Finally OnePlus 2 is Unveiled with with 5.5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 810 and fingerprint scanner

Chinese smartphone manufacturing company OnePlus has finally lauched its OnePlus One successor - the OnePlus 2.

The 16GB model is priced at Rs 22,999 and the 64GB model comes at Rs 24,999. The 64GB OnePlus 2 will be available for purchase with an invite in India starting August 11, exclusively on Amazon.

The model will be available in 4 StyleSwap covers - Bamboo, Black Apricot, Rosewood, and Kevlar.

The phone includes the new USB Type-C reversible charging port and a dedicated Alert Slider switch for controlling notifications.

The OnePlus 2 looks plush and elegant in a metallic frame. OnePlus 2’s outer frame is crafted from a resilient alloy of aluminum and magnesium.

The OnePlus 2 follows its predecessor with a 5.5-inch 1080p display. The display comes with a contrast ratio of 1500:1, which means blacker blacks and brighter, bolder colours.

The device runs OxygenOS, which isn’t pure Android.

The model runs on 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, coupled with up to 4GB of RAM. The 16GB model will feature 3GB LPPDR4 RAM.

It has 13MP rear snapper and a 5MP front-facing camera.

The finger print scanner comes with added features of storing upto five unique fingerprints.

The battery backup is 3100mAh.

It also comes with a physical hardware button on the front that houses a fingerprint scanner for added security. "Users can now wake and unlock the device with one of five stored fingerprints in less than half a second," claims the company.

Additionally, the OnePlus 2 also comes with an alert slider for quick access to custom notification settings. This slider button lets you mute the device with a simple click.

Hawking, Musk, Wozniak: Ban Killer Robots Before It's Too Late

An open letter from tech leaders including Hawking, Musk and Wozniak was presented to the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aries, Argentina yesterday.

The signatories argued that the deployment of robots capable of killing while untethered to human operators is “feasible within years, not decades.” If development is not cut off, it is only a matter of time before the weapons end up in the hands of terrorists and warlords, they said.

Unlike nuclear weapons, they require no costly or hard-to-obtain raw materials, so they will become ubiquitous and cheap for all significant military powers to mass-produce. It will only be a matter of time until they appear on the black market and in the hands of terrorists, dictators wishing to better control their populace, warlords wishing to perpetrate ethnic cleansing, etc.

Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group. We therefore believe that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity. There are many ways in which AI can make battlefields safer for humans, especially civilians, without creating new tools for killing people.

In summary, we believe that AI has great potential to benefit humanity in many ways, and that the goal of the field should be to do so. Starting a military AI arms race is a bad idea, and should be prevented by a ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control.

List of Signatories

Via: [Future of Life Institute]

Nasa Wants to Send Windbot to Explore Jupiter's atmosphere

A team of scientists at NASA are planning to build a robot that can float in the atmosphere for a longer time without consuming the fuel. Windbots are the machines capable harness the power of the wind on Jupiter and the other gas giants, since it's not ideal to send solar or nuclear-powered robots to the outer planets.

NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program funded $100,000 for this study and the team has designed the basic model for the windbot that looks like a dandelion seed.

Currently, there are no missions scheduled that would take advantage of windbots but NASA may use windbots to help scientists understand turbulent weather like hurricanes.

Via: [NASA]

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Samsung’s Tizen-powered Z1 Smartphone Crosses 1 Million Sales Since Launch

Russian Soyuz Carrying Three New Astronauts Docks Safely with ISS

Reports say that a Russian rocket soyuz carrying three new astronauts carrying cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, US astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui of Japan has landed safely at International Space Station on Wednesday at 9.02pm GMT.

The rocket reached the destination in less than six hours and it is expected to begin a five-month mission aboard the station, a US$100-billion laboratory that flies about 400 km above Earth.

The mission had been delayed by two months because of a Russian rocket failure therefore scientists were eager for its successful landing.

Now they will start contributing to study of space explorations at ISS.

Via: [time.com]

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Blizzard Allows the Gamers to Pre-order StarCraft 2 Legacy of the Void - Order Your Copy Today

Panasonic Introduces the New GX8 Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera with Post Focus Function

Blizzard Allows the Gamers to Pre-order StarCraft 2 Legacy of the Void - Order Your Copy Today

Blizzard is now allowing gamers to pre-order the final Legacy of the Void in three different versions: standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s. The company also added that the Deluxe and Collector’s Editions of the new Starcraft 2 expansion will come with multiple digital items for other Blizzard titles.

