Nanotechnology is part of a whole new stage of technology, the ability to create microscopic machines that can perform tasks such as replacing torn knee ligaments or as was previously found it could be used to double hard drives space. Part of nanotechnologies problems is that if it is damaged, you are talking about a tiny tear. Self-repairing technology can help with that, enabling machines and devices to not only protect themselves but also repair some of the damage that has been done to them, and researchers at Rice university have taken it a step further by letting carbon nanotubes self-assemble themselves all with just a little remote prompt.
The researchers at Rice university posted a video to YouTube that shows a series of carbon nanotubes gather together and assembles themselves into a wire. Remember when you broke your favourite pair of headphones because part of the cable broke but you could never tell what part? With this technology, you could simply place your headphones in a force field created by a Tesla coil and watch at it repairs itself.
Described by one of the scientists sons as “spider-man webs”, the video clearly shows that this technology could be used in creating self-building/repairing technology, similar to that found in the self-healing gel that Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas showed off a few months ago.
Going to take a long flight in the near future? You may want to hope that Panasonic is the ones providing you with the in-flight entertainment though after they revealed the Waterfront, a 4k experience to keep you happy on the plane.
Concealed within a private seating area, not only are you welcomed to your own private refuge but the technologies there to make your flight as enjoyable as being at home. The lighting around your area is controlled by an app you can place on your phone, giving you control over the lighting in the front pocket and water bottle independently.
If that wasn’t enough from the app then you can take full control of the 24-inch 4K TV that sits in front of you for the duration of the flight. With video and music playback, with all the sound provided through a set of headphones placed neatly beside your head, the app can only be used to control your adjustable seats and a “do not disturb” function (complete with wake up time alert for the cabin crew) , the app continues to give you options when you’re enjoying your flight.
With a wireless charging area for your phone, power ports, and an HDMI input to let you play your own movies, you can even video chat with the built-in camera. Once you’ve got everything to your liking, you can save the settings and keep them for your next flight, the app even gives you a notification about where to pick up your bags. While it’s not set for release till 2019, you could soon enjoy the freedom and comfort of a 4K screen on your long distance flights.
During those late nights when you just feel like a quick bite to eat and your favourite show before hitting the hay, we all feel like quickly ordering something in and enjoying the greasy food before the days over. Taco Bell are currently testing a new way for you to order, the TacoBot.
The TacoBot is designed to be a chat AI, designed to help you not only figure out what you really want but then to place your order. Just like having an instant messaging conversation, you could soon be ordering and asking questions about the menu rather than browsing and debating every single option you can’t get.
The TacoBot is currently in a closed beta, with select companies giving it a try and making sure that you can’t break the system and end up with a chicken taco rather than a bean burrito.
Place your order via the chat bot and select your pick up location to enjoy fast food on the go. With autonomous delivery robots now offering you pizza to your door without a driver, you may even be able to get your food delivered by a drone in the near future, leaving only the cooking up to a person.
What do you think? Would you prefer to select items off a menu or is a chat bot a nice way to order? How would you feel if you could text or email your order to the chat bot? Walking home from work? a quick text and the foods ready for you to pick up before you’ve even left the office.
Microsoft is known for working on cutting edge technology, with the technology used in the Kinect becoming a dream piece that was quickly built and mirrored in other gadgets and systems. The next piece of technology they want you using? How about something to go with your smart phone, a smart ring.
Back in November and December, Microsoft patented the designs for a smart ring, a device that would look and feel like a ring but would give you control of your devices as if it was a mouse. The smart ring would detect your fingers movements, acting almost as if you were using a touchscreen in thin air, and thought the use of a small laser, could even detect the position and movement of the finger. Felt like clicking a table and opening your family photos? Look no further!
With both the fingers movement and pose being tracked the input device could be used for anything from a smartphone to a desktop PC, with the complete control of your system (and sorry for saying this) at your fingertips.
The device is patented as working with several other components, from tablets, TV’s, Kinect’s and even smart glasses and smart watches. You’ve got the display in your glasses so why not touch it in thin air?
Are you excited by this concept? I am, imagine being able to control your computer at work like Iron Man with a flick of the wrist, this would also avoid the large motion and input detecting systems that many AR (augmented reality) headsets are having to mount to give you the full Iron Man experience.
Drones are an interesting piece of technology. They’ve only recently taken off (pun intended) and are now swarming over the world with adaptions for every type of activity. You can race your drone in the Drone world GP, they’ll deliver you your food or Amazon orders and are even used to used for underwater exploration. As with all ideas, there are some ideas that just raise more issues and questions than are worth, with the likes of a drone mounting a gun being one of them. The latest drone design to meet this category is the KILLERDRONE! a drone equipped with nothing more than a chainsaw.
