http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/ http://www.redorbit.com/media/themes/redorbit/images/logo_160x80.gif http://www.redorbit.com/ 160 80 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112856172/sap-consumer-insight-365-wireless-carrier-data-marketing-demographics-052413/ 2013-05-24T16:46:31+0000 Enid Burns for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Wireless networks have collected subscriber data for years, though most of the data gets archived and has typically gone underused. SAP has partnered with wireless carriers worldwide to pour the data into its HANA database, and let enterprise clients use the anonymous data to gain consumer insight.

The new platform, SAP Consumer Insight 365, is a cloud-based mobile service that allows brands, market researchers, media companies and enterprise businesses to gain consumer insight and analysis. SAP announced the new platform at CTIA 2013, the wireless industry tradeshow held in Las Vegas this week. Businesses can use the data to strengthen relationships with consumers and provide more targeted and contextual marketing messages.

Data from carriers offers insight into user characteristics such as location, demographics, clickstream and time of day. Through SAP’s HANA platform, the data is processed through advanced analytics, making it more searchable and usable for clients.

Carriers have collected user data since they first began signing users up for contracts. SAP is tapping into that store by partnering with carriers to provide data. SAP and the carriers have a revenue sharing agreement.

“It’s no cost to the carriers, it’s all margin for them,” Kevin Outcalt, head of SAP Consumer Insight 365 SAP Mobile Services, a division of SAP, told redOrbit in a briefing at CTIA.

Carriers are looking for new revenue streams and the deal with SAP brings in new money, while providing a service to enterprise.

“It’s a way to monetize. It’s not connectivity,” said Outcalt.

SAP Consumer Insight 365 is a big data play. However the data that subscribers gain from the system is entirely anonymous. SAP says the data is never given in volumes of less than 50 consumers and searches only offer the first two digits of a Zip Code. This allows subscribers to determine characteristics of their customer base, such as a geographical area from where their search results come from, but not information that can in any way identify the user.

Anonymized data offers insight in broad strokes. It allows marketers and businesses to gain insight into a user base, and target marketing messaging or focus product offerings. It does not allow advertisers to target any user directly.

SAP Consumer Insight 365 is offered by subscription. Users visit a search-based site to enter search parameters into a dashboard. Results are illustrated with graphical data sets and charts that help provide insight into the consumer.

A business, for example, can search to find out the typical age of visitors to a store location in a mall, or what time of day men in a targeted age group are more likely to be in a particular location. Businesses can use the data to plan ad campaigns, develop products, or better understand their consumers.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112856170/att-below-the-line-mobility-administrative-fee-052413/ 2013-05-24T16:33:01+0000 Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Bad news for AT&T wireless customers who feel like they are being nickel-and-dimed to death: check your bill - there’s another new fee to pay.

AT&T’s new Mobility Administrative Fee of 61 cents began appearing on contracted customers’ bills starting May 1 and, while that may only add up to $7.32 per line over the entire year, it will translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue for the carrier due to the size of its subscription base.

Referred to as "below-the-line" fees, wireless carriers typically list these types of charges at the bottom of a phone bill, after listing the fees for actual service. While these fees can help to boost a company’s bottom line, consumer advocacy groups say they allow carriers to advertise prices that are lower than what they actually charge.

"Below-the-line fees are nothing more than a way for carriers to stealthily increase their prices," Derek Turner, research director for public-interest group Free Press, told Fox Business. "AT&T's administrative fees are no different than the hundreds of other components that go into the cost of doing business.”

According to a statement from AT&T, the new fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance."

The new fee is in addition to a "regulatory cost recovery charge" that charges about 50 cents per line on average. That fee is said to cover the cost of conforming to government regulations, which the company added to its bill "approximately 10 years ago.”

AT&T is not alone in its charging of below-the-line fees. Verizon Wireless charges 90 cents per line as an administrative fee, which it lowered from 99 cents earlier this year, and 16 cents as a regulatory fee. In late 2011, Verizon quashed plans to charge a new $2 monthly fee for those who pay their bill online after hearing catcalls of disapproval.

Other carriers have tried their hand at tacking on regulatory or administrative fees. About five years ago, Sprint-Nextel instituted a monthly administrative fee of $1.50 and a regulatory recovery fee of 40 cents per line. T-Mobile added its monthly regulatory programs fee in 2004, increasing it by 20 cents to $1.61 per line in 2011.

For AT&T, the new fee is expected to bring in an additional $350 million in new revenue from its 71 million subscribers for this year, according to CitiGroup. The new revenue would bring in about $518 million in 2014 if subscription levels remain constant. The new fee is consistent with recent signals from the company about its intent to continuing improving wireless profitability.

Advocacy group Public Knowledge told Fox Business that some special fees are justifiable because regulatory costs can differ between states. However, a spokesman for the group called the new AT&T fee a simple price increase.

John Bergmayer, an attorney at Public Knowledge, blamed the industry’s lack of competition and lax regulators for the proliferation of below-the-line fees.

"Imagine if McDonald's advertised hamburgers for 75 cents, but then required you pay a $3 bun fee," he said.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855951/google-outbid-facebook-for-waze-052413/ 2013-05-24T12:22:33+0000 Enid Burns for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Google Maps is a frontrunner in the mapping and navigation market for both traditional PCs and smartphones. However, startups have been known to edge in to take a little slice of the pie by offering unique features. Until Google tries to buy them.

The search-engine giant is currently in talks to buy map software provider Waze Inc, sources told Bloomberg recently.

News that Google is talking to Waze comes just two weeks after rumors surfaced that Facebook was interested in acquiring the company. The startup is seeking upwards of $1 billion, which could increase if Google and Facebook get into a bidding war. It is also likely that other companies are included in the acquisition talks.

"None of the bidders is close to clinching a deal, and the talks may fall apart," Bloomberg reports from sources. "Waze may also walk away from the discussions and use more venture backing to expand its mapping program, which has more than 40 million users."

Waze adds a layer of crowdsourcing to maps by having users update traffic conditions and other factors that affect navigation and other events each day. Google could use the real-time traffic data for its navigation. It could also use the crowdsourced data for social features to boost Google+ and other platforms.

The joint Israeli-Silicon Valley startup received funding from venture capital firms that included Blue Run Ventures, Magma Venture Partners and Vertex Venture Capital as well as follow-up cash from Kleiner Perkins and Li Ka-shing's Horizon Ventures. The company received $30 million in its 2011 round of funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Horizon Ventures.

If an acquisition doesn't go through – that is, if Waze doesn’t bite on any of the offers – analysts say the company will likely seek another round of venture capital funding. The company offers its apps and services for free to its users, making money instead from location-based advertising. As a private company, it remains unknown how much Waze is currently pulling down in advertising revenue and whether this is a sustainable business model.

Apple is said to have been in talks with Waze in January, Apple Insider reports. The service would help enhance Apple's much criticized mapping system for iOS devices.

Waze currently provides its map service free as an iOS app in the Apple Store. Social features are layered onto the navigation mapping, such as community-generated real-time routing that suggests alternate routes if traffic is too heavy on the set route, and live maps that include an accident reporting system.

The mapping startup has been in the news for more than just acquisition rumors lately. Last month Waze set up a deal with Internet Media Services (IMS) to help the service expand into Latin America. Waze currently has a presence, and service, in the United States, Italy, Spain and Israel. The company also announced a deal with Clarion in January that brings Waze social traffic and navigation to Clarion's Smart Access Cloud Server.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855945/smartphone-mobile-lab-with-new-app-cradle-052413/ 2013-05-24T12:03:07+0000 [WATCH VIDEO: Smartphone Biosensor Demonstration]

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

Smartphones are increasingly becoming more beneficial as tools for uses other than what they were originally intended for. While people can still be found talking and texting more than ever, many have found that pushing a few buttons on their mobile devices helps them do much more than checking their e-mail or finding specific information over the Web.

Researchers have previously developed apps that turn your smartphone into a remote that can control everything from your TV to your alarm system. While there are particularly hundreds of other apps on the market that can do similar things, one development team has created an app that can turn your phone into a miniaturized mobile laboratory.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new cradle and app for the smartphone, specifically the iPhone, which uses the phone’s built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other organisms.

