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AfterDawn: News

Google adds nutritional info to searches

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 10:20

Google adds nutritional info to searches Google has added nutritional information to its Knowledge Graph, meaning it has been added to search results.

Says the search giant: "This new nutritional information builds on our work on the Knowledge Graph, which brings together all kinds of information from across the web that wasn't easily accessible."

Perhaps more importantly the information is available through voice search and works on the web and via mobile devices.

The move should be great for those trying to diet.

(Pic via TC)




AfterDawn: News

FBI and police must return personal data seized in Megaupload raid

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 8:58

FBI and police must return personal data seized in Megaupload raid A New Zealand court has ordered that the FBI and police must return Kim Dotcom's personal data that was seized during the raid of Megaupload last year.

Additionally, they must specify all information that is at the core of their case against the file sharing service that once accounted for a large share of the world's Internet traffic at any given time.

High Court Justice Helen Winkelmann ruled again that the raid of Dotcom's mansion was illegal since they did not have proper warrants. The police and FBI must now return any digital data that is not relevant to the case.

Furthermore, the Justice ordered the FBI to destroy all clones they have of Megaupload's hard drives that contain personal information or other none relevant information to the case.

Dotcom and the rest of the defendants must be given copies of the hard drives and information that will be used in the case against them.

It is unclear if users will get their personal data back, but it seems to be a step in the right direction.




AfterDawn: News

Razer shows off the 'world's thinnest gaming' notebook

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 8:28

Razer shows off the 'world's thinnest gaming' notebook Yesterday, Razer unveiled their "Blade" notebook, a device they claim is the 'world's thinning gaming laptop.'

The notebook is just 0.66-inches thick, and the company says it offers "more power-per-cubic-inch than any other laptop in the world."

Under the hood is a 4th generation Intel Core processor (Haswell), a new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 756M GPU, 8GB of 16000 Mhz DDR3L memory and 128GB SSD storage in its base model. The device runs on 64-bit Windows 8. Despite being thin it is not too light, at 4.135 pounds.

"We've designed and built the thinnest, most powerful 14-inch laptop in the world," Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan noted. "Thinner than a dime and more powerful than other traditional desktop replacements today, we've created an entirely new category of thin and powerful laptops that is generations ahead of other PCs."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

HTC cancels its full-sized Windows RT tablet

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 8:02

HTC cancels its full-sized Windows RT tablet According to reports, HTC has canceled all plans to develop a 10-inch (or larger) Windows RT tablet.

The company cited weak demand for "full-sized" tablets in a world that it is moving towards the 8-inch form factor made popular by the iPad Mini.

Despite dropping plans for the full tablet, the company is still planning to build a 7-inch tablet using Microsoft's crippled version of its OS. At the same time, HTC will step back into the Android market with a 7-inch tablet running on Jelly Bean and based on the HTC One hardware.

Both tablets will run on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, although it is unclear which ones.

Windows RT is almost dead already, after just 8 months on the market. The OS does not allow access to legacy Windows applications, meaning everything must be acquired through the Windows Store, which is still tiny compared to Android and iOS.




AfterDawn: News

Nokia's tax issues in India get deeper

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 7:34

Nokia's tax issues in India get deeper India has now demanded that Nokia pay 2.09 billion rupees ($40 million USD) in taxes, claiming the company wrongfully claimed an exemption on software exports.

Nokia, for its part, says the claims have no merit, but they are fully cooperating with Indian tax authorities on the matter.

The new demand is in addition to a recent raid on Nokia's phone manufacturing facility in the nation and its demand for 20.8 billion rupees in back income tax and penalties. Nokia denied those charges, as well.

Indian officials have been increasingly cracking down on alleged tax evasion by multinationals, and big caps like Vodafone, Shell and Cadbury have all received similar demands.

The new demand revolves around a 12 percent service tax that Indian companies can use on software that is developed and used in India. If you export it, you do not have to pay taxes on it. Tax officials allege that Nokia exported the locally developed software to itself, and then used it in products manufactured in India.




