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IBM's Watson set to tackle health insurance, takes 'Diagnosis for $1,000'
After tackling your tech support woes, the famed Watson is moving on to mop up the health insurance industry. That's right, the IBM showstopper we all know and love for trouncing trivia kings on Jeopardy has been hired by one of the largest health insurance company's in the US. WellPoint Inc. will make use of the system's breakneck speed and healthcare database alongside patient records -- allowing the supercomputer to guide treatment options and prescribe medicines. Once implemented, data will be combined from three sources in a matter of seconds: a patient's chart / records from a doctor, the insurance company's patient history and the medical knowledge that Watson already possesses. A pilot program will roll out next year to a number of cancer facilities, academic medical centers and oncology practices. No word yet on when The Watson School of Medicine will start accepting applications.
Star Wars Galaxies' GU20 brings the GCW to space
Star Wars Galaxies may be due for a tragic space opera death come December, but that doesn't mean the devs are twiddling their thumbs in the meantime. This morning, Sony Online Entertainment's sci-fi sandbox received a major faction and space update, making the ongoing Galactic Civil War content truly interplanetary. According to the patch notes, players can now "participate in dynamic space battles and fight alongside or against Ace pilots including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Boba Fett" above iconic planets like Tatooine, Corellia, Naboo, Lok and Dantooine. The patch offers new duty missions for player Pilots as well as awards for participation in the new content, and recurring station events ensure that players can always find some action in the cold black of space. Medics and Smugglers also received profession tweaks to bring them into balance with the other classes, and Shipwrights will be happy to learn that the update's new starships are in fact player-craftable.
Isis mobile payments coming to Austin in 2012
Certain to "Keep Austin Weird," Isis has selected the home of SXSW as its second market for a mobile payment tryout. The joint-venture backed by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless (with help from MasterCard and Visa), will work with local merchants and the Chamber of Commerce to deliver what it calls a "comprehensive mobile experience" by mid-2012. Isis' latest metropolitan recruit joins Salt Lake City in this experiment that will compete with Google Wallet (which is endorsed by Sprint). Quick advice to Austinites: when out-of-towners begin gawking at you for getting "free" lattes and concert tickets by waving your phone about, be sure to explain the wonders of NFC -- it'd be a shame for them to attempt the same -- only to be taken into custody by the Austin PD. Jump the break for the PR.
Sonic.net starts trial of 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home internet in California, asks just $70
You'll be forgiven for not being intimately familiar with Californian ISP Sonic.net, though we get the feeling you'll also wish it operated a little closer to your abode by the time you've finished reading this. You see, Sonic has always dabbled in the business of high-speed, low-price internet connectivity, and now it's going for the jugular with a new fiber-to-the-home service, which costs just $69.95 a month, reaches speeds up to 1Gbps, and bundles in two phone lines and unlimited long distance calling. Just for reference, Comcast's "Extreme" 105Mbps connection costs $105 a pop when taken as part of a bundle, whereas Sonic's budget menu option will net you a 100Mbps line for $39.95 (plus a phone line with unlimited calls). Understandably, Sonic's grand plan is starting out small, with a trial in Sebastopol spanning 700 households, but provided the company doesn't go bust by giving people so much for so little, expansion to bigger cities will follow, with San Francisco and Santa Rosa being the prime candidates. And just in case you're questioning Sonic's credentials, Google's chosen the ISP to manage its gigabit fiber network at Stanford University, and who knows ultrafast broadband better than Google? [Thanks, Roland]
Isis NFC payment system gets its first market in Salt Lake City, Utah, launches in 2012
Like 3D on high-end HDTVs, NFC-based payment systems seem set to invade our mobile lives whether we like them or not. Isis, a collaborative venture between AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and a bunch of banking big timers, has today announced the first market for its rollout of a contactless payment scheme, and it's none other than Salt Lake City, Utah. That'll surely raise eyebrows in locales that may consider themselves more tech-savvy, but we reckon starting off with a city of a smaller scale might be good for getting this "mobile wallet" system off the ground. And then there's the added benefit of Isis snagging a deal to enable compatibility with the entire Utah Transit Authority footprint. If all plans are executed properly, that should mean that by summer 2012 the good people of SLC will be able to NFC their way around town with just their smartphone in hand, while also swiping it through checkouts like some form of highly advanced techno-humans.
