Jamie Condliffe

The Department of Defense is planning to approve Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and Apple’s iPhone and iPad for government agency use. Maybe they’ll replace some of the 470,000 BlackBerrys they currently use…

Bloomberg: Jony Ive iOS 7 Changes Are So Major They’re Causing Delays

We’re already confident that the next release of iOS will be full of Jony Ive, but now Bloomberg is reporting that his software overhaul is so massive it could cause iOS 7 delays. https://gizmodo.com/report-theres-going-to-be-a-lot-of-jony-ive-in-ios-7-484762156 Citing sources “with knowledge of the matter”, Bloomberg suggests that Ive’s demands could see the software “at risk of falling behind,”…

HTC Reportedly Working on a Smaller Version of the One

Evleaks is reporting that HTC is planning to release a trimmed-down version of its current flagship phone, the One, which will pack a 4.3-inch screen. The rumors suggest that HTC has been working on a miniaturized version—codenamed M4—which it plans to announce before the end of June. According to Evleaks, the phone will feature a…

White Graphene: The New Supermaterial That Sucks Up Pollution

There’s a new supermaterial in town, and while it might be known as white graphene, it doesn’t contain a single atom of carbon. But that doesn’t make the new form of boron nitride any less useful—because it can suck chemicals and oil out of contaminated water in a jiffy. Like its namesake, this form of…

This Stop Motion Movie Is Animated Using Individual Atoms

Occasionally, researchers at IBM take a break from exploring the limits of data storage at the molecular level—and instead make stop motion films, animated entirely with individual atoms. This is the result. Created using a custom, IBM-manufactured microscope which operates at -268°C, IBM claims this is the “world’s smallest movie.” By manipulating individual atoms, the…

This Sensor Will Give Your Phone a 1080p, 60fps Front Camera

Most front-facing phone cameras suck. It’s not their fault, though: they have to be squeezed in to a tiny gap, which puts obvious limits on their geometry. Fortunately, this new Omnivision sensor squeezes a lot more performance into that minuscule frame. The new OV2724 shoehorns a 1080p sensor into a component that’s just 5mm by…

Finally, Phone RAM as Good as the Stuff in Your Computer

Samsung has just announced that it’s rolling some pretty exciting new memory into production, which will finally bring computer-like RAM performance to your mobile. Of course, to work that out you have to sift through all the mention of 20nm manufacturing techniques and LPDDR3 naming. What you really need to know is that it’s fast:…

America’s First Legal, Real-Cash Poker Site Is Here

Back in February, Nevada officials rushed through a bill which made interstate online poker legal. Unsurprisingly, people have started taking advantage of the law change—and today sees the launch of Ultimate Poker, America’s first legal, real cash poker site. Owned by casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, the site will initially only accept bets from…

These Minimalist Cards Are Almost Too Pretty to Play With

Sometimes it’s not what you include but what you exclude that matters—which is the idea behind this beautiful pack of playing cards by designer Joe Doucet. Dubbed IOTA, the idea behind the cards was a simple one: just how much could be taken away while still maintaining a deck which could actually be used to…

Twenty Years Ago Today the World Wide Web Went Public

Twenty years ago today, something happened that changed the digital world forever: CERN published a statement that made the technology behind the World Wide Web available to use, by anybody, on a royalty free basis. That decision, pushed forward by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, transformed the internet, making it a place where we can all freely…

How to Use a Light Meter to Improve Your Photography

Light meters might sound like one of those photography accessories that should remain the persevere of professionals—but actually they can make a dramatic difference to your pictures. In this video renowned cinematographer Mark Vargo explains how to use one properly. He knows what he’s talking about, too: he’s credited as a second unit director of…

Is Nokia Investing in Lytro-Style Camera Tech for Phones?

Bloomberg is reporting that Nokia is planning to invest in a Californian startup which creates Lytro-style camera technology slim enough to squeeze into a mobile phone. The company in question is Pelican Imaging, which produces a complex sensor array and combines it with algorithmic processing to allow users to adjust an image’s focus after it…

You Can Now Skype From Within a Browser

Microsoft has finally decided to roll out web-based Skype calling. Over the coming weeks, users will be able to make Skype video and voice calls from within Outlook.com on their browsers. When it rolled out the new Outlook.com email service last year, Microsoft promised Skype integration—it’s just taken quite a long time to arrive. It’s…

In 2012, 19 billion chat messages were sent each day across the world—compared to just 17.6 billion SMS messages.

How Typing on a Smart Watch Might Actually Make Sense

While the prospect of new smart watches from every corner is terribly exciting, few people seem to spent much time working out how to make them, you know, useful. But a researcher from Carnegie Mellon University has, fortunately, been trying to work out if an on-screen keyboard could work on a smart watch—and the here’s…

This Is How NASA Is Testing the Supersonic Airplanes of the Future

This might look like some kind of space ship—but it’s actually a model of a supersonic Boeing airliner, being tested in NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The NASA team is working out how to reduce the incredible amount of noise that a supersonic airliner generates. NASA explains: “We are testing overall vehicle design…

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3: Oh, Another One?

Just in case you thought Samsung didn’t offer enough variety in its tablet range, its gone ahead and launched yet another. This 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 is brand new and, um, like virtually every other Samsung tablet that’s gone before it. The third iteration of Samsung’s first tablet attempt, this little seven-incher packs a 1.2GHz…

How Long Should You Spend on Making Tasks More Efficient?

These days everyone wants you to hack your life in order to make your day-to-day existence more efficient. But there are times when the effort’s not really worth it—and this chart should help you work out what to spend time on, and what to ignore. Put together by XKCD’s Randall Munroe, this chart tells you…

Nintendo’s refurb shop is now selling refurbished DSi XL and 3DSs for $100 up. Leaves some change for games!

The World’s First Handheld Movie Camera Was Shaped Like a Gun

You may have expected the first ever portable motion picture camera to be housed in some form of stuffy box—but in fact it was shaped like a rifle, which lends a new accuracy to the idea of shooting some film. Invented by scientist Étienne-Jules Marey, the Fusil Photographique—that means photographic rifle if your French isn’t…