#Slow fade for the ipad and tablets? The ipad isn what it used to be.
It been more than four and a half years since Steve jobs launched the ipad. On that first weekend of sales in May 2010, Apple sold over one million units against a backdrop of long,
snaking lines at Apple stores and tablet sales surged in the following years. Fast forward to the end of 2014.
For the first time since 2010, tablet shipments recorded a year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter,
market research firm IDC said this week. The ipad just isn the sensation it once was
according to IDC. pple efforts to maintain ipad momentum have fallen flat so far, IDC said in a statement,
attributing this to the lackluster refreshes of the ipad Air and ipad Mini. The new ipad Mini, for example, is virtually the same as the older model with the exception of a fingerprint sensor and a new color (gold.
The problem is, when Apple slumps the whole market sinks. The tablet market is ery top heavyin that it relies mostly on Apple
and Samsung to carry the market forward each year, IDC said. Which means Samsung is playing its part in the slump too. amsung's struggles continued asid-to high-priced Android tablets like Samsung offerings simply aren't cut out for today's tablet market, the market research specialist added.
What going on? Large-screen phones, aka phablets, are a big factor, according to market research firm Canalys,
which also released numbers this week, showing a shrinking tablet market. Phablets, like the 5. 5-inch iphone 6 Plus and the 5. 7-inch Samsung galaxy Note 4, render tablets like the 7. 9-inch ipad Mini less attractive
and less necessary. here are some markets around the world where five -and-a-half and six-inch smartphones are really popular such as China and other parts of Asia, Chris Jones,
an analyst and cofounder at Canalys, told Foxnews. com. In Asia they are consuming media content on a large-screen phone so they don need a tablet,
he said. nd Apple has had an impact as well, changing the size of their iphone with the 6 Plus.
That has an impact because there not a lot of difference between a large phone and a seven-inch tablet.
Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC, said that consumers are holding on to their tablets for a lot longer than expected,
which is also contributing to the muted demand. One of the few bright spots is Microsoft and Windows device makers.
They are tapping into a shift toward large-screen tablets in certain markets, according to both IDC and Canalys.
Microsoft has been aggressively pushing its 12-inch Surface Pro 3 tablet over the past six months and Hewlett-packard markets 13-inch tablets to large corporations.
Both Microsoft and HP fared well in the fourth quarter, according to Canalys. And Lenovo a large Windows device maker ad its best ever quarter, said Canalys.
It should be noted, however, that the larger tablets are marketed often as hybrid tablet-laptops --so growth in this market isn't necessarily good news for companies like Apple.
And what can we expect in 2015?""Despite the slow down of the market, we maintain our forecast about tablet growth in 2015,
"said Jean Philippe Bouchard, an IDC analyst. icrosoft's new OS Windows 10, a general shift towards larger screen s nd technology innovations such as gesture interface that could be introduced in tablets will help the market maintain positive growth in 2015,
he added. Canalys expects growth in 2015 to come from tablets with screen sizes larger than 8 inches o
#China tightens Web controls requires written pledge to avoid'unhealthy'activity online China announced Wednesday that users of blogs
and chat rooms will be required to register their names with operators and promise in writing to avoid challenging the communist political system, further tightening control over Internet use.
#Global tablet sales dip for first time Tablet sales have fallen for the first time since the devices went mainstream in 2010,
According to its most recent data, 76.1 million tablets were sold globally by tech firms during Q4 2014, down from 78.6 million for the same period a year earlier.
The company sold more tablets (21.4 million) than any other vendor during the quarter, though it possible the recent release of its large-screen iphones impacted sales to some extent.
Rival Samsung sold about half as many tablets as Apple at the end of last year (11 million), while its fall in sales was slightly bigger than the Cupertino company at 18.4 percent.
In fact as the table below shows, four of the top five vendors saw a fall in Q4 slate sales,
IDC senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani described the tablet market as till very top heavyin that it continues to rely mostly on Apple
The analyst added, lthough Apple expanded its ipad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249,
it still wasn enough to spur ipad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iphones.
s low-cost vendors are quickly proving that mid-to high-priced Android tablets simply aren cut out for today tablet market.
which saw 229.6 million tablets shipped, marking a 4. 4 percent increase on 2013. So how is 2015 likely to pan out for tablet makers?