Such a system could enable researchers to conduct on-the-spot tracking in the field, allowing for instant measurements of ground contamination, combine GPS and biosensing data to map the spread of pathogens, and even provide immediate medical diagnostic tests and food contaminant checks.

Study leader Brian Cunningham, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at U of I, said his team is interested in external biodetection methods – meaning tests that are not performed in the lab setting.

“Smartphones are making a big impact on our society – the way we get our information, the way we communicate. And they have really powerful computing capability and imaging. A lot of medical conditions might be monitored very inexpensively and non-invasively using mobile platforms like phones. They can detect molecular things, like pathogens, disease biomarkers or DNA, things that are currently only done in big diagnostic labs with lots of expense and large volumes of blood,” said Cunningham in a statement.

The cradle contains a series of smaller versions of the optical components found in much larger and more expensive lab devices. The wedge-shaped cradle holds the phone’s camera in alignment with the optical components. A photonic crystal at the heart of the biosensor acts like a mirror and only reflects one wavelength of light while the rest of the spectrum passes through. When biological matter attaches to the crystal, the reflected color will shift from a shorter wavelength to a longer one.

The iPhone biosensor also contains a normal microscope slide coated with photonic material. The slide is primed to react to a specific target molecule. The photonic crystal slide is inserted into a slot on the cradle and the spectrum measured. The reflecting wavelength shows up as a black gap in the spectrum. After exposure, the spectrum is re-measured. The degree of shift in the reflected wavelength then tells the app how much of the target molecule is a sample.

The test takes just a few minutes and the app can walk the user through the process step by step. Although the cradle only holds $200 worth of optical components, it is just as accurate as $50,000 models in the lab, making the device not only portable, but affordable and effective. The team notes it will work well for fieldwork, especially for researchers in developing nations who otherwise do not have the means to utilize expensive lab equipment.

In a paper published in the journal Lab on a Chip, the team demonstrated how the cradle and app work on an immune system protein. They maintained that the slide could be primed for any type of biological matter easily. The team is working to improve the manufacturing process and is working on a cradle and app for other phones, such as those running Android OS. The team hopes to begin making the cradles available by next year.

The group is also working with other groups across the I of U campus to explore other uses for the iPhone biosensor. Cunningham and his colleagues received a grant from the NSF to expand the research and range of experiments that can be performed with the software and smartphone.

The team is working closely with Steven Lumetta, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and of computer science at the U of I and food science and human nutrition professor Juan Andrade to further develop the biosensor technology.

“It’s our goal to expand the range of biological experiments that can be performed with a phone and its camera being used as a spectrometer,” Cunningham said. “In our first paper, we showed the ability to use a photonic crystal biosensor, but in our NSF grant, we’re creating a multi-mode biosensor. We’ll use the phone and one cradle to perform four of the most widely used biosensing assays that are available.”]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855937/new-google-antitrust-probe-ftc-052413/ 2013-05-24T11:31:29+0000 Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Google could find itself once again under the microscope of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bloomberg reported on Friday. The search company is facing a new anti-trust probe that could look into whether the company is once again using its leadership position in the online display-advertising market to illegally block competition.

This is, of course, not Google’s first run-in with the FTC, and much of the concerns continue to revolve around Google’s purchase of DoubleClick, which had been a significant player in the display-ad market.

Google purchased the ad-network for $3.1 billion in 2007, and at the time the FTC had expressed concern that Google could dominate competition with a monopoly of the online advertising business since the search-engine giant already owned AdSense. The FTC noted at the time that there was the risk of “tying” customers to more than one of a company’s products – a practice that remains illegal. Since that time Google has remained squarely in the FTC’s sights.

Last August Google was ordered to pay $22.5 million to settle FTC charges that it misrepresented privacy assurances to users of Apple’s Safari Internet browser. In January of this year, the search company promised to change its business practices to resolve FTC competition concerns in the mobile market while the landmark agreement gave advertisers more flexibility to use rival search engines.

This latest inquiry is now in the preliminary stages and may or may not expand into a larger probe. Reports suggest that FTC investigators are, however, taking a closer look at whether Google is again using its position in the US display ad market to push companies to use more of its other services. This practice is currently illegal under anti-trust laws.

The display ad business is a big one, generating $17.7 billion for sale of banner ads on websites. Google, which is currently the leader in the ad market, had 15.1 percent market share in 2012 compared to Facebook’s 14.6 percent share, according to industry analysts eMarketer. The research firm had reported that Google’s search ad revenues, which were actually down in 2012, were expected to grow this year.

The overall US search ad market is expected to reach $19.8 billion in total revenue this year.

Google’s anti-trust issues are not limited to the US either. The company continues to face scrutiny around the world over its search engine practices, particularly in Europe.

Earlier this month Google found itself under fire in Europe as the search giant’s rivals contended that it had the potential to reinforce its dominance unless European Union regulators could win more concessions from the company. Google’s rivals allege that the search provider continues to restrict consumer choice and competition in the marketplace.

If Google can’t reach a settlement with the European Commission it could face a fine of up to $3.8 billion, or a maximum of its $37.9 billion global revenue from last year.

Other probes are underway in Asia and South America. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission began deliberations earlier this month on whether the company might be involved in activities that negatively impact fair market completion, while regulators in Argentina are also scrutinizing the company.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855793/action-need-to-prevent-ip-theft-052413/ 2013-05-24T04:32:05+0000 Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The United States government should bar companies that repeatedly steal or use stolen IP from selling their wares in the country, according to recommendations in a new report (PDF) released on Wednesday. The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, which is made up of a group of former government officials and business representatives, called on the government to take a series of measures to protect intellectual property.

The study reported that China was thought be behind 50 to 80 percent of IP theft. Russia and India were also noted as nations believed to be guilty of the theft. The report said that this IP theft costs American jobs and even suppresses innovation.

“The scale of international theft of American intellectual property (IP) is unprecedented - hundreds of billions of dollars per year, on the order of the size of US exports to Asia," the report noted.

The commission called for the Treasury Department to be empowered to deny access to the American banking system to companies from China and other countries that benefit from this stolen IP; and that sanctions should be considered against those who benefit from the theft.

“New laws might be considered for corporations and individuals to protect themselves in an environment where law enforcement is very limited,” said the report.

The commission called on agencies that consider whether foreign companies could be able to invest in the United States or trade on American stock exchanges should have their respective IP theft records reviewed. In addition, the commission called on government policymakers to make it easier for the United States International Trade Commission to block counterfeit goods from entering the country. The group called on Congress to increase funding for law enforcement agencies that investigate IP theft, while also amending the Economic Espionage Act to allow private companies to file lawsuits for trade-secret theft.

It was also recommended by the commission to provide more green cards, or permanent resident cards, to foreign workers trained in key fields including science and technology and who want to move to the United States.

The report comes ahead of talks between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to be held next month in California. The June 7-8 talks will be the first meeting since Xi took office earlier this year.

It has been speculated that cyber issues are expected to be high on the agenda amidst growing U.S. accusations that China may have supported – and even waged – a secret campaign of online espionage against American companies and the government.

As reported by Bloomberg, Hong Lei, from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters on May 21 that the U.S. has no hard evidence China is behind recent cyber-attacks.

However, the commission – in noting the importance of the priorities in U.S.-Chinese relations – expects this issue to be raised during the upcoming summit.

The non-partisan private commission was co-chaired by Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and U.S. ambassador to China, and Admiral Dennis Blair (Retired), former director of National Intelligence and commander of the United States Pacific Command. Other commission members included Dr. Craig Barrett, former chairman and CEO of Intel; former Senator Slade Gorton of Washington; William Lynn, CEO of DRS Technologies and former U.S. deputy secretary of defense; Deborah Wince-Smith, president and COE of the Council of Competitiveness; and Michael Young, president of the University of Washington and former deputy under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855539/us-power-companies-face-constant-cyber-attacks-052313/ 2013-05-23T12:50:40+0000 Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

On Tuesday, lawmakers warned that the United States’ power utilities face near constant cyber attacks on critical systems. Congressmen Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Henry Waxman of California disclosed their findings during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on cyber security.

The two Democratic representatives issues the survey of utility companies, which revealed that the nation’s electrical grid faces continual assaults from hackers, with one power company reporting more than 10,000 attempted cyber attacks per month.

