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Sunday, May 29, 2011

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Metaphor recognition software aims to distinguish friend from foe

Posted: 29 May 2011 10:12 AM PDT

While it's only right that people be protected from bad poetry, this could be taking things a tad too far. Intelligence officials at the Office of Incisive Analysis (no, really) have determined that metaphors could be of vital significance to national security. By, well, incisively analyzing the way people use metaphors in everyday conversations, they believe they can reveal "underlying beliefs and world views" -- such as negative feelings towards a particular country. Now they're calling on civilian scientists and academics to help them do this automatically using pattern recognition and supercomputers. Of course there's always the risk that smart terrorists will switch to using similes instead.

Android Market's most popular emulators disappear without a trace (update)

Posted: 29 May 2011 09:10 AM PDT

If you're an Android gamer, chances are you've heard of Nesoid, Snesoid, Gensoid, N64oid, Ataroid, Gearoid and Gameboid: they're all video game console emulators developed by yongzh, and many ranked among the most popular paid apps on the Android Market. This week, they've got something else in common, too -- they've all been abruptly removed. Following a complaint from Sega, two emulators were nixed late last month, but we're hearing that Google has since revoked yongzh's developer privileges, just like PSX4Droid comrade-in-arms ZodTTD. We're currently reaching out to both yongzh and Google for comment, and hope to hear back soon, but it's looking like a bleak week for the emulation community.

Update: We got in touch with yongzh (or Yong Zhang, as he's known in real life) to discuss the matter, and he confirms that his developer account has been removed and his apps pulled without warning -- cutting off his primary source of income and leaving him with an inbox stuffed with worried email from customers. He has, however, already migrated a number of emulators to third-party app store SlideME, where they'll be free for a while, allowing existing customers to get updates without paying a second time, and likely helping a number of new individuals to mooch off his troubles. He's not too optimistic about his prospects at SlideME, though.

RSA SecureID hackers may have accessed Lockheed Martin trade secrets, cafeteria menus (update: no data compromised)

Posted: 29 May 2011 08:04 AM PDT


RSA SecureID dongles add a layer of protection to everything from office pilates class schedules to corporate email accounts, with banks, tech companies, and even U.S. defense contractors using hardware security tokens to protect their networks. Following a breach at RSA in March, however, the company urged clients to boost other security methods, such as passwords and PIN codes, theoretically protecting networks from hackers that may have gained the ability to duplicate those critical SecureIDs. Now, Lockheed Martin is claiming that its network has come under attack, prompting RSA to issue 90,000 replacement tokens to Lockheed employees. The DoD contractor isn't detailing what data hackers may have accessed, but a SecureID bypass should clearly be taken very seriously, especially when that little keychain dongle is helping to protect our national security. If last month's Sony breach didn't already convince you to beef up your own computer security, now might be a good time to swap in 'Pa55werD1' for the rather pathetic 'password' you've been using to protect your own company's trade secrets for the last decade.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: According to Reuters, Lockheed Martin sent out a statement to clarify that it promptly took action to thwart the attack one week ago, and consequently "no customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised." Phew! [Thanks, JD]

ASUS PadFone shown off in proper brightness ahead of launch? (Update: new mockup)

Posted: 29 May 2011 05:12 AM PDT

We've already seen a glimpse of ASUS' "pad or phone" duo -- likely to be named PadFone -- hanging out in their latest teaser pic, and now thanks to the folks over at Notebook Italia, we can finally gaze at their much brighter, non-silhouette form. Despite the awkward cropping, the leaked product shot above echoes the same shape and set of Android soft keys as seen previously. Upon closer inspection, though, we believe that the newly-shown silver bar is just the phone's volume rocker, rather than a potential docking port. So how do the two physically bond together, if at all? Until tomorrow's launch event, your guess is just as good as ours.

Update: So here's our theory: the slide button ASUS teased in round one is probably for unlatching a cover on the back, which in turn houses the phone in a landscape docking bay underneath. We're basing this on the oddly positioned dent that could very well be an opening for the phone's camera, so the cover would either pop out on a hinge or be entirely removable. See our own rough mockup after the break.

