Sony VAIO Tap 11 review: meet Sony's answer to the Surface Pro

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/sony-vaio-tap-11-review/

It wasn't until I was in a meeting with Sony, getting hands-on with its holiday lineup, that I realized something: the company didn't have a proper Windows 8 tablet. Yep, that's right: for all the experimentation PC makers have been doing around Win 8, one of the biggest names in consumer electronics had never attempted a simple Windows tablet. Even crazier: Sony instead placed its bets on the slider PC, of all things -- a design that presents more than a few ergonomic challenges.

Finally, though, Sony is giving the ol' slate form factor a shot: the company recently announced the Tap 11, a tablet seemingly designed to blow the Surface Pro out of the water. Like Microsoft's tablet, it has a kickstand, USB port, pen-enabled display and a thin keyboard case that attaches to the device magnetically. Unlike Microsoft, however, Sony is throwing in the wireless keyboard at no extra charge -- kind of a big deal considering Ballmer and Co. are selling the Type Cover for an additional $130. Even better, the Tap 11 starts at $800, undercutting the new Surface Pro 2 by $99 (and that's not even counting the keyboard). So, what's the catch?%Gallery-slideshow100615%

Filed under: Tablets, Sony

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Article: Feds reportedly used phone database to track “burner” use

In HBO's The Wire, drug dealers rely on cheap "burner" phones, which are used for a short time and then thrown away, to thwart police efforts to record their calls. The idea of a temporary, anonymous phone number has also caught on in the app world as witnessed by investors' recent decisio...

http://gigaom.com/2013/10/14/feds-reportedly-used-phone-database-to-track-burner-use/

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IBM's Watson uses Jeopardy skills to become House-like medical diagnostician

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/ibm-watson-medical-diagnosis/

IBM's Watson hasn't been in medical school long, but he already has two jobs. Teaming with the Cleveland Clinic, Big Blue researchers have developed WatsonPaths, a diagnosis and education project, and Watson EMR Assistant, a tool for delving deep into medical records. WatsonPaths is the more ambitious of the two, drawing on question-answering skills acquired from its Jeopardy days to examine medical cases from all angles. It'll gather data from journals, texts and on-the-job training, helping doctors improve differential diagnoses and create better treatments. When first deployed, WatsonPaths will be used as a classroom training tool after physicians have decided what's wrong with a patient, but doctors can already see its real-world potential as a clinician.

Researchers are also taking advantage of Watson's natural language talents to scour medical records with the Watson EMR Assistant project. The goal is to analyze unstructured patient records -- which can easily pass 100MB over a patient's lifetime -- with "a deep semantic understanding of the content." That'll take a lot of the grunt work out of parsing such data, letting physicians more easily see the relationship between clinical concerns, lab results and medications in order to provide better care. Despite all that prowess, Watson will mostly remain a learning tool and research project pending further development at the clinic. If the researchers are thinking primary care, however, they may want to bump its people skills.

Filed under: Misc, Science

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LG G Pad 8.3 coming to the UK, priced at £259

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/lg-g-pad-8-3-coming-to-the-uk/

We first got our paws on LG's 8.3-inch G Pad tablet back at IFA, today it's been confirmed that it'll be coming to the UK and Ireland. Brits who want a slice of the action can expect to pay around £259 for the privilege, while Irish buyers can snap one up starting within the next two weeks. LG reminds us this is only part of the broader global rollout, which will see it land in over 30 total markets by the end of the year. You might have to wait a little while longer, though, if you're done with the whole "flat" thing.

Filed under: Tablets, LG

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Source: LG Blog

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castAR augmented reality glasses hit Kickstarter with a clip-on that transforms them into a VR headset

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/14/castar-kickstarter-launch/

When Jeri Ellsworth and Rick Johnson were let go from Valve back in February, they didn't want to give up on the top-secret augmented reality project they had worked so hard on during their time as employees. So they obtained permission to carry on with it, formed a company called Technical Illusions, and went to work to create what they would eventually call castAR. Months later, at Maker Faire 2013, they revealed the projected augmented-reality system to the world. Comprising a pair of active shutter glasses, a couple of micro projectors, a camera module and a retroreflective surface studded with infrared LEDs, castAR certainly made an impressive debut. Yet, it was still just an early prototype weighed down by heavy glass elements and solid circuit boards.

Today, however, the team is finally ready to reveal the final product in its official Kickstarter launch. Not only is the design much lighter than what we saw in May, but it now has a very intriguing clip-on attachment that can essentially transform the castAR glasses into either true AR glasses that provide augmented reality without the retroreflective surface, or full virtual reality eyewear if you want a completely immersive experience like with the Oculus Rift. This essentially turns castAR into a three-in-one headset, and all in a relatively slim package. As castAR claims on its Kickstarter page, "you will have no need for any other head mounted display." Join us after the break for a rundown of the campaign, some insights from Ellsworth and Johnson and a preview of the device itself.

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Kickstarter

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