New details about the next Apple TV may have just leaked out (AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-apple-tv-features-details-2015-3

Apple is working on a new version of its Apple TV streaming set-top box, according to a new report from BuzzFeed News.

The new version of the Apple TV will be "a significant overhaul of the device," according to the report, and will introduce its own App Store in addition to adding Apple's virtual assistant Siri for the first time.

Apple is said to be planning to announce the new Apple TV at its World Wide Developers Conference in June, and will also debut a software development kit allowing app developers to create their own apps for the streaming box.

The interior of the Apple TV is said to be getting an overhaul as well. Apple will include a version of its A8 chip as the processor, and will increase the internal storage "well beyond the 8 GB in the current device." 

The new report from Buzzfeed News appears to back up an earlier report from 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman which revealed Apple's would announce a slimmer version of the Apple TV complete with its own App Store and newly designed remote in the summer.

Interestingly enough, the Apple TV started out as a "hobby" product for Apple, but after reaching more than $1 billion in sales in 2013, Tim Cook has since said, "It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days."

Apple is also said to be developing its own TV subscription streaming service to launch in the fall, according to The Wall Street Journ! al, which will offer "about 25 channels, anchored by broadcasters such as ABC, CBS, and Fox, and would be available on Apple devices such as the Apple TV."

SEE ALSO: Apple employees were hooked up to breathing masks and exercised in 'climate chambers' to test the Apple Watch

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drag2share: Will.i.am Finally Found A Customer For His Smartwatch: Gucci

source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DK0LjbCw_FI/will-i-am-finally-found-a-customer-for-his-smartwatch-1692521606

I don't know if I'm quite having a breakdown, but I'm certainly sitting at my desk having some kind of adverse physical reaction to the fact that will.i.am has pumped another wearable device into this consumer electronics landfill we call Earth. Yes, Mr I.Am has made another smartwatch.

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Richard Branson hints at Virgin electric cars to rival Tesla

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/19/virgin-electric-cars-to-rival-tesla/

The Virgin giganto-brand already encompasses a media empire, a few airlines, wireless phone service, some hotels and an honest-to-goodness space program -- why wouldn't it churn out some electric cars for us, too? CEO Richard Branson hinted as much during a chat with Bloomberg, noting that Virgin's already got a team plugging away on high-speed electric car that'll participate in the Formula E racing circuit, but here's the bit that everyone's seized on:

"We have teams of people working on electric cars," Branson said. "So you never know-you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business. We will see what happens."

To be absolutely clear, there's nothing at all concrete about his statements. Lots of things might happen. What's indisputable, though, is Branson's general distaste for more conventional, petrol-guzzling cars. The past few years have seem him tooling around in a Saab 9-5 BioPower station wagon, and he reiterated just today that he hopes "10 years from now the smell of exhausts from cars will be a thing of the past as much as the smell of cigarettes in restaurants."

Still, there's an argument to be made that Branson (and his vast swimming pools of cash) is just the right person to take on this challenge. He's certainly got the resources to turn a kooky concept into an actual road-worthy machine, and some of the hires made for Virgin Galactic -- like former White House assistant director of space and aeronautics Richard DalBello -- mean that Branson and his ilk have the clout and drive to make key strategic hires. Hell, there's a sort of proud British history of electric scooting, too: The world's first electric car just might've been invented by a plucky British inventor named Thomas Parker in the late 19th century. Thing is, crafting a truly usable, desirable electric car is no small feat - just ask the folks at Fisker who tried that, failed and sold what was left of their company to a Chinese company that plans a grand resurgence for the brand in the years to come.​

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Source: Bloomberg

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Article: Autonomous Materials Will Let Future Robots Change Color And Shift Shape

Some of the applications sound like pure science fiction New robots could take on exciting new forms and applications, with each component of the machine able to react and act on its own, according to a review published today in Science. The materials making up a robot are themselves are becoming...

http://www.popsci.com/future-robotic-will-have-autonomous-materials

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drag2share: Why is this song used in so many GoPro videos?

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/19/why-is-this-song-on-so-many-gopro-videos/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

February 23rd, 2012. Electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling uploads the official music video for "Crystallize" to YouTube. Two days later, user "riley lux" uploads a video titled "DH long boarding on a windy day." In it, a group of friends enjoy some downhill riding set to Stirling's haunting violin-based soundtrack. The video itself isn't remarkable. Some self-shot GoPro footage, with a few edits roughly in time with parts of the song. But, there's something about each pass of Stirling's bow that balances the on-screen energy with a tangible calm. Later the same day, user "Jvr0s" chooses the same song for a video called "GPK Fun around town." In it, a group of friends practice parkour. This video is entirely forgettable, but for the song -- it somehow manages to elevate the otherwise unremarkable action cam footage.

My first exposure to the track is also on an action sport video, during a wingsuit video marathon, to be precise. Long after my first encounter, I hear the song again on an F-18 pilot's GoPro video; remembering it, I use Shazam to find out what it's called. I scour my YouTube history and realize: This song has been following me for months through its popularity on YouTube GoPro videos and I've only just noticed.

The question is: Why am I hearing this song in videos more than... well, any other? Is it a free download on some action sports site? Was it used in an advert for GoPro? Maybe it's just confirmation bias? Or, perhaps, Stirling's stumbled on a secret formula. Something in the song's DNA that makes it particularly suitable for soundtracking sweet jumps, aerial rides, hula-hooping, surfing, wingsuit flying or, seemingly any and every form of action-based activity?

As of this writing, searching YouTube for "Crystallize GoPro" returns about 12,000 results. By contrast, searching for "Rihanna Diamonds GoPro" (an arbitrarily chosen popular song), you actually get about 10,000 more results. However, scroll down and you'll soon see that the action videos using Rihanna's song are few, and drop off almost immediately. YouTube fills the space with "Results for similar searches." You can go 10 pages deep after searching "Crystallize GoPro," and still find more action videos soundtracked by the song. When I first noticed this, it seemed like an in-joke I didn't know about. Some videos are perhaps less suited for the piece, sure; it's not a panacea. But most -- the clear majority -- are improved by it.

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