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Daily Roundup: Google's smart contact lens, President Obama on the NSA 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.
Gregory Lee becomes President of Samsung's US mobile division, Dale Sohn to advise JK Shin
Samsung is shaking up its US mobile efforts: it just appointed Global Marketing Operations head Gregory Lee as the President of Samsung Telecommunications America, effective immediately. The company hasn't explained why it's making such an abrupt swap, but it's bringing outgoing President Dale Sohn back to South Korea as an Executive Advisor to mobile division CEO JK Shin. This may amount to a promotion -- when much of Samsung's recent success in smartphones is based on its American presence, Sohn's advice could carry a lot of weight.
Former NYT digital head joins EA's board as Gregory Maffei leaves
Following last week's "restructuring," Electronic Arts has announced a new addition to its board of directors. Denise F. Warren has been appointed to both the board and EA's Audit Committee. Warren is the Vice President of the Digital Products and Services group at the New York Times, where she previously oversaw operations on NYTimes.com and the Times' other digital properties. Warren will be stepping in as director Gregory Maffei steps out, passing on re-election at the stockholders meeting to be held on July 31. Maffei is the president and CEO of Liberty Media, the distributor that owns cable channels Discovery Channel, USA, Starz and more. Maffei has been on the EA board for 10 years, but is resigning to work with his own company.
Mimobot's US Presidents flash drives give Americans patriotic storage
We wouldn't have foreseen thumb drives figuring prominently into our President's Day observations, and yet... here we are. In sync with the holiday, Mimoco has kicked off a US Presidents collection of Mimobot storage that lets Americans carry their national pride on their USB 2.0 ports. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are the only current options -- what, no William Henry Harrison model? -- but the 8GB to 64GB of capacity should keep either stick useful once the novelty wears off. As long as you're prepared to spend between $20 to $130 to pick one up, either of the Mimobots is a decent choice for a drive. Just hurry if you want a flash-based replica of the country's key founder -- there's only 1,000 Washington drives to go around.
Google to host second Presidential Google+ Hangout on February 14th (video)
It's not quite as traditional as baseball and apple pie, but you've got to start somewhere. Following last year's success, Google is once again hosting a Presidential Google+ chat days after the State of the Union address, on February 14th at 4:50PM Eastern. The Fireside Hangout will see President Obama answer the most voted-for questions from Americans live, with a seasoned panel joining him for the discussion. It's arguably one of our better chances at getting answers about policies that we wouldn't get from a formal speech -- as such, those who can put aside nostalgia for old-fashioned Fireside Chats will likely get their fill at the source link.
Follow the Presidential inauguration with the official Inaugural 2013 app
Earlier today, Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as the 44th president of the United States. Although the public inaugural is Monday, legally the President is installed by 12 noon on January 20; when that date lands on a Sunday, the swearing-in is done twice, with the second public event as a ceremonial repeat of the private but legal oath. If you want to follow along with all the inauguration news, check out the official Inaugural 2013 iPhone app. The app, produced by AT&T, will offer a live stream of all the ceremony's events. The app also gives you up to the minute news, interactive maps, and a breakdown of the various venues that are hosting inauguration celebrations and ceremonies. One bit of POTUS trivia: this inauguration will be the fourth time President Obama has been sworn in as President of the United States, matching Franklin D. Roosevelt's record. Though Roosevelt was elected four times and Obama only twice, President Obama had to be sworn in twice at the beginning of his first term of office in 2009; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed a line in the oath. In that year, one day after the official inauguration, President Obama was sworn in again with the properly-worded oath. Inaugural 2013 is a free download from the App Store.
Obama signs executive orders to curtail, research gun violence [Update: ESA responds]
President Barack Obama signed 23 executive actions today with the goal of suppressing gun violence and researching the effects of violent media on young minds. The actions supplement a proposed $500 million program to curtail gun violence, including implementing a universal background check for gun buyers, restoring a ban on military-style assault weapons and limiting magazines to 10 rounds, and developing emergency preparedness plans.Obama mentioned video games once during the conference, asking Congress to provide $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and other scientific agencies to research the causes of gun violence."While year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it," Obama said. "And Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds. We don't benefit from ignorance. We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence."Obama's recommendations come after Vice President Joe Biden led a task force to investigate various industries and angles of curtailing gun violence, following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut last month. He met with leaders in the video game industry, including EA's John Riccitiello, as part of his information-gathering tour."While there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try it," Obama said.A summary of Obama's recommendations include the following steps: strengthen the background check system to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, help schools to hire more resource officers if they want them, develop emergency preparedness plans, clarify options that mental health professionals have for reporting threats of violence (acknowledging that those with mental health issues are more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators), enacting a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun, restore a ban on military-style assault weapons and enact a 10-round limit on magazines, have Congress support severe punishments for criminal gun buyers and sellers, and placing more police officers on the streets.Obama ended the conference by signing the executive orders, emphasizing the responsibility of Congress to enact his recommendations.
