Great Expectations from the biggest Tech Show, CES 2019

The biggest Tech show, CES 2019 is around the corner. Every techie is waiting with great anticipation for announcements from the tech giants with regard to wearables, smartphones laptops, TVs, cars and much more.

About CES 2019

CES 2019 will run from Jan 8, 2019 through Jan 11, 2019 at Las Vegas. This show has come a long way since its inception in 1967 and is organized by the Consumer Technology Association, that includes 2,000 consumer tech companies in the US. The CES 2019 is not open to the public, but only to bloggers, journalists and electronics trade.

The main venue is the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Centre (LVCC). Along with Westgate Las Vegas and Renaissance Las Vegas, this area is referred to as Tech East. At this location, most of the big names have their stalls. At the Tech West, there are the hi-fi and audio stalls set up. The Tech South is where the VR, AR and gaming stalls are present.

The exhibition covers around 2.7 million square feet with eleven venues and 24 different categories of products.

The CES 2019 will attract around 180,000 people who will represent 155 countries. There may be almost 6,500 media personnel and 4,500 companies participating at the exhibition. Most of the big names in the tech industry will showcase their products with the exclusion of Apple.

All the reports regarding what will be launched and other announcements will be on Jan 6, 2019 and Jan 7, 2019. On these two days there will be press conferences and presentations.

Great expectations from CES 2019

Artificial Intelligence: 

There are going to be devices that are voice-controlled. We will see Google Home embedded in TVs, lightbulbs and other devices and smart speakers that run Alexa.

According to I.P. Park, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics, will showcase their company’s vision for AI. AI will be used for complex systems whereby the devices become smart and will know exactly what you want. We can expect smart tech in everything which will include AI powered security cameras, memory chips, televisions, golf gear, etc.

Self-driving cars:

At last year’s event, around two dozen companies showcased self-driving vehicles. Cars that are driven by AI programs that make decisions and also come with solid-state Lidar sensors, 5G chips. Cars are getting smarter and greener besides being autonomous.

5G Networks: 

Most of the brands will be going all out to bring 5G networks with faster speeds and next-gen technology that connects everything like cars and computers to smart homes.

Foldables: 

At the CES 2019, there will be foldables like the giant TV screen, smartphones, laptops and tablets. At the CES 2018 there were 8K televisions that were launched. At the CES 2019, one can expect OLED sets, 80-inch 8K TVs and also Alexa and Google Assistant embedded into the TV.

Tech for the Ladies: 

There will definitely be more tech products for the ladies to bridge the gender gap. We can look forward to skin-care devices controlled by smartphones and beauty apps powered by AI.

From 3rd-gen Ryzen processors to wireless charging and cameras with new image sensor and a longer zoom range will be showcased at CES 2019. In terms of processors, we could see the 10-core processor too at the event and Nvidia will reveal its GeForce RTX Mobility graphics cards at the CES 2019.

Terahertz Laser for Sensing and Imaging Outperforms Its Predecessors

Terahertz Laser is a high powered laser developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology for chemical sensing and imaging. The Terahertz laser designed by the researchers of MIT, has three goals which includes high constant power, tight beam pattern and broad electric frequency tuning.

Terahertz Laser to be used by NASA on its 2021 mission to study our Galaxy’s origin

NASA has chosen the Terahertz laser for its 2021 mission to study more about our galaxy’s origin. With the help of a high altitude, balloon based telescope carrying photonic wire lasers, they will detect emission of gases like oxygen, nitrogen and carbon from the interstellar medium, which is the material between the galaxy’s star systems.

The Terahertz laser could also be used for skin and breast cancer imaging, detection of drugs and explosives and many other applications.

The design of the Terahertz Laser

The design of the Terahertz laser is unique which uses pairs of efficient wire lasers and sync their oscillations. On combining the output of the pairs there will be a single, high power beam with minimum beam divergence, which is the angle the beam moves away from its focus over distance. The individual paired lasers can be fine-tuned to obtain improvements in resolution and fidelity in measurements. All these give rise to less noise and higher resolution in order to achieve more cost effective and reliable chemical detection and medical imaging.

In the past, people have made a laser with high beam quality or with high continuous wave power or have done frequency tuning in lasers. But all the designs have one of the factors lacking. Ali Khalatpour, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, who is also the author on the paper describing the Terahertz laser in Nature Photonics says that this is the first time where all three metrics are present in the chip-based Terahertz laser.

NASA has chosen the Terahertz laser for its 2021 mission

NASA will be using the Terahertz laser for its 2021 mission to detect gas emissions from the interstellar medium. By procuring data over a few months, they will get insight into the birth of the star and evolution. They will get more knowledge of the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxies which are close by.

NASA selected a new semiconductor based terahertz laser which is suitable for spectroscopic measurement of oxygen concentrations in terahertz radiation. It is a band of electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and visible light.

Achieving three metrics in chip-based terahertz lasers

Researchers had developed new types of quantum cascade lasers known as photonic wire lasers. These were bidirectional and hence less powerful. This issue was sorted out by placing mirrors within the laser’s body. Since the terahertz radiation is too long, and the terahertz laser is small, it was difficult to fix it within the laser so much so most of the light travels outside the laser’s body. In the laser that NASA selected they developed a design to control how the electromagnetic wave travels along the laser and emit in one direction. They were able to obtain high efficiency and beam quality, but it did not allow for frequency tuning.

