Top 5 features of iPhone 6: Is it worth it?

Pre-launch of iPhone6 was very thought, as the market has sparked discussions among consumers about the amazing features that Apple has for their next generation iPhone. As part of discussion rumors features Apple has a mix package of new, old and ideas depending on the existing generation of iPhones.

i.New iPhone6 on Solar batteries: 

An interesting change, considering consumers comfort the pre-launch rumor includes solar power for iPhone 6 which could be charged all through the day. With Solar charging kit already existing in the market, the original rumored idea is a front sapphire display glass in-order to have a solar collector. All Apple needs to do is get their technical and designing team to compact the technology in-order to be set into the body of iPhone.

ii.iPhone with Holographic projections: 

The new concept of holographic in iPhone 6 could immensely change everything - crave.
To the disappointment of all the Apple fans the holographic projection was not a part of the feature of the iPhone 6. Though this rumored feature or the holographic display could have hyped up the sale and market for the next generation iPhone, the known fact about Apple is that they are never the first to venture into this until some other company tries it out. For iPhone lovers, this may not be a true feature, and Apple could involve or enhance these features of products like the iPhone 6 or iPhone 7 too.

iii.Camera Features - 10MP & Lens functionality: 

Though per ValueWalk there was a rumour that the iPhone 6 will be featured with a swappable lenses, the fact is that the iPhone has always made changes and upgrades to the camera software rather than the lens or the Megapixel. In comparison to Samsung Galaxy in particular S5 series where the rear camera itself is 16MP, the iPhone has always kept to 8MP starting from iPhone 4S right to iPhone 6 Plus. A swappable lens flexibility or functionality would surely be an added attraction for the Apple fans.

iv.Bendgate combat - A Flexible frame for iPhone 6 can be a bonanza: 

Apple went through a lot with the "Bendgate" scandal which started when a user n the MacRumors forum indicated that after 18 hours in his pocket he found his iPhone 6 bent over. The reason for this bend over is still to be tested if it’s a user or manufacturing issue. All Apple stores were instructed to replace any defected unit in this respect. Now with this said, if Apple can use flexible sapphire glass and a bendable body just like LG-G flex, this will be a bonanza for both consumers and sales.

v.Water resistance technology: 

Despite of the fact that competitor smartphones use IP67 waterproofing technology, Apple has still not implemented this technology in the next generation iPhone. Apple can really gear up the competition if they are able to crack through a technology as waterproofing IP68-rated smartphones, which would be more advanced than the current IP67 to boost both their markets and their consumer expectation.

Nuclear Powered Water Based Battery

In our digital world of today, batteries have been playing a very important role in our everyday life right from cell phones to flashlights and cars, with scientists as well as technology companies competing and working out ways in improving battery life accompanied with efficiency.

For the first time, researchers at the University of Missouri claim to have created prototype of a nuclear powered water based battery which is said to be much more efficient and long lasting than the prevailing battery technologies which could be used as a dependable power supply for spacecraft, vehicles as well as other applications that would be more reliable, efficient together with longevity.

The next electric vehicle or smartphone could possibly be powered by a nuclear battery instead of the usual lithium-ion cell.

Researchers have incorporated a nano structured titanium dioxide electrode as a catalyst for water decomposition by using the radioactive isotope strontium-90 to intensify the electrochemical energy that is produced in water based solution. The catalyst in turn assists in the breakdown of water in association with the applied radiation into assorted oxygen compounds.

Nano Tritium Device – City Labs

When beta radiation of high energy passes through the platinum together with the nanoporous titanium dioxide, it results in electron hole pairs that are produced in the titanium dioxide creating electron flow together with resultant electric current.

According to Kwon, he states that since water acts as a buffer and surface plasmons which are created in the devices, seems to be very useful to enhance its efficiency. Moreover, the ionic solution does not get frozen easily at low temperature and performs in a wide range of applications which includes car batteries as well as spacecraft if packaged properly.

