Tech News: Best Buy's Free iPhone 5 Deal, and Intel's Latest Artificial Intelligence Buy

Intel's New Acquisition Helps Build on Its Artificial Intelligence Technology 

Just two months after Intel ( INTC ) acquired the Israeli gesture-based technologies company Omek, the tech giant has bought Indisys, a Spanish natural language recognition company. Both acquisitions are big strides forward for the company's development of artificial intelligence technology.

Maya, one of Indisys' intelligent assistant interfaces

 

 

Though the exact details of the Indisys deal have not been confirmed, it was reportedly "north" of $26 million. Indisys, based in Seville, Spain, develops computer technology that recognizes language and can respond fluently and with common sense. Moreover, the company develops intelligent assistant interfaces, like Apple's ( AAPL ) Siri and Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Cortana, which is still in its early development. (For more on Cortana, read Microsoft Creates Answer to Apple's Siri? ) 

Intel likely acquired Indisys as part of its larger venture into 3D visualization and so-called "perceptual computing," which is Intel's term for the full deployment of quality gesture, touch, voice, and other AI sensory tech as part of the computing experience. 

This is not the first time that Intel has worked with Indisys; last November, Big Blue's venture arm, Intel Capital, spearheaded a $5 million Series A investment in Indisys. 

Best Buy's Trade-In Deal Offers Customers a Free iPhone 5 

Until September 15, Best Buy ( BBY ) will let you trade your old smartphone (yeah, we're talking really old, like Palm Pre old) for a brand-new iPhone 5. With the launch of the new iPhone 5C imminent and subsequent discontinuation of the 5, Best Buy is giving consumers an excellent opportunity while clearing out its inventory. 

If you aren't looking to upgrade to the 5C or the 5S, this is a pretty good deal. Best Buy is offering a $100 minimum trade-in credit for any working smartphone as long as customers switch to the iPhone 5 and a two-year contract with AT&T ( T ), Sprint (S), or Verizon (VZ). Tthe 5C will go on sale next week for $99 with a two-year contract. If you bring an old smartphone into Best Buy, you can get the old iPhone 5 for free. Are the 5C's bright colors and extended battery life worth $99? You'll have to decide soon because the new, more colorful iPhone will be on shelves next week, which means that its predecessor won't be. 

If you own the aforementioned Palm Pre, Best Buy is offering you a heck of a deal. That smartphone, launched in 2009, is currently worth only $.75 on Amazon (AMZN). At Best Buy right now, you're guaranteed $100 in credit. 

Plus, if your phone is worth more than $100, Best Buy will make up the difference with a gift card. 

After Going Private, Dell Will Focus on Expanding Sales Capacity and Emerging Markets Presence 

After shareholders approved his $25 billion buyback offer yesterday, Dell (DELL) founder and CEO Michael Dell said in an interview with CNBC today that once his company goes private, his focus will be on expanding sales capacity, growing exposure in emerging markets, and expanding development and production of tablets. This comes just days after billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn announced that he was stepping down from the long takeover battle he has waged with Michael Dell. 

Moreover, Dell said that he would shift the company from having an entrenched quarterly focus to "a longer-term, five-year, ten-year focus, doubling down on the investment." He also specified that he does not see the company entering the cellphone market, but that its main business will be in enterprise. Dell told CNBC that his company is focused on "powering those clouds that are being fueled by this enormous explosion of mobile devices." 

New Consoles Have Already Spurred Jump in Video Game Sales 

According to the Wall Street Journal, sales of video games, consoles, and accessories have risen 1% in the US since last year. This marks the first time in two years that the industry has not seen a decline in sales. The collective industry sales came in at $521 million, with $305 million of that coming from games, representing a 21% increase. 

Some of the biggest contributors to that growth have been Electronic Arts' (EA) Madden 25 , the latest installment in its long-running football franchise, and Disney's (DIS) Infinity , a game that ties physical and purchasable toys to video gameplay. 

This spike is likely to continue upwards, as November will bring the release of new consoles: Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4. Though last year's release of Nintendo's (OTCMKTS:NTDOY) latest console, the Wii U, did little to reinvigorate the market for gaming, analysts and video game experts have much more hope for the next generation offerings from Microsoft and Sony. In fact, Sony has already pre-sold over one million units of PlayStation 4. 

Source and Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/tech-news-best-buys-free-iphone-5-deal-and-intels-latest-artificial-intelligence-buy-cm275898#ixzz2epb31Nmk
                                

Darwin’s Dilemma: Evolutionary ‘Big Bang’ Does not Contradict Theory of Evolution

  Burst of animal life 520 million years ago caused by major changes to arthropod bodies

Darwin's dilemma over the Big Bang of evolution explained by scientists (wiki commons)

Darwin's dilemma, in which the sudden appearance of a host of modern animal groups 520 million years ago seems to undermine his theory of evolution, has been explained by scientists.

Research published in the journal Current Biology shows that evolution's "Big Bang" during the Cambrian period between 540 and 520 million years ago can be explained scientifically and fits in with Darwin's theory of natural selection, scientists have said.

During this era, there was a sudden appearance of a host of groups of advanced animals.

"This simultaneous burst of life, with few or no precursors, had seemed at odds with Darwin's idea of gradual evolution through natural selection," said Mike Lee from the University of Adelaide.