That is correct, the KILLERDRONE! (capitals and exclamation mark are included in its name) is a drone equipped with a chainsaw and has taken off in Finland on its first mission… to hunt down and destroy snowmen. Featuring six rotors and a gas-powered chainsaw, the drone was flown into snowmen to prove that it could be used and has even been discussed as use for legitimate work such as cutting down trees.
While using the KILLERDRONE! to cut down trees may be a good idea, the idea that anyone could mount something like a chainsaw to a drone and then watch as it flew around unrestricted is quite scary. The machine was stopped eventually thanks to a party balloon, raising an even bigger question of what happened if someone stopped a drone above a populated area.
There are many forms of being lazy, or maybe we should rather call it an extra comfort feature that expands your abilities. Today I’m taking a closer look at SilverStone’s ES01 expansion card which allows you turn your PC on and off as well as reset it remotely. This can either be used as an extra security feature or as a simple addition to the already existing methods. The ES01 is available as both a PCI and a PCI-Express card, so you can make it work in almost any system. I’ll be taking a closer look at the PCI-Express x1 version today.
SilverStone’s ES01 is a convenient remote switch kit designed to wirelessly turn your computer on or off as well as reset it. It uses the existing 2.4GHz standard with RF wireless technology which is known to work great and offer a great range. The ES01 remote kit is rated for a range of up to 20 meters which is quite cool and allows you to work the magic from afar.
The adapter comes with an included Y-cable which ensures that your computer case’s own power and reset buttons can be used concurrently with the ES01. You normally wouldn’t want to rely purely on a remote for such a crucial function, and you don’t need to. However, at the same time the ES01 it can be used without connecting the Y-cable to the chassis buttons in order to add another level of security besides BIOS passwords and software solutions to which the ES01 can be a good alternative. It will mostly be users with computers located in hard to reach areas or systems with special usage scenarios that will find the ES01 remote switch kit to be very handy, but it is up to you how you’d like to use it.
The expansion card in itself is a low profile card and it isn’t very long either. It will easily fit into even the smallest chassis and comes with an included low-profile bracket too. All it takes is two screws to switch from the normal to the low-profile bracket, so that’s a job quickly done if needed.
The remote control uses a common CR2025 Lithium manganese button battery with a 3V voltage. It has a maximum measured EIRP of 3.76dBm and naturally operates on the 2.4GHz band. It is about the size that you would know from your car key with remote functionality, but weighs far less. It also comes with a convenient ring for attachment to key rings, backpacks, purses, and more.
Feature Highlights
Control your computer from anywhere in the room using 2.4GHz RF remote
2.4GHz receiver PCI or PCI-E card included
Works as far away as twenty meter
Includes power / reset switch Y cable
Includes optional low profile expansion slot cover
Specifications
Package and Accessories
The SilverStone ES01 comes in a fairly simple package which is fitting for a simple device. The front teases the remote capabilities which doesn’t leave much left to the imaginations. You instantly know what it’s for.
The rear of the box contains the specifications and functionality in several languages. Everything extra that you might want to know before you make the purchase.
Inside the box, we find the add-in card with y-cable attached, a low-profile expansion slot bracket for use in SFF chassis, the remote control and battery for it as well as a small manual.
When it was revealed I couldn’t believe my eyes. Someone walks up to a car and its locked, someone else walks up and can instantly get in and at the press of a button start the engine, no key required. Wireless key technology is now employed in cars all over the world and allows for users to avoid the hassle of finding their car keys, sadly it looks like a radio attack lets hackers do exactly the same thing without you even knowing.
A group of german vehicle security experts have studied how the radio hack uses your keys to break into your own key. The whole principle of wireless keys is that the engine and the doors will only work when the keys are within a certain range of the vehicle, this means that if you aren’t near your car it’s just an expensive piece of metal and technology.
Munich-based automobile club, ADAC, tested a hacking technique that uses the principle of “amplification” to fool your car into believing that the keys are actually closer than they actually are. In total, their study found 24 different vehicles were vulnerable, and it wasn’t just one manufacturer that was involved, 19 different manufacturers were vulnerable to the radio attack. What does this mean? Using this kind of attack someone can walk up to your car, and using a small pocket amplification device, unlock and drive away your car. No alarms,
What does this mean? Using this kind of attack someone can walk up to your car, and using a small pocket amplification device, unlock and drive away your car. The total cost of this hack? $225 for the device. Compare that to the cost of the Audi A3, A4 and A6, Ford Galaxy, Mitsubishi Outlander, Renaults Traffic and countless other models that are vulnerable to this attack.
