Homemade 3-D Printed Robot Cracks Any Master Lock Combination in Seconds

A 3D printed robot has arrived that can crack a combination lock in as little as 30 seconds.

A well-known California hacker Samy Kamkar who is expert in cracking locks has built a 3D-printed machine, calling his gadget the "C-C-C-Combo Breaker," that can crack Master Lock combination padlocks – used on hundreds of thousands of school lockers – in less than 30 seconds.

In April, Samy Kamkar, a hacker and engineer and the inventor of the handmade device disclosed the technique of cracking Master locks by taking care of the hitches in the dial’s spin, which indicate at the actual combination and restrict it to eight options. The things that your hands can do, a machine can often do it more quicker. Hence, Kamkar made a lock-cracking machine from off-the-shelf parts that converts the whole process into an automatic operation.

One part tightly grasps the dial and spins to the numbers as it goes through the procedure of examining the resistance capacity that shows the combo. In the meantime, a little lever pulls on the shackle at the right moments to check and see if the lock opens after each try. You can see an comprehensive and thorough explanation of the device in Kamkar’s video below, but if you do not know the dissimilarity between DC and AC, or what a stepper motor is, it may be a bit too technical to enjoy.

So to make it simple for everyone – On Thursday, the hacker showed a wonderful DIY on how anyone can build an electronic device, Combo Breaker, which applies the technique automatically and can achieve the same result in about 30 seconds.
"The machine pretty much brute forces the lock for you," says Kamkar. "You attach it, leave it, and it does its thing."

Kamkar posted a step-by-step video on how to assemble the $100 worth of parts to create your own Combo Breaker.


The necessary hardware includes a 3D printer to create the frame, the stepper driver and motor, Arduino Nano microprocessor, a 500mAh 3S battery, voltage regulators, an analog feedback servo and a breadboard and wires. All components are readily available online.

The hacker has also released the plans, 3D models, and code of Combo Breaker online for free as open source.



Kamkar is no novice to such devices, in January, Kamkar had developed a $10 USB wall charger which could read data from any wireless keyboard manufactured by Microsoft. He has named the device as KeySweeper  and had also released a do it yourself tutorial on GitHub.
Visit his website: http://samy.pl/combobreaker/

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Biostamp Flexible, Miniature Sensors That Monitor Body Vital Signs

This is the premise of Professor John Rogers' Biostamp. By attaching flexible, miniature sensors to the user's temple, he has been able to track brain waves in real time and transmit them as messages.

"Our prototypes can provide a variety of monitoring and stimulation functions," says materials scientist Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. "We can pick up coordinated firing of neurons, and run that activity through a computer spelling interface, so that brainwaves pick letters out of a virtual keyboard display and type messages."

Previously, such signals could only be detected by using a full helmet of heavy electrodes, which required the patient's skin to be scrubbed, and could only be worn safely for a short time.

Rogers' patch is light enough to be almost imperceptible, allowing for lengthy use even outside of the lab, so that the equipment is trained to pick up signals more accurately.

The no-strings approach also eliminates background noise that obscures signals and creates positional uncertainty. For even greater accuracy, the Illinois team are using increasingly high-density electrodes that generate thousands of times more brain activity information.

The immediate targets are two ground-breaking medical applications. One is to measure the brain waves associated with seizures in epileptic patients, medical projects such as identifying brain damage in premature babies, flagging up issues before the point of crisis as well as entertainment possibilities. The other is to monitor sleep patterns for disorders and other insights, which had been impossible with the traditional heavy hardware.

The brain is just the latest and most ambitious target. Since Rogers invented the Biostamp to great fanfare in 2011, it has been used all over the body to measure heartbeat, temperature and other vital signs. They have been adapted by Reebok to monitor the force of impacts in sport, by L'Oreal to track skin hydration, and the US military to monitor the condition of soldiers.

