Anthony Verrecchio

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Stories By Anthony Verrecchio

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    Technology
    Technology By Anthony Verrecchio

    United Nations launches My Life as a Refugee Android app (video)

    As the great Tom Petty once said, you don't have to live like a refugee, but one UN agency is hoping you'll at least download its new app to see what it could be like. My Life as a Refugee is designed to raise awareness about the plight of millions of people living in conflict-ridden places around the globe, and it's available right now for free on Android (coming soon to iOS). We found the app to be only marginally interactive, with users simply encouraged to click through a litany of facts. However, you do get to choose one of two possible options before time runs out as each situation unfolds. You can only "play" a certain amount each day, which means you get some cliffhangers, and of course you can "share your experience" on Facebook right from the app. You can learn more there in the source link.

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    Mobile
    Mobile By Anthony Verrecchio

    Verizon 4G LTE service arrives in 46 new cities, expands coverage in 22 others

    Unlike many of our friends in Europe, loads more Verizon Wireless customers are about to get turbocharged in time for their new Galaxy S III smartphones to arrive. Big Red is deploying its latest 4G LTE network tech in 46 new cities and expanding coverage in 22 others -- and it's all going down tomorrow. That'll bring VZW's total up to 304 cities across the land of the free two full weeks ahead of the July 4th holiday, giving many people one more reason to celebrate a Hump Day without work. And really, couldn't the world use more reasons to celebrate? Full PR after the break.

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    Wearables
    Wearables By Anthony Verrecchio

    Canon overhauls Mixed Reality platform with new head-mounted display

    Canon's been fiddling around with augmented (or mixed) reality for some time now, but the company just took things to the next level. A new AR headset announced today is less stylish than that other soon-to-be-released wearable tech you've likely heard about, yet certainly more sophisticated than its bigger brother. The controller sees visual markers through dual on-board cameras and projects virtual objects onto two corresponding displays set right above the eyes, marrying the virtual world to the desert of the real. You can gaze from any angle and even manipulate the virtual projects with what looks to be a plastic, magic ice cream cone. The glasses are set to release next month and, while Canon hasn't assigned a price, all the planned applications are decidedly industrial, making us think they won't be cheap. So, you probably won't be using em' to scope out the various Layars around your hood.

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    Cybersecurity
    Cybersecurity By Anthony Verrecchio

    Google Street View's WiFi snooping triggers renewed scrutiny in the UK

    You remember that little Street View privacy problem that Google had back in 2010? Authorities in the UK sure do and Mountain View's gonna have some serious splainin' to do if the Information Commissioner's Office has anything to say about it. Big G initially denied that its cars were used to willfully snatch up personal info from open WiFi networks, but a recent investigation by the FCC, coupled with earlier accusations, has prompted renewed scrutiny. The report from the US even suggests that "investigators in France, Canada and The Netherlands found that Google intercepted complete email messages, instant message conversations, video, audio, medical and legal information," which could lead to a big headache for the company. We really don't want to imagine the possible consequences of a nationwide Street View ban.

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    Technology
    Technology By Anthony Verrecchio

    Layar Creator sees an interactive future for print media via augmented reality (video)

    Heavy hitters across several industries have tried to find the perfect balance between the old and the new to breathe some life into what's been described as a dying medium. Layar "wants to make the world clickable" with its augmented reality software and doesn't plan on letting paper-based media go the way of paying for long distance or total privacy. Instead, it's opted to fully welcome it into this brave new digital world by letting publishers embed videos and interactive buttons onto existing printed materials. A mobile app can then display superimposed content that pops right up on the page when viewed through a device's camera. The new web app, Layar Creator, is free if you can get your stuff published and all Layared up before August 1st, but if you're a procrastinator, a 100-page bundle will run €999 ($1,242), or €15 ($18.65) per page. You can see the Layar Creator and AR app in full effect right after the break.

