Saturday 25 July 2015

The Turing Phone is Built to be Unhackable and Unbreakable

Turing_Phone
 

 

Turing Phone – Unique Smartphone, Unhackable/Unbreakable

Smartphones are being utilised for several private tasks like transferring money to sending private photos as well as documents. A company has now developed what it claims is an unhackable as well as unbreakable handset called the `Turing Phone’ and the Android handset provides protected communications network `keeping private information private’ and supports cryptocurrency which hopefully could someday rival Bitcoin.
Engineers have created the unique smartphone which is unhackable and has been built from a special type of metal which tends to be much stronger than titanium and steel thus making it unbreakable. The Turning Phone as it is called is a smartphone with end to end encryption that is built in most of the core apps on the phone. Developed by San Francisco based Turing Robotic Industries, users can activate the Turning phone through a fingerprint reader on the side of the device, according to Wired.com reports.

The smartphone which is a 5.5 inch phone has no USB port as well as no headphone jack and is made of a material known as liquid morphium and is probably the next big thing with regards to phones. Apple has already been using the material in small quantity in its iPhone 6 models and the phone is said to be unusually waterproof due to its nano coating on the internals. Rubber is not used and everything is accessible as well as open. If the Turing Phone is placed in water, it is not designed to be sealed and water could get in. However, you can pull it out, shake it off and it is ready to be used without much problem.
Turing_Phone_1

Protected Communication Network

The San Francisco based company states that its end to end authentication system enables a `protected communication network which is completely insulated from cyber threats as well as privacy intrusions, which means that individuals would be capable of sharing documents as well as data without any cause to worry that it could be hacked. CEO of Turing Robotic Industries, Steve Chao, informed that the focus is on three features namely, nano-coating, liquid metal and privacy keys.

He further explained that these features in the initial days were like the GPS, Wi-Fi and the camera of the early days of smartphones where people were a bit apprehensive towards these features, though they got standardized later on. He states that if one does not have nano-coating privacy key and liquid metal, one could get phased out right way in the near future. Beginning July 31, the phone will be available at $610 for a 16GB model according to Chao and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with Turing Aemaeth UI, with three colour variants namely, Pharaoh, Cardinal and Beowulf.

Besides this, the other specifications include a 5.5 inch full HD – 1080x1920 pixel, display, 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC, 3GB RAM :16/32/64GB storage models, with a 13 megapixel rear camera together with dual-LED flash, 8 megapixel front facing camera, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE:NFC, GPS/Glonass as well as a non-removable 3000mAh battery. Sensors comprise of accelerometer, fingerprint, gyroscope, magnetometer, proximity, temperature, humidity and ambient light.

Activated Via Fingerprint Reader

The phone is designed with security in mind with end to end encryption which is built in most of the core apps on phone and also has a `Turing coin’ within, a crypotcurrency which Chao speculates would catch on. It’s activated via a fingerprint reader towards the side of the phone and is prepared to keep servers as well as third parties out as much as possible.

The company is at work on an API in order to enable user in accessing all these features. The Turing Phone in short is meant to be totally and absolutely unhackable. It also tends to be unbreakable since it is made from material like liquidmorphium, being much stronger than steel or aluminium as well as efficient for use in manufacturing. Chao commented that Apple tends to use it a bit though only in the SIM card slot on the iPhone but says that the iPhone 7 could make much more usage of the material.
Software Totally & Entirely Customized
Chao together with his team have been working on battery technology which according to him would be ready to show up in eight months and would be going to `change the world’. The final plan is to develop a robot butler that `would serve your day-to-day needs’ and to do so, he states that they are `working on their own artificial consciousness machine though not artificial intelligence, artificial consciousness’.The software is totally and entirely customized and Chao had shown a few home screens in a demo though he is confident that it will be a masterpiece.

He also promises a total overhaul of Android which would be a great enhancement on Google’s vision across the board. Chao, who is an architect both by training and disposition, envisages the phone is for designers as well as for anyone preferring something a little diverse from the black rectangles which blanket the world’s carrier stores. The company’s CEO informed Wired, that the software of the phone would be a `masterpiece’ and huge improvement on Android screens which users are presently familiar with.

