Will Facebook's plan their Solar Drone to bring Internet be possible for realization?

Facebook's Chief Technology Officer, Mike Schroepfer, talking about Facebook's drone program.

The big Facebook drone, called Aquila, will hold its first test flight this summer, Facebook vice president of engineering Jay Parikh told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday.

"The idea of this," Facebook's chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, told an audience at F8, "is to loiter across an area at very high altitude -- 60,000 to 90,000 feet in the air -- stand on station for months at a time and beam down backbone Internet access."


The use of solar energy could help with the aspirations to keep the aircraft aloft for "months at a time." The earlier prototype Solar Impulse aircraft charged its batteries as it flew during the day and then drew on that energy to keep flying through the night. But aircraft with pilots aboard can quickly run into the limitations of human endurance.

Drones are another matter. In 2010, a lightweight, solar-powered unmanned aircraft called the Qinetiq Zephyr set a remarkable world record, flying nonstop for just over 336 hours -- that is, two full weeks.

By comparison, Boeing has been test-flying, in short spurts, a liquid hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft called the Phantom Eye that it wants eventually to be capable of four days of unrefueled autonomous flight. Northrop Grumman's remotely piloted Global Hawk has flown for as long as 34 hours.

Movie - Facebook CTO talks up solar-powered drones

It looks a very interesting try. But is it cost-effective? In the process it is realized, there will be many problems like flight regulation, harmfulness to human body by its electromagnetic wave and interference of electric wave. But I believe a fearless challenge like this can change the world. Go ahead on your way Facebook.

Source - CNET : Facebook wants solar drone to bring Internet far and wide

Read More

Apple's Tim Cook intends to become a major philanthropist

Apple's CEO has big-time philanthropy on his list of things to do.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is following in the footsteps of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates when it comes to philanthropy. Cook said he plans to give away his fortune after paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college, according to Fortune magazine.


"You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change," Cook told the publication.

Cook is part of a group of millionaire and billionaire tech executives who believe in sharing their wealth. Gates is the most well-known philanthropist in the group; with his wife, Melinda, he's donated $30.2 billion, or 37 percent of his net worth, according to Forbes. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has given away $1.5 billion, or 4 percent of his net worth over his lifetime. Other company chiefs, like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, are known for giving to charity.

Can't help respecting decision of Tim Cook. And I would envy their culture which can be possible this marvelous determination.

 Source - CNET : Apple's Tim Cook plans to donate his wealth to charity

Read More

Apple's March 9 Event, Apple Watch and New gadgets

With Apple's 'Spring Forward' event on March 9 in San Francisco just days away, it's time to look at -- and recalibrate -- our expectations for the occasion.

We know that the event will focus on the Apple Watch, which was revealed at the same September 2014 event where the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus debuted. Right now, we know precious few details about the Watch -- it will start shipping in April with a $349 price in the US for the entry-level aluminum-and-glass Apple Watch Sport version (that translates to about £220 or AU$380).

Questions about Apple Wathch - Battery Life, Cost

Others Expectation

• New Macbook Air (with Retina Display)
• 12.9inch IPAD Plus
• New Apple TV Box (with HBO GO)
• New IPods
• New Streaming Service (Beats Based)
• Cars

Apple Watch - Hands On

When Apple watch reveals its figure, their supporters like 3rd party hardware makers and application designers will show how smart watch can be redefined.
That's why I'm looking forward to meeting the moment Apple watch's monumental appearance.
There will be many great events on Monday, March 9, and above all, I hope Apple redefines TV market with great streaming contents such as Sling TV.

Sorce - CNET : What to expect from Apple's March 9 event (Hint: It's more than just the Watch)

Read More

Samsung Pay (NFC+MST) has little advantage in Europe compare than USA

Samsung Pay, seen here running on the Galaxy S6 Edge, will be on roughly equal footing with Apple Pay in Europe.

BARCELONA -- Samsung wants its new phones to become your wallet, yesterday unveiling its Samsung Pay mobile payments system, which is going to arrive on its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones.

Samsung has said its payment tech will be coming to Europe following a roll-out in the US and South Korea in the summer, but how will Samsung's scheme work in European countries, and is it likely to take off?

This is great for Samsung in the US, where loads of tills still only have mag-stripe readers, but Samsung's advantage in the UK and Europe is dramatically lessened.

"Samsung can in theory be used more broadly due to the magstripe side of things, but in Europe the magstripe is really being forgotten about as a technology compared to the US, and is pretty removed in most markets," Ubaghs said. "Even finding the card swipe portion of a point of sale device is likely to be fiddly and unclear to many consumers in Europe who are out of the habit, and I can only imagine what staff at the till will make of consumers waving their phones about their registers if they aren't sure what's going on."

With NFC and MST, Samsung's payment tech is comprehensive -- but the obstacles that stand between Samsung and mobile payment domination aren't merely technical, especially in Europe where paying for items with a tap is no longer a novelty. Why pay with a Samsung smartphone when it's no easier than using a card?

