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An Introduction Of Sorts…

• Introduction • Comments Off

Suggymoto.com started originally in December 2007 as an outlet for my ranting and to showcase my occasional artistic endeavours. Over the course of time, it has evolved into something of an infrequent Tech-Blog with a dash of Pop Culture reference for good measure.
My interest in aspects of technology has led me to read A LOT about the subject and given me a unique viewpoint to throw my own two cents into the equation.

I must stress that the opinions expressed in this Blog are mine and mine alone.

I will occasionally re-post articles which I find of interest, and these will be cited as such.

Here is my contribution to the Web.

Suggymoto.com will continue as my Tech and General Interest blog.
Retro.suggymoto.com will continue to showcase my original artwork and Photography.

Please feel free to drop by every now and then and check out what I’ve been doing and thinking.

Google Icon
Chrome Adds Voice Search to Desktops – Mac Users Hold Breath

May 22nd, 2013 • News • No Comments »

Mac users are finally being treated to a a peek into what life might be like should Apple add Siri to the next version of OS X.

After updating to version 27.0.1453.93 and heading to the Google home page, Chrome browser users will find a little microphone on the right edge of their search field. Click it, allow the feature (first time only), then speak and watch as your words magically appear on screen before the search results are presented. The future is now!

The new addition, borrowed from the Android-based Google Now, is also available on Windows PCs too.

Source: [Android Central]

Microsoft WP8 Icon
Microsoft Announce Xbox: One

May 21st, 2013 • Games • No Comments »

The next-generation console was shown off alongside a new Kinect camera-and-voice sensor and a redesigned gamepad.

The US firm described the voice and gesture-controlled machine as an “all-in-one” system offering games, live TV, movies and music.

The firm’s Entertainment and Devices Division accounted for $9.6bn (£6.3bn) worth of sales in Microsoft’s last financial year.

That only represented about 13% of its total revenue for the period – but one analyst said the importance of this launch should not be underestimated.

“Microsoft is very strong in business software and the enterprise cloud business, but its consumer businesses are facing tremendous challenges: PCs are declining rapidly and Windows Phone handsets have only a fraction of the market shares of rivals,” said Jia Wu from consultants Strategy Analytics.

“Xbox represents Microsoft’s core strategy in the consumer entertainment market, especially after it sold its Mediaroom video distribution business to Ericsson earlier this year.

“This is also the unique asset which Microsoft has that can differentiate itself from Apple, Google and several of the other large tech companies. ”

New features
The new machine sees Microsoft add a Blu-ray drive and Skype functionality to its console, built in feedback into its gamepad triggers, and upgrades its Kinect camera sensor to 1080p high definition resolution.

It said the Kinect would allow the device to better analyse body movements allowing users to more accurately control game characters and navigate other entertainment options.

Microsoft has added the ability to watch live TV with channel selection controlled by voice
“When you’re exercising, it can read your heartbeat,” claimed the firm.

New tools will also allow users to record and edit gameplay so clips can be easily uploaded to the web.

EA Sports was first to announce new titles for the machine revealing Fifa 14, Madden 25, NBA Live 14 and the fighting game UFC would all launch on the platform within the next 12 months using a new games engine called Ignite.

It said the new machine allowed it to carry out four times as many calculations a second as the Xbox 360 and 10 times more “animation depth and detail”.

Microsoft Studios also revealed that Forza Motorsport 5 – the latest in its own racing car franchise – would be available when the console launched.

The division added that it planned to release 15 games within the console’s first year, eight of which would be new franchises.

Another Microsoft unit, 343 Studios, revealed it would release a live-action Halo television series co-developed with movie director Steven Spielberg.

Source: [BBC]

Suggymoto Icon
Nasa Look To Print Food in 3D

May 21st, 2013 • Food • No Comments »

NASA is funding research into 3D-printed food. As Quartz reveals, Mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor received a $125,000 grant from the agency to build a prototype 3D printer with the aim of automating food creation. It’s hoped the system could provide astronauts food during long-distance space travel, but its creator has the loftier aim of solving the increasing food shortages around the world by cutting down on waste. The software for the printer will be open-source, while the hardware is based on the open-source RepRap Mendel 3D printer.

The concept is to use basic “building blocks” of food in replaceable powder cartridges. By combining each block, a wide range of foods should be able to be created by the printer. The cartridges will have a lifespan of 30 years, more than long enough to enable long-distance space travel. After proving his system works on a basic level by printing chocolate, Contractor will start his project within the next few weeks by attempting to print a pizza.