The technique works by “amplifying” your keys signal. In reality, what happens is the key fobs signal is relayed through a pair of radios. Is this an example of technology being made too smart, at the cost of security, in order to save us a few seconds of inconvenience?
The Echo Voyager is the latest in a long-range of underwater exploration vehicles from Boeing. The big difference in the latest 51-foot version, compared to its smaller cousins the 31ft Seeker and the 18ft Ranger, is the use of a rechargeable power system. Measuring at 7.4 miles per gallon, the volt uses a diesel generator to recharge its lithium-ion or silver zinc batteries when it reaches the surface (this avoids the exhaust being pumped into the water).
The Echo Voyager is designed for commercial release, giving companies and individuals alike to explore the depths of the ocean. Built to use standard commercial interface and satellite links, you could own your own remote-controlled underwater explorer.
Typically underwater vehicles could only spend a few days away from a ship before needing to resupply and recharge, some even opting for an “umbilical cord” solution of constantly providing the resources needed via a cable or tube. The Echo Voyager could see groups operating more autonomous from larger vessels, opening up new ways to explore the mysteries of the deep.
PDP are one of the biggest aftermarket peripheral brands around, having had great success with products such as the AfterGlow controllers for Xbox and PlayStation, now they’re back again with another great addition, this time exclusively for the PlayStation 4. Sony’s latest console is a great hub for home entertainment, offering a fantastic Blu-Ray player, as well as a host of multimedia applications such as Amazon Prime, iPlayer, PlayStation Video and Plex, but there’s been one glaring omission from the setup; a remote control.
The PlayStation 3 had a Bluetooth remote for ages, so it was expected that one would be made available at the console launch, or at least very close to it, but nothing came to light. Now, all this time after release, PDP has stepped in to make the officially licenced controller and while it almost feels like too little too late, I’m sure many of you are happy to see that a remote has finally been made available! The question is, is the control any good?
“Enjoy the convenience of having one remote to instantly control the endless entertainment options of your PlayStation®4. Want quick and easy access to all your favorite TV shows, movies, music, and videos? Coordinate everything with the officially licensed Universal Media Remote for PS4 and manage up to 4 devices—PS4, Set Top Box, TV, and Audio Receiver. Whether you’re listening to music, watching a video, or settling down with Netflix for the night, the Universal Media Remote for PS4 puts you in control right from the comfort of your couch.”
All the features you could hope for are here too, as you can not only control the PlayStation 4, but also up to three additional devices such as your cable box, surround sound and more, meaning the PDP controller has the potential to be the only remote you’ll need to pick up for movie night. It also promises additional support for many of the multimedia applications that are available on the PS4, which is certainly a big benefit overall.
Intuitive Control: Enjoy a convenient way to navigate and control your PlayStation® 4 system with ease.
Command up to Four Devices: Control your PS4system and up to three additional devices, including a TV, cable box and audio receiver.
Connects via Bluetooth: Uses Bluetooth to control your PS4 system.
Dedicated PS4 Buttons: Includes the most important buttons for navigating system menus and apps including the Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, and square), Share, Options, and PS buttons.
App Control: At launch, the Universal Media Remote will be fully compatible with the following apps on PS4, with more to come later:
Blu-ray Disc Player
Crunchyroll
DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket
FUNimation
HBO GO
Media Player
NBA GAME TIME
Netflix
PlayStation Video
PlayStation Vue
Youtube
The packaging is nicely designed and shows off that official product badge proudly. PDP have a small logo on there, but overall this looks pretty much like a Sony branded package.
Again, we see that it has support for PS4 via Bluetooth, as well as other devices via IR.
In the box, you’ll find a simple multi-language user manual.
There’s not a lot here that isn’t obvious, but for setting up other devices to the control, you’ll likely need to read the booklet. Either way, it’s all fairly straightforward.
Welcome the Oral-B Genius, a new toothbrush that not only helps you clean your teeth but also points out all those bad habits you might have when it comes to brushing your teeth. The recommendation is that you brush your teeth for at least two minutes a day, at least twice. Some people aren’t as patient as that and either rushes through it or miss out on the morning or evening brush every couple of days. The SmartSeries by Oral-B looks to help people increase their brush time by making it an experience they want to do, letting you see the news or your daily calendar on your phone while you brush.