The Nano Tritium device from City Labs is the first nuclear battery which has been created to exploit the advantage of radiolysis which is the water splitting with radiation, in order to produce electric current at higher energy levels as well as lower temperatures than what is previously possible, which is at a much greater efficiency than other water splitting energy production techniques.

An Alternative to the Solar Cell

Since unlike the other forms of photocatalytic systems of water splitting to produce energy, high energy beta radiation in the MU device helps to create free radicals in water like the kinetic energytrapped or recombined in water molecule to enable radiation conversion into electricity.

Platinum/titanium dioxide electrode is used to gain efficient water splitting at room temperature. As a result while solar cells tend to use a similar form of mechanism for the transfer of energy through a hole-electron pair small amount of free radicals and gets produced due to the photon energies which are principally in visible spectrum and at a much lower level of energy.

However, on the other hand, beta radiation which is produced by the strontium source with the capabilities of enhancing the chemical reactions which involves free radicals at higher electron energy levels seems to be a much more efficient concept to produce long lasting and reliable energy and the water based nuclear battery may hopefully offer an alternative to the existing solar cell as low pollution and a sustainable energy source.

Windows 10 – Launching Window Insider Program

The latest report is that Microsoft has officially announced the next version of its computer operating system called `Windows 10’ and will be launching a Window Insider Program enabling users to comfortably run the early beta software access to Window 10.

Its first preview would be made available for desktops and laptops and a build for server would be following later on. The company provided details stating that its new operating system will have a tailored user experience with various screen sizes, for instance if the user has a smaller device, then you will see different form of user interface and the code would run across all device categories - `One product family, One platform, One store’.

The amazing news is that Windows 10 has been designed to run across all the devices including, tablets, phablets and smartphones besides, laptops and desktops.Microsoft has stated that they are opening this beta process in order to get feedback from users early on and that this would also be a learning experience for the company as well as user would get some experiments in new builds thoughprobably would not make it to the final version.

Enterprise Value/Device Management/Customize….

Microsoft is presently focusing on Enterprise value, device management, the ability to customize the store to the device the user is on and an option to protect data, to be more precise, the ability of the enterprise to manage their devise and customize their application store, etc.

According to Terry Myerson, Microsoft Executive VP of Operating Systems, he states that `Windows 10 will be running on the broadest amount of devices with a tailored experience for each device. There would also be one way to write a universal application, one store, and one way for apps to be discovered, purchased and updated across all of these devices’.

The company, as expected is striving to bring back some of the features of Windows 7 which includes a redesigned start menu combining the basic Windows 7 menu with the resizable tiles of the Windows 8 start screen. Windows 8 Metro app also can be opened in a windowed mode on the desktop to save from being taken into the full screen mode through default and can use `modern’ Windows 8 alongside with a standard Windows desktop app.

Swiping from Left – Task View

With its focus mainly on the keyboard and regular mouse combo for functions with the operating system, the company has emphasized that it is not doing away with `touch’ and Windows 10 will continue to have a similar Windows 8 Start Screen for touch enabled machines.

Some changes in the gestures will alter a bit in Windows 10 where swiping in from the left now tends to give a task view, though the overall features will be same to Windows 8 and the Windows 8 Charms bar would be still available.

The release of Microsoft’s OS is expected to be sometime in 2015 after the company’s Build Developer Conference to be held in April. If users intend to get their hand on an early version of Windows 10, they could sign up for the Windows Insider Program on October 1 to get the early preview build on laptops and desktops.

Add Text and Doodles to Photos through Facebook Messenger

With the increasing number of people either getting fed up or starting to get annoyed with Facebook Messenger and this also being a separate app apart from the main Facebook app, the media giant is still focusing on adding features to this to recapture the hearts of their users. The latest update to the app which has now reached a 500 million mark will allow the users to have more fun with photos that they will be sharing with their friends.