PRODUCT FEATURES REEBOK CHECKLIGHT™

• In sports, impacts are a part of the game.  alerts athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and parents to the severity of impacts.
• Sensors that are directly coupled to the head to help reflect direct accelerations that the head, not a helmet or chin strap, experiences
• Can be worn with and without a helmet in multiple activities
• Easy to use and comfortable to wear
• Logs the total number of impacts recorded

*CHECKLIGHT™ is not a concussion diagnostic tool – it provides an objective measurement of impact force and is designed to lead athletes on a pathway to assessment

 source:http://www.reebok.com/us/checklight/Z85846.html




'Biocompatible' devices are even being tested inside the body. The emerging field of electroceuticals offers the possibility of treatment as well as diagnosis, using targeted electronic stimulation as an alternative to drugs, a potentially revolutionary approach that can be applied to many organ problems.

The Illinois researchers have inserted electronics into the pelvic nerve to address bladder dysfunction, and on the surface of the heart to play the role of advanced pacemaker. They have also engineered stamps to dissolve safely inside the body after a set period of time.

Trials are limited to rodents currently, while researchers work through the safety hurdles that would allow the technology to be used on humans. Rogers acknowledges some risk in introducing foreign elements to the body, but is convinced this represents the path forward.

"The history of electronics is about getting closer to the individual. At first it was a computer down the hall, followed by a desktop, then a laptop, a phone in your pocket and a watch on your wrist. Now it could be electronics integrated the skin, bioelectronics, and fully implantable devices. To go fully into the realm of integrated electronics makes sense to me."

Key to this progress is a paradigm shift in electronics from rigid boards to soft and flexible devices that the human body can accommodate, and the Biostamp represents several adaptability breakthroughs.

Rogers' team removed the boards from circuits, which allowed them to miniaturize the components to nanoscale for a comfortable wearing experience. They succeeded in creating a device that could retain form and function even when stretched out of shape, and is completely waterproof so it can work on or under the skin.

One feature that has been difficult to shrink and stretch is the power source. Batteries have not progressed as rapidly as electrodes, leaving Rogers with either a limited lifespan for the stamp, an innovation for wireless harnessing of energy, or even using the body as the fuel source.

"It comes down to how much power your device needs. We have used body motion. For implant devices on the heart there is a constant source of mechanical power that can generate microwatts. But for outside the body you have to think how continuous the mechanical energy would be. The motion of legs and arms is an option...it is continued research not a slam dunk answer."

From the original Biostamp in 2011, Rogers' lab have filed over 100 related patents, leading to the establishment of multiple new companies, the most prolific of which -- MC10 -- has received over $60 million in private funding.

Research into electronic skin has become a global phenomenon from the University of Tokyo producing "unbreakable" circuits, to the Liebniz Institute producing sensors that detect magnetic fields, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln creating specialized equipment to detect Breast Cancer. Google is also getting in on the act.

source: http://rogers.matse.illinois.edu/

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China’s government is pressing for faster Internet access speeds and lower prices

China has the world’s largest Internet-connected citizenry at over 649 million users, but that’s still less than half of the country’s population. And average Internet speeds in China are 3.4 megabits per second(Mbps), far lower than the U.S. where average access speeds reach 11.1 Mbps, according to Akamai Technologies.

The government has set aggressive goals to raise connection speeds in the next few years. By the end of 2017, most homes will have access to 100 Mbps Internet, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Friday.

China’s government is pressing for faster Internet access speeds and lower prices, two moves that aim to boost the number of its citizens going online.

By the end of 2017, the Chinese government hopes to see average Internet speeds at over 30 Mbps in urban homes, and 20 Mbps for rural residents, even if users don’t choose to pay for the top-end speeds.

Those high-speed services don’t come cheap. For example, China Telecom, one of the country’s biggest providers of broadband, charges 3000 yuan ($493) a year for its 100 Mbps service. But on Friday, China Telecom said it would lower the price by 30 percent or more.

Currently, most Chinese Internet users go online using their mobile phones. On Friday, China’s three mobile carriers also announced they would slash prices on data plans. China Mobile customers, for example, will have the option to pay 50 yuan ($8.2) for 2GB in monthly data, a price decrease of 50 percent.

Over the next three years, China will continue pouring funds into its telecommunications infrastructure, IT regulators said on Friday. The country’s three mobile carriers are all state-controlled.

