Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: Extreme Tech Stories

Friday, October 31, 2014

Extreme Tech Stories

Xbox One readies shift to 20nm - but can a smaller node help it match the PS4's performance?
NASA signs off on Mars-bound Orion spacecraft: All systems go for December test flight
Watch out: If you installed the PS4 2.0 firmware update, don't use Rest Mode
An interview with Zoltan Istvan, leader of the Transhumanist Party and 2016 presidential contender
DARPA creates first 1THz computer chip, earns Guinness World Record

Watch out: If you installed the PS4 2.0 firmware update, don’t use Rest Mode

More Stories

ET deals: Dell Venue 8 tablet for $150 October 31, 2014 at 2:28 pm
Tablets are getting bigger and better all the time, as the bar raises for what can be considered a budget device. With an 8-inch 1080p display and Android 4.4, and selling for just $150 right now, Dell’s Venue 8 tab is an example of just how much you can get today without spending big.
HP’s Sprout attempts to replace the keyboard with a built-in 3D camera and projector October 31, 2014 at 9:35 am
Feast your eyes on Sprout, a new all-in-one PC from HP that replaces the keyboard and mouse with a 20-point, 20-inch projected touchpad. HP says the Sprout is the first product in a new ‘Blended Reality’ lineup that’s meant to re-envision the interface between real and virtual, analog and digital. Along with the projector, there’s also a high-res camera and 3D scanner, allowing you to easily ‘upload’ objects into the Sprout just by placing them on the mat.
How a computer simulation could stop you getting sick the next time you fly October 30, 2014 at 4:01 pm
A new simulation of how particles spread throughout an airplane cabin could tell you who’s going to get sick.
The best free games on the Xbox One October 30, 2014 at 3:21 pm
Consoles were once exclusively home to big-budget full-price games, and now the entire market is being turned on its head. The Xbox One is now home to a number of free-to-play titles, and today I want to give those games their due. Let’s jump in, and explore what the free-to-play model has to offer the average Xbox One owner.
Google’s Project Ara pushes ahead with new modular smartphone prototype October 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group is finally ready to show off a new, fully working prototype of the Project Ara modular smartphone. The prototype appears to be a polished version of Spiral 1, which made a brief public appearance in June at Google I/O. Perhaps most excitingly, though, the Project Ara engineers say that they’re almost ready to show off Spiral 2, which will make the prototype from the video look like a potato.
ET deals: Core i3 touch laptop $450, 39-inch Smart TV $369, 27-inch QHD LCD $595, more October 30, 2014 at 1:48 pm
Today we’ve got a lot of great deals for you, including a Core i3 touchscreen laptop for $450, a 39-inch Smart HDTV for $369, 68% off Windows 8.1 Professional and more. Read on to check out all the top deals we’ve found today.
Intel’s 14nm Broadwell chip reverse engineered, reveals impressive FinFETs, 13-layer design October 30, 2014 at 11:32 am
Intel’s new Broadwell has gone under the microscope at chipworks, and the firm has certified that Intel’s new core hits its metrics. Broadwell is a full 14nm shrink.
Microsoft Band: A cross-platform fitness-oriented smartwatch for $200 October 30, 2014 at 10:46 am
Microsoft has unveiled the Microsoft Band, a fitness band with a small screen and some smartwatch-like properties. To get the most out of the Band, you’ll also need Microsoft Health, a quantified self/mobile health app that produces pretty graphs and tracks your various fitness-related activities (or lack thereof). Microsoft Band is available to buy today (in the US) for $200, and the Health app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
Finding Amelia Earhart: How modern forensics finally plotted a course to Gardner Island October 30, 2014 at 8:09 am
On July 2, 1937, American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was attempting to circumnavigate the globe in a modified twin-engine Lockheed Electra 10E when she — and her navigator, Fred Noonan — mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the Pacific, near Howland Island. Now, at long last, it seems that dogged investigation and advanced technology may have finally solved the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart.
Everspin teams up with GlobalFoundries to build commercial MRAM October 29, 2014 at 4:32 pm
MRAM researcher Everspin has signed a new agreement to build 40nm MRAM with GlobalFoundries, but will the chips ever hit densities that compete with NAND flash?