Technology

IKEA unveils phone charging furniture

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Swedish furniture giant IKEA has introduced a line of phone-charging furniture this week.

Thrivewire.com quoted Jeanette Skjelmose, Ikea corporate manager, as saying, “Through research and home visits, we know that people hate cable mess. They worry about not finding the charger and running out of power. Our new innovative solutions, which integrate wireless charging into home furnishings, will make life at home simpler.”

Ikea will be using Qi wireless technology. These wireless phone charging stations will be integrated into pieces such as nightstands, tables, desks and lamps.

Google set to launch virtual tour of Mount Everest

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Google has announced that it is teaming with Ava Sherpa, a Nepalese mountaineer who reached the summit of the Mount Everest 21 times and Story Cycle, a nonprofit to take armchair travelers on a virtual tour to the top of the mountain through Google Maps.

According to Stuff.co.nz, the pictures do not take viewers to the top of the mountain but around the region such as the Phortse, Khumjung, Thame, Lukla, and the Namche Bazaar.

Can Twitter enforce ban on revenge porn?

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Microblogging site Twitter has made non-consensual sharing of “intimate photos and videos” a violation of its rules.

The new Twitter rules are plainly stated, unambiguous, and are designed to help a lot of vulnerable people.

You may not publish or post other people’s private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, street address or Social Security/National Identity numbers, without their express authorization and permission, reported wired.com.

However, people are sceptical whether Twitter has the wherewithal to enforce this ban immediately.

Stop munching on those midnight snacks if you want to lose weight

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If you want to lose weight, cutting down on late night snacking may be the best way to do it, scientists have claimed.

In the study conducted on fruit flies, San Diego State University researchers found that after feeding for 12 hours a day, the flies slept better, gained less weight and had much healthier circulatory systems than those who had no restrictions on eating, the Daily Express reported.

The effect appeared to be linked to body clock genes that exist in many species, including humans.

Metaphors help reading other people’s minds

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A new study has demonstrated that use of metaphors highlights social bonds and increases understanding of others’ emotions.

The study conducted at University of Ontario suggested that using metaphors can actually help in reading minds.

Andrea Bowes and Albert Katz from the university showed that people were better able to infer the mental and emotional state of others after reading metaphors whether embedded in passages or just by themselves.

Windows keen on nabbing tablet market share from iOS, Android

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Windows is all set to excel the tablet world and grab the market share from the present top operating systems iOS and Android, said IDC.

A research report released by the IDC on Thursday said that while Android and iOS top the list of OSes for tablets, with 67.3 percent and 27.6 percent share respectively out of the 229.7 million units shipped in 2014; Windows accounted for just 5.1 percent market share. However, Windows is looking forward to reaching 14.1 percent of the market share in the future, reported PC World.

Algorethmia to connect academics and app developers by building powerful algorithms

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The American software startup, Algorithmia that raised USD 2.4 million last August to connect academics and app developers by building powerful algorithms.

Founded in 2013, Algorithmia, has over 800 algorithms in the marketplace, thus providing the smarts needed to do various tasks in the fields of machine learning, audio and visual processing, and even computer vision.

According to San Francisco based techcrunch .com, Algorithm developers can host their work on the site and charge a fee per-use to developers who integrate the algorithm into their own work.

Here’s how to make voice calls on Whatsapp

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Whatsapp has reportedly rolled out its calling feature that is available on running version 2.11.528 from the Play Store , version 2.11.531 from WhatsApp’s website or it can be activated after users get “invited” by receiving a call.

According to Androidpolice.com, the feature gets activated after users receive a call on whatsapp from someone who already has it. After the call, Whatsapp is activated immediately after the app is closed and reopened again.

Once activated, there will be a 3-tab layout on the whatsapp homescreen showing calls, chats and contacts.

Apple invites users to test upcoming iOS updates for the first time ever

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Apple is reportedly inviting users to test its upcoming iOS update for the first time ever.

The iPhone maker has started a page where interested users can sign up to try iOS 8.3 before it is released later this year. After gaining valuable feedback by running a public beta of OS X on the desktop, Apple is now extending the program to cover iOS as well, reported The Verge.

Sony VAIO set to launch its first smartphone

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In a bid to enter the smartphone market, Sony’s VAIO Corporation has now announced a phone through Japanese MVNO B-mobile.

The 7.95mm thick smartphone running Android 5.0 is a Nexus 4 look alike and features a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, a 5-inch 720p display, and a 13-megapixel camera, The Verge reported.

The phone being a mid-range affair has a glass back panel with a staid black front. It seems the phone would certainly not make it to the US or Japan market but could be a choice for VAIO lovers.

Spectrum auction bids cross Rs 1 lakh crore mark

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The government’s proceeds from the spectrum auction on Thursday crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark as aggressive bidding took place across all bands on the eighth day of the biggest sale of 2G and 3G airwaves.

The amount is expected to rise further as there is spectrum which is yet to be sold. The auction will continue on Friday. So far, over 86 per cent of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders.

China’s Jade Rabbit lunar rover unravels complex geological history of Moon

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China’s Yutu or Jade Rabbit Lunar rover has helped astronomers unravel the “complex” geological history of Moon .

Ground-penetrating radar measurements taken by Yutu revealed at least nine subsurface layers beneath its landing site, indicating that multiple geologic processes have taken place there, the China Daily reported.

Lead author Xiao Long, professor of the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, said that these layers to ancient lava flows and the weathering of rocks and boulders into regolith, or loose layers of dust, over the past 3.3 billion years or so.