Those who buy into the pre-release version of Legacy of the Void can play a three mission long prologue titled Whispers of Oblivion and starring Zeratul, who we've definitely seen in StarCraft prior to Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's MOBA.

Speaking of which, Legacy of the Void is the final expansion for StarCraft 2, and will mark the completion of StarCraft's current story timeline, one that has been ongoing since 1998. It will include new units, maps, as well as an all-new Archon Mode where two players can share command of a single faction.

If you're new to the StarCraft experience, Blizzard has lowered the barrier of entry by making Heart of the Swarm a standalone package, allowing you to skip Wings of Liberty.

Via: [gamerevolution.com]

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Panasonic Introduces the New GX8 Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera with Post Focus Function

Panasonic Corporation has announced the new GX8 4K Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) Camera with a new technological function called "Post Focus."

Post Focus allows to select an "in-focus" area after shooting with a simple interface. This function has been developed as a further evolution of 4K Photo technology to prevent out-of-focus errors and offer additional creative freedom.

The 20.3-megapixel GX8 is able to shoot 8 frames per second (fps) on continuous burst mode in single autofocus mode and 6 fps in continuous autofocus mode.

It's Dual I.S.(image stabilizer) feature can reduce vibrations and allow for crisper hand-held shots.

The GX8 can record 4K footage at 3,840 x 2,160 resolution (QFHD 4K) at 30p or 24p. Additionally, you can extract 8-megapixel still photos from video footage, just like on the G7.

On the back, you'll find a 3-inch touchscreen that rotates 180-degrees up and tilts up 250-degrees — perfect for shooting photos above and below you.

Besides this, the GX7 has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC for connecting to a smartphone or tablet.

The company said it will be available in mid-August in two color models: black, and black/silver.

Via: [mashable.com]

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Samsung’s Tizen-powered Z1 Smartphone Crosses 1 Million Sales Since Launch

Samsung India reported that it has sold a record 1 million Tizen-powered Samsung Z1 smartphones since its launch in January 2015.

The company managed to achieve this milestone in less than six months since the launch. Samsung Z1 is the company's first smartphone to run on its Tizen operating system. The company has previously used the operating system on its Gear smartwatches, and televisions.

Some of the advantages Samsung Z1 gets using the lightweight Tizen OS is a fast boot time, quick access to apps, and fast browser performance using compression. Also featured is a built-in SOS alert system that enables users to reach out for help by pressing the power button four times. The Z1 comes with a private mode to keep sensitive user content away from prying eyes, and a preloaded antivirus.

Samsung Z1 features a 4 inch WVGA ( 800×480pixels) Super AMOLED Display. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz Dual core Spreadtrum SC7727S processor with 768 MB of RAM. For graphics, it comes with a Mali 400 GPU.

The Tizen smartphone comes with a 3.1 megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a 0.3 megapixel front camera. It comes with 4 GB on-board storage which can be further expanded up to 64 GB using MicroSD Card.

Its connectivity options include 3G, HSPA+, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS/AGPS, Bluetooth, and Micro-USB. It packs a 1,500 mAh battery. It is a dual sim device with dual standby support.
Samsung Z1 SM-Z130H runs on Tizen 2.3 OS. It comes with new SoS and ultra power saving mode features.

Samsung Z1 price in India is Rs. 4,990. It comes in several color options.

Yahoo Started Dating Again Google for Better Search and Ad Capabilities

Yahoo is testing letting Google put its online search skills to work at some of its online properties.

The pioneering Silicon Valley Internet firm was looking at whether having a mix of players handling search results or search ad placement at its websites would benefit Yahoo and its users.

Microsoft and Yahoo updated their search partnership in April to allow more flexibility in searches and end Yahoo's exclusive sales force role with advertisers.

The search partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo took effect in 2010 and was supposed to last 10 years, but Yahoo had the option of exiting it midway if certain revenue conditions were not met. Yahoo's chief executive, Marissa Mayer, had repeatedly signaled that she was dissatisfied.

According to eMarketer projections, Microsoft and Yahoo combined will own 6.5% of the USD 81.59 billion search market globally in 2015.

Google, the search leader, was expected to take a 54.5% of the global market this year, the research firm said.

A significant alliance between Yahoo and Google on search could draw the attention of antitrust regulators at home and abroad, given the powerful position Google holds in that arena.

"Yahoo is currently testing search results and ads from a number of partners, including Google as one of their options," Google said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Via: [Hindustan Times]

Blackberry Plans to Launch First Ever Android-Running Smartphone Venice

Blackberry is planning launch its first phone 'Venice' powered by Android. A leaked image shows a phone similar to Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge, with curved sides. It is said that the handset could be the company's last attempt to revive itself following disastrous sales of its own BB10 touchscreen handsets.