“The last few years have seen the threat of a crippling cyber-attack against the US electric grid increase significantly. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta identified a ‘cyber-attack perpetrated by nation states or extremist groups’ as capable of being ‘as destructive as the terrorist attack on 9/11.’ A five-year old National Academy of Sciences report declassified and released in November 2012 found that physical damage by terrorists to large transformers could disrupt power to large regions of the country and could take months to repair, and that ‘such an attack could be carried out by knowledgeable attackers with little risk of detection or interdiction,’” the report read.

“On May 16, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security testified that in 2012, it had processed 68% more cyber-incidents involving Federal agencies, critical infrastructure, and other select industrial entities than in 2011. It also recently warned industry of a heightened risk of cyber-attack, and reportedly noted increased cyber-activity that seemed to be based in the Middle East, including Iran.”

Markey and Waxman sent 15 questions to more than 150 utilities companies, of which 112 replied. Of those, only 53 actually answered all the questions, while others provided incomplete responses that contained non-specific information. The two congressmen provided a 35-page report summarizing the responses.

From those that did respond the report found that more than a dozen utilities reported “daily,” “constant,” or “frequent” attempted cyber attacks. These reportedly ranged from phishing to malware infections to unfriendly probes.

One utility company in particular reported that it was the target of approximately 10,000 attempted attacks each month, while more than one public power provider reported being under a “constant state of ‘attack’ from malware and entities seeking to gain access to internal systems.”

A Northeastern power provider noted that it was “under constant cyber attack from cyber criminals including malware and the general threat from the Internet,” while a Midwestern power provider reported that it was “subject to ongoing malicious cyber and physical activity.”

“For example, we see probes on our network to look for vulnerabilities in our systems and applications on a daily basis. Much of this activity is automated and dynamic in nature – able to adapt to what is discovered during its probing process.”

In addition to cyber threats, Markey and Waxman also noted a concern in the power companies’ lack of readiness for geomagnetic storms, and found that most utilities have not taken the necessary steps to reduce their vulnerability to such storms. They also noted that it was not clear whether the power industry even has an adequate supply of spare transformers.

As for the cyber attacks, the concern remains that these could potentially “create instant effects at very low cost and are very difficult to positively attribute back to the attacker. It has been reported that actors based in China, Russia, and Iran have conducted cyber probes of US grid systems, and that cyberattacks have been conducted against critical infrastructure in other countries,” the report noted.

Makey, along with Representative Fred Upton of Michigan introduced the GRID Act to bolster the security of the electrical grid. It has passed the House but not the Senate.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855341/twitter-two-step-security-authentication-052313/ 2013-05-23T12:23:35+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Twitter hacks have topped the news so far in 2013, as major corporations and news sources have repeatedly had their accounts compromised by either juvenile ne’er-do-wells or the Syrian Electronic Army.

To help stave off these kinds of attacks, Twitter has finally introduced two-step verification, an extra security measure used to keep unwanted “guests” out of private accounts. Like other two-step authentication measures, Twitter sends users an SMS message to verify their identity, meaning users will have to hand over their cell phone numbers to use the feature. Though this security measure makes Twitter users jump through an extra hoop to verify their identity when they sign in to Twitter.com, it comes as a much-needed preventative measure to ensure the account is only used by those authorized to do so.

“Every day, a growing number of people log in to Twitter. Usually these login attempts come from the genuine account owners, but we occasionally hear from people whose accounts have been compromised by email phishing schemes or a breach of password data elsewhere on the web,” writes Jimio of the Twitter product security team in a Wednesday blog post.

Jimio’s use of the word “occasional” may be something of a euphemist, as Twitter hacks have been occurring with frightening regularity this year.

When two-step is turned on, Twitter will send a verification code to your cell phone each time you access Twitter.com or give an app permission to use your account. Turning this feature on is simple enough, though there are some aspects that users need to be aware of.

First, sign in to your account and head to the settings panel, indicated by the gear icon. From there, find the ‘Account Security’ section and the option to require a verification code when you sign in.

Before you can turn on this feature, you’ll have to give Twitter your phone number. If you’ve already done this, you’ll be able to simply check the box. If you haven’t, simply click the “add a phone” link and type in your phone number and you’ll be on your way to safer tweeting.

Pro tip: Once you give Twitter your number, it’ll ask you to send the word “Go” to 40404 via SMS. What Twitter doesn’t tell you is that this also turns on all sorts of text notifications by default. You’ll find this out soon enough if, like this writer, you receive numerous replies throughout the day. If you’re giving Twitter your phone number for the first time, it’s best to head straight to the mobile section of your settings and change these notifications.

For instance, options like “let others find me by my number” and text notifications for follows, replies and re-tweets are all checked by default. Once this is done, head back to the account panel, tick the “require a verification code when I sign in” and await your confirmation text message.

As this system is built on an SMS system, Twitter says only those customers who can receive text messages are eligible for this feature.

Though two-step adds an additional hurdle to be jumped when signing in, it’s likely a worthwhile measure to prevent your account from being commandeered by unwanted cyber pranksters – or worse.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855320/samsung-galaxy-s4-sells-10-million-052313/ 2013-05-23T11:14:38+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Samsung released their newest flagship Android phone, the Galaxy S4, across the globe on April 27. On May 10, American AT&T customers got their first chance to carry the “Next Big Thing” before their T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon counterparts. Now the Korean company is saying they’ve already sold 10 million of the latest Galaxy device “in record time,” handily beating out the 50 days it took the S3 to reach the same milestone. Samsung’s biggest rival, Apple, was able to sell 5 million of their flagship iPhone 5 in the first three days of availability.

According to Samsung’s numbers, these new devices are selling at a rate of four units per second, and to help increase this rate, the company has announced that two new colors – Blue Arctic and Red Aurora – will be released this summer. Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn will follow once the fall arrives.

"On behalf of Samsung, I would like to thank the millions of customers around the world who have chosen the Samsung GALAXY S4. At Samsung we'll continue to pursue innovation inspired by and for people," said Samsung’ Mobile’s CEO JK Shin in a press statement.

The S4 is currently available in 110 countries and is slated to arrive in a total of 155 countries on 327 carriers.

Of course, one can’t speak of Samsung without mentioning Apple, and vice versa. As just mentioned, while 10 million is quite an impressive feat, their Cupertino-based competitor likely sold more iPhone 5s in the same amount of time, peddling five million in the first three days and a total of 47.8 million in the holiday quarter which ended December 29.

Just as it was last year, Samsung released their highly anticipated Galaxy S months before Apple is expected to ship their latest iPhone. As Samsung releases multiple phones throughout the year, most of which run Android, the company often bests Apple in terms of total market share.

According to Bloomberg, Samsung holds about 31.7 percent of the global market with Apple and LG in a distant second and third with 17.3 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively. This ranking is expected to remain stable as Android and Samsung devices become more popular and are released more frequently. Though Samsung leads in numbers shipped, Apple remains the leader in terms of profit.

While the Samsung-Apple rivalry tends to dominate the smartphone landscape, the Galaxy maker is being increasingly seen as a fierce competitor for Google, the maker of the operating system used in most Galaxy devices. Though smartphone makers HTC, LG and Google-owned Motorola install Android on their flagship devices, Samsung dominates the Android market. According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung has a commanding lead in terms of profit in the Android realm, capturing a 95 percent share of a $5 billion global profit.

HTC’s flagship phone, the HTC One, has often been touted as a better device amongst tech reviewers, though sales of this device have not come close to Samsung’s or Apple’s numbers.

Apple is expected to release their newest iPhone this fall.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855316/google-trends-052313/ 2013-05-23T10:51:22+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Every now and then, Google likes to remind us just how much they know about the things we like, the things we’re interested in, and the people we’d like to see experience some sort of wardrobe malfunction. Earlier this month, Google’s YouTube released a data map which revealed what videos are popular amongst certain demographics. They even release top search information at the end of every year, their Year-End Zeitgeist, to commemorate the year’s top queries.

Today, the search giant is showing off Google Trends, an ever evolving list of data that lists exactly what you’d think; the top searches as they’re happening. For added fun, they’ve even added a bright and colorful visualization to the mix; a full screen experience where searches like “Eva Longoria Wardrobe Malfunction” are slowly typed out in multiple languages atop Google’s colors.

“Ever wonder what the world is searching for? With Google Trends, you can see what's hot right now, and also explore the history and geography of a topic as it evolves,” writes Roni Rabin, a software engineer for Google in an official blog post.