Obama signs Safe Web Act into law, extends FTC power to combat online scam artists
See that guy? The one in the bubble? He's probably up to no good. Thanks to President Obama, however, he's going to have a much harder time duping innocent young ladies like the one also shown here. Per The Hill, the POTUS has just signed into law the Safe Web Act, which extends the Federal Trade Commission's authority to "clamp down on Internet fraud and online scammers based abroad." In simpler terms, it enables the entity to share data about "cross-border online fraud with foreign law enforcement authorities" through September of 2020. According to an unnamed official within the FTC, the existing edition of this act has allowed it to conduct over 100 investigations into cross-border fraud and scam, but it's unclear how much crime was stopped and how many people were needlessly annoyed. We kid, we kid.
The VP debate on Xbox Live: Who won the battle for our hearts
The vice presidential debate, featuring democrat and current VP Joe Biden and republican Paul Ryan, hit US airwaves on October 11, streaming online, airing on television and playing through Xbox Live for Gold subscribers. More than 800,000 individuals answered the polling questions posed by the Xbox Live team, with more than 30,000 responses to each one. Questions considered subjects such as religion's role in government, who is better prepared to be vice president, how truthful Biden and Paul appeared, and of course, who won the debate.For religion, 70.1 percent of Xbox Live Gold respondents do not consider a candidate's religion when voting, Major Nelson reports. Biden is viewed as better prepared to step in as VP, grabbing the nod from 53.7 percent of undecided voters, compared with Ryan's 21 percent. Swing voters also found Biden more truthful, with 72.2 percent of the vote. Biden "won" the debate, according to undecided Gold members, with 44.1 percent, compared with Ryan's 22.9 percent.Xbox Live has two new Election 2012 partnerships in the works, with BBC and Comedy Central, bringing clips from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, because those comedy shows are where we all get our news from anyway. The next Xbox Live Election 2012 event is the presidential town hall debate on Tuesday, October 16.Now let's all cool off with a little songified VP debate.
AT&T launches VoteHub, brings the presidential election to your pocket
Need yet another constant stream of election information? AT&T's joined up with the Pew Center to bring election coverage to your pocket, courtesy of VoteHub. The new app is a "nonpartisan clearinghouse for essential voter information," including candidate info, AP press coverage, election results and the requisite social sharing through sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The app's available now for Android, with an iOS version coming in the near future.
Presidential flamewars, er, debates start tonight at 9PM ET on YouTube
Web video sites and civilized discourse have never been particularly compatible concepts, but that's not stopping YouTube from giving it a shot. Roughly a month ahead of the next US presidential election, YouTube be the host to the first of three presidential debates. You can tune into the first tonight at 9PM ET via the site's Elections Hub, courtesy of the folks at ABC news. Further debates can be streamed on the site on the 11th and 22nd at the same time, with then Vice Presidents getting their moment in the web video spotlight on the 11th. Click on the source link to tune in, but stay away from the comments if you're interested in retaining any faith in the political process, and or humankind.
Obama, Romney get chiptuned in battle for presidential seat
The battle for the White House is an epic, intense drama to rival those of legend and myth, so of course it makes a great chiptune video game. The Gregory Brothers, creators of Autotune the News and all those viral videos about burgers and bed intruders, songified Barack Obama and Mitt Romney from the Democratic and Republican national conventions (respectively, in case you get those two mixed up).The video is titled "Patriot Game" and presents the presidential candidates side-by-side, comparing their talking points as if they were literal points in an 8-bit video game, set to an upbeat tune. Watch the piggy banks, (bleeding) hearts and American flags stack up over at The New York Times, and see who wins to be the fictional, autotuned President of Earths and Moon. It might surprise you.
President Obama's doing an AMA on Reddit today, invites the people to pose their digital questions
His competition from the GOP, Mitt Romney, already answered the people's questions on Yahoo! Answers, and now the Commander in Chief has decided to take on any and all internet queries too. The virtual Q&A with Obama is set to start at 4:30 ET today via an ask me anything session on Reddit, so head on over to the source link and see if your President will see fit to answer your questions -- be they about health care, net neutrality or even the Cubs non-existent playoff chances.
