Siam 7x is a dual-screen, E Ink phone (twice the price of the Oukitel U6)

Siam 7x is a dual-screen, E Ink phone (twice the price of the Oukitel U6)

Dual-screen smartphones haven’t exactly taken over the world in the past year or two… but the Yotaphone 2 isn’t the only game in town anymore. This summer Chinese phone maker Oukitel unveiled the Oukitel U6. It’s n Android phone with a 5 inch color display on one side and a 4.7 inch E Ink screen […]

Siam 7x is a dual-screen, E Ink phone (twice the price of the Oukitel U6) is a post from: Liliputing

Siam 7x is a dual-screen, E Ink phone (twice the price of the Oukitel U6)

Dual-screen smartphones haven’t exactly taken over the world in the past year or two… but the Yotaphone 2 isn’t the only game in town anymore. This summer Chinese phone maker Oukitel unveiled the Oukitel U6. It’s n Android phone with a 5 inch color display on one side and a 4.7 inch E Ink screen […]

Siam 7x is a dual-screen, E Ink phone (twice the price of the Oukitel U6) is a post from: Liliputing

Poverty stunts IQ in the US but not in other developed countries

Country-specific effects may help solve a piece of nature-vs-nurture puzzle.

(credit: Pete/Flickr)

As a child develops, a tug of war between genes and environment settles the issue of the child's intelligence. One theory on how that struggle plays out proposes that among advantaged kids—with the pull of educational resources—DNA largely wins, allowing genetic variation to settle smarts. At the other end of the economic spectrum, the strong arm of poverty drags down genetic potential in the disadvantaged.

But over the years, researchers have gone back and forth on this theory, called the Scarr-Rowe hypothesis. It has held up in some studies, but inexplicably slipped away in others, leaving researchers puzzled over the deciding factors in the nature-vs-nurture battle. Now, researchers think they know why.

In a new meta-analysis of 14 psychology studies from the past few decades, researchers found that the strength of poverty’s pull differed by country, with US poverty providing the only forceful yank among developed nations. The authors, who published the results in Psychological Science, speculate that the wider inequalities in education and medical access in the US may explain poverty’s extra power. The finding could not only resolve the data discrepancies of the past, but it may also lead researchers to a more nuanced understanding of poverty’s effects on IQ and how to thwart them.

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Nissan’s front-engined front-wheel drive hybrid Le Mans car is no more

It was a brave idea, but not a very good one.

One of the most interesting—and certainly one of the most hyped—stories in motorsport this year has been Nissan's GT-R LM. And now that story has come to a close, following an announcement earlier today that the Japanese automaker is pulling the plug on the racer. The GT-R LM was designed to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans (and the other races in the World Endurance Championship), but Nissan will not contest the 2016 season of the WEC. Godzilla has been slain.

The GT-R LM was a brave idea. The car was the brainchild of Bon Bowlby, and it turned its back on everything we've learned about racing cars in the years since John Cooper first moved the engine behind the driver in the 1950s. Bowlby figured that the benefits of a mid-engine car were offset by the large rear wing it needs (necessary since the car's weight is biased toward the rear). Convinced that there was another way, for the GT-R LM he moved the cockpit right to the back of the car, with the engine and hybrid system just behind the front axle.

But the GT-R LM went further. Under the current rules, Le Mans Prototypes have to be hybrids; they can drive one pair of wheels with power from an internal combustion engine and are then allowed two other hybrid systems (motor-generator units on each axle, for example, or on one axle and a turbocharger). The GT-R's turbocharged V6 engine would power the front wheels and recover kinetic energy under braking from all four, storing that energy in a flywheel. But instead of using well-proven electric motor-generators and an electrically driven flywheel—a race-winning combination for Audi—the hybrid system was going to be entirely mechanical, with cogs and gears and driveshafts connecting each corner of the car with the flywheel.

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BlackBerry Priv: Fewer than 50 thousand sold?