“Today you'll find new charts of the most-searched people, places and things in more than 40 categories, from movies to sports teams to tourist attractions.”

These new charts go all the way back to 2004 to show exactly how specific topics have evolved over time. For instance, with these new charts, basketball fans can see the peaks and troughs of Michael Jordan’s Google popularity going back nearly ten years. This information is laid out on a grid with numbers, which may or may not be the most accurate representation of Google popularity. Since 2004, Jordan’s popularity has dipped up and down between “60” and “20” until February 2013 where his popularity hit “100.” A note on the chart says that 100 represents “peak search interest,” or 10 percent of the overall searches. “This doesn’t convey absolute search volume,” says Google in a disclaimer.

From the same chart, Bulls, White Sox and Golf fans can see the states where Jordan is most likely to trend (surprise, surprise: it’s Illinois).

Just as it’s been in real life, Kobe Bryant is hot on Jordan’s heels in terms of Google popularity.

Rabin says these results are based on the Knowledge Graph, meaning these numbers are representative of tangible people, places and things instead of meaningless keywords.

“Top Charts provide our most accurate search volume rankings, but no algorithm is perfect, so on rare occasion you may find anomalies in the data.”

Google’s new charts host the usual categories like actors, athletes, movies, musical artists and people. According to the data at the time of this writing, Selena Gomez (a staple in these kinds of charts) is topping the actors list, beating out Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant top the athletes’ list, with Bryant rising to catch Jordan on a hot streak. The world seems enamored with Iron Man 3 for the moment, with Pitch Perfect and Jurassic Park falling in spots two and three, and Kim Kardashian topping the list of most searched people. Justin Beiber also  tops this list with Michael Jordan and Selena Gomez, winners in their own specific categories.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855310/google-acquires-wind-generator-firm-05231/ 2013-05-23T10:42:41+0000 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online

Google is looking to take flight. On Thursday the search giant, through its secretive Google X division – which is responsible for research and development – acquired Makani Power. Google had previously invested $15 million in the company that develops autonomous airborne wind turbines.

The acquisition comes a week after Makani Power carried out its first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing power generating propellers. This deal will allow Makani to continue to experiment with its flying wings technology that could serve as an alternative to fixed wind turbines to generate power.

“This formalizes a long and productive relationship between our two companies, and will provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels. The timing couldn’t be better, as we completed the first ever autonomous all-modes flight with our Wing 7 prototype last week,” the company posted on its Website. “Makani could not have reached this point without the support of the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program and the hard work of our talented team, past and present. We look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google[x] to make airborne wind a cost-effective reality.”

Last week’s test flights involved Makani Power’s 26-foot-long Wing 7 turbine prototype, which can reportedly fly in circles at between 800 and 2,000 feet up, while generating electricity from its four propellers. The tethered wings fly in large circles and use about 90-percent less material than a traditional turbine, while it can produce 30kW of power.

Fully working models could be much larger and could launch, hover, generate power and even land with little or no human intervention, and could be able to generate 600 kW of power. The power generated could be transmitted to the ground via the conducting core of the tether. The result could make the flying wings cost competitive with off-shore wind farms.

Google had first invested $10 million in the Alameda, Calif.-based Makani Power in 2006, and another $5 million in 2008. According to TechCrunch, “this also marks the first time Google has acquired a company specifically for its Google X skunkworks.”

Google confirmed the acquisition on Thursday.

“Creating clean energy is one of the most pressing issues facing the world, and Google for years has been interested in helping to solve this problem,” Astro Teller, Google X’s ‘Captain of Moonshots,’ told TechCrunch in a statement. “Makani Power’s technology has opened the door to a radical new approach to wind energy. They’ve turned a technology that today involves hundreds of tons of steel and precious open space into a problem that can be solved with really intelligent software. We’re looking forward to bringing them into Google[x].”

The Google X labs is reportedly the company’s think tank for more outlandish and even quirky projects, and as such separates these projects from the mainstream work at Google. The Google X team, which is overseen by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has reportedly been working on a self-driving car initiative, a neural network, and was responsible for early work on the Google Glass head-mounted display technology.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112855048/ipad-wired-keyboard-unveiled-by-logitech-052313/ 2013-05-23T05:08:27+0000 Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

Logitech announced this week that it has designed a new $60 iPad keyboard made specifically for the classroom environment.

The company said its Logitech Wired Keyboard for iPad is spill-resistant and has a lifespan of more than five million strokes. It also features shortcut keys to help access iPad functions like copy and paste, Siri, volume control and App switching.

“Schools are increasingly purchasing iPads for use in the classroom,” said Mike Culver, vice president and general manager of mobility at Logitech in a recent statement. “While tablets are enabling new ways of teaching and testing, there’s a challenge when a teacher needs to simultaneously pair multiple iPads with multiple wireless Bluetooth keyboards. We developed the Logitech Wired Keyboard for iPad to specifically solve this problem, so students can now simply plug it in and start typing.”

The full-sized keyboard will be available in both a 30-pin Connector and Lightning Connector version, allowing it to connect to both new and old iPads. Logitech will be making the Lightning version of the keyboard available in August this year and the 30-pin version in October.

The company will be showing off its new tool designed for classrooms at the 2013 International Society for Technology in Education conference in San Antonio, Texas from June 23 to 26.

Apple is rumored to be announcing its fifth generation iPad in September this year. Sources say production of the latest tablet will begin soon, with large-scale production kicking off sometime in July. Analysts predict the next-generation iPad will be following the footsteps of Apple's iPad Mini design, making it both thinner and lighter than current models.

“The display of the new iPad, which will hit market shelves as early as September, will still be a 2,048 x 1,536 Retina display, the same as the one used in the 4th-generation model, except that the new display is built on a glass substrate of 0.2mm, thinner than the 0.25mm one for the 4th-generation device,” said an inside source speaking to DigiTimes.

Apple released its new, cheaper iPad mini last year, and it took until February this year for the hot devices to catch up to the demand. Until February, customers in Europe were told they would be waiting for two weeks before their iPad minis would ship. The smaller iPads are not only smaller than original iPads, but they are more affordable, making them easier to purchase for classrooms. Logitech's new Lightning Connector keyboard will be compatible with these smaller iPads.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112854282/apple-customer-satisfaction-slips-052213/ 2013-05-22T13:20:40+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In the days leading up to Samsung’s unveiling of the highly-anticipated Galaxy S4, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller has gone on the defensive. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Schiller cited numbers from a ChangeWave survey which found 75 percent of all iPhone users reported being “very satisfied” with their phones.

Later, Apple changed their splash page to brag about their eighth – then ninth straight – customer satisfaction awards from J.D. Power and Associates. Customer satisfaction has been their central marketing mantra for several weeks. Now, a new customer satisfaction survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) shows that Apple’s approval rating among customers may be slipping, and just one year after being included in the list for the first time.  The iPhone still comfortably tops the charts, however, competitors like Motorola and Samsung are nipping hard at their heels.

According to the numbers, Apple’s satisfaction ratings have slipped slightly from 2012’s 83 percent to 81 percent. The rivalry between Apple and Samsung is what’s fueling headlines, however, as the Galaxy maker’s satisfaction ratings have risen by five points from 71 to 76 percent.

The ACSI customer satisfaction survey includes ratings on subscription television services, wireless telephone service providers and computer software as well.

All of the major smart phone manufacturers have apparently been doing a good job of keeping their customers satisfied. According to this survey, overall satisfaction is up by 2.7 percent from last year. Though the story about Apple slipping and Samsung gaining makes a eye-catching headline, it doesn’t tell the entire story. While Samsung did see the greatest gain in the past year, Samsung’s satisfaction rating is now about the same as the average for all cell phone makers.

In most graphics displaying the current smartphone race, the “All Others” listing sits at the bottom of the list, capturing those nearly unheard of phone manufacturers or operating systems. In this ACSI list, however, Samsung is tied for fourth place with “All Others,” which doesn't include HTC, LG or BlackBerry, which all fill out the bottom of the list.

“While the iPhone 5 had strong sales, it has not bolstered Apple’s overall customer satisfaction,” reads the survey.

