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| Watch These Quadrotor Robots Learn to Play Catch [VIDEO] | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 9:39 PM | Anita Li |
|  While they may not be as fluffy as man's best friend, a trio of quadrotor robots have learned to play catch. Researchers in Switzerland attached a net to the quadrotors, which cooperate to catch objects thrown their way. The drones then slingshot the objects back up, and try to retrieve them again. SEE ALSO: Fly This Mind-Controlled Quadrotor Using Your Thoughts/a> The scientists created algorithms that help the bots learn in real time, thereby increasing their accuracy after repeated throws. Even for quadrotors, practice makes perfect. Check out the video, above, for more; then tell us what you think in the comments. |
| 65 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 8:39 PM | Fran Berkman |
|  Time passes quickly and change is relentless, particularly in the digital sphere. So, if your busy life kept you away from the Internet this week, there's plenty you may have missed. But don't fret -- Mashable, your cyber ally, is here to relieve your digital woes. Our staff tracked down every new gizmo, app, game, website and service they could find. Check them out in our weekly roundup of digital resources, below, and then visit the comments section to let us know which stories you found most interesting. Editor's Picks AppAide Recommends Apps Based on How Often They're Actually Used AppAide sheds light on some of the more overlooked apps in the App Store by tracking the apps that are actually being used in real time. 7 Digital Diet Solutions to Help You Lose Weight Thinking about shedding some weight and getting fit before the New Year? Try these standout diet apps based on popular dieting methods. 14 Brilliant Tumblrs for Original Art and Illustration Tumblr can be a great source of inspiring illustrations, sketches, paintings and graphics - if you know where to look. Register to Vote With Google Google's Online Voter Guide has voting information for each state, plus an easy way to register for the 2012 presidential election. This Holographic Tablet Makes Your Desktop 3D Forget Tupac -- this hologram software can revitalize urban design. 5 of the Weirdest Apps in the World There may be weirder apps out there; we just haven't found them. Social Media 10 Tips and Tricks for Powerful Twitter Search Here are 10 useful tips for searching Twitter, including how to find tweets by location and how to save searches for future reference. Justin Timberlake Teases Sexy New MySpace Fifteen months after its acquisition by Specific Media, we're finally getting a sneak peek at the new MySpace. Woven App Keeps All Your Photos in One Place Woven is for those wanting to consolidate photos or who are tired of switching between applications. Facebook's iOS SDK Gets Huge Update Facebook's iOS SDK sees its most significant update since launch. Twitter Thinks It May Know Your Friends Twitter will begin suggesting "people you may know" in its weekly email updates to users. Always Keep Tabs on Your Friends with New Foursquare Notifications Foursquare unveiled updated notifications that lets users keep tabs on their friends no matter where they go. HootSuite Adds Real-Time Chat to Dashboard HootSuite integrated real-time chat onto users' dashboards with the release of HootSuite Conversations, calling the addition an "epic release" for businesses. Facebook Groups Adds Dropbox Integration Now if you want to share files with friends through Facebook groups, you can do so via Dropbox. Social Media Etiquette for Journalists: The Rules Have Changed The rules around social media etiquette for journalists has changed in recent years. Facebook Welcomes Back Gifts Facebook is giving Gifts another shot. Now, the ability to buy and send real gifts to your friends will gradually roll out to Facebook users in the U.S. For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & Marketing LinkedIn Makes It Easier to Recommend Your Friends and Colleagues for Skills LinkedIn announced a new feature called Endorsements that gives users a simpler way to recommend their professional connections. The Atlantic Launches Mobile-First Business Publication, 'Quartz' The Atlantic has launched Quartz, a "mobile-first" business publication. 4 Ways Startups Can Leverage Employee-Owned Tech BYOD: Bring Your Own Device. It's a mantra for many startups, but it can cause problems as a company grows. 6 Etiquette Rules for Co-working Here are six tips to help make sure your co-working etiquette is up to snuff. Google Launches Online Resource for Entrepreneurs Google took the wraps off of "Google for Entrepreneurs," a microsite that brings together information about Google's programs and partnerships for startups and entrepreneurs. Dobango Is a Social Marketing Platform for Pinterest Dobango is a social marketing platform for Pinterest. Newspapers Join to Create Digital Circulars on Steroids Twelve major media companies hope to serve national advertisers and bump up e-commerce with a new platform that marries the performance of printed newspaper circulars with the interactivity and convenience of mobile. 