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How to create Network Cable (UTP - RJ45)

Creating your own custom-length network cables is quite easy once you have the know-how and the right tools.

 It’s easy to head to the electronics store to buy network cables, making do with cables of predetermined lengths can be a problem. More often than not, premade cables are either too short (and require coupling) or too long (in which case, you have to tie up excess cabling and tuck it away somewhere).

Making network cables takes just a little cutting and crimping, plus a bit of wire arranging.
All of that stuff may sound expensive, but you can find a full network-wiring toolkit--containing the necessary tools, ends for network and phone cables, a cable tester, and some other assorted part.

( Sa CD R-King meron nyan)

Approximately Price:

1. (LAN) UTP CABLE : 10 to 12 pesos per yard
2. (LAN) RJ 45 : 7 to 10 pesos each
3. Crimping Tools : 200 Pesos
4. Cable Tester : 400 pesos

Here's how to do it.

Wiring Schemes
You'll find a couple of standard wiring schemes and types of network cables. The Telecommunications Industry Association's T568A and T568B standard wiring schemes define the order of the individual wires and pin-outs for eight-pin modular connectors and jacks, such as those used for network cables. Depending on how you wire the cables, you can make “straight-through” or “crossover” cables; I'll give you more details on what those are in just a moment. First, take a look at the following diagrams to figure out how to arrange the wires to make your cable.

Wiring Standards

Pin #    T568B                             T568A
1    White/Orange                  White/Green
2    Orange                                  Green
3    White/Green                    White/Orange
4    Blue                                       Blue
5    White/Blue                       White/Blue
6    Green                                      Orange
7    White/Brown                    White/Brown
8    Brown                                    Brown

 This specification applies to typical twisted pair network cabling including Category 5E (CAT5E) and Category 6 (CAT6).

BLOGMYTUTS TAKE NOTE: Did you know in 8 wires  4 only here are use  PIN 1,2,3,6,
 We have 8 wires because of color coding scheme, we have 4 pairs  1 solid color and 1 with white stripe.
The reason for this is to remember  easily which color and what scheme did you use.

kung nag titipid ka 2 magagawa mo LAN cable sa isang UTP cable gets mo?

PIN 1 is the LEFT side if the cooper pin teeth face you.
Example: T568B

UTP categories available today:

Category 1/2/3/4/5/6 – a specification for the type of copper wire (most telephone and network wire is copper) and jacks. The number (1, 3, 5, etc) refers to the revision of the specification and in practical terms refers to the number of twists inside the wire (or the quality of connection in a jack)

 For most home-networking circumstances, you’ll want to use the T568B wiring scheme and straight-through cables. The network cables currently connecting your broadband modem, router, and PC or media player to your network switch are all straight-through cables. The T568A wiring scheme may be present in some preexisting residential network wiring or other similar projects, but the vast majority of premade network cables available at retail (at least in our experience madalas gamitin kahit yung nabibili ganito sila ) use T568B.

Crossover cables are a different matter. Crossover cables serve only to connect similar devices together, in lieu of a network switch or hub. For example, you can connect two PCs directly to each other to transfer data between them using a crossover cable (ginagamit ko tuwing mag babackup PC to PC ). Years ago, connecting one network switch to another also required a crossover cable, but most modern switches, hubs, routers, and similar devices are now equipped with Auto-MDIX ports that can detect whether a crossover is required and automatically choose the MDI or MDIX configuration necessary to properly connect to whatever device is at the other end of the cable.

I have included the diagrams above to illustrate the different wiring schemes. Inside standard CAT 5, 5e, and 6 cable, you'll find four twisted pairs of wire of varying colors: orange with orange/white, green with green/white, blue with blue/white, and brown with brown/white. You may also see some fibers in the cable that add tensile strength, and that you can cut off when you're crimping on a connector--the fibers don’t carry any electrical signals.

NOTE:
To make a common, straight-through cable, you need to arrange the internal wires and place them into connectors with the same T568B (or T568A) scheme at both ends of the cable.
To make a basic crossover cable, use T568A at one end and T568B at the other.
Or, to make a 1-gigibit-suitable crossover cable, you must cross all four of the pairs.