One could read the ACSI report to mean that the general public really does want a larger screen. Apple only released one phone last year, as they have since 2007. In the same time period measured in this survey, Samsung released both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4. Though the Galaxy was a popular phone even before last year, the S3 was seen by many as the first phone that either competed on the same level as the iPhone or even trumped it.

Google’s Motorola also saw a significant increase in approval ratings, jumping five percent from 73 to 77 percent. Even Nokia managed to improve their marks, though they did slip from second to third place over last year. LG lost the most percentage points, dropping from 75 to 71 percent, while BlackBerry managed to remain flat at 69 percent – a feat for a company who is normally seen as falling in nearly every market metric produced in the past three years.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112854046/agent-smartwatch-ships-december-052213/ 2013-05-22T12:18:41+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

While the big tech titans are almost all rumored to be playing around with the idea of building their own smartwatches, several smaller, independent companies are already selling their versions of the devices to eager technophiles and Dick Tracey fans.

CooKoo and Pebble have both begun hawking their smartwatches on Kickstarter, and each has garnered their own swell of anticipation over their wearable devices. Now, another smartwatch is angling for a piece of a market, which is still in its infancy and is still dominated by the little guys.

The Agent timepiece looks like a smartwatch and acts like a smartwatch. It tells time, displays incoming calls and messages, measures the distance you run and controls your music. While it’s mostly like the other smartwatches out there, and works with both Android and iPhones, the Agent aims to separate itself from the crowd with a long-lasting battery and “trend setting design.”

Secret Labs, the maker of the Agent smartwatch, claim this wrist piece will get seven days of battery life when paired with Bluetooth. If you decide to use the device solely as a watch, the battery should last up to 30 days. You’ll always know when the battery is getting low, as the power-draining Bluetooth link will shut off once the battery is at ten percent, switching it into watch-face only mode.

To achieve this laudable battery life, the Agent packs in two processors and some precision power metering. According to Secret Labs’ Kickstarter page, the smartwatches are programmed to sleep as much as possible to preserve battery life. Yet when these devices are awakened from their slumber, they’re often asked to perform some tasks which might tax their little processors. To keep the main processor from waking up too often, the Agent uses a second processor to handle more of the day-to-day housekeeping chores of a smartwatch.

Each processor has also been designed to sip power at a conservative pace. The main ARM Cortex-M4 processor uses only 33μA (or microamperes) while in sleep mode – significantly less than other smartwatch processors which use around 300μA in sleep mode, according to Secret Labs. The secondary processor uses even less power, around 0.1μA in sleep mode.

And Secret Labs has made it possible for developers to take advantage of tools for building battery-friendly apps. When it’s time to charge, the Agent is gently placed on a Qi wireless charging station. The Secret Labs team says they’re not “big fans” of proprietary cables, so they’ve outfitted their Qi charging station with a simple MicroUSB cord. Agent owners can bring their own Qi chargers to the party if they like or pay a premium to get one from Secret Labs. These chargers will cost an additional $30 when purchased through the Kickstarter campaign.

Secret Labs also partnered with New York Watch makers House of Horology to build a “fashion-forward” wristwatch meant to look good when dressing up or dressing down. As with other smartwatches (and the iPod Nano when worn as a watch), the face can be changed with a push of a button. Additionaly watch faces will be available for download as well.

The Agent campaign is running now and will end on the afternoon of July 20. At the time of this writing, all of the early-bird packages at $129 have already been sold, though there are plenty watch-only packages left at the $149 level. These backers should receive their Agent this December as will backers who pay $179 to receive a Qi charger along with their watch.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112854027/scanadu-scout-real-star-trek-medical-tricorder-052213/ 2013-05-22T10:54:47+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

It’s another invention pulled from science fiction. The Scanadu Scout is a real-life Tricorder, a device from the Star Trek universe meant to measure vital signs by simply placing it on your forehead or temple. As with most other technological advancements these days, this data is then captured on a smartphone within ten short seconds. Scanadu first showed off their Scout last year as a part of an X-prize competition meant to create a Tricorder device that worked just like the futuristic devices portrayed on Star Trek.

Today, Scanadu is turning to the general public to help make this device commercially available. First, Scanadu has started an Indiegogo campaign to raise funding and allow customers to order a Scout of their very own. Secondly, the company needs people to use the thing before they can get FDA approval. This is where those Indiegogo supporters come in — they’ll be asked to participate in a usability study to get the Scout officially certified.

In about ten seconds (more if you’re moving or talking) the Scout can deliver information about your blood pressure, stress levels, respiratory rate and temperature, all the vital signs the hospital looks for when you’re admitted to the ER. The new Scout model has also been improved from the prototype that was seen some six months ago. The new Scout captures these readings via an optical sensor. The prototype, on the other hand, used an EEG sensor to capture the data. While the prototype was able to capture data, it could only be used by the person holding the device, which isn’t much help to a doctor in an emergency room. The new optical sensors allow anyone to capture data from anyone else, plus it’s also able to capture diastolic and systolic blood pressure with a reported 95 percent accuracy.

The creators of Scout don’t just have some serious nerd cred after building a Tricorder device, they’ve also got the technical prowess to back up their work. The Scout has some NASA roots (the company is based at Ames Research Center) and even borrows some technology from the Mars Curiosity Rover. To power that optical sensor, the Scanadu device runs the Micrium operating system on a 32-bit processor. This is the same OS used by Curiosity to analyze all those samples it’s been digging up.

Scanadu is building two other tests meant to give patients the power of knowing their own vital signs. The company also offers a saliva analysis and a urine analysis test that delivers results to a smartphone.

The saliva test can quickly determine if the patient has come down with the flu or is feeling the effects of strep throat. The urine test can be used to check glucose, nitrates, blood, and even signs of illegal drugs. According to Mashable, the company has just received their first batch of urine tests (a paddle which is urinated upon and then snapped with a smartphone camera for analysis) and plans to begin clinical trials with them soon.

Those interested in picking up their very own Scanadu Scout should hurry. The company is offering up Early Bird units to the first 1,000 people who pitch in $149 to the cause. Potential customers will still be able to pick up a Scout after the first 1,000 are gone, of course, but at a slightly higher price of $199. Once these Early Birds and First Responders receive their units, they’ll be asked to opt-in to the usability study.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112853998/gif-pronounced-as-jif-according-to-creator-steve-wilhite-052213/ 2013-05-22T10:08:47+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

So you’ve just been given a lifetime achievement award from the great, ambiguous Internet. What’s the best way to respond to such a prestigious honor? By stoking the coals of a long-burning debate about the pronunciation of a word. It just wouldn’t be the Internet without one person correcting another’s grammar, spelling, punctuation or usage of a word, after all.

Steve Wilhite, the “father of GIFs” accepted the Webby Awards’ Lifetime Achievement award last night for his contributions to the Internet. Instead of giving an acceptance speech, Wilhite let a (non-repeating) GIF spell out his message: “It’s pronounced ‘JIF’, NOT ‘GIF’.”

As it turns out, those rotating and repeating images we’ve grown so fond of in the past several years are actually a piece of retro technology from the 1980s. In those days (around 1987) it was difficult to transfer the kinds of images we see today through telephone wires, much less post such an image on a website. Mr. Wilhite was working with CompuServe at the time, one of the earliest Internet Service Providers, and decided to tackle the problem of images on the web. His company originally wanted a format they could use to display colored weather maps, but Mr. Wilhite’s first image was of a paper airplane.

“I saw the format I wanted in my head and then I started programming,” said Mr. Wilhite in an email to the New York Times.

Those over 30 will remember the earliest days of the GIF — the dancing baby, (Wilhite says this is one of his favorites) under construction animations, cursors endlessly orbiting the word “email” and the like. In that time, GIFs have been used to capture the reaction of a reality TV star, a spectacular diving catch from a sports star, or cats doing something funny.

Which is all well and good to Mr. Wilhite, who is proud that his work is so widely used and respected. What he does mind, however (and this is a seemingly long-running complaint of his) is the way people pronounce it. In fact, Wilhite and his CompuServe crew must’ve known this would be an issue. The ISP used to offer a display program called “CompuShow,” and in the FAQ section of the program they laid it out plain and simple: “The GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), pronounced "JIF", was designed by CompuServe and the official specification released in June of 1987.”

CompuShow even shipped with a picture of the program’s creator, Bob Berry standing in front of some rock formations. This image contained a little Easter egg of sorts, viewable only when opened in a GIF editor:

“Oh, Incidentally, it’s pronounced “JIF.”