BlackBerry Priv: Fewer than 50 thousand sold?

BlackBerry released its first smartphone running Google Android software this year, and it’s turned a lot of heads since it also happens to be one of the only high-end Android phones with a physical keyboard to launch this year. So how’s that working out for the company? Well, BlackBerry’s latest financial results were better than […]

BlackBerry Priv: Fewer than 50 thousand sold? is a post from: Liliputing

BlackBerry Priv: Fewer than 50 thousand sold?

BlackBerry released its first smartphone running Google Android software this year, and it’s turned a lot of heads since it also happens to be one of the only high-end Android phones with a physical keyboard to launch this year. So how’s that working out for the company? Well, BlackBerry’s latest financial results were better than […]

BlackBerry Priv: Fewer than 50 thousand sold? is a post from: Liliputing

Windows 10 Mobile review: Windows on phones gets rebooted. Again.

This is the smartphone platform Microsoft has wanted to build for a long time.

One way or another, Microsoft has been promising Windows 10 Mobile for years.

References to "Windows Everywhere," the notion that some version of Windows could run on everything from PCs to servers to cars, can be found as far back as 1998, when Redmond was hawking Windows 98, Windows NT 4, and Windows CE. Per Paul Thurrott, the plan was conceived as "NT Everywhere"; the broader ambition of "Windows Everywhere" soon made space for the Windows 9x and Windows CE variants.

How the idea was expressed varied—in 2009, for example, Microsoft called it "Three Screens and a Cloud"—but the notion of having a Windows platform for any device has endured.

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The Moto 360 Sport reviewed: Good, but not enough fitness to be worth it

The $299 smartwatch is a runner’s companion; all other athletes look elsewhere.

(credit: Valentina Palladino)

When Motorola launched new Moto 360 models earlier this year, it also announced the Moto 360 Sport as an Android Wear watch for the more active among us. The Sport will be available for purchase on January 7 (it's already on sale in the UK and France). With a built-in GPS and heart rate monitor, the watch has the hardware chops to compete with dedicated workout devices, and it works with the Moto Body fitness app to track just as much information as the hardcore Fitbits and Garmins of the world.

The $299 Moto 360 Sport is the only Android Wear watch to really sell itself as an advanced activity tracking device in addition to a Google-powered smartwatch, and in many ways it combines the best of both. But it's not as much a general sport watch as it is a dedicated running watch, and since it is powered by Android Wear, you'll have to deal with those limitations as well.

Design: toy-like, but not necessarily immature

The Moto 360 Sport was designed to be the more durable version of the new Moto 360, resulting in a watch you'd see drawn on the wrist of Charlie Brown. It's round, friendly, and simple, with a silver bezel surrounding the 1.37-inch, 360×325-pixel display and a strong silicone band. The display is always on, like most other Android Wear watches, and it has "any light" technology that uses sunlight instead of the watch's backlight to illuminate the display. This makes it easier to read in direct sunlight for those who often jog outside.

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Welcome Annalee Newitz, here to put some culture in your tech/science

The Ars hiring spree continues, and we couldn’t be happier with this one!

If you like Ars' coverage of science, you've undoubtedly been thrilled by having Eric Berger and Beth Mole join the staff here. If you had a hard time imagining that things could get better, then prepare to expand your imagination: as of this week, we're happy to welcome Annalee Newitz to the Ars staff!

Annalee's official title will be Tech Culture Editor, giving her a broad remit when it comes to what she writes about. Technology, culture, and science have an intricate relationship, each having a profound influence on the others. Understanding how that influence flows and how we can study and possibly shape it is a significant challenge.

Fortunately, it's a challenge that Annalee is phenomenally well-equipped to handle. After getting a PhD in English and American Studies (from the finest graduate institution in the world, I might add), she received a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship that allowed her to study at MIT. She's been an analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and has published in places ranging from The Smithsonian Magazine to Popular Science.

