Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, June 17, 2013

Skype video messaging officially launches on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android -- but not Windows Phone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/17/skype-video-messaging-launches-free-unlimited/

Out of beta and free, Skype today launches its video messaging service across all its major platforms. Previously, video missives were limited to 20 free attempts during early testing, but free on premium subscriptions. You can now send unlimited video messages to your Skype contacts on Windows 8, Windows desktop or Mac, while mobile options encompass iOS, Android and BlackBerry. A Windows Phone version is, however, conspicuously MIA. To remind yourself how it all works, check out our early hands-on here.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: Skype

Digg's Google Reader replacement beta opens on June 26th, friends and family get access on the 19th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/17/digg-rss-reader-june-26/

Digg -- yes, that Digg -- has a replacement in the works for Google Reader, and it looks like it'll arrive just ahead of the final days of Google's RSS aggregation service. The service, which uses the same API as Reader, is planning a public beta starting on June 26th; a "friends and family" beta will open this Wednesday, the 19th, with limited access.

During beta, the Digg RSS reader is free. In a survey Digg published last month on its blog, however, the company found that over 40 percent of respondents are "willing to pay for a Google Reader replacement." The company noted alongside the finding that, "Free products on the Internet don't have a great track record. They tend to disappear, leaving users in a lurch. We need to build a product that people can rely on and trust will always be there for them. We're not sure how pricing might work, but we do know that we'd like our users to be our customers, not our product."

That said, Digg's latest blog post seemingly assuages our worry. "We mentioned in a prior post that Digg Reader will ultimately be a 'freemium' product," the post reads. "But we're not going to bait-and-switch. All of the features introduced next week, as well as many others yet to come, will be part of the free experience." Those features include the standard RSS reader experience, "easy migration and onboarding from Google Reader," "useful mobile apps that sync with the web experience" (there's an iOS one pictured, and Android is promised in the 60 days post-launch) and "support for ... subscribing, sharing, saving and organizing."

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: Digg Blog

This Fitness Startup Is Betting 'Wearable Tech' Is A Fad That Won't Catch On

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/moves-tracks-2-billion-steps-per-day-2013-6

lululemon man runner running

Wearable technology has led everyday people and fitness buffs alike to track every aspect of their lives.

It's part of an increasingly growing movement dubbed the "Quantified Self."

But startup Moves is betting that wearable tech won't be the thing to make the Quantified Self movement go mainstream.

"We think the phone is a great existing platform for activity tracking," Moves CEO and Designer Sampo Karjalainen says. "The fact that so many people are already carrying their phones with them, that helps a lot. If you buy these [wearable fitness] gadgets, you need to remember to charge and carry one more gadget. It's a big behavioral change you have to do."

Moves is a free iPhone app that runs in the background for tracking a variety of activities like walking, running, cycling, and driving. Based on some early stats, it seems like Karjalainen may be right about the smartphone being the optimal tool for activity tracking.

To date, Moves has been downloaded over 1.9 million times on iOS and tracks 2 billion steps per day. Compare that to the Jawbone Up, which tracks more than 1 billion steps per day, according to data released in April.

Moves is geared toward those who aren't that physically active, but want a general understanding of their health and fitness. Karjalaien says there will be use cases for those wearable tech gadgets, but phones are what will make the fitness tracking market go mainstream.

Earlier this year, Moves raised $1.6 million from PROfounders Capital and Lifeline Ventures. Just last month, Moves released its API for developers to integrate Moves into preexisting apps and services. Moves plans to release its Android app this summer.

Disclosure: Finnish funding a! gency Te kes and Finnfacts, a non-profit media service organization in Finland, paid for my trip to Helsinki to explore the startup scene.

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Wow, a 4K TV For $1080 Is Simply Bonkers

Source: http://gizmodo.com/wow-a-4k-tv-for-1080-is-simply-bonkers-513578198

Wow, a 4K TV For $1080 Is Simply Bonkers

A couple of months ago, Seiki announced a 50-inch 4K TV with a suggested MSRP of $1500—which is still an absurd price point for a 4K TV. The price has continued to drop, and now Amazon's selling it for $1081.

Sure, $1080 for a TV isn't cheap, but other competing televisions sporting 3840 x 2160 resolutions still cost basically the price of a car, so if you wanted to be an early 4K adopter, this is probably the least expensive LED TV that can get you in the game. You might not get perfect color or clarity, like you would with a $6000 Sony, but when Mario was able to gaze on one of these sets he left impressed. There might not be much 4k content out there yet, but this panel would look great as a monitor.

So to summarize: a 50-inch, 4K resolution TV for $1080 with free shipping. Bonkers. Especially since 3D TV seems to be dead, if you wanted to future-proof your home theatre, this might be a television to check out. [Amazon]

Update: Amazon's now listing the television for $969. If you bought it yesterday, you can get the difference refunded.

Home Lohas brings hydroponic gardening into your room, rabbit guard not included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/16/home-lohas-hydroponic-gardening-vegetable/

While running between booths at Computex earlier this month, we were momentarily distracted by these vegetable boxes (maybe it was lunch time as well). As it turned out, this product was launched by Taiwan-based Home Lohas around the same time as when the expo started. The company pitches its hydroponic gardening appliance -- so the vegetables rely on nutritious water instead of soil -- as a hassle-free, low-power solution for growing your own greens, plus it's apparently the only solution in the market that doesn't need water circulation. With its full spectrum LED light, air pump and timers, harvest time can apparently be reduced by about 30 percent. It's simply a matter of filling up the water tank, adding the necessary nutrients and placing the seeded sponge on the tray (the package includes three types of organic fertilizers and some seeds).

The only downside is that this system costs NT$15,800 (about US$530) in Taiwan, and for some reason, it'll eventually be priced at US$680 in other markets. If that's too much, then stay tuned for a half-size model that's due Q4 this year.

Gallery: Home Lohas brings hydroponic gardening into your room, rabbit guard not included