IntellectBeat

Looking for an alternative to pen and paper to scribble important notes on the go? US-based technology giant Microsoft heard you and has offered a tablet-based app recreating the analogue appeal of writing. For those who carry high-tech digital devices but prefer taking notes with pen or pencil and paper, Microsoft has launched Plumbago -- a new app for Windows 8.1 and 10 tablets released through the Microsoft Garage. Plumbago is a digital notebook with technology that smoothens handwriting so your scribbles are easier to read later. It also contains realistic ink technology and other features like an optimised tool picker designed to reduce the number of taps to access its features, notebook covers and paper selector, Microsoft said in a blog on Friday. "We were thinking about how to make a great experience that really took advantage of the Surface and its pen, and could replace a physical notebook," Gavin Jancke, general manager of engineering in Microsoft Research, sai...

The Obama administration has told a US magistrate judge it would be willing to allow Apple Inc to retain possession of and later destroy specialised software it has been ordered to design to help the FBI hack into an encrypted iPhone used by the gunman in December's mass shootings in California. The government made clear that it was open to less intrusive options in a new legal filing intended to blunt public criticism by Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, who said the software would be "too dangerous to create" because it would threaten the digital privacy of millions of iPhone customers worldwide. "Apple may maintain custody of the software, destroy it after its purpose under the order has been served, refuse to disseminate it outside of Apple and make clear to the world that it does not apply to other devices or users without lawful court orders," the Justice Department told Judge Sheri Pym. "No one outside Apple would have access to the software...

NOTE : Please make sure your watch is running Android Wear 5.0. The update is rolling out now but may take a few days. Thank you for your patience. I originally designed the artwork for the Moto 360 Design Face-off contest. Since then I have been asked to make a functional watch face by many people. The wait is finally over, this watch face is build with the official Android Wear Watch Face API. I hope you enjoy this fun watch face. Features: Support both round and square watch Support ambient mode 24-hour and 12-hour Settings in Android Wear companion app More customization options will be added in future updates. Source: Android

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai will meet Europe's antitrust chief next Thursday for the first time since his appointment last August, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who has accused the world's most popular Internet search engine of favouring its shopping service over rivals' when delivering search results, is considering whether to penalise Google. Possible sanctions could include ordering Google to change its business practices, as well as a fine of up to 10 percent of its global turnover. The case has dragged on for more than five years since the EU competition enforcer launched an investigation in November 2010, followed by three unsuccessful attempts by Google to settle the issue with concessions. Vestager may also scrutinise Google's back-tax deal with British tax authorities following a complaint from the Scottish National Party. Google agreed last month it would pay GBP 130 milli...

Ever sent a company a message on Facebook Messenger? You might be at risk of being spammed with ads. Leaked documents obtained by TechCrunch suggest that Facebook is going to begin allowing companies to send ads to people who had previously initiated a chat thread with the business. For those who have reached out to a business with a customer complaint, query or question, that means bracing yourself for receiving pesky ads in your Messenger inbox. In the leaked documents, Facebook recommends that businesses get consumers to start message threads now, so that they can send ads when the feature launches in the second quarter of this year.

Cat will be heading to this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, to present a new smartphone that's not only waterproof and shockproof but also comes with an onboard thermal imaging camera. Thermal cameras form images by measuring different levels of infrared radiation emitted by sources from several meters away. The intensity of radiation is determined by the temperature of the source. This technology can be used to detect heat leaks around doors and windows, to spot patches of damp and even to see in the dark. Until now, thermal imaging with a smartphone was only possible via an external add-on camera module. Here, Cat integrates the technology directly into a handset with an onboard camera system made by thermal imaging specialist FLIR Systems. The camera runs with a comprehensive application offering various functions (still image, panorama, video mode, etc.). The Cat S60 is a robust handset too, offering shock-resistance and drop-resistance (from heights o...

From a preschool toy designed to teach pre-coding skills to a hands-on molecule-building set for older kids that works with an app, technology abounded at this year's Toy Fair. The annual showcase of upcoming toys held recently in New York included a slew of tech-related products from the titans of the toy industry and tiny startups, all looking to attract increasingly tech-savvy kids. Here are the highlights. Some of the toys are educational, while others are just kind of cool. All of them are set to go on sale this fall unless otherwise specified. 1. CODE-A-PILLAR (Fisher-Price, $50) Code-A-pillar-01 Even preschoolers can learn the basics of coding. That's the idea behind this toy, which is aimed at kids ages 3 to 6. The Code-a-Pillar is made up of different colored sections connected by USB plugs. The sections perform different commands such as go straight, turn right or make various sound effects. Kids "program" the toy by connecting the various sections i...