AfterDawn: News

The Moto X is real, will be built in U.S.

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 May 2013 7:09

The Moto X is real, will be built in U.S. Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside has finally confirmed the existence of the Moto X, a high-end smartphone that has been under development for a year.

Notably, the smartphone will be built in Fort Worth, Texas, unlike most smartphones and electronics which are built overseas.

Motorola has long fallen behind in the smartphone market to rivals like Samsung, but Woodside says the company will be relaunching their entire product line in the next quarter. "We're turning the corner," Woodside added.

The company will also narrow their focus to just a handful of devices, instead of a full lineup of over a dozen like they have now.

Woodside noted that the Texas factory will employee 2000 Americans before August.

In terms of specs and details, they were scant except to say they will have "advanced sensors and will be 'contextually aware' of what's going on around it."




AfterDawn: News

Galaxy Note 3 will not use Samsung Exynos CPU

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 11:01

Galaxy Note 3 will not use Samsung Exynos CPU According to a new report, the upcoming Galaxy Note 3 will not use Samsung's own octa-core Exynos 5 CPU but will instead use Qualcomm's fast Snapdragon 800.

There are two possibilities for the omission of the CPU, says the report. Either Samsung has trouble producing the chipset with enough volume for expected sales, or the Snapdragon is just frankly more cost-effective.

The 800 has a quad-core Krait processor with clockspeeds up to 2.3GHz, features the new Adreno 330 GPU, supports 4K and has LTE built-in.

What makes the 800 most impressive is the fact it "leverages its Asymmetrical Multi-Processing (aSMP) design to produce amazing results. Select a task and one the four cores will snap into action. Each core can throttle up and down depending on the task. The result is increased battery efficiency and a whole lot of performance, claims Qualcomm." (Via KYM)

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AfterDawn: News

Google continues expansion into Africa with solar project

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 10:32

Google continues expansion into Africa with solar project Google has expanded its clean power projects to Africa for the first time, investing $12 million in a 96 MW solar panel farm in South Africa.

When completed, the "Jasper Power Project" will "be able to deliver enough clean power for the equivalent of 30,000 South African homes and will be built in the Northern Cape province near the town of Kimberly," says Om.

U.S.-based solar developer SolarReserve has joined up with South African companyies Intikon Energy and Kensani Group to build the farm.

Altogether, the Jasper farm will cost $260 million, and they have received financing from the Public Investment Corporation, Development Bank of South Africa and the PEACE Humansrus Trust.

State-owned utility Eskom will buy the solar power from the farm when it is up and running.




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft defends 'boxy' look of Xbox One

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 10:05

Microsoft defends 'boxy' look of Xbox One Microsoft has released a new video defending the look of its upcoming console, the Xbox One.

While it has garnered comparisons to VCRs, Microsoft says the idea was to bring the squares/tiles of its modern-style interface to the hardware.

The company tried "dozens" of designs but ultimately settled on the two-tone, matte and glossy black box.

Microsoft's design team was led by Carl Ledbetter, the man in charge of the slim Xbox 360. Additionally, the company chose the "blackest black creatable" for the controller and Kinect sensor.




AfterDawn: News

Google Play Music finally headed to iOS

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 9:31

Google Play Music finally headed to iOS Google's popular cloud music streaming service Google Music is finally headed to iOS, years after its debut on Android.

Android boss Sundar Pichai announced the news at the D11 conference in which they also announced the HTC One Nexus edition.

Pichai says the software should be available in "about a month" but there is little other details as of yet.

While Google Music is headed to iOS, it is less clear whether All Access, the company's competitor to Spotify, will be as well. Pichai says their team is "working like crazy" on an iOS version of All Access, it does not appear to be anywhere near ready.

When asked about Windows Phone and BlackBerry, Pichai was as blunt as it gets; they don't have enough users: "We want to reach as many people as possible. For platforms that don't have that many users at scale, we have great HTML5 apps. If they get more users, we will make apps."