Treebot climbs trees, is a robot (video)

Posted: 29 May 2011 05:08 AM PDT

Remember when you didn't consider climbing trees a chore? Treebot doesn't -- but then, it wasn't programmed to know boredom. The robot was designed by a team at The Chinese University of Hong Kong for the express purpose of shimmying up trees autonomously, figuring out the best route up a trunk using built-in touch sensors. The 'bot's body is designed like an inchworm, expanding and contracting as it works it way up -- unlike other climbers we've seen. Treebot can carry up to 3.7 pounds as it inches along, opening up the possibility of using the machine to prune hard to reach leaves. It can also shuffle up a variety of different plants, including bamboo stems, as evidenced by the sped-up video after the break. Unwieldy foliage, you've been put on notice.

Droid Bionic benchmark reports PowerVR GPU, new SOC inside?

Posted: 29 May 2011 02:05 AM PDT

Droid Bionic Benchmark
A very strange thing popped up on mobile graphic benchmarking site NenaMark the other day -- an entry for the Droid Bionic. Now, it would be very easy to fake this test, and you'd be right to be skeptical given the incomplete score and the fact that it's reporting PowerVR's SGX 540 GPU, instead of the Tegra 2 we saw at CES. But, let's not be too hasty -- we heard back in April that NVIDIA's mobile chip wasn't playing nice with Verizon's LTE. Perhaps when Motorola said it was delaying the Bionic to incorporate "several enhancements" it really meant "rebuilding the phone with a more LTE friendly CPU." Both Samsung and Texas Instruments use the SGX 540, and Moto has previously turned to TI's OMAP for the Droid, Droid 2, and Droid X. Then again, a single, suspiciously low benchmark score isn't the most convincing basis for a rumor.

D-Wave sells first commercial quantum computer to Lockheed Martin

Posted: 28 May 2011 11:02 PM PDT

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/18/d-wave-one-claims-mantle-of-first-commercial-quantum-computer/
Who found ten million dollars to drop on the first commercially available quantum computer? Lockheed Martin, it seems, as the aerospace defense contractor has just begun a "multi-year contract" with the quantum annealing experts at D-Wave to develop... nothing that they're ready or willing to publicly discuss at this time. This "strategic relationship" marks the second major vote of confidence in D-Wave's technology, after Google built image detection algorithms for the company's processors a couple years back. Or, perhaps Lockheed Martin just wants a new shiny black toy for the Skunk Works labs. PR after the break.
Show full PR text
D-Wave Systems sells its first Quantum Computing System to Lockheed Martin Corporation

May 25th, 2011

VANCOUVER, BC, MAY 25, 2011 - Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) has entered into an agreement to purchase a quantum computing system from D-Wave Systems Inc.

Lockheed Martin and D-Wave will collaborate to realize the benefits of a computing platform based upon a quantum annealing processor, as applied to some of Lockheed Martin's most challenging computation problems. The multi-year contract includes a system, maintenance and associated professional services.

D-Wave develops computing systems that leverage the physics of quantum mechanics in order to address problems that are hard for traditional methods to solve in a cost-effective amount of time. Examples of such problems include software verification and validation, financial risk analysis, affinity mapping and sentiment analysis, object recognition in images, medical imaging classification, compressed sensing and bioinformatics. D-Wave develops an architecture that is optimized for working with such problems.

"D-Wave is thrilled to establish a strategic relationship with Lockheed Martin Corporation," said Vern Brownell, D-Wave's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our combined strength will provide capacity for innovation needed to tackle important unresolved computational problems of today and tomorrow. Our relationship will allow us to significantly advance the potential of quantum computing."

D-Wave was featured May 11, 2011 in the prestigious British scientific journal Nature, where its research on quantum annealing was published.

Lockheed Martin is a global security company with headquarters in Bethesda, Md.

D-Wave's mission is to build quantum computing systems that help solve humanity's most challenging problems. It strives to use the deepest insights of physics and computer science to design new types of computers capable of taking on the world's hardest and most important challenges.

Working with Fortune 500 companies, governments and academia, D-Wave helps to craft solutions to problems where data volume and complexity are overwhelming. Applying D-Wave's unique quantum computing technology, the company aims to dramatically improve results through better understanding and insights.

How would you change HTC's Thunderbolt?

