involved), but it'll also be a boon to animation app designers who want their various programs to play together. The open-sourced USD should be available by summer 2016. Take that release window with a grain of salt, though. Pixar promised to give away Renderman back in June 2014, but didn't make it available until March this year -- don't be alarmed if the prep work (such as documentation, plugins and tutorials) takes longer than expected. SOURCE

UK to trial under-road wireless charging for EVs this year

Plug-in charging infrastructure like Tesla's Supercharger network are currently helping drive the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs),  but the UK government is already looking towards a future where charging is also possible on the move. Highways England today announced its plan to start off-road testing of wireless charging tech that could allow EVs and hybrids to travel much longer distances on the UK's major roads without needing to refuel. Trials are expected to start before the end of the year, just as soon as the right vehicle and under-road tech "to replicate motorway conditions" has been sourced. These should run for around 18 months, after which the hope is to progress to testing the wireless charging infrastructure on real roads. The UK government has committed £500 million (roughly $780 million) to the project over the next five years, and the off-road trials follow a substantial feasibility study conducted by Highways England. It looked into everyt...

Hackers control connected cars using text messages

It's not only Chrysler drivers that have to worry about hackers taking control of their cars from afar. UC San Diego researchers have found that you can control features on cars of many makes by exploiting vulnerabilities in cellular-capable dongles that are sometimes plugged into the vehicles' OBD-II ports, such as insurance trackers and driving efficiency tools. In the example you see above, the security team compromised a Corvette touting a Mobile Devices dongle (one of the most common varieties) through everyday text messages -- they could turn on the wipers or even cut the brakes. That same device is also set to allow remote tunneling using a universal 'private' key, making it easy for an intruder to get complete control over the adapter and its unfortunate host car. You'll be glad to hear that Mobile Devices has already patched its hardware in response to the findings, and that the phone numbers for these dongles aren't normally public. You'...