Posts Tagged ‘opens’

The Fairphone, World’s First Ethically Sourced Smartphone, Opens Pre-Sales To General Public

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Netherlands-based hardware initiative Fairphone began around three years ago as a project designed to highlight the use of conflict minerals in the construction of consumer electronics, and then evolved three years later into a full-fledged hardware startup, with the aim of turning its knowledge into action with the building of an ethically sourced, built and distributed smartphone. Now, it’s opening up pre-orders to the general public, beginning with customers in Europe.

The Fairphone needs 5,000 pre-orders in order to begin production, and retails for a total of €325 ($ 436). That price included taxes, however and what you get for that is an unlocked, 4.3-inch smartphone running Android 4.2, powered by a quad core processor. It has an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing shooter, with dual-SIM trays for easy carrier switching and international travel.

As a smartphone, the Fairphone seems capable enough, but it’s the manufacturing process that’s really core to the concept of the device. The phone itself is made using materials from a completely transparent supply chain – Fairphone is looking at the provenance of each mineral used to make each component, the people who build each part and the processes evolved and their social and ecological impact, and will make all of that information available to buyers and the general public. The idea is to flag stuff that’s being done poorly, highlight ways to make changes, in both the short and long term, and also build a collection of best practices that can be shared with the rest of the industry.

Fairphone initially had opened sales only to the over 16,000 people who signed up to express interest when it initially announced the project, giving them first crack at the initial pre-order run. It seems like the percentage of those that were actually willing to put their money down on a device and contribute to the initial fund was much lower, however, which has prompted the expansion of sales to anyone in Europe who might want to contribute.

The Fairphone is being transparent about the sales process, too; thus far, it has managed to sell 2,333 phones through pre-orders, with 20 days left in its campaign. Hopefully broadening the buyer pool will spark more interest, because the project stands to be able to shed a lot of light on what for many is a completely invisible or poorly understood process.

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Kaleidescape’s online video store officially opens, promises Blu-ray quality downloads

Kaleidescape's online video store officially opens, promises 'Bluray quality' downloads

Kaleidescape launched its online offering in beta late last year, and now it’s officially open, becoming what it claims is the first store to provide “internet delivery of Blu-ray quality movies.” The Kaleidescape Store goes beyond other 1080p services (Vudu, iTunes, Xbox and PSN come to mind) by promising the disc-equaling higher bitrates, extras and lossless audio options they don’t have. There’s no streaming to be had here, only downloads, with file sizes we saw ranging from 23GB (Austin Powers) to as much as 55.4GB (Inception) and everywhere in between.

While the store is only built to work with Kaleidescape’s high-end disc-playback systems — these usually start in the thousands of dollars, and you’ll need M-Class hardware for HD — it currently offers movies from Warner Bros. with an Ultraviolet copy attached, so buyers can play them back on mobile devices through apps such as Flixster and Vudu. Ultraviolet support also means $ 6.99 upgrades of DVD purchases to Blu-ray-quality HD, and potentially disc-to-digital type features later. Naturally, anyone interested will need an internet connection with a generous / non-existent bandwidth cap, but we imagine that’s not out of the price range for these niche owners. Still, it does provide an idea of the difficulty others like Sony and Netflix will face when trying to digitally distribute feature films in 4K to a wider audience. Check out a few screens of the store in the gallery, and the Random Thoughts blog link below for firsthand impressions from a beta tester.

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Source: Kaleidescape, Kaleidescape Store

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Gyft opens up to developers, offers sign-up page for APIs

Gyft opens up to developers, offers signup page for APIs

Gyft, the mobile platform that lets users purchase, send and store virtual gift cards, is now providing designers a split at its APIs. Launched late last year on Android and iOS, the service presently counts its retail partnerships in the hundreds and is looking to extend its reach to other applications, websites and, most importantly, the world of mobile games. Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham, hopes mobile game devs will accept the platform as a way of promoting in-app acquisitions– a step that would assist to eliminate external fees from various other billing services. Already, devs are lining up to utilize Gyft’s APIs, with the first integration live on Yappem, a B2B social network, and “about 10 even more” planned to go live next month.

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LIFX Smart Bulb Opens Second Batch Of 100K Pre-Orders, Demos Gesture-Based Dimming

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Australian hardware startup and Kickstarter excellence story LIFX has good news for people who lost out on backing the initial task: it ’ s opening a 2nd round of pre-orders, with a brand-new production run of 100,000 devices, offered straight through its internet site. LIFX sold out its pre-order allotment on Kickstarter in just six days, blowing previous $ 1M, which is 10 times its initial financing target.

LIFX ’ s initial ship date was slated for March of 2013, but as of today co-founder Andrew Birt says the first 500 devices need to be rolling off the line in about four weeks time with a May/June Kickstarter shipping timeframe in mind, which isn ’ t that much of a delay in Kickstarter time. That ’ s why the business has now launched the video above, which shows the manufacturing prototype in action, connecting to Wi-Fi, being controlled by the remote app with light color changing features and a demo of gesture-based dimming in activity.