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    Laptops
    Laptops By Anthony Verrecchio

    OLPC to bring Little Pim language teaching videos to XO laptop, underprivileged children

    One Laptop Per Child is tag-teaming it up with foreign language learning company Little Pim to teach English to underprivileged children. The initiative could help to blur the line between work and fun and lead to future opportunities for kids in an ever-increasingly global economy where English is the lingua franca of many multinational groups and companies. Getting educational videos onto OLPC's affordable XO laptop is consistent with the new partnerships' philosophy that "learning should be a joyous experience and that children learn best when learning and play are seamless activities." There's no word on when the package deal will be available, but we'll be on the lookout for further info. Full PR after the break.

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    Google
    Google By Anthony Verrecchio

    Google Shopping to change formats, charge merchants

    It's just about closing time for Google Shopping's free merchant listings. The iconic search engine has traditionally shown us products regardless of a commercial relationship with sellers, but they'll be required to fork over some coin if they want to join the party after the fall. Currently called Google Product Listings, the platform's name and format have evolved several times since the Froogle days. Google says the older model can lead to some shady and obsolete info, whereas charging vendors will "encourage them to keep their product information fresh and up to date." New shopping formats are already being tested with a small population of users and include bigger pics and the ability to fine tune the search based on brand or product type. As the song goes, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

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    Mobile
    Mobile By Anthony Verrecchio

    Verizon to buy Hughes Telematics for $612 million in cash

    After a recent round of good, and potentially not so good news for residential customers, Verizon plans to show a little love to its enterprise clients. Big Red is about to spend $612 million of its spare pocket change to buy Hughes Telematics, a company that primarily works within the realm of automotive communications. The board-approved purchase should be wrapped up by Q3 of this year and Hughes' management team will remain intact. The premium offer by Verizon works out to $12 per share for a stock that was trading at just $4.35 as of yesterday's closing bell. Facebook investors: eat your hearts out.

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    Space
    Space By Anthony Verrecchio

    Hubble reveals unavoidable collision between our galaxy and Andromeda

    The Hubble team over at NASA has confirmed what it's suspected for a while: that our galaxy is destined for a direct collision / love fest with Andromeda, culminating in the birth of "Milkomeda." But don't go lobbying Virgin Galactic for ring-side tickets just yet because the fireworks won't go off for another four billion years -- and last another two billion after that. Scientists also predict that the earth won't be threatened thanks to the sheer amount of empty space between stars, but we could lose the sun as its flung out to some other part of the new system. You hear that? We could lose the freakin' sun!!

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    Mobile
    Mobile By Anthony Verrecchio

    Upscale London borough says no no no to BT's broadband revolution, ugly green boxes

    Between all of the delays, disappointment and a general lack of availability, many Brits can't seem to catch a break when it comes to getting fast internet -- but this time it could be their own fault. BT's fiber optic rollout plans came to a screeching halt in Kensington and Chelsea after a staggering 96 of 108 applications for big green street cabinets housing the fiber were flat-out rejected. The local council just isn't prepared to clutter its pristine streets with the "ugly" boxes. The telecoms provider now says it'll concentrate on nearby areas that "have shown a greater eagerness to enjoy the benefits of broadband." It's a good thing there are no plans to paint their famous telephone booths green, or those might be out of a job as well.

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    Space
    Space By Anthony Verrecchio

    FAA grants Virgin Galactic permit for powered tests, becomes Sir Richard's BFF

    Virgin Galactic is one step closer to relieving WhiteKnightTwo of its babysitting gig. The FAA has given the Branson bunch permission to switch on SpaceShipTwo's rocket-powered motors mid-flight. The upcoming trials could open up the doors to getting at least 500 lucky people total ballers out of the desert and into the weightless environment of suborbital space. Current regulations call for more testing than back in 2004 when SpaceShipOne first achieved manned spaceflight, but they're worthwhile if past problems are prevented. What do you think will come first: frequent space-flyer miles, or Virgin Pure T6s and T7s in every home?

