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Israel is the first to respond to a cyberattack with immediate force
It's no longer novel for militaries to respond to cyberattacks with physical force (the US used a drone strike in 2015), but now they're being treated with the same urgency as real-world bullets and missiles. Israel Defense Forces have launched an airstrike on a Gaza Strip building believed to house Hamas digital warfare operatives after the militant group reportedly failed in an attempted "cyber offensive." Details of the virtual attack weren't available, but the IDF said it was "ahead of them all the time."
Watch a medevac drone perform a simulated rescue
Medevac missions won't have to put more humans in danger if Tactical Robotics has its way. The Urban Aeronautics-owned firm has successfully completed its first "mission representative" demo of the Cormorant, an autonomous VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) drone that can pick up two casualties without requiring a crew. The only people directly involved are those loading the victims -- there's a video camera for talking to conscious patients, but the machine otherwise flies on its own.
ICYMI: Segway's plan B and flexible concrete
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-2").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Segway came to Intel's Developer's Forum to show a prototype for a self-balancing scooter that is also a robot. If the public SDK works out well, Segway hopes to release a consumer version of whatever it becomes in 2017.
The Engadget Podcast, Ep 2: One More Robot
In Episode Two: One More Robot, editors Cherlynn Low, Dana Wollman and Chris Velazco join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about how fitness trackers ruined Happy Meals, the true potential of AI and try to figure out what monster would want the backspace key to navigate back a page in Chrome.
Waze app leads IDF soldiers into Palestine, conflict erupts
At least one Palestinian man is dead, and another 10 reportedly have been severely wounded, after an Israeli Defense Force truck strayed into the Kalandia Palestine refugee camp on Monday -- reportedly at the direction of the Waze navigation app. Multiple reports state that two members of the IDF's canine unit on an "administrative task" were travelling a road they thought was within the Israeli border. It wasn't, inciting residents who began throwing stones at the truck. When a hurled firebomb set the truck alight, the IDF soldiers ditched the vehicle and ran in different directions. One soldier managed to call for reinforcements. However, the other soldier left his phone in the truck and could not be immediately accounted. In response, the IDF deployed additional IDF ground and air forces to search for him. He was found, unharmed, a few hours later.
Fossil unveils Android Wear smartwatch and other wearables
We've been hearing about Fossil's wearable tech aspirations for quite some time, and now we're finally getting a look at what the company has been working on. At IDF today, the fashion brand showed off three "connected accessories," all of which are powered by Intel. Sure, we've known the two companies were teaming up, but until now we hadn't seen any tech. The three wearable devices are a connected bracelet, a connected watch and a smartwatch that runs Android Wear. The two companies weren't very forthcoming with specs and features, but from the looks of the devices we saw today, you can expect plenty of silver (and likely some gold) with leather and metal bands. You'll also notice the unsightly black bar that the Moto 360 sports along the bottom of Fossil's smartwatch face. The quick peek today comes as a bit of a teaser ahead of an official launch in time for the holidays and we're sure to get more info in the months to come.
Live from the Intel Developer Forum 2015 keynote!
It's time once again for Intel's turn at the spotlight. Today is the first day of Intel's Developer Forum 2015, and if CEO Brian Krzanich's blog post is any indication, we actually have a pretty good chance to hear about some interesting news beyond the usual microprocessors at the show. He called out the increasing emphasis on immersion in computing, touting the ability for computers to now see (perhaps in reference to its RealSense tech) and hear us better than ever before. He also mentioned the interconnectedness of everyday devices (IoT anyone?) and the rise of wearables, so we'll likely hear more news about those two topics too. Plus apparently there'll be a "live BMX demo" at today's keynote. To find out about what exactly all this is about, come back here at 12 p.m. ET for our liveblog of the opening event!
Here's another reason you won't buy Intel's luxury wearable
Looking for a good way to alienate potential customers? Well, there's always the tried and true method: lock your device down to a specific carrier. Intel's MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) $1,000 ballpark price tag and snakeskin coverings were bound to limit its customer base, but the company just announced it has one more barrier for entry -- the 3G enabled bangle is going to be exclusive to AT&T. Not that there's anything wrong with old Ma Bell, but some people find magenta just as fashionable.
Stephen Hawking asks devs to help Intel build a connected wheelchair
Why should developers be interested in developing on Intel's Galileo and Edison development boards? Because one of the smartest men on the planet thinks you should. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich paused the Intel Developer Forum 2014 keynote for a brief, encouraging message from renowned theoretical astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who introduced himself as "the guy who made black holes cool." His topic of choice wasn't space oddities, however -- but about how technology can be a life-changing force for the disabled. "Medicine can't cure me," Hawking said, "so I rely on technology. It lets me interface with the world. It propels me. It's how I'm speaking to you now."