Posted: 28 May 2011 08:01 PM PDT

We know we're opening a can of worms that can never be resealed here, but it's true: we're desperate to know how you'd change HTC's Thunderbolt if given the chance. Verizon's LTE wunderchild has had all sorts of issues from the beginning, some of which are still ongoing. Tough battery life, random reboots, you name it. That said, it's still an imposing, beautiful device, and if those quirks ever get ironed out, it's easily one of the best 4G phones on the market. You know the deal -- toss your suggestions for reworking the Thunderbolt down in comments below, particularly if you're one of those early adopter types who've been saddled with said bugs from the start.

Reserve Power: Stand Off, Part 1

Posted: 28 May 2011 07:00 PM PDT

Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products.

With handset screens getting larger and applications such as streaming primetime shows and video chat becoming more prevalent, it's not surprising that some handsets such as the HTC Evo 4G include a built-in kickstand. Most phones, though, suffer from LifeCall commercial syndrome –- when they've fallen, they can't get up. To offer some assistance, a whole cottage industry of pocketable products – many with inventive designs -- have appeared to let you enjoy your handset's screen without your hands in the way. But how universal are they?

I tested a variety of popular and unusually-shaped handsets -- including the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, Droid 2, Droid X, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Torch, Palm Pre, HP Veer, Samsung Captivate and the monstrous Samsung Infuse -- finding, for example, that some phones fit in some stands only when their physical keyboards were extended. Surprised at how well a few of the stands held up, I even tried them with a few tablets, including the BlackBerry PlayBook, Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom. This column will introduce the first six devices after the break, while the next Reserve Power will discuss several more, conclude with my favorites, and link to a spreadsheet detailing which devices and stands paired appropriately with one another.


3Feet ($15)
http://3feet.com

The beefiest folding stand I tested, the sturdy 3feet can handle nearly any pocketable device you throw at it without breaking a sweat. It can also fit in a pants pocket, although it will take up much of the space therein. The 3feet has two adjustable angles using its main support, and a third leg that allows the device to be raised at a steep incline, say, to be seen from a standing position. It is also one of the few stands of its kind marketed for handsets that can accommodate the iPad and Xoom in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The 3feet can also accommodate the iPad at a shallow typing angle, using its third foldout leg and its bottom lip to prevent the iPad from tipping over, but there was a little too much give; I even preferred using Apple's folio case in the "typing" position over the 3feet for that use case. The 3feet is available in a wide range of colors and you can even mix and match colored parts to, say, show support for your alma mater or favorite sports team.


Agent 18 StandHear ($25)
http://www.agent18.com/productdetail/extras/standhear/157.aspx

The square white-and-gray StandHear is only a so-so stand. For example, while it was able to handle a top-heavy Droid X in portrait orientation, it was a bit touch-and-go due to the device's relatively narrow support leg. However, recessed under the device's lid is a 3.5mm audio cable and on either side is a 3.5mm audio jack. Yes, the StandHear doubles as an audio output splitter so you and a friend don't need to settle for half of the stereo effect in a shared song or video.

Note, though, that due to the very short length of the cable, many handsets will only work with the audio splitter when held in a landscape orientation. This probably isn't a major issue for most consumers, but as video chat-capable handsets proliferate, we may see instances where people would like to share the audio of a remote person while crowding in front of the screen. (The relatively short Pre and BlackBerry Curve with its side-mounted audio jack were exceptions to the landscape orientation dilemma, but neither supports video chat.)


Breffo SpiderPodium (₤15, $20 at Amazon.com)
http://breffo.com/

The Spiderpodium takes the GorillaPod idea of wraparound stabilization and cranks it up from three legs to eight. This provides extraordinary flexibility in how its rubbery appendages cradle virtually any handset on the market. The remainders are used to stabilize the device or wrap it to any number of surfaces, including chair backs or car air conditioning vents. The product's center platform also has a slot to accommodate an Apple 30-pin connector. Tripod screws can even fit through the slot to stabilize compact point-and-shoot digital cameras.

As was once said to another spider-inspired entity, "With great power comes great responsibility." The Spiderpodium's grip on a device or whatever you're looking to affix it to is only as secure as you've bent it to be. The gangly Spiderpodium may not be the prettiest, smallest or quickest handset stand, but it offers the best flexibility in more ways than one. The company also offers a larger version for tablets priced at ₤25. Bravo, Breffo.


elago M1 ($10) and S2 ($10)
http://elagodesign.com/

Design-conscious accessory maker elago has two phone stands. The more versatile one is the hinged M1. Perhaps the smallest such product on the market, the M1 is one of the few one could feasibly attach to a keychain. It opens like a tiny crocodile mouth to reveal two wavy notches for positioning your portable device at one of two angles.