Not only does the toothbrush connect to your phone to give you all the news and weather but the inbuilt pressure senses give you a warning when you push that little bit too hard on your teeth. The latest model, the Genius, contains all this and more. The added feature is the use of the “Position Detection Technology” that lets the app know where in your mouth you are brushing, telling you where you are overfocusing and where in your mouth you need to spend more time.
If this wasn’t enough for you the phone has to calculate your teeth’s position. The solution they found was to use the smartphone’s camera to identify your face and then calculate your teeth based on the image and your brushing data.
Didn’t feel bad about occasionally skipping brushing your teeth? I wonder how long it is before the app’s updated with a guilt feature, anything that reminds us just how bad we are for not caring enough about our teeth.
Space, the final frontier. Sadly, very few are currently able to go explore space, even with the internal space station or even NASA’s plans to inhabit mars. We can still see the stars, in the night sky and in the movies, with J.J. Abrams directing the next Star Wars film and the Star Trek films never ending. Sometimes though you want to feel closer to the action and with a little help from Spin Master you may be able to with your very own Enterprise drone.
By using their quadcopter as a base, Spin Master was able to place all four of the rotors blades into the saucer section leaving the main body and nacelles of the famous interstellar vessel to include lights and even ten “authentic” sound effects. Aside from the see-through cage of the saucer section that holds the rotors the vessel does look remarkably similar to the initial design of Kirk’s vessel.
Costing around $120 (around £83), the NCC-1701-A drone will come with an all too familiar controller for those who grew up with remote controlled cars, meaning that you won’t be seeing a Star Trek app for this creation. With warp speed sounds and nostalgia included, I know plenty of people who will be buying this, both for themselves and far too many Trekkies to count. So when can we order our Klingon War Birds?
Automated cars are all good and fancy, like the Google car, but there are some times when you just want to grab the wheel and drive. So why not enjoy the best of both worlds? If you are lucky enough to own a Tesla Model S you can, and now thanks to an app developer you can even do it from an apple watch.
Allen Wong created the app for the apple watch allowing you to see information about your Tesla car. With charging speed, position and temperature amongst the things you could see, keeping track of your car wasn’t difficult, but with its latest update (released Wednesday) you even have access to the new “summon” feature.
The summon feature enables Tesla owners to do just that to their car, ordering it to come to you. In the video below, you can see Mark Schey use the feature to start the car while simultaneously open the garage door. After the door is fully opened the car reverses out before closing the garage door, leaving your car in your driveway as you step out the front door.
With the ability to help save precious minutes on a busy morning the summon feature can be seen as both practical and a gimmick, transferring that from a keyfob to a different piece of technology like an Apple Watch raises questions about if it’s needed and if it could be misused by other people.
Have you ever wished to turn your computer on and off from afar, much in the same way that you do when you unlock your car with your remote key? Well you can’t have been the only one as SilverStone just released the ES01 that is just that. The SilverStone ES01 is a remote switch for your PC that allows you to turn it on and off from a distance of up to 20 meters.
The SilverStone ES01 is a 2.4GHz wireless computer power and reset remote switch and that in itself says most. The receiver is in the form of a PCI-Express card and SilverStone included both a normal and a low-profile expansion cover. While the PCI-Express bus is the normal connector these days, in the past it was the previous PCI slot that dominated the machines. SilverStone also released a normal PCI version, so make sure you get the right one for your system. This in return means that you should be able to use this card and remote control for pretty much any system you wish, new or old and small or big.
The included Y-cable for the power and reset buttons make sure that you don’t have to rely solely on this remote control and can continue to use your normal case buttons as you did before you installed this card.
As previously mentioned, the SilverSTone ES01 has a range of up to 20 meters and the interference should be minimal on this band, but objects that are in the way will effect the range. The ES01 has an Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of 2.76 dBm and the remote runs on a nomral CR2025 button battery.
The new SilverStone ES01 (SST-ES01-PCIe / SST-ES01-PCI) will be available around the world during this week and can be yours for a suggested end-user price of $14.96 USD
Nest is a name that flies around these days, settling in homes all over the world. The little piece of hardware is designed to allow you remote and smart control of your heating, from detecting when you’re nearly home, to turning the temperature down while at work, the device is there to make your life easier and you feel more in control. That was until people were hit by a glitch from 2015 that resulted in Nest being turned off!
People stormed online, like they often do these days when things go wrong, saying they were waking up in the dead of a night to a cold house. Finding that it is a known problem, but there was no fix in place for it yet.
Matt Rogers, the founder and vice president of engineering at Nest, stated that the bug came from a software update in December. “We had a bug that was introduced in the software update that didn’t show up for about two weeks”, in his statement apologizing for the issue. While Nest state that the issue has been fixed for 99.5% of their customers, the fix that is recommended features everything from turning it off and back on again to charging it for several hours.
