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| Tiny Transmitters Could Help Avert Data Throttling | | 4:43:12 AM | Technology Review |
|  Major carriers, arguing that their networks are clogged with smart-phone and tablet traffic, are increasingly implementing data throttling, the practice of targeting heavy users by slowing down data-transfer speeds. Now a gadget invented at Bell Labs—a programmable, pint-sized transmitter that requires no new traditional cell towers—could rapidly add capacity and thus help avoid data bottlenecks. The gadgets are known as light radio cubes. Measuring just six centimeters on each side, they are miniature transmitters and receivers that can be programmed to work flexibly in different contexts to add capacity. Two devices together can serve a compact area such as a stadium or train station—handling just as much traffic, in that compact area, as a whole cell tower can serve a wider area. A cluster of 10 to 20 of them can form an array that replaces the transmitters atop a typical cell tower. They can boost capacity in part by collectively reshaping the radio beam in real-time toward the incoming signals to optimize performance. The demands on mobile networks are expected to explode over the next four years. Bell Labs has estimated that traffic will grow by a factor of 25, while Cisco says it will grow 18-fold by 2016. Either way, the system will have to be remade to accommodate the traffic. "I think we are really at the cusp of a major transformation of what a wireless network is and does, and its value to everybody," says Mike Schabel, a vice president at Alcatel-Lucent, which is commercializing the technology. Light radio cubes could add efficiencies in other ways, too. In a traditional cell tower, as much as 50 percent of power is lost just in moving a signal from the amplifiers and other components in a base station up to the transmitter at the top of the mast. But in the cubes, these components are miniaturized and distributed onboard each unit, reducing losses. Overall, Schabel says, the units can reduce costs by 40 percent compared to adding network capacity via more macro cells. But first, real-world tests must be completed. So far, the technology—which can work with 2G, 3G, and 4G networks—is being put through trials by Telefonica, the Spanish carrier, Etisalat, in the United Arab Emirates, and China Mobile, which has 650 million subscribers. Alcatel-Lucent is hardly the only player working on the concept; other companies, including Ericsson, Huawei, Cisco, Samsung, NEC, and Nokia-Siemens, are also developing versions of the technology, known generally as small cells. A market research firm, Visiongain, predicts that more than one-third of the world's mobile network operators may deploy small cells this year. Carriers have already been rapidly installing a related indoor technology, called femtocells, to serve dead spots or crowded areas inside buildings. AT&T alone has several hundred thousand Cisco-made femtocells around the United States. (The amalgamation of all these networking technologies—traditional towers serving what are known as macro cells, femtocells, small cells, and Wi-Fi networks—are known as heterogeneous networks.) "These smaller cells could possibly meet the data demands that we are facing with smart-phone applications," says Narayan Mandayam, an electrical engineering professor at the Winlab, the wireless research lab at Rutgers University. "We have to do something other than what we are doing now. The carriers are already operating at a point where they are not able to meet their demands." The small-cell technology also answers practical problems. The traditional way of adding cellular network capacity is to do so-called cell-splitting. For example, if a given region is covered by 10 macro cells, carriers might aim to erect 10 more towers and then divide the area into 20 macro cells. But this can require costly real-estate investments and zoning battles. And from a technical perspective, it creates more radio interference at cell boundaries. By contrast, Alcatel-Lucent has engineered the light radio cube to coexist with the macro cell without interference. The proliferation of smart phones has rapidly put the industry on crisis footing. Lately, the carriers have begun implementing data throttling. AT&T has just instituted a change to its throttling policies, now saying customers with unlimited data plans in its 3G network will face throttling only if they download three gigabytes in one month. Part of the answer to congestion will come from new TV spectrum that is expected to be auctioned in two years under a recent deal in Washington, D.C. But adding smaller cells, and managing them smartly, will be another key solution. "The light radio cube should help in reducing congestion," says Yingying Chen, a computer scientist who specializes in wireless networking at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. "You need something that is being deployed other than new cell towers." |
