Human brain surgery may soon get several steps easier, as a “smart scalpel”, which can detect cancerous brain tissue will soon begin human trials. (more…)
Category: Noteworthy
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Google releases $150 Photoshop plugins for free
This excellent set of plugins was created by Nik Software, but Google bought them out in 2012. If you haven’t heard of Nik Software, they’re the team behind Snapseed and Snapchat, which Google now owns.
These plugins originally sold for $100 a pop, coming to a total of $500 if you wanted them all. Google eventually released a package deal where they could be purchased as a set of 5 for $150.
As of today, Google has made them 100% free, and anyone who previously paid for them in 2016 can get a refund. (more…)
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Researchers find video games may not be socially so bad afterall
Often the affect of video games on children is thought to be negative. Turns out this may not always be the case. In fact, according to this research, the trend is the opposite. (more…)
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Newest MTK Droid Tool replacement for MT6752 MT6732
Over the last few months a large portion of the new phone models have MTK’s newer SoC’s in them. Unfortunately, the creator of MTK Droid Tools has not updated his excellent MTK Droid Tools to fully support these chipsets. (more…)
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NASA developing part helicopter, part airplane drone
NASA has recently unveiled their drone prototype, the GL-10, aka Greased Lightning. The GL-10 is an unmanned vehicle developed at Langley in Hampton, Virginia.
This battery-powered drone has a 10’/3m wingspan, 10 electric motors and weighs 28kg. The 10 powerful engines allow for vertical takeoff and landing, similar to a helicopter.
According to the prototype’s main pilot: “All four engines on the left wing are given the same command. The four engines on the right wing also work in concert. Then the two on the tail receive the same command.”
Flight tests have already been performed, which successfully demonstrate the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.
In a NASA press release, Bill Fredericks stated: “During the flight tests we successfully transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight like a conventional airplane then back to hover again. So far we have done this on five flights,”.
“We were ecstatic. Now we’re working on our second goal — to demonstrate that this concept is four times more aerodynamically efficient in cruise than a helicopter.”
We did lose some of the early prototypes to ‘hard landings’ as we learned how to configure the flight control system.
The GL-10 is actually the 12th in the prototype development phase. To get to the point that GL-10 is at, all 11 prior prototypes were required. NASA engineer David North explains further: “Each prototype helped us answer technical questions while keeping costs down…We did lose some of the early prototypes to ‘hard landings’ as we learned how to configure the flight control system. But we discovered something from each loss and were able to keep moving forward.”
What are some of the applications the GL-10 could be used for? According to Bill Fredericks: “We have a couple of options that this concept could be good for. It could be used for small package delivery or vertical takeoff and landing, long endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other applications…A scaled up version — much larger than what we are testing now — would make also a great one to four person size personal air vehicle.”
Fredericks added: “It’s pretty quiet. The current prototype is quieter than a neighbor mowing the lawn with a gas-powered motor.”
The team will continue working to improve aerodynamic efficiency, and will be demonstrating the drone at upcoming NASA events.
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MediaTek joins with Google and continues to dominate budget devices
Taiwan is the home of gadget megabrands Asus and Acer, who after getting tired of watching the likes of Dell and Gateway snag the lion’s share of profits, decided to create their own line of PC’s and notebooks.
Taiwan is not only the home of Asus and Acer, but also MediaTek. There was a time not long ago when most believed that MediaTek processors only belonged in China brand phones, and that it would be unlikely they’d move beyond this bottom of the barrel position.
As early as 2012, I predicted this wouldn’t be the case and it wouldn’t be too long before we saw MTK SoC in major brand phones. Shortly after this prediction, we had the likes of Sony, HTC and Asus all looking at producing devices with MTK processors (opens in new tab).
Now warp speed to 2014/2015 and we not only have a slew of brands jumping on the MTK bandwagon, but the models the major brands are putting out are models that are internationally sold and considered mainstream devices. Even Google has jumped on the train and as of September 14th, 2014 there was an official announcement made by both MTK and Google which solidified their partnership in the Android One initiative.
