Tuesday 20 December 2016

The Morning After: The winners and losers of 2016, and our first look at that 'Blade Runner' sequel

It's Tuesday, December 20, 2016.

Welcome to the past (and the future)

It's Tuesday, and welcome to the beginning of our year-in-review series. As 2016 wraps up we’ll be recapping the big winners and losers, starting with both virtual and augmented reality tech. Plus: The first trailer for Blade Runner 2049!

A time of VR headsets and 'Pokémon Go'.

This was the year of VR, until AR stole it

2016 was full of virtual reality. With spring came the retail launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC's Valve-endorsed Vive. Later in the year, PlayStation launched its VR headset, which was cheaper because it worked with existing PS4s. However, at the same time, Magic Leap and Microsoft’s Hololens wowed with augmented reality headsets that did away with some of clunkiness of VR. (There’s always something better on the horizon, eh?) Then, proving the potential of augmented reality, smartphone-based Pokémon Go turned into the gaming hit of the year.

Deckard’s back

Finally, our first look at that Blade Runner sequel

Thirty years after the events of the first film, Ryan Gosling plays a new blade runner that's discovered a secret that could cause a whole lot of trouble. Entertainment Weekly reports that his job will involve tracking down Rick Deckard, who's apparently gone missing between the original and this movie.

The future of energy?

This South Korean fusion reactor held an ideal state longer than any of its rivals.

The Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research reactor team has announced a new endurance record for operating with "high performance" plasma in its fusion reactor. Granted, the feat only lasted for 70 seconds, but that's still a "huge step forward," according to the National Fusion Research Institute.

A healthy discount from Withings. Take 40% off Body Cardio, the world's most advanced heart health and body composition WiFi scale.

4K gaming power in a laptop

Review: Razer Blade Pro (2016)

This year, Razer has delivered a gaming laptop with a beautiful display and the latest graphics chip ready to play games at their highest settings. Sean Buckley says this is one of the first gaming laptops he’s seen with enough power to make use of a 4K display, so you don’t have to choose between native resolution and a smooth framerate. The Blade Pro is Razer’s biggest laptop yet, so check the size of your backpack -- and your budget -- before buying in.

Way more cargo room

Take a look at Google’s self-driving minivans

Now that Google’s self-driving car project is a spinoff called Waymo, it’s ready to show off the fruits of its partnership with Fiat Chrysler. These Chrysler Pacifica hybrid vans are modified to deal with the extra weight of the autonomous kit, and have already done 200 hours of extreme weather testing.

USB 3.0 counts as a feature now, right?

Samsung’s new 15-inch Notebook 9 is almost as light as a 12-inch MacBook

Two new laptops are rolling out from Samsung, and they’re almost unbelievably light. The Notebook 9 comes in 13- and 15-inch configurations that weigh 1.8 and 2.17 pounds, respectively. Compare that to Apple’s lightweight 12-inch Macbook which weighs in at two pounds even. To get that light, they have relatively small batteries rated for 7 hours of use, but charge fully via USB-C in just 80 minutes.

But wait, there's more...

1. Electric Objects' digital art display is like Netflix for fine art

2. Mark Zuckerberg explains how he built a "Jarvis" AI

3. "Two Dots" now has a competitive mode where you can play for real money

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Monday 19 December 2016

Editor's Pick: Is Peter Thiel the Most Powerful Person in Tech?

Is Peter Thiel the Most Powerful Person in Tech?

Rob Enderle Dec 19, 2016 10:46 AM PT
	There are generally two paths for dealing with someone in power when disagreements arise. One is to confront, and the other is to understand and influence. What is interesting is the most common path taken is the former while the most successful is the latter. I think the reason is that the former path is both the natural path for disagreement and the most visible. [More...]

More Picks:

Radius CEO Darian Shirazi: Solve for Data Decay
"One of the interesting things about CRM and marketing automation is that most of these systems have poor data quality," said Radius CEO Darian Shirazi. "Typically, customers buy data lists or get inbound leads, and the information associated with those accounts, opportunities and leads ends up decaying quickly and being inaccurate. The problem is keeping that information up-to-date." [More...]

Cloud Enters Mainstream in Federal IT Investment Plans
U.S. government agencies will continue to invest hefty sums in cloud computing technology over the next five years. After that period, spending on cloud is likely to moderate, but the amount of investing will remain at impressive levels. Cloud computing is far from mature within the federal government, but it has reached a point at which it is a mainstream component of government IT resources. [More...]