Now, chameleon-like synthetic skin that changes color on demand, force

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Researchers have recently created a chameleon-like synthetic skin that changes color on demand by simply applying a minute amount of force.

This new material of many colors, invented by engineers from the University of California at Berkeley, offers intriguing possibilities for an entirely new class of display technologies, color-shifting camouflage, and sensors that can detect otherwise imperceptible defects in buildings, bridges, and aircraft.

Humans adapted to rainforest environment sooner than previously believed

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A new research has found that humans diet 20,000 years ago was largely sourced from rainforest, suggesting that they had adapted to the environment much sooner than thought.

Researchers from Oxford University, working with a team from Sri Lanka and the University of Bradford, analyzed the carbon and oxygen isotopes in the teeth of 26 individuals and found that nearly all the teeth analyzed suggested a diet largely sourced from the rainforest.

Political liberals may be ‘happier’ than conservatives

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A new research contradicts earlier self-reports of higher spirits among political conservatives by stating that liberals exhibit happier speech patterns and facial expressions.

Lead author Sean Wojcik of University Of California-Irvine said that the so-called “happiness gap” between liberals and conservatives is more complicated than previously thought.

Jupiter’s largest moon definitely has an ocean: NASA

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Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, definitely has an underground ocean, researchers said today after confirming the moon’s long-suspected subsurface saltwater body with the help of auroras glimpsed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The ocean is believed to hold more water than is found on Earth’s surface, which broadens the hunt for places in the solar system where life might be able to exist, the US space agency said.

Ganymede, the largest moon in the entire solar system, is larger than the planet Mercury.

Telecom spectrum auction bids cross Rs.1 lakh crore-mark

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The government had received commitments totalling more than Rs.100,000 crore from telecom operators as the eighth day of bidding in e-auctions of radio frequency spectrum concluded on Thursday, an official said.

The total commitments from the 49 rounds so far after eight days of aggressive bidding totalled Rs.102,057 crore, an official source said. Day Eight of bidding witnessed six rounds.

Solar Impulse-2 aircraft to be open for public viewing

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The world’s only fully solar powered aircraft ‘Solar Impulse-2’, which is in the city after its journey from Muscat, would be showcased to public tomorrow, according to the aircraft’s Twitter account.

“PUBLIC DAY: come see #SI2 (Solar Impulse-2) in its #Ahmedabad tent tomorrow at 7:30 AM,” said a statement on Solar Impulse-2’s Twitter account.

However, it would be kept in the open only for an hour or two, said sources associated with the project.

Google launches new Chromebook Pixel 2

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American conglomerate Google launched new versions of Chromebook Pixel, the Pixel 2 with Chrome OS today.

Google’s original Chromebook Pixel was a beautiful, wonderful laptop. It was also absurdly expensive. Now, Google is following it up with the Pixel 2, which is better and cheaper.

The new Pixel will be released in two variants: a US $999 Core i5 5th gen (2.2 GHz Broadwell-U) version with 8GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD, and a US $1,299 Core i7 “LS” version (2.4 GHz Broadwell-U) with 16GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. Both use Intel’s HD Graphics 5500 GPU and weigh in at 3.3 lbs.

Tech gadget firm Equil announces new smartmarker

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Tech gadget manufacturer Equil has announced the launch of its new smartmarker, a gadget that lets you record your notes and doodles to the cloud and even convert them to text on any erasable surface.

According to San Francisco-based techcrunch.com, the Equil smartmarker is available in two forms – a plastic body that holds your marker and a base station that records your work. It can “see” what you’re working up to a distance of eight feet to the left and right, giving you plenty of space to work in knowing it’ll all be saved for later.

Optical fibres show promise for brain-like computer

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Using optical fibres made of speciality glass, the researchers from the University of Southampton in Britain have shown that computers that function like the human brain could soon become a reality.

The findings have the potential to allow faster and smarter optical computers capable of learning and evolving.

Since the dawn of the computer age, scientists have sought ways to mimic the behaviour of the human brain, replacing neurons and our nervous system with electronic switches and memory.

Space-based solar power in the offing

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Paving the way for generating space-based solar power, Japanese researchers have succeeded in transmitting electrical power wirelessly to a pinpoint target using microwaves.

The team at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) transformed 1.8 kilowatts of electric power into microwaves and transmitted it with accuracy to a receiver located 55 metres away, Wall Street Journal reported.

In the experiment conducted at Hyogo prefecture in western Japan, the microwave was successfully converted into direct electrical current at the receiving end.

Astronomers capture first significant X-class solar flare in 2015

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Astronomers have recently captured the first significant X-class solar flare on March 11, 2015.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

Apple suffers outage of its online services in more than 40 countries

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Apple apologized to users Wednesday after a major outage of its online services, affecting customers worldwide. The tech giant’s status page showed the App Store, iTunes, iBooks store and Mac App store went down from 0900 GMT and were still offline at 1900 GMT. Similar outages were seen in Apple online services in Britain and France. The Next Web, the international technology news site, said it had reports of outages affecting more than 40 countries.

Twitter updates ‘Terms of Service’ to ban revenge porn on platform

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Twitter has now updated its Terms of Service to prohibit users from posting revenge porn or other non-consensual, intimate photos on its platform.

The changes were made on Wednesday evening in order to address increasing complaints of online harassment and abuse. The new guidelines would prevent posting of explicit photos taken without the subject’s consent, reported The Verge.

Under the “threats and abuse” section, Twitter added, “users may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject’s consent.”