Intel's Edison launches at IDF, and it's still tiny
Back in January, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich teased us with Intel Edison -- a tiny computer with a 22nm chip, on-board WiFi and Bluetooth and the footprint of an SD card. It was designed to be a lightweight and low-power development platform to help usher in the Internet of Things and the next generation of wearable devices. The company wouldn't give us a hard launch date for Edison back at CES, but Krzanich was happy to lay it out during today's IDF keynote: as of today, Intel Edison is shipping and available. Krzanich left it at that, short and sweet, and will be encouraging developers to adopt the program all weekend.
Hands-on with the Dell Venue 8 7000 tablet and Intel RealSense
If you've been on vacation even once in the last four years, you've seen it: tourists whipping out awkward tablets with subpar cameras to capture what can only be the worst photographs. Tablets aren't known for their stellar imaging capabilities, but Dell and Intel's next joint effort may change that, at least to some degree. During this morning's Intel Developer Forum keynote, Dell CEO Michael Dell and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich will preview a new tablet: the Dell Venue 8 7000 series. At 6mm thick, the new slate is purported to be the world's thinnest tablet. It's also the first device to feature Intel RealSense -- a photo technology that creates a depth map within every image it takes. Krzanich gave me a quick preview of the device before today's keynote.
Intel aims at China with its speedy LTE Cat 6 solution, shipping in Q2 this year
Marking Intel's 29th year in China, CEO Brian Krzanich took the stage at IDF Shenzhen with a little surprise: his company will be shipping its first Cat 6 multi-mode LTE solution, the XMM 7260, in Q2 this year. This follows the XMM 7160 that started shipping with Cat 4 LTE and half the number of basebands last October. The new solution has added support for China's popular TD-SCDMA plus TD-LTE networks, along with the usual 2G GSM, WCDMA plus FDD-LTE around the world. With Cat 6 LTE's carrier aggregation mode, the XMM 7260 can reach a top theoretical speed of 300Mbps, which is twice that of Cat 4 LTE.
Gigabyte shows off tiny BRIX gaming PC with Haswell and Iris Pro graphics (hands-on)
While we had an inkling that Gigabyte would be fitting its latest miniature BRIX PCs with Haswell processors, we were pleasantly surprised to learn it had also built a tiny gaming computer with Iris Pro graphics on board. Indeed, the BRIX pocket gaming PC has similar internals to the recently announced Gigabyte BRIX II -- it has an HDMI port, Ethernet, four USB 3.0 slots, Bluetooth 4.0, a Mini display port, built-in WiFi and a headset jack -- but with the added benefit of Intel's latest integrated graphics and the choice of red, yellow or black aluminum housing. We had a chance to play around with a prototype model at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and we have to say we're impressed. We played a short round of Grid 2 and the race car looked amazing as it roared across a large 1080p TV. While the performance appeared robust enough in our brief hands-on, an Intel rep did warn us it probably won't replace a system with a dedicated high-end GPU (Ed. Note: We've heard from Intel that while Iris Pro won't replace a high-end GPU, it'll match up well with low to mid-range graphics cards). The box itself is an adorable little thing that we felt was compact and light enough to bring to our next gaming party without taking up too much space in the trunk.
Daily Roundup: HP Haswell Chromebook hands-on, Dell going private, Samsung's 64-bit CPUs, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
HP Chromebook 14 with Haswell hands-on (video)
Aside from the new Acer Chromebook, we also got a hands-on look at the new HP Chromebook 14. The latest Haswell-powered Chromebook from HP comes in an array of eye-popping colors -- Snow White, Ocean Turquoise and Coral Peach -- which certainly makes them the most colorful Chromebooks we've ever seen. In person, the colors seem bright and playful, though we can't help but feel they look like they belong in Toys R Us rather than an electronics store. The Chromebook's chassis is made out of plastic, which makes the whole thing seem even more toy-like. The top cover has a smooth rubberized finish, but the plastic-molded keyboard feels a bit gritty; the texture reminds us of the material used in 3D printing. As the name suggests, the Chromebook 14 has a 14-inch display with 1,366 x 768 resolution. It looked bright enough underneath the convention center's lighting, though it's difficult to tell after just a few minutes of use. It's certainly not the lightest Chromebook we've ever held -- it measures about 0.81-inch thin and weighs in at a whopping 4.08 pounds. HP opted to adhere to the standard Chromebook keyboard layout instead of its own, and the trackpad has just a single button instead of the two found on the HP Pavilion 14. Other features include a HDMI port, 16GB of storage, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, an HD webcam, an SD card slot and a battery that promises up to 9.5 hours of continuous use. If you decide to buy one, it comes with 100GB of Google Drive for free for two years. The HP Chromebook 14 is priced at around $299.99 to start, and should be available for purchase before the holiday season. To get a closer look at the candy-colored laptops, have a peek at the gallery or hit the video after the break.
