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D-Link brings AI-powered person detection to its home security cameras
Ahead of CES, D-Link is bringing new features to its home security cameras. Today, the company announced that its devices can now detect people and breaking glass. The added capabilities are powered by AI that runs on the edge, and D-Link says it's able to provide faster, more accurate results than it would with cloud-powered AI.
Roku is getting free live news, starting with ABC
If there's one thing streaming video watchers love, it's free stuff. So it wasn't a huge surprise to see Roku launch a free ad-supported movie channel of its own last year. Now, it's adding news coverage to that selection, starting with ABC News Live, a 24/7 online offering and an offering that can compete with CBS' own online-only news channel. And on top of that, there will also be live streams from Cheddar, People TV and Newsy. Sure, it may seem like what's old is new again, but it's a smart move for Roku, since it makes its streaming platform much more useful for consumers. And more importantly, it gives them one more reason to stick around.
Meet the real people of CES
The number of attendees at CES is huge. A huge mass of people descending on Las Vegas to experience the latest and greatest in consumer technology. But, sadly, amidst all the hustle and bustle, busy schedules and dash to the next meeting, the human behind the name badge is often overlooked. Reduced to nothing more than a business card and a calendar appointment. Let's address that, and discover a hand-picked selection of real humans from all four corners of the CES world. These are the real people of CES.
Facebook, people, and arguing: my social network experiment
I refuse to "unfriend" people on Facebook. Well, okay, that's kind of false. I will unfriend you if we're not actual, real-life friends, and I eventually forget how we knew each other. But that's not the point. The point is that my Facebook friends list is made up of people I know, or knew, in real life. They may not be people I speak to every day, or people I see in person with frequency, but they are or were a tangible part of my life: part of what makes me me. To put that more eloquently: "I see it as my network: a digital representation of my network. An archive of the people I've encountered and come across. If I want to understand my story, my history, all of the ways that I've come about, this is one of those vehicles. It's almost like this weird digital therapy space where you can get to the heart of where you are via the people you've interacted with."
More magazines coming to Flipboard: Time, Fortune, InStyle and People
If you work in new media, there's a sure-fire way to know if you've made it: traditional media starts paying attention. Time Inc. is following in some, ahem, illustrious footsteps after announcing that it's bringing InStyle, People, Fortune and Time to Flipboard. The first two will be arriving on the platform this week, with the latter pairing debuting in December. With specially paginated content, readers will see a "unique brand experience" when you delve into each title -- presumably with plenty of space for benevolent advertisers like Gucci to exhibit their wares.
Microsoft updates Mail, Calendar and People apps in Windows 8, Windows RT
Just as last week was winding down, we heard a credible rumor that Microsoft was about to update some of the native apps found in Windows 8 / Windows RT. Turns out, that report was on the money: the company unveiled some changes today to Mail, Calendar and People, with a particular focus on speed improvements. None of these updates will be available to download until tonight or tomorrow, says a Microsoft rep, so don't all of you go making a beeline for the Windows Store at once now. If you're itching for a preview, though, we've got a summary of the new features after the break, along with a few extra screenshots.%Gallery-183670%
Windows 8 RTM: what's new in the final build of Windows 8?
It's been two weeks since Microsoft signed off on Windows 8, and shipped the final code to manufacturers prepping shiny new computers. Today, another round of folks are getting their hands on the code: devs, and IT pros with subscriptions to Microsoft's TechNet program. Of course, you might not be a developer or IT whiz and, if we're being honest, neither are we! Happily for us, though, Microsoft gave us an early peek at the RTM build -- the same software that will ship to consumers October 26th. Granted, Microsoft says it will continue tweaking the built-in apps, with updates coming through the Windows Store. Barring these minor changes, though, what you see here is what you'll get ten weeks from now. Meet us after the break for a summary of what's new.%Gallery-162397%
Ford trying iPads for sales consultants at dealerships
Ford has launched an iPad app specifically for its dealers around the US to use. Fourteen different dealerships participated in a test program earlier this year, in which sales consultants (car salespeople) used iPads to access information about cars on sale, show presentations on various car features, and even track customer preferences, both helping customers choose the right car for them and helping salespeople convince them to buy. One dealer in New Jersey is getting behind the app full stop: He says he plans to ditch PCs at his dealership completely, instead using the more "relationship friendly" iPad for all of his sales transactions. He cites the iPad's security and ease of use as big factors in putting them on the sales floor as well. The iPad isn't yet usable as a pricing or contract tool, however, so presumably sales associates will have to back to a regular PC for that right now. But soon, says the dealer, all of those functions will be handled by Apple's tablet, and he's looking forward to that.