iPad gets approval from FAA to replace paper flight charts and maps
The Federal Aviation Administration is moving with the times, it would seem, as it has just granted the first approval for the use of iPads instead of paper charts for informing airline pilots while on duty. There are already a number of EFB (electronic flight bag) devices in use, however the iPad is by far the cheapest and most portable one that's been validated yet. Executive Jet Management, a charter flight operator, went through three months of testing with the iPad, wherein it was used by 55 pilots on 250 flights, in order to obtain its FAA license to rely exclusively on the Apple tablet for its in-flight mapping data. Other airlines will have to go through the same process in order to dump their big stacks of paper charts for a slinky slate, but the important thing is that the precedent has been set. As to redundancies in case of failure or a software crash, the likeliest scenario is that pilots will carry a spare iPad with them, though there wasn't even a single (software) crash during the trial period -- which also included rapid decompression and electronic interference testing. So there you have it, the iPad's found itself a grown-up job just in time to retire from its throne as consumer sales leader. [Thanks, Andrew]
Virginia pilot program halves electricity bill for charging EVs overnight
Regardless of whether the internal combustion engine gets snuffed out this century, EV chargers aren't going to replace gas pumps at the rate they're presently rolling out, so it's quite likely new Leaf and Prius PHEV owners will need to charge at home. How might that affect one's electricity bill? It'll probably go up, but a Virginia utility says that a full tank of juice might not cost all that much. Dominion Virginia Power is volunteering to cut its rates by more than half for off-peak charging as part of a proposed pilot program, whereby 750 lucky EV owners will get enough electricity for a 40-mile commute for just 35 cents so long as they charge overnight. The utility's not talking kilowatt-hours here, but it says it typically gets $0.86 for the same amount. The deal requires the installation of a specially-approved charging station, but Virginia's looking at a second scheme too -- if those 750 agree to pay a flexible off-peak rate of between $0.33 and $0.41 per 40-mile dose, they can power the rest of their house using the budget volts as well. PR after the break.
Double Fine's first 'Action Cast' reveals 'early 2011' release for Stacking
Tim Schafer and his perfect-for-radio vocal stylings have taken to the casting of pods, releasing the first ever Double Fine "Action Cast." For the inaugural episode, Schafer talks Costume Quest with the game's creative leads (Tasha Harris and Gabe Miller), among other topics. Of note, Schafer says that DF's next downloadable title, Stacking, is "essentially done" and "should be out in early 2011," a more specific launch window than we had previously heard. Also potentially of note, Tasha Harris says she's animating a "super secret project" right now. What could it be?! As the first show is a pilot, the studio is basing its decision to make more on listener response, so go get vocal in the post's comment section. We quite like the show and are hoping for more .... not that we're trying to influence your opinion or anything.
ASSA ABLOY trials remote hotel check-ins, unlocking your room with NFC cellphones (video)
Just think of it, no more hanging around your hotel's front desk like some unrefined homo erectus. The Clarion Hotel in Stockholm is starting up a new pilot program to allow visitors to check in and collect their room key without the repugnant need for speaking to an actual human being -- it can all be done with an NFC-equipped mobile phone. Provided your smartphone can do the near-field communications dance, all your information can be remotely downloaded, stored, and wiped (if need be), and you can even check out from a room using the accompanying application. Samsung handsets are being provided to selected customers during the period of this trial, though once its four-month incubation period is over, you'll have to bring your own bit of advanced telephony to avoid the queues. We're sure you'll think of something. Video and full press release after the break.
Visa gets Bank of America on board for mobile payments trial, starting in New York next month
It didn't take long for Visa to react to the three-headed beast of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon entering the mobile payments arena. The world's foremost payment processing company has just announced that it's about to start a trial of its contactless payment system in partnership with Bank of America. Kicking off in the New York area this September and lasting through the end of the year, the scheme will most likely involve the MicroSD NFC communicator and In2Pay iPhone case that DeviceFidelity has been developing for Visa. No disclosures are being made on the size of this pilot scheme, though we're told that only a "select" group of employees and customers will be getting the mobile payment chips. Don't worry if you miss out on this one, though, as a similar trial is scheduled to begin in October with US Bancorp. That should give you enough time to turn yourself into a high-rolling select customer, right?