While only a small problem for some, Nest is often seen as an option for those who are unable to move around a lot, such as the elderly, letting their friends and family check in and ensure that their heating is at a suitable level during the cold winters. A small problem for some can be a serious matters for others, and I’m certain that Nest will be looking into how this software update caused this problem.
It would seem Amazon keep expanding on their technology, from the Kindle to the Echo, they produce more and more technologies that we now feel we need, that we never even considered before. The next one has a simple and nice name, Alexa, and she’s looking forward to helping you get your house straight.
Alexa is available on Amazon Fire devices running version 5 (and Fire TV Sticks running Fire OS 5.0.3) and higher. Alexa is a system designed to allow you to voice control your connected home systems.
From playing your prime music stations to playing your music collection, even your audible books. You can even re-order items, so remember that pet food and supplements you order? Why not re-order more in a single sentence?
You can even use Alexa to create your shopping lists, check your calendar or toggle your home devices.
Imagine sitting down to watch a movie and realising the lights are a little too bright, one sentence later the lights have dimmed to that of a cinema and with another sentence, your movie begins and you enjoy your popcorn in comfort having never left your seat.
At £79.99 for the TV box or £34.99 for the Fire TV Stick, you could soon be streaming all your favourite videos and streaming services without ever having to leave your chair. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The Nvidia Shield TV is here at last, the much-anticipated successor to the already feature packed and exciting line of Android-powered Nvidia gaming devices. The original Shield is a great little hand-held, and we’ve tested it extensively since it was released, pushing the limits of what can be done with it, just check out the links below to see more. Then we have the Shield Tablet, a mini powerhouse of mobile gaming that still dominates the mobile gaming market for Android, in my opinion at least. Now we’ve got the Shield TV, a set-top box packed with some of the latest and greatest Nvidia mobile hardware, promising greater performance than any previous Shield devices, and more than any other competing devices on the market.
“NVIDIA SHIELD is an amazing Ultra HD streaming media player, delivering incredible resolution in favorite apps like Netflix 4K and YouTube 4K, YouTube, KODI (XBMC), and PLEX. Vivid 10-bit color and rich Dolby 7.1 surround sound make this a true home theater experience. Or plug your headphones into your SHIELD controller or SHIELD remote for a private listening experience.” said Nvidia
Equipped with the powerful new Nvidia Tegra X1 processor, which features an impressive 256-core GPU and 3GB of RAM, offers up 4K capability, support for a huge range of video and audio formats, 16GB of storage, high-speed networking and so much more; I’m amazed this little box only costs £149.99!
“Explore a world of entertainment, powered by Android TV. Tap into Google Play for a huge, dynamic selection of movies, TV shows, and apps. Say “Oscar-winning movies” or “launch Netflix” and let Google’s advanced voice commands do the work for you. Get personalized recommendations on your home screen. Even cast a show or pictures to your TV from your PC, Android, or iOS device with built-in Google Cast. SHIELD makes it fast and easy.” Said Nvidia
Equipped with a range of cool apps as standard, you’ll also find Shield Hub, Nvidia GRID and more, so there’s no doubt that this is going to be a multimedia powerhouse right out of the box.
The packaging is nice and tidy, with a good image of the Shield on the front, as well as the main spec; such as this being the 16GB model.
Around the back, we can see it’s powered by Android TV, supports voice search, 4K and gaming.
As a nice bonus, we also have the Shield remote, an optional £39.99 accessory.
The remote is super sleek, with a nice mixture of brushed aluminium finishes and a few simple buttons. The microphone button lights up in green when pressed and theirs a microphone at the top for voice controls.
At the base, a small micro-USB recharging port and a 3.5mm jack for headsets/headphones.
And finally, a brushed aluminium back.
It fits nicely in your hand and the control buttons are simple enough, a directional D-pad with a central select button, as well as a back and ok button below that.
Opening up the box, everything is very nicely packaged.
There’s a modular plug for international users, HDMI cable, micro USB cable, Shield controller and a support guide.
NVIDIA’s Shield Android TV is the ultimate streaming device to play 4K movies, and graphically intense PC games. Furthermore, the optional GeForce Now subscription offers 50 groundbreaking titles at a resolution up to 1080P while maintaining 60 frames-per-second. This is achieved via the superb networking infrastructure and currently costs £7.49 per month. Although, there is a free month trial to test the service and see how well the games run on your connection.