The brand-new 2nd batch of LIFX bulbs is set for a September 2013 delivery date, so they ’ ll followed the fledgling fulfills its Kickstarter pledge pre-orders. All bulb kinds, consisting of Edison screw, Bayonet and Downlight mounts, start at $ 79 (just $ 10 more than the initial Kickstarter single-bulb cost), and all have cost breaks for bulk orders.

Unlike Philips Color, LIFX bulbs wear ’ t need a base to connect to your network, and the Edison screw and Bayonet types are rated at 900 lumens on the LIFX (around 80w), while maximum brightness on the Shade is just 600 lumens (roughly 50w). Philips Color bulbs cost $ 20 less per device, but you additionally need to buy the starter kit that includes the base to get up and running, a $ 199 preliminary investment. Of course, the ultimate examination will be in efficiency, so we ’ ll have to see how LIFX compares to the generally really favorable testimonials the Philips Color is garnering.

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MasterCard opens EMV tech to United States debit networks, wishes to spur adoption

MasterCard opens up its EMV tech to other US debit networks, helps spur adoption

After practically sixteen years of attempting to motivate EMV adoption in the United States, MasterCard has actually hit upon a prospective reason why it’s not catching on: its closed, proprietary standard. But that’s altering today, with the monetary giant revealing it’s making some of its circuit card tech open to other US debit networks rather of waiting on them to come up with their very own solution. An alternative to magnetic strips, EMV declares to provide more protected repayments thanks to the usage of cryptographic algorithms and user-specific PINs, but hasn’t caught much interest beyond Europe and Asia. Maybe in opening the criterion, MasterCard and team will stimulate its adoption stateside and hence amass even more EMV followers. Naturally, it has to catch on prior to NFC changes cards entirely, rendering the issue moot.

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MasterCard Strengthens Commitment to Make U.S. EMV Migration Easier

Opens Proprietary, Market-Ready Debit Solution to Speed Sector Adoption

PURCHASE, N.Y.– (COMPANY WIRE)– MasterCard today revealed it is making a few of the company’s exclusive technology options readily available to other U.S. debit networks. This choice was made to offer a choice to support debit EMV transactions and enhance the business’s continued support of the UNITED STATE migration to the EMV requirement.

“By making our EMV solution offered today, debit networks, merchants, acquirers and processors could take benefit of a market-ready solution currently in place. This will permit monetary institutions to begin releasing EMV cards across their portfolios instantly, instead of waiting for a new solution to be developed.”
In opening this innovation standard, MasterCard will allow acquirers to brand transactions stemming from the Maestro AID (application identifier) for all debit networks within the United States.

“We felt it was essential to take this step for the greater good of the future of U.S. payments,” stated Chris McWilton, head of state, North America, MasterCard. “By making our EMV option available today, debit networks, business, acquirers and processors could make the most of a market-ready solution presently in location. This will permit monetary establishments to start issuing EMV cards across their portfolios right away, as opposed to waiting for a brand-new solution to be established.”

Today’s statement is the latest in a series of decisions by MasterCard to advance the future of digital payments in the U.S. With the accessibility of this modern technology, issuers will be able to streamline their EMV execution and making it possible for chip entry with potentially lower expenses. At the exact same time, as business and their acquirers map out their terminal plans, they will have the ability to more enhance their financial investments, simplify their accreditation procedures and choose their transmitting of debit deals.

“We have actually spoken extensively with the EMV Migration Online forum and various other teams about the demand to work together and discover a typical way to support debit deals,” said Jane Cloninger, supervisor, Edgar, Dunn & Business. “Based upon our experience around the globe, this statement is a good action to continue the energy of the UNITED STATE market’s migration towards EMV. We praise MasterCard for taking a leadership position in this turning point for the sector.”

Extra details around the implementation of the Maestro AID will be provided to all celebrations associateded with the coming weeks.

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Nike+ opens up its APIs, lets developers see what NikeFuel really is

It looks like Nike + is making transfer to get even more individuals playing with its gear. The Next Web reports that Nike has opened up its APIs on the business developer site today, which implies devs now have a way to hook into the data all those FuelBands and SportWatches generate. Amongst these streams of details is access to a chronological list of user activities, GPS records, and the quantity of NikeFuel earned both in total and on an individual task basis. If that’s got you dreaming up physical fitness apps and games, head on over to the source equipped with your Nike + login information, and that treasure trove of records could be yours to enjoy, too.

TNW goes on to point out that the APIs were released in combination with Nike’s Accelerator startup program, just in case any of those apps are part of a deserving business plan. In case you just weren’t conscious, the Accelerator start-up incubator’s run by TechStars, the exact same individuals who also offer seed cash and business guidance to aspiring Kinect devs. So, idea-men and women should do not hesitate to accept the Xbox cooperation possibilities knowing their angel financing’s originating from individuals who’ll understand such concepts. Seem like something you’re into? The target date to apply is February 3rd, so those applying finest prepare to hit the ground running when the Accelerator starts a month later.