Eddystone: Cross-Platform Beacon Format Gets Google Launch


Eddystone
Google is all set to introduce its upcoming Eddystone beacon format, which will work along with other API to offer hardcore connectivity solution. Eddystone beacon is expected to make it easier for variety of devices to communicate with each other in close proximity. Google had caused frenzy among the developers with its update where it talked about beacon with headline: “Lightning the way with BLE beacons.”

How Eddystone Beacon Will Work? 

Fundamentally, beacon is not a new concept rather it works on the age-old technique wherein it acts as a transmitter. Beacon will acts as a transmitter, and it will send out the information about a certain point and that particular information is later is picked up by a smartphone or tablet within its range. In this connectivity becomes fast paced and much more synchronized and streamlined than before.

In the earlier times, we used to have a lighthouse, which helped the sailors in navigating through the treacherous ocean. On the same idea, modern electronic beacons are designed and developed which helps in navigating to the precise location and contextual cues already fed in apps.

A beacon can work on different levels to provide much more comfort and swift operational capability such as it can label a bus stop so phone knows to keep the tick ready in advance. Similarly, museum app will be able to provide background on the work of the artist a person is viewing at that particular moment.

Eddystone Is Google Open Beacon Format

Google is known to develop and launch such services, which are free and provide wholesome user experience without spending a single dime. Similarly Eddystone is open beacon format from Google. Its specification shows that it includes a large number of broadcast frame type most importantly Eddystone-URL which acts as backbone of Physical Web.

Very soon, Google will begin its rolling out of features in different sets for the developers to build new apps based on this technology. Google will also roll out a new open format for Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons in order to communicate with people’s devices. Google had ensured that its Eddystone remains an open source project by getting an Apache v2.0 license.

Developers Can Develop Apps As Much They Love To

This license makes sure that this new revolutionary beacon is free for any who wishes to use and improve its functionality further. The manufactures of the physical beacons can also access this remarkable technology as well as utilize it in their beacons. Even embed in their existing beacons making it Eddystone compliant through a firmware update.

Eddystone beacon possesses some amazing feature, which includes extensibility which means new functionalities can be added with ease. Highly scalable and having the capability to communicate with a variety of devices running either iOS, Android with perfection.

Google believes that beacon will provide an important way of delivering better experience to the users of different apps by embedding Eddystone in the products and services.

Beacon technology is being praised by all but now it is required to get business and transit authorities as well as other private enterprise to invest in compliant hardware to make it a success.

Friday 24 July 2015

This Biotech Discovery Means You’ll Never Need a Painful Flu Shot Again

vaccine

Dissolving Needle Technology - MicroHyala

Diseases are infectious and are the major cause of death all over the world and hence the need of safe and effective vaccines is of great importance. Though the vaccinations are given with subcutaneous or intramuscular injection that has been administered by medical personnel having technical skills, it is also accompanied with the risk of needle related disease as well as injuries.

Besides this antigen solution need cold chain storage as well as transportation system and hence the development of vaccine which could be easy to use and administered, together with superior in stability of formulations is essentially important.Getting vaccinated is now no longer a painful ordeal since a group of researchers in Japan have tested a new `dissolving needle’ which seems to be a painless patch that one can stick to the arm and which tends to work well.

The dissolving needle technology is known as MicroHyala. Scientists have created a new micro needle patch that is made of dissolvable substance which makes flu vaccination safer, easier and painless by eliminating needle connected risks of injuries and diseases. Flu vaccination are delivered utilising micro needles which dissolve in the skin and protects a person against infection much better than the standard needle delivered vaccine according to researchers.

Readily Adaptable for General Practical Use

Transcutaneous microneedle delivery device that meets the requirements of the only application’ vaccination system, has been developed. The technique is readily adaptable for general practical use especially in developing countries with inadequate public health resources.

vaccine_1
However microneedles which are made of metal, stainless steel or silicon tend to pose risks of fractures, with fragments left in the skin. Hence the development of a dissolving microneedle patch has been fabricated from hyaluronic acid a component of skin tissue. Researcher from Osaka University in Japan state that their dissolvable patch which is the only vaccination system of its kind tends to make vaccination less painful. Microneedles on MicroHyala tend to penetrate the stratum corneum that acts as a physical barrier on the outer layer of the skin and are dissolved by water in the skin.

