iOS 7 camera to detect blinking, smiling

The updated camera that’s coming along with iOS 7, Apple’s next-generation mobile operating system, is expected to help the photographer capture better people photos. In addition to be completely redesigned from the ground up, the camera improvements will have facial expression detection — potentially taking a photo after someone blinks or smiles. 9to5 Mac broke the news on this little gem of a feature, reporting that the add-on was part of the iOS...

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11 improvements Apple brought to iOS 7 beta 2

iOS 7 beta 2 shows off new features of next-generation operating system Apple gave developers the second beta version of iOS 7, the company’s next-generation mobile operating system, filled with some expected and unexpected features. iOS 7 was formally introduced two weeks ago at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference. A finalized version for the public is expected to rollout in September, alongside a new iPhone. According to multiple reports,...

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Microsoft reorg confirmed: Xbox One OS now under Windows division

As rumored, Microsoft has confirmed that the company will be going through a reorg via a memo from Steve Ballmer. The memo details a massive restructuring of the company dividing everything into a number of divisions. As a result, it seems that the Xbox division will now be split across two departments. In Ballmer’s memo [via All Things D], he outlines the new divisions: Business Development and Evangelism, Marketing, Engineering, Advanced Strategy...

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Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus unveiled, 9 minute Killzone Shadow Fall gameplay video

Sony and Insomniac Games recently announced a new entry into the Ratchet & Clank series with Into the Nexus. This will be a proper Ratchet & Clank adventure experience, unlike the last two entries in the franchise. Insomniac tried their hand at co-op multiplayer with Full Frontal Assault and All 4 One. The studio is going back to the roots of the series with Into the Nexus with a story that acts as a epilogue to where things left off from...

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Apple’s new commercials fail to inspire

Apple was once the king of commercials, with its ads being head and shoulders above the competition. Unfortunately that’s no longer the case, with Apple’s new iPad ads failing to inspire. Other companies, including its sworn enemy Microsoft, are happily filling the void left by Apple’s disappearance into the advertising abyss. Apple recently unveiled several new ads for the iPad. The ones released so far have been titled Alive , Together, and Hollywood...

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The Petzval Portrait Lens Enters the Digital Age

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LG G2 Smartphone to Arrive in August

The upcoming LG G2 Smartphone will arrive in the United States as early as August, according to LG CFO David Jung.The FCC documents don’t provide a lot of details about the phone, but we know it’s got the model number LG-D801, and it’ll support HSPA and 4G LTE wireless networks.Speaking to Korea’s The Kyunghyang Shinmun (translate) recently, the executive spilled a few beans about the flagship smartphone. The device will reportedly launch in...

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Twitter Can Tell Whether Your Community Is Happy or Not

Maps Governments from the local to the national are increasingly interested in "wellbeing," that subjective notion that's harder to measure than per capita income or GDP, that comes closer to capturing what we more vaguely think of as happiness. We'd all like to have it: quality of life, life satisfaction, fulfillment. As researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University put it in a recent study on the topic, with a technological...

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Six Months of Computing Time Generates Detailed Portrait of Cloth Behavior for Video Games

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 Contact: Byron Spice / 412-268-9068 / bspice@cs.cmu.edu PITTSBURGH—It would be impossible to compute all of the ways a piece of cloth might shift, fold and drape over a moving human figure. But after six months of computation, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkeley, are pretty sure they've simulated almost every important configuration of that cloth. "I believe our approach generates...

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Samsung Galaxy Music S6010 updated to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

Samsung’s Galaxy Music (model number S6010) was launched at the end of last year running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, with the promise of a future update to Jelly Bean. Now the update is ready, and it looks like it’s being rolled-out in the UK first. Bringing Android 4.1.2 to the handset, the update can be downloaded over the air, or via Samsung Kies. At the moment, the Galaxy Music S6010 costs less than €150 unlocked. It’s a decent little smartphone...