Unlike the M1, the S2 is made from a single piece of metal and provides only one viewing angle. It delivers style, stiffness and simplicity. While the company doesn't advertise it as such, it can also be used as an earbud wrap, although this works better if the buds have equal cable length for each ear as the Apple earbuds do. Still, the S2 doesn't offer a lot of confidence-inspiring support, especially when devices are in vertical orientation.

Griffin Travel Stand ($10)
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/travel-stand

Wth its moonstone-like shape, the Griffin Travel Stand unfolds to reveal a small dock-like cup that should hold most thin, narrow slate phones. A tall back provides good support in portrait orientation but overall the product provides minimal support for devices in landscape orientation, considering its size. Griffin also includes a small earbud wrap that can fit inside the stand when it's not being used for phone display. On one hand, it's a nice little extra freebie you can use without taking the rest of the case along. On the other hand, since it's separate, it could get lost. Overall, the relatively large size of the Travel Stand and limited device support make it less compelling than its competitors.

iAngle holds your earbuds and your iPhone... at an angle
iAngle ($10)
http://www.iangle.net/

The simple iAngle is a piece of traingular hard rubber with a number of notches and gouges taken out of ether side of its surface, the largest of which create the space to support an iPhone. There is also a canal that runs along its perimeter that, along with two prominent holds in its midde, are designed to support Apple's standard earbuds. The compact iAngle has no moving parts to break, and scores points for doubling as an earphone wrap, but the lack of flexibility of its indentation made it capable of supporting fewer devices than competitors -- particularly in portrait orientation.

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) is executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Reserve Power are his own.

Visualized: Samsung wants to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 3

Posted: 28 May 2011 05:55 PM PDT

Samsung lawyers recently asked the court to make Apple show them the as-yet-unannounced iPhone 5 and iPad 3, claiming that they need to know what Apple's products will look like ahead of time to avoid future lawsuits and uncanny similarities.

If only it were this easy.

AMD ships five million Fusion chips, says it's sold out

Posted: 28 May 2011 05:21 PM PDT

Sounds like Notbooks are making a dent: AMD says it's shipped five million Fusion processors since the architecture's debut, according to a report at CNET. In January, the company said the hybrid CPU / GPU chips had momentum, and as of last month it was quoting 3.9 million APUs out in the wild, but this week AMD says that demand has overtaken supply and it's completely sold out of the Atom alternative. Sounds like Intel's more than justified in seeking out hybrid solutions of its own, no matter where it might have to look to get a leg up in the integrated graphics market. Here's hoping AMD's other Fusion chips show just as much pep per penny (and milliampere-hour) as the original processor.

Apple testing A5-packing MacBook Air?

Posted: 28 May 2011 04:14 PM PDT

We've seen it put its processing power behind the iPad 2 and heard rumors of its presence in the upcoming fifth-gen iPhone, but could Apple really be considering putting its mobile-minded A5 processor in a MacBook Air? According to Japanese website, Macotakara, a trial of the ARM chip is already underway. Apple's reportedly been experimenting with a Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air with the A5 on board, and "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought." Two weeks ago, we reported on rumors that the upcoming MacBook Air refresh could be on its way as early as next month, featuring Intel's Sandy Bridge 17W mobile processors -- a claim we'd say could hold water. Of course, this information has trickled a ways down the grapevine, and the presence of an A5-packing test vehicle doesn't mean much anyway, but you can consider our interest piqued, regardless.

Google pinpoints shutdown dates for Wave, Translate APIs (amongst others)

Posted: 28 May 2011 02:25 PM PDT

'Tis a sad day in the world of Google... at least for developers who use any of a handful of ill-fated APIs. As the search giant's API list has grown in recent months, it's making the decision to cull a few in the effort of "spring cleaning." In fact, a grand total of seven new APIs were launched during Google I/O alone, but it looks as if the end is nigh for the Blog Search API, Books Data API, Image Search API, News Search API, Patent Search API, Safe Browsing API (v1 only), Translate API, Transliterate API, Video Search API and Virtual Keyboard API. Of those, Wave is most unsurprising, but Translate likely hurts the most -- particularly for jetsetters who relied on those baked-in services to wrap their heads around various tongues. According to Goog, the Translate API has been officially deprecated "due to the substantial economic burden caused by extensive abuse." A pretty ominous phrase, to be sure, and further proof that a few rotten apples can ruin things for the whole of us. Hit the links below to get a glimpse of the full damage -- we're warning you, it ain't pretty.