| It's Apple iPad Launch Day: 11 Moments To Expect | |  The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in South-of-Market San Francisco is a warm, intimate, high-tech venue, which is probably why Apple keeps coming back here for its iPad launches. Far smaller than the neighboring Moscone Center, the YCBA theater boasts a mere 755 seats. Here's what we can guarantee about Wednesday morning: every last one of those seats will be filled. Two of them will be occupied by your ever-loving Mashable crew. Beyond that, very little is certain. As you know by now, Apple's obsessive secrecy about their product launches makes Fort Knox look like a shopping mall on Christmas Eve. And let's post this clear caveat one more time: every last rumor about this event could well be wrong. But there is a pattern to these launch events, and if you've been to enough of them -- as editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff and I have -- you get a sense of how it's going to go. The process was honed over the years by the maestro, Steve Jobs, so incumbent CEO Tim Cook is standing on the shoulders of a keynote-loving giant. Here's how we expect it to go: 1) Cook will take the stage. Unassuming as he is, at this point there simply isn't anyone else at Apple with his stature. Look for assists from old hands, such as marketing chief Phil Schiller, but Cook will be the main attraction. (Design guru Jonny Ive tends to show up on video rather than on stage.) 2) Let's start with some numbers. As with any good entertainer, Apple knows not to hit the crowd with the performance they're expecting straight away. No doubt we'll see some updated stats on iPhone and Mac sales; almost certainly, we'll be reminded that the App store just hit its 25 billionth download. In short, the numbers will be dazzling, and it's all part of the act. Applause will be widespread and frequent in the non-press seats. A salesperson would call this "pumping the buying temperature." 3) Two words: Mountain Lion. Apple has a captive audience and a new Mac OS in the works -- one that isn't going on sale until this summer. Expect to see its main features (Messages, Reminders, Twitter et al) recounted in loving detail, while the tech press shift uncomfortably in their seats. 4) A short history of the iPad. Talk of Mountain Lion, with all its iOS integration, should naturally pivot to the tablet we're here to celebrate. This is Cook's opportunity to take us back to early 2010, when Jobs unveiled the original iPad to an extremely skeptical press corps. It would be a good time for a few jokes -- remember how we all thought it just looked like a large iPhone? -- as well as more eye-popping stats on sales since then. If Apple is going to get in a few digs at tablet competitors who have been taking pot-shots of their own -- hello, Samsung -- now would be the time. 5) iOS6, is that you? Here's the first big unknown. Will Cook tease us with news of Apple's next generation mobile operating system (which someone at Apple is apparently already using to read Mashable)? Or will that wait until the iPhone 5 unveiling this fall? 6) What's next. The windup to the big pitch. Expect Cook to talk about the retina display on the iPhone 4 and 4S; how clean and crisp it looks at that resolution. Now, wouldn't it be great to see that on a larger screen? SEE ALSO: Is a Retina Screen on the iPad Overkill? 7) The big reveal. Here we are at the moment of truth. What is this new device? What is its focus? Is it the iPad 3 or, as practically everyone in the blogging world now expects, the iPad HD? Is it bulkier, slimmer or the exact same size as its predecessor? Will it be allowed to run Siri? How's its battery life? Will its data service models use 3G or 4G? How good are the front and back cameras? Will we get stereo speakers? When can we get our hands on one? In short, pretty much all the fanboy questions of the last six months will be answered in five minutes or less. The rest is icing. 8. Demos, demos, demos. Time to wheel out the heads of this and that product group, followed by the makers of this and that app, as the main features of the new device get taken for a spin. Undoubtedly we'll see a lot of what games look like on a tablet with ridiculously high resolution -- perhaps a game or two in development that no one has seen yet. Infinity Blade 3, anyone? 9. Let's watch some videos. Here's where we'll see how Apple intends to market the new tablet. Indeed, if Cook's launch of the iPhone 4S is any indication, videos will be shown throughout. 10. One more thing? A staple of Jobs keynotes, the last-minute surprise was lacking in Cook's unveiling of the iPhone 4S. Perhaps this is a permanent change, a recognition that no one could carry it off like Steve. But if there is one more thing, it might be the ideal moment to reveal the new Apple TV box -- or maybe, just maybe, the fabled iTV -- and showcase its ability to connect seamlessly with the new iPad. SEE ALSO: The iPad HD -- Is This How Apple Will Own the Living Room? 11. The aftershow. The press wraps up its liveblogs and begins analyzing every detail of the new device. If we're lucky, there will be hands-on demos somewhere inside YBCA. If not, we'll be out on the street, jostling for cabs, our heads spinning, our minds writing headlines. In short, another unforgettable morning at YBCA. How close is this to the mark? We'll find out in a few short hours. Our liveblog starts at 12am ET, 9am Pacific. See you then! |