7 Reasons Some Entrepreneurs Don't Meet Their Potential Being intelligent and at the top of your field doesn't always guarantee success. Here's what you should avoid if you're embarking on the journey. Coca-Cola Print Ad Doubles as iPhone Speaker An ad ran on the inside cover of a magazine, with instructions on how to create a loudspeaker device for the iPhone. New App Remakes the Tamagotchi for the Smartphone Era This new app prompts users to snap pictures and feed them to their Photogotchi, a digital creature inspired by the Tamagotchi. For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable's business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile 8 Mobile Apps Worth Paying For Here are some great mobile apps we think are worth the money. 10 Stylish Cases for Your Nexus 7 Tablet We have found 10 fabulous cases, covers and skins to fit the Nexus 7. Where Did Augmented Reality Come From? This is the history of bringing things to life in a virtual space. How to Set Up Multiple Email Signatures in iOS 6 iOS 6 lets you create separate signatures for each of your email accounts. 7 iPhone Cases That Charge On-The-Go The cases themselves hold a full charge and can transfer that power to your phone whenever you need it to kick in, or they can charge your phone in bursts throughout the day. HiddenRadio Wireless Speaker: Brilliant Design, Mediocre Sound/a> The HiddenRadio has an ingeniously simple design, and connects to your phone via Bluetooth. The sound could be better, though. Behind Boxee: How to Design Sexy Consumer Electronics Michel Alvarez's projects have included work for multinational clients such as Nike, LG, Samsung, Nvidia, Microsoft and Logitech and product design for Boxee, OOMA and ASTRO Gaming. PETA Supports Frog Dissection -- So Long As It's Virtual/a> PETA is supporting software that allows students to digitally dissect frogs. This Glass Chip Could Store Your Data Forever Quartz glass may one day be the medium on which we store our data forever. 6 Arduino Gadgets You Can Build at Home Thanks to open source platforms like Arduino, anyone can build some of the coolest gizmos from scratch. Barnes & Noble Enters Big Tablet Market with Nook HD+/a> Barnes and Noble has upped the ante with a pair of new high-resolution, lightweight and affordably priced tablets: the Nook HD 7-inch and the Nook HD+ 9-inch. Microsoft Windows Update Hoax Steals Your Passwords An online hoax entitled "Microsoft Windows Update" aims to steal your passwords. Developer Tips for the New iOS 6 App Store Apple's iOS 6 means big changes for iTunes, and developers have to adapt. Graph Databases: The New Way to Access Super Fast Social Data Graph databases, unlike their NOSQL and relational brethren, are designed for lightning-fast access to complex data. 1 Billion Computers Vulnerable to Java Security Exploit According to an influential computer security developer, more than 1 billion computers with the Internet plugin Java are vulnerable to a security hole that would allow shifty-eyed hackers the ability to install malware. Libratone's Zipp Portable Speaker Looks Small, But Sounds Big/a> At first glance, the Libratore Zipp doesn't look like it's going to be all that powerful, but turn it on, and prepare to be amazed. iExpander Gives Your iPhone Extra Features As its name suggests, this iPhone case on steroids expands a lot of your phone's capabilities. Download All Your Original YouTube Videos With Google Takeout Google has expanded its Takeout service to include all the original videos a user has uploaded to YouTube. New Foursquare iPhone App Brings Personalized Search Categories Foursquare has updated its iPhone app with a simpler design and personalized search categories. 82 Gadgets and Products Worth Paying For In our Hot List series, we highlighted tech that's worth paying for in education, tech, fitness home and more. The Beginner's Guide to Gmail Everything you need to get started on Gmail. Or if you're already a pro, everything your mom needs to get started on Gmail. Google's New App Will Take You on a Field Trip Google's Field Trip app is "your guide to the cool, hidden and unique things in the world around you." Netflix Updates App for iPhone 5 and iOS 6 Netflix updated its iOS app to version 2.4, making it compatible with the taller iPhone 5 screen and iOS 6. PNC Is Latest Bank Hit With Major Cyberattack If you're a customer at a major bank, it's likely that it recently suffered a huge cyberattack. Camera+ Arrives on the iPad Camera+ -- one of the most popular photo apps for the iPhone -- is now available for the iPad. CheapAir Makes Searching For Travel Simpler, More Intuitive CheapAir.com launched a new search ability on its website that lets users enter natural language to search for travel deals. For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable's tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Lifestyle Who Do You Trust When it Comes to Healthcare Information?/a> A study found most of the health seekers who go online in search of information prefer to use their PC over a mobile device. Is Your Kid Ready for a Cellphone? What's the right age for a first cell phone? RFID-Tagged Socks Keep the Sock Monster Away Not only can you track your socks by hovering a wireless remote over a pile of laundry until you hear a tone, you can tag a pair with a mobile app available for iOS. NotFound.Org Turns Your 404 Errors Into a Poster for Missing Children NotFound.org uses the space on the web taken up by 404 errors to raise awareness about missing children. 