Nokia Unveils The New Lumia 2520 Tablet Posted: 25 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT Nokia has released its first Windows tablet.  Nokia’s Lumia 2520 is the Finnish smartphone maker’s take on a Lumia-style tablet. It looks like a much bigger version of a Lumia Windows Phone.  Microsoft may be buying Nokia’s device business, but for the next few months they are going to be battling for a Windows-based tablet market share. At Nokia World in Abu Dhabi there was the opportunity to compare Nokia’s Lumia 2520 directly with Microsoft’s Surface 2 tablet and find out whether a Nokia-built tablet can take on Apple’s iPad range. The Nokia Lumia 2520 has a 10.1-inch display and the body is styled just like a Lumia Windows Phone. It is going to be available in red, white, cyan, and black. The device has a 1920 x 1080 sharp display. Colour reproduction is incredibly accurate.  It looks as though Nokia has set its sights high with the display on its first tablet. While Microsoft’s initial attempt with Surface RT was plagued with app performance issues, the Surface 2 improved somewhat and Nokia’s tablet is said to be equally as powerful as the Surface 2. Inside there’s a 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, and Windows RT 8.1. The device is apparently quite responsive and multitasking with apps appears as good as the Surface 2. As this is a Windows RT device you can access the desktop Office apps and that’s where Nokia’s keyboard is comes into play.  While the Surface 2 has its own Touch and Type Covers, Nokia has opted for a Power Keyboard. It adds a Surface like keyboard and track pad and has two USB ports.  The keyboard gives a boost of five hours to the battery life of the device. Nokia says the Lumia 2520 should get 11 hours of life from a charge, so it’s possible this device could reach 16 hours of battery life in total with the cover attached.  Now that’s impressive! [Image via: digitaltrends and digitalversus] SOURCE: http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/22/4862952/nokia-lumia-2520-windows-tablet-hands-on-photos-video The post Nokia Unveils The New Lumia 2520 Tablet appeared first on TechBeat.

Meet SecureDrop: The Open Source Submission System For Whistleblowers Posted: 25 Oct 2013 04:00 AM PDT Whistleblowing is the trend these days, and in spite of the strongly differing opinions on the matter, it seems that people who have some secrets to share won’t be stopped. After all, with strong convictions and other entities lending their support, why shouldn’t whistleblowers bring to light things that the public should know? Of course, being a whistleblower runs a lot of risk. Enter SecureDrop, “an open-source whistleblower submission system”. The system is managed by Freedom of the Press Foundation and was coded by none other than Aaron Schwartz. SecureDrop is meant for news organizations who want a system whereby sources can securely submit information of the sensitive kind. According to the Foundation, any news organization can install SecureDrop. More so, they will be providing assistance in terms of installation and after support in the near future. JP Barlow, co-founder and board member of Freedom of the Press Foundation, sheds some light on the ideology underlying the submission system: “We’ve reached a time in America when the only way the press can assure the anonymity and safety of their sources is not to know who they are. SecureDrop is where real news can be slipped quietly under the door.” How secure is the system? The brains behind SecureDrop are quick to admit that all security systems have vulnerabilities, they are also confident that their “product” is the strongest available to the media. That may very well be true, but I can’t help but wonder what the NSA and its elite hacking team are doing about this now. In any case, the Foundation is certainly taking even more steps to ensure the security of their system. They have their own security specialists, as well as external security auditors who have taken a look at the integrity of the system. Got sensitive information that you want the world to know? You might want to check this out. [Image via acc-tv] The post Meet SecureDrop: The Open Source Submission System For Whistleblowers appeared first on TechBeat.