To overcome this, the researchers applied the concept of pi-bonding to the lasers, enabling close connections between the wire lasers. This coupling allowed phase locking of two or more wire lasers.
To obtain frequency tuning, they used tiny knobs to alter the current of each wire laser, which changes the refractive index. This change in refractive index together with coupled lasers, gives rise to a continuous frequency shift to the pair’s center frequency.

The researchers are building a system with a high dynamic range of more than 110 decibels which can be used for many applications including skin cancer imaging. Since skin cancer cells absorb terahertz waves more strongly than healthy cells, the terahertz lasers will be able to detect them.



With terahertz lasers having the three performance metrics, they can improve imaging capabilities and can be used in other applications.

Computer Chip Vulnerabilities Discovered

Researchers discover new Computer Chip Vulnerabilities!

We all know computer chips, software updates and their ilk are all not free from bugs and more. But now researchers at Washington State University have discovered another flaw in computer chips that could cause some serious vulnerabilities. These so called computer chip vulnerabilities were previously unknown to man and now that they are known can cause some huge problems.

These computer chip vulnerabilities can cause failures in modern high tech electronics even though they of the high performance variety. One would expect the high performance computer chips to be relatively free from such problems but the reality is something else altogether. 

Causing a deliberate Computer Chip Vulnerability: 

Researchers at Washington State University found that by deliberately adding malicious work load onto the computer chip they could affect the communication system on the chip. This communication system on the chip is important and damaging that could cause some big problems.

Talking of big problems, such a computer chip vulnerability could cause the computer chip’s life to shorten drastically.

Working to Understand Computer Chip Vulnerabilities: 

Researchers have been at work trying to understand how vulnerable computer chips really are to malicious attacks. This they do in order to identify threats and devise suitable actions to remedy such computer chip vulnerabilities.

Many tech vendors such as Samsung and Apple deliberately send software updates that intentionally slow down earlier phone models as a way to encourage people to buy newer more expensive models.
Research into computer chip vulnerabilities has earlier looked at various computer chip components like computer chip memory, circuit boards, processors and other areas for computer chip vulnerabilities. But researchers at Washington State University have discovered new threats in the most important part, which was previously not looked into – The communications system.

Not only was this vulnerability discovered in the backbone of the computer chip, it was also discovered that high performing computer chips had such vulnerability too.

“The Glue that Holds Everything Together”

The communications system in a computer chip is the glue that holds that entire processing of the chip together. Once that glue breaks down, a very powerful chip becomes useless.

High performance computer chips have a number of processors that perform large amounts of complex work. These processors communicate with each other through the communications system on the chip. This communication system also coordinates all the processes. So it is not hard to imagine a slight flaw in such area could cause some serious damage.

Researchers are at present looking for ways to incorporate such high performance chips with multiple processors onto hand held devices. This computer chip vulnerability could potentially affect our smartphones too.

Researchers at Washington State University devised a series of attacks that targeted the communications system. The results were shocking, in that the entire communications system was affected and was likely to fail because of such an attack.

Such computer chip vulnerabilities could be used by malicious persons to target a computer chip and cause it to malfunction.

MOZA Mini-MI Gimbal is a Handy Accessory for your Smartphone

The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal is a very useful accessory for your smartphone. With most of the smartphones, you can take HD videos. However, when making these videos while you are walking and talking becomes a bit difficult. Here is where the MOZA Mini-MI gimbal will sort out the problem. It provides your smartphone with a stable cradle. It helps to stabilize camera movements and capture perfect shots. The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal also provides a wireless battery boost. It is available at the PCWorld Shopor the PopSci Shop for $94.99. It is a very handy accessory which you can even gift your loved one.

What is the MOZA Mini-MI gimbal? 

The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal is compatible with most of the smartphones available in the market. It comes with a freely moving head which remains balanced every time.

It features built-in controls so that you can begin recording with a single tap. With the companion app, you can focus, zoom and time your shots. There is a whole load of professional photo and video settings via the companion app. The built-in buttons together with the companion app helps you get the perfect shot. The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal allows you to focus, zoom, take panoramic views, carry out slow-motion time-lapses and much more to enable you to get stunning videos and perfect shots. All this you can do from the handle’s built-in buttons.

With the help of the zoom dial, you can zoom in without any need to touch your smartphone.

The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal also comes with eight follow modes which helps the user to capture moving videos by keeping the main subject within the frame. By using the eight follow modes you can get good cinematic motions.

The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal comes with a wireless charging technology and keeps your smartphone charged while you are shooting. The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal helps to stabilize and energize your device with the help of the built-in wireless charging technology.

When you are busy shooting videos, the MOZA Mini-MI gimbal keeps your device charged through the 5V micro USB port. With a 2,100Ah battery, you can carry on video shooting for the entire day.
The MOZA Mini-MI gimbal is a very handy accessory for your smartphone which enables stabilization of the device to get stunning shots.

