Hercule Exoskeleton Sets the bar for Human Assistance Devices
Okay, so we’ve had exoskeletons for years, devices letting humans carry heavy weights and walk under the load with ease. But until now they all had incredibly short battery lives, so most stayed tethered. Basically, they were great tech demos, but not good for much more.
A new exoskeleton, called Hercule, doesn’t have this problem. It can help someone (for example, a soldier) carry 220 pounds (99 Kilograms) for up to 12.4 miles, at a ordinary walking speed. And the motion is completely driven by your leg, so it feels like you’re walking as usual.
The Hercule is...
Microsoft Office Spotted Running on iPad
In what can only be described as a case of hell freezing over and pigs flying, Microsoft’s premier document editing suite has been spotted running on Apple’s portable future computer, the iPad.
The photos, leaked by the Apple and News Inc. crossbreed digital newspaper The Daily, the photos don’t show much more than a Microsoft Office logo on an iPad. Further, no one seems to be able to confirm whether this photo is real or not, but The Daily isn’t just some rumour rag. It’s run by veteran reporters and staffed with knowledgeable, connected researchers
I the photo proves to...
Ubuntu For Android Brings Full Linux to your Phone
Smartphones operating systems are great, but they lack quite a few of the essential apps that make desktops indispensable. Several companies have come out with nifty docking systems to circumvent this, turning your phone into a full-fledged computer. But they invariably end up using their own proprietary platform that can do little more than browse the web and check mail. Things that you can already do on your phone.
Ubuntu for Android aims to fix this. The project is a replacement to existing “webtops,” something designed to make turning your phone into a computer actually useful. ...
By Making Phones 'Sprint', We Could Make Them Run Faster
Sprinting is a concept pretty familiar to us. For a short period of time, a runner can go at extraordinary speeds--but only for a few moments. Now, some scientists want to apply the same principle to mobile phone processors, to give them the muscle to conquer difficult tasks without nuking your battery.
The basic idea is that next generation mobile processors would have dozens of cores, far more than the 5 in the state of the art Tegra 3. Most of the time, the device would use a single core. When you are checking your mail, after...
Google Builds Dart Programming Language, into Chrome
Google’s undying desire is to make the web easier to build. The more site and services are out there, after all, the more useful Google is. Its to this end that Google released the Dart programming language last year. Meant to simplify web coding into something slightly easier to deal with, Dart had one fundamental flaw: in order to use it, you had to compile your code back into Javascript.
Until now. Google has decided to make the move of embedding a Dart virtual machine, running natively instead of through Javascript, into its Chrome browser. This...
Nevada Approves Driverless Car Legislation
Score one for the future. Nevada has successfully managed to get some legislation in place to regulate driverless cars, making them the first state to do so. This is big, big news, as this could be the opening that Google needs to prove its vehicles are safe and reliable.
As this is the first time that driverless car legislation has ever been handled, Nevada had to figure out the specifics for how driverless cars would be regulated. What they have settled on is a bit conservative, but not bad for a first draft, though it does keep driverless...
Apple Reveals Mountain Lion, its Next Operating System
You might think that because, you know, Lion was released only half a year ago, Apple might not be ready to reveal its successor. And you would be wrong. The company has released a sneak peak of its newest platform to developers, and it brings with it some pretty massive changes.
But first, a nomenclature change. Apple is dropping the Mac name, retroactively making Lion the first post Mac operating system. From now on, it is simply known as OS X, which points to Apple’s cut and run philosophy with the past.
Most of the new features in...
Apple Lets Compaies Take your Phone's Address Book
Apple has, without your permission, been giving apps access to your address book. So all those amazing, free services you know and love? Probably not as free as you think.
The news came out when it was revealed that Path, a small social networking startup, was uploading your address book without permission. The tech world, understandably, exploded, with some defending the company, but more heaping hate on it.
Then came the reveal that Path was hardly alone: Instagram, Twitter, FoodSpotting, and Yelp, Facebook all also upload entries from your address book. The rationale is that these services are...
New Youtube App is Google TV's Big News
Google has revealed what the big news was that they had teased for Google TV, and it’s a bit underwhelming. Rather than being a big hardware reveal as we were hoping, it is simply an update to Google TV’s Youtube app, which, granted, was needed.
Youtube has seen a massive spike in traffic, and has seen its focus shift as 2011 went on. In every way, Youtube was moving towards being a true web television source. In every place but on Google TV, where such a shift would make the most sense.
This new app is big news for...
Google (Finally) Releasing Dropbox Competitor
You know, for a cloud computing company, Google sure hasn’t done much with cloud storage. As great as Google Docs is, it isn’t a Dropbox alternative. What will be a Dropbox alternative, though, is Google Drive, the rumored new service Google is planning on rolling out for file synchronization.
Dropbox makes it impossibly easy to share files between machines. Download the client, point it toward the folders you want to synchronize, and watch as it keeps everything in sync between the machines. Thy even have a mobile client, letting you download and access your files on the...
Spray-on Antennas Could Solve Signal Woes
Signal. These days, we can’t live without it. And yet it seems that there is never enough of it to go around, that we are constantly low on bars and frequently dropping calls. The problem gets even worse in cities, where there are hundreds of buildings just waiting to gobble up your signal.
But a new technology, revealed at Google’s Solve for X symposium, the technology lets you take a can of antenna and spray it on a wall. The technology, created by Chamtech enterprises, would then act like an antenna, if connected to the right hardware.
Chamtech...
FCC Wants Rural 3G, Starting Reverse Auction to Prove it
The FCC released a statement earlier today reaffirming that, yes, it wants there to be rural 3G access. And that it is running a reverse auction to get it.
Reverse auctions are quite similar to normal auctions, except that the roles of bidder and buyer are reversed. Rather than the government having something to sell, in this case, it is looking to buy something. It has put out a call for proposals from companies willing to build out the rural 3G infrastructure. The company that wins the contract will get a one-time payment of $300 million deposited...
Microsoft Details Windows 8 ARM Launch
Rumour had it that the ARM version of Windows 8 wouldn’t support most apps nor would it have access to the desktop. But Microsoft has just detailed its progess on the ARM version of Windows 8, and it looks promising.
Redmond has announced that Windows 8 will be shipping at the same time as the X86 version of the platform, meaning we should be seeing ARM tablets at launch. What’s more, they announced that the ARM tablets will feature the desktop mode, an integral part of the experience if you like window management or the file explorer.
Previous evidence suggested...
Scientists Weave Batteries into Fabric
We’ve seen so-called “soft” electronics before, circuits made of conductive thread and durable, sewable electronic elements. But researchers have managed to take it to the next level. They have managed to make a battery into a fabric that can be sewn into other things.
Normal batteries are kept in metal cells because they are part liquid. The electrolytes used in most batteries are much too wet for use in anything but tightly-sealed metal capsules. But the researcher managed to omit the liquid electrolytes, replacing them instead with a physical thermoplastic material. In fact, pretty much every...
Google Releases Chrome Beta for Phone
Google has decided that there shouldn’t be a browser for the desktop and a browser for the phone. Instead, there should be one, and it should be beautiful. Google has followed through on this decision, both announcing and releasing Chrome for Android earlier today.
Chrome of Android is only available for Ice Cream Sandwich Android devices and (eventually) above. And it brings some much needed polish to the mobile browser, even in its currently unfinished form. This browser changes lots of little things, to give you a much better browsing experience.
But there are several killer features on...
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