Google updates Gmail's 'people widget,' now includes previous images
When it comes to an ideal conduit for minor announcements, Google's found a home on its very own social network. And this time, it's telling the world about a small update to the people widget -- that bar currently occupying real estate on the right-hand side of gmail.com. Along with showing the pertinent contact information from an email chain's participants, the peep widge will now reveal the last three images sent to you by the displayed contacts. As one might expect, clicking on the pics will whisk you to its associated email, and provide a little extra context to that candid, landscape or Lolcat you're staring at. Not the most exciting of additions, we'll admit, but a little extra functionality never hurts. Right?
Google to switch on 'semantic search' within months, emphasize things as well as words
A search engine should be about more than just keywords. MC Hammer believes that passionately and Google must do too, because over the next few months and years it'll gradually adjust its own algorithms to put greater emphasis on "semantic search". Under this system, search queries are run through a vast knowledge database that discovers relationships with other words and facts. A Mountain View exec explained it thus: If you search for "Lake Tahoe", you won't just get ranked websites containing those two words but also key attributes about the lake, such as its location, altitude, average temperature and Bigfoot population. If a piece of knowledge isn't the in the ever-expanding database, the search engine will still use semantic search to help it recognize and evaluate information held on websites. In doing this, Big G hopes to compete with social networks that are amassing their own valuable (and sometimes intrusive) databases full of personal information, while also encouraging people to stay longer on its site and see more targeted ads. Google, who is Viviane Reding?
Barnes & Noble offers discounted Nooks with one-year subscription to The New York Times
In the market for an e-reader and a subscription to the digital edition of The New York Times? Then Barnes & Noble has a new promotion you might want to consider. From now through March 9th, it'll give you a Nook Simple Touch for free or a Nook Color for $99 if you also sign up for a one-year New York Times subscription at a rate of $19.99/month. That's a savings of $100 in both cases, and the subscription also includes access to the New York Times website in addition to the Nook version. Alternatively, you can get $50 off the Nook Tablet (bringing it down to $199) with a subscription to People, which will run you $9.99/month. Complete details are at the link below.
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review
The next version of each smartphone's operating system is always the best. We impatiently wait for the latest and greatest firmware to come around, expecting it to liberate us from the shackles of last year's code and features that haven't shown up yet. This happens incessantly with Google's Android OS, and version 4.0 -- unveiled at this year's I/O conference in May -- is no different. Known as Ice Cream Sandwich (referred to henceforth as ICS), the last word in the title indicates the merging of Gingerbread, the most recent phone platform, and Honeycomb, the version optimized for use on tablets. We knew this much, but were otherwise left with conjecture as to how the company planned to accomplish such a feat -- and what else the new iteration had in store. Which devices will get Ice Cream Sandwich? Hands-on screenshot gallery Galaxy Nexus and ICS roundup But now the time of reckoning is upon us, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- Android 4.0's mother ship -- is slowly spreading across the globe, its users being treated to this year's smartphone dessert. ICS is one of the largest and most important upgrades we've witnessed from Android since its humble beginnings, making a huge change in user experience as well as a massive number of bullet points on the list of features. Now that we've had the opportunity to take it for a spin, where does it stand in the ranks of mobile operating systems? Follow us beneath as we dig into the layers of this sweet sandwich.
Riot Games' close calls with disaster
Riot Games CEO Brandon Beck gave the closing keynote at last week's IGDA Leadership Forum in Los Angeles, California, and during the talk (in which he made the point that "Riot's secret weapon all along" has been its employees), he gave a few interesting examples of how Riot's staff had really gone the extra distance to turn League of Legends into the successful online phenomenon it is today. His first example was about the matchmaking system -- originally, Riot struggled to make sure that players were matched up against each other in an interesting and effective way, and the company ended up bringing in not a game developer, but a programmer with a PhD in computational biology whose "thinking was radically different and compelling," according to Beck. A month after this hire, the company had a whole new matchmaking system, and in the end, it turned out to be "too fair" -- the games were too close. Since "what players remember are the outliers," according to Beck, the team developed "snowball items," which were "risky purchases that rewarded flawless execution." That bit of gameplay mixed up the matches, and came to be the system the game uses today.
Time Inc., Apple to offer free iPad downloads to print magazine subscribers
After months of speculation, Time Inc. has finally inked a deal with Apple that will allow print magazine subscribers to access the company's iPad editions for free. Beginning this week, subscribers to print versions of Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Time will be able to download the iPad counterparts at no cost, directly within the magazines' apps. Today's deal comes just a few months after the company struck a similar arrangement with HP, but iPad users, unlike TouchPad readers, still won't be able to purchase exclusively digital subscriptions to Time Inc.'s stable of publications. It's no secret that Time Inc. wants to incorporate digital subscriptions to its iPad model, but negotiations have hit some roadblocks, largely thanks to disputes over how Apple shares subscriber data. Publishers say they need that data to apply the TV Everywhere model to magazines, but Apple thinks subscriber information should only be shared on an opt-in basis. We don't really expect Apple to budge any time soon, but execs at Time Inc. seem optimistic, telling the Wall Street Journal that today's deal proves that the two parties are "moving closer" on the issue -- apparently not close enough, however, for Apple to comment.
