Samsung Galaxy S4 to be launched on March 22

 

Release date rumoured to be in April

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Samsung's yet to be announced Galaxy S4 will reportedly be announced at a launch event on March 22.
According to Asian Economies News, the Galaxy S4 smartphone will be revealed at a Samsung Mobile Unpacked event on 22 March. The site claims the launch event will take place in the US and is expected to be the largest ever.
This matches up to many rumours suggesting a launch in March following Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with a release in April. Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S3 in May at its own event in central London instead of MWC amongst its rivals.

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There are also a couple of suggested release dates flying around for the Galaxy S4. The first is that it will be release on 15 April, according to SamMobile. Alternatively, a leaked image (above) claiming to be the Galaxy S4 has a date on the screen of 22 April which many are pegging as the release date.

Whether any of these dates are correct is up for debate and should be taken with at least a small pinch of salt. Samsung has made no announcement on the situation so we'll have to wait and see.
Rumoured specifications for the yet Galaxy S4 include an Exynos 5 Octa 8-core processor, 4.9 inch Full HD screen, a 13Mp camera, wireless charging and will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Surface Pro Tablet, New Surface Accessories to Land on Feb. 9 in U.S.

Part two of Microsoft's Surface saga debuts next month, along with new Touch Covers, Wedge mouse, and Surface RT option.

If you've been waiting to touch a Surface Pro tablet in the living, breathing, once-molten-magnesium flesh, you can finally mark a hard date on your calendar: The Windows 8 Pro version of Microsoft's tablet will go on sale Feb. 9 at Microsoft stores, microsoftstore.com, Staples and Best Buy in the U.S.
The 64GB version will retail for $900, while the 128GB model will cost a cool $1,000. Both models will come with Microsoft's new Surface pen writing stylus (which I used during a brief hands-on at CES), but neither model comes pre-loaded with any version of Office, which has been a nice bundled addition for Microsoft's struggling Surface RT model.
While Surface RT is loaded with Windows RT, the hobbled OS incapable of running desktop apps, the upcoming Surface for big boys and girls runs the full version of Windows 8 Pro, and is a complete, 64-bit PC by definition. This is self-evident during a quick scan of its Ultrabook-caliber hardware specs.

Yep, that's the new Surface Pro, with its Surface pen at the ready.

Surface vs Surface
Where Surface RT has an Nvidia Tegra 3 ARM chip and 2GB of RAM, the Surface Pro packs a Core i5 and 4GB of RAM. And where the RT's 10.6-inch display has a 1366-by-768 resolution, the Pro keeps the same screen dimensions but increases the pixel grid to true HD at 1920-by-1080.
USB, you ask? The RT tablet is limited to USB 2.0, whereas the Pro gives you USB 3.0 support. And of course the Pro version comes with the Surface pen for writing in digital ink, and also boasts a Mini DisplayPort for driving behemoth desktop monitors.
All of this is packed in a sleek, silky VaporMg chassis that's only slightly larger and heavier than what you'll find in a Surface RT. The RT clocks in at 0.37-inch thick and 1.5 pounds, while the Pro is 0.53-inch thick and 2 pounds. Unfortunately, while the Pro version has a beefier battery than its RT sibling (42 w-h to the RT's 31.5 w-h), customers should expect much poorer battery life.


 Behold, the Surface pen. It lets you jot notes directly on the tablet's capacitive touch screen.

So, yeah, that ARM processor in the Surface RT is good for something.
Sorry, Surface RT fans, but I stand by my position that Surface Windows 8 Pro is the full realization of the Surface concept. Sure, Surface RT offers a fine tablet experience, but given the lack of compelling Windows Store apps, I need a full desktop experience--if only to get my job done while working on the road. And in the Surface family, a fully functioning desktop is only available in the device that debuts Feb. 9.

The Surface family expands
The launch of Surface Pro is the big news, but on Feb. 9 eager Surface fans will also be able to buy a couple of new accessories, plus a new Surface RT option.


