Instrument's Map Diving for Chrome: like a Google I/O keynote, minus Sergey (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/instrument-map-diving-demo-for-chrome-like-a-google-io-keynote/

Let's be honest: it's doubtful we'll ever get to directly recreate the skydiving antics of Google I/O 2012's opening keynote. Some of us on the I/O 2013 floor, however, could get the next best thing. As part of a Google Maps API showcase, Portland-based Instrument has developed a Map Diving game for Chrome that has players soaring over real locations to reach Pilotwings-style checkpoints. The version that will be at the event links seven instances of Google's web browser, each with its own display; gamers fly by holding out their arms in front of a motion camera like the Kinect or Wavi Xtion. Sergey Brin probably won't be waiting for anyone on the ground once the demo's over, but Instrument hints in a developer video (after the break) that there could be a take-home version of Map Diving after the code is tuned for a single screen. Either way, we can't wait to give it a spin.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, Google

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Via: The Verge

Source: Instrument

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Mind-Bending 'Inception' Maps Show Manhattan Like You Haven't Seen It Before

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bergs-inception-maps-of-manhattan-2013-5

London-based design firm BERG created these two 3D maps of Manhattan, which look like a scene out of "Inception" (via Curbed NY).

Called "Here & There," the horizon-less maps make it appear as if the city is curling up and over you. One view looks uptown from 3rd and 7th, and the other downtown from 3rd and 35th.

It was made with "a combination of city manipulations in modeling software" and both maps are now a part of the MoMA's permanent collection.

"The ability to be in a city and to see through it is a superpower," BERG explains about the project. "It's how maps should work."

The images are both three feet tall and two feet wide, and are still available to purchase at BERG London for roughly $150.

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Amazon reportedly developing multiple smartphones, including one with a 3D display

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/amazon-developing-smartphone-with-3d-display/

Remember the EVO 3D? Swap out the HTC logo for an Amazon one, and you just might be onto something. According to a new Wall Street Journal report, one of the world's most famed forkers of Android is looking to expand its mobile portfolio by adding the one crucial device it lacks: a phone. As the story goes, the company has been toiling on a pair of smartphones as well as an "audio-only streaming device," all to "expand its reach beyond its Kindle Fire line of tablet computers." If you'll recall, we've heard that Amazon was dabbling in similar works since at least 2010, but the notion of expanding the Amazon ecosystem is now more pertinent. One of those phones is a higher-end device that offers up a glasses-free 3D display -- it's bruited that it would use "retina-tracking technology" to enable visuals that "seem to float above the screen like a [Tupac?] hologram." In fact, that eye-scrolling technology that was initially rumored to be a part of the Galaxy S4 may instead make its debut on Amazon hardware.

Of course, rumors of an Amazon phone have been running just about as long as rumors of a Facebook phone, but it seems that the company is (still) making a very concerted effort to further expand into the hardware arena. We're told that the prototypes are being nurtured within Amazon's Lab126 facility in Cupertino, "where each of the devices have been under development, the efforts are known as Project A, B, C and D, or collectively as the Alphabet Projects." If all goes well, Amazon could release at least some of these products in the coming months, but there's also the chance that every last one of 'em could be "shelved because of performance, financial or other concerns." Come to think of it, it's been a hot minute since Amazon threw a launch party for anything -- what say we change that, Jeff?

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Amazon

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Cyberthieves yank $45 million in sophisticated ATM hack, make Ocean's Eleven look trivial

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/cyberthieves-atm-hack-millions-stolen/

It has the makings of a film -- but the fallout from one of the world's most sophisticated ATM heists is very real. The New York Times is reporting that a massive team of criminals worked in concert in order to grab some $45 million in a matter of hours over the course of two operations. The sheer scope of the project is hard to wrap one's mind around, involving trained personnel positioned in over two dozen countries.

Earlier today, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "unsealed an indictment charging eight members of the New York crew, offering a glimpse into what the authorities said was one of the most sophisticated and effective cybercrime attacks ever uncovered." In essence, the hackers were able to infiltrate various credit card processing companies and raise withdrawal limits on prepaid accounts -- from there, cashing crews hit thousands of ATMs, socking away millions in the process. Hit up the source link for the full read; it's a wild one, for sure.

Filed under: Internet

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Source: The New York Times

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Facebook's Open Compute Project eyes accessible, scalable network switches

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/09/open-compute-project-eyes-accessible-scalable-network-switches/

Facebook's two-year-old Open Compute Project is fast becoming a potential cure-all for servers, with efforts underway that tackle efficiency, storage and monolithic design. Its next target: the frequently closed-source, small-scale world of network switches. The OCP team wants networking devices as open and scalable as the servers underneath them, and it's teaming up with heavy hitters such as Broadcom, Intel and VMware to make that happen. Unlike past initatives, though, there isn't an obvious template to work from. When development starts at the OCP Engineering Summit on May 16th, the alliance will be starting from scratch -- which suggests that we'll be waiting a long time to see what truly flexible switches can do.

Filed under: Networking, Intel, Facebook

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Open Compute Project

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