Now it’s the time for the people to cheer up as their long wait of adding comments to the shared photos has become a reality in the messenger app. One should be able to add comments or even scribble on the photos before sharing it with your loved ones or even sent as a group message. So now no more depending on photo editor apps, you will be able to point to any details on a photo or even add caption and doodle to a particular picture, all this through your Facebook messenger.

How it works? 

So when you are in your app, you just need to tap on the photo tab and select the picture you want. After that before sending the picture, you should be able to click on the pencil icon to add text in the picture. The developers have given option of pen as well as “Aa” format for text. User will be able to select from a whole range of color and will be able to write with finger or stylus. On the negative side, this can be only done on the photos which have been saved on the phone and not on the “selfie cam”. This is one feature which is being considered impractical and lame as well.

If you are unable to see this feature on your app, one can get this through manual download. Facebook has stopped messaging from their main app and migrating the same as a different app; you will not be able to view and access this feature on your regular app.

Whether people consider this update practical or not, it is certainly a welcoming update for better expressing oneself through the android app. At the end the usage of this new feature completely depends on the user as well as whether they actually use Facebook Messenger to start with.

So this new feature can be considered as an incentive for getting people to download the messenger app and those who enjoy doodle. But is it a wise move as it has not been received with open arms by the app users. Even though the feature is currently available on the android app, the users of the app on the iOS sure will not have to wait for long time.

At the same time the social media giant is working on introducing counter video play which will help the users to find the videos they want to see. Through this the company will also be able to monitor how the videos are performing.

Soft Robotics 'Toolkit' Has All That a Robot-Maker Wants

The researchers from numerous Harvard University labs in partnership with Trinity College Dublin unveiled a new resource which will provide both the aspiring as well as experienced researchers with academic raw materials required for designing, building and operating the robots made from delicate and flexible materials.

Soft robotics is rising as an increasingly vital field due to the introduction of laser cutters, low-cost 3D printing and other advances in the manufacturing technologies. Based on the principles taken from the traditional rigid robot design engineers are now working with more flexible materials in the use of the soft robotics which can help in whole range of tasks like minimally invasive surgery, physical therapy and rescue operations in hazardous locations.

The Soft Robotics Toolkit can be considered as an online treasure trove, which can be utilized by the users for fabrication, characterization, modeling, design and to control the soft robotic devices through various open-source plans, case studies, how-to videos and downloadable etc. This toolkit will be providing the researchers details to a level which is still not available in any academic research papers and it includes the 3D models, raw experimental data, bills of materials, multimedia step-by-step tutorials and few case studies of different soft robot designs.

According to Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Conor Walsh; the main aim of this toolkit is to press forward the field of soft robotics and at the same time allowing the researchers and designers to build on each other’s work.

By creating a common source of sharing the knowledge, the developers of toolkit are hoping to stimulate the development of new ideas, creations and methods. According to Walsh, the soft robotics is well-matched to shared design tools as many of the necessary components like valves, regulators and microcontrollers are all easily exchangeable between systems. Dónal Holland, a graduate student at Trinity College Dublin as well as visiting lecturer in engineering sciences at SEAS is among the lead developers of the toolkit and is more interested in this toolkit for education purposes. The toolkit has been developed to capture all the expertise in the education field and make is available for the students.

With the open-source software spurring far-flung improvement in computing, open design has the capability to remote partnership on common mechanical engineering projects, setting free the crowdsourced innovation in robotics and other fields. According to assistant professor of mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Trinity College Dublin and a coauthor of a paper in Soft Robotics, Gareth J. Bennett, Open design can also have a disorderly impact on the technological development similar to that of open source.

Almost all the materials available in this toolkit have been taken from chemist George M. Whitesides, Woodford L., Robert J. Wood, Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS and Ann A. Flowers University Professor. Apart from two other researchers helped establishing Harvard as a leader in soft robotics.