The pizza printer will first print a layer of dough, which will be cooked while being printed, before mixing tomato powder with water and oil to print a tomato sauce. The topping for the pizza will be a nondescript “protein layer.” It’s early days for the project, but if it’s successful it would be a real milestone on the way towards a Star Trek-style Replicator.

Source: [The Verge]

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4G TV Interference In UK Overblown

May 15th, 2013 • Science • No Comments »

Concerns that the expansion of 4G services in the UK could cause interference for homes using Freeview may have been unfounded.

Tests conducted by at800, the firm set up to troubleshoot the issue, have so far found very few problems.

Tests of around 200,000 homes in the West Midlands and London have uncovered just 15 TV interference issues.

The firm denied that it rendered the money set aside to deal with the problem unnecessary.

“It is important for us to exist so that we can take an appropriate approach to mitigating the effects of 4G depending on where it is rolled out,” said communication director Ben Roome.

Funding for at800 comes from mobile firms to the tune of £180m.

“The mobile firms were obliged to fund us but any money not spent, they do get back,” said Mr Roome.

The firm is now running a trial in Brighton where Freeview is transmitted at frequencies much closer to those for the new 4G services. The area around the city is also far hillier than in previous tests, which could have an impact on interference.

“We have already seen a handful of issues there,” said Mr Roome.

Initially Ofcom had estimated that up to 900,000 homes could experience interference with Freeview, which operates close to the 800MHz frequency that will be used by 4G services.

Engineers can fit filters if there are interference issues.

4G services will begin rolling out in the summer. Existing 4G services offered by EE operate in different frequencies and do not disrupt TV signals.

Source: [BBC]

Blackberry Icon
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for iOS and Android

May 14th, 2013 • News • No Comments »

About time too! The long-rumored expansion of BBM is now a reality, or will be later this summer when it rolls out.

At first, the software will support the basics: Messaging and Groups. Later, however, a full suite of BBM tools — already available on BlackBerry 10 — will arrive with screen-sharing and voice calls.

Is it too little too late though? If you’re using iOS or Android now, how many friends or contacts do you know that use BBM? BlackBerry says that BBM has more than 60 million monthly active users now but that’s well below some popular third-party messaging services.

Source: [GigaOm]

Suggymoto Icon
The Incan Girl Who Was Perfectly Preserved For 500 Years

May 14th, 2013 • News • No Comments »

This Incan girl was sacrificed some 500 years ago has been uncovered perfectly intact, as the freezing temperatures atop a volcano preserved her to the point where it looks as if she could wake up at any moment.

With temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius below zero, the 15-year-old girl, along with a 6-year-old and a 7-year-old, were discovered to be perfectly maintained.

Check out this account of it by anthropologist Marta Flores:

Three children, ages 6, 7 and 15, left their towns one day and set off toward the peak of a volcano. Accompanied by Inca priests, they walked for months or even years until they at last reached the Llullaillaco Volcano in northwestern Argentina. There, the priests got them drunk and buried them alive as an offering to the gods. “The Incas selected the two girls and one boy for their beauty and perfection. The girls wore tunics, fitted at the waist, and long braids in their hair. The boy donned a large headdress made of white feathers. The priests buried them with various objects that symbolized life in the communities: miniature gold statues, vessels, sandals and small bags of dried food.

The bodies of the children were initially uncovered in 1999 by a troop of 14 men and women led by Johan Reinhard, a U.S. explorer for the National Geographic Society, climbed 6,700 meters above sea level.

“When we established the final camp, at a height of 6,600 meters, a storm broke,” recalled Christian Vitry, who was on the expedition. “It lasted four days, and the tents were covered in snow.”

With her clothes, skin and hair still in tact, this Incan teenagers is one of the most remarkable feats of human preservation ever seen.

Source: [Elite Daily]

Apple Icon
Big Changes For Apple Repairs & Replacements Coming Soon

May 13th, 2013 • News • No Comments »

The way it is now, if almost anything is wrong with an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, the entire device is exchanged for a like-new re manufactured device; whether brought into an apple store or sent in for mail in repair. However, going forward Apple are reportedly going to start repairing the products and return the same device to the customer.

Currently, Apple Stores have the tools to replace speakers, receivers, home buttons, the vibrator motor and battery. Come June, capabilities will be expanded to display replacement, and by July cameras, sleep/wake buttons and logic boards.

