May 2016

There were 4 posts published in May 2016 (this is page 1 of 1).

Weekly#168

  • Microsoft to Streamline Smartphone Hardware Business
    Software giant insists that it isn’t exiting the mobile-phone business and will focus efforts in areas where it has ‘differentiation (WSJ)
  • Accenture Technology Vision 2016 [Report]
  • An LED Light Bulb With a Warm, Retro Glow (WSJ)
  • Amazon recently unveiled Echosim.io, a site that emulates the functionality of an Amazon Echo speaker, bringing the Alexa voice assistant technology to desktops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly#167

 

  • The Internet Value Chain : GSMA Study [PDF]
  • A power company in the Midwest hired a group of white hat hackers known as RedTeam Security to test its defenses [Tech Insider]
  • Google I/O 2016 (in GIFs) [Medium]
  • ARM has acquired an Internet of Things (IoT) business called Apical that holds a lot of intellectual property and has a finger in connected vehicles, robotics, smart cities and security systems.[V3]
  • Earthquakes come without warning, making them one of the most feared natural disaster. Startups like Zizmos are working on early-warning systems using IoT (Internet of Things) sensors…
    Today, Japan has the most advanced early warning system in the world. This system has come at a cost of one billion dollars. It is effective, but unfortunately, unaffordable for all but the richest countries….
    Zizmos is a startup that began as a research project at Stanford University funded by the National Science Foundation. Eight years of research went towards finding new technology to mitigate the effects of earthquakes in the world….
    The Zizmos sensor network can provide up to 90 seconds of warning, depending on the distance between the user and the epicenter. Seismic waves travel at approximately two miles per second; therefore, if you live 30 miles from the epicenter you will receive 15 seconds of warning before the earthquake impacts your location [HuffingtonPost]
  • The plan comes as IMAX and Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Thursday announced plans to collaborate on a camera that will capture 360-degree images made to be experienced on virtual-reality headsets. The camera is expected to be ready for commercial use in roughly 18 months.[WSJ]
  • Understanding The Protocols Behind The Internet Of Things 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly#166

  • Apple Invests $1 Billion in Didi, Uber’s Rival in China (WSJ)
  • The deal came together after the Didi Chuxing executive team visited Tim Cook at Apple headquarters in Cupertino on April 20. The $1 billion investment closed “like lightning” only a few short weeks later. (BI)
  • Uber, not Tesla, will be Apple’s competition in the automobile industry (BI)
  • Google is beautifying its data centers by turning them into giant art projects (TNW)
  • Facebook news selection is in hands of editors not algorithms, documents show (Guardian)
  • Japan-based industrial giant Hitachi announced that it is creating the Hitachi Insight Group, encompassing its IoT solutions and services, to be headquartered in Santa Clara, California…
    Hitachi’s 33 IoT-specific solutions generated $5.4 billion in revenues in 2015, the company reported…
    The group will also oversee Hitachi’s new Lumada IoT software platform, which will serve as the foundation for software applications that Hitachi will build along with its partners. (BI)
  • …before Android’s launch in 2008, its cofounder Rich Miner, now a general partner at Google Ventures, wrote an internal email describing the need for an open-source mobile operating system…
  • “If an open platform is not introduced in the next few years then Microsoft will own the programmable handset platform,” wrote Miner. “Palm is dying, RIM [Blackberry] is a one-trick pony, and while Symbian [a closed operating system] is growing market share it’s becoming a Nokia only solution.” (QZ)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly#165

  • If you have a computer running Windows 7 or 8, mark July 30 on your calendar. That’s the day that upgrading your PC to Windows 10 will no longer be free. Once the operating system passes its one-year anniversary, Microsoft Corp. will start charging $120 to move over to Windows 10. (WSJ)
  • Basically, Microsoft built a “self-capacitive touch screen,”a phone that can sense when your fingers are nearby and display the controls you need, right when you need them. (BI Insider)
  • Microsoft acquires Solair (Microsoft)