Choose My Adventure: Off the rails
Join me as I brave my way through lands unknown in an adventure dictated entirely by you, the Massively readers! Suggest everything from game played to character creation to ultimate goal and watch it unfold in a series of posts here on the site. Then, as our two months are up, we'll do it all over again in a new game! This last week wound up being a medley of moments -- some pretty cool and others a study in frustration, honestly. However, to be completely fair, while some of this is related to the game, a goodly portion of the frustration is related to some pretty glaring oversights for newcomers on Sony Online Entertainment's part. Curious as to what happened in Star Wars Galaxies this week? Join me behind the jump as I break down what things broke down, and what bits were pretty solidly in the "kick ass" column.
NBC working on video game show pilot for primetime
According to a Joystiq source, NBC is developing a pilot for a show about gaming, focusing on gamer culture and the people who make games. According to the source, the project is being helmed by TJ "Ocman" Allard, a former Ubisoft designer. His co-host is Audrey Cleo, who currently works on Qore. The team is currently editing footage recorded at E3 for the pilot, including interviews with Kinect's Kudo Tsunoda and Mortal Kombat's Ed Boon. Specific details, like a show name and distribution, have yet to be settled upon. However, our source says that the working title is currently "Game On." The pilot -- planned for primetime -- may even premiere as early as next month. If you happen to know more about this project, feel free to send us a tip. We will keep you anonymous!
Kindle DX trial at Darden concludes it's academically woeful, personally enjoyable
Amazon's experiment of replacing textbooks with Kindle DXs in classrooms already took a pretty hefty blow from Princeton's feedback -- which described the jumbo e-reader as "a poor excuse" for an academic tool -- but here comes some more punishment courtesy of the trialists at Darden. The Business School describes the DX as clunky and too slow to keep up with the pace of teaching, with up to 80 percent of users saying they wouldn't recommend it for academic use. There is a silver lining to this cloud of hate however, as up to 95 percent of all project participants would be happy to recommend the Kindle DX as a personal reading device. That meshes rather well with the high satisfaction and sales figures e-readers are enjoying, but it does show that the hardware has a long way to go before it convinces us to ditch our paperbacks. [Thanks, Miles B]
Pilots: Take your iPad flying with the Tech Board iPro Kneeboard
With its beautiful display, capacious storage, and hundreds of thousands of apps, the iPad is an instant hit with both professional and private pilots. The iPad is much more readable than an iPhone, and it's easy to take PDF files of sectional and terminal area charts with you on the device. As with any electronic device in the cockpit of an airplane, pilots want to make sure that the iPad is secured while in flight so that it doesn't become a projectile in turbulence or abrupt maneuvers. They also want it right at their fingertips for instant reference. Take those seemingly conflicting requirements and what do you get? The Tech Board iPro Kneeboard from For Pilots Only. The all-metal iPro looks like it could withstand a CFIT (controlled flight into terrain), and includes a hinged cover that doubles as a clipboard for jotting non-digital notes. It's padded on the inside to protect the finish of your iPad, and there's an opening for a charger should you need to top off the iPad in flight. Like all kneeboards, the iPro has a strap that fastens around the pilot's upper thigh to hold the board in place. Kneeboards have been used for years by pilots for holding onto objects during flight, but the combo of the iPro and iPad are sure to make this a must-have accessory for pilots. We'd love to hear from TUAW readers who are pilots. How are you using the iPad in the cockpit? Leave your comments below.
Epix TV network to deliver real pilot based on a fake Steve Jobs
It looks like our old friend, the Fake Steve Jobs, is doing pretty well for himself. A popular blog, a well-received book, and now -- with any luck, at least -- a new TV series. Currently the Epix network (still only available on FiOS TV) is teaming up with the money men at Media Rights Capital to deliver a pilot called iCON. Featuring a character named Tom Rhodes, "a composite of Jobs and other Silicon Valley titans," the story is described as "a savage satire, a study of ego, power and greed." The man behind it all is none other than Larry Charles (of Borat, Bruno, and Seinfeld fame) who will direct the thing and oversee the script being written by Dan Lyons (Fake Steve Jobs himself). As you might have guessed, the announcement is pretty nutty: "We are attempting to do nothing less than a modern Citizen Kane," Charles said. "A scabrous satire of Silicon Valley and its most famous citizen. We needed a bold environment to nurture such a vision. One that was free of pre-conceived ideas. And Epix made it clear they were that place. They asked us to make their home our home. And we have." Since no one we know has actually seen Citizen Kane, we can't tell you if that's a good thing or not. But if it turns out to be anything like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, we love it already! PR after the break.
