labs

Samsung Galaxy S4 edges out iPhone 5 in camera test

DxO Labs has named Samsung's Galaxy S4 a new winner in its mobile-phone camera tests.

The French firm, which specializes in camera optics and image sensor analysis, gave the new Android phone a score of 75 this week, edging out the iPhone 5 at 72. The top scorer is the Nokia 808 Pureview at 77, but that model is hobbled by its Symbian operating system, a commercial failure compared to Apple's iOS in the iPhone and Google's Android in the Galaxy S4.

Perhaps Nokia will have better commercial success with its rumored "Eos" phone, which … Read more

Lambda Labs readying Google Glass face-recognition API

Amid questions to Google from Congress about privacy concerns related to Google Glass, a San Francisco startup is preparing an API to recognize faces with the controversial gadget.

The Google Glass Face Recognition API (application programming interface) from Lambda Labs will be available to developers within a week, TechCrunch tells us, quoting co-founder Stephen Balaban. … Read more

Google quantum computer lab to study artificial intelligence

Google is opening a new research lab to see if a quantum computer can solve problems too taxing for traditional computers.

Hosted by NASA's Ames Research Center, the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab will be home to a quantum computer made by D-Wave Systems. Operated by the Universities Space Research Association, the supercomputer will be available to researchers around the world to work on their own projects.

The goal, as stated in a Google blog posted today, is "to study how quantum computing might advance machine learning."

Traditional computers are limited, as they think in terms of … Read more

Review: Adjust the brightness of your Mac keyboard backlight with Lab Tick

The beautiful LED keyboard backlight is perhaps one of the most beloved features of Mac laptops. With Lab Tick for Mac, users can now fine-tune their settings to customize this feature.

Installation of this app is a very easy drag-and-drop process. The interface is very straightforward and rudimentary, too. Once installed, Lab Tick for Mac will sit very conveniently on top of the menu bar while running in the background. When you click the icon on top of the menu bar, a slider will pop up, allowing you to adjust the brightness of your keyboard backlight. For the adventurous users, … Read more

Bitcoin exchange partnership dissolves with lawsuit

A Bitcoin exchange partnership designed to smooth the trading process and show the security of the virtual currency has apparently collapsed with a lawsuit.

After struggling to crack the U.S. market, Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, announced in February that it had reached an arrangement with CoinLab in which the Seattle-based startup would manage the Bitcoin exchange's operations in the U.S. and Canada. Along with the support of Silicon Valley Bank and $500,000 in VC funding, it was hoped that the arrangement would help increase customer confidence in the decentralized digital currency.

However, … Read more

Intel, Samsung invest in high-powered Siri alternative Expect Labs

Expect Labs, a company building a Siri-like platform on steroids, has just raised some extra cash from both Samsung and Intel.

Venture capital arms at both companies on Tuesday announced that they have dropped some money into Expect Labs to help it continue to build its Anticipatory Computing Engine, a service for companies that's "designed to analyze and understand conversations in real-time and proactively find related information." The Engine has eyes on anticipating what a person needs before they even realize it and then providing relevant information.

According to Expect Labs, which has also captured cash from … Read more

Thalmic Labs working on wearable remote control

With watches, glasses, and clothing that can double as tech devices, it seems like wearable inventions are only going to continue to proliferate.

How about wearable technology that can read a person's muscle movement and then use that data to control other devices?

This is something that Thalmic Labs has been working on for the past year. The company explained the project in detail in a video released Wednesday.

Dubbed the MYO, this one-size-fits-all armband is a remote control of sorts. When worn on the body, it instantaneously reads the electrical activity of the muscles to track the movement … Read more

The 404 1,249: Where we get the senior discount (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Ever wondered how Apple employees travel around the Cupertino campus?

- Taking New York's upcoming Citi Bike Share plan for a test ride.

- Why don't cell phones have a dial tone?

- Forget following teens, your new favorite Tweeter is 94 years old.

- Speaking of old people, here's Jeff's dear, old granny with a 404 sticker on her walker.

- Speaking of speaking of old people, here's a soul-cuddling video of an older landlady lip-syncing her favorite song from the 1930s.… Read more

iRadio could be better for music labels

CNET Update requires an Internet connection:

Not only is Apple on a mission to launch iRadio this summer, but CNET's Paul Sloan reports that iRadio could be a better payoff for music labels than Pandora.

Also in Friday's tech rundown, get a glimpse of future tech coming from the research team at AT&T Labs. I got to demo a few of the company's latest projects, including a device that blocks calls when you're deep in thought.

If you don't like the idea of an Xbox that requires an Internet connection, a Microsoft games … Read more