drag2share: Mozilla working on Chromecast-like mirroring for Firefox Android browser

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/27/mozilla-tests-tab-mirroring-on-firefox/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

Maybe this is Mozilla's retort to Google's Chromecast, maybe it isn't. Either way, the end result certainly looks similar. Details are scarce, but an enigmatic Google+ photo shared by insider Mark Finkle clearly reveals some sort of wireless tab mirroring between a Nexus 4 and a Roku box. We're going to hazard a guess that it's being orchestrated through the web, rather than merely being based on WiFi Direct or a similar device-to-device protocol. In the same manner as Chromecast or Apple's AirPlay, this could allow the Firefox-running smartphone to be used independently from what's shown in the display -- so, for example, it could work as a keyboard or a remote control at the same ti! me as fe eding content. Anyway, there's a limit to how much we can glean from a single pic (could that be a DVD-VHS combo player on the shelf?), so we've asked Mozilla for a bit more detail and will update this post if we hear back.

Update: Mozilla has confirmed that it is indeed at working on a second-screen solution for Firefox on a range of devices:

"We are conducting some experiments around second-screen support with a number of devices. But this is at investigation stage and we have nothing to announce at this time."

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drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

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Stanford's latest particle accelerator is smaller than a grain of rice (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/27/stanford-particle-accelerator-on-chip/

Particle accelerators range in size from massive to compact, but researchers from Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have created one that's downright miniscule. What you see above is a specially patterned glass chip that's smaller than a grain of rice, but unlike a broken Coke bottle, it's capable of accelerating electrons at a rate that's roughly 10 times greater than the SLAC linear accelerator. Taken to its full potential, researchers envision the ability to match the accelerating power of the 2-mile long SLAC linear accelerator with a system that spans just 100 feet.

For a rough understanding of how this chip works, imagine electrons that are brought up to near-light speed and then concentrated into a tiny channel within the glass chip that measures just a half-micron tall. From there, infrared laser light interacts with patterned, nanoscale ridges within the channel to create an electrical field that boosts the energy of the electrons.

In the initial demonstration, researchers were able to create an energy increase of 300 million electronvolts per meter, but their ultimate goal is to more than triple that. Curiously enough, these numbers aren't even that crazy. For example, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin were able to accelerate electrons to 2 billion electronvolts over an inch with a technique known as laser-plasma acceleration, which involves firing a laser into a puff of gas. Even if Stanford's chip-based approach doesn't carry the same shock and awe, it seems the researchers are banking on its ability to scale over greater distances. Now if we can just talk them into strapping those lasers onto a few sharks, we'll really be in business.

Filed under: Science

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Recycle Your Old microSD Cards Into an SSD Drive

Source: http://gizmodo.com/recycle-your-old-microsd-cards-into-an-ssd-drive-1404467902

Instead of giving your unwanted memory cards away to your parents, or putting them someplace safe where they'll inevitably get lost, this easy-to-build kit lets you turn a bunch of unused microSD cards into a far more useful SSD drive.

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drag2share: Google's Open Project mirrors Android apps on any connected touchscreen

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/27/google-open-project-mirrors-android-apps-touchscreen/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

Sure, Google already has Chromecast for throwing websites and media to big screens. The company's engineers believe they can go one better, however, with something called the Open Project framework. It's an effort to find a standardized way of mirroring not only content, but also touch inputs on a suitably equipped touchscreen or connected TV. Setting it up is simple: open the Open Project server webpage running on the machine connected to your chosen display, scan a QR code with your smartphone camera, and boom, you're ready to interact with your content and apps. It opens a world where people can collaborate on content or play multiplayer games without additional hardware or sensors. Open Project remains a proof-of-concept for now, or perhaps a plaything for UI-obsessed billionaires, but check out the video to see where the technology might take us in the future.

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drag2share: Intel Capital throws money at Recon Instruments, hints at wearable war with Google

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/27/intel-capital-recon/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

If you thought that Google Glass was the only wearable backed by one of tech's mega corporations, think again. Intel's investment arm has now ponied up a "significant" investment into Recon Instruments, makers of the Jet heads-up display for extreme sports. While neither party has disclosed how much cash Intel has thrown Recon's way, the release does reveal that the Intel Capital will be sharing its expertise in "manufacturing, operations and technology" in addition to its checkbook. While it's far, far too early to presume that we'll see Santa Clara dive head-first into the weara! bles mar ket, we're going to be watching this partnership with extreme interest.

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drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

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