5 Apps For Perching and Bird Watching These birding apps can encourage exploration into the wonderful world of birds. 5 High-Tech Toys for Your Geeky Cat From remote-controlled rodents to toys with laser beams, these five options will keep your kitty happy for hours. 6 Safety Apps Every Student Should Download Here's our list of apps every student should have on their phone to stay safe on and off campus. Slim, Intelligent Accessories to Match Your Ultrabook Targus launched its new Ultralife accessories line this week for Ultrabook users. The slim and sleek accessories are thin, lightweight and versatile. 5 Household Robots That Make Your Life Easier Check out these household robots that take the "work" out of "housework."\. Parrot Zik Bluetooth Headphones: High End and High Comfort Parrot's Bluetooth headphones, designed by Philippe Starck, are gorgeous and have convenient controls. But are they worth $400? 12 Other iOS Games for Angry Birds Fans We've rounded up a dozen games worthy of any Angry Birds fan's time. HowAboutWe for Couples Mixes Love and Local Deals HowAboutWe debuts a dating service for couples. HowAboutWe for Couples features a datebook full of pre-planned one-of-a-kind experiences in New York City to choose from. 5 Ways Students Use Technology to Cheat - What Parents Need to Know Thanks to the Internet and connected devices, cheating in school is easier than ever before. For more digital lifestyle news and resources, you can follow Mashable's lifestyle channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. |
| HP Shows What Windows 8 Tablets for Business Will Look Like [PICS] | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 8:01 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  We now know what a Windows 8 tablet for business looks like, and it's the Hewlett-Packard ElitePad: a slim, Intel-powered slate loaded with security software and backed by an armada of accessories, including adapters, a rugged case and a stylus. While Windows 8 tablets have a near-impossible battle on their hands against the iPad, there's one weak spot they can take advantage of: the enterprise market. Many businesses use iPads for some tasks, but Windows is the PC platform of choice for most IT departments, so a Windows tablet like the ElitePad has the homefield advantage. The ElitePad packs Intel's latest Atom processor -- a.k.a. "Clover Trail" -- meaning it's a low-power design but can still run older apps that were made for Windows 7 or XP. That makes it a step up from Windows RT tablets that will only run newer apps designed for the Windows 8 touch interface. Clover Trail also lets HP keep the 1.5-pound tablet nice and slim at just 0.34 of an inch. I got a chance to handle the ElitePad for a few minutes, and it's definitely a flyweight as tablets go. Storage is configurable up to 64GB -- solid-state only, of course -- with a microSD card slot for more if you need it. SEE ALSO: HP Ventures Back Into Tablets With Envy x2 Hybrid Apart from that slot, though, there's not much you can plug into the ElitePad apart from the headphone jack. The data and power connection is done via tha proprietary connector on the bottom. USB devices need to connect via accessories (more on those below). For wireless, though, you've got Wi-Fi and optional 3G data (HSPA+). There's NFC and Bluetooth 4.0, too. The screen is a 10.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 LCD with a 16:10 aspect ratio -- not full HD, but remember this is meant for work, not watching movies. The front-facing camera can record video at an impressive 1080p, so you can tell HP prioritized video-conferencing. The rear camera can capture images up to 8 megapixels, the norm for cameraphones these days. Like HP PCs, they ElitePad is backed by the company's enterprise-grade security and management tools. There are also a suite of accessories available, including a "Smart Jacket" case that both protects the tablet and adds many connectors, a swarm of adapters for connecting the device to various monitors and peripherals, a Docking Station connection hub that doubles as a stand, and a stylus. In a brief hands-on with the tablet, I thought it was a bit sleeker than, say, Lenovo's Clover Trail tablet, thanks mainly to HP's polished finishing. It worked fine running some basic Windows 8 apps, but it's the many accessories -- like the doc that includes four USB ports as well as connectors for HDMI and VGA -- that make it shine. HP has really tried to get out ahead of real-world use-case scenarios with the ElitePad. Is it enough to make us forget about the company's last big bid for tablets -- the dead-and-buried TouchPad? Perhaps, but it depends how many businesses are left who still need tablets and haven't so far deployed iPads. Does your business use tablets for work? Are you interested in the ElitePad? Tell us what you think in the comments. |
| Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is the Best E-Ink Screen You Can Buy [REVIEW] | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 5:01 PM | Lance Ulanoff |
