istanbul
Latest
'Inventory' preserves street clutter with photogrammetry
Most of the time, we barely notice the lamp posts, bollards and road signs around us. They're street clutter that barely registers in our brain as we go about our busy lives. But Oddviz, an art and design collective from Istanbul, looks at them differently. The group sees this 'street furniture' as important culture capsules that evolve as they corrode or get covered in posters, stickers and graffiti. Society doesn't protect them, though, like an iconic landmark. So Oddviz has started documenting them -- a form of digital preservation -- using a 3D modeling technique called photogrammetry.
Crytek is closing studios and paying employees late again
Crytek, the developer behind the technically impressive CryEngine toolset, and most recently Robinson: The Journey, is laying off employees and closing studios. Workers' paychecks have reportedly been extremely slow to arrive as well. No, you aren't imagining things -- the company faced similar circumstances a few years ago. But the bloodletting appears much worse this time out: All of the company's studios will be shuttered but two.
Uber's latest service takes you across continents in a speed boat
Never mind using ridesharing services to get across cities -- Uber wants to take you across continents. The company has launched a permanent version of its UberBoat service in Istanbul that shuttles you between Asia and Europe (that is, both sides of the city) in a speed boat. It'll cost you at least 50 lira (about $19) versus the 2 lira (81 cents) for a public ferry, but you won't be waiting long to get moving... and you won't have to fight Istanbul's notoriously bad traffic, either. Each craft also carries up to 8 people, so it'll be more affordable if you're traveling as part of a pack. You probably won't use this often unless you're regularly hurrying across the Bosphorus strait, but it should be more scenic than an overcrowded bridge or tunnel.
A second Apple Store in the works for Istanbul
The second Apple Store in Turkey is set to open later this year in Istanbul's Akasya Shopping Center, according to the ElmaDergisi ("Apple Magazine") website. The website posted photos (one of which is shown above) detailing the installation of the standard flooring and wooden display tables, with the usual glass front and glowing white Apple logo at the front of the store. The first store in Turkey opened April 5th at Istanbul's luxury Zorlu Shopping Center. That standalone store features a glass cube design with an Apple logo on the roof, very iconic for the first Turkish Apple retail outlet. Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com believes that the store may open in September, based on information received from blogger Mehmet Terziler of ElmaDergisi. Other future store locations are rumored for Ankara and Izmir. Apple executives met with Turkish president Abdullah Gül and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2013 to discuss putting iPads into Turkish schools, although nothing concrete appears to have come out of those meetings. Photo from Elmadergisi.com, Batuhan Hikmet Gürhan
Topographic maps illustrate where Twitter's bird flies highest
Not every Twitter user geotags their musings, but there are enough who do to generate some very insightful data. On its blog today, Twitter shared images from Data Visualization Scientist Nicolas Belmonte, who created topographic maps visualizing the density of geotagged tweets. The result is striking, as tweets clearly correlate with roads, geographic features and even lines of public transit. In addition to the blog's stills, you can futz around with interactive maps of New York, San Francisco and... Istanbul. When you realize the implications of all those tweets from the Bay Bridge, it's frightening enough to consider taking BART across the Bay instead.
