Apple Dives Deeper Into Improved Device Display Research With Quantum Dot-Enhanced Tech Apple has filed for three new patents, according to applications published by the USPTO (via AppleInsider) today. The applications all relate to the use of quantum dot-enhanced displays, which provide a number of advantages to electronic device screens, including richer and more vibrant colors, better viewing angles and an overall better experience vs. standard LCD gadget screens. Apple had filed for a patent on quantum dot-enhanced displays back in December 2013, when it detailed basic ways in which the tech might be applied to existing display technology to deliver color control improvements. The fine details of the patent are very technical in nature, but the main takeaway from the patents is that Apple is working on this kind of technology in earnest, and eager to lock down intellectual property rights on techniques associated with its use in shipping devices.
Learn About Mozilla Learn more about our projects, products and principles designed to help people take control and explore the full potential of their lives online. Play video The Mozilla mission What drives us and makes us different Career center Want to work at Mozilla? Apply today! Mozilla blog News, notes and ramblings from the Mozilla project Mozilla style guide Logos, copy rules, visual assets and more Locations & contacts Addresses, emails, support and feedback forms The Mozilla Corporation A corporation that serves the public good. Seriously.
John Oliver Roasts Silicon Valley At The Crunchies Former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver returned to host this year’s Crunchies, the tech industry awards show co-hosted by Gigaom, VentureBeat, and TechCrunch. And he didn’t pull any punches. After starting off the night by immediately yelling “f*** you” to an audience member whose wolf whistle struck him the wrong way, the host launched into some more pointed commentary about the tech industry in general, including its not-so-positive sides. With what was sometimes darker humor, he joked about everything from the Google bus protests to the NSA. He even made up his own awards, one of which was for tech’s best “cartoon villain.” And two people “won” it. “It’s an honor to be in a room with such high-functioning nerds,” said Oliver, greeting the jam-packed house at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco where the awards were held. “It seems like it’s an award show where the tech industry celebrates and quietly criticizes each other,” he said. “You’re no longer the underdog!”
Flash Settings Manager Note: The Settings Manager that you see above is not an image; it is the actual Settings Manager. Click the tabs to see different panels, and click the options in the panels to change your Adobe Flash Player settings. The list of websites above is stored on your computer only, so that you can view or change your local storage settings. Use this panel to specify storage settings for any or all of the websites that you have visited. The name of the website The amount of disk space the website has used to store information on your computer The maximum amount of disk space the website can use before requesting additional space In this panel, you can change storage settings for a website or delete the website so that, if you visit it again, it will use your global settings instead of any individual settings you may have set. Change storage settings To specify storage settings for a website, select the website in the Visited Websites list, and then change its storage settings as desired.
Exclusive: Lithium Technologies to Acquire Klout Klout, the online popularity contest startup, is poised to be sold to social customer service company Lithium Technologies. The deal is signed but not closed, said sources. And, while the numbers are fuzzy given they account for a mix of cash and Lithium private stock, the acquisition is “in the low nine figures” — that is, at least $100 million. It’s a dead-on fit in terms of topic focus for the two companies, but it’s also a save for San Francisco-based Klout, which had two years ago raised a $30 million Series C round from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Venrock and Institutional Venture Partners, for total funding of more than $40 million. Lithium provides social customer experience management software for the enterprise. Klout’s business focuses on analyzing who is influential in social media, which is simplified into a score on a scale of 100. Re/code has reached out to both Klout and Lithium for comment, but have not heard back as yet.
UPDATED: Fin, The Bluetooth Ring That Turns Your Hand Into A Wireless Controller, Hits Its Funding Goal Back at CES in January, TechCrunch met Fin, the Bluetooth ring that went on to become one of our Hardware Battlefield finalists. Fin, which turns your hand into a wireless controller for smartphones, TVs, and other connected devices, just reached its $100,000 Indiegogo goal. Now Fin is aiming for its stretch goal of $150,000, which will make the ring available for a discounted price to visually impaired people. Fin is worn on your thumb and has a tiny optical sensor that detects movements, allowing you to send commands to connected devices with a few swipes and taps of your fingers. As TechCrunch’s Greg Kumparak described when he wrote about the device’s prototype in January, you can turn down your phone’s volume by swiping your thumb down your index finger or skip the current track by swiping your thumb across the palm of your opposite hand. Fin is one of the coolest wearable devices out there because it makes you look like you have magical powers.
This Tiny Chip Makes The Internet Four Times Faster IBM Research This tiny chip from IBM makes the Internet run four times faster. The race is on to build a faster, better Internet. While Google is working on bringing super-high-speed connections to homes in select cities, IBM is working on a technology that could make the Internet all around faster everywhere. It has created a new chip that beefs up Internet speeds to 200 to 400 gigabits per second, about four times faster than today's speeds, IBM says. At this speed, a 2-hour ultra-high-definition movie (about 160 gigabytes) would download in a few seconds. The chip fits into a part of the Internet that runs between data centers, not your computer or home router. The latest version of the chip is only a prototype right now, so it will be a while before it gets installed and the Internet gets better. However, IBM says it has already signed on a customer for an earlier version of the technology, a company called Semtech. Join the discussion with Business Insider
The future of wind turbines? Bizarre-looking funnel produces SIX times more energy than traditional designs The Sheerwind Invelox turbine directs wind through a funnelThis wind is passed through a tube towards the turbine’s generatorThe movement creates a ‘jet effect’ which increases the wind’s velocitySheerwind claims the turbine can work at speeds as low as 2mphIt produces 600% more electrical energy than commercial blade systemsIt is scalable meaning smaller versions could be used in back gardens By Victoria Woollaston Published: 11:32 GMT, 13 February 2014 | Updated: 11:45 GMT, 13 February 2014 Wind turbines may be considered an eco-friendly way to generate electricity, but they're heavily criticised for blotting the landscape and killing hundreds of birds. Minnesota-based Sheerwind has designed a bizarre-looking alternative to these bladed systems that uses a series of funnels and tubes. In its Invelox turbine, winds as low as 2mph are directed into a funnel and through a tube to the turbine’s generator on the ground. Scroll down for video