|  One thing Amazon is not afraid of is change. It alters product designs as often as some people change shirts or at least hairstyles. The point is: The way your Amazon Kindle looks today is not necessarily the way it'll look tomorrow. The new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-ink-based e-reader is, for example, quite a departure from the most recent Kindle Touch. Unlike that ugly shirt or bad hairdo, though, Amazon once again gets its new look just right. You might not notice at first, but viewed separately, a quick glance at the two devices released just one year apart reveals a host of significant changes. The Paperwhite is smaller, thinner (6.7" x 4.6" x .36" versus 6.8" x 4.7" x .40") and black where the Touch is slate gray. The Paperwhite moves the eponymous Kindle logo to the bottom edge; it also loses the Touch's home button and audio-out capabilities (not something I am going to miss). The screens are similarly sized, but the Paperwhite's biggest change is that there's a built-in light within its grayish display. See the Light Like Barnes and Noble's Nook Simple Touch Glowlight, the Kindle Paperwhite incorporates a series of LEDs in the bottom edge (the Nook actually has two fewer LEDs along the top), and uses patented fiber-optic technology to spread that light evenly across the 6-inch display. The result is you can now read your Kindle books on your Kindle e-ink-based Paperwhite e-reader without the need for an external light source. I love the effect on both devices, though the Paperwhite does a somewhat better job of creating the illusion of a single light source. Only at the lower edge, right near the lights, do you see the coverage gaps (they appear as slightly gray or dimmer areas), but it quickly resolves into a very evenly lit display. At full brightness, the Paperwhite almost lives up to its name -- that is, it's almost white -- an effect enhanced by the now black body. Nook's Glowlight is very good, but you can notice a bit more blotchiness in the light coverage. It's worth noting that the Paperwhite's LEDs are always on, even when you turn the light all the way down. Amazon reps told me this is intended, because they believe the lights are always useful and do not, according to them, diminish the promised eight weeks of continuous-use battery life (a claim I could not test in my relatively short time with the device). The Paperwhite differs from the Nook Glowlight in another way. Both e-readers let you adjust light brightness via touchscreen, but only Amazon's interface tries to explain which light settings are right for you. Unless you understand a little bit about how the eyes respond to lit screens in different lighting situations, however, it may not make much sense to you. The Paperwhite has a super easy-to-use slider that says, "In brightly lit rooms use a high setting" and "Use a low setting for dark rooms." I read this over and over again, and wondered why it seemed so counterintuitive. Amazon representatives explained that reading a brightly lit screen in a darkened room is not comfortable for your eyes. Instead, the brightness should almost match the surrounding light level for maximum comfort. I understand this with backlit displays like the LCD panels found on the iPad and Kindle Fire HD, but for an e-ink e-reader that in sunlight needs no internal illumination, this had me scratching my head. Outdoors, the Paperwhite screen looks fantastic, and I have no idea what purpose the light would serve. Yet indoors, in a variety of situations, I did find that the most comfortable setting was far less bright than I would have originally expected. Touch Despite the layers for e-ink and light, the Kindle Paperwhite is an impressive touch-screen device that responds well to taps and gestures. I have a second-generation Kindle, and there is no comparison. The Paperwhite is also faster than the Kindle Touch. I'd say it matches the touchscreen Nook Glowlight in terms of responsiveness, though I can't use, say, a pinch gesture to change font size on the Barnes and Noble device. As with the previous Kindle Touch, the Paperwhite takes full advantage of the touch interface. A tap at the top of the screen displays a full menu with Home, Back, the light control, shopping, search, reading options, font sizes, Go-to, the X-Ray feature and Share options. You can link your Twitter and Facebook accounts to tweet and add status updates directly from the Paperwhite; the updates include a link to whatever you're reading. Every part of the interface is a thousand times better than when the Kindle started, and every Kindle update brings fresh and useful ideas. One of the newest and most clever additions is Reading Progress, which you access from the main drop-down menu; this lets you select how you want the feature to display within whatever you're reading. It can be the original Location in book, which is not actually a page number, but some random metric Amazon uses to judge progress in an e-book. I'm glad Amazon now also includes the paper page number and percentage read. The news additions, though, are quite smart. There's Time Left in Chapter and Time Left in Book. Each will do as advertised, and based on your reading speed, tell you how long (in days, hours and minutes) it should