A myriad of factors are set to haul the business one way or the other, among them increased rivalry in emerging markets, saturation in established ones, the presence of Apple large-screen iphone 6 devices,
and the introduction of lighter, increasingly powerful, and competitively priced laptops. You never know, Apple expected supersized tablet might even shake things up a bit n
#IBM joins forces with Mars taps genomics to boost food safety Tech heavyweight IBM has joined forces with food manufacturing giant Mars in an attempt to boost global food safety.
Scientists from the two companies have founded the Consortium for Sequencing the Food supply Chain tapping advances in genomics to gain a better understanding of food safety.
IBM says that researchers will investigate the genetic fingerprints of living organisms such as bacteria fungi
and viruses examining how they grow in environments such as countertops factories and raw materials. The data will be used to investigate how bacteria interact with scientists hopeful the results will improve food safety management across the supply chain. t becoming extremely complex with the global supply chainjeff Welser lab director of IBM Almaden research center
in San jose Calif. told Foxnews. com. small problem in one place can travel quicklyhe consortium will conduct the largest ever study of metagenomics aiming to better categorize
Scientists from U. C. Davis will sequence the sample data which will then be sent to IBM. e take it to do the work on the analytics
Last year for example the company enhanced its Watson supercomputer famous for its appearance on the quiz show Jeopardy in an attempt to speed up the pace of scientific breakthroughs.
Welser told Foxnews. com that IBM is actively pursuing other partners to join the consortium with the support of Mars. ood safety is not a competitive issue all companies want food to be said safehe.
Additionally the Vindskip will employ a specialized computer program to analyze meteorological data and calculate the best sailing route based on available wind energy.
and encryption the researchers have combined an encryption and authentication security system with inkjet-printing technology. How does it work?
it may be orange on printer paper. Recipe turned Encryption Toolthe inventors are calling this ink a built-in olecular encryptiontool.
#IBM and Bon Appétit's Chef Watson app cooks up some surprising dishes Meet Chef Watson, the most versatile culinary genius around.
On Tuesday, tech giant IBM and foodie magazine Bon Appétit announced the public version of Chef Watson,
the new cognitive cooking app that brings the knowledge of the world-famous"Jeopardy"-beating supercomputer to the average household kitchen.
distinguished engineer and director of IBM Watson Life, told Foxnews. com. ood plays such a crucial role in the social and cultural fabric of our society,
when she heard about IBM and the Institute of culinary education (ICE) food truck that made a splash at the 2014 South by Southwest festival in Austin.
Over a five-day period, ICE and IBM treated passersby to dishes that were prepared using Watson database of recipes from the culinary school.
ICE and IBM published a cookbook, ognitive Cooking with Chef Watson: Recipes for Innovation from IBM & the Institute of culinary education. or Rivera, it seemed like her publication resources could make for a great match with IBM technology.
Rivera and her team reached out to IBM, and a series of articles featuring Watson recipes were released.
Rivera and Abrams said they saw potential for a more comprehensive app that could give the magazine readers direct interaction with Watson capabilities.
The computer is not replacing the human cook but instead offering the best possible options for creating unique, sometimes counterintuitive, recipes.
and how they cook. t not a computer telling you how to cook, but is instead a computer helping you cook.
There a difference, Rivera added. Rivera and Abrams said they have worked to make the app more user friendly over the past year,
#Ambitious new tech aims to revolutionize touchscreens The ambitious GHOST (Generic, Highly-Organic Shape-Changing Interfaces) research project is building technology that will let consumers use their fingertips to literally drag data out of touchscreen displays,
bringing it into the 3d world. GHOST is the brainchild of four universities in the U k.,Holland and Denmark.
or data out of the hard screen and then manipulate it while it is suspended in the air.
Researchers have worked on screens that can automatically change shape, a way to take things out of a screen into the air
and creating the so-called hoststhat you can touch and feel. How do you get the data out of the screen?
According to the researchers, GHOST is made possible by advances in deformable screens and ultrasound levitation technology.
Once pulled out of the digital 2d world, 3d objects that can be manipulated. t's not only about deforming the shape of the screen,
but also the digital object you want to manipulate, maybe even in mid-air, explained GHOST Coordinator and University of Copenhagen Professor Kasper Hornbaek, in a statement. hrough ultrasound levitation technology, for example,
we can project the display out of the flat screen. And thanks to deformable screens we can plunge our fingers into it. ow can you feel a GHOST?