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    News
    News By Anthony Verrecchio

    Outspoken Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain to head FCC's open internet advisory panel

    The FCC has created a new forum for corporations, experts and activists to scrap over web laws: The Net Neutrality Advisory Committee. Members have been tasked with "tracking and evaluating the effects of the FCC's Open Internet rules," as well as making policy recommendations. The new group is to be led by Harvard professor and long-time defender of an open internet, Jonathan Zittrain, whose appointment echoes that of Tim Wu -- another expert in a senior advisory position over at the FTC. Harvard University is no stranger to what can go wrong when open access is stifled, so perhaps the good professor can shake things up a bit.

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    Technology
    Technology By Anthony Verrecchio

    Anodizing aluminum and titanium explained and demonstrated in less than five minutes (video)

    Many of us use gadgets that sport gleamingly refined, anodized aluminum or titanium cases -- but have you ever wondered exactly how the process works? Bill Hammack, at it again after explaining to us how the CCD, LCDs, and hard drives work, breaks it down (pun intended) for us -- in less than five minutes. He talks about, and even shows us how the surface of titanium is meticulously rusted using electro-chemicals to grow an oxide layer, changing the color based on its thickness. He follows that up with some commentary on how a similar reaction gobbles up and transforms aluminum, creating a much thicker, porous oxide layer that can be filled with any color dye. So, just to be clear: controlled corrosion is good for your Mac, border control -- maybe not so much. You can watch the video right after the break.

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    News
    News By Anthony Verrecchio

    Virgin Pure water purifiers launch offensive against tap and bottled water in the UK

    English entrepreneur and chairman of The Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson thinks that your tap water is dirty. So much so, in fact, that he's partnered up with Strauss Water to get one of his new purifiers into your home and onto your countertop. The colorful Virgin Pure T6 (£299, $466) can dispense 1.3 liters of chilled H2O per minute, or 1.4 liters of hot water that's stored internally. The T7 (£379, or $591) delivers a bit more swagger to your crib with its minimalist, tapered design that offers 50 percent faster cold water flow. It even gets a small power bump to heat your hot water more quickly than its less-expensive sibling. It all sounds well and good, but we'll really be impressed when Virgin crams one of these into its seatbacks in first class.

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    Apple
    Apple By Anthony Verrecchio

    Apple I up for auction: buy a bit of Apple history for the bulk of your net worth

    Attention Apple lovers: here's your chance to get your hands on an original piece of company history, but the past has proven that you better have a lot of extra cash lying around. Sotheby's auction house is offering a working Apple I computer, which is the original design that was built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak back in 1976 -- by hand. It's expected to fetch between $140,000 - 180,000, and those dollars buy you a mobo, cassette interface and the original BASIC manual to get you programming partying like it's 1979. This isn't the first Apple I to hit the auction block, but with only 200 of the things in existence, the winning bidder will join the upper echelon of Apple enthusiasts. So, if you've got cash to burn and fancy yourself the ultimate fanboy, head on down to the source link for the full details. [Thanks, Deepa]

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    News
    News By Anthony Verrecchio

    Olympus to settle with ex-chief exec over misconduct, may involve mountains of cash

    As Olympus' recent accounting scandal finally begins to wind down, the guy who blew the whistle on the financial wrongdoings might actually be the one to make out like a bandit. Michael Woodford, former chief executive of the company, has settled out of court with his former employer over his unfair dismissal that occurred just two weeks after his appointment. The settlement still has to be approved by the mostly new board (read: the other guys got arrested), but the Financial Times speculates that it'll result in £10 million ($15.5 million) being awarded to Woodford, or what's left on his contract. Company stock prices are around half of what they stood at before the scandal. Suddenly all those Facebook shares you jumped on don't look so bad.

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    Robotics
    Robotics By Anthony Verrecchio

    Mind-reading robotic teachers are more... Anyone? Anyone? Attention-grabbing

    You'd have thought that replacing a human teacher with a swanky robot would be enough to keep the kids interested, but apparently not. The University of Wisconsin-Madison found that supplying a robot teacher didn't in itself max out concentration. In one trial, they put a Wakamaru robot instructor in the classroom with only mediocre results. But then they switched it out for a robot that could read students' EEG signals to tell when they were enjoying Matthew Broderick daydreams, and which could then change its intonation or wave its metallic hands in response. That second robot resulted in far better scores when the students were subsequently quizzed about their lessons, proving once again that teaching is about more than preaching.