| Lego Space Shuttle Nearly Reaches Space [VIDEO] | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 11:28 PM | Sam Laird |
|  NASA's storied space shuttle program may be history but ships are still making bold voyages into space -- at least, in Lego form. A Romanian man built a Lego space shuttle and sent it on a mission toward the stars. And the miniature craft nearly made it to space, reaching a reported maximum altitude of 35,000 meters, or about 21 miles. Its journey is documented in an amazing YouTube video. "My name is Raul Oaida (from Romania) and this is my LEGO tribute to the end of the space shuttle era," a YouTube user who goes by the handle "vinciverse" wrote in the video's intro. The video was posted Friday and at time of writing had gained more than 81,000 views. Oaida affixed the Lego shuttle to a helium-filled balloon with a GPS and video camera attached. After launch, he followed the Lego shuttle by land in a car until the would-be spaceship left GPS range. The shuttle eventually landed about 240 kilometers, or 150 miles, away from its original takeoff point in Germany. Oaida is Romainian, but said in a blog post that his home country had too much bureaucratic red tape to make conducting the feat from there practical. So he traveled to Germany, where authorities were apparently more receptive, to launch the mission. "I've always been profoundly inspired by spaceflight," Oaida wrote, "the Lego Shuttle was the only space program I could afford." NASA's space shuttle program ended after 30 years when the shuttle Atlantis concluded its final voyage last July. Luckily, with people like Oaida, its spirit of innovation and exploration lives on. Check out Oaida's entire video, complete with emotive music, below. Thumbnail image courtesy of vinciverse |
| 9 Mobile Apps That Help You Find Cheap Gas | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 10:30 PM | Christine Erickson |
|  Gas may finally be leveling off from its nearly month-long rise, but you're probably not reaping the benefits just yet. While we wait for teleportation apps that allow us to avoid the gas tank, we've rounded up nine apps to help you locate the cheapest gas prices and keep track of your mileage and maintenance. There's something for Android, iOS and Windows Phone users alike -- so everyone can play nice and still find cheap gas prices. Let us know your go-to fuel finding apps in the comments. Image courtesy of iStock, aydinmutlu |
| The Pentagon is Building a Robot Army [VIDEO] | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 9:23 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  Less than a month after the U.S. Army ordered 1,100 micro-robots for $13.9 million, the Department of Defense placed a $1 million order for lightweight robots from iRobot Corp., it was announced Tuesday. The order came from the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), which operates under the umbrella of the DOD. The purpose of the organization is to detect and eliminate IED threats. It ordered 105 FirstLook robots for $1.5 million --- iRobot's first "significant order" of the small bots. Throw 'em, drop 'em, kick 'em --- these robots can take a beating. The iRobot 110 FirstLook weighs five pounds. It can be dropped from 15 feet and climb over obstacles up to seven inches high. The robot also corrects itself should it flip over. It is equipped with four cameras to survey from all angles. To help protect soldiers, the robots can survey rooftops, go through houses and peer around corners, plus provide intelligence and clear the path in numerous other dangerous scenarios. As badass as these robots are, the order also amounts to a hefty sum of taxpayer dollars. At $12,636 per micro-robot, the U.S. Army got a better deal last month than the JIEDDO did more recently. The JIEDDO order breaks down to about $14,285 per FirstLook robot. Mashable reached out to iRobot and the DOD to find out more about these machines, and we'll let you know what we hear back. Robots can save lives in more ways than one -- from military operations to nanorobotics being developed with the hope of curing cancer. Some critics, however, say these advances could also lead to human extinction. But for now, such technological advances can decrease human fatalities in combat. They can also break world records. What do you think about the U.S. using robots in combat? Share your opinions below. Image courtesy of iRobot Corp. |
