Intel Picks Up Its Mobile Pace

Intel on Tuesday made a mobile splash as it kicked off the Intel Developer Forum being held in San Francisco through Thursday. It announced the commercial availability of Intel Edison, its postage stamp-sized System on a Chip, and of its second-generation Intel XMM 7260 and 7262 LTE modem. It also unveiled the MICA bracelet -- available exclusively on AT&T's network.

http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/section/hardware/

Nintendo launching ‘amiibo’ toy-game franchise with 12 characters

Pikachu and Link will be among the first characters coming to “amiibo.”

Nintendo announced Friday that 12 characters will initially be part of its upcoming toy-game franchise set for release later this year. In addition to the “Pokemon” and “Legend of Zelda” leading men, the starting line-up will include Mario, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran, Kirby, Fox McCloud, Marth, the “Wii Fit” Trainer and the Villager from “Animal Crossing.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/tech-news/nintendo-launching-amiibo-toy-game-franchise-with-12-characters/article20275960/

Toyota's new compact concept is for urbanites in need of utility

The Urban Utiltiy concept is a compact car that's big on space.Toyota

it has the functionality of a compact truck, the spaciousness of a cargo van, and the size of a compact car. In a nutshell, that's how Toyota describes the newly revealed Urban Utility concept. I'd describe it as a highly configurable box on wheels.

The Urban Utility concept (U² or U Squared for short) was unveiled today at a private event hosted by Make: magazine in San Francisco and was developed by Toyota's Calty Design Research facility in Newport Beach, California. The concept was designed to be "a flexible, functional gadget that owners can customize according to individual on-the-go needs."

http://www.cnet.com/news/toyota-urban-utility-concept-revealed/

Here’s a $500 Dry-Cleaning Machine That Fits in Your Closet

    Re-wearing, as they call it in the laundry biz, is on the rise. We, the clothes-owning populace, are getting hip to the fact that our garments typically aren’t all that dirty after a day’s wear, and we’re increasingly comfortable wearing them a second time without throwing them in the wash. The laundry biz has studies to confirm this.

Still, not every garment you peel off the top of the laundry basket will be ready to go. They might be wrinkled; they might not smell fresh. Hence Swash, a novel laundry machine that lives in your bedroom and freshens up previously-worn garments one at a time.

The project is a collaboration between Proctor and Gamble (maker of Tide and Bounty, among other soaps) and Whirlpool. It’s a slim, stand-up machine, a little bit bigger than a men’s suit jacket. You pull out a little vertical drawer, put a garment on the hanger, and attach some clips at the bottom to pull it taut. Pop in a pod of special cleaning solution, and off it goes. In ten minutes, your not-quite-fresh shirt is fresh once again.

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/heres-a-500-dry-cleaning-machine-that-fits-in-your-closet/

Everything You Need to Know About the Apple Watch

The wearable space just got bigger. Way bigger. Apple debuted its long-awaited wearable Tuesday, simply called Apple Watch.

There are actually three products: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The differences between them are only apparent in the different materials (including aluminum, 18K gold, and pink gold) and wrist strap choices, which vary between feminine, masculine and youthful.

The Apple Watch starts at $350, and it will be available “early next year,” according to the company. Pricing for Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition were not announced at today’s event. The watch will require an iPhone to operate, but it works with the iPhone 5 or later and isn’t limited to just the new iPhone 6 devices.

Apple iWatch and iPhone? New devices unveiled today

At Tuesday's event, Apple is widely expected to unveil a smartwatch, being referred to as the iWatch, and the iPhone 6. (Ng Han Guan/Associated Press)


Is the iWatch finally coming? Are new, bigger iPhones really on the way? All eyes are on Apple today as it unveils its latest technology at an event that starts at 1 p.m.  ET.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/apple-iwatch-and-iphone-new-devices-unveiled-today-1.2759617

Tesla Motors to Build Battery 'Gigafactory' in Nevada

      Tesla Motors is building a new factory in Nevada to produce batteries for its electric cars, thecompany announced Thursday (Sept. 4).

The state has been selected as the official site for Tesla's futuristic-sounding Gigafactory, according to Elon Musk, chairman and CEO of the Palo Alto, California-based Tesla Motors.

"The Gigafactory is an important step in advancing the cause of sustainable transportation and will enable the mass production of compelling electric vehicles for decades to come," Musk said in a statement.

Agricultural Drones

     Relatively cheap drones with advanced sensors and imaging capabilities are giving farmers new ways to increase yields and reduce crop damage.

Agile Robots

     Computer scientists have created machines that have the balance and agility to walk and run across rough and uneven terrain, making them far more useful in navigating human environments.

Should Tanks Be More Like iPhones?

     


     

      When Iraq’s American-equipped army fled their posts in Mosul last June, they left that American equipment in the hands Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the attacking violent insurgent group. Since then, the U.S. Air Force destroyed some of the captured vehicles. Jonathan Zittrain, director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, wonders if there’s a better way to stop stolen equipment from working. He proposes “kill switches,” like those found in iPhones, as a means for keeping American arms, given to allies, from working in the hands of enemies.

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/should-tanks-should-be-more-iphones?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=6&con=should-tanks-be-more-like-iphones

We Can Fly to the Moon, but We Can't Secure the Cloud?

The celebrity hackers were after naked pics, but what if they were after infrastructure information about our nation's hydroelectric dams? Once a hacker breaks into an iPhone via Find My iPhone -- uh, doesn't that give a person location awareness of your iPhone? Like where you live? Where you go? Where you are right this minute? I am so disappointed in Apple.

Google Ratchets Up Quantum Computing Efforts

Google and a crack team of scientists are going back to the drawing board to design a new type of quantum computing processor. "To have an operating environment able to take advantage of quantum effects would be amazing," said tech analyst Roger Kay. However, "the engineering is going to be overwhelming to get something like this into production at a reasonable cost."