The Sport Gear mode that comes with the MOZA Mini-MI gimbal helps you to create very quick transitions.

The Inception mode allows for Dutch tilt shots. 

The MOZA Mini-MI gimbalis very handy for videographers and photographers. It allows for a continuous yaw, tilt and roll movement through 360 degrees, 165 degrees and 310 degrees respectively. If you want to film videos from your smartphone without any shaking of the hand, then go in for the MOZA Mini-MI gimbal. Though it can be obtained from the PCWorld Shop or the PopSci Shop for $94.99, you can get it for $75.99, by using the Cyber Monday offer code, CMSAVE20.

15 Things you should know about PUBG the most Popular Game of 2018

PUBG is one of those games that everyone’s heard of and has rightly become the most popular game of 2018. Anyone and everyone have heard of the most popular game. So unless you’re living under a rock or not from this planet, PUBG would not only be something you’ve only heard of but also have played.

Since most of us already know what the game is about, here’s a little jist of the most popular game of 2018 for those uninitiated into the world of PUBG- PUBG or Player’s Unknown Battleground, if you prefer the longer version, is an online game that starts when participants parachute of a plane. Once landed, the players have to look for ammo, weapons, gears and even clothes all needed to fight and survive in the game. Getting more to the point, the game is survival of the fittest or in this case the last one standing. So you loot, fight and all that goes with it and win only if you’re the last one standing.

While all this may sound like it’s simple it is far from that. You’d need some skills in order to get anywhere near being the winner and a part from those skills here’s 15 things to know before landing on the Battleground-

Get your smartphone Battle Ready for PUBG the most Popular Game of 2018: 

PUBG is an online game and you need to stream the game while playing. So to get most out of the game, you need to be present in real time on the battleground and that means that there can be no lag time.

In that case your smartphone needs to be battle ready and that means all background apps must be off so as not to take up any precious RAM that will be consumed with PUBG.

Be Equipped for Battle in PUBG the most popular Game of 2018: 

To be Battle ready you need to be equipped and the first thing you need for battle is your earphones with a mic. You need to be able to hear all that is around you in the virtual game and also to be able to communicate with your teammates in the game.

Second important thing to be ready for PUBG is to have your smartphone with a full battery or enough battery to last one whole round of the game.

Get your Facts Straight in PUBG the most popular game of 2018: 

You are not entering the game as a killing machine. So get the mercenary agenda out of your head and stick to the plan- SURVIVAL. So instead of bagging the award of most number of kills (psst… there’s no such award), concentrate on survival and not much else.

Pick your Style in PUBG Game: 

You can go solo or play as a team of two or even get your own squad. You can have your pick on PUBG the most popular game of 2018. So pick whatever is convenient to you at the time.

Know where you are on PUBG Game: 

To be battle ready, you need to know where you are and that means knowing your maps. Currently PUBG has three maps Erangel, Miramar and Sanhok.

Snahok is the smallest location there is on PUBG and will be easier when it comes to learning your layout. Besides learning the map, you should also keep in mind places where the loot is or anything that will help you in surviving in the game. The key locations in the game are Pochiniki in Erangel, Ruins in Sanhok and Picado located in Miramar.

Strategize in Solo Mode first with PUBG Game: 

If this is your first time in the game then it might be helpful to go solo first. Once you’ve a good lay of the land and how the game is played then you can go in as a team of two or as a squad. This is also a useful tip as when you’re in a team you are expected to pull your own weight and if it is your first time then you shouldn’t be wasting your time and your team’s time getting your bearings.

Land as soon as you can in PUBG the most popular game of 2018: 

This one is simple yet effective- try to land as quick as you can. This tip will help you collect armor and other weaponry before you opponents and will help in annihilating them first.

Know you circles in PUBG game of 2018: 

There are two zones in PUBG the white one indicates the safe zone and the blue one is the kill zone. Blue circle is out of the play zone and that means that it is a kill zone.

Fight or flight in the most popular game of 2018: 

Picking your stance will be important in the game. Is it going to be Fight or Flight will be your call and will be an important call to make while in the game.

Weaponry of your Choice in PUBG game of 2018: 

The game offers an array of 40 guns. You need to pick the gun according to your strengths. If you prefer close combat then an SMG rifle is the one you should pick or if close combat isn’t really your thing then you could always go in for the sniper.

Get your armor in PUBG game: 

There are three levels of armor in the game. Long story short, aim at getting the level 3 armor as that will improve your chances at winning the game.

Strategize with you teammates on PUBG game: 

Keep a line of communication with your teammates on continuously. Discuss layout and strategy while on duo or squad mode.

Keep Running in PUBG game: 

Running in the game will be very useful and to make further improvements to this is to lessen your load by carrying less weaponry (as this will increase you speed by 6%) and removing your shoes to be silent.

Fire Wisely: 

You can go to settings and enable the peak and fire option. This will allow you to hide most of your body behind a tree or some other object while allowing you to peak and fire.

Keep your guns battle ready: 

Your guns need to be always loaded and in case it is not switch ammo instead of wasting time reloading and getting killed in the bargain.