Despite this, people continued to argue about the hard and soft G’s, some choosing the peanut butter pronunciation, some choosing the gift pronunciation. As the format continues to act as a graphics workhorse around the web, Mr. Wilhite simply wants everyone to know that they’re doing it wrong.

It’s pronounced “JIF,” not “GIF.” You may now proceed through life informed.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112853703/autistic-people-the-focus-of-sap-job-search-052213/ 2013-05-22T08:22:27+0000 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online

German software maker SAP AG announced on Tuesday that it plans to recruit hundreds of people with autism for jobs in software testing, programming and quality assurance due to their ability to focus and their eagerness to identify problems.

An estimated one percent of the world’s population has autism, a developmental disorder that can cause emotional detachment, difficulties in communicating and rigid, repetitive behavior. The condition is believed to have a strong, but complex, genetic basis.

However, those suffering with mild forms of the autism can often perform complex mathematical tasks much better than the average population.

"SAP sees a potential competitive advantage to leveraging the unique talents of people with autism, while also helping them to secure meaningful employment," the Walldorf, Germany-based company said in a statement.

SAP said its new initiative follows a pilot project it undertook in India that resulted in productivity improvements. That program will be expanded to the United States, Canada and Germany later this year, the company said.

"By concentrating on the abilities that every talent brings to the table, we can redefine the way we manage diverse talents," said SAP AG Executive board member Luisa Delgado.

The German software maker said it will partner with Denmark-based Specialisterne, a company that helps people with autism work in technology jobs, to support SAP's global expansion of the program over the next several years.

Specialisterne has previously worked with Microsoft and Oracle.

"SAP is the first multinational company to partner with us on a global scale. The partnership will position SAP as thought leader and motivate the ecosystem to follow its example,” said Thorkil Sonne, founder of Specialisterne.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112853679/teens-getting-better-at-protecting-online-privacy-052213/ 2013-05-22T06:04:48+0000 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online

Teenagers are wising up to the risks of sharing too much personal information on social media, and are increasingly taking formal and informal steps to protect their online privacy, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

The report, entitled “Teens, Social Media and Privacy,” is based on focus group interviews and telephone surveys of 802 youths ages 12 to 17, along with their parents.

The survey found that while teens are revealing more of their personal information online, they are also making better use of social media privacy tools.

Compared with surveys taken in 2006, the current survey found that teens were much more willing to disclose personal details about themselves, such as their school name (71 percent), city of residence (71 percent), email address (53 percent), personal photos (91 percent) and cell phone number (20 percent).

One big reason for this difference is that Facebook was just coming into broad use in 2006, said Pew researcher Mary Madden, co-author of the report.

However, the study also showed that teens take additional steps to protect not only their privacy, but also their online reputations as well when using social media, with 61 percent having decided at some point not to post something because it might reflect badly on them in the future.

Additionally, 59 percent of those surveyed said they had deleted or edited something that they posted in the past, while 53 percent had deleted comments from others on their profile or account.

Nearly half, or 45 percent, have removed their names from photos tagged by others, while 31 have deleted or deactivated an entire profile or account.

Sandra Cortesi of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which conducted focus groups used in the report, said the results showed that teens have somewhat of a “filter in their brain” when deciding what to post, due to awareness of possible consequences imposed by adults on Facebook.

“This awareness is a motivation for teens to self-regulate the distribution of content [and] results in self-censoring,” Cortesi told the Washington Times.

Pew researcher Mary Madden also said parents played an important role in teenagers’ online privacy.

"We repeatedly heard kids saying that they knew their parents were watching," she said.

But Larry Magid, co-director of the non-profit group ConnectSafely.org, which educates families about online safety, said kids are thinking about more than just their parents.

They are "thinking about whether this is something I'd want my grandmother, a college administrator, an employer or a future boyfriend or girlfriend to see,” he told USA Today.

"Teenagers are not nearly as oblivious to the implications of sharing too much information as many adults think they are," he said.

"This idea that young people will post anything is not true."

The survey also revealed that relatively few teens take any steps, such as setting up dual accounts or blocking access to some posts, to prevent their parents from seeing what they are sharing.

Nevertheless, parents in the survey expressed some concerns over the issue of online privacy, with 49 percent saying they worried about their children's online reputations, and 53 percent saying they are very concerned about their children interacting with strangers.

The survey revealed some demographic differences among teenagers who use social media. Older teens (aged 14 to 17) are more likely than younger teens (aged 12 to 13) to share personal details, while boys are significantly more likely than girls to share a cell phone number (26 percent vs. 14 percent). Girls are more likely than boys to choose private settings.

Black teenagers are less likely than white teenagers to disclose a real name (77 percent vs. 95 percent), and are more likely to use the microblogging site Twitter.

Overall, the survey found that teens are taking effective steps to avoid oversharing content on Facebook, but continue to use the site as “an important part of overall teenage socializing.”

Despite the good news that teens are taking better control of their online privacy, the news is not all good, with teens apparently unaware and uninterested about third-party access to their personal data. Just nine percent said they were “very concerned” about businesses or advertisers gaining access to their private, personal information without their knowledge.

Among the other findings in the current report were:

• 94 percent of teens who use social media use Facebook, with 81 percent saying it is the site they use most often.

• When spending time on Facebook, 60 percent of the teens surveyed said they use the highest privacy setting, which allows their posts to be seen only by friends. Another 25 percent allow posts to be seen by friends of friends and just 14 percent have public pages.

• On Twitter, 24 percent post only to approved followers.

• Most of the teens surveyed said they are knowledgeable in using Facebook’s privacy settings, and routinely check them.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112853669/fire-ants-provide-robotic-inspiration-gatech-052213/ 2013-05-22T04:49:38+0000 [ Watch the Video: Learning Principles of Underground Locomotion From Ants ]

Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

While ants can spoil a picnic, and fire ants are despised for their painful bites, the tiny creatures are masters at tunneling, and this expertise could be put to good use. Researchers are now looking at how fire ants manage to tunnel quickly through even fine, loose sand in an effort to aid the design of search-and-rescue robots.

A team from the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that fire ants can use their antennae as “extra limbs” to build stable tunnels in the loose sand, and can use these antennae to catch themselves when they fall.

The researchers studied the fire ants in a laboratory using video tracking equipment and X-ray computed tomography, and high speed cameras to record the ants’ behavior. The researchers found that this fundamental principle of locomotion could be utilized by robot teams, making it possible for man-made machines to travel quickly and easily through underground tunnels.

The X-ray computed tomography provided the researchers with a way to study the tunnels the ants built in a variety of test chambers, and provided 168 observations. The researchers also utilized video tracking equipment to collect data on ants moving through tunnels made between two clear plates – which were similar to the “ant farms” sold for children – as well as through a maze of glass tubes of differing diameters.

This maze was mounted on an air piston that was periodically fired, dropping the maze with a force of as much as 27 times that of gravity, and this sudden movement was designed to cause about half of the ants in the tubes to lose their footing and begin to fall. That led to one of the study’s most surprising findings; that the creatures used their antennae to help grab onto the tube walls as they fell.

The findings of this research were sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Physics of Living Systems program, and were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

“Locomotion emerges from effective interactions of an individual with its environment. Principles of biological terrestrial locomotion have been discovered on unconfined vertical and horizontal substrates. However, a diversity of organisms construct, inhabit, and move within confined spaces. Such animals are faced with locomotor challenges including limited limb range of motion, crowding, and visual sensory deprivation,” the authors wrote in the paper’s abstract.

“Our hypothesis is that the ants are creating their environment in just the right way to allow them to move up and down rapidly with a minimal amount of neural control,” Daniel Goldman, an associate professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and one of the paper’s co-authors said in a statement. “The environment allows the ants to make missteps and not suffer for them. These ants can teach us some remarkably effective tricks for maneuvering in subterranean environments.”

Goldman, along with graduate research assistant Nick Gravish, carried out a series of studies in which groups of fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) were placed into tubes of soil and allowed to dig tunnels for 20 hours. The researchers simulated a range of environmental conditions by varying the size of the soil particles from 50 microns on up to 600 microns, while also alternating the moisture content from one to 20 percent.

