Google can now say if your internet connection is quick enough for YouTube

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/21/google-video-quality-report/

Many are tempted to blame stuttering YouTube streams on our internet providers, but who's really at fault? Google may shed some light on the subject now that it has launched a Video Quality Report. The tool tells surfers how well their providers typically handle YouTube in a given region, breaking reliability down by the feed quality and time of day. Services that properly load at least 90 percent of 720p videos get a "YouTube HD Verified" badge, while those that tend to choke wind up in standard definition and lower definition categories. Only Canadians have access to the report at the moment, although it should reach other countries in time. Wherever it goes, it should help viewers decide whether or not it's time to switch networks -- and it just might spur some companies into making much-needed upgrades.

Filed under: Networking, Internet, Google

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Via: 9to5 Google

Source: Google Video Quality Report, Financial Post

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Toshiba's ready to make better SSDs following its takeover of OCZ

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/22/toshiba-buys-ocz/

Toshiba made its first move to rescue faltering solid state drive manufacturer OCZ Technology back in November, and now that sale is final. In the deal, OCZ gets to keep its identity and independence, but will now operate as OCZ Storage Solutions. It's a slight change in nomenclature to be sure, but hopefully that won't make picking its drives out from Newegg's stock any harder. Just think: for a cool $35 million, maybe you could have bought the drive-maker for yourself.

Filed under: Storage

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Source: Financial Post

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Snapchat enlists its ghost mascot to thwart potential bot accounts

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/22/snapchat-ghost-mascot-captcha/

It's anyone's guess what Snapchat's done behind the scenes to patch up its data vulnerabilities, but the firm's continuing to address the issues with a new public-facing measure. For instance: the app now has a new (and surprisingly cute) security measure in place to prevent the mass creation of dummy accounts usually made to harvest users' phone numbers. When new folks sign up, they're shown nine images instead of the usual captcha, and they have to prove they're not a bot by choosing the ones with Snapchat's ghost mascot. In addition, the company now implements server-side checks to ensure that those who use the Find Friends feature are real people with verified phone numbers. In theory, this double security layer should make it hard for scammers and spammers to collect private info en masse. Those still worried about their privacy, however, can always unlink their phone numbers for their own peace of mind.

Filed under: Misc, Mobile

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Source: TechCrunch

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T-Mobile Will Now Give You A Free Checking Account, Complete With 42,000 No-Fee ATMs

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/t-mobile-mobile-money-2014-1

T-Mobile isn't just content being your wireless carrier. It now wants to manage your checking account, too.

The company announced today Mobile Money, a free checking account service available to anyone with a T-Mobile phone number.

With T-Mobile's Mobile Money, your wireless carrier is your bank. T-Mobile retail stores are your banking branches. T-Mobile retail employees are your tellers. And while it sounds bizarre, it's just another example of a company trying to remove the banks from banking. (Mobile Money is very similar to Simple, another promising alternative banking service.)

Here's how it works:

• You walk into a T-Mobile store and open your checking account with an initial cash deposit. T-Mobile gives you a prepaid Visa card. (You'll eventually get your own debit card with your name on it.)
• You deposit cash to your account at the T-Mobile store and checks by snapping a photo of the document using the T-Mobile Mobile Money app for iPhone or Android.
• To get cash, you can make withdrawals (no fees!) from a network of 42,000 ATMs that you can find using the app. There's also a network of international ATMs that you can use for free.
• You can transfer money to other Mobile Money customers using the app if you have the person's T-Mobile phone number and last four digits of his or her debit card.
• You pay your bills electronically using the app or T-Mobile's website. You can also have T-Mobile cut a check and send it to someone if that's your only option.

Mobile Money is totally free except for the occasional fee you might have to pay for stuff like same-day bill payments.

But it's not for everyone, of course. T-Mobile is only offering free checking, not savings accounts or any of the other premium services traditional banks offer. It's simply an option for T-Mobile customers who want to easily move money in their checking accounts around. If you need more than that, you're probably better off with your regular bank.

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MIT's new transparent screen may lead to cheap heads-up displays

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/21/mit-transparent-display/

Transparent screens just aren't very practical these days -- bigger models are frequently expensive and bulky, while smaller heads-up displays tend to have very narrow viewing angles. However, MIT may have solved all those problems at once with its prototype nanoparticle display. The device creates color images on a glass surface simply by 'tuning' a silver nanoparticle coating until it lets only certain light wavelengths pass through. The technique is both cheap and compact, since it requires little more than the coating and some off-the-shelf projector technology. There's also no need for beam splitters or mirrors, so you can see the picture from just about any angle. While there's a lot of work left before there's a finished product, researchers note that their display would be as easy to implement as window tinting; don't be surprised if MIT's screen shows up on a car windshield or storefront near you.

Filed under: Displays

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Via: GigaOM

Source: MIT

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