Turkish PM blames riots on 'scourge' of social media, prefers the calm of state TV
The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, has condemned social media as a "the worst menace to society" following a weekend of anti-government demonstrations across his country. He singled out the "scourge" of Twitter in particular, since protestors have been using that platform to share information and vent anger at the government. Small-scale riots started over plans to build a shopping mall or mosque (depending on who you believe) on the grounds of a popular park in central Istanbul, but they quickly spread to other areas and to a broader set of grievances about Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian stance. None of these disturbances were especially visible on national TV stations, however, as there have recently been heavy crackdowns on press freedom within Turkey. From the sound of it, Erdogan would prefer a more tightly controlled internet too -- or perhaps none at all. [Image courtesy of Adem Altan/Getty Images]
Daily Update for November 14, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple confirms first Brazilian store opening; also hiring in Istanbul
Apple's ambitious plans to open more retail stores around the world are in full gear. The company emailed a few Brazilian tech news sites with confirmation that the company will be opening a store in Rio de Janeiro soon, the first Apple Store in Brazil. Rio will also be hosting crowds in the next few years both for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic games, making an Apple Store a popular draw for visitors from around the world. Brazil isn't the only new country that's joining the Apple fold -- Istanbul, Turkey will soon be home to an Apple Store as well. Apple's financial disclosures indicated that the company plans to open up to 35 new stores during the next 12 months, with 75 percent of the new construction occurring outside of the United States. [via 9to5Mac]
Turkish company builds 65-inch Android 'tablet' with Honeycomb, 1080p support (video)
Want Honeycomb on your TV? You can take your chances with a Google TV-enabled set from Sony, or you can get the full Android experience by adding a connected tablet to your HD mix -- if Istanbul-based Ardic gets its solution out the door, at least. The Turkish company's prototype uses a 10-inch Android Honeycomb-based tablet to power a 65-inch LCD with 1080p support for basic gestures, like pinch and zoom. The display currently has two touch sensors, but a version with four sensors is on the way, which will bring multi-touch support. The tablet is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 SoC, and includes 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash memory, dual cameras, HDMI, USB, microSD and 3G and WiFi connectivity. A dock enables instant connectivity with the OEM TV, including HDMI for video and audio, and USB for touch input (a wireless version is in the works as well). The devs customized Android to support 1080p output, and it appears to work quite seamlessly, as you'll see in the embedded video. And this isn't simply another goofy demo or proof of concept -- the Turkish company is in talks with education and enterprise customers and hopes to bring this setup to production as a more power- and cost-efficient interactive whiteboard alternative. The company eventually hopes to offer displays in a variety of sizes, that will all be powered by a pocketable device, such as a smartphone, but watch in wonder as the 65-inch proto we have today struts its stuff in the video after the break.
Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon roadmap, 2.5GHz CPUs coming early next year
We've been hearing about Qualcomm's next generation of 2.5GHz processors for a few months now, but the company's quad-core future has now become a little bit clearer. Speaking at the Innovation Qualcomm event in Istanbul yesterday, Senior Vice President of Product Management Cristiano Amon confirmed that the chipmaker's S4 line of silicon will be shipped to manufacturers by the end of this year and should appear in consumer products by the beginning of 2012. Available in single-, dual- or quad-core models, the new, 28nm additions to the Snapdragon family will also support Adreno graphics, 3D and 1080p HD, in addition to 3G and LTE connectivity. If all goes according to schedule, then, we could see a slate of S4-equipped handsets at next year's Mobile World Congress in February, though we'll try to contain our excitement until we get a more specific launch date.
DARwin-OP, CHARLI-2 humanoids make history at RoboCup 2011, 'U-S-A!' chants ensue (video)
While most American sports fans were busy celebrating a World Cup victory over Brazil this weekend, an indubitably more compelling soccer tournament was drawing to a close in Istanbul -- site of RoboCup 2011. Virginia Tech's Team DARwin made history at this year's event, becoming the first US squad to bring home top honors in both the Kid Size and Adult Size competitions. The petite DARwin-OP humanoid danced circles around the lightweight class, while the five-foot CHARLI-2 demoralized Robo Erectus in the big boys' final with a last-minute penalty kick. In its international debut, the CHARLI-2 (pictured, in a moment of Zen, on the right) also earned the vaunted Louis Vuitton Humanoid Cup, ending a nine-year period dominated by teams from Germany and Japan. These programmed Peles may not the most graceful of strikers, but RoboCup organizers remain convinced that autonomous bots will be able to compete with human athletes by 2050 -- which might just give us enough time to develop a taste for soccer. Dribble past the break to see Team DARwin in action, along with an extra clip from the BBC.
