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Treehouse Labs tracks objects with your iPhone via BiKN
Treehouse Labs was one of a few companies at CES hosted inside the booth of a semiconductor company, because Treehouse is using that company's chips for its own products. Treehouse's main product on display was something called "BiKN" (pronounced "beacon"), which uses relatively tiny RFID tags and near-field communications to track various objects using almost any iOS device. Because the iPhone doesn't have an RFID/NFC reader built in (yet -- someday most mobile devices may include one), you'll need an extra iPhone case that slips around the iPhone and connects to the dock connector. The other side of the system is what's called a "tag," which can be attached to your keys, a child, a pet, or anything else you want to keep track of in local space (within a few hundred feet or so). Put the tag on something, load up a tracking app on the iPhone, and you'll be able to see where the item is or ping one item with a bit of playable audio. Treehouse will be selling the case for around US$99 sometime next month, and a set of two tags can be purchased for $49. The standard BiKN kit is pretty basic and simply helps you detect and follow tagged items on the iPhone. Treehouse is looking to license the system to other companies, which means you may see BiKN technology pop up embedded in other gadgets -- possibly the iPhone itself. One of the demos at CES showed a plant that had a tag monitoring its own water level; a separate "gateway" enabled the plant to get more water when the tag said the water level was low. This kind of monitor circuit could be embedded in a device and the iPhone through an app, which means you could set up a pretty simple system of home automation. You could even do things like have multiple tags beep when they go out of range. The possibilities are fascinating, and Treehouse is working on getting this kind of technology out to anyone who is interested in using or selling it. Our iPhones and iPads are quickly becoming the center of our connected worlds, even at home; Treehouse's system is one of many ways to connect even more items to that network, making it more useful for all of us.
How the iPad is succeeding in healthcare
Wired has posted a profile of one Afshad Mistri, an Apple employee whose goal is quite focused. As the medical market manager, he's tasked with connecting medical professionals and Apple's technology. Mistri couldn't chat with Wired for the article itself (Apple's less-than-press-friendly reputation is upheld), but according to medical personnel he's working with, Apple is pushing hard on the healthcare industry by setting up iPads and other brand new tech in medical workplaces. That's interesting, as Apple traditionally hasn't aggressively pursued the enterprise, leaving most offices to companies like Microsoft and RIM. But the medical market is different. In addition to Mistri's behind-the-scenes work and stories about organizations using the iPad, Apple has featured medical apps during several public presentations. It's not a big surprise, since the medical industry is tech-friendly (which is right where Apple wants to be) and has deep pockets to fund upgrades. But it is interesting that Apple has chosen to actively pursue medicine. We can probably expect to see more universities and hospitals embracing the iPad and Apple's devices moving forward. [via gigaom]
DARPA to develop biometric sensor capable of seeing through walls, pulling your heartstrings
The feds may soon know the way to your heart. Literally. Earlier this month, the forward-thinkers over at DARPA announced plans to develop new technologies capable of identifying human life through walls. The program, known as "Biometrics-at-a-distance," would essentially combine two pre-existing Pentagon projects: the Radar Scope, a device that can see through walls, and 2009's LifeReader, a system that uses Doppler radar to detect heartbeats. Though the military already employs a handful of devices to help soldiers see humans from behind walls, DARPA apparently thinks there's room for improvement. Most contemporary technologies, for example, only work from a maximum distance of eight meters, and aren't as accurate within more densely populated areas. DARPA wants its next project to extend this range beyond ten meters, while sharpening its ability to penetrate thicker obstructions. The agency also wants its sensor to identify individual humans using electrocardiography, which traces the heart's electrical activity. According to DARPA, this could allow users to pinpoint up to ten people at the same time, which could pay dividends during disaster rescue efforts, military operations, or your next Eyes Wide Shut party.
Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 tech compared by Digital Foundry
Denizens of the internet have pitted Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 against each other in all manner of arenas -- story, multiplayer, level design, slow-motion door breaching sequences -- but what about WHO HAS THE BEST INTERFACE LATENCY? Digital Foundry tackles one of gaming's fiercest rivalries in a way that's more educational than incendiary, focusing on the ways in which the technology powering each franchise has evolved over the years. With sophisticated lighting techniques and more granular destruction, DICE's Frostbite 2 engine seems primed to embrace a next generation of systems, while Infinity Ward's slick performer maintains its seductive framerate on consoles and lightning-fast controls. It's presented as another round between two shooter giants, but the commentary on the underlying technology, which is demonstrably different despite similar scenarios and subject matter, is a good reminder of how much time, research and investment is poured into EA and Activision's flagship products -- beyond the boisterous marketing.
MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook
I mentioned this new gaming toy of mine last week, and it finally arrived. I immediately loved how it felt and weighed. Sure, there are lighter netbooks, but many of them feel more fragile. This Inspiron Duo has a rubberized edging to it, and the flip-screen feels snappy but firm. I was happy right away. It's a higher-quality netbook with a decent-quality tablet included. After I tweaked it and purged it of bloatware, I had to get some games going on it, and not just casual Facebook games but real MMOs. I spent a few days going through my list of titles to see which ones would work on the netbook and how many will work well with the touchscreen. I wanted games that would give a normal netbook fits but not lag excessively. Note that my netbook's screen is 1366x768, while the cheapest ones out there are normally 1024x600. Adjustments might need to be made there. I came up only with 10 games for now, but expect more in the future. Click past the cut to see the list!
Breakfast Topic: Is Azeroth's technology too advanced?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. The party agrees to meet just outside the dragon's lair at sunset for a surprise attack. First to arrive is the Night Elf Allara; the huntress silently tests her bowstring, as the nightsaber at her feet opens its mouth for a huge yawn. Next is Grizz, the mighty Dwarf; he adjusts his plate armor carefully, tightening the straps. Then Doria, a Worgen rogue; she slips in amidst the pair unnoticed and greets them with a huff from her canine nostrils. Fourth is Elden, an aged Human priest; he moves with serene grace, his simple robes making a gentle hiss in the cool evening air. And lastly ... "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" roars Nitpik the Gnome as he gallops in atop a clanking Mechanostrider. His mace -- a rotating gear -- creaks loudly as he hops to the ground, landing with a crunch in his jet boots. The tiny technophile adjusts his goggles and pats the mechanical chicken at his side. "What'd I miss?" Azeroth has a lot of advanced machinery. From the Gnomish Death Ray to the Goblin Rocket Launcher, from biplanes to zeppelins, from logging robots to entire mechanized defense systems, the World of Warcraft is an odd blend of fantasy and science fiction. In Cataclysm, the emphasis shifted away from robots and ancient machines -- the elemental planes have a distinctly organic feel, and the other zones are all rooted in the natural world -- yet we also saw the addition of playable Goblins, a race that's arguably brought more new technology to the landscape than almost any other. Do these technologies belong in a swords-and-sorcery fantasy setting? Do you think there should be a cap on how advanced technology can get in such a world, or should it be allowed to run wild? Does seeing a sword-wielding Orc alongside a Goblin with a shotgun ever strike you as odd, or do you find it perfectly acceptable?