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    Computing
    Computing By Anthony Verrecchio

    Insert Coin: Modkit Micro asks us if we're ready for six-year-olds coding Arduino boards

    In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. What does microcontroller programming have in common with Tetris? Quite a bit if you're doing it with Modkit Micro from a Kickstarter project out of Cambridge, MA., which allows almost anyone to visually set up their hardware using graphical blocks to write the code. The partially-hooded trio behind it promises that the software is ideal for use with prototyping boards from Arduino, Evil Mad Science, Lilypad, Seeed Studio, Wiring and SparkFun, and they even claim that elementary school students have used it to "take their projects from concept to reality in just a few hours." Purists should have no fear either: you can still get into a code view to see what's going on behind the scenes. A web-based Modkit Micro is being offered online starting June 1st for $25, and there'll be a desktop variant for Windows, OSX, and Linux as early as July if they reach their funding target. Check out the video after the break and then try to get your kids to wait for college before inventing version 2.0 of this.

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    Science
    Science By Anthony Verrecchio

    Solid state solar panels are more affordable, say researchers, don't leak

    Researchers at Northwestern University have found one way to stop a leak: get rid of the liquid. A new variation on the Grätzel solar cell replaces a short-lived organic dye with a solid alternative. The molecular dye the solid substance replaces was corrosive, at risk of leaking and only lasted about 18-months -- by replacing it, researchers plan to pave the way for a more affordable (and less toxic) alternative. Northwestern's new design flaunts a 10.2-percent conversion efficiency, the highest ever recorded in a solid-state solar cell of its type -- but that's still only half of what traditional sun collectors can do. Researchers hope to improve conversion in the long run, but expect that the cost reduction alone will be enough to get the party going. It may not be the greenest solar technology we've ever seen, but who are we to judge?

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    Science
    Science By Anthony Verrecchio

    MIT's needleless injections help you get drugs faster, doesn't even hurt (video)

    Afraid of needles? You may not have to be if a team of MIT scientists get their way. Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering are developing a jet-injection device (similar to this one) that allows professionals to pump you full of meds without poking you with a needle. The key to puncture free pharmaceuticals is pressure -- the device uses a Lorenz Force actuator to push medicine out of an opening about the diameter of a mosquito's proboscis. The nozzle pulls liquids out just as fast and efficiently as it administers them, researchers say, and can even deliver powder-based drugs as if they were a liquid, thanks to a bit of supersonic trickery. This tech could be a boon to healthcare workers who get pricked on the job or patients who get daily insulin shots. Promises of painless inoculations piquing your interest? Hit the video after the break to see how its done.

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    Google
    Google By Anthony Verrecchio

    Syria gets previously blocked Google software, at least for now

    Mountain View's just dished out some good news for Syrians, Picasa, Chrome, and Google Earth were officially made available for download in the complex nation as of yesterday. US export controls and sanctions had hitherto blocked that possibility, and there's sill no guarantee that smartphones won't be prohibited. That's of course assuming the whole internet won't just be turned off if the Syrian government doesn't like what's going down, but as of right now the software is live. Google put the same trio on tap this February in Iran after more than a year and a half of similar restrictions in that country. And we thought our internet-related issues were annoying.

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    EVs and Transportation
    EVs and Transportation By Anthony Verrecchio

    Autocar takes Gordon Murray's T.25 and T.27 city cars for a spin, gives us its impressions

    When he isn't tinkering around with McLaren F1 supercars and Batmobiles, Gordon Murray is working on fuel-efficient -- or even fuel-independent -- city cars. Autocar just got its hands on the gas-powered T.25 and battery-powered T.27, and reports a pleasant experience with the three-seaters. We already knew that the T.27 crashes well and offers efficiency comparable to an astounding 350MPG, but we learned even more info today. The 74MPG T.25 will cost £6000 ($9467) should it ever go into production, while the T.27 would theoretically run you a grand more, but also get you 100-130 miles between four-hour charges. The body and interior is simple and innovative which becomes evident before you even get inside -- stepping behind a windscreen that pivots forward on struts. Neither travels at high speeds (90mph for the T25 and 65mph for the T.27, though it's faster off the mark), but these cars don't aspire to compete with Formula 1 racers; they're going for efficiency and simplicity -- and evidently doing it pretty well.