Facebook has redesigned its popular Messenger app so several people can use it on the same smartphone or tablet without relinquishing their privacy. The update announced Friday initially will only be available on devices running on Android, the world's most popular mobile operating system. Facebook didn't set a timetable for making similar changes to its Messenger app for Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad. The new feature will accommodate multiple accounts without allowing people sharing the more versatile app to get into each other's queue of messages. Facebook added the ability to switch accounts within the Messenger app after getting requests from people who share their smartphones and tablets with family and friends. " More than 800 million people currently use Messenger ".

Chris Milk stepped onto a TED Conference stage and took the audience on an awe-inducing trip into the future of movies. While much of the early attention on virtual reality has focused on use of the immersive technology in video games, Milk and his US startup Vrse are using it to transform storytelling and filmgoing. "We have just started to scratch the surface of the true power of virtual reality," Milk said. "It's not a video game peripheral. It connects humans to other humans in a profound way... I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world." He had everyone in the Vancouver audience at TED , which ended Friday, hold Google Cardboard viewers to their eyes for what was billed as the world's collective virtual reality experience. Google Cardboard gear is literally that -- cardboard

The legal showdown over US demands that Apple Inc unlock an iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Rizwan Farook might have been avoided if his employer, which owns the device, had equipped it with special mobile phone software it issues to many workers. San Bernardino County, which employed Farook as an environmental health inspector, requires some, but not all, of its workers to install mobile-device management software made by Silicon Valley-based MobileIron Inc on government-issued phones, according to county spokesman David Wert . That software is designed to secure corporate data. It also allows information technology departments to remotely unlock phones, even without assistance of the phone's users or access to the password needed to open the phone and unscramble the data. "If that particular iPhone was using MobileIron, the county's IT department could unlock it," MobileIron Vice President Ojas Rege told Reuters . The problem is that the MobileIron softwar...

Yahoo Inc , under pressure from impatient investors, took steps on Friday to handle the possible sale of parts of the struggling Internet company. Yahoo shares jumped after the company announced its board has formed a committee of independent directors to explore strategic alternatives. This signalled Yahoo is open to selling its core business including search, mail and news sites, rather than spin it off as previously planned. Yahoo advisers started working on the sale process on Friday, people familiar with the matter said. The step followed more than three years of effort by CEO Marissa Mayer to turn around Yahoo, focusing on mobile apps and trying to boost advertising revenue. Despite her efforts, revenue has dipped since she took the helm in July 2012. Yahoo shares rose 2.26 per cent to $30.09 in midday trading. The announcement came as activist investors appeared to be preparing for a possible proxy fight for control of the board. Starboard, which owns about 0.75 percent of...

NASA has received a record 18,300 resumes from people keen on becoming astronauts, the US space agency said Friday. The number of applications for a spot in NASA's 2017 class is almost triple the amount that came in during the last recruitment call for the 2012 class. And it shatters the previous record of 8,000 in 1978. "It's not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars," NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, a former astronaut, said in a statement. But only a chosen few will actually see their galactic career goals realized. Over the course of the next year and a half, a selection board will whittle down the applications and invite only the most highly qualified candidates for interviews at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In the end, a mere eight to 14 lucky individuals will be asked to report for training. NASA expects to announce its new class ...

The US Department of Justice filed a motion seeking to compel Apple Inc to comply with a judge's order for the company to unlock the encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, portraying the tech giant's refusal as a " marketing strategy. " The filing escalated a showdown between the Obama administration and Silicon Valley over security and privacy that ignited earlier this week. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking the tech giant's help to access the shooter's phone by disabling some of its passcode protections. The company so far has pushed back, and on Thursday won three extra days to respond to the order. A senior Apple executive, speaking with reporters on Friday on condition of anonymity, said Congress is the right place for a debate over encryption, not a California courtroom. The executive said Apple was stunned that such a legal request had come from the U.S. government rather than a country with weaker traditions ...