"However, our results show that moderately accelerated evolution, sustained over a few tens of millions of years, could have produced this pattern. A fivefold increase in rates of evolution would compress about 100 million years' worth of change into about 20 million years-a relatively brief period in geological terms."

Researchers studied arthropods for the study, a group of animals including insects, spiders and crustaceans that currently account for over 80% of all animal species.

Arthropods were the most diverse and successful animals during the Cambrian explosion.

"If we are interested in major patterns in animal evolution, arthropods are the key group to study," Lee said.


The researchers looked at the anatomical and genetic differences between living arthropods to establish past rates of evolution. They found animals evolved between four and five times faster during the Cambrian period as they do now.

Lee said this is a result of major bodily changes, including vision and active swimming, which opened up a huge range of avenues for arthropod evolution. During this time, exoskeletons, jointed legs and multi-faceted eyes all evolved, as well as the first appearance of the antenna and biting jaws.

A similar surge in evolution is seen when animals colonise new environments, Lee said. "When a lineage acquires a novel adaptation, they often undergo a burst of evolution, to fill up a newly opened range of environments and niches."

He concluded: "The abrupt appearance of dozens of animal groups during this time is arguably the most important evolutionary event after the origin of life.

"These seemingly impossibly fast rates of evolution implied by this Cambrian explosion have long been exploited by opponents of evolution. Darwin himself famously considered that this was at odds with the normal evolutionary processes.

"However, because of the notorious imperfection of the ancient fossil record, no-one has been able to accurately measure rates of evolution during this critical interval, often called evolution's Big Bang.

"In this study we've estimated that rates of both morphological and genetic evolution during the Cambrian explosion were five times faster than today - quite rapid, but perfectly consistent with Darwin's theory of evolution."


Source: ibtimes

Роскосмос: Технического сбоя при возвращении с орбиты «Союза» не было

В ведомстве пояснили, что систему информирования космонавтов отключили намеренно

Руководитель Роскосмоса Владимир Поповкин опроверг слова космонавта Виноградова, заявившего, что при возвращении на Землю у космического корабля "Союз ТМА-08М" отказали датчики, из-за чего космонавтам пришлось лететь буквально "на ощупь". Глава ведомства пояснил, что накладок при посадке не было, а систему информирования космонавтов отключили намеренно.

 

- Они не вслепую садились. Там просто произошло наложение в программе одной даты на другую. Для того чтобы не кусками (информация) была на экране, мы приняли решение ее отключить. Мы знали об этом заранее. До посадки экипаж отработал эту программу, -сказал он, добавив что о проблеме знали заранее, а экипаж видел то, что посадка проходит штатно.

 

- Космонавты просто информационно не знали, куда летят, но по другим параметрам видели, что садятся штатно. Это просто информационная вещь, которая нужна, чтобы видеть карту, - цитирует агентство Интерфакс заявление Поповкина.

Ранее космонавты, прибывшие  на Землю с Международной космической станции,раскрыли некоторые подробности своего возвращения. Выяснилось, что на этот раз не обошлось без ЧП - им пришлось лететь вслепую.

Напомним, накануне в Казахстане приземлился спускаемый аппарат космического корабля «Союз ТМА-08М». На Землю вернулись российские космонавты Павел Виноградов, Александр Мисуркин и американский астронавт Кристофер Кэссиди. Экипаж закончил свою продолжавшуюся полгода вахту на Международной космической станции.

На смену им на МКС отправятся россияне Олег Котов и Сергей Рязанский, а также американец Майкл Скотт Хопкинс. До прибытия новой космической экспедиции, старт которой запланирован на 26 сентября, на МКС остается интернациональный экипаж в составе российского космонавта Фёдора Юрчихина, европейского астронавта Луки Пармитано и американского астронавта Карен Найберг.

    источник: volgograd

Rumor: Nokia Lumia 1520 to Launch on AT&T In November

Yesterday, the prolific Twitter leaker mentioned that the purported Nokia Lumia 1520 might see the daylight on September 26. However, this is probably the announcement date of the Lumia 1520, not the date when it will hit the shelves.

A new rumor is suggesting that the device will go on sale in the U.S. in November on AT&T. The news comes from WPCentral, who are a trusted source when it comes to Windows Phone. The blog also posts a number of specifications for the purported Nokia Lumia 1520.

 

Nokia Lumia 1520 is expected to feature a 6-inch Full HD display sporting 1080p resolution, a quad-core Snadpragon 800 SoC, 32GB internal storage with a microSD card slot, a massive 3,400 mAh battery and 20MP PureView camera with dual-shot capabilities — which is the ability to capture images with 16-MP and 5-MP modes simultaneously. On the software side, Nokia Lumia 1520 will come with Windows Phone 8 GDR3 and Bittersweet Shimmer (Nokia software) out of the box, which has been leaked in great detail in the past as well.

An availability date of early-November makes sense, as the roll out of GDR3 didn’t even start yet and the GDR2 update hasn’t finished rolling out completely on the current iteration. Now, all we have to do is wait for an official announcement by Nokia regarding the event. Just stay tuned to GadgeTell and we’ll try to bring everything we can to the table.

    Source: WPCentral