These variations in particle size and moisture content did actually produce changes in the amount of tunnels produced and the depth that the ants dug, the diameters of the tunnels remained the same. This also remained comparable to the length of the creatures’ own bodies: about 3.5 millimeters.

“Independent of whether the soil particles were as large as the animals’ heads or whether they were fine powder, or whether the soil was damp or contained very little moisture, the tunnel size was always the same within a tight range,” Goldman added. “The size of the tunnels appears to be a design principle used by the ants, something that they were controlling for.”

Nick Gravish noted that the scaling effect does allow for the ants to better utilize their antennae. Along with their limbs and body this allows the ants to ascend and descend in the tunnels by interaction with the walls. This also could limit the range of any possible missteps.

“In these subterranean environments where their leg motions are certainly hindered, we see that the speeds at which these ants can run are the same,” added Gravish. “The tunnel size seems to have little, if any, effect on locomotion as defined by speed.”

By analyzing ants falling in the glass tubes, the researchers were able to determine that the tube diameter played a key role in whether the animals could prevent their fall. The researchers hope that future studies could help provide a better understanding of how the ants excavate their tunnel networks, which involves moving massive amounts of soil. That soil is the source of the large mounds for which fire ants are known, and of which are commonly found in the American south.

“A lot of us who have studied social insects for a long time have never seen antennae used in that way,” explained Michael Goodisman, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Biology and one of the paper’s other co-authors. “It’s incredible that they catch themselves with their antennae. This is an adaptive behavior that we never would have expected.”

Whereas this research has so far focused on understanding the principles behind how ants move in confined spaces, the results could have implications for future teams of small robots. It might be worth the spoiled picnics and ant bites.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112853069/att-facetime-video-chat-apps-wifi-4g-lte-all-customers-052113/ 2013-05-21T17:27:07+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

AT&T has come under fire in the past for blocking video chatting services and strong arming customers into abandoning their unlimited packages to use them. When iOS 6 was released, for instance, Apple surprised the carriers by providing FaceTime chat over 4G and LTE networks. Previously, FaceTime was only available over Wi-Fi. AT&T said they’d only allow FaceTime over 4G if their customers switched to a new, shared plan. After being faced with Net Neutrality complaints, AT&T finally changed their decision and began opening up FaceTime to all customers.

When Google release their Hangouts video chat app last week, AT&T looked ready to block service to unlimited plans as well. In a statement to TechCrunch, AT&T said they’re rolling out this functionality in June.

“For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans.”

“Throughout the second half of this year, we plan to enable pre-loaded video chat apps over cellular for all our customers, regardless of data plan or device; that work is expected to be complete by yearend.”

When Google’s Hangouts was first released, AT&T claimed pre-loaded chatting apps (such as FaceTime) required cooperation from the phone maker to work on their network. This new statement claims that any video chatting app, even third-party apps downloaded from the Internet, will be able to work on AT&T’s network regardless of the customer’s plan.

It had been previously understood that AT&T’s reason for hesitation in allowing video chat over their network was the amount of bandwidth needed to provide this service. Yet when Apple announced FaceTime over 4G last summer, Verizon and Sprint said they’d allow this change without forcing their customers to change plans.

As they were facing Net Neutrality threats, AT&T defended their position, claiming they weren’t withholding service because the FaceTime app came preloaded on the phone. In other words, they had no problem offering the service, just so long as customers jumped through their hoops.

Bob Quinn, a spokesperson for AT&T, penned a blog wherein he called the subsequent negative response to this decision “another knee-jerk reaction.”

Quinn then went on to praise his company’s new plans, which AT&T forced unlimited plan owners to switch to if they wanted to use FaceTime over 4G.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112852875/us-navy-shuts-down-wi-fi-anonymous-threat-guantanamo-052113/ 2013-05-21T14:44:03+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Last week the hacker collective Anonymous began advertising another one of their “campaigns” to attack the US government as a form of protest. Taking to Twitter, the group said they planned to “disrupt activities” at US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in protest of the way prisoners have reportedly been treated there.

In a preemptive move, the US military shut down their Wi-Fi networks at the base yesterday and blocked all social networking access from military networks. Army Lt. Col. Samuel House told The Associated Press (AP) the decision to shut down social networking access and Wi-Fi networks were a response to the hacking threats from Anonymous.

The hackers have responded to this shutdown, saying: "You shut the Wi-Fi down in GTMO, we will shutdown Guantanamo,” according to a post on the Crypt0nymous News Facebook page.

Anonymous first began making these threats earlier this month, claiming the “operation” would run from May 17 to May 19. The group asked their Twitter followers to take part in a “Twitter Storm Package” by retweeting several posts calling for President Obama to shut down the base at Guantanamo.

“Steal this tweet: President @barackobama @whitehouse keep your promise to Close Gitmo. Start transfers today! #GTMO19” reads one of the Tweets found on Twitter, reported RT.com.

This strike was also meant to be a sign of solidarity for hunger-striking prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. According to the Associated Press, 103 of the 166 prisoners currently at Guantanamo have taken part of the hunger strike for over 100 days. These prisoners are protesting the length of their imprisonment as well as the conditions at the camp.

Anonymous is still claiming they’ll be able to affect the network at Guantanamo and disrupt normal activities, though so far they’ve been unsuccessful. It’s left to be seen how long the Navy will keep Wi-Fi service shuttered at the base during this operation.

Though the US Military has taken the defensive approach of simply removing themselves from the fight, this isn’t the first time Anonymous has promised to damage and disrupt without delivering.

This group of hackers tried to put together another operation meant to launch distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) against US banks and government agencies earlier this month. OpUSA, as it was called, was meant to “wipe” these organizations “off the cyber map,” according to one of Anonymous’ traditional lengthy manifestos.

“Do not take this as a warning. You cannot stop the internet hate machine from doxes, DNS attacks, defaces, redirects, ddos attacks, database leaks, and admin take overs,” threatened the ineffective hackers.

Though the hackers tried to raise attention for their actions on May 7, very few organizations said they saw any attacks. In fact, many of the websites targeted weren’t located in the USA, demonstrating the lack of planning that went into this operation.

Anonymous tried a similar operation one month before with “Operation Israel.” The group lobbed the same kind of threats at Israeli websites, but the government later said the nation’s cyber infrastructure faced little “real damage” following the attacks.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112852865/yahoo-gives-flickr-photo-users-one-terabyte-storage-052113/ 2013-05-21T14:18:00+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The ink hardly had time to dry on Yahoo!’s acquisition of Tumblr when CEO Marrisa Mayer took the stage in New York to announce a brand new Flickr redesign, complete with larger images and an entire terabyte of cloud storage offered to every user.

This generous amount of storage (1,024 gigabytes to be exact) offers every user something only those pro users once had access to. Pro users who renew their subscriptions will be given unlimited stores of data as well as an ad-free experience while on the site. Yahoo! has even placed a slider on their homepage for users to determine just how many pictures they’ll be able to store with one terabyte, depending on the photo’s resolution.

For instance, users could store 218,453 high-resolution, 16-megapixel photos for free with Flickr’s new offerings. Some creative hackers are a little too tempted by the thought of a free one terabyte cloud storage locker and have even devised ways to store movies and music on Yahoo!’s open servers.

Mayer appropriately posted a version of this announcement on the Yahoo! Tumblr page last night, saying that collecting photos is simply part of the human experience.

“When it comes to photography, technology and its limits shouldn’t hinder the experience,” she wrote.

“Flickr’s stunning new desktop design puts photos at the heart of the experience. Built around a new photostream that gives you a vivid and endlessly scrolling gallery, it’s easy to see what your friends are posting and what they’re saying about your photos. And because Flickr has always been about exploring photographs from users around the world, we’ve also created a new slideshow that displays the most spectacular Flickr photos in gorgeous full-screen,” Mayer added.

These changes are all an effort to “make Flickr awesome again,” a point Mayer made during today’s New York Press conference. The new layout has a sort of Facebook feel to it with large images placed front and center and a smaller, profile picture on the side of the screen. Mayer also says sharing these photos will be easier than ever as users will be able to download full-resolution versions of these pictures and share them with any social network.

Yahoo! also released a new Android version of the Flickr app which largely catches up to the iPhone version of the app released in December. Photos viewed or downloaded onto these phones and tablets will maintain their original quality, preserving the image and the moment captured therein.