Time inks deal with HP to bring magazine subscriptions to the TouchPad
Time Inc. has been trying to work out a deal on tablet magazine subscriptions for some time now, and it's just made a fairly big move in that direction with the help of HP. It confirmed at its "Think Beyond" event today that it has teamed up with the publisher to offer subscriptions to some of its magazines on the TouchPad when it launches this summer. That will apparently include Sports Illustrated, Time and People initially, with Fortune and other Time Inc. titles to follow further on down the road, according to AdWeek. Still no word on pricing, but HP promises they'll deliver an "immersive reading" experience. Update: Palm's Lisa Bewster has confirmed via Twitter that this deal also involves Time getting its big wish: subscribe to the print magazine and you'll get full access to the tablet version. For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
Wasted heat from Metro stations to heat apartment building in Paris
Close to the Centre Georges Pompidou on the Rue Beauborg, Paris Habitats renovating a residential building in an environmentally friendly manner, and it's including some pretty out of the ordinary heating methods in it. The old building has a staircase which connects to the Metro station beneath it, thus making it cost effective to build the system, which will produce heat from the bodies of the people and trains moving below, and will be used in conjunction with a traditional heating system. It is thought that it will be able to cut carbon dioxide emissions by one third when the building is completed. The project is set to get underway next year.
Pac-Man reenacted by humans in stop motion masterpiece
What's it with Pac-Man and awesomeness these days? First Google, now this? As the story goes, PAC-MAN is the fifth video performance of the GAME OVER Project, put on by the French-Swiss artist Guillaume Reymond. The video -- which is embedded after the break -- shows a great many human bodies (111 to be exact) working together for over four hours in one of the most smile-inducing stop motion clips we've ever seen. Oh, and make sure your volume's up -- the experience just isn't complete without man made blips and bloops. [Thanks, Matt]
Farewell and thank you, WoW.com
I've told this story a few times before: I actually started out on WoW.com as a comment troll. A few years back, Jennie Lees was the lead blogger here, and she posted something silly about a wallpaper or a plush doll, I don't remember. I was also reading the forums at the time, and Blizzard had just dropped new priest patch notes. "Why are you posting this junk," I commented angrily, "when the priest notes just dropped?" She was nice about it -- she actually emailed me and said that the priest updates post was coming soon. And I felt so bad about it, I never activated the comment. But a little while after that, when WoW Insider posted that they were looking for some new writers, I applied, and said that I was sorry for that comment, but that I was working on becoming a writer and could help out with posting on the site when needed. When I started writing for WoW Insider (now WoW.com, obviously), I was working retail in Chicago, writing part-time in the evenings. The site itself got only a few thousand hits a month, with one or two weekly features and maybe ten comments per post. Now, over three years later, I'm a fulltime freelance writer, I've been to three BlizzCons, I've written over 1.7 million words in over 3,300 posts here about everything in Azeroth, and the site itself rivals some of the best blogs on the Internet, routinely garnering millions of hits a month. I helped build this site with my own two hands, and while I definitely can't claim all the credit (there was and is a huge team of people who keep this thing running), it's with a fair amount of sorrow that I'm here to tell you today will be my last day on WoW.com.
HTC Legend still looking good -- as a render, anyway
We got a pretty good glimpse of HTC's rumored Legend back in that huge roadmap leak a few days back, but now we're circling back for a better shot (and a few more details) of the probable Hero successor in all its roughly-rendered glory. High-end aficionados are probably still going to want to set their sights on the Bravo (or the Google Phone, Nexus One, Passion, what have you), but this sucker won't be a slouch, either -- it looks like it's signed up for a 600MHz MSM7227 and, more importantly, a WVGA display (turns out it's only HVGA). We'd already known this from the last leak, but what's new here is the presence of HTC People II and Footprints II, suggesting that Sense is going to get some sort of refresh to commemorate the launch. Add in the alleged metal casing, and we bet this thing's gonna be a looker in the flesh; needless to say, March can't come soon enough. Update: As friendly tipster M. Schmidler points out, since the time of writing the source has corrected the resolution to be HVGA instead of the previously thought WVGA. Frowny face.
What's your best BlizzCon memory?
Did you manage to get your tickets? I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who are returning to BlizzCon. I wasn't able to go but I followed WoW Insider's coverage of the event from the opening ceremonies to the final concert. It was an awesome time for fans to get insight on some of the behind the scenes aspects of WoW, including an art gallery, a sound panel, and an introduction to Ghostcrawler.I have to admit that even with the massive amount of information on classes and mechanics, my favorite part was the goofy fan stuff. I love how some people really get into their costumes and dances. I think I missed out most by missing the WoW Insider meet up. It's amazing that real people get so into our favorite game franchises.For those of you who went last year, or even were following along with me, what's the best BlizzCon memory that you carry with you?BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
