Tech: February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Five ways the Samsung Gear 2 is better than its predecessor [Photos]

from latimes

By Salvador Rodriguez

February 24, 2014, 10:21 a.m.

Samsung kicked off the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona this weekend by announcing the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches.

The two devices are similar to the original Galaxy Gear, which was released just six months ago, but Samsung has made a few key changes, some of which may entice more users to purchase one of the two smartwatches.

1. Heart-rate sensor

Not many users have wearable devices, but those who do tend to use their gadgets for fitness tracking. Samsung recognizes this and is accommodating users by adding a heart-rate sensor to the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo.

Along with a pedometer and numerous exercise modes, the heart-rate sensor make Samsung's new smartwatches better fitness trackers than their predecessor.

2. Changeable straps

When the original Galaxy Gear was announced, Samsung made the device available in numerous color options. However, the company did not make it possible for users to switch the strap of their smartwatch. That's because the Galaxy Gear's camera was built into the strap.

Samsung fixes that in the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo by moving the camera onto the watch on the Gear 2 and removing it altogether from the Geart 2 Neo. When these devices are released globally in April, users will be able to interchange their straps whenever they want.

3. Longer-lasting battery

The Galaxy Gear was impressive because of all the features it included, but having so much took a toll on the device's battery life -- it could last for only a single day.

With the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, Samsung has improved battery life so that users two to three days from a single charge. This still isn't as good as what users of the Pebble Steel can get from their smartwatch, but it's an improvement.

4. Lighter weight

Samsung's new devices are lighter than their predecessor. Whereas the Galaxy Gear weighed 0.16 pounds, the Gear 2 weighs 0.15 pounds while the Gear 2 Neo comes in at 0.12 pounds.

The difference are fractions of a pound, but Samsung's Gear smartwatches are designed to be used as phones when users hold up their wrists to their faces. In that scenario, shaving off even just little bit of weight can make a big difference.

5. No more Android

The biggest difference and one consumers will likely not even notice is the operating system used to power the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. The Galaxy Gear ran on Google Android, but Samsung's new smartwatches use an operating system called Tizen.

Over the last few years, Samsung has supported Tizen and helped with the development of the platform. It's unclear why Samsung is switching the software, but surely, Google isn't a fan of the switch.

***

The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will roll out globally in April. Samsung has not said when exactly the devices will arrive in the U.S. or how much they will cost. It's also unclear which smartphones and tablets will work with the smartwatches, but as with the Galaxy Gear, expect the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo to work only with Samsung devices.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-samsung-gear-2-5-ways-20140224,0,6832850.story#ixzz2ughdd2jI

This Is What--Now--Happens On Facebook When You Die

from forbes

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There’s no getting around it, death comes to all of us and in today’s world one of the more complex issues is what is left behind on social media. For a long time Facebook has had a brutal policy: ‘memorialize’ the profile by locking down all the privacy settings and restrict visibility to friends. Now the site has found a lighter touch.

“Starting today, we will maintain the visibility of a person’s content as-is,” said Facebook in a post entitled ‘Remembering Our Loved Ones’ by Community Operations Mangers Chris Price and Alexi DiSclafani. “This will allow people to see memorialized profiles in a manner consistent with the deceased person’s expectations of privacy. We are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see.”

This switch is being followed up by nice touch. Recently all Facebook members were given a ‘Look Back’ video to commemorate the site’s 10 year anniversary. It automatically created a montage of your most popular and significant status updates, photos and videos. From this point onwards that service will be available at the request of any family member for a user who has passed away.

The move was motivated by a video plea from John Berlin on YouTube (embedded below) in which he reached out to Facebook asking if he could access a Look Back video made for his son, Jesse, who passed away in 2012. At current count the video is approaching three million views.

“We had not initially made the videos for memorialized accounts, but John’s request touched the hearts of everyone who heard it, including ours,” said Price and DiSclafani. “Since then, many others have asked us to share the Look Back videos of their loved ones, too, and we’re now glad to be able to fulfill those requests.”

Anyone who wants to request a Look Back video for a departed loved one can do so here.

