IntellectBeat

The theremin is widely regarded as  the world's first  electronic musical instrument. It is also a touchless instrument, which means that it is played without actually touching any part of the instrument. It is still used by many musicians. Film scores of the 1940s and 1950s used the instrument to eerie effect and it makes a famous appearance in the chorus of the Beach Boys hit Good Vibrations . Invented in 1920 in the then Soviet Union, the theremin is also called thereminvox, or etherophone and is named after its inventor Professor Leon Theremin (also called Lev Termen). The theremin is an electronic box of radio tubes with two long antennae. To produce music the musician moves her hand or baton around the antenae without touching them. The right hand's proximity to one antenna controls the pitch of the sound and the left hand's proximity to the other antenna controls the volume. On March 9, 2016, Google had posted an  interactive playable doodle  on theremi...

Rocket science may not be able to fix broken hearts, but very soon technology mastered at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) may be able to help patients who are in need for a heart transplant. Materials and mechanisms used on Indian rockets have been tweaked by ISRO to make a device which some describe as a step towards the making of an 'artificial heart'. The heart assist device has been tested on animals and found to be successful. Better known for orbiting satellites and flying giant rockets, the multi-talented team at ISRO made this heart pump as a spin-off technology development in the spare time. Cardiologists are very excited with this development as it offers a lease of life to terminally-ill patients since heart transplant still remains out of reach for most. Using materials and knowhow perfected to make lightweight rockets and satellites, scientists at ISRO have perfected a device that assists the human heart to pump blood especially in cases where t...

Just as for virtual reality, 2016 is expected to be a pivotal year for wearable technology, particularly smartwatches and fitness trackers. Statistical data puts global sales of fitness trackers and smartwatches at 51 million units for 2015 and forecasts that this figure will jump to 84 million -- 38 million fitness trackers and 46 million smartwatches -- by the end of 2016. This is in part due to the Apple Watch, which has now been on sale for a year. It has made smartwatches more visible and more desirable, yet the impact hasn't been as big as many were expecting. Mixed response "The demand for wearable technology has grown rapidly, but early consumer signals have been mixed," said Lauren Guenveur, mobile analyst for Kantar Worldpanel. No smartwatch really has a clear use case or killer application other than forwarding smartphone alerts. Clarity of use is why fitness trackers have become so popular. And it's also why companies like Microsoft have been packin...

On April 26, Google Product Manager Zach Lupei announced that YouTube videos viewed on smartphones and tablets will start with a six-second "bumper ad". Described as "little haikus of video ads", the new bumper ads of six seconds will not be skippable. Created specifically for smartphone and tablet users, the new ad format will not replace longer ads, but will be offered to advertisers as a complement to their campaigns. Lupei explains "Bumper ads are ideal for driving incremental reach and frequency, especially on mobile, where "snackable videos" perform well." Bumper ads will be available to advertisers from May onwards.

At the Dropbox Open conference in London, April 26, the company unveiled a new project, Infinite Drive, which in principle would solve a significant problem associated with current cloud storage. TechCrunch explains that one of the main headaches when it comes to cloud storage, and therefore Dropbox, is the problem of accessing a cloud file system in a local file management tool (Windows Explorer or OSX Finder): the file system must be stored on the drive, which defeats the point of cloud storage. Instead, users must open the cloud storage program itself in order to access their files from elsewhere. The Infinite Drive project intends to modify Dropbox so that files not stored on the device being used can still be accessed within the file management tool, saving your device's space. No details about when Infinite Drive will be released, nor for whom it will be available, were given during the conference.

After launching the regular model of the Moto 360 (2nd Gen) in India last year at Rs. 19,999, Motorola India on Wednesday launched another variant of the smartwatch in the country - the Moto 360 Sport. The rugged smartwatch will be available to purchase via Flipkart from Wednesday at Rs. 19,999, and will only be available in its Black colour variant.  Initially unveiled in September, the Moto 360 Sport was aimed at athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It features an 'AnyLight' hybrid display, making it better at sunlight legibility, and a waterproof silicone body. The screen on the Moto 360 Sport can automatically adjust to the surrounding brightness. The Moto 360 Sport comes with built-in GPS that can measure speed, distance, and pace, while a heart rate sensor can track other important vitals. The smartwatch also allows users to store and play music right from wrist. Motorola at launch last year claimed that the Moto 360 Sport's strong silicone construction wi...

Apple Inc on Tuesday posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue drop in 13 years as the company credited with inventing the smartphone struggles with an increasingly saturated market. The company's sales dropped by more than a quarter in China, its most important market after the United States, and it also forecast another disappointing quarter for global revenues. Its shares fell about 8 per cent, dropping below $100 for the first time since February. A hike in Apple's share buyback and dividend as well as bumper revenue from services failed to mollify investors. Apple's results followed disappointing quarterly reports from Microsoft Corp and Google-owner Alphabet Inc, and microblog Twitter also on Tuesday reported results that missed expectations. Apple said it sold 51.2 million iPhones in its second fiscal quarter, down from 61.2 million in the same quarter a year ago but above analysts' estimates of about 50 million devices. While App...

Google updated its Gmail app for Android in order to remedy one of its major drawbacks: its lack of support for Microsoft Exchange. The latest version of the app can be downloaded from Google Play as of April 25, although Google has warned the rollout may take a few days. Microsoft Exchange email accounts are standard for work, but support in the Gmail app on Android was previously only available on Nexus devices. This update now means that users of all Android devices can manage their emails, contacts, and calendar data - professional and personal - in the Gmail app. All the major third-party email providers are now supported in the app on Android. iPhone users, however, are still restricted to Gmail-only accounts. Here's a Screenshot of a tweet in which Gmail has mentioned about its latest update .

In a move to speed its entry into digital health products, Nokia says it plans to acquire the French consumer electronics company Withings SA, in a 170 million-euro ($191 million) deal. The Finland-based telecom networks provider says growing global interest in the health sector is of "strategic importance" to Nokia, which has a strong technology unit that controls a vast portfolio of patents. Nokia, once the world's leading cellphone maker, sold off its mapping services last year after shedding its ailing handsets division to Microsoft. Last year, it bought the French company Alcatel-Lucent in a 15.6 billion-euro deal to become a leading global networks provider. Nokia Technologies said Tuesday that the cash deal is expected to close in the third-quarter subject to regulatory approvals.0