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    Computing
    Computing By Anthony Verrecchio

    Cheap £149 PC and broadband bundle gives the UK something to smile about

    Charitable entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox has teamed up with Microsoft, TalkTalk, and Simplify Digital to bring a cheaper option for cash-strapped folks in the UK. Starting today, you can buy a refurbished computer with broadband service for a year (with a 40GB monthly cap) for as little as £149 ($240) -- and that price drops even lower for people on state benefits. The "Go On UK" initiative also throws in a WiFi router and Windows 7 to further spread that non-profit love around the nation -- just like we have going on in the US.

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    Mobile
    Mobile By Anthony Verrecchio

    Forthcoming 4G networks could interfere with TV in 10 percent of UK homes

    If you live in the UK and a 4G wireless tower is going up right next to your house, you might want to hold off on the excitement. LTE networks occupying the 800MHz spectrum could cause some serious interference (sound familiar?), capable of knocking out around two million households' free terrestrial TV channels. An independent company has been set up to lessen the effects of the wayward waves and is installing government-subsidized filters in residences across the country. But even its valiant efforts could leave up to 8,500 homes without Freeview, as non-traditional antenna setups aren't covered by the public fund. Meanwhile, eager Brits continue to patiently line up for some kind of semblance of a 4G network.

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    Tomorrow
    Tomorrow By Anthony Verrecchio

    Gmail and iPhone alums create Electric Imp, connect your toaster to the web

    Have you ever wanted to preheat your oven while on the way home from work, or start your sprinklers while vacationing, only to remember you don't have the spare loot lying around for a network of smart appliances? A recent startup (that somehow eluded Kickstarter) called Electric Imp is about to make your wireless control / monitoring fantasies a reality with its soon-to-be-released, $25 web interface. It works much like an Eye-Fi card, and communicates with cloud services as well as other connected devices like your Android or iPhone via WiFi. The company is working hard to get the slots that work with the cards into many of the machines that we usually don't link up to the good ol' www -- but have often wanted to -- and it hopes to have everything in place later this year. This all sounds like a great deal right now, but just wait until your washing machine gets hacked and starts using scalding water on all your darks and delicates. More info at the source.

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    Technology
    Technology By Anthony Verrecchio

    Russian researchers build partial android for bizarre mind-transfer project (video)

    A Team of Russian researchers are building a conceptual mind-transfer android, and we're definitely not talking about Ice Cream Sandwich. However bizarre, their goal is to help mankind achieve immortality using a combination of humanoid robots and interstellar space travel to get away from a dangerous and overcrowded planet -- but most of the needed technology seems so far off that we could probably power cycle the world's slowest Linux computer a million times before we see any of it. One prototype includes the torso of an android that will one day house a a computer rig that would be theoretically capable of acting as a personal proxy -- essentially, a place to upload "human souls." This absolutely insane über-ambitious project is the stuff of science fiction, but the big shots over in the birthplace of Tetris say it'll all be possible by 2045. Need more convincing? Check out the two videos after the break.

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    Smartphones
    Smartphones By Anthony Verrecchio

    RIM patent proposes battery-charging cellphone holster

    Even after the many announcements at this year's BlackBerry World Conference, Waterloo is keeping that patent train a-rollin'. In a filing granted today, we get a glimpse of what RIM could have up its sleeve, er, on its hip. The claims detail flexible batteries built into holsters that recharge your phone when you're on the go -- all the while communicating to your BB's CPU to bring you alerts through its own speakers -- thus avoiding muffled sounds from covered parts. That's all well and good, but here's the real question: will these things eventually play nice with fuel cell-powered Berries?

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