Crossover Cable:

Prepare the Cable

To make a straight-through network cable (which is what you probably need for home networking), first cut a piece of cable to your desired length; be sure to add a few extra inches, though, because you will be stripping and trimming the ends to fit into the connector. Once you’ve cut the cable, use the blade built into the crimping tool to strip about 1.5 to 2 inches of the cable’s sheath to expose the twisted pairs of wire within. Next, unravel the pairs and straighten them in your fingers. Unravel only the tiny bit of wire that’s exposed, however, as the twists are there to minimize interference.

After straightening the wires, you can arrange them using the desired scheme. We used T568B in the examples here, so we arranged the wires in this order:

1. Orange/White
2. Orange
3. Green/White
4. Blue
5. Blue/White
6. Green
7. Brown/White
8. Brown

Note that pin 1 in an RJ45 connector is at the far left, when the connector’s contacts are facing up and away from you.

Make the Connections
When you have arranged the wires in the proper order, hold them tightly in your fingers and then feed the loose ends into your cutting/crimping tool. You’ll want to cut the ends perfectly straight, leaving about a half-inch exposed from the cable sheath.

Then, simply feed the wire into the RJ45 connector, with the connector’s contacts facing upward. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that you can use the top, inner surface of the connector as a guide when you're feeding the wires in. Push each wire in firmly so that it reaches all the way to the top of the connector. About a quarter-inch of cable sheath should also make its way into the end of the connector, where you will crimp it to hold it firmly in place.

After you have pushed the cable all the way into the connector, perform a quick visual inspection to confirm that the wires remained in the correct order. Then insert the connector into your crimping tool, and give it a firm squeeze. Repeat the process on the other end of the cable, and you’ve just made your first straight-through network cable. Next, plug it into the tester, making sure that you have continuity and that the wires are in the correct arrangement. If the cable passes the test, it’s ready to use.

Once you've inserted the cable, closely inspect the wire arrangement and crimp the connector in place.

Congratulations, you've mastered the art of making your own network cables! While you have your tools and equipment out  check your Cable if they properly crimp using Cable Tester.
It should blink same from 1 to 6  that means you crimp it right. Pin 4,5,7 and 8 are optional no need .
If you use crossover LED blink 1 and 6 , 2 and 3.

NOTE FOR CCNA
straight -  ( UNLIKE  Device Type  or 2  Not Similar Device)
example: router and a switch , pc to router ,

cross over - ( LIKE Device Type or  2 Similar Device )
example: router to router, pc to pc, hub to hub

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Asus Zenfone 2 Philippine launch on May 16th, 2015 Saturday

Asus Zenfone 2 Philippine launch on May 16th, 2015 Saturday

A Marvel Of Beauty And Power, In The Palm Of Your Hand

• Design: Luxurious all-new ergonomically-curved design with ultra-slim edges, 5.5in Full HD IPS display and 72% screen-to-body ratio. 
• Camera: 13MP PixelMaster camera with Real Tone flash, Low Light and Backlight (HDR) modes and real-time beautification for perfect photos every time 
• Performance: 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel Atom processor with 4GB RAM, ultra-fast 4G/LTE and fast-charge 3000mAh battery for powerful all-round performance.
• Interface: New ZenUI is world’s first fully-customizable UI, with Trend Micro security, ZenMotion gestures, and a stealth account function for enhanced privacy

I want to clarify maybe some of you asking why should you buy Zenfone 2 if there is already Zenfone 6, 4 and 5?

 Zenfone 6 refers to its screen size which is 6 inches and it is within the same line with Zenfone 4 (4 inches screen) and 5 (5 inches screen), making them the first models (First Generation) of Zenfone.Zenfone 2 is their latest model (2nd Generation)

Zenfone 2 is Second Generation with 3 Variant model

 

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Google blocks Chrome extensions not found in the official Web Store

Google will require extensions for its Chrome browser to be installed from its Web Store, a move intended to stop users from inadvertently installing malicious ones.