Three new Touch Cover designs also go on sale Feb. 9.

First up, Microsoft is releasing some "limited edition" Touch Cover options sporting three laser-etched designs.There's a new cyan cover with a vaguely skater-ish skull motif, a magenta cover with a floral print, and a red cover that pays homage to Chinese New Year with a "Year of the Snake" design.
I saw two of the new covers at CES, and they looked, well, pleasant. If I were in the market for a Touch Cover, I might buy one of the limited edition models if they didn't cost $130, which is $10 more than unadorned Touch Covers. Then again, I don't put play with stickers any more, so maybe I'm not the target market.
Slightly more interesting is the Surface version of Microsoft's Wedge Touch Mouse, which costs $70 and is clad in a color-matched veneer to look right at home beside the VaporMG chassis of your Surface Tablet. The original version of the Wedge Mouse also costs $70, and is expressly designed for Windows 8, offering four-way touch scrolling, Bluetooth connectivity, and BlueTrack technology, which allows it to perform well on pretty much any surface save clear glass and mirrors.
Finally, on Feb. 9, Microsoft will also begin selling a new version of Surface RT. To date, if you wanted the 64GB of Surface RT, you could only get it bundled with a black Touch Cover for a total price of $700. Well, now that 64GB version can be purchased solo for $600, and no keyboard cover whatsoever will be foisted on you, against your will or better judgement. This, of course, frees up some cash so you can buy a Type Cover (the cover option with actual moving keys), or perhaps one of the more fancy "limited edition" Touch Covers that's about to go on sale.
Microsoft tells us we should be getting our Surface Pro hardware in the next couple of weeks, so please stay tuned for my final review.

Google Looks to Kill Passwords, but Experts say Not So Fast

While passwords security is not ironclad, experts say they need to be in the mix with device-assisted authentication as an additional layer.

Google's security team is experimenting with ways to replace passwords for logging in to websites. But while acknowledging passwords alone are no longer enough to protect users, security experts believe they shouldn't be tossed.
Google is testing device-assisted security as a possible password replacement. Ideas include a small Yubico crytographic card that could be inserted into a USB reader to log in to a Google account or some other supporting website, Wired.com reported Friday. Such a mechanism would have to be supported by the Web browser.
Other authentication options might include someone tapping their smartphone or a smartcard-embedded finger ring on a computer. Details on Google's thinking are contained in a research paper that is scheduled to appear this month in the engineering journal IEEE Security & Privacy 

Magazine. Google Vice President of Security Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay wrote the paper.
Google was not able to make Grosse or Upadhyay available for an interview, but said in an emailed statement, "We're focused on making authentication more secure, and yet easier to manage. We believe experiments like these can help make login systems better."
The diminishing effectiveness of passwords is seen everyday by the amount of spam spewing from hacked Web mail and social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter. Consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu predicts that more than 90% of passwords generated this year would take only seconds for a hacker to crack.
While passwords fail to provide ironclad security, experts believe they need to be part of the mix with device-assisted authentication as an additional layer.
"The cell phone is the weakest option, but any sort of two-factor authentication is a serious improvement," said Chester Wisniewski, security adviser for Sophos. "It is important for people to know that this doesn't replace passwords, it simply augments them."
The general principle for strong authentication advises using something you know, something you have and something you are, such as a password, a USB token and a fingerprint reader, respectively. While expecting consumers to have all three would be impractical, having a couple of them would be much stronger security than having just one.
"The notion of authentication strategy is if you start mixing these things, then it's a lot harder for a bad guy to break the system," said Eve Maler, an analyst with Forrester Research.
New layers of authentication are also being invented, Maler said. For example, when a person makes a purchase through PayPal, the online payment site will check the authenticity of the request through algorithms that consider multiple factors, such as the IP address of the computer, what's being purchased and for how much.
"They're silently observing your behavior," Maler said.
Such techniques can go a long way toward augmenting passwords, Maler said. However, users will still have to choose much stronger passwords than they do today. In its 2012 list of worst passwords used on the Web, SplashData found the top three passwords to be "password," "123456" and "12345678."
The use of any device in authentication opens up the possibility of having it lost or stolen. One answer would be biometrics to established the identity of the user. "There needs to be an accompanying mechanism to ensure that your device can only be used by you," said Dan Olds, an analyst with the Gabriel Consulting Group.
How far Google can take its ideas toward widespread adoption remains to be seen. But recognizing and trying to solve the password problem is a step in the right direction.
"It's about time we got serious about replacing passwords," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle. "Maybe news of Google's experiments will encourage other vendors to look seriously at alternatives."