Students and iPads: ACU study shows positive results
The first time I mentioned Abilene Christian University, it was because it was handing out iPhones to students. The next time was a year later when I followed up with an interview about the school's methods and research findings. Its approach to incorporating technology into education was both unobtrusive and highly effective, and it almost made me want to go back to school again. This year, as Mike Rose mentioned a little while ago, the studies go on and the results continue to impress. Now that the iPad is available, students are being equipped with a rich set of tools that can be used for learning; they can also be used to spend time on social networks, blogging, chatting with friends... all with ACU's blessing. There are no mandates that either teachers or students have to use the iPads. The fact that the iPad is as much a social tool as anything else is something that ACU has embraced, modifying many of its curriculums to work more effectively with the new technology. Among the students, the approval rating for the program is in the upper 90%, with the highest numbers coming from the youngest classes (100% for the class of 2015). Test scores have been shown to improve markedly (+25%) when notes are taken and texts annotated using the iPad. The numbers are all great, but that's not what really catches my attention about this story. What's most interesting to me is how the professors at ACU have voluntarily adapted their teaching styles to work with new technologies. The administration has provided all of the tools for a highly social, highly connected environment, and teachers and students alike have taken impressive advantage of the opportunities. The curriculum, as well, has been shifting to include rich media creation as part of everyday learning. Obviously, the iPad isn't making the difference alone. It's a conduit, a tool for taking advantage of the Internet, a network of friends and a new way of looking at education. Well, not new, really. Thoreau's classroom is in full effect here. In many classes students are interactively building the syllabus, creating the questions and finding the answers. The professors are taking on a new role as "coaches," focusing more on helping students learn to solve problems and answer questions than on rote learning and testing. Some professors have stopped traditional lecturing entirely, and have seen improved comprehension and test results across the board. In one class at ACU, students spend their class-time in the surrounding communities, armed with iPads, doing service work and solving real-world problems. They are asked to blog their experiences as they happen. Images, thoughts, discoveries and more are all captured in blog form, and the blog ultimately becomes the test. As an Apple fan, I'm thrilled that the iPad--and the iPhone before it--were chosen to be the center of this program. The technology (including a media creation studio donated by AT&T) shines brightly in this scenario. Without the active support of students, their teachers and the administration, though, the technology would just be a hindrance while the status quo was maintained. It's inspiring to see education taking what is, in my opinion, a very positive leap forward at ACU.
EVE Evolved: Time dilation and the war on lag
When EVE Online launched back in 2003, it quickly gained a following of over 40,000 subscribing players. With around 5,000 solar systems for players to explore, those players spread themselves throughout the galaxy rather than gathering in one place. Players would often come together to trade or make war, but the server generally kept up with the action. As the number of subscribers rose, the size of the average PvP fleet increased and CCP upgraded the EVE server to handle the additional load. 2005 saw EVE's subscriber numbers explode from just over 50,000 to around 100,000 players. Server upgrades suddenly didn't cut it any more, and lag began to set in during large fleet battles. Ever since then, CCP has waged a largely unseen war against the impossibility of keeping all of EVE's players in one single-shard universe. Holding on to that core ideal that's made EVE the successful sandbox game it is today, developers have pursued every avenue in the fight against lag. While funding research into Python's Stackless IO and constantly optimising code, CCP built the biggest supercomputer in the games industry to house New Eden's growing population. With over 400,000 players now inhabiting the same world and a typically weekly peak concurrency of over 50,000 characters, CCP has been forced to develop some big guns in the war on lag. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the biggest developments CCP has made in the war on lag, including the new Time Dilation feature that literally slows down time to let the server catch its breath.
IBM's THINK Exhibit invades NYC, aims to inspire (video)
Leaving the confines of a Manhattan apartment, Lincoln Center has the uncanny ability to make one feel dwarfed. Home to the performing arts and haunt to New York City's glitterati, the landmark received the IBM makeover as part of the company's THINK exhibit -- an interactive installation designed to weave the story of technology as it applies to the fabric of life, achievement and change. The first thing that catches the eye is IBM's sparkling 123-foot long, 12-foot high LCD wall lining a tunnel leading into the bowels of the NYC landmark. The "living" wall thrives off the surrounding environment, visualizing traffic patterns and analyzing corresponding air quality from nearby Broadway. It also shows the solar potential of every rooftop in the city, financial transactions and the amount of water leaking from the main aqueduct. As the event's producer Lee Green simply put it, the idea behind the set up is to "delegate understanding" to "intrigue and inspire" even the least technologically-inclined. %Gallery-135243%
'Bring your own device' programs give Apple a boost in the enterprise
Programs that offer corporate some latitude and personal discretion in their technology choices are growing, said the NYT on Friday, and while the relaxing of IT standards mandates means there are plenty of market losers (HP, Dell, Lenovo, RIM and other enterprise-centric vendors), there's one big winner: Apple. At companies like Kraft Foods, rather than providing some employees with a standard laptop configuration, a stipend is offered to let staffers simply go out and get what they want. This shift toward a 'bring your own device' policy, also in place at companies like Netflix and Citrix, provides a substantial advantage for those technology companies that know how to market to consumers instead of corporations. A Forrester Research study cited in the article also shows how IT's ability to lock down the ecosystem has been challenged by smartphone preference, with 48 percent of the surveyed information workers buying their phones with no regard for corporate standard-setting. Forrester's Ted Schadler sees this shift in the balance of device-approval power being driven by change at the top: "What broke the camel's back was the iPad, because executives brought it into the company and said 'Hey, you've got to support this.'" The full measure of the Mac's benefit from these moves toward IT openness may be hard to quantify, but in the case of Citrix, it's there in black and white: 46 percent of the nearly 1,000 participating BYOD employees chose to buy a Mac. Citrix's CIO, Paul Martine, delivers the understated quote of the day: "That was a little bit of a surprise." If you're an enterprise employee or an IT leader, please share your Apple integration experience or your BYOD stories in our comments or our feedback page.