The MicroHyala efficiently delivers the various substances which can be loaded in the microneedles to ample immune-competent cells like Langerhans cells, dermal dendritic cells and keratinocytes in the epidermis as well as dermis beneath the stratum corneum. They found that when they used the MicroHyala in delivering the flu vaccination, it was quite effective as the standard needles.

The New Microneedle Patch

Most of the vaccinations are administered under the skin or into the muscle with the use of needles. Though this is an effective method in delivering a vaccination, it needs medical personnel with technical skills, bringing about the risk of needle related diseases and injuries.The new microneedle patch is made of dissolvable material which eliminates the needle connected risks.

It is easy to use without the requirement of trained medical professionals and makes it appropriate for use in developing countries, especially where healthcare means tends to be limited. Professor Shinsaku Nakagawa, one of the authors of the study from Osaka University states the `their novel transcutaneous vaccination using a dissolving microneedle patch is the only application vaccination system which is readily adaptable for widespread practical use’.

He further added that since the new patch is easy to use, they believe that it will be particularly effective in supporting vaccination in the developing countries.MicroHyala, the new micronneedle patch is dissolvable in water and the miniature needles are made of hyaluronic acid which is a naturally occurring material which cushions the joints. When a patch is applied like a plaster, the needles tend to pierce the top layer of the skin and dissolve into the body taking the vaccine with them.
Designed to Dissolve in the Skin
The new system was compared by the researchers with the traditional needle delivery by vaccinating two groups of people against three strains of influenza namely A/HINI, A/H3N2 and B. There was no sign of any bad reaction to the vaccine to any of the subjects, indicating that it is safe to be used in humans. The patch also seemed effective wherein the people, who were given the vaccine using the micro needles, had an immune reaction which was equal or stronger than those that were injected with the vaccine. Nakagawa said that they were excited to see that their new micro needle patch was effective as the needle delivered flu vaccine and in some cases it was even more effective.

 The earlier research had assessed the use of micro needles made of silicon or metal though they were not considered to be safe. The materials used for micro needles also tend to run the risk of breaking off in the skin and could leave tiny fragments behind. With the new dissolvable patch this risk is eradicated since the microneedles have been designed to dissolve in the skin.

Nakagawa states that they have shown that the patch tends to be safe and works well. Besides this, it is also painless as well as easy for non-trained individuals to use it and that it could bring about a major change in the way vaccine is administered globally. The research had been published in the journal Biomaterials – SAR AKJ SAR.

Earth Heading For ‘Mini Ice Age’ Within 15 Years

Ice_age
Prediction – Earth to Face a New `Mini Ice Age’

Scientist predict that the Earth would face a new `mini ice age’ in the next 15 years which would cause severe cold winters during which rivers like the Thames may tend to freeze. As Antarctic Vortex grips Australia, solar researchers from the University of Northumbria in UK state that solar activity is set to drop by 60 percent by 2030.

Professor Valentina Zharkova, research head, informed that the fluid movements in the Sun, which is believed to create 11 year cycles in the weather would cancel each other out causing a dramatic temperature drop which would lead to a weather phenomenon known as a `mini ice age which had earlier hit between 1645 and 1715. The discoveries are established on new model that the scientist believes produces `unprecedentedly accurate prediction of irregularities’, within the Sun’s 11-year heartbeat.

According to Professor Zharkova, he states that between the cycle 2030 and around 2040, two waves will mirror each other exactly, peaking at the same time though in opposite hemispheres of the sun. Their interaction would be disruptive or they will nearly cancel each other and predicts that this would lead to the properties of a `Maunder Minimum’.