take to finish the current chapter or entire tome. The metric is remarkably accurate; it told me I would finish the current chapter in eight minutes, and that was exactly how long it took. The Kindle Paperwhite's other nifty trick is X-Ray. Introduced last year, it's a snapshot (at article, chapter or book level) of how often a topic or character appears. You can use it to quickly skip to parts of the book when said person or topic is mentioned. I would never do this in a book for fear of spoilers. Yet, I could see it as an incredibly helpful tool for textbooks and for students who have to write about character development in a novel. Staying Connected Since the very first Kindle launched in 2007, the e-readers have offered free access to the Whispernet, which is AT&T's 3G network. I tested the Wi-Fi/3G version of the Kindle Paperwhite, and found that the Whispernet still works well, as long as I could find decent connectivity, which was not always possible. Fortunately, the Wi-Fi works smoothly, and it was easy to connect the Kindle Paperwhite to my office and home networks. If you want to be able to shop for books wherever you are, however, you may want to consider the 3G model. Shopping on the Paperwhite is a pleasure. The touchscreen allows for e-ink-style scroll (which means the image blinks when you scroll) through Kindle's Tops or "select" 25 books, a list of featured titles (Best Sellers, Deals, New Noteworthy), and an area for Kindle Singles, the new Serials, Magazines and Newspapers. Like the Nook Glowlight, you can get a Paperwhite for $139. The 3G model I tested is $199. If you accept special offers, you can get the Wi-Fi version for $119 and the 3G model for $179. While some people are really turned off by these sleep-slate ads (which also appear on the new, subsidized Kindle Fire HD), I don't mind them at all. Barnes and Noble recently lowered the price of its Glowlight e-reader to $119; but this price does not require users to accept adsm and it also includes an AC charger. As with the Kindle Fire HD, Amazon doesn't ship the Paperwhite with an AC adapter -- just the charging cable, which will plug into your powered USB port or the handful of USB-ready AC adapters you may have lying around. With the Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon has achieved something that's better than Barnes and Noble's Simple Touch with Glowlight. With a couple of notable exceptions, they match up pretty evenly on price, book selection, screen resolution and touch responsiveness. But the Kindle Paperwhite gets the edge on screen quality with the light on, variety of useful gestures and intuitive features like X-Ray and Reading Progress. If you own a second- or third-generation Kindle, this is a valuable upgrade. Trading in the similar Kindle Touch isn't worthwhile, at least until the battery stops charging. If you're deep in the Barnes and Noble book ecosystem, a switch probably isn't necessary; but if you're a first time e-reader, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is -- with a small edge on performance and features, as well as a better established ecosystem of products and services -- tough to beat. All Kindle Paperwhite e-readers are available for order now, and start shipping on Oct. 1. |
| One Proposal to Cool a Warming Planet: An Umbrella Made of Asteroids | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 3:58 PM | The Atlantic |
|  Take that, space mirrors! Scottish scientists have a new way to shield us from the sun. The latest form of solar shield is an asteroid whose dust is stabilized beyond Earth through gravity's pull. Average global temperatures will likely rise by 2 to 11.5 degrees by the end of the century, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has declared. There is, of course, a very straightforward way to prevent this: reduce our carbon emissions. But for a host of reasons -- economic, cultural, political, and generally human -- implementing that solution is pretty much the opposite of straightforward. As the months and years march on, we're faced with the more and more likely proposition that we will be unable to change our ways until it's too late for the change to make a difference. So scientists have been coming up with ideas that might buy us some time while we get our environmental act together. Some of their proposals are, at this point, basically the stuff of science fiction -- like, for example, the plan to geo-engineer plankton blooms, via marine iron fertilization, to absorb some of the excess carbon dioxide we've emitted into the atmosphere. Or to use pipes to stimulate water mixing within the world's oceans -- thus bringing the nutrient-rich waters of the sea's depths to the surface and stimulate the growth of those algae blooms. Or to cool the earth by shielding it with mirrors (a single, enormous one, per one proposal, or tons of tiny ones, per another) that would deflect the sun's light away from us and back into space. Recently, though, scientists in Scotland have put forward a new proposal -- this one involving, yep, an asteroid. The idea, from researchers at the University of Strathclyde's Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory, goes like this: We locate a suitably sized asteroid. We hardness it into