Daily News Courier

Asus Laptops and Desktops to Ship With Leap Motion’s Gesture Control

Laptop buyers will get access to a device capable of tracking finger motions with sub-millimeter accuracy.

A device that makes it possible to control a computer with fluid mid-air finger motions will be bundled with some PCs from Taiwanese company Asus in coming months. The distribution deal is the most significant move yet by startup company Leap Motion to distribute its first product, which allows desktop software to respond to swipes, pokes, and grabs made in front of a screen (see

Siri Turning to Google Less and Less for Information

iDownloadBlog reports today that Apple appears to have taken more steps to separate itself even further from Google with the news that Siri?s dependence on Google seems to have been halved since the arrival of iOS 6. The information comes via Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who said in a note to investors today that whereas 60% of Siri queries sent iPhone users running iOS 5 to Google data, that figure has halved to 30% of queries with the introduction of iOS 6. The removal of Google Maps from iOS 6 had a lot to do with this, of course, with Apple Maps providing 24% of Siri?s answers. Munster was quoted as saying that he views the change from Google Maps to Apple Maps ?as a slight negative for consumers on Apple products as we view Apple Maps as an inferior product to Google Maps.?

Munster?s figures also show that Yahoo and Yelp have increased their share of answers since the introduction of iOS 6, and Munster says that Siri?s accuracy has also improved, along with her ability to understand questions, with Siri understanding 91% of questions, up from 89% back in July.

Source: Siri’s reliance on Google cut in half since iOS 6

Rivals Soar After Apple Apology

iPhone users are apparently keen to avoid relying on Apple’s new mapping app.

Competitors to Apple

Statisticians Calculate Probability Of Another 9/11 Attack

According to the statistics, there is a 50 per cent chance of another catastrophic terrorist attack within the next ten years

Earthquakes are seemingly random events that are hard to predict with any reasonable accuracy. And yet geologists make very specific long term forecasts that can help to dramatically reduce the number of fatalities.

Samsung officially unveils the Galaxy Player 5.8, pockets get ready to strain

While the world — including us — will continue to question how successful a PMP can be in todays smartphone world, Samsung has gone ahead and introduced a new one. Following leaked information on the device just over a week ago, Samsung has made the Galaxy Player 5.8 official. And yes, the 5.8 does stand for 5.8-inch. This thing is huge. It also shares more than a hint of the same design language as Samsung's current flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S 3. 

That 5.8-inch display has a 960×540 resolution, which sounds pretty poor in comparison to the company's smartphone displays, but to keep something such as the Galaxy Player affordable, compromises must be made. Like the phones however, the Galaxy Player 5.8 runs Android 4.0 and the latest version of Touchwiz. On-board storage is either 16GB or 32GB with the option to also add a microSD card to squeeze even more of your music and movies onto this thing.

There's also a front facing VGA camera, and a pretty sizeable 2500mAh battery powering the whole show. Without a cellular radio to drain it, battery life shouldn't be too terrible.

There are still details not confirmed, such as whether the rumored dual-core 1GHz processor is inside but given the accuracy thus far of the earlier leak, it isn't too hard to believe. And, there isn't a release schedule as yet. Given the timing of this announcement though, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see this behemoth gracing the Samsung booth at IFA 2012 when it kicks off later this week. 

Source: Samsung Tomorrow (Translated)

[Rumor] Siri for iPad Coming in the Fall with iOS 6

According to a report from BGR, there is another cool feature that could be coming with iOS 6 this fall. Supposedly, Siri for the iPad will accompany the release of iOS 6 when Apple launches it later this year. Here’s a quote with some details,

Quote:

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Siri for iPad will bring all of the features found on the iPhone 4S, except the phone-related commands for obvious reasons, to Apple?s tablet. Even though tablets tend to be positioned further away from a user?s mouth, Siri on the iPad is said to have ?similar accuracy to the iPhone 4S.? Unlike the iPhone version, however, Siri for iPad will not be a full screen experience due to the tablet?s larger 9.7-inch display. The iPad version will instead open in a small window on top of whichever program the user has open.