AfterDawn: News

Roku raises $60 million for set-top business

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 9:11

Roku raises $60 million for set-top business Roku has raised $60 million, led by Fidelity and Hearst Corp. as new investors.

Numerous previous investors, including News Corp., BSkyB and Dish invested again, as well. The total the company has now raised is $130 million, says CEO Anthony Wood.

Wood says the company will use the money to make Roku the standard for smart TV operating systems. Wood (rightly) believes that most companies, with the exception of Samsung, will not want to invest in new software for smart TVs, and he wants Roku to ease into that role.

The company has sold over 5 million set-tops to date, but Wood says sales are "strongly accelerating."

Following Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox One, it appears Roku will have even more big name competition besides Apple and their Apple TV.




AfterDawn: News

Apple quietly unveils new 16GB iPod Touch without camera

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 8:32

Apple quietly unveils new 16GB iPod Touch without camera Apple has quietly released a new 16GB iPod Touch model, a first for the latest generation of devices.

The company has discontinued the 4th generation model in favor of the new downsized 5th generation model, and all other 5th generation models remain on sale.

Apple's latest has a 4-inch Retina Display, a dual-core A5 processor, a front-facing HD camera for FaceTime and has the same aesthetic appearance except that Apple has dropped the rear camera.

Additionally, the company has lost the "loop" lanyard hook, in case that turns some customers off.

The new iPod is available for $229 and ships the next day in either black or silver. You can get it here: Apple




AfterDawn: News

Windows 8.1 is here, and the Start button is back among many other improvements

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 8:07

Windows 8.1 is here, and the Start button is back among many other improvements After days of leaks, Microsoft has officially unveiled Windows 8.1, the first major update for its unpopular Windows 8 operating system.

Says the software giant: "Windows 8.1 will advance the bold vision set forward with Windows 8 to deliver the next generation of PCs, tablets, and a range of industry devices, and the experiences customers -- both consumers and businesses alike -- need and will just expect moving forward. It's Windows 8 even better.

Not only will Windows 8.1 respond to customer feedback, but it will add new features and functionality that advance the touch experience and mobile computing's potential. Windows 8.1 will deliver improvements and enhancements in key areas like personalization, search, the built-in apps, Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity. Windows 8.1 will also include big bets for business in areas such as management and security."


The company unveiled a number of improvements, all of which should be welcomed by disgruntled Windows 8 users.

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AfterDawn: News

Nexus edition of HTC One to launch on June 26th for $599

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 7:36

Nexus edition of HTC One to launch on June 26th for $599 Although they previously denied the rumor, HTC has unveiled the Nexus model of their popular HTC One smartphone.

The move comes less than a month after Samsung and Google made a similar announcement for the Galaxy S4.

Unlike the version that uses HTC's own Sense overlay, the new Nexus model will start with stock Android 4.2.2 and receive updates directly from Google first, just like other Nexus phones and tablets.

Under the hood, the device is exactly the same, running on a powerful quad-core Snapdragon S600, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 4MP UltraPixel camera and front-facing speakers.

For the time being, the device will be U.S-only, just like the Galaxy S4, and will work on GSM networks. The SIM is unlocked and the bootloader is unlockable.

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AfterDawn: News

Alpha House, Betas and three children's shows will be first Amazon original series

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 May 2013 12:45

Alpha House, Betas and three children's shows will be first Amazon original series In an effort to better compete with Netflix, Amazon has selected their first five original series.

The company released pilots for fourteen shows over the last couple of months, but some failed to impress, including "Zombieland," which was based on the hit movie.

Comedies Alpha House and Betas will be the first two series, joining three children's shows called Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleleaf.

Alpha House is a satirical political show starring John Goodman and Betas is a comedy centered around a few guys and their Silicon Valley startup.

"We are thrilled at the enthusiastic customer response to our first original pilots," said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. "We built Amazon Studios so that customers could help decide which stories would make the very best movies and TV shows. It's exciting to see the process in motion, doing exactly what we set out to do. The success of this first set of pilots has given us the push to try this approach with even more shows--this is just the beginning."

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