Google has gradually been changing its policy around extensions to prevent abuse. Last year, it mandated that all Chrome extensions for Windows be hosted in its store, wrote Jake Leichtling, an extensions platform product manager.

The change caused a 75 percent drop in requests from customers asking how to uninstall unwanted extensions, he wrote. It did not apply to the Windows developer channel, but hackers are now using that in order to install extensions, he wrote. Starting Wednesday, all extensions for Windows will have to be hosted in the store, and the same will apply to OS X in July.

Google automatically analyzes extensions for malicious behavior. Most are then published, although some may be held for manual review. It bans extensions that interfere with advertisements, for example, or are spammy.

For development purposes, Google will still allow extensions to be installed locally, as well as forced installs using a group policy for enterprises, Leichtling wrote.

To not disrupt users’ experiences, Google also allows so-called inline installations, where a user appears to install an extension directly from a website, but it is actually hosted at the Web Store.

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Flying over Dubai with Jetpacks

Dubai already seems pretty futuristic on the ground, but what's it like in the air? As you'll soon see, it's almost like another planet. Yves Rossy (aka Jetman) and "protégé" Vince Reffet recently flew over the extravagant city in jetpacks, and their view was every bit as strange as you'd expect. The Burj Khalifa tower (above) resembles a sci-fi super weapon, while the artificial Palm Jumeirah archipelago sticks out from the coastline like a sore thumb. Will this airborne sightseeing trip get you booking a flight to the United Arab Emirates? Probably not, but it's worth a look if you're wondering what a ton of oil money will do to a desert landscape.

Jetman Yves Rossy has been taking his delta-winged jetpack out for brief jaunts at exotic locations around the globe for years. Each time, he learns a little more, and makes his flying machine a little more powerful. If you haven’t been paying attention, take a look at his most recent performance in this 4K video. Teaming up with his friend Vince Reffet, the pair carve the skies over the dramatic landscape of Dubai, and show the world just how far the jetmen have come:

This video should remove any doubt that the jetpack is here, and here to stay. The future of personal flight is not piston-popping two-strokes driving whirling ducted fans like the Martin jetpack, nor the peroxide powered steam puffs of the Bell’s 20-second rocket belt. The future is as we always knew it would be: turbine-powered, and prone like Superman, with wings to work the air.

Flying with a partner shows just how agile these machines really are. Yes, they still need help to get up in the air, and no, they still don’t land on their own without a parachute — but Rossy should get to all of that. For now, he is pushing the performance envelope just to see what they can do. That has actually meant making the wings a bit smaller in each new iteration of the jetpack so that they are more aerodynamic, and faster.

To actually take-off and land like a bird, bigger and more variable wings will probably be needed. To use your own legs as the landing gear (and therefore use slower approach speeds), the wings would probably need be to a little lighter, and even bigger still. For anyone that might be looking into the finer points of these issues, we offer one observation: the reason that Rossy has been the sole practitioner of his sport, is simply that until now, no one else has been technically, physically, and mentally capable of doing what he does.

The tiny turbines that make this flight possible have seen drastic performance improvements in recent times. When prices come down, it is likely that the next jetpack story may come from a dedicated DIY daredevil that got tired of his or her wingsuit. New technology to 3D metal print nearly every component used in these turbines has been developed both at Australia’s Monash University and at General Electric (although it is unlikely that high speed bearings can be manufactured this way, at least without extensive post-machining).

We should mention that machining turbine blades the old-fashioned way is about the hardest thing anyone would want to do in the fabricating business, at least starting from scratch. When someone comes up with a way to 3D print carbon fiber, or some similar material on larger scales, we might even print the wings too.

We may sound a little optimistic here with these jetpack dreams, but dreams seem be dying fast. We had previously warned that although the Aeromobile flying car looked like a great design, in flight it appeared unstable. Unfortunately we learned the other day that the Aeromobile has met disaster before meeting success. Hopefully the jetman and others like him can avoid that fate.

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Amazon's drones will make delivering products to customers' doors easier

Washington (CNN)Delivering packages wherever you want it, through the air, via drone in just 30 minutes -- that's Amazon's vision and the company just made another step forward.