According to Evan Blass, who posted the images and is well known for leaks of new handsets, it will be launched on AT&T and is codenamed Venice.

BlackBerry, which once dominated smartphone sales, now has a market share of less than 1 percent.

BlackBerry briefly showed off the slider device on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, but it has provided little detail on it since then.
By making an Android device that boasts a large touchscreen and a physical keyboard, BlackBerry hopes to snag a niche in the touchscreen-dominated Android market. The device may attract those still using older BlackBerry keyboard handhelds but who want access to the larger app options Android offers.

Russia Successfully Launches Unmanned Progress Resupply Spacecraft to International Space Station

Russia successfully launched an unmanned progress resupply M-27M spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Soyuz rocket on Friday.

The previous Progress launch in April ended in failure, and on Sunday a US supply mission also failed when SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket broke apart shortly after lift-off.

The success of the latest launch is essential for the station programme, which has relied on Russian spacecraft for ferrying crews after the grounding of the US shuttle fleet.

Less than 10 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned, said NASA.

The Russian cargo craft will make 34 orbits of Earth during the next two days before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 3:13 a.m. Sunday, July 5.

Solar Impulse 2 Sets New Solo Flight Record Across Pacific to Hawaii

Solar Impulse 2 (a solar-powered aircraft) has set the new record of flying from Japan to Hawaii for the longest solo flight.

Veteran Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg, who has spent more than four days flying from Japan in the Solar Impulse 2, is expected to land on the Pacific US island state on Friday if all goes well.

“After the longest and most tiring night of this flight, bringing the pilot and aircraft to the limits, Andre is now back under the oceanic sunlight,” mission organisers said.

By 0200 GMT the plane had traveled 91% of the way to Hawaii, having flown 7,471km (4,642 miles) and had a few hundred kilometres to go.

Earlier it crossed a cold weather front before Hawaii, which organisers described as “jumping over the wall” before the final stretch towards the Pacific archipelago.

The pioneering plane is due to land Friday morning local time at Kalaeloa airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The organizers’ latest estimate for arrival was 1600 GMT, although that could change depending on conditions.

Borschberg earlier clocked up more than 100 hours in the air – suprassing the previous longest solo endurance flight by Steve Fossett, who flew for 76 hours and 45 minutes in 2006.

The whole trip from Japan to Hawaii was expected to take 120 hours.

Watch the complete video here -

Video Captured Using Nikon's Coolpix P900 Reveals Moon Craters in Detail

A video captured using Nikon's Coolpix P900 reveals how the device's 83x zoom lens can film the moon appearing to move - an illusion created by the Earth's rotation.

The one minute 50 seconds footage, which gone viral since it was uploaded by a German photographer, also shows the moon craters in detail.

These incredible clips put Nikon’s COOLPIX P900 83x zoom to the test – and the results are remarkable.

The P900’s ridiculously powerful zoom is expandable up to 166x with effect Dynamic Fine Zoom feature. It has a backlit 16 million pixels CMOS image sensor paired with the use of an optical vibration reduction technology. With its 2000mm zoom range, the Nikon Coolpix P900 is clearly the winner when it comes to present ultra zoom segment about the target reach.

In the video, one can easily see how effortlessly the optical lens zooms in to its highest and takes an amazing video of the moon. The Nikon P900 has certainly impressed us with its mighty powerful optical zoom.

Minecraft Sales Have Surpassed 20 Million Copies on PC Platform

"20 million copies of Minecraft PC sold, Thanks everyone for supporting us and thanks for stickning with us for so long!" Tweeted Kaplan, the business developer at Mojang.

Microsoft bought Minecraft creators Mojang for $2.5 billion less than a year ago. Bean counters at the company will be encouraged by the game's continued success. Also it looks like Microsoft is working to make the most of Minecraft's open world potential with the recent HoloLens demo at E3.

Minecraft in education

To make Minecraft's reach even broader Microsoft wants to help teachers and other educators implement learning programs that include Minecraft. Its Minecraft in education portal is designed as a reference to including Minecraft in lesson plans.

Minecraft has already been used in education off the back of various teachers' own initiatives, reports TIME magazine, but now they will get official support and a portal full of teaching possibilities. You can read more about the initiative on the official Tumblr site. Also Microsoft has created an introductory video, embedded below.

Via: [Hexus.net]