Archives for 2012

In keeping with our prediction that Google TV would be seeing something of an expansion this year at CES, LG’s first foray into the Google TV ecosystem has just been unveiled ahead of the show.As you can see in the picture, it’s got a new interface but the guts are still Google TV. This is probably something that we’ll be seeing more of: manufacturer-specific builds, like Sense and TouchWiz for your TV.The TV itself is of an unspecified size, but chances are it will come in large and extra-large sizes (42″ and 55″ or thereabouts) when it comes out later this year. It comes with LG’s “Magic Remote Qwerty,” which is, as you might expect, a combination of its voice-controlled Magic Remote with the magic of QWERTY. Or AZERTY, depending on where you are.I’m liking that it’s passive-glasses 3D; active glasses are a thing of the past and glasses-less isn’t quite there yet. Polarized is how you see it in the theater in general, and it’s the way to see 3D at home if you want to see 3D at all. Just stay away from its “built-in 2D to 3D conversion engine,” which sounds supremely awful.
Via techcrunch.com

Ford is heading to Silicon Valley to open a new research lab, and the car computers they hope to build will do a lot more than help you find radio stations more quickly or improve your gas mileage. The future of in-car computing looks not unlike the future of phones (all app-ready, cloud-powered and touchscreen-enabled) and to get there, it’s not only Ford that’s heading West to team up with companies like Microsoft and Apple. The Dearborn, Michigan, company is just the latest major car manufacturer to go all start-up by opening a technology office in the Bay Area, joining global brands like BMW, General Motors and Nissan-Renault. When you add the myriad Silicon Valley startups that would be eager to build business models around the multi-billion dollar automotive industry, you wouldn’t believe how futuristics cars can get. The way the spokespeople talk about it, it sounds like car computers are heading into Jetsons territory (if only the cars could fly, right?) but what exists so far tends to revolve around the radio quite a bit.
Via www.theatlanticwire.com

Analytics firm Flurry said 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the last week of December.Activity was buoyed by the facts that many users received new devices for Christmas and firms offered discounted apps over the holiday period.The US was responsible for nearly half of the downloads, followed by China and the UK.With 81 million downloads, the UK easily surpassed Canada (41 million), Germany (40 million) and France (40 million).It was beaten to second spot by China with 99 million downloads. The US was out ahead with 509 million.
Via www.bbc.co.uk

Light and safety, and low cost, were all great features of Edison’s light bulbs.
But come January 1, when a light-bulb law setting new efficiency standards is set to take effect, it’s out with those old incandescents and in with the new. My great grandfather’s 100-watt incandescent will be replaced with new energy-efficient versions, including CFLs, LEDs, and — yes — new and improved incandescent bulbs. When better lighting is fully implemented throughout our country, we’ll be saving $13 billion a year in electricity costs and we’ll eliminate the need for 30 large power plants, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
Via edition.cnn.com