On the heels of getting FAA permission for experimental test flights in the United States in March, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office has published Amazon's patent application for its drone delivery system.

The patent application reveals new details on just how this delivery by drone would work.

For starters, Amazon is thinking beyond home delivery. They're thinking delivery to wherever you are at the moment.

The patent application describes a customer option called "Bring It To Me." With this option, using GPS data from the consumer's mobile device, the drone locates and delivers the item to that location. Once the customer places the order he or she does not have to remain in one place.

 

The patent application describes one instance where the user places an order while at home, selects to have the item delivered to their current location (delivery within 30 minutes of the order) and then leaves to go to their friend's house, which is three blocks away from their home.

"As the ordered item is retrieved from inventory, the current location of the user's mobile device may be determined and the delivery location correspondingly updated. As such, the ordered item will be delivered to the user while the user is at their friend's house, or any other location."

But deliveries aren't just restricted to homes. There's even mention of drone deliveries to boats.

Amazon's vision for how it would safely operate is also detailed.

The drone would plot its navigational route based in part on information from other drones in the air, much like how commercial aircraft operate.

Other drones "may provide information regarding weather (e.g., wind, snow, rain), landing conditions, traffic, etc. The UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle or drone) may utilize this information to plan the route from the source location to the delivery location."

If the drone must cross over a busy highway, interstate or roadway, "the navigation of the route may be adjusted to minimize the intersection between the UAV's path and the road."

The drone would also constantly monitor for humans or animals that may be in its path or planned path. The drone would be able to change its path " to avoid those humans or other animals."

"When the UAV reaches the delivery location, it will identify an area at the delivery location where it can safely approach the ground, or another surface, and leave the inventory item, thereby completing the delivery. This may be done through assistance of a remote entity controller taking control of and/or providing control instructions to the UAV to assist the UAV in landing at the delivery location. "

CNN has reached out to Amazon but has not received comment as yet.

The FAA terms of the experimental testing permit it granted to Amazon states the company must abide by specific operation rules: Drones can only be flown at 400 feet or below during the day in clear weather conditions, and must remain in the line-of-sight of their operators, who must hold at least a private pilot's certificate and medical certification.

While testing at designated sites is underway there's still a ways to go before regulators fully open the skies for commercial use.

 source:

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What is Cat 6 LTE 4G

LTE -A version will come packing a Cat 6 LTE antenna , which can access 4G on the higher frequency 2.6GHz band. That means download speeds of up to 300Mbps, twice as fast as the original Cat 4 previous smartphone that was launched last year.

Not all LTE is created equal. To answer the future demands of networks, LTE Advanced (LTE-A) was created. LTE-A is capable of faster data speeds, enhanced antenna techniques and other improvements. The end result is an LTE standard that offers support for more users and offers faster data speeds. LTE Advanced Category 6, the latest iteration, is based on broadband carrier aggregation.

Essentially, a device with Category 6 carrier aggregation will look at the swath of available spectrum (or carriers), and pull together two of those disparate bands into a single, much wider (up to 40 MHz) and faster connection.

Such speeds, were they available on EE, or any other network today, could only be accessed on phones, tablets and mobile broadband dongles with a Cat (Category) 6 antenna.

Cat 6 devices connect to two spectrum bands at once, aggregating both to give faster download speeds. Phones like the Huawei Ascend P2, LG Nexus 5, and Apple’s recently announced iPhone 6 all have Cat 4 radios, which can only connect to one band at a time and give you a top 4G download speed of 150Mbps.

If you have the newer Cat 6 Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy s6 - edge ), you’ll be able to connect to both the 1800MHz and 2.6GHz bands together, doubling the speeds you’re getting.
-which can provide, in theory, a top download speed of 300Mbps.

With such terminology it’s perhaps best to think of these bands as lanes on a motorway. The inside 1800MHz lane is wheremost of EE’s 4G services currently sit. Top download speeds possible right now are 150Mbps, but the heavy traffic in this lane means people only get around 20-30Mbps Max of 42Mbps.