“We hope you’ll agree that we have made huge strides to make Flickr awesome again, and we want to know what you think and how to further improve!” said Mayer in closing.

According to PC World, however, a small group of hackers are ready to take advantage of Mayer’s kindness by writing some code to allow more than just photos to be stored in their free, one terabyte of storage.

Two Github projects have been uploaded to the site which encode other file formats — such as MP3s or PDFs — into a PNG image file. This way Yahoo! only sees a photo image and allows the file to be stored. While this technique is technically possible, it’s yet to be seen how reliably files can be stored using this method. Yahoo! could also get wise to this activity and find a way to shut it down.

Under Mayer, Yahoo! has been steadily making headlines with new apps, improvements on existing services, and acquisitions. While the Silicon Valley company is producing some quality work, it’s yet to be seen if these actions will boost customer numbers. After being given one terabyte of free storage, however, it’s hard not to root for them.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112852871/microsoft-xbox-one-this-holiday-season-052113/ 2013-05-21T14:17:36+0000 Enid Burns for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Microsoft is going out on top. After eight years, the Xbox 360 – which is currently the top selling video game system for the 28th consecutive month according to retail tracking firm NPD Group –is finally being replaced. While the Xbox 360 system won’t exactly be put out to pasture for a little while, this holiday season will see the arrival of the Xbox One, which Microsoft promises will usher in a new generation of games, TV and entertainment.

The new system was unveiled at an event at Microsoft’s Redmond campus on Tuesday a mere three weeks in advance of its June Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conference in Los Angeles.

The system, which is a bit boxier than the past systems has the appearance of set-top box devices like a TiVo. It also offers some of the same functionality and promises to be much more than a gaming machine. In fact, Microsoft maybe looking beyond gaming in the future, which is hardly surprising given that the entire video game industry has been in a bit of a slump this year.

Nintendo’s Wii U hasn’t exactly been blowing the doors off the retail market, and even game publishing giant Electronic Arts seems worried and has stopped developing games for the system.

So it is no surprise that Microsoft is considering multifunctionality for the Xbox One. At its event on Tuesday, Microsoft announced a new partnership to bring exclusive content to Xbox Live via Skype and SmartGlass technologies. This SmartGlass technology automatically pairs the game console with compatible smartphones and tablets so that those portable devices can interact with the TV as a remote control.

Moreover, the Xbox On is clearly going to be intended as much as a set top box as a gaming console, and could deliver a variety of content including a new Halo live-action TV series to be produced by Steven Spielberg and which will, of course, be exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem.

This isn’t to say that the system won’t still be a powerful gaming machine. The Xbox One will feature 8 GB of system memory, support a 500 GB hard drive and offer something that the Xbox 360 never delivered – a Blu-ray drive. In addition, while it will offer gamers plenty of onboard storage, the Xbox One will offer game developers the ability to access Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform.

Thanks in part to this cloud support, the Xbox One should be able to provide dedicated servers for multiplayer matches,  with reports already emerging that the console could host matches for 64 or even 128 players rather than just the typical 16 to 32-player limits.

The system will also offer USB 3.0 and HDMI connections, while also offering voice connectivity options where commands can be delivered conversationally. The game system’s controller will feature what Microsoft claims to be 40 design innovations, many of which are used to enhance ergonomics and control precision in a newly designed D-pad.

The Xbox One will also feature built-in Kinect functionality, including the ability to monitor the user’s heartbeat while working out. The built-in 1080p camera also reportedly enlarges the sensor file by as much as 60 percent and captures video at 60 frames per second, making it ideal for games as well as Skype video calls.

As for actual games, Micosoft’s Phil Spencer said during Tuesday’s event hat 15 games are in development and will arrive within the first year of the release for the new system. Eight of these are entirely new intellectual properties.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112852852/skype-messages-not-safe-from-snooping-052113/ 2013-05-21T12:39:48+0000 Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

Technology news website Ars Technica says it discovered that Microsoft may be snooping into those private messages being sent over Skype.

The tech website found that the Microsoft-owned service regularly scans messages for signs of fraud and then holds on to that information indefinitely. The site utilized the skills of security researcher Ashkan Soltani to look into just how secure Skype's message service really is.

Soltani was able to show that Microsoft not only has the ability to look at plaintext sent from one Skype user to another, but the company also regularly utilizes its monitoring abilities.

"The problem right now is that there's a mismatch between the privacy people expect and what Microsoft is actually delivering," Matt Green, a professor specializing in encryption at Johns Hopkins University, told Ars.

"Even if Microsoft is only scanning links for 'good' purposes, say detecting malicious URLs, this indicates that they can intercept some of your text messages. And that means they could potentially intercept a lot more of them."

In January several privacy groups sent a letter to Skype Division President Tony Bates as well as Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer Brendon Lynch and Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith, asking them to reveal whether law enforcement is able to eavesdrop on Skype phone calls. A spokeswoman told BBC at the time that "Microsoft has an ongoing commitment to collaborate with advocates, industry partners and 2,112 governments worldwide to develop solutions and promote effective public policies that help protect people’s online safety and privacy."

Reports emerged last July about how Microsoft changed Skype's architecture in order to allow for easier snooping. Several sites claimed Skype switched from some of the peer-to-peer network technology to work on its own servers instead, which ultimately would make it easier to "wiretap" conversations. Skype responded in a blog post defending the changes it has made, saying it only complies with law enforcement when it is required.

“Skype’s architecture decisions are based on our desire to provide the best possible product to our users. Skype was in the process of developing and moving supernodes to cloud servers significantly ahead of the Microsoft acquisition of Skype," the company wrote. "Our position has always been that when a law enforcement entity follows the appropriate procedures, we respond where legally required and technically feasible."

What Microsoft does with the messages it stores is yet to be seen, but what is for sure is that users can be certain that their conversations on Skype are not entirely safe from snooping.]]> 0 http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112852631/dell-ophelia-computer-ships-in-july-052113/ 2013-05-21T11:27:39+0000 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

At the beginning of the year, rumors began to fly about a sort of reinvention going on at Dell, including a push to go private as well as an attempt to build a PC that fits into a thumb drive and allows access to Windows, OSX, and Chrome OS.

Last Friday, PC World had a chance to speak with Dell’s executive director of cloud client computing Jeff McNaught about Project Ophelia, the USB-sized PC in question. According to McNaught, Ophelia is nearly ready to go and will begin shipping to developers for beta testing in July. If all goes well, this truly pocketable PC could be available to the public as early as August of this year.

Though the original intention of the Ophelia was to be able to run a multitude of platforms, the first edition will come equipped only with Android and will feature both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Ophelia can plug into any HDMI port, essentially turning any enabled screen into a thumb-sized Chromebook. Since it’s loaded with Android, users will be able to download apps from the Google Play store, such as games like Angry Birds or streaming services like Hulu or Netflix. It’s also assumed that users will be able to explore the device and open up hidden capabilities or hack it to perform whatever functionality they’d like.

According to McNaught, the customer Dell is looking to sell Ophelia to is highly Internet-savvy and wants a cheaper alternative to tablets and PCs. If this customer already owns an HDMI-enabled television or screen, Bluetooth keyboard and a wireless connection, they’ll only be out $100 for the thumb stick. Dell is also working to expand the functionality of Ophelia, including a “keyboard-like technology” which would give users a chance to use the tiny PC when docked to a screen. As it stands, users will need to connect the device to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Dell is showing off the Ophelia this week at the Citrix Synergy conference in Los Angeles, CA which kicks off today. To give their customers access to their files, Dell is also loading Ophelia with Wyse’s PocketCloud, a cloud-based storage solution which collects data from PCs and mobile devices.

"We've done a number of things in the software of the product and outside that will make it interesting," said McNaught, speaking to PC World.

Dell isn’t only looking to ship Ophelia to the general public, however. The Austin-based computer maker will also be pitching this tiny PC to enterprise customers as a pocketable, thin client. IT workers would be able to remotely wipe this device should it ever be lost. And IT administrators would be able to look over their users’ shoulders and see where they are working and what they are working on.

After shipping Ophelia to developers who may want to write Android apps specifically for Ophelia, Dell will begin shipping these devices to cable and telecom providers who may want to package them with cable or data plans. Once developers and telecoms get their hands on Ophelia, it will be available to the public at large on Dell’s website.]]> 0