Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/fujitsu-scansnap-s1300i-delivers-scans-to-android-or-ios-devices/

Fujitsu's original ScanSnap S1300 earned a soft spot in our hearts -- no mean feat for a scanner -- so it's with piqued interest that we catch word of a direct upgrade. The S1300i is all about serving those of us who might never send scan results to a printer. Android and iOS aficionados now only have to send the results to a relevant mobile app, skipping the usual computer-to-phone shuffle. That stack of receipts can also go skip devices entirely and go straight to the cloud, whether it's Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, Salesforce Chatter or SugarSync. However that paper gets converted to digital, it'll be accomplished about 50 percent faster, or 12 double-sided, color pages every minute. All the extras lift the price price even higher, though: $295 is a lot to ask for a scanner. Even so, if that stack of bills is high enough to trigger an avalanche, it might be worth the premium to avoid being snowed in.

Continue reading Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony patent filing for glasses would share data face to face, carry more than a hint of Project Glass

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/sony-patent-filing-for-glasses-would-share-data-face-to-face/

Google might not realize it, but Project Glass isn't alone in the patent race these days. Sony has quietly applied for a patent on a familiar-looking smart glasses system whose advantage over Mountain View would be an emphasis on things in twos. Eyepieces are the most obvious, but Sony is also keen on sharing data between two friends: transmitters on a pair of glasses would send personal info through a likely very uncomfortable glance at someone else with the same eyewear. If your friends are more than a little weirded out from sharing by staring, the proposed glasses could still pick up information from visual tags on posters, products and virtually anything else. There's even the obligatory connection to a watch for sharing data with the rest of the world. Whether or not the patent leads to Sony head-mounted technology more advanced than a personal 3D TV is still up in the air, especially with Google currently hogging the spotlight... not that existing, more conservative designs have ever stopped Sony from rolling out wild concepts before.

Sony patent filing for glasses would share data face to face, carry more than a hint of Project Glass originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox teases something 'big' coming for Android next week

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/firefox-android-teaser/

There's been a steady flow of betas for Firefox's Android offering and now the official Twitter account promises something "big" on the way next week, along with this image. The size declaration plus a lack of updated features (specifically Flash support) on tablets so far has us looking there for something new, although the image clearly shows a phone with the words "Fast. Smart. Safe." Also curious is an update for the Firefox beta on Android today which the Twitter account also admonishes those looking for an early preview of next week's news to check out. Finally, there's the timing, as Firefox's main browser rival Chrome has been rumored to be taking over as the standard bearer in Android Jelly Bean next week during Google I/O. Leave all relevant speculation or information in the comments below.

Firefox teases something 'big' coming for Android next week originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Negative radiation pressure in light could make some tractor beams real, we're already sucked in

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/23/negative-radiation-pressure-in-light-could-make-tractor-beams-real/

Developing a real, working tractor beam has regularly been an exercise in frustration: it often relies on brute force attempts to induce a magnetic link or an air pressure gap, either of which falls a bit short of science fiction-level elegance. The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology's Mordechai Segev has a theory that would use the subtler (though not entirely movie-like) concept of negative radiation pressure in light to move objects. By using materials that have a negative refraction index, where the light photons and their overall wave shape move in opposite directions, Segev wants to create a sweet spot where negative radiation pressure exists and an object caught in the middle can be pushed around. His early approach would use extremely thin crystals stacked in layers to manipulate the refraction. As it's theorized, the technology won't be pulling in the Millennium Falcon anytime soon -- the millimeters-wide layer intervals dictate the size of what can be pulled. Nonetheless, even the surgery-level tractor beams that Segev hopes will ultimately stem from upcoming tests would bring us much closer to the future that we've always wanted.

Negative radiation pressure in light could make some tractor beams real, we're already sucked in originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 04:18:00 EDT. Pl! ease see our terms for use of feeds.

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Missile Tracking Technology Is Unlocking The Game Of Basketball

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/missile-tracking-technology-is-unlocking-the-game-of-basketball-2012-6

Basketball has found out how to play Moneyball, and they've taken a page out of the Missile Defense Agency's book to do it.  

Mark Wilson at Fast Company reports how Stats, a company specializing in sports statistics, is using missile interceptor tech to gather reams of data about NBA players and other sports teams.

The way that it works is a marvel in itself.

Cameras mounted at the top of stadiums are able to track players, identify where they are when they shoot, and then a computer interprets the data to identify where they're successful, when they miss, and where a player is the best at sinking shots.

The missile technology comes in when you consider that the system has to track 10 sprinting athletes moving in an unexpected pattern in two dimensional space. Even more, the system tracks an eleventh body — the ball — through three dimensions of space, identifying anything from a single dribble to a halfcourt shot. 

Ten teams are using the tech. Oh, and so is the U.S. Military. To track ballistic missiles.

And it seems to be working well for the NBA franchises, because four of them made the payoffs, and one — the Oklahoma City Thunder — made the finals. 

SportVU, initially designed with military tech to track soccer games by an Israeli company, but after they were purchased by Stat, the technology was applied to basketball as well. 

They're looking into getting it into football stadiums as well. 

So far, the ten teams have pooled their data so that everyone can peek at everyone else's data. This has allowed individual teams can build research departments and get game-changing insights into how to strategize in a general matter. 

It is changing the way team strategize. 

Check out the full story at Fast Company.

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