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Apple takes in more than twice the revenue of Microsoft and loses market share

Apple earned twice the revenue of Microsoft last quarter but still lost over 10 percent of its market value.  What does that say about the differing expectations concerning Apple and Microsoft?  Mostly that investors expect more out of Apple and when they don’t get it they are quick to punish the company. The Washington Post reports that Apple’s revenue for last quarter was $54.5 billion, up from $46.3 billion.  Microsoft announced...

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Is Microsoft right to increase the price of Windows 8?

The ability to get Windows 8 on the cheap (in a legal and legitimate way) is ending soon. But is Microsoft doing the right thing in upping the price of its latest operating system? Anyone choosing to upgrade to Windows 8 from XP, Vista, or Windows 7 has, until now, been able to do so on the cheap. By taking advantage of Microsoft’s admittedly generous early discounts, it’s been possible to justify switching to the latest operating system, even if...

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Check out Mac OS X Mavericks multi-screen enhancements in action

One of the more exciting and “why didn’t they do it like that before” type features in Mac OS X Mavericks is the new and enhanced multi-monitor mode ability. For those who spend half their time on-the-go and the other half in the home office, a MacBook Pro with Retina display and Apple 27-inch cinema display is the perfect setup. The only problem is that the current way of using two screens totally killed the one great feature of Mountain Lion: Full...

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Smartphones now normal for Americans

If you live in the United States, the chances are you own a smartphone. And if you’re black, it’s probably an Android. The percentage of American adults with a smartphone has gone from 35 percent to 56 percent in the past two years. The proportion with a standard cellphone (usually defined as one where you can’t install applications) is now 35 percent, leaving just nine percent of people without some form of mobile phone. The figures come from the...

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Will algae or seaweed solve our fuel problems

Earlier this week Joule Unlimited secured $70 million in funding.  The company happens to have algae facilities that turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into biodiesel and ethanol.  Meanwhile Bio Architecture Lab was able to get seaweed to create chemicals and biofuels.  Both processes use patented organisms to create the biofuel. Joule Unlimited’s new funding will allow the company to continue building its facility in Hobbs, New Mexico. ...

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iPhone 5S bringing slow motion video recording

Apple’s iPhone 5S — the next-generation model that’s expected sometime this fall — has to bring some additional features on top of a snappier processor. Slow motion video could be one of those features. According to multiple reports, there is code hidden inside iOS 7 — the latest generation iPhone and iPad operating system that’s supposed to rollout with the new iPhone — that offers video recording at 120 frames-per-second, or fast enough to record...

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Grand Theft Auto V gameplay video released

As teased by Rockstar yesterday, the studio has released the first gameplay footage of Grand Theft Auto V and it looks amazing. Its hard to believe the game is running on current gen technology as Rockstar squeezes out every last ounce of power. According to Rockstar the gameplay footage was captured in-game running directly off the PS3 hardware. Could the PS3 be the lead platform this go around? The video demonstrates how players can switch between...

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A new use for your iPad: Toilet Training with the iPotty

One of the reasons the iPad has sold in such high numbers, and kick-started the tablet revolution to boot, is the sheer variety and number of things you can do with the Apple device. However, I doubt whether anyone had thought of this particular use before… until now. Meet the iPotty, a training toilet designed to house an iPad. I have neither an iPad or children, but if I did, I’d try and keep the two as far apart from each other as possible. An...

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rumor watch | This Week’s Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible

The iPhone 5 debuted in September 2012, so rumors are ramping up about Apple’s next handset. Photo: Alex Washburn/Wired Each week, there are dozens of Apple rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but most are totally bogus. We parse the week’s rumors for you, ranking them in order from “utterly ridiculous” to “Duh, of course.” First up… DON’T COUNT ON IT: Leaked photos of the iPhone...

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T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Smartphone Upgrade Plans Compared

How many phones do you want to use in two years? One? Two? Four? Photo: Arial Zambelich / Wired The new upgrade and “no-contract” plans from T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless are made for people who frequently feel the burning need to get the newest, greatest device on the market. Unlike traditional smartphone plans, which require you to wait up to two years between purchases to get a new phone at a price fully subsidized by the carriers...

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