a position near Earth. And then we blast its surface to create a cloud of dust, which the asteroid's own gravitational pull would suspend around it, encompassing Earth at the same time. Insert Bruce Willis joke here. The scientists estimate that the resulting dust cloud would be large enough to block out 6.58 percent of the solar radiation that reaches Earth -- enough not to halt global warming, but at least to slow it. "We can buy time to find a lasting solution to combat Earth's climate change," researcher Russell Bewick puts it. "The dust cloud is not a permanent cure, but it could offset the effects of climate change for a given time to allow slow-acting measures like carbon capture to take effect." This isn't the first time asteroids have been proposed as agents of geoengineered solar filtering. Dust-as-sunshade is actually a fairly longstanding idea in the field of geoengineering. The insight the Strathclyde team had, though, was that an asteroid's own gravitational forces could assist in the job, creating a cloud that would be far enough away from Earth's atmosphere to act as a remote filter but close enough to benefit from the asteroid's pull. Instead of the dust simply dispersing, it would be kept as a kind of exo-atmosphere. The key would be to maneuver the asteroid to Lagrangian point L1, a location -- about four times the distance from the Earth to the moon -- where the gravitational pull of the sun and the Earth are in the balance. (The most likely candidate for this fanciful form of geoengineering, the scientists suggest, would be 1036 Ganymed, the largest near-Earth asteroid.) The asteroid, once in place, would be fitted with a "mass driver," a kind of electromagnetic catapult that would provide the power both to move it into position and to blast the cloud of dust, once created, from its surface. If all this sounds like as science fiction-y as its fellow proposals ... that's because, effectively, it is. Though everything the team suggests is theoretically possible -- and though a distant dust cloud is much more appealing than sunshades that would fully block out the sun -- the impediments are, of course, many. The expense. The political will. The danger that comes with trying to, you know, harness enormous asteroids. The general inadvisability of experimenting with an extraplanetary environment that we're just starting to get to know. Then again, Planetary Resources -- "the asteroid mining company" -- will soon start living up to its tagline; so the risk will be there either way. And the dust cloud proposal, the Strathclyde team says, would be much less expensive then, say, solar mirrors. And it's nice to know, more broadly, that as we humans keep failing to combat global warming through a relatively simple proposition -- behavioral change -- scientists are working toward high-tech alternatives on our behalf. If we keep polluting, there could always be a solution to the damage we do. It's just that it might involve blowing up an asteroid. Illustration courtesy Charlotte Lücking, based on images from ESA and NASA |
| Smartphone Camera Shootout: iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S III vs. iPhone 4S | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 1:57 PM | Christina Warren |
|  Smartphone cameras are getting better all the time. Optical zoom lenses aside, it's not uncommon for a high-end smartphone camera to match or even beat the quality from a small pocket digital camera. This rapid improvement in quality has dovetailed with a broader trend of sharing digital photography online -- whether it's through Facebook, Instagram, 500px or one of the many other photo sharing sites. Two of the hottest smartphones on the market are Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S III. Both sport 8-megapixel cameras and promise ultra-fast shutter speeds. So how do they compare? To find out, Nina Frazier -- Mashable's excellent photo editor -- and I spent a lot of time doing a good old-fashioned camera shootout. For good measure, we also included the 8-megapixel camera from Apple's iPhone 4S, to see how the newer phones compare with the older model. Our goal with this camera comparison was to capture as many real-world situations and opportunities as we could. A couple of notes about our tests: We used the default camera app for the Samsung Galaxy S III, the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. Photos were taken directly from the camera. Aside from crops for this gallery, the photos were untouched and there was no post-processing of the images. We took the images in the late afternoon in New York City. There was plenty of light, but because this is New York, not a lot of direct sun light. Some iPhone 5 owners -- including our own Charlie White -- have been able to capture a purple haze with the iPhone 5's camera -- most likely do to chromatic aberration -- an issue not uncommon to digital cameras. Nothing in our tests indicated that the issue was any more pronounced in the iPhone 5 than in any other digital camera, but keep this in mind when composing shots. If you see purple fringing, readjust before tapping the shutter button. Take a look at our test shots and then read on for more information on each camera. iPhone 4S The iPhone 4S remains a great