Once that faster 2.6GHz outer lane on EE’s autobahn opens up, customers with 4G phones capable of tapping into those frequencies will move into this outer lane, freeing up more space in both lanes.

 SMART -The First operator  launched LTE-Advanced in Mandaluyong,Philippines.

The operator trialed LTE-Advanced with Chinese vendor Huawei and combined 2.1GHz spectrum and 1.80GHz spectrum bands and achieves 200 Mbit/s.

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MediaTek reveals 10 core tri-cluster mobile processor

MediaTek on Tuesday announced its latest mobile processor, the Helio X20, which packs 10 cores of processing power. The company said it’s the first CPU that uses tri-cluster architecture to pack all 10 of those cores into a chip.

A mobile processor like the octa-core Snapdragon 810 typically employs two clusters. With the Snapdragon 810, for example, Qualcomm splits four A53 cores and the Cortex A57 cores. MediaTek’s new chip, however, has one cluster of two ARM Cotex A72 cores clocked at 2.5GHz, and two clusters of four Cortex A53 cores. One of those A53 clusters is clocked at 2GHz while the other is clocked at 1.4GHz, MediaTek explained, and the processor will automatically activate the required cluster for the needed performance.

MediaTek claims this configuration can help save 30 percent on battery life over traditional chips, while keeping the phone’s software running smoothly.

The Helio X20 supports up to 32-megapixel cameras, Quad HD displays, a Cortex M4 sensor processor and Cat. 6 LTE.

MediaTek said it will begin sampling the Helio X20 during the third quarter of this year, and that we can expect consumer products by the end of the year.

The Helios X20 will launch in December, and is designed for top-of-the-range smartphones. The Taiwanese chip vendor has been primarily selling to handset makers in China, but it is aiming to attract bigger-name clients as it competes with Qualcomm in the mobile processor market.

Source:http://heliox20.com/

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Facebook down for some PHL users May 12 ,5 am

Social networking giant Facebook was inaccessible for several users, including those in the Philippines, since about 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 12.

Users trying to access Facebook were greeted by error messages ranging from "this webage is not available" to "network error."

Mobile apps displayed similar "network error" messages as of early Tuesday morning.

In some computer shop owner  reported they experience this but available on mobile access.

The DownRightNow website, which independently checks whether a given site is widely inaccessible, said that as of 6 a.m. Tuesday (PHL time), Facebook still appeared down and may be experiencing a "likely service disruption."

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Microsoft Invests In 3 Undersea Cable Projects To Improve Its Data Center Connectivity

Microsoft today announced that it is partnering with a consortium of telecom companies to build a new transpacific undersea cable that will connect a number of points in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan with the U.S. West Coast (or beautiful Hillsboro, OR — the home of the Hillsboro Hops — to be precise). Microsoft says the New Cross Pacific (NCP) Cable Network will provide faster connections for its customers and help it compete on cloud cost.

In addition, Microsoft also today announced deals with Hibernia to offer faster connectivity between Canada, Ireland and the U.K., and AcquaComms to use its upcoming AEConnect cable between Shirley, NY and the West Coast of Ireland (with backhaul connections to the U.K.).

Microsoft is the first customer for the AEConnect cable, which will cost about $300 million to build. The cable uses 130 wavelengths x 100 Gbps per fibre pair and will also function as a platform for Microsoft’s network expansion in Europe going forward.

For these two cables, Microsoft specifically notes that its investment is meant to connect its data center infrastructure in North America to Ireland and the U.K. “These cables will help deliver data at higher speeds, with higher capacity and lower latency for our customers across the globe,” Microsoft managing director for network enablement David Crowley writes today.

“As people and organizations expect data and information at their fingertips Microsoft must have an infrastructure that can deliver the cloud services, including Azure, which our customers need to support their global businesses,” Crowley says in today’s announcement.

Without providing any additional details, Crowley also noted that Microsoft has been “significantly investing in subsea and terrestrial dark fiber capacity by engaging in fiber partnerships that span multiple oceans and continents” over the last nine months.