“Google is pleased to partner with MediaTek on the Android One initiative. MediaTek has the expertise to provide what is needed for Android One devices and insights into the needs of consumers in emerging markets,” said Caesar Sengupta, VP of Product Management at Google
It’s also a little known fact that MediaTek was partnered with Google to create the world’s first Ultra-HD TV powered by Android. This system was powered by the MT5595, which is a big.LITTLE Cortex-A17/Cortex-A7 SoC and supports streaming of 4k2k@60fps.
Google Cast Ready
As of the beginning of the year, MediaTek and Google also began collaborating on the Google Cast for audio using MT8507. Google Cast Ready speakers will be used to stream music from iPhones, iPads, Android devices, Macbooks, and Windows PCs via Google Cast Ready apps.
Quite a few streaming services are already supported, including Google Play Music, YouTube, Pandora, Rhapsody, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Rdio and NPROne.
“Based on the success of Chromecast, we’re excited to expand the Google Cast ecosystem by working with a leading semiconductor company such as MediaTek to power audio devices,” said Suveer Kothari, Google Cast Director of Business Development.
https://youtu.be/8q0yZomXuSw
MT8507 details:
- ARM® Cortex®-A7 CPU core with L2 cache and Floating Point Unit (FPU)
- High-resolution audio format support for up to 192kHz for PCM, FLAC, DSD and APE
- Dolby® TrueHD and DTS Digital Surround™ decode capability
- 16-bit single-channel DDR3 up to 512MB
- Embedded SPDIF IN/OUT & 7.1ch I2S Output
- HDMI Repeater (Tx/Rx) built-in with Audio Return Channel (ARC) support
- USB 2.0, SD card, MHL support
- 10/100 Ethernet-MAC/PHY built-in with WoLAN capability
You know when giants such as Google join the MTK fray you’ve hit the big time and it seems that MTK’s chugalong choo-choo has quickly accelerated into a silver bullet.
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Modular tablet and phones coming your way – ImasD Click ARM One review specifications
We recently wrote a preview of Google’s Project Ara, but Google isn’t the only one looking towards modular tablets and phones.
ImasD Technologies has recently introduced the Click ARM One, a modular tablet which uses the CKHUB101 motherboard and coming our way sometime in Q3 of 2015 at $313 USD. (more…)
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Newest SP Flash Tool for MTK6752 MTK6732 – SP Flash Tool v5.1516
For flashing your MediaTek MTK China phone, this is the newest tool. It’s made to work with all previous generation MTK SoC, MT6582, MT6592, MT6577, MT6572, MT6589, as well as the new generation 64-bit SoCs MT6752 and MT6732, MT6795, MT6595, MT6735, MT6753, MT6755, MT6795, MT6797, Helio X20, Xelio X10, Helio P20, Helio X25 (more…)
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Serious security flaw found in 700,000 routers worldwide
Gizbeat recently posted regarding mobile malware, but this post addresses recent flaws found in routers. Many of them given to customers by their ISPs.
Kyle Lovett, a security analyzer has found a serious flaw in some ADSL routers given to customers by ISPs. The flaw makes them susceptible to remote hack attempts. (more…)
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Windows 10 EFI/UEFI v2.3.1. How to know if your system is ready/compatible for Windows 10 minimum requirements
Click here to skip down to the Windows 10 EFI/UEFI v2.3.1 compatibility check
At WinHEC, Microsoft has released the desktop/PC/laptop/notebook minimum requirements/compatibility for Windows 10. To know if your computer system is ready for the Windows 10 upgrade, please read on. (more…)
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Ulefone Be Pro Lollipop Android 5.0 News – YouTube / Pics / Note
According to Ulefone, Lollipop is right around the corner. While I don’t quite look forward to new OS as some people do, I do understand the desire to have the latest and greatest. (more…)
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Kevlar To Make Li-ion Batteries Safer and More Compact
The ban on batteries flying solo on aircrafts has been stressing out consumers. There is the fear that the ban would escalate to all Li-ion batteries even if accompanying a gadget, making it a hassle (if not an impossibility) to purchase electronics online. It was imposed because of the increasing frequency of grounded flights due to battery fires.
Luckily, University of Michigan Engineering has decided to save the day.