Square opens public trial for iPhone payment system
Eager to get in on the whole "using your iPhone to pay for stuff" revolution? Too bad your wallet is vehemently disagreeing right now. At any rate, the folks behind the Square iPhone payment system have finally seen fit to open up their solution to the public, but only in the form of a pilot. If you're interested to be one of the few scratching the impulse-buy-itch with a cellphone dongle, hit that source link to sign up. For the rest of ya, there's an explanatory video after the break.
Flying Magazine blogger wants an iPad in the cockpit
Here at TUAW, we've talked about some potential markets for the iPad; for example, the health care industry. Over at Flying Magazine's website, blogger Robert Goyer is lusting after the iPad as a tool in the cockpit. The iPhone has become a pilot's toolkit since the App Store opened, with apps like Flight Plan - Pilot's Toolbox [iTunes Link] and CoPilot - Flight Planning [iTunes Link] making it into the cockpit for private and commercial pilots alike. Goyer loves the idea that the iPad will have a much larger display than the iPhone and, most importantly for the quick pace of flying, that it's an instant-on device unlike many laptops. He thinks that the 3G models will be most useful for aviation since they'll provide online access to a plethora of aviation, regulatory, and weather-related data sources. What Goyer is looking forward to the most about the iPad is that extra screen real estate. As he says in his post, he'll likely go with a netbook for situations when he's not in the cockpit. But while flying, the iPad's "brilliant display" and GPS capability should make it "supremely easy to use" for pilots needing map apps. We can't wait to see what flies into view. [Thanks to @RyanACash for the Twitter tip]
Pilots too busy with laptops to remember flight path, go 150 miles off course
That Northwest Flight 188 San Diego to Minneapolis that went 150 miles off course? Well, it wasn't because of alcohol or sleeping. No, the cause here was the pilots using their personal laptops while talking about "airline crew flight scheduling procedure." As far as we can tell there was no in-flight WiFi, and it's a good thing, too -- no telling how far off they'd have been if the pilots had access to World of Warcraft. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Snow Leopard takes a bite out of support for legacy Palm OS devices
Still rocking that Palm Zire with your new Intel-based Mac? Then you might just want to reconsider that upgrade to Snow Leopard, as Apple has apparently decided to ditch its support for legacy Palm OS devices in the latest incarnation of iSync. That, as you may be aware, had previously acted as a conduit for Palm's aging but still available Palm Desktop software, and let folks easily sync up their contacts and other data from their Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, or even a venerable old PalmPilot. Of course, that doesn't quite rise to the same level of controversy as the whole Pre / iTunes situation, especially considering that Palm itself has mostly moved on from said devices, and there are still some third-party sync solutions available for folks that want to keep the Palm OS dream alive.
5 Apps (Mac & iPhone) for pilots
People who fly airplanes, either professionally or for fun, are an interesting bunch. When they're not flying, they are usually doing something to keep their skills sharp or to learn something new. This selection of five Mac and iPhone applications is a sampling of what's available for Apple platforms for the very frequent fliers who read TUAW. 1) X-Plane from Laminar Research is not just one application, but a collection of flight simulation programs for Mac and iPhone as well as "those other platforms." If you're just curious about what it takes to fly an airplane, the X-Plane mobile apps for iPhone and iPod touch are a fairly low-cost way to see if you have what it takes to be a pilot. You can actually start for free with X-Plane Trainer [App Store], which provides your iPhone or touch with a Cessna 172 in which you can learn to take off, fly, navigate, and land. X-Plane Trainer also provides you with constant tips, somewhat akin to having your own flight instructor sitting next to you correcting your mistakes. The original X-Plane app for iPhone / iPod touch was X-Plane 9 [App Store, US$9.99], which has six different aircraft and configurable weather and daylight features. Laminar Research has also added X-Plane Airliner [App Store, US$9.99, see screenshot below] for budding airline pilots, X-Plane Extreme [App Store, US$9.99], X-Plane Racing [App Store, multiplayer, US$9.99], and X-Plane Helicopter [App Store, US$9.99]. To make life interesting, Laminar also came out with X-Plane Space Shuttle [App Store, US$1.99] so you can learn how to land an orbiter.