Europe supports PIN & Chip payment method, which is that cards include IC and PIN number is necessary to use a card to protect from to be stolen. In this case, Samsung's MST method can be just overhead. But it's true their NFC can be effect to Europe like Apple.
In the mobile payment market, is it possible smart phone can card-cutting?
It is important there is great merit to credit cards because they don't need batteries.
Although NFC can be active even power off, the finger printing requires battery surely. It means the method of smart phone's payment can be uncomfortable compare than existed method.
If mobile payment can't show the merit overcome its competitors, it is not easy.

Source - CNET : Why Samsung Pay has little advantage over Apple Pay in Europe

Read More

LG Watch Urbane - It's a LTE Phone and Mobile Wallet with WebOS

Looks Great - LG Watch Urbane

What looks like a sports watch, makes its own phone calls over LTE, makes mobile payments over NFC and runs its own new operating system? The LG Watch Urbane LTE. Yes, LG has another new smartwatch on the way, and this one's not Android Wear: it's a whole new beast. I tried LG Watch Urbane LTE on my wrist for a while in Barcelona, and while I still have no idea how it'll really perform, it felt big but nice on my wrist.

The LG Watch Urbane LTE has the same 1.3-inch round 320x320-pixel P-OLED display, 4GB of onboard storage and 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor as the Android Wear-based LG Watch Urbane, but adds lots of other features: 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, an LTE antenna, NFC, and a much larger 700mAh battery that's bound to impact the design a bit.

LG Watch Urbane - Hands On / CNET

Nice to meet this watch having elegant design. And the webOs looks a good try at the marker of smartwatch to test their future system.
If their Os will be powered on the smartphone, it'll be hard to success. But it is possible at IoT market. And it looks great to have LTE which can stand alone to communication without any mobile gadgets.
It seems to have a qualification to be success as both a watch and a smart gadget if the design is shone on wrist. 

 Sourece - CNET : LG's new smartwatch is a phone and mobile wallet, ditches Android Wear for WebOS (hands-on)

Read More

Small PCs is competing with less space and less money

Portability and space-saving for computers are generally traits of slim laptops and lightweight tablets, or the new generation of hybrid PCs that combine aspects of both. Several years ago, an eternity in technology time, there was another popular breed of small computers, called small form factor or media center PCs. Some connected to TVs for media streaming and PC-based DVR recording, while others were used as aesthetically appealing work or home computers for those who hated the look of boxy tower desktops.

Since then, home theater types have largely switched to streaming devices such as the Roku or Apple TV, and PC users have shifted in large numbers to laptops and tablets. A handful of small PCs, some hardly larger than a few Roku boxes stacked together, stuck around, but it wasn't what we'd call a growth area.

In late 2014 and early 2015, we've seen a small but significant resurgence in this category, with mini desktops that have been redesigned or upgraded to compete in both price and performance. Some are low-power boxes designed to work unobtrusively in the background, while others are surprisingly ambitious for computers that cost less than $500.

Keeping these systems to their roughly $500 configurations, it's easy to point toward one over the others, depending on your needs. The HP Mini gives you a ton of storage, plus accessories, at the expense of processing power. Apple's Mac Mini has the fastest processor, plus OS X and all of Apple's generally excellent included software. Dell's Alienware Alpha experiment in PC-as-game-console is a work in progress, to be generous, but the expansive library of PC games, dating back decades, is more interesting than current-gen consoles any day.

Beyond these three recent mini desktops, there are other tiny PCs that are worth a look. The insanely inexpensive Raspberry Pi is more of a hobbyist's computer than a mainstream machine. A few PC makers offer Chromebox systems, using Google's Chrome OS instead of Windows or OS X, and Intel showed off a concept for a very low-cost PC-on-a-stick at CES 2015, powered by that company's Atom processors.

Intel's Curie. It is tiny PC.

It is unaffected phenomenon to appear mini PCs because hardware is smaller, software is lighter and WIFI pulls trigger to lead changes.
Like this article noted, PC will be smaller than now. And it means 'mini' is to be 'tiny' such as Raspberry Pi, Crome Cast and Curie of Intel.
And finally it will be vanished.
If talked like this just 5 years ago, everybody said it is just fantasy story. But it is not, it is real at now.

source - CNET : Big showdown for mini desktops

Read More

Drones Come True - Drone Waiter in Singapore

A drone waiting tables at Timbré's al fresco restaurant.

Singaporean restaurant-bar chain Timbré is employing a fleet of flying drones as waitstaff for its live-music eateries. Earlier this month, the restaurant chain and robotics company Infinium Robotics jointly unveiled a new experiment at the al fresco venue Timbré @ Substation, to showcase the reliability of commercial drones bringing plates of food and drinks to patrons.

Having robotic waiters doesn't mean humans are out of work. The drones help to eliminate the need for the restaurant's wait staff to weave through the busy dining area, as they're responsible for flying the food from the kitchen over the heads of hungry customers.

Human waiters instead spend more time interacting with diners, taking orders and clearing dishes -- and they're still needed to take the food and drinks from the floating delivery platform and give them to each customer when they arrive.

- Demo - Drone Waiter

I was doubtful about a success of the drone. But now, I come to mind crowded streets with drones.Can you image the world everybody has a drone. It may be helpful with various angles, for example, it can carry your back at least.If regulations can be relax, drone can be close to you more your thought.

Source - CNET : Drone waiters are ready to serve in Singapore

Read More