Docker Delivers Containerd to Open Source Community
Docker on Wednesday announced that it will spin out containerd, a key component of its Docker Engine, for open source use. Containerd will provide an open, stable and extensible base for building non-Docker products and container solutions, the company said. Some of the top cloud providers have committed to making contributions to the project, giving it instant credibility within the community. [More...]

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The Morning After: The EV race heats up, 'Metropolis' returns and fine (digital) art

It's Monday, December 19, 2016.

Welcome to Monday

Over the weekend, Tesla’s next EV rival went to the races, Metropolis got a remake, and we tried the Netflix for fine art.

If you believe the hype, it's quicker than its rivals.

Watch Faraday Future's prototype EV race Bentley, Ferrari and Tesla

Faraday Future continues to hype its electric car ahead of its full January unveiling, and while skepticism is abound, it’s apparently ready enough to race. The fledgling automaker has posted a video showing its prototype EV drag racing against some hot competition: Tesla's Model X P100D (the obligatory electric rival), Bentley's Bentayga SUV and Ferrari's 488 GTB. (Spoilers: It beats them all.)

It's the closest thing we have to a Netflix for fine art.

Electric Objects' digital art display can connect with a $10-a-month art sub.

The Electric Objects 2 art display is basically a 23-inch 1080p display with an internet connection. It has a matte finish, which helps it avoid reflecting light sources and keeps it from looking like a glossy TV screen hanging on your wall. If you’re feeling extra classy you can also snap on a $99 hardwood frame (available in maple, walnut, white wood and black wood) to ensure it matches your decor. Just about everything Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar threw on to the EO2 looked good, but he adds that it’s not exactly a revolutionary product and don't expect it to replace your framed art.

The company says some of the figures don’t make sense.

Apple formally challenges the EU's tax demands

Apple is about to fight the European Commission's claims that it must pay the €13 billion in back taxes ($13.6 billion) owed from its deal with Ireland. Apple will appeal the ruling this week on the grounds that it not only can't abide by the decision, but that the figures don't make sense. The company argues that two of its business units, claimed by the EC to only exist on paper (and thus didn't warrant untaxed profits) were real, actively managed companies. Apple adds that European officials ignored advice from Ireland-chosen tax experts when deciding on the penalty, apparently to maximize the financial hit.

Don’t worry: It'll take billions of years before our sun devours us.

This planet-eating star shows the Solar System's future

A star some 300 light-years away is apparently rather similar to our own, and has given researchers insight into how planets get absorbed. It also helps predict how solar systems like ours could evolve over time. Before you panic, we're not getting sucked into an enormous ball of fire anytime soon. Based on the team's computer simulations, it will take billions of years of gravitational tugs and pulls before our sun starts gobbling up its planets. Besides, Mercury and Venus are up first.

But wait, there's more...

1. Sci-fi legend 'Metropolis' is getting turned into a series

2. 'Street Fighter V' will publicly humiliate rage quitters

3. 'Vanity Fair' editor sues Twitter troll for giving him a seizure

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Saturday 17 December 2016

E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Saturday -- December 17, 2016

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Cloud Enters Mainstream in Federal IT Investment Plans
Sales, Marketing Poised for AI Revolution
Tech Leaders, Trump Team Search for Common Ground
FCC's Tom Wheeler Hitting the Road

Today's Story Highlights

Cloud Enters Mainstream in Federal IT Investment Plans

U.S. government agencies will continue to invest hefty sums in cloud
computing technology over the next five years. After that period,
spending on cloud is likely to moderate, but the amount of investing
will remain at impressive levels. Cloud computing is far from mature
within the federal government, but it has reached a point at which it is
a mainstream component of government IT resources.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84179.html

Sales, Marketing Poised for AI Revolution

Artificial intelligence will revolutionize marketing in the next five
years, according to a Demandbase survey conducted last month. Eighty
percent of the 500 B2B marketers who participated in the online poll,
conducted last month by Wakefield Research, said they expected an AI-
fueled marketing revolution. However, only 26 percent were very
confident they understood how AI was used in marketing.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84180.html

Tech Leaders, Trump Team Search for Common Ground

There appears to be some optimism in the air following Wednesday's
highly anticipated sit-down between the Trump transition team and more
than a dozen top Silicon Valley executives at Trump Tower. The Trump
transition team and executives who attended the summit suggested that
the two sides found common ground on a number of issues that could spur
economic growth.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84178.html

FCC's Tom Wheeler Hitting the Road

United States Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on
Thursday announced that he will leave the agency he helmed for the past
three years on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Donald Trump will be
sworn in. "Serving as FCC chairman during this period of historic
technological change has been the greatest honor of my professional
life," Wheeler said.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84176.html

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