smartphone camera. In fact, under the right lighting and in the hands of a skilled photographer, images produced with the 4S can rival images from some point-and-shoot cameras. That said, the 4S is significantly slower than the Galaxy SIII or the iPhone 5. That doesn't matter so much for posed shots or landscapes, but it can mean the difference between catching that fleeting moment or just missing it. The iPhone 4S is also less adroit at shooting in low light. The flash on the camera is acceptable for some situations, but be aware that it can often overfill the frame, washing out the image. That LED flash is bright. Aside from low light, the biggest difference between the 4S and the iPhone 5 is color. I'll discuss this more in the iPhone 5 section, but the newer camera tends to be much more accurate in terms of color and tonal balance. Still, it's hard to be too hard on the iPhone 4S. A year later, it remains one of the best smartphone cameras on the market. Samsung Galaxy S III Samsung deserves high praise for the camera it included on its flagship Galaxy S III. In the past, I've had mixed results with Samsung smartphone cameras, but the Galaxy S III is a great camera. To us, image quality and color looked similar to the iPhone 4S. The biggest difference is that the Galaxy S III is considerably faster. Samsung has a burst mode built into its camera software, but even without it, you can take photos with nearly no shutter lag. This means it's possible to catch every moment as it happens. We should note however, that while the shutter is essentially lag-free, the auto-focus doesn't always keep up. This is most evident when it comes to motion images. In our test shot of a moving bus, the bus itself is in focus, but the text on the bus itself is a bit blurred. On the iPhone 4S -- and especially the iPhone 5 -- the text and bus remain in focus. One of the nicest aspects of the Galaxy S III is its huge 4.8" display. Seriously, using a screen that large as a viewfinder is a real joy. The camera software is also easy to target focus points and snap off quick shots. Color accuracy on the Galaxy S III was good -- not iPhone 5 good -- but solid. Where the camera did tend to fall down a bit was with backlit photos. In our test, we loved that the camera software compensated to focus and correctly expose the denim in my jacket, but were disappointed when it washed out much of the background. In low light, the camera performs well, even in candle light. For us, the low-light performance was the perfect blend of resolution and contrast, but not too noisy. After using the Galaxy S III for a bit, it was easy to see why companies such as Nikon and Samsung are starting to build their own Android-based cameras. Put an optical zoom and larger sensor on this thing but keep that big display and you've got a great midrange prosumer camera. iPhone 5 The real story of the iPhone 5 is its color accuracy. Nearly every photo we took came off the camera with accurate and bright colors. Looking at the test shots, that's where it is most visibly different from the iPhone 4S. Colors just pop. Looking at the colors in the bubble demonstration from Madison Square Park, I was stunned to see that level of detail and clarity without editing. The white balance on the camera is also remarkable -- easily the best default white-balance I've seen on a smartphone-based camera. The iPhone 5 is also incredibly faster than the iPhone 4S. Like the Galaxy S III, tapping the shutter button is lag free. There is no built-in burst mode, but I found myself able to take multiple shots at a clip with negligible lag. The other story of the iPhone 5 is its low-light performance. The iPhone 5 is capable of a much higher ISO than the iPhone 4S -- which results in much better low-light photography. Of course, the disadvantage of the high ISO is noise. The iPhone 5 performed best in our backlit test -- perfectly compensating for the lighting differences. As nice as the iPhone 5's screen is, the Galaxy S III still has an advantage as a viewfinder, thanks to its sheer size. To us, Apple took the already great iPhone 4S camera and made it even better. Final Thoughts Regarding off-the-camera results, we'd have to give the edge to the iPhone 5. Still, the Galaxy S III was a joy to use and its large screen functions as a fantastic viewfinder. The Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5 are both big improvements over the iPhone 4S, not so much for picture quality, but for speed. It's surprising how much a faster camera can improve the smartphone photography experience. Looking through the photos, what camera do you prefer? Let us know in the comments. |
| Simon Cowell and Will.i.am Planning Show to Find the Next Steve Jobs | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 1:12 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Would you watch an American Idol or X-Factor show for finding America's next great entrepreneurial talent? Simon Cowell and Will.i.am hope the answer to that question is a hearty "yes," because they're reportedly planning exactly that show, reports The Sun. "We're working on a project called X Factor for Tech - and it's going to be out of this world," Will.i.am told The Sun. Will.i.am is a known techie and tech education advocate, often calling for better STEM education in low-income schools and recently having his song beamed from Mars. "It's about getting in touch with youth and giving them a platform to express themselves - whether that's in science or mathematics," the rapper added. SEE ALSO: Will.I.Am Says Coders Are Today's Rock Stars Cowell's not quite as outspoken an technology for technology and innovation, but we're excited to see where this project goes. Image courtesy of Flickr, Eva Rinaldi. |