Users will be able to handle objects and data in an entirely new fashion. A brain surgeon, for example, could use GHOST to create a virtual version of the brain that he
The mergeprototype, for example, lets users pull bar chart data out of a screen using their fingertips.
Once pulled out of the screen the data can be manipulated by hand into different patterns. It can also be broken down individually, by row and by column. orpheesis another prototype,
which uses flexible mobile devices made with Lycra or alloy displays. These can bend, stretch and change shape automatically.
the screen could automatically bend to shield your fingers so that others cannot see your private data entry.
If a user, for example, wants to watch a movie on a bigger screen the device can row itselfto a larger size
in the statement. f you want your smartphone to project the landscape of a terrain 20 or 30 cm 8 to 12 inches out of the display,
#New Fingerprint Technology Launched by Qualcomm In an effort to offer more security to mobile devices
Currently on the market mobile devices have more of a touch based type of fingerprint technology.
and will increase the level of security on mobile devices. By using this new type of technology on mobile devices passwords will quickly become of thing of the past making your cellphone more secure.
Due to its high powered processing capabilities the technology can acquire the scan through aluminum plastic
#Big Day for Microsoft; Launched Hololens 3d headset at Windows 10 Event On Windows 10 event,
Microsoft introduced its Hololens 3d headset which can be used to interact with holographic images and allowing its users to play video games and build 3d models.
Microsoft Hololens headset was the most eye-catching thing at the event when Windows 10 was showcased,
which a major OS release from Microsoft. The company said the headset would be available around the same time that Windows 10 is released,
which is expected to be this year. Microsoft chief executive, Satya Nadella said ur industry progress is punctuated by moments of category creation.
Windows and holographic computing is one such moment. Hololens is a bit different from the virtual reality headset that has been focused by Samsung, Sony and many others.
Microsoft employee demonstrated it by designing a model of drone with the hand gesture to manipulate tools that were visible to her with the help of headset.
Microsoft did revealed not key details about the headset; including the most important question that how much it will cost.
Microsoft announced a free one-year upgrade to its users. So for the Windows users it is a good time to upgrade to Windows 10,
if they are using Windows 7 or Windows 8, 8. 1 on PC or phones. This would help Microsoft to get hundreds of millions of users running the older versions of Windows to upgrade quickly to the newest version.
Executive vice president at Microsoft Terry Myerson said indows 10 is so much more than the latest version of Windows.
Windows 10 changes the rules of the game and redefines the relationship between us and our customers.
Another good thing announced was the addition of Cortana, a sri-like software, to Windows 10 that was previously available only for Windows phone o
#Researchers developed hydrophobic metals using laser Engineers have spent decades studying super-hydrophobic surfaces because of the plethora of real-life applications.
which caused the mouse to move in a circle. In other mice, shining a light directly onto brain cells expressing a light-sensitive protein prompted the release of dopamine,
but in the future, the researchers hope to incorporate a design much like a printer ink cartridge so that drugs can continue to be delivered to specific cells in the brain,
the scientists explain how they used Sticky-flares to quantify ßctin mrna in Hela cells (the oldest and most commonly used human cell line) as well as to follow the real-time transport of ßctin mrna in mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
Complicated process The researchers focused on five different types of cells in a particular area of the mouse cortex
#Hybrid crystals fuse semiconductors and metal Tomorrow's computers and electronics will require extremely small high-quality circuits.
Microsoft the Carlsberg Foundation and the Lundbeck Foundation supported the work r
#Shire Acquires NPS Pharma for $5. 2b Shire will acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals for about $5. 2 billion cash,
faster and less expensive than using a mouse model, for instance, "he explained.""The big finding is that we have a single receptor that does two different jobs,"noted Dr. Xue."
wrote the investigators. n A549 lung cancer cellased mouse xenograft studies, 6-thio-dg caused a decrease in the tumor growth rate superior to that observed with 6-thioguanine treatment.
#Ultra-Fast Software Developed to Scan the Human genome Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital say they have developed an analysis pipeline that cuts the time it takes to search a person's genome for disease-causing variations from weeks to hours.