Apple's Bigger 4.8in 'iPhone Math' Could Look Like This

Russian site has created renderings to illustrate what an iPhone with a 4.8in display might look like.

 

This week, reports emerged from China suggesting that Apple is preparing to launch three new iPhones this year, including a bigger device with a 4.8in display, dubbed 'iPhone math'. The bigger iPhone could compete with rival smartphone makers' 'phablet' devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy Note range. The speculation has led Russian website Apple Digger to create a 3D rendering of the so-called 'iPhone math', to illustrate what the device could look like.
Apple Digger's images show an iPhone with a design similar to the iPhone 5, with an aluminium back and central front-facing camera. The site expects that Apple would achieve the bigger screen by making the iPhone taller, as it did with the iPhone 5. This would allow a sixth row of icons to be displayed on the home screen.
Some rumours have suggested that Apple's next iPhone will be available in a variety of colours, so, in addition to the current black & slate and white & silver models, Apple Digger's concept also shows a green, blue and pink iPhone, taking design cues from the latest iPod touch.


While most, including us, believe that the name 'iPhone math' could be a codename or a mistranslation, the possibility of a larger iPhone cannot yet be ruled out completely.
In fact, this isn't the first we've heard about the possibility of an iPhone with a bigger display. Earlier this month, Topeka Capitals analyst Brian White said that the next iPhone could come in three sizes, including a smaller and larger model. Before that, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek had also predicted a bigger iPhone, after "several prototypes" were spotted "floating around".
However, Digitimes said yesterday that its sources believe the bigger iPhone won't arrive until 2014.
Do you think Apple should launch a bigger iPhone? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter.

You can watch the 'iPhone math' video created by Apple Digger below:

‘Give a personalised-saving coin to every child’

Each week a global thinker from the worlds of philosophy, science, psychology or the arts is given a minute to put forward a radical, inspiring or controversial idea – no matter how improbable – that they believe would change the world.

This week Oxford University anthropologist Catherine Dolan proposes a hi-tech solution to tackle debt and financial exclusion.
“My ideas if for a barcoded, payback savings coin.
Every child born in the world will be given a payback savings coin worth one dollar with a barcode and a sample of the child’s DNA embedded in it.
The coin is currency and a child can choose to spend it or save it. If the child saves it until he or she is 18 they would be able to automatically exchange it for a working bank account, identified by the barcode. The bank account would hold all the interest that accrued on the child’s dollar since birth and the child would be the only one authorised to withdraw the money.
Importantly, the scheme would be funded by the fines levied against banks involved in unscrupulous practices, whose name would be imprinted on the each coin.
This plan has at least three benefits.
One, it would teach all children the benefits of saving and remove the barriers that the poorest everywhere face because they can’t open a bank account.
Two, it would provide women who are often economically marginalised with their own source of income.
And three, it would serve as a powerful reminder to financial institutions that ethics count.”

You can listen to Catherine discuss her idea with angel investor Sherry Coutu and leading coffee entrepreneur Andrew Rugmore on the BBC World Service programme The Forum, where you can also download more 60-second ideas.