Technology: Play Wii on an Android tablet with an Xbox 360 controller
Sure, it seems easy enough: Play your Wii games on an Android tablet with an Xbox 360 controller. Technology! But underneath that simple premise is a complicated reality. First, you need to run the Wii games on a PC using the open-source Dolphin emulator. From there, you're going to stream the video to the Android tablet using the Splashtop Remote Desktop HD app on Android. YouTuber Obiwan222222 tossed an Xbox 360 controller in, but it's unclear if he's controlling the tablet's VNC client with it, or the PC directly (we're guessing the latter). If this sounds similar to GameStop's planned tablet, featuring Spawn Labs-powered retail game streaming, or OnLive's upcoming tablet "Player" software, we agree. Mostly, it seems like the future ... a laggy, buggy future but the future nevertheless. Technology!
Nerdy Day Trips guides traveling technophiles, could use your input
It's like DayZipping, tailored for nerds. Nerdy Day Trips has just taken the wraps off of itself, launching a "slightly in development" website that aims to give jetsetting technologists a guide for their upcoming excursions. Put simply, users can navigate around the world and find published day trips that involve shockingly geeky things -- you know, like a quick jaunt out to see Tokyo's monumental Gundam statue or The Robot Museum in Nagoya. As it stands, almost all of the recommendations are in the United Kingdom, but that's not to say it'll always be that way. The company's already planning to improve searching, develop a mobile app, integrate a social networking aspect and showcase places to stay near said trips, and you can help expand the database by tossing in trips that you've already accomplished. As for us? We'll have our endeavors to ESPN's 3D haunts, Westone's headquarters and Ferrari's Italian lairs in there shortly.
Teagueduino used to create analog shoebox video game
Most game developers are locked in a tiring, endless technological arms race -- but not Teague, a Seattle-based tech design firm. Using their proprietary Teagueduino software, the team created an analog video game in a shoebox. It's about as Lo-Fi as things get; and it's ridiculously charming.
Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission
Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond has been in the news a lot lately, but just who are the folks behind the educational MMO from NASA and Project Whitecard? A new piece at Gamasutra sheds a bit of light on that as well as a few more details about the project as a whole. "I'm originally a developer," says Project Whitecard CEO Khal Shariff. "I thought, 'oh, I could be a developer for the rest of my life, or I could start my own company.'" That company has some pretty lofty goals for its first MMO, including reaching out to millions of kids worldwide and getting them interested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). "We are dedicated to using game technology to do things that, when somebody interacts with the game, it maybe leaves the world better or leaves somebody smarter," Shariff says.
AP, Google offer $20,000 scholarships to aspiring tech journalists, we go back to school
Love technology? Love journalism? Well, the AP-Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship program might be right up your alley. The initiative, announced earlier this week, will offer $20,000 scholarships to six graduate or undergraduate students working toward a degree in any field that combines journalism, new media and computer science. Geared toward aspiring journalists pursuing projects that "further the ideals of digital journalism," the program also aims to encompass a broad swath of students from diverse ethnic, gender, and geographic backgrounds. Applications for the 2012-2013 school year are now open for students who are currently enrolled as college sophomores or higher, with at least one year of full-time coursework remaining. Hit up the source link below to apply, or head past the break for more information, in the full presser.