Today, NVIDIA announced that any Shield Android TV will come with the Shield Remote as standard. This is a saving of £39.99 and makes the experience much more friendly for a typical living room setup. To celebrate this promotion, NVIDIA decided to film the possibilities of the Shield TV, 10,000 feet in the air, or did they?
In the video, we can see a daredevil, sitting back and watching his favourite show. Clearly, this is the most exhilarating way to enjoy content, and I’m sure NVIDIA actively recommends this. Perhaps, a special edition model is in the works which comes with a fully functional C130? Skeptics out there might think the video was created via rendering. I personally agree, but the footage is certainly an interesting way to launch a product promotion.
“To celebrate, we set ourselves a death-defying* challenge to show how you #RuleTheLivingRoom in the face of chaos. So we shot a living room out the back of a C-130 Hercules – the exact same plane that dropped five muscles cars from the sky in Furious 7.” said Nvidia.
The NVIDIA Android TV is now available with the remote for £149.99 and can be purchased here
Security is a tricky subject. In recent years both digital and physical security has been scrutinised and exposed for some rather crucial weaknesses. Back in May it was claimed that a security researcher was able to remotely issue commands to a plane’s engines, more recently it was revealed that some car companies had silenced an investigation that had found a vulnerability in the way their key fobs communicated with their immobilizer system. Now it’s the turn of internet-enabled cameras to come under fire.
Gianna Gnesa is a security consultant with Ptrace Security, a company based in Switzerland. He was set to speak at the Hack in the Box GSEC Conference that was to be hosted in Singapore. He has since decided to cancel his presentation.
The presentation was set to reveal the breaches in security systems that utilize internet connected video games (IP cameras). Gnesa has since cancelled his presentation after “legal pressure from manufacturers affected”. In the talk, Gnesa was set to “expose vulnerabilities found on major surveillance cameras and show how an attacker could use them to stay undetected”.
Traditionally security consultants work on a “responsible disclosure” policy, in which they only release date about defects or issues with security once the manufacturers or developers have had time to develop and release patches to fix these issues.
Planning on joining one or maybe building one yourself? Knowing what it takes to make remote teams work is an invaluable asset. From the Clarity blog, Zapier.com and Fast Company, here are some ways you and everyone else on your team could keep in touch throughout the workday:
Blue Jeans
Offering cloud-based video solutions, Blue Jeans has a presence in many international markets, such as UK and Australia. The service is easily available and convenient to use. Because it’s cloud-based, you won’t have to worry about hardware upgrades or hiring IT guys. This will run on any smart phone device. You and your mates won’t have trouble figuring this one out.
Skype
It’s free. So if you and your team want to save up on costs, this is the way to go. Do video calls, voice or text chat with everyone without putting a dent on your company’s pockets. Group call feature lets you have up to 9 people in one call. Better features come with the subscription, like forwarding calls or calling phone directly. But if basic communication is what you had in mind, this one is gold.
Trello
Need an easy way to organize everything? Hand out tasks? Inform your team of a new project? This remains one of the best ones out there. It looks like an online version of a project board, making it easy for everyone on the team what their assignments are for the day. And yes, like many of the great collaboration tools out there, it’s free.
Google Hangouts
Connecting with this one is easy. All you have to do is sign up for a Gmail account and you basically get one. Like Skype, video calling allows for as many as 9 people in one call. However, if your team’s a bit bigger, you may want to look elsewhere. This one’s also free which is a major plus point for small teams that just need an easy way to stay connected.
Huddle
Share and manage files with ease. Keep records and collaborate on projects. Manage the daily task distribution. You can do all these with Huddle. The first 14 days are free. After that, you’ll need to sign up for a subscription.
Basecamp
Create projects, assign tasks, join threads and more. Staying in touch is easy with Basecamp’s features. Every person, project and file is accessible. However, only the first 45 days of the service is free. The next ones will set you back at least $20.
Google Docs
This is one of the best file sharing tools out there. You can organize your docs, spreadsheets, pdfs, epubs and more. Send or receive files without any trouble. The best thing about it is that you and your team can read and edit files in real time. Need to send out a proposal? You won’t have to keep 99 drafts of a single document on your desktop. Google Docs keeps a revision history so reviewing previous versions is easy. Best of all, it’s free.
Slack
Need a virtual office? This one works great. A Slack group chat room can accommodate the entire team. Make sure to explore the channels. However, too many of you in one channel could get too noisy. No worries though if that happens. Simply sectioning off rooms will solve the problem.
Asana
Create projects and send assignments to your team. The ticket history is on there as well so it’s easy to track where the projects are or if one fell through the cracks. Make sure everyone has a steady internet connection though. Also, too many people in one project could slow down Asana. The free version already works great but if you want to explore more options or want to add more of your team, going with the paid version is a great idea.