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Microsoft opens international barriers to Xbox Live account migration

Microsoft opens international barriers to Xbox Live account migration

Microsoft’s throwing open the doors on Xbox Live account migration worldwide for its Xbox 360 consoles, today announcing that XBL accounts are now transferable from region-to-region. That includes everything in your Gold level account: Achievements, virtual monies, Gamerscore, and that gorgeous Avatar. Previously, moving from one country to another meant walking away from the Xbox Live-based identity you’d grown so accustomed to — a real shame, especially for folks who’d stocked up on Xbox Live Points during holiday sales (ahem). Of course, some regional restrictions still apply when you migrate your account — some services, games, subscriptions, and other digital content disappears depending on regional availability. Microsoft may’ve opened its borders, but digital content license holders still won’t.

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Source: Microsoft, Xbox Support

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Best Buy’s CinemaNow opens home disc-to-digital program, makes cloud copies of DVDs for a fee

Best Buy's CinemaNow kicks home disctodigital program, gives DVDs cloud copies for a fee

One interesting advancement of the UltraViolet program has actually been Walmart / Vudu’s in-store disc-to-digital program, and now Best Buy is apparently ready to supply comparable functionality, however within the convenience of one’s own house. The very best Buy-owned CinemaNow is flashing a Disc to Digital beta web page that provides downloads of a user for Windows or Mac Computers that not only enables access to one’s UltraViolet library both online or offline, however additionally place any DVD (no word on Blu-ray support yet) and transform it to an SD or HD UltraViolet copy. Online forum posters report the pricing is comparable to Walmart’s, although the listing of supported titles is not precisely identical. Ultraviolet’s morass of logins and passwords hasn’t gotten any type of less challenging for digital copies from different studios yet, but in this case connecting your account must be relatively simple. Struck the source links to download the applications and look at a list of flicks available for conversion, assuming a cloud HDX copy of 2 Fast 2 Furious for $ 5 is something you discover enticing.

[ Thanks, @ Starkenator ]

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Security exploit opens Samsung Galaxy S III, Note II to attack, could let apps from Google Play write to Kernel

Security exploit opens Samsung Galaxy S III, Note II to attack, could let apps from Google Play write to Kernel

Amidst the XDA area’s continuous mission to root every Android smartphone it discovers, one online forum user appears to have actually found a significant exploit that influences certain Exynos gadgets. While fiddling with his Galaxy S III, XDA individual Alephzain found a means to obtain root without flashing with Odin. The Samsung bit evidently enables read / compose access to all physical memory on the device, including the bit itself. This produces an easy root, Alephzain writes, but leaves devices open to attack– enabling Bit code treatments and RAM disposes of from malware-laden applications from the Google Play store.

It isn’t really the only avenue for attack on an Android mobile phone, however it is an extremely easy attack. The good news is, an area cultivated fix appears rather simple too– XDA user RyanZA has actually already developed a patch to customize write consents on affected gadgets– though Galaxy S III users are stating that the fix cripples the phone’s camera app. So far, Alephzain has actually confirmed that the Galaxy S II, III, Note II and the Meizu MX are at risk, but keeps in mind that the exploit might deal with any type of device running a Exynos 4210 or 4412 processor. Samsung has not yet made a remark about the susceptability, however forum participants state that the problem has actually been reported. As for the exploit’s lasting effects? Head on over to the XDA forums to sign up with the discussion.

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Kaleidescape Movie Store opens with Warner and UltraViolet, promises Blu-ray quality and extras

Kaleidescape Movie Store opens with Warner and UltraViolet, promises Bluray quality and extras

We got a peek at Kaleidescape’s digital shipment plans at CEDIA previously this year, but now it’s thrown open the doors of its shop, letting users of its systems purchase and download flicks, no messy (and lawsuit-entangled) disc changers necessary. The Kaleidescape Store is currently providing movies by Warner (around 3,000 movies and 8,000 TV episodes), and befitting its high-end stature, it’s bring a little extra over numerous various other offerings. According to the business it’s secured a contract guaranteeing all the extra material from the retail discs are readily available too, and with video and audio quality “equal to Blu-ray Disc and DVD” at 24fps 1080p, and with Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA lossless audio soundtracks.

Furthermore, it’s consisted of UltraViolet access for most titles purchased in the shop, with plans to offer a disc-to-digital conversion solution in the future. Presently, all content in the shop is standard definition, but HD is apparently on the way in very early 2013. Owners of the systems will require the most recent kOS 5.0 update to access the store, where movies are priced similarly to other digital flick stores. Look at a news release and demo video after the break, or see the link below for some hands-on impressions and access to the store itself.

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