For a company which has, at best, a patchy record with user privacy and its handling of profile data these are positive steps in the right direction. They also come at a time when Facebook is under immense scrutiny as to what it will do with the anonymity enjoyed by over 400M WhatsApp users following its shock $19BN purchase of the instant messaging service earlier this month.

The good news though is in reaching the grand old age of 10, Facebook is showing signs of growing up. Its explosive user growth has tailed off and its previously juvenile approach to takeovers (assimilate everything into Facebook) took a turn for the better when its $1BN purchase of Instagram saw it help the company blossom rather than rip it apart to create the most expensive photo filters service in history.

Similarly in promising users it would also respect the anonymous and ad-free service currently enjoyed by WhatsApp users, Facebook again seems to be taking on the role of fatherly conglomerate rather than spoilt Borg.

Remembering Our Loved Ones takes the same considered and respectful tone as it has so far maintained with Instagram and (at least) marketed with WhatsApp. None of which is to say you should drop your battle hardened cynicism when it comes to the way Facebook does business. It has burned us too many times for that.

But whether it is age, flat lining user numbers or a deliberate change of policy, it is nice to find something for which to pat Facebook on back. Even if learned behaviour says we should be using the opportunity to stick in the knife.

Also on Forbes
5 Key Reasons WhatsApp Is Work $19BN – To Facebook

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Smile! The Samsung Galaxy S5's 16-megapixel camera is pretty good so far

from cnet

We couldn't get it outside into the daylight, but these indoor shots give you an indication of what this phone's camera can do.

by Jessica Dolcourt

February 26, 2014 6:08 AM PST

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Artificial spot lighting at trade show booths doesn't make for the optimal conditions to test out what a camera can do. However, it does at least give you a fairly good idea of how the Samsung Galaxy S5's 16-megapixel shooter works in this kind of indoor setting. (And yes, we did ask, beg, and plead to take the phone outside into the light and air. No dice.)

I took all photos on auto mode. Some photos came out a little darker than I expected, some not quite as crisp. There were also certain lighting challenges that few cameras could overcome, mobile or otherwise. Overall though, I was pleased with the sharpness, color, and level of detail of these brief test shots.

One benefit of the Galaxy S5's high megapixel count is that cropped images still show up at fairly high resolutions, so you don't lose as much detail as you might on a lower-resolution camera. You'll see an example of that, and several other shots, in the gallery below.

Native camera app's fresh lick'a paint
In addition to the Galaxy S5's optical performance, Samsung's native camera app gets an update with some significant changes. An HDR toggle (representing new processing powers) now pops up on the screen, which makes it easier to select. (Tip: you can even use HDR in burst mode now.)

Shooting with the Samsung Galaxy S5's 16-megapixel camera (pictures)

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Selective Focus is a neat feature that, as on some high-end Nokia Lumia phones, lets you choose a more shallow depth of field after you take the shot. It worked well and was easy to use, but there is a fair amount of premeditation required -- you'll need to press the on-screen control first. I do really like that you can keep editing the selective focus as many times as you want.

I noticed a few other new features as well that Samsung didn't emphasize in our briefing or at the launch event. Virtual Tour is sort of like Google's Photo Sphere app, where it can compile a 360-degree view of your surroundings, which is then played in a video. It worked really well in my test, and shares files either as a movie or as stills. I could see myself using it to share a scene with family and friends.

Panning is another new one that seems to work like an action freeze-frame shot. After taking the picture, you can edit the character of the background blur while your subject remains crisply in focus. I wasn't able to get enough real action at Samsung's booth to make this work as it's intended.

Selective Focus is a new tool for creating a shallow depth of field.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

The S5's camera app consolidates a whole mess of apps into a single view called Shot & More. This includes modes like Best Photo, Best Face, Eraser, Drama, and the Panning mode we just talked about. You choose this mode before taking a photo, then pick from the shooting modes that work with each photo best.

One neat little feature is being able to jump into the camera settings (which look wonderful) to drag a setting into the shortcuts bar. Another is that you can store photos in Samsung's secureKnox box.

All together, the updated visuals that rework the icons and on-screen controls help make just about everything in Samsung's Galaxy S5 camera polished and easy to use.

Catch all the mobile news from Mobile World Congress 2014.