US presidential campaign trail winds its way to Xbox Live on August 27th with Election 2012 Hub
Can't get enough coverage of the US presidential race even with YouTube in the mix? Microsoft's Election 2012 Hub for Xbox Live may be able to satisfy your inner political junkie. Redmond's initiative will provide video of town hall events at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, daily content from NBC and full coverage of results as ballots are cast and counted on November 6th. Throughout live streams of the debates, users will be able to rate the performances of public office hopefuls and see what marks other viewers give them in real-time. Information on voter registration, politicians and their take on issues will also be included. According to Microsoft, roughly 40 percent of Xbox-owning voters surveyed aren't concretely committed to a candidate running for the Oval Office, placing them in the highly-prized swing voter category. The service won't launch until the Grand Old Party's pow-wow kicks off on August 27th, but we hear there's plenty of relevant reading to keep you busy until then.
LucasArts President Paul Meegan leaves the company
LucasArts President Paul Meegan has decide to vacate his position at the House that Star Wars Built. COO Mich Chau says that the company wishes Meegan "the best in his future endeavors," and "will be re-evaluating LucasArts' leadership needs" in the future. This is the second big exit from LucasArts this summer: Creative Lead Clint Hocking also left the studio just recently. Meegan replaced Darrell Rodriguez, who, like Meegan, left the company after two years as president.Meegan's LinkedIn page now lists him as a "CEO/President, Entrepreneur," and a "Change Agent," apparently looking for a new company. Considering Meegan helped found Epic Games China and has overseen studios at Ubisoft and Jaleco in the past, we're sure he'll land on his feet.
Both US presidential candidates pushing iPhone apps
It's an election year, iOS devices are almost everywhere, and that's why both US Presidential candidates this year are already pushing iPhone apps. Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, has released an app called Mitt's VP -- he plans to announce his choice for Vice President from that app first, and there's other sharing and notification features coming in the app as well. President Barack Obama has made a lot of waves for using digital media in his campaigns, and so of course there's an official Obama for America app. That app also shares news and allows for social sharing about the Obama campaign, and allows users to sign up to volunteer at campaign events, or help get out the vote in other ways. Apple's platform consists of a huge audience of well-connected people, so it's no surprise that the presidential election is reflected in the App Store. As we get closer and closer to November's election here in America, it'll be interesting to see how the candidates use these apps to reach out to their voter base. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president
HTC has been fighting to get a better relationship with US carriers lately, and it may have just chosen a clever (if roundabout) approach: hire one of their executives. As of today, AT&T's former phone portfolio VP Mike Woodward is now HTC's president of its North American division, reporting directly to worldwide sales head Jason Mackenzie. The new position won't necessarily get him any privileged access, but it certainly gives HTC someone who's well versed in what carriers want out of a device launch. We'll have to wait awhile to see what Woodward's strategy will be; suffice it to say that the company wants more One X-level anticipation and fewer of those bumpy, Inspire 4G-like releases.
White House aims to make internet '90 percent cheaper' to build, teams up with Mozilla for $500k competition
The government's US Ignite partnership aims to push the growth of next-generation broadband networks, teaming up with over 100 start-ups, universities and existing tech companies like HP, Comcast and Verizon for the project. The President is set to sign an executive order today that aims to cut the cost of broadband construction across federal roadways and properties by up to 90 percent. The White House is also is looking to improve "next-generation applications and (the) digital experience," running on networks that are a heady 100 times faster than what's in use today. The National Science Foundation has thrown in $250 million to assist the partnership's creation of a national 1-gigabit network that would connect together academic and developer hubs. Mozilla has decided to team up with the foundation to offer up a $500,000 prize pot for developers looking to help create the "internet of the future". The challenge aims on education, healthcare, public safety and other (admittedly broad) topics, with the top ideas capable of grabbing $15,000 from the prize fund. And if Google reckons gigabit networks are the way to go, who's the White House to argue?
Obama tells government agencies to embrace mobile apps within a year
We already know the President has gone mobile -- and now he wants to take the rest of the government with him. President Obama has gone on the record ordering major federal agencies to jump on the mobile bandwagon, developing apps to increase public access to tax payer funded departments like education and healthcare. Said the President in a statement, "Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device." Obama has ordered the agencies to join the app revolution within the next 12 months.
Mike O'Brien: Guild Wars 2's beta weekend 'overwhelming'
Mike O'Brien said that the result of Guild Wars 2's initial public beta weekend was "overwhelming in more ways than one." ArenaNet's president took the time to write up a short blog post reflecting on the outcome of the past beta weekend and the reasoning behind this coming Monday's surprise stress test. According to O'Brien, while the feedback from the event was quite positive, the team had to struggle with unexpected demand for the game. Even after the management temporarily turned off the ability for players' ability to pre-purchase the title through ArenaNet, the game's 48 servers couldn't contain the influx of testers and beta tourists. It wasn't just a PR stunt, however. "This was definitely a real beta, designed to find problems, gather player input, and learn what work still needs to be done before we ship the game," O'Brien stated. The team is anticipating a bigger crowd with the next beta weekend, which is why it's running a seven-hour stress test on May 14th to test new changes.