GoToMeeting
The thing about GoToMeeting is that it’s basic. If you want fashionable, hip and cool, you won’t find it here. But if you and your team of 10 need to do a video call, this one packs solid audio and video quality. If you want to video call 2-3 people, Skype works great. But if you’re 10, this option is better.
f.lux
Working remote often means you work with people on different time zones. That means people work late at night or early in the morning. With f.lux, you won’t have to worry about constantly adjusting your screen—and wasting minutes every day just to get the right tint back for nighttime or early morning work settings. The app adjusts the tint so your eyes can work without the glare.
These are simply some of the apps and tools you and your team can use to work, stay connected and improve collaboration. You don’t need to use them all. Just make sure to explore your options to find which ones your team will go for.
Star Wars has been a big franchise for many years now, and with the recent trailer announcing the new few movies fans have been up in arms about two aspects from the trailer. Firstly the cross guard light saber, a fun little addition with a dark red blade that, if you slipped, would have you losing a finger or two. The second feature everyone wanted to know about was the droid. The droids were always a big thing in Star Wars (“These are not the droids you’re looking for”), with C3p0 and R2D2 making appearances in all the films, with cute lovable beeps and the addition (in a Doctor Who flying Dalek like fashion) that adding jet boosters to a wheel based droid is not cheating. The latest droid went a step further, containing a single ball with a tiny R2D2 semi circle type head atop. Well, now you can buy one.
Available as of Friday, the BB-8 Drone can be purchased from Best Buy, Apple retail stores and Sphero’s own website (don’t worry the device is compatible with both Android and Apple devices). Coming in at $149.99 (£98.28 approximately) the droid is anything but cheap, but after being created by Sphero, a company known for their ball based drones, you can guarantee that you’ll have hours of fun running the thing around your house.
With hours of fun and a nice piece of Star Wars meromelia added to your house, what Star Wars fan wouldn’t want one?
Thank you The Verge for the information and the image.
Drones used to be a thing of the future, small robotic creatures that would fly around and swarm the skies. They would be included in Hollywood blockbusters such as Terminator and even the ones where they help us survive such as in Transformers. With devices that can seek and destroy from ground level to your forty story apartment, they were quickly developed and created for everyday tasks. Now with thanks to a lobbyist from Dakota the first drones with weaponry might soon see deployment.
With recent years, fears over drones carrying weapons are known to have caused a ruckus in many circles, with people like Steven Hawking requesting that drones avoid automation in order to reduce the threat from them. The Rick Becker’s bill would have seen that all drones in Dakota could not be equipped with weaponry, but an amendment by Bruce Burkett of the North Dakota Peace Officer’s Association, has banned the drones from carrying anything deemed a lethal weapon. This means that less lethal tactics such as pepper spray, tear gas, sound cannons and even Tasers could soon see deployment at the bottom of a drone.
The initial bill was created to force police to obtain a warrant before using a drone to collect evidence while also banning weaponising the free flying devices. With this sudden escalation, all eyes will be on the Dakota police and how they choose to deploy drones with anything other than a camera.
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for checking and maintaining people’s safety in regards to (surprise surprise) the food and drugs they are given. This time they’ve had to go a step further and “encourage” hospitals to replace a piece of tech from their supply lists and floors before it gets hacked.
Hospira’s Symbiq Infusion System (pictured in the centre above) is being recommended for immediate removal from hospitals all over due to a vulnerability in its ability to be controlled remotely. A third party can gain access to the device and control the dosages remotely which are then administrated by computerised pumps.
This discovery was made by the FDA and the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT for short). First reported on July 21st with a further alert made by the FDA on the 31st July. While they are open to being hacking, there has yet to be a reported instance of it happening.
The hack is done by connecting to the hospital network, allowing Symbiq systems to be remotely controlled. While the unit isn’t sold anymore by Hospira, it is still available from several third-party sellers.
This is the first adventure for the FDA in regards to discussing cybersecurity and the technology that is used to regulate and control food and medicine.
PlayStation 4 users might be disappointed that they cannot control their media on the console as they did on their PlayStation 3. Sony did not announce a media remote controller for their latest console, but things might be looking up for PS4 users.
It looks like DPD, a video game accessory company, has made an officially licensed PlayStation 4 media remote. The remote has cropped up on Amazon and GameStop and it really looks promising for those who want to control their media content on the PS4 like they do with their TV.