New Acer Chromebook with Haswell hands-on (video)
One of the first Chromebooks to come blessed with Intel's Haswell processor is the new Acer Chromebook, and we had a chance to get a closer look at it today. If not for the "new" moniker that Acer has so kindly bestowed on it, at first glance you'd be hard-pressed to find much different in comparison to its C7 predecessor. Get closer however, and you'll notice it's lighter and slimmer, measuring around 0.75 inch thin and weighing in at about 2.76 pounds. The new Acer Chromebook also has much better battery life, boasting up to 8.5 hours of continuous use from a non-removable cell this time around. It also sports an HDMI port, two USB ports (one 3.0), a standard headphone jack and an SD card slot on the sides. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display is a little on the small side, but still looks crisp and colorful enough to our eyes. The raised chiclet keyboard feels tactile and comfortable to use, and Acer wisely chose to adhere to the standard Chromebook keyboard layout instead of recycling a PC layout like on the C7. While we don't know its price just yet, we do know that you'll get 100GB of Google Drive storage free for two years with every purchase. Sadly, we don't have much more information about the new Acer Chromebook to share with you, but we'll be sure to update this post once we do. In the meantime, have a peek at the hands-on gallery and video after the break.
Alienware brings Ivy Bridge-E to its Aurora gaming desktops
Here's a nice update for those of you who like your high-performance gaming rigs coupled with tiny glowing extraterrestrial heads. Alienware today let it be known that it'll be upgrading its Aurora line with new processors. The flagship desktop is getting those new Ivy Bridge-E chips, letting users configure their machines with up to six cores and a 15MB of cache, bringing overclocking speeds of up to 4.3GHz. Also new for this week's Intel Developer Forum are NVIDIA GeForce 700 AMD 8900 series graphics options. The new configurations are available today through Dell's site, starting at $1,399.
Dell revives Venue brand with new line of Windows 8 tablets
Dell dropped a surprise here at the Intel Developer Forum when Neil Hand, VP of tablets and performance PCs, announced that it's reviving its Venue brand with a new line of Windows 8 tablets. The company last used the branding almost a year ago with the less-than-successful Venue and Venue Pro handsets -- the Venue ran Android while the Venue Pro used Windows Phone 7. Hand was on stage during today's IDF keynote showing off what appears to be an 8-inch slate running the latest Windows 8.1 firmware on Intel's recently announced Atom Z3000 processor. Not much else was unveiled about the hardware, but Hand did drop a hint that it plans to host a Venue-specific event on October 2nd in New York City that will hopefully reveal more information.
HP, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba all announce new Haswell Chromebooks; HP model arriving in the holiday season for $300
Intel has just announced a new line of Chromebooks that run on Haswell. Chromebooks have previously run lower-powered processors like ARM and Atom, though the Pixel did break the mold by running on a dual-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i5. Upcoming Haswell Chromebooks include new iterations from Acer and HP, along with Chrome OS newbies ASUS and Toshiba. Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome and Android, came on stage to say that Haswell will offer superb battery life without compromising performance. At first glance, the Acer Chromebook on stage is a slim and light affair, while the HP model sports a larger display. Intel even showed off a special ASUS Chromebox that serves to be an extremely lightweight PC. As you might expect, there's no announcement of pricing or availability just yet, though we did hear we'll see them "over the coming months." Update: The New Acer Chromebook and the HP Chromebook 14 pages are now live. So far, we have the most details about the Chromebook 14, which will arrive sometime this holiday shopping season for $300. It will have a 14-inch, 1,366 x 768 display and 16GB of built-in storage with HDMI, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. Unusually, too, it will be available in an array of punch colors, including "Snow White," "Ocean Turquoise" and "Coral Peach." Find the full press release embedded below.
Intel announces Quark system on a chip, the company's smallest to date
The hits keep coming from IDF. After showing off svelte new 14nm silicon built for laptops, CEO Brian Krzanich announced a brand new SoC series named Quark. It's the smallest SoC the company has ever built, with processor cores one-fifth the size of Atom's, and is built upon an open architecture meant so spur its use. Early on in his keynote, Krzanich said that Intel plans to "lead in every segment of computing," and Quark is positioned to put Intel in wearables -- and, in fact, he even showed off a prototype smartwatch platform Intel constructed to help drive wearable development. And, Intel President Renee James pointed out that Quark's designed for use in integrated systems, so we'll be seeing Quark in healthcare and municipal use cases, too. Unfortunately, no details about the new SoC's capabilities or specs are yet available, but we can give you some shots of Intel's wearable wristband prototype in our gallery below.