| A Day in the Life of the Internet [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 8:13 PM | Matt Silverman |
|  The Internet is, by most scientific estimates, friggin' huge. While only about one-third of the world's population is connected, the amount of data we generate and consume is likely to blow your hair back. Perhaps the best way to put all those petabytes in perspective is to look at what goes down in a single day. How much "stuff" happens on the Internet every 24 hours? Would you believe that people send 294 billion emails are sent? That 2 million blog posts are written? That 864,000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube alone? How am I supposed to watch all of that when I'm only on season one of Downton Abbey? SEE ALSO: 10 Reasons Twitter Is Sexier Than Facebook The infographic below, courtesy of MBAonline.com, breaks it down even further. Are you surprised by the data wasteland we are generating each day? What's going to happen when the rest of the world gets online? Am I freaking out right now? I think I'm freaking out right now. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, iPandastudio |
| 9 Astounding Photoshop Transformations [VIDEOS] | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 6:11 PM | Amy-Mae Elliott |
|  With ever-more sophisticated software, media photograph touchups are now commonplace and widely accepted. But should it be so extreme? Some would argue that airbrushing images for the beauty industry's version of perfection grossly distorts our ideas of beauty, creating a false benchmark that's utterly unattainable. At the very least, when you see the extent to which photos can be digitally altered, you'll view future images with a healthy dose of skepticism. We've found nine YouTube videos that take you through the Photoshop transformation process. SEE ALSO: Tool Reveals Which Celebs, Models Have Been Photoshopped Take a look through our video gallery for some stunning transformation sequences. In the gallery below, take a peek at 15 dramatically Photoshopped "before and after" celebrity photographs. |
| Steve Jobs Biographer: I Deliberately Left Out Apple TV Details | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 5:50 PM | Lauren Indvik |
|  In a talk show interview aired in Brazil Monday, Walter Isaacson said he purposely left out details about Apple's forthcoming TV product in his biography of Steve Jobs. "I left a few things out of the book," Isaacson said on the set of Roda Vida. "Not much, but a few things like whatthought Apple TV should be, because Apple hadn't yet done it and I felt that was maybe unfair to Apple before they produce a TV for me to be reporting what Steve thought it should be." Interest in a potential TV set has been mounting since the authorized biography of Apple's founder and former CEO was published last October. In an undated interview, Jobs told author Walter Isaacson he has finally discovered how to build an integrated, wirelessly synched TV set with "the simplest user interface you could imagine." No further details were given. Since the release of the book, many have speculated about what TV-related product Jobs might have been working on at the time of his death. After the iPhone 4S was released, many posited that Jobs was developing a Siri-powered voice search system for TV. Then came rumors of different-sized screens, Microsoft Kinect-like gesture controls and, most recently, a touchscreen remote control. You can watch the interview in full above. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mishooo |
| Will Apple Begin Selling the New iPad March 16? | | Tuesday, March 06, 2012 4:21 PM | Todd Wasserman |
|  With Wednesday's launch of the iPad HD now pretty much a forgone conclusion, a report has surfaced of a mysterious "Apple Store event" planned for Friday, March 16. 9to5Mac cites an "Apple Store source who has been reliable in the past" for a speculative report about an announcement that day. "Naturally, this points to an iPad 3 launch on the Friday just nine days after tomorrow's announcement," according to the report, which also notes that an Apple Store in London at Harrod's and another in Houston are set to open that day. We're assuming "iPad 3" here means "iPad HD," in which case, the sales date would make sense. There was also a nine-day lag between the announcement of the iPad 2 on March 2, 2011 and its introduction to stores on March 11. If things go the same way as last year, you also won't be able to preorder the iPad before it hits retail stores. Nevertheless, at least one Apple partner can't stop itself from teasing the launch. As 9to5Mac reports, Verizon's website on Tuesday told fans that "something is coming" and of course didn't provide any further details. |
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