| Xi3 Packs a Fully Functional Desktop PC Into a Tiny Cube [VIDEO] | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 1:04 PM | Joann Pan |
|  The demise of the desktop computer industry can be attributed to several factors including the ubiquity of laptops, mobile technology and rise of cloud computing. Traditional desktops can be heavy, expensive and largely immutable, especially when compared to the highly modifiable models of the Xi3 Corporation. Xi3 says it aims to design universal, energy-efficient and cost-effective modular computers. "This concept of built-in obsolescence is a real problem," David Politis, Xi3's chief marketing officer, said in the project's Kickstarter video. "It fills our landfills, it uses more natural resources and at the end of the day, it's more expensive." The Xi3 team decided it was time to create a "more powerful computer." The initial X5A model is powered by a Dual-Core 64-bit, x84-based processor running at 1.85GHz with 2GB of RAM -- and packed into a grapefruit-sized cube. The fully functional PC is encased in less than 5% of raw materials used to make a traditional desktop computer. The first Xi3 Modular Computer was unveiled at the 2011 International CES Trade Show. SEE ALSO: 10 Office Technologies on Their Way Out Xi3 is now seeking support on Kickstarter to launch its new entry-level model (X3A) and the advanced high-performance model (X7A) with a Quad-Core 64-bit, x86-based processor, recommended for gamers and power users. Consumers can currently buy a fully customizable Xi3 Modular Computer with their choice of finish, modules, internal/external drives, mounting options and operating system. The new Xi3 modular computers are expected to ship to Kickstarter supporters in 2013. The three models are priced between $500 and $1,000. These green machines are said to last six to ten years. As of Saturday, the company has raised nearly $12,000 of its initial $250,000 goal, with 28 days to go on the crowdfunding platform. Are you interested in the super compact and highly modifiable Xi3 Modular Computer models? Tell us in the comments. |
| Here's Why Tumblr Will Be Down Next Weekend | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 12:00 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Prediction: Your Tumblr will be down for a while next weekend. Why do I say that? Because microblogging and social media platform Tumblr just took the unusual step of warning all users ahead of time that the entire site will be down for maintenance on Saturday, October 6 starting at 4 a.m. ET. Any Tumblr-based site will be inaccessible beginning at that point, and service will return sporadically over the next several hours. According to a message posted by Tumblr staff, the maintenance will be "last major step in upgradinginfrastructure." Here's the full announcement: See the announcement for yourself right here. Are you frustrated by the upgrade, or do you welcome the site's efforts to improve? |
| Top 10 Tech This Week | | Sunday, September 30, 2012 11:42 AM | Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai |
|  Top 10 Tech is presented by Chivas. Access a world of exclusive insider benefits - private tastings, special events and the chance to win a trip for you and three friends to the Cannes Film Festival. Join the Brotherhood. It was another exciting week in tech, filled with a slew of futuristic developments. How futuristic, you ask? Well, the U.S. government announced the third flight of its sci-fi-esque unmanned kinda-secret shuttle, and in other unmanned news, California passed a law that makes driverless cars legal in the Golden State, making it the third state to legalize robotic cars. Speaking of cars, Tesla announced new "supercharging" stations that will allow their Model S electric car to travel long distances and recharge free. And that's not all for futuristic developments. zSpace showcased a tablet that projects holographs, and we found out about a chip that could store data forever. In offbeat news, London's Gold & Co. debuted a gold-plated iPhone 5. We don't know how much it'll cost, but it's certainly not going to be cheap, we can guarantee that. Oh, there was also some juicy news about the new iPad 4 and a startup working on better artificial brains. SEE ALSO: Previous editions of Top 10 Tech This Week Basically, this week we had a sneak peek of the future -- and it looks awesome. See how the future will look like (and more!) -- right here on Top 10 Tech. Series presented by Chivas Top 10 Tech is presented by Chivas. Access a world of exclusive insider benefits - private tastings, special events and the chance to win a trip for you and three friends to the Cannes Film Festival. Join the Brotherhood. |
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