Maunder Minimum – Europe/North America Experienced Cold Winters (1645-1715)

Maunder Minimum was the name that was given when Europe and North America had experienced very cold winters, during the period between 1645 and 1715 and during that time the Thames River in England was said to be frozen over. Research findings were presented at the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales and also published in the papers of the Royal Astronomical Society.

This surprising news has been given as the Antarctic Vortex whirled into eastern Australia bringing about a freak phenomenon known as thunder-snow. The tropical style thunderstorms, accompanied by heavy snowfalls thundered through the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney and town as far as Orange recently. Several areas of the country are expecting destructive winds, which could reach blizzard intensity of 90km/h while the snow tends to continue to fall and the big freeze begins to bite.

Snow that falls as the big freeze tend to start to affect the nation’s south east where sub-zero temperature are predicted in some places for much of the coming week. According to the Bureau Meteorology, in the coming days, it is said that strong cold front with low to the south would be moving through the state, bringing in cold vigorous, westerly winds.

Sun’s Activity Differs – Cycle of 10 to 12 Years

Scientists had first discovered that the sun’s activity differs over a cycle of 10 to 12 years in 1843. Variations within that cycle became difficult to predict though several solar physicists were aware that the fluctuation were due to a dynamo of moving fluid deep within the sun. Professor Zharkova’s team found that adding a second dynamo near the surface of the sun created a far more accurate model.

They found magnetic waves in two various layers of the sun’s interior that varied between the northern and the southern hemispheres of the sun.According to Professor Zharkova, on combining both waves together and comparing the real data for the current solar cycle, they observed that the predictions showed an accuracy of 97 percent. The magnetic wave patterns indicated that there would be few sunspots in the next two solar cycles. Cycle 25 that peaks in 2022 and Cycle 26, between 2030 and 2040 will be having both a significant reduction in solar activity.

Thursday 23 July 2015

Facebook’s New Video Ad Feature Could Worry Google


Facebook Ad
These days Facebook is testing its new video advertising feature, which can be big challenge for the dominance of YouTube in the market of digital video advertising. On this project Facebook is working with selected media companies and video creators such as; Funny or Die and NBA.

It is expected that soon Facebook users will see a new section in their newsfeed known as "Suggested Videos”. And whenever users will click on the video, so pop-up will appear with recommended videos and scrolling stream, however; all the recommended videos will be the outcome of previous videos, which you may will watch in your newsfeed.

According to Facebook officials, “We are planning to split our revenue from video advertising as; 45 per cent will go to our social network and remaining 55 per will cent will go with video creator” (owner of content advertisement). As per the statement of a Facebook spokesperson, “Currently, we are running the test process for new video advertising feature, as it will help the users to discover more videos with similar choices. We are running a monetization test in suggested videos where we will show video advertisement in feed-style and share revenue with some of the media companies and video creators”. Currently, project is being tested for the people who are suing an iPhone in America.

Big challenge for Google: 

Currently Google’s YouTube is dominating on the digital video advertising market, but in future, Facebook’s new video advertising feature could be big challenge for Google because this social networking site has great number of followers. According to Facebook strategy, users will see only one advertisement for three videos. And in that particular case, 55 per cent revenue will split between three video creators and it will depend that for how much time you have watched their videos. According to tech experts, Facebook will focus on the news-driven shares as core strength, however; YouTube has strong search engine and channel based strategy.

However; its well known fact that YouTube has helped many stars to get dedicated number of followers and to watch latest clips you can easily switch to YouTube stars' page, but Facebook doesn’t have these kinds of pages.

Game changing payout structure: 

According to Richard Broughton, Research director of Ampere Analysis, “It’s true that Facbook’s pay-out structure is bit complex, but it’s good enough to attract content partners”. The more he added that Facebook is offering incentive for the content creators, if they will put their content on this social networking site and because of this content creators will create more content for this platform. It is expected that in 2015, video views will exceed two trillion, which is two-thirds of YouTube’s total views for same period, as per Ampere Analysis, which emphasis the social media advertisements.

From past two years Facebook is making big moves and now Facebook is testing on the video experience. Now Facebook is planning to show more content including auto-playing videos in newsfeed as it has one billion daily views in September 2014 and four billion in April 2015.