New interview with Undead Labs' Jeff Strain covers technology and fun
Console MMO fans, rejoice. We have a new interview with Undead Labs' Jeff Strain on the studio's upcoming Xbox 360 titles. The two titles, code-named Class3 and Class4, are an Xbox Live Arcade title (which will allow the studio to test their technology and give players a taste of what's to come) and an open-world MMORPG, respectively. Throughout the interview, Strain touches on a few important subjects, such as Class3 and how it is helping the team develop and prepare for Class4. He also mentions that the team's concern with Class4 is not with the fact that it's a server-hosted online world, but ensuring that said server-hosted online world is fun to play. Although it's a somewhat short interview, it's certainly worth the read for any zombie fan anticipating Undead Labs' upcoming titles.
Apple gains momentum in government, while BlackBerry stumbles
Federal agencies are undergoing an internal upheaval that threatens RIM's stranglehold on the government smartphone market. According to an article at the Washington Post, the Obama Administration is relaxing its rules on technology upgrades. Rather than old BlackBerry handsets, the modern government employee is rocking an iPhone and ditching his or her laptop for an iPad. More often than not, workers use current generation iOS devices at home and despise having to step back in time when they enter the workplace. Rather than put his foot down and force workers to accept devices cherry picked by the government, federal CIO Vivek Kundra has decided to let people use any device they want. In exchange for this freedom, employees must adhere to strict security policies and, in the future, use private government sanctioned app stores. This program is apparently working as iPad and iPhones are increasingly popular in the government sector. The ATF uses 50 iPads and may soon adopt 50 more. Both the State Department and Congress are slowly adopting iOS devices and using them on a daily basis. Even the VA is opening its doors to the iPad and iPhone as a way to attract new doctors. [Via Barron's]
Apple brand valued at $153 billion, scoots ahead of Google for first place
What is the world's most valuable consumer-facing brand? If you'd asked the guys behind the BrandZ survey at any point over the last four years, they'd have told you "Google," but in 2011 their answer has changed. Apple is now the hottest property in terms of consumer goodwill, earning an estimated valuation of $153.3 billion and leading a pack that includes the likes of Coca-Cola, BMW, HSBC, and Disney. The tech sector had a very strong year as a whole, with Facebook's brand improving in value by a staggering 246 percent (to $19.1b) and Amazon becoming the world's most valuable retailer (at $37.6b) in spite of having no actual stores. Sadly, there were some downers too, as Nintendo lost 37 percent of its brand worth over the past year, Nokia dropped by 28 percent, and the BlackBerry marque was considered 20 percent less awesome than before. Punch the source link to learn more. [Thanks, Bruce]
Amar Bose donates majority of Bose Corporation shares to MIT, says thanks for the education
If you haven't heard of Dr. Amar Bose directly, you've surely heard of his eponymous audio equipment company. Late last week, the 81-year old founder and chairman of Bose Corporation announced that he's donating the majority of shares in the privately held company to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A member of that college's graduating class of 1951 and its electrical engineering faculty all the way until 2001, Bose felt compelled to give something back and he's opted for the most grandiose of gestures. MIT won't be able to sell its shares in Bose Corp. nor have any say in the way it is run, but it'll receive dividends as and when they're paid out, which will then be reinvested in its research and education programs. In making this perpetual endowment public, Amar Bose took the time to credit Professors Y. W. Lee, Norbert Wiener and Jerome Wiesner as his mentors -- in the image above, you can see him pictured with Lee (left) and Wiener (right) back in 1955. Chalkboards, that's where it all began.
The iPad is taking away American jobs, Jesse Jackson Junior's sanity (video)
You know how ebooks are gradually taking over paper books as the most popular format for the consumption of the written word? Well, that's bad, mmkay? Publishers, librarians, and booksellers are losing their jobs and It's all entirely the iPad's fault. Forget the Kindle's millions of sales, the iPad did it. In a technophobic rant to rival all technophobic rants that have come before it, Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. accuses the iPad's popularity for the current level of unemployment in his nation, before proceeding to sculpt a rickety argument about how the First Amendment to the US Constitution is being exploited for the benefit of China. See his tirade on video after the break.