3D Printed Horse Shoes Could Win The Race Posted: 25 Oct 2013 03:00 AM PDT Scientists in Australia from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) have worked together with horse trainer, John Moloney to produce 3D printed horse shoes made from titanium. It seems as though commercial 3D scanning and printing is a hot topic at the moment. The scientists at CSIRO are interested in exploring just how many uses 3D printing could actually have. The latest use in 3D printed horse shoes is an unexpected but valuable on according to the experts. Ordinarily, horse shoes would be made from iron or steel. Special uses have seen horse shoes made from rubber, plastic and copper too but for race horses, the preferred material for horse shoes is aluminum. Moloney says that every ounce of weight counts when it comes to horse racing. Titanium is up to half the weight of aluminum shoes and a lot stronger. This could mean that titanium shoes will be more hard wearing but more importantly, they could give a horse the opportunity to run at faster speeds because they’re not carrying as much weight. Scientists and Moloney got together and scanned the hooves of a local race horse, dubbed Titanium Prints before they used a 3D titanium printer to print lightweight horse shoes that were a perfect fit for the horses hooves. The scanning of the hooves took a few minutes while the 3D printing took less than 24 hours. Experts say that because the 3D printers can print more than one item at a time, all four shoes could be printed together if the print bed was large enough. The total cost of the 3D printed horse shoes from titanium was approximately $600 for four. This is above the average price of a set of aluminum horse shoes but experts are in agreement that the reduced weight which should convert to faster speeds would more than outweigh the extra cost in the grand scheme of things. The scientists from CSIRO are excited to show the world all of the different applications for 3D printing. [Image via CSIRO] The post 3D Printed Horse Shoes Could Win The Race appeared first on TechBeat.

Microsoft Tests Eyewear to Rival Google Glass Posted: 25 Oct 2013 02:00 AM PDT According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is apparently jumping on the bandwagon and they are testing prototypes for optical wear similar to Google Glass.  This could potentially push the company into that market.  A source familiar with the project said the company has asked several component makers in Asia to supply cameras and other key components for prototypes. The person has cautioned, however, the device may not reach mass production. With no images of the Microsoft Glass prototypes, we’re just speculating what they could look like. Hopefully better than the Victoria Beckham-esque ones here. Tests show Microsoft is keeping close tabs on the emerging market for “wearable” technology, which includes wristwatches that replicate some features of smartphones and more bizarre ideas, such as tattoos to log people onto their computers.  Market-research firm ABI Research is expecting annual sales of wearable devices will reach 485 million units by the year 2018.  Microsoft is “determined to take the lead in hardware manufacturing to make sure the company won’t miss out on the opportunities in the wearable gadget market,” the source said. These tests show that Microsoft’s efforts to transform itself from mainly a software company into one that produces the gadgets on which their software will run. Smartphones and other hardware devices have helped transform consumer technology and have established the likes of rival Apple as a tech giant.  By contrast, Microsoft has largely been sidelined in the consumer hardware market.  Microsoft’s determination to become a bigger player in consumer tech gear was underscored by its $7 billion acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone business. The company last year also started making its own tablet device; Surface and apparently the company is currently testing its own Web-connected watch. In wearable computing, Google has been the prototype leader in the wearable tech field with the company’s Google Glass device.  It has a postage-stamp-sized computer screen just above the right eye which coupled with internal components and software, allows the user to take photos with voice commands and get digital directions without looking at a smartphone.  Some say companies making gadgets that duplicate features of mobile phones could undercut smartphone sales. As competition drives down prices of most technology, wearable tech also could provide an opening for higher-cost gear. “The wearable trend has the potential to boost the currently thin margins of consumer technology products by allowing tech brands to price their products at the kind of premiums normally reserved for fashion accessories,” said HSBC analyst Jenny Lai. Samsung recently introduced a web-connected watch and back in May.  Interestingly,  Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said wearable computers will be a “key branch” in technology, though he said he didn’t believe eyewear-like gear would have mainstream appeal. As of Oct. 10, Microsoft has 78 U.S. patents related to head-mounted displays and other wearable technologies and 94 published pending applications, according to intellectual property firm Envision IP. Google had 59 such U.S. patents, Envision said. [Image via otgplatforms] SOURCE: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304402104579150952302814782 The post Microsoft Tests Eyewear to Rival Google Glass appeared first on TechBeat.