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Security: Hacker übernehmen EC-Terminals

Die Sicherheitsforscher von Security Research Labs aus Berlin haben zahlreiche Fehler in verschiedenen Protokollen zum bargeldlosen Bezahlen gefunden. So können sie sich selbst Gutschriften für nie getätigte Transaktionen ausstellen. (CCC, Internet)

Die Sicherheitsforscher von Security Research Labs aus Berlin haben zahlreiche Fehler in verschiedenen Protokollen zum bargeldlosen Bezahlen gefunden. So können sie sich selbst Gutschriften für nie getätigte Transaktionen ausstellen. (CCC, Internet)

Deals of the Day (12-22-2015)

Deals of the Day (12-22-2015)

Want to get a flagship smartphone, but don’t want to pay $600 or more? Usually your best bet is to look for a model with some flagship-level specs and a mid-range price like an Asus Zenfone 2, Mot X Pure Edition, or Google Nexus 6P or buy last year’s flagship model phones at deeply discounted prices. […]

Deals of the Day (12-22-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (12-22-2015)

Want to get a flagship smartphone, but don’t want to pay $600 or more? Usually your best bet is to look for a model with some flagship-level specs and a mid-range price like an Asus Zenfone 2, Mot X Pure Edition, or Google Nexus 6P or buy last year’s flagship model phones at deeply discounted prices. […]

Deals of the Day (12-22-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

BPI Removes Anti-Piracy Bosses and Reorganizes

The BPI says that the leaders of both its Content Protection Unit and Head of Internet Investigations will be removed following an anti-piracy shake-up. The music industry group reports that the restructuring will enable it to better focus on copyright takedowns, blocking file-sharing websites, and working with the police.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

bpiWhen it comes to music-focused anti-piracy activity in the UK, the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) is the absolute market leader. Acting on behalf of many hundreds of recording industry members, there’s little doubt that the BPI has its finger on the pulse of local infringement.

While the effects of its work can at times be very public, the group’s anti-piracy activities are mostly carried out behind closed doors, from the removing of hundreds millions of links from Google’s search results to the wholesale blocking of hundreds of ‘pirate’ websites.

But despite these powerful moves, the BPI feels that it can do better. Previously the group operated its Copyright Protection Unit (CPU) and Internet Investigations unit as separate entities but will now restructure so that the former effectively absorbs the latter.

Speaking with Music Week the BPI confirmed that there will be at least two high-profile casualties following the reshuffle.

David Wood, Director of the Copyright Protection Unit, was responsible for tackling copyright infringement both on and offline. He was also responsible for managing the BPI’s Regional Investigators and its in-house Internet Investigations Team. He will now move on.

Also stepping aside is John Hodge, the BPI’s Head of Internet Investigations. A former police officer working in Internet Child Protection, Hodge had maintained his role at the BPI since July 2011 while liaising with Europol and Interpol, among others.

The BPI said that while it values the contributions of Wood and Hodge, the restructuring will allow its Copyright Protection Unit to focus on removing illegal content and blocking websites. It will also continue its “Follow the Money” approach by targeting advertisers, payment processors and web hosting services.

An as-yet-unnamed individual will become the new head of the BPI’s reshuffled Copyright Protection Unit (CPU) and will continue the organization’s work with the police and Trading Standards while investigating piracy both on and offline.

“The way people discover and consume music has changed beyond recognition since the early days of our anti-piracy work,” said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.

“Copyright infringement remains a challenge but we have made substantial progress against it in the UK, removing hundreds of millions of links to illegal copies and blocking access to the most damaging illegal sites, while continuing to remove physical counterfeit discs and hard drives from sale and prosecute those who seek to make money from distributing music illegally.”

But while the BPI has often focused on the stick, Taylor says that the BPI will also seek to encourage consumers “to value music and understand why they should choose to source it legally.”

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.