Microsoft isn’t alone in its interest in expanding its global networking infrastructure. Its competitors have made similar investments in their undersea cable infrastructure, too. Google, for example, put $300 million into a new cable system that connects Japan and the U.S. after previously making similar deals in 2008 and 2011

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CHIP - The World's First Ultra-Tiny $9 Computer

The Raspberry Pi popularized the concept of the micro-PC with a compact, $35 no-frills device that didn’t even come with its own case. Now a new micro-PC threatens to make the Raspberry Pi look like a luxury model. Next Thing Co. recently announced a Kickstarter campaign for Chip, a $9 micro-PC shipping in 2016.

The company already has a working prototype with an earlier generation processor, according to Make. But Next Thing lacks the funds to place large enough orders with component makers. It appears a lot of people are excited about the prospect of a $9 micro-PC, however, since at this writing the project had more than 13,000 backers contributing nearly $700,000.

The Chip campaign launched on Thursday, May 7 and is already well above its original funding goal of $50,000. However, Next Thing may have low-balled its goal to have a better shot at getting the project funded. Fifty thousand dollars just doesn’t sound like enough to make the massive component purchases Next Thing says it needs.

The secret to Chip’s low price is one part business plan and one part component costs. To cut down the price, Next Thing went with a ARM-based 1GHz processor from Allwinner, a low-cost producer of chips for smartphones and tablets. You’ve probably never heard of the company, but it’s one of the world’s largest suppliers of processors for low-cost devices. HP uses an Allwinner chip in the $100 HP 7 G2 Android tablet.

CHIP - The World's First Ultra-Tiny $9 Computer
CHIP - The World's First Nine Dollar ComputerNow a new micro-PC threatens to make the Raspberry Pi look like a luxury model. Next Thing Co. recently announced a Kickstarter campaign for Chip, a $9 micro-PC shipping in 2016.
Posted by Blogmytuts.blogspot.com on Monday, 11 May 2015

To keep the price so ridiculously low, Next Thing also plans to order Chip components in large quantities and thus get discount pricing from suppliers. That desire to purchase components in large quantities is where the Kickstarter campaign comes in.

 The specs

Chip comes with a 1GHz Allwinner R8 Cortex A8 processor with Mali-400 graphics, 512MB RAM, and 4GB storage. It also has built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. That’s a better processor than the Raspberry Pi model B+, and equivalent RAM; the beefier, quad-core Raspberry Pi 2 model B, meanwhile, doesn't come with onboard storage, built-in Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Chip will come with a Raspbian-like Linux-based operating system pre-installed. Chip measures 2.3-inches by 1.5 inches.

To keep the price down, Next Thing did have to cut out many features you might expect from a board like this. It only has one USB port, a microUSB port for power, and camera sensor support. There's only a composite connection for video, but there are adapters available for HDMI and VGA.

In addition to the two video adapters, Chip also has its own portable peripheral called the Pocket Chip. The $40 device (Kickstarter price) includes a 4.3-inch touchscreen with 470-by-272 resolution, keyboard, a 3,000 mAH battery (with a 5-hour battery life claim), and GPIO breakouts for those times you need to prototype on the go. Pocket Chip is designed to just let you slap Chip into the back and be and running quickly.

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Patintero Playtime ( Android App )

Patintero Playtime is a virtual "Filipino street game" developed by Zeenoh. The game involves two teams and a grid. The objective of the game is for the first team to cross the grid, and for the second team to block the opponents from crossing. The first team is the players, who must avoid the taggers and acquire points by going to and fro across the field. The second team is the taggers, who are assigned each line to guard the grid and stop the opponents from crossing through tagging them. A Patintero game lasts for 2 minutes, and the team with the most points wins. Players can get power-ups, in the form of: speed, time, 10pts coin and 20pts coin. In order to win a Patintero game, a player must be equipped with speed, agility and teamwork.

Available at playstore.

Filipino street game Patintero Playtime
Patintero Playtime is a virtual "Filipino street game" developed by Zeenoh( Android App)
Posted by Blogmytuts.blogspot.com on Monday, 11 May 2015

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