drag2share: BlackBerry's ultra-secure chat gives each message its own security key

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/22/bbm-protected/

Chat systems like BBM and iMessage are typically very secure, since they're encrypted end-to-end. However, they still have a glaring flaw: if intruders do crack the code, they can see everything you've said. That's where BlackBerry's soon-to-launch BBM Protected comes in. As the company showed at its BlackBerry Experience Washington event (CrackBerry's video is below), the new service makes it extremely difficult to spy on an entire conversation. Each message has its own random encryption key; even a very clever data thief would only get one tidbit at a time, so it could take ages to piece together a full chat.

BBM Protected will only be available for corporate-controlled BlackBerry devices when it launches as part of an enterprise suite in June, although that will include anything running the now-ancient BlackBerry OS 6 or higher. The chat client won't be available for personal phones running BlackBerry Balance until early fall, while Android and iOS users will have to wait until late fall or early winter. All the same, it might be worth holding out if you're really, truly worried that someone is watching your private discussions.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Blackberry

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Via: BGR

Source: CrackBerry

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drag2share: Drone equipped with Google's 3D-sensing phone won't be deterred

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/22/project-tango-equipped-drone-wont-be-deterred/

Google wants to put its Project Tango handsets in orbit, but researchers from the GRASP Lab at UPenn are keeping things on the down-low with one of their already-clever quadrotors. If you'll recall, Tango has a depth sensor, motion tracking camera and two Movidius vision processors to create an internal 3D map of its surroundings. That should, in theory, keep the drone aligned with pinpoint accuracy and no GPS signal. Judging by the video below, it worked perfectly -- the quadrotor stuck to a fixed point and pre-programmed flight path despite some healthy shoves. That should help future autonomous drones react better to their environment if we decide to send them out for, say, delivery duty.

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Alt, Google

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Via: IEEE Spectrum

Source: Vijay Kumar (YouTube)

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drag2share: Go Inside The Futuristic NYC Hotel Where Practically Everything Is Controlled By Tablet [PHOTOS]

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/citizenm-times-square-hotel-tour-2014-5

CitizenM, a new hotel in New York City's Times Square, is a beautiful combination of high tech and high design.

Guests check in using a station of touchscreen computers, and each room can be customized using a sleek Samsung Galaxy tablet. Artwork by Andy Warhol and David LaChapelle line the walls.

CitizenM operates branches in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London, Glasgow, and Paris. In April, the boutique hotel chain opened the new location in Times Square, its first in the United States.

The brand's emphasis is on affordable luxury. Each of the 230 rooms has the same layout, and rates start at $199 a night.

The hotel is both artistic and futuristic, with some stunning design details and impressive technology.

Welcome to citizenM Times Square.

Even before you enter the hotel, you'll see a wall full of art and knickknacks.

There's no reception desk at this hotel. Instead, guests use this kiosk of touchscreen computers to check in, though hotel 'ambassadors' in red shirts stand close by if you need help.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider




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drag2share: Researchers Figured Out How To Make Robots That Can Assemble Themselves Into Any Type Of Furniture

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/roombots-2014-5

Above is an animation of how small robots might recombine themselves to form a chair! Here's what they look like in real life:

Researchers at the EPFL — that's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne — have built awesome modular robots called "Roombots" that can join together to make mobile structures, even furniture.

Each ball-shaped robot is capable of rotating in two diagonal halves, so this makes some curious movement possible. Check out how they can form a figure that waddles across the floor:

The balls can connect to each other (each has several green-tinted "joints"), but they can also pair with passive, non-robotic "plates" to introduce surfaces to the equation. Here's an animation of how they might come together to form a table:

The real value here is in mobile furniture that can accommodate the elderly or disabled. Watch how this table, outfitted with Roombots, can adjust its height and move into position for someone with limited mobility.

Auke Ijspeert, head of the EFPL's Biorobotics Laboratory, said, "Eventually, all you'll need to do is program the layout of a bedroom or a conference room, then let the modules do the work."

A full video demo appears below:

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Article: Storehouse, the iPad storytelling app from a former Apple designer, raises $7M

Storehouse, an iPad app that lets users create and share digital stories from photos, videos and text, has raised $7 million in Series A funding, the company announced Thursday. Storehouse's cofounder and CEO is Mark Kawano, Apple's former user experience evangelist and iPhoto and Aperture design...

http://gigaom.com/2014/05/22/storehouse-the-ipad-storytelling-app-from-a-former-apple-designer-raises-7m/

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