The new in-store repairs are to be rolled out across the U.S., with international support coming online soon. Apple expects to save nearly $1 billion per year with the change in policy. This isnt necessarily a bad thing for Apple customers. In-store repairs would be a huge plus for those customers whose products are no longer under warranty. Instead of paying a universal “swap out” fee, out of warranty hardware issues will be fixed on a per device basis.

Apple has reportedly deployed advanced in-store repairs at select locations, with customer response being largely positive.

With the savings Apple expects to make with this updated policy, one wonders if it might be the turning point needed to move to 24 month warranties?

Source: [AppleInsider]

Microsoft WP8 Icon
No iTunes on Windows 8 Any Time Soon

May 10th, 2013 • News • No Comments »

Windows 8 “Metro” users shouldn’t get their hopes up regarding an iTunes app on their operating system, according to a new report. “You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon,” said Tami Reller of Microsoft’s Windows division. “ITunes (sic) is in high demand. The welcome mat has been laid out. It’s not for lack of trying.” Windows 8 users can only use iTunes in desktop mode, which means the iTunes experience suffers on Windows tablets. It also means iTunes can’t be used on the Microsoft Surface, which only runs Microsoft desktop software. And as the report notes, “There’s no reason for Apple to help make the Surface a better product.”

Source: [CNN Money]

Suggymoto Icon
Downey Jr. Holding Out On Iron Man 4

May 8th, 2013 • Film • No Comments »

It has been reported that Robert Downey Jr. is in talks with Marvel to return for The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3, But the actor isn’t even discussing Iron Man 4.

This might be why:

Downey Jr. earned somewhere between $50 million and $80 million on The Avengers and has already earned over $35 million for his work on Iron Man 3, but his The Avengers co-stars aren’t making anything close to that. In fact, most of the actors are being paid around $200,000, far less than they would earn on any other movie.

Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth received only a $500,000 pay increase for returning for the Captain America and Thor sequels. And unlike Downey Jr., the actors will earn only $500,000 more if their movies break the $500 million mark at the box office.

Despite having a contract, Hemsworth considered backing out of Thor 2 because he earned $5 million working on Snow White and the Huntsman and Marvel isn’t offering anywhere near that, despite the fact that Thor and The Avengers are massive franchises. Scarlett Johansson is also fed up and isn’t willing to take a pay-cut to return for The Avengers 2.

Marvel is known for low salaries and replacing any actor who doesn’t accept the company’s way of doing business. In fact, the studio has already threatened to replace Hemsworth. But Marvel doesn’t want to replace Downey Jr. at this point and it seems that the actor is using that leverage to fight for his co-stars by threatening not to return for Iron Man 4 and possibly any other Marvel film unless they all get appropriate pay raises.

Source: [Deadline]

Apple Icon
iOS7 Rumours Take Flight

Apr 29th, 2013 • Design • No Comments »

Sources claim the look of Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 will be simpler than past incarnations, according to a new report.

Multiple people who have either seen or have been briefed on the upcoming iOS 7 claim the new operating system will be attractive to new users, but potentially unsettling for long-time iOS users.

The interface is “very, very flat,” one source says; while another says it loses “all signs of gloss, shine, and skeumorphism”.

In an interview early last year, Jony Ive shared his lack of connection to the software that runs on his hardware.

When I mention the fake stitching, Ive offers a wince but it’s a gesture of sympathy rather than a suggestion that he dislikes such things. At least, that’s how I read it. He refuses to be drawn on the matter, offering a diplomatic reply: “My focus is very much working with the other teams on the product ideas and then developing the hardware and so that’s our focus and that’s our responsibility. In terms of those elements you’re talking about, I’m not really connected to that.”

Immediately after the departure of former Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall, speculation has been that Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jony Ive’s work on the new OS would move away from skeuomorphism, which Forstall and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs both favoured.


Test version of iOS 4 multitasking from 2010

One source compared iOS 7 to the Windows Phone UI.

Reportedly, there is no new learning curve for the new operating system, as the core apps and system fundamentals operate similarly to the current iOS.

Interface changes allegedly include a new icon set for native apps, newly designed tool bars, and tab bars. Apple has also apparently been researching ways to add more quick glance panels, such as Notification Center, into the new software. One idea included swipes from the left and right of the display – similar to OSX.

Sources note iOS 7 is codenamed “Innsbruck” – likely after the Austrian city.

Source: [9to5mac]

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