PDP’s remote is said to connect to the console via Bluetooth, but it can do more than just that. It even has a feature that allows it to be connected to up to four devices via Bluetooth. So you can connect four devices, including your console, and have them be controlled by just one remote. However, the good news does not stop here.
In addition to the Bluetooth feature, PDP’s remote control even has infrared technology and is able to control your TV, set-top box, and audio receiver. Also, I know that Best Buy released a similar product, the Insignia, but the remote is not officially licensed like DPD’s version. Besides, the Insignia seems to cost $19,99 and once DPD’s remote gets launched this fall, it’s said that it will come with a $30 price tag. So is it worth the extra $10? What do you think?
Thank you GameSpot for providing us with this information
Hyundai is keeping up with the times and trying to make your car interaction experiences more impressive than ever. Earlier this year, it launched the Android counterpart, allowing users to interact with their Hyundai cars from Android devices. Now the company has shifted its focus on the latest gadget on the market, namely the Apple Watch.
Hyundai launched the Blue Link car platform on the App Store, offering all features previously showcased in the Android version. Therefore, you can start and stop the engine with just a tap, remotely lock the car’s doors and even find your car on the map. The latter are just a few examples of what the Blue Link app allows you to do, but the best part of it is the Siri integration, where you are able to interact with your car through voice commands.
Hyundai’s Blue Link app for iOS is said to be compatible with all of its cars that have the Blue Link feature. However, the approach is not that uncommon. BMW has a similar app called BMW Remote App that lets you pretty much do the same things Hyundai’s app does, while Volkswagen and Porsche apps are also available for you to make the most out of your driving experience.
The question here is, will you as a driver prefer to interact with your car from your watch or through voice commands, or do you prefer to just keep your keys in your pocket as usual?
Thank you TheVerge for providing us with this information
Remote control cars are a thing of joy. Watching them speeding along your path only to struggle when it gets to the grass. We have started to relive that joy with self-driving cars, all the effort removed so you only have to focus on what you want to listen to on your way to work. Land Rover, however, want to combine the two, they want you to be able to drive your full-size car with your phone.
During a demonstration , the car was driven by a smartphone located within ten metres of the actual vehicle. With control over steering, brakes and the accelerometer. While the limit for driving the vehicle by smartphone is just 4MPH, with the system cutting out when it detects the smartphone getting either too far or too close to vehicle.
The app is marketed as being useful for when you’re driving the car across difficult terrain such as across streams and where the roads are made difficult by snow or rain.
While it is limited by how far you can be from your car, and obviously how close you are (just to be safe), being able to drive any life size vehicle by remote is like a dream come true. How long before racing on TV is just done by somebody sitting in the pits with a PlayStation controller?
Apple’s iOS is widely recognised as one of the most secure mobile operating systems on the market today but is that really true? Well, maybe it is, but what I can tell you for sure is that nothing is unhackable in today’s world.
A security researcher claimed that it is now easier than ever to get hold of any iPhone or iPad user’s Apple ID account with a simple HTML injection. The security specialist claims to have built a tool that would allow just about anyone to make use of a well-known flaw in an Apple’s iOS Mail app and trick the user into giving his or her Apple ID credentials.
The tool mentioned above is said to create an HTML popup that mimics Apple’s own popup that asks you to re-enter your Apple ID credentials. As a regular iPhone user, you are likely to be so used to it that you won’t notice the difference and just type in your credentials as usual.
Once you tap OK on the popup, the credentials are sent to the hacker’s remote server. This likely puts everyone using an iPhone or iPad at risk, so do take care and remember that the Apple ID prompt appears only when you perform an action that requires your authorisation and not just out of the blue.
The issue is said to have been filed and acknowledged by Apple, but no fix has been released just yet. So how worried are you? Will you think twice before entering your Apple ID credentials?
Thank you BGR for providing us with this information
Computex 2015 – When passing through exhibitor booths, it’s a pleasant change to see a different line of products from what the company is famous for. SilverStone, for example, is widely known for its cases; mainly the HTPC line up.
Today we take a look at some of the add-in cards and accessories that SilverStone offer. First off is the WiFi PCIe cards, two for integration with a motherboard using a mini-PCIe slot and one conventional PCIe WiFi card.
Along with those, we have the usual assortment of M.2 to PCIe adapter cards, USB 3.1/3.0 and RAID cards. A product that really caught my eye was the external starter card and remote switch. Owners of some HTPC cases would already have a remote control connectivity, but this could become more useful when trying to integrate a larger case into a home theatre environment.
We look forward to seeing more accessories like this from SilverStone in the future. We will keep you updated with any news and events from the rest of Computex 2015.
