Iris

School iris-scanned students without telling parents

There's a quaint concept that seemingly every technology company dismisses as outdated.

It's called opting in.

Should you not be familiar with it, it's the notion that you ought to choose before, say, all the people in your address book are contacted by a company they've never heard of.

And wouldn't it be lovely to have a choice over whether your kids should have their irises scanned, as they get on their school bus?

The parents of around 750 kids in several Florida schools never got that choice -- because of what might be politely … Read more

NASA to blastoff solar satellite to gather images of the sun

Despite Earthlings depending on the sun for survival, there's a lot that scientists still don't know about our solar system's star. NASA is looking to change this.

The U.S. space agency is launching a solar satellite called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) on June 26 to get a closer look at the sun's lower atmosphere. This part of the atmosphere is important because it is where most of the sun's ultraviolet emissions are generated, which are known to impact Earth's climate and the near-Earth space environment, according to NASA.

"IRIS data … Read more

Intel describes next-gen 'Iris' graphics chips

Intel has released details on the next-generation graphics chips that will appear in upcoming laptops, hybrids, and desktops.

Iris graphics will be integrated into the 4th Gen Intel Core, aka, Haswell processors, the chip giant announced Wednesday.

"Iris graphics brings [an] eye-popping visual experience -- no extra graphics card required," Intel said in a statement.

There will be a 2X (two-fold) 3D performance increase over the 3rd Gen Intel Core "Ivy Bridge" chips for both the U- and Mobile H-series processors designed for ultrabooks and higher-performance laptops, respectively, Intel said.

For desktop R series processors, there … Read more

Step into the world of 3D-printed tech couture

Before too long, techy women may just print out that little black dress instead of buying it at a store.

Don't believe me? Take a look at some of the 3D-printed gems strolling down the catwalk at the Paris Fashion Show this week. Dutch designer Iris van Herpen's haute couture show Voltage tapped the prowess of 3D-printing companies Stratasys and Materialise to create two pieces that look out of this world.… Read more

Lowe's corrals home management under Iris

LAS VEGAS--Lowe's might not be the first name that comes to mind when you're thinking about cutting-edge home tech, but the company has quietly moved into the field with a series of simple, do-it-yourself kits called Iris.

Pulling together technology from a huge range of vendors, including Verizon, Sylvania, Schlage, First Alert, GE Jasco, and Radio Thermostat of America, Lowe's is offering three Iris kits as well as a new senior monitoring pack called Iris Care.

Iris Care lets you monitor a person's habits and routines remotely. When it detects something abnormal, such as a door … Read more

Browse Instagram on your iPad with Iris

Instagram does not offer an app with native support for the iPad, and blowing up the iPhone app on an iPad is not ideal unless you enjoy blurry, pixelated images. There are a number of free apps -- InstaFlow, Padgram, Pictacular -- that let you view your Instagram feed on the iPad, so why would you spend $1.99 on Iris? I can't quite recommend you do so, but it is the most polished of the group I looked at this week.

Before I get into Iris, I must first offer the standard Instagram-on-the-iPad disclaimer: Instagram does not let you post photos via a third-party app. Thus, no third-party app offers full Instagram functionality. An app such as Iris, however, lets you view crisp, clear, and large Instagram photos on an iPad, along with a variety of fun and useful features, from commenting on and liking photos to sharing via Twitter and browsing photos by location on a map.… Read more

Orlando's city cameras catch man allegedly smoking pot

I had always thought that it was the Brits who most enjoyed using technology to spy on their citizens.

The country seems to have even more cameras than baked beans. But Britain has a cultural excuse. When you find it hard to express yourself, what else are you going to do other than spend your evenings watching others fail to express themselves too?

And yet it seems that the often overly expressive America is also into the spy-camera thing.

The city of Orlando, for example, employs IRIS cameras, which are ostensibly there to capture bad people doing bad things, or … Read more

Use your phone to talk to your house

Lowe's has teamed up with U.K.-based monitoring-tech company AlertMe for some home improvement designed to take your house into the future (or at least help you save on your energy bill).

The companies unveiled today the Iris, a new cloud-based home-monitoring and security system. Iris, which won't be in stores until the end of August, is meant to let homeowners monitor and control devices in the home -- including heating and cooling, home alarm systems, security cameras, or appliances -- using a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Mary Turner, CEO of AlertMe, said the system is an … Read more

How 3D ads will make their way on to your phone

When it comes to mobile devices, do people care about 3D content?

It's a topic I've been wrestling with since the emergence of the HTC Evo 3D, the first 3D-capable smartphone. I came to the conclusion that it was largely a gimmick, or something that piques your interest but quickly fades away. For some, it's just a bit of headache-inducing flash.

Still, that hasn't stopped more companies from moving into the area. The latest two are media startup Cooliris and mobile advertising company Smaato, which recently said they were partnering to deliver 3D advertisements on mobile … Read more

Control Siri from across the room

The iPhone 4S' digital personal assistant Siri appears to be heading toward cult classic status. Check out this great little gadget created to enhance your voice control experience.

The Iris 9000 from ThinkGeek is a neat device that lets you control Siri from up to 50 feet away with a micro remote and a built-in mic that picks up your voice at a distance.

But the real draw is the nostalgic design. The module looks like Hal from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and and even has a glowing LED eye that flickers along with Siri's voice.

We just love the below video of the Iris 9000 and Siri together. … Read more