The panel defined those challenges as protecting privacy and consent for trial patients; providing researchers adequate time to analyze
The panel expressed fear that such invalid analyses ill lead to claims of risk that are not scientifically valid,
creating independent review panels with members of the public to decide sharing requests, and maintaining transparency in data-access policies.
The panel defined stakeholders to include funders and sponsors, as well as disease-focused patient advocacy groups, regulators,
They confirmed this using a combination of studies in mouse and frog models, and in human induced pluripotent stem cells.
However, data in recent years is beginning to bring into focus that many prostate tumors display substantial amounts of genetic heterogeneity, leading to differential mortality rates.
the drug-treated mice showed a six-day-faster reconstitution of hematopoiesis after bone marrow transplantation. tudying mouse models,
wrote the authors. e utilized these ULK1 substrates to perform a cell-based screen to identify
Savin tells us, other devices like screens and photodetectors. The results appear in this week's edition of the journal Nature Technology.
But researchers at Duke university and Microsoft Research think they have a solution that'll let gamers have their on-demand cake
and a remote server rather than offloading them all to the server. The researchers claim that this collaborative rendering technique requires just one-sixth as much bandwidth as conventional cloud gaming setups for the same visual quality.
The mobile or console device sketches out the key parts of each frame or the bulk of the image in a subset of the 60 frames displayed per second (at least six frames must be generated client side to be worthwhile),
while the remote server does the heavy lifting and fills on all of the fine-grained details such as shadows, real-time lighting,
server offloaded) streaming system. You can see a comparison of the performance and graphics in different scenarios in the video below.
Kahawai was also found to work offline, sans remote server connections, at lower graphical fidelity,
"said study co-author and Duke computer scientist Landon Cox.""But any graphics-intensive application could potentially benefit from Kahawai,
from 3-D medical imaging to computer-aided design software used by architects and engineers.""The researchers presented their findings at the 13th International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications,
The new technology uses implanted sensors sending wireless signals to the artificial limb's built-in computer, enabling subconscious, real-time control and faster, more natural responses and movements.
#New process prints electroluminescent layers directly onto three-dimensional objects Electroluminescent (EL) panels are found in many electronics applications, particularly as backlighting for LCD displays, keypads, watches,
when EL panels made from plastic are bent too sharply, fractures and a severely diminished output usually result.
As a result, EL panels have generally been restricted to flat or slightly curved surfaces. However, researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of technology (KIT) and Franz Binder Gmbh & Co have developed now a new manufacturing process to print EL panels directly onto the surface of almost any convex and concave shape.
Even apparently, onto spheres. In essence, the new technique involves printing electroluminescent layers directly onto an object without any intermediate carrier layer (the plastic material mentioned earlier.
Electroluminescent panels are a very popular way to backlight a screen, particularly as they provide an even glow across their entire face,
and EL panels have been in use in automobiles since at least 1960 when Chrysler used them in their prestige models.
Essentially the equivalent of a capacitor when used in an AC (Alternating current) circuit, EL panels encase their light-emitting material between two electrodes.
In standard panels, one electrode is generally clear glass or plastic coated with a transparent conductive coating,
In the KIT/Binder EL panel, however, the production process sees different components of the coating (specifically the electroluminescent
"Though Saarland University announced a prototype EL printing method earlier this year using ink jet-printers printers,
and a large range colors may be applied to the same surface, thereby providing more versatility to the 3d EL panels.
#Engineers create a computer with a water droplet processor From driving water wheels to turning turbines,
Now, engineers at Stanford university have created the world first water-operated computer. Using magnetized particles flowing through a micro-miniature network of channels,
the new fluidic computer uses electromagnetic fields to accurately pump these droplets around a set of physical gates to perform logical operations.
The many and varied components required of a fluidic computer have coalesced slowly in his mind over that time
"The reason computers work so precisely is that every operation happens synchronously; it's what made digital logic so powerful in the first place,
"According to the Stanford researchers, this new type of computer offers up a way to produce an alternative to high-speed, complex,
In this way, the fluidic computer may find applications in such areas as biology, chemistry, and other physical sciences and technology that use processes more akin to the properties of organization found in nature."
or to operate word processors on this. Our goal is to build a completely new class of computers that can precisely control
and manipulate physical matter. Imagine if when you run a set of computations that not only information is processed
"Right now, anyone can put these circuits together to form a complex droplet processor with no external control something that was a very difficult challenge previously.