Latest Assassin's Creed teaser hints at Istanbul setting [update]
We'll be honest -- the latest teaser posted on Facebook for the forthcoming Assassin's Creed game reveal was outright baffling to us. Despite containing major clues like the very clear image you see above (an Ottoman Tughra) and a string of numbers flashed twice ("24061459"), not to mention the friggin' Hagia Sofia (it's kinda famous), we somehow didn't put together that the teaser was very seriously hinting at an Istanbul setting for the next game. Thankfully, Turkish gaming site Oyungezer has plenty of insight to offer. The string of numbers? That's a stand-in for "June 24, 1459," or for you Auditore family historians, Ezio's date of birth. And the Ottoman Tughra? Turns out that's an official seal or signature for a sultan, used to sign official documents and for money printing, among other things. It's like Prince's symbol, basically, except it originates with the Ottoman Empire rather than an egomaniacal musician. Anyway, between the major landmark (Hagia Sofia) and the Tughra, we're guessing the big reveal will somehow center on Istanbul, potentially in the mid-1400s. As for when we'll find out, your guess is as good as ours -- the meter towards the next teaser is at 20 percent as of now, with no indication of how many unveilings are left in Ubisoft's plan. Update: The fifth teaser has now gone live, and it features a man who looks suspiciously like Assassin's Creed 1's main character, Altair. It also features a two-headed eagle -- a symbol quite popular in the Byzantine Empire -- and the number string "11011165," which is presumably a placeholder for January 11, 1165. What happened on the eleventh day of January, 1165, you ask? That's a good question. Other than some unexciting interactions with Russia, not much was happening in Constantinople/Istanbul that day. Perhaps the next teaser will clue us in! [Thanks Sinan!]
Lonely Planet giving away free iPhone guides in honor of Eyjafjallajökull messing with Europe
Did Eyjafjallajökull mess your week up? The answer is probably "no" if you're asking who Eyjafjallajökull is. For those of us who did have our week interrupted by that big exploding volcano in Iceland, Lonely Planet is offering thirteen of its City Guides for free in the App Store (and okay, they're free to all, no proof of volcano-interruption required). The aptly-named "Volcano Relief Sale" is being held in hopes of helping travelers stuck in unfamiliar places find "access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do whilst stranded," according to Tom Hall, Lonely Planet Travel Editor. "That's why we're giving away iPhone city guides to major affected destinations." Those destinations include: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, and Vienna. I've been to all but two of those destinations, and if you're stuck in any of them, you really should be thanking Eyjafjallajökull (and now, Lonely Planet). The thirteen City Guides are normally priced between $10 and $15, so this is quite a bargain. But act fast, the City Guides will only be available for free until April 22 -- hopefully a date which will also see many more planes back in the air. [via Macworld] [Image by NASA Goddard Photo and Video]
AMD six-core Opterons get new 'Highly Efficient' and 'Special Edition' siblings
We can beat about the bush or we can just admit that Intel has AMD beat on pretty much all fronts right now. Cognizant of this, AMD sprung the Istanbul server chips months ahead of schedule, and is now seeking to maintain momentum by adding meat to the bone. Three new chips are being added to the server-focused HE (Highly Efficient) Opteron line -- all clocked between 2GHz and 2.1GHz and dissipating 55 watts of heat -- while pure performance considerations are addressed with the SE 2439 and SE 8439, both running at 2.8GHz with 6MB of L3 cache. If we were paranoid, we might think today's leak of Intel's mobile CPU schedule was a coordinated attempt by the market leader to steal some of the limelight from this announcement by Advanced Micro Devices. Those of you who actually need to buy processors in batches of 1,000 or more should hit the read link for a full price breakdown.[Via Daily Tech]
AMD ships six-core 'Istanbul' Opteron CPU ahead of schedule
Say it ain't so! Despite AMD's past of announcing more delays than actual shipping products, the outfit has managed to deliver its six-core 'Istanbul' Opteron CPU five months ahead of schedule. Announced today in a company press event, the new chip is shipping today with support for two-, four- and eight-socket servers. If all goes well, they'll be available to order from the likes of Cray, HP, Dell, IBM and Sun later this month, with HE, SE and EE versions of the six-core Opteron planned for the second half of this year. As for performance, users can expect up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous generation quad-core processors in the same platform, though we wouldn't expect to see these stray too far from traditional server boxes.
Keepin' it real fake, part XLVII: "Offline" Google store
Wander past this ill-dubbed Google store and you'll find yourself puzzled as to why you can't locate that sweet Google lava lamp you wanted as a finishing touch to your bedroom decor. The impostor, a textile shop in Istanbul, Turkey, went so far as to transplant Google's exact logo to their storefront exterior -- why, exactly, is beyond us. "Hey guys check it out! A real-life Google store -- let's grab some frisbees and socks that say Google on 'em...huh? It's all fabrics in here? Wait, this houndstooth linen is to die for. Three yards, please." Doubtful.Update: As a few readers have noted, this is hilariously similar to last year's Engadget store incident.[Thanks, Kirf]