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Source: BGR

New App Watches Your Every Move

The creators of Placeme think “persistent tracking” will have all sorts of positive uses—from keeping tabs on your exercise habits to keeping watch over loved ones.

Once in a while, you might feel like you’re being watched. Lately, I know I am, thanks to a smart-phone app that stealthily tracks my every move, no check-ins required, with greater accuracy than common geolocation tools.

Swype updated for Ice Cream Sandwich

Swype finally has been updated for all you 1 percenters — that'd be folks running Ice Cream Sandwich. It's been a long time coming — Ice Cream Sandwich has been available on the Galaxy Nexus since November or so, but Swype for whatever reason wasn't ready. That's changed today.

What hasn't changed is that Swype's still not available in the Android Market. If you're downloading this new version from their website, you'll technically be on a beta track. Don't worry so much about that, but do note that this is for folks whose phones do NOT come preloaded with Swype. That's kind of a moot point since we're talking about Ice Cream Sandwich devices here, but  it still needs to be made.

If you're new to Android or to Swype, it's a third-party keyboard whose claim to fame is in its ability to let you trace your finger (or thumb, we suppose) across the keyboard instead of hunting and pecking. For some, it's a time-saver. For others with physical issues, it can be an indespensible means of getting a message across. It's an acquired taste, to be sure, but the keyboard itself also is excellent, even if you're not into the tracing thing.

In addition to the ICS fix, Swype also says it's added downloadable languages for tablets, add-ons with DragonGo (remember that Swype is a Nuance product now, so you'll start seeing the Dragon name more), and there have been improvements made to accuracy as well. Get your download on at the link below:

Download: Swype Beta

News From Japan Says Apple Planning LTE 4G iPads and iPhones for 2012

AppleInsider has a story today based on a report from Japan?s Nikkei Business which states that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo is currently holding talks with Apple with a view to launching an LTE-capable iPad in mid 2012, to be followed by a 4G LTE iPhone in fall 2012. According to the unconfirmed report, NTT DoCoMo executives travelled to the US in November for talks with Apple CEO Tim Cook, which are said to have revolved around Apple?s forthcoming LTE-ready iPhones and iPads. However, AppleInsider points out that the accuracy of the report is called into question by a previous report earlier in the month in the Wall Street Journal, which said that Apple?s negotiations with NTT DoCoMo had stalled, with Apple allegedly refusing to grant the Japanese carrier permission to install its own proprietary software on the new iPhones and iPads. However, that doesn?t necessarily mean that the latest rumour from Nikkei Business is not true, of course, as its always possible that negotiations have resumed and the original stumbling block between the two parties has been resolved. As ever, we’ll just have to wait and see!

Source: AppleInsider | Apple said to be discussing 2012 launches of LTE 4G iPad, iPhone with carriers

Google+ app updated, brings ability to hide 1-1 Huddles

Google has updated its Google+ app, bringing a host of improvements. Two of the biggest gripes I have heard about the app are that there is no way to leave a 1-1 Huddle and that notifications are slow or spotty. With this latest update, Google has  answered both of those concerns, giving users the ability to hide 1:1 Huddles and has improved the reliability of notifications. To hide a 1:1 Huddle, go into your conversation hit Menu and then Hide. It’s great to see them iterating so quickly and listening to user feedback. Here is the full changelog:

• Improved notifications reliability
• "_add to circle" notifications shown in bulk
• Share stream posts to individual people
• Clicking a +mention takes you to the person’s profile
• +mentions now autofill from your Circles
• Stream no longer resets to top when screen is rotated
• Nearby accuracy
• Start a 1:1 huddle from a person’s profile or a group huddle from a circle profile
• Hide 1:1 huddles
• Clickable links in huddles
• Improved autocomplete when adding a person to a huddle

To get the latest update, hit up the app links after the break.

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