The short video below shows the fluidic computer in action
#3d printing breakthrough creates metal and copper structures The method developed at the University of Twente in The netherlands involves microscopic drops created from a thin metal film that is melted by a pulsed laser.
The key to this breakthrough in printing metals seems to be using a higher energy laser than in previous attempts.
The team plans to look into this effect to improve printing capability not just in metals
The key to this breakthrough in printing metals seems to be using a higher energy laser than in previous attempts.
The team plans to look into this effect to improve printing capability not just in metals
Data from modeling software was fed then into a 3d printing machine, and a custom flute was manufactured duly."
and hardware that let the car park itself, Jaguar land rover has demonstrated a very nifty remote control app that lets you get out of your car,
and transparent displays, and graphene-based on-chip optical communications.""Interestingly, the ability of graphene to reach such elevated temperatures without melting
In normal color printing, various semitransparent inks are applied on top of each other to produce the various hues of a picture.
This nanoscale"color palette"meant that the physical characteristics of the holes in the material determined the color displayed to accurately reproduce the S&t athletic logo"Unlike the printing process of an inkjet or laserjet printer,
the Missouri S&t team believes that mechanical color printing on such materials provides a much higher printing resolution than conventional color printing.
the printing substrate is also a metamaterial. As such, its unique properties may allow it to be used in ways not previously possible in the areas of nanoscale visual arts,
The researchers also believe that such a method of printing should also result in a reduced material count in relation to standard printing methods,
According to the project team, the key to developing the exoskeleton was using software to simulate tasks involving assembly and disassembly,
Users can connect a smartphone, tablet, or PC to it wirelessly using Wi-fi. With this option,
users can mirror their screens on the giant projector display. There's also a USB port that will allow users to directly play videos from a USB drive.
Lastly, there's the option to use HDMI for connecting an external device. As far as lifespan is concerned,
LG is promising that its LED lamp is capable of working for up to 30, 000 hours,
The material could find use in faster, higher-capacity hard drives and other electronic components. Electronic components such as hard disks typically use layers of different materials in filigree structure (tiny beads
and threads of metal soldered onto the surface) to exploit a phenomenon known as magnetoresistance to develop a high electric resistance,
The researchers believe that niobium phosphide has"enormous potential for future applications in information technology"not only in hard drives but also in many other electronic components that use magnetoresistance to function.
"and can hold up to 60 tablets at once. The university is currently looking into developing and testing it further, with an eye on possible commercialization.
along with cameras and sensors that monitor the plants bunches of basil (used to make Liguria's iconic pesto sauce) growing either in hydroponics or in soil.
eye tracking and vital parameter measurements (such as pulse or heart rate), object and action recognition (Computer Vision),
the hardware inside is starting to show huge promise in the world of medical diagnostics,
The latest advance in this area comes in the form of a fiber optic sensor for smartphones that monitors bodily fluids,
That is, on sunny days, at a time when standard PV panels would already be producing energy at full tilt.
and offices and could allow for much more convenient charging of mobile devices. Wireless (or inductive) charging is witnessing a huge surge in popularity
For smartphones and tablets, this means they can't be charged very effectively while they're being used.
according to the researchers, power either 30 smartphones or five laptops simultaneously. Prof. Rim and colleagues say the level of magnetic flux exposure is within the safety levels set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP
and maximum power transfer efficiency while charging the laptops was measured at 34 percent. The results were published in last month's issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics,
So called because its panels are thing enough to slot between the pages of a notebook
Unlike most solar chargers on the market, it features modular panels that connect via embedded magnets.
you can connect up to four panels together. Each individual panel generates a maximum of 2. 5 W of power
so four will provide up to 10 W via USB. On a sunny day, that just as good as a 5v/2a wall charger.
Solar Paper also has some built-in smarts to help users get the most out of it.
There's also a built-in LCD screen that displays the current being delivered to a connected device.
Add in water resistance and grommet holes for utility/attachment options, and it easy to understand why so many have pledged their support to the device's Kickstarter campaign, with it shooting past its US$50, 000 goal in just the first two days.
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