1923 Leica 0-series becomes world's most expensive camera, fetches $1.89 million at auction

Posted: 28 May 2011 01:37 PM PDT

Just when we thought ancient wooden boxes were all the rage among camera collectors, a compact beauty has shattered our theories -- this 1923 Leica 0-series just sold at auction for €1,320,000, or about 1.89 million in US money. Curiously enough, the exact same auction house reportedly sold the exact same camera four years ago: No. 107, the first Leica to be exported, allegedly for a patent application inspection in New York. In 2007, it fetched a relatively paltry €336,000, which was apparently still a world record for Leica cameras at the time. Quite the return on that investment, no? Find more pictures and details at the links below.

Gigabyte bolts an SSD to a motherboard (so you don't have to)

Posted: 28 May 2011 12:35 PM PDT

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3-iSSD
Gigabyte has decided to simplify matters for those who want the power of an SSD in their desktop, but don't want to deal with the hassle of buying and connecting one. The company's new Z68XP-UD3-iSSD (catchy, no?) motherboard comes with a 20GB Intel SSD 311 mounted right on it. It's not clear if you can simply dump files on it like a normal drive -- what it can do, however, is use Intel's Smart Response tech to cache frequently accessed data, like your OS, to improve performance. Essentially, it turns any hard disk you connect to the system into a hybrid drive with a much larger reserve of flash storage, which should sound somewhat familiar. The board also features the ability to switch between discrete and built-in graphics thanks to Lucid Logix's Virtu. The rest of the features are pretty standard fare: USB 3.0, a pair of 16x PCI-E slots, and 6GB SATA connections. The latest Z68 board from Gigabyte will go on sale early in June and, while we don't have a price, we've done a little (PR) embedding of our own after the break.
Show full PR text
GIGABYTE Offers Bundle on Z68XP-UD3-iSSD Motherboard featuring 20GB Intel® SSD 311 Series
SSD Bundle Enables Users to Effortlessly Take Advantage of Intel® Smart Response Technology for an Instant System Performance Boost
2011/05/27

Taipei, Taiwan, May 27, 2011 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and computing hardware solutions today announced the new GIGABYTE Z68XP-UD3-iSSD motherboard based on the Intel® Z68 Express chipset and pre-bundled with the 20GB Intel® Solid-State Drive 311 Series. The included mSATA-based single level cell (SLC) solid-state drive (SSD), allows users to take advantage of the performance benefits of Intel® Smart Response Technology straight out of the box. The package is expected to be available to end-users in early June from selected online retailers internationally.

"We are thrilled to deliver the world's first motherboard to come pre-bundled with an IntelSSD 311," commented Richard Chen, VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at GIGABYTE. "Our customers realize the performance benefits that Intel Smart Response Technology has to offer, and the Z68XP-UD3-iSSD is the easiest way for them to instantly take advantage of the performance boost."

"By offering the Intel SSD 311 Series, optimized for Intel Smart Response Technology, with GIGABYTE's Z68XP-UD3-iSSD MOTHERBOARD, we can bring the benefits of increased system responsiveness to more users," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "A bundle such as this offers users an easy, plug-and-play entry into the quicker response environment of caching with an SSD."

Intel® Smart Response Technology
GIGABYTE Z68 series motherboards are equipped with the much anticipated Intel® Smart Response Technology, allowing users to experience system performance similar to SSD-only systems. Intel® Smart Response technology works by using intelligent block-based caching of frequently used applications to improve system performance and responsiveness. In fact, GIGABYTE Z68 motherboards with Intel® Smart Response Technology are able to outperform hybrid drive systems by more than 4X (PC Mark Vantage HDD test score) and deliver a 60% performance improvement over HDD-only systems in PC Mark Vantage Suite.

GIGABYTE mSATA Ready Motherboards (Total of 5 models)
GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD (bundled with Intel® Solid-State Drive 311 Series)
GA-Z68XP-UD3 GA-Z68XP-D3 GA-Z68AP-D3 GA-Z68P-DS3

GIGABYTE will display the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD package at Computex 2011. To find out more about the GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD, please visit: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3896
at 11:47 AM

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