If you have a 60-second idea or would like to comment on this story, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

Touch-sensitive video-screen floor is in step with you

 
 
A prototype floor that senses your every step and displays interactive video could one day bring strange sights and new possibilities into your home

GLANCE down at the interactive floor in Patrick Baudisch's lab and you will not see your reflection in the glass. Instead, you will find your computer-generated doppelgänger, wearing a facsimile of your clothes, which walks and moves just like you do. It seems to be stuck to your feet (see picture).

This mirror world is one of the applications Baudisch and his colleagues at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, developed after building an 8-square-metre pressure-sensing floor that can recognise people by their weight, track their movements and display video for them to interact with. The idea is that the pressure-sensing technology could lead to a raft of ways to control objects in your home, play games, or assist older or disabled people.

For instance, to play a version of indoor soccer, the floor generates a CGI football that can be kicked about by the people in the room. Or if someone sits on the floor, the system recognises who they are by their precise weight and flips a TV on to their favourite channel. Similarly, an elderly person's activity levels could be monitored.

Developed with funding from Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, Baudisch envisions the device as a forerunner to pressure-sensing floors in people's homes. His team will present the invention, dubbed GravitySpace, at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris, France, in April.

The team's prototype consists of a slab of 6.4-centimetre-thick glass installed in a hole cut into a standard floor, and an infrared camera and high-resolution video projector in the room below that tracks footprints and beams video up onto the glass.

Infrared LEDs surround the flooring, which is also coated with a rubbery, pressure-sensitive film. A footstep on the surface makes the film interfere with the infrared light, creating an image of the footprint that is captured by the camera below. "This pressure sensor is of such high resolution that the floor can recognise anything from shoe prints to fabric textures to someone's knees," says Baudisch.

Software running on a linked computer recognises what those objects are doing and generates relevant video in response. In the football app, for example, the floor measures the rate of change of pressure on the non-kicking foot to determine when you are kicking - the floor cannot "see" the foot that is in the air - and the ball is moved in response.

"It's an extremely exciting research result," says Ken Perlin, at New York University. "The future of computer interfaces is to become more sensitive to people's needs. A floor that understands where you are and what you are doing is a logical step in that direction."

Digital information can be stored in DNA - study

It can store the information from a million CDs in a space no bigger than your little finger, and could keep it safe for centuries.Is this some new electronic gadget? Nope. It's DNA.
The genetic material has long held all the information needed to make plants and animals, and now some scientists are saying it could help handle the growing storage needs of today's information society.
Researchers reported Wednesday that they had stored all 154 Shakespeare sonnets, a photo, a scientific paper, and a 26-second sound clip from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. That all fit in a barely visible bit of DNA in a test tube.
The process involved converting the ones and zeroes of digital information into the four-letter alphabet of DNA code. That code was used to create strands of synthetic DNA. Then machines "read" the DNA molecules and recovered the encoded information. That reading process took two weeks, but technological advances are driving that time down, said Ewan Birney of the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, England. He's an author of a report published online by the journal Nature.
DNA could be useful for keeping huge amounts of information that must be kept for a long time but not retrieved very often, the researchers said. Storing the DNA would be relatively simple, they said: Just put it in a cold, dry and dark place and leave it alone.
The technology might work in the near term for large archives that have to be kept safe for centuries, like national historical records or huge library holdings, said study co-author Nick Goldman of the institute. Maybe in a decade it could become feasible for consumers to store information they want to have around in 50 years, like wedding photos or videos for future grandchildren, Goldman said in an email.
The researchers said they have no intention of putting storage DNA into a living thing, and that it couldn't accidentally become part of the genetic machinery of a living thing because of its coding scheme.
Sriram Kosuri, a Harvard researcher who co-authored a similar report last September, said both papers show advantages of DNA for long-term storage. But because of its technical limitations, "it's not going to replace your hard drive," he said.
Kosuri's co-author, Harvard DNA expert George Church, said the technology could let a person store all of Wikipedia on a fingertip, and all the world's information now stored on disk drives could fit in the palm of the hand.

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