We get it; there was a lot of non-tech news this weekend. You didn’t have time to read all of the geek news, and now feel a little behind. That’s okay, we’re back once again to break down the last week in tech.
Graph Search
Some of you may have already noticed that Facebook has changed the layout of their search bar. Other than the slight change in icon positioning, Facebook has added their “Graph Search” tool. This tool allows users to make more advanced searches, such as “Restaurants in New York City my friends like” or “photos of my friends before 1996.” Tens of millions of users have tested it for the few months prior to release and Facebook decided it was ready for release last Monday. If you haven’t gotten this new update yet, don’t worry, it will arrive sometime in the next couple weeks.
Source: ABCNews
Free Apps!
There’s no advertisement as good as one that says “Free stuff!” To celebrate the App Store’s fifth anniversary, Apple made some of the most popular apps free, like Traktor DJ, a $19.99 app that allows you to mix songs, and popular games like “Tiny Wings” and “Where’s My Water?” If you have not gotten these yet, you should visit the app store and queue up all 10 while they’re still free.
Source: ABCNews
3D Liquid Metal Printer
Researchers at the North Carolina State University have found a way to create 3D images with metal, particularly an alloy of gallium and indium. This metal is liquid at room temperature, but forms a thin skin that can hold the liquid when exposed to air. Since the alloy is liquid, you can create stretchable or deformable structures such as bendy electronics. The metal is non-toxic and costs about 100 times more than normal 3D printing plastic.
Source: NewScientist
“Looks like the Mayans were only off by six-ish months…”
Last Wednesday, millions screamed in terror when Google services went down at around 9:30 am EST. Among those services affected were Gmail, Google Plus, Google Driver, and YouTube. Thankfully, the issue was quickly resolved and Google was back up in about an hour, but they weren’t quick enough to stop the onslaught of jokes from twitter. “If google is down… How will I ever google ‘why is google down?’” tweeted Adam Sullivan. A comment in the article remarked: “I was wondering why my kids were suddenly walking and talking and interacting with society.”
Source: CNN
Hold Up, Let Me Charge My Car
When you visit the Netherlands in a couple years, you may want to rent an Electric Vehicle (EV). Why? Because it’s economically friendly? Or maybe because it’s super quiet? Nah, let’s be honest here, it’s so you can visit and charge from one of the 200 EV charging stations that are to be built. These charging stations built by ABB can rev up EVs in as little as 15-30 minutes (as opposed to plugging your car in at home and taking the whole night). They include “remote assistance, management and servicing and smart software upgrades,” and to top it all off, each station will have a solar canopy.
Source: DailyTech
That’s a Lot of Zeros
Google’s planning on spending half a billion dollars ($500,000,000) to promote the new Moto X. Google could easily be cut from the Android ecosystem if Samsung decides to pull an Amazon (as Amazon did with their Kindle Fire). Google plans on promoting the new Moto X, which is advertised as a customizable phone, with a massive budget to change the mobile landscape once again.
Source: VentureBeat
A Beast of a Phone
Last week, Nokia revealed the Lumia 1020, their new smartphone capable of wireless charging. It’s built into a sleek 0.4 inch frame, much like their Lumia 925. Wait, did I forget to mention that it comes packed with a 41-megapixel camera? Yes. Forty-one. This powerhouse of a phone plans on running the Galaxy S4’s 16-megapixel camera into the ground. What other reason do you need to buy this?
Source: CNet