NASA unveils 6-foot 'superhero robot' Valkyrie

Valkyrie has 44 axes of movement and interchangeable arms. (Credit: IEEE Spectrum ) Designed to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, this "female" robot could be the precursor to robo-astronauts that will help colonize Mars. What if NASA's Robonaut grew legs and indulged in steroids? The result might be close to what NASA has unveiled: Valkyrie is a humanoid machine billed as a "superhero robot." Developed at the Johnson Space...

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PSA: Windows 8.1 update is now available to download

Today's the day: October 17th, the day Microsoft starts rolling out Windows 8.1. And right now, the minute this post first went live, is 7AM ET, the exact minute the OS update will start appearing in the Windows Store as a free download. Don't have a Windows 8 device? You can still install 8.1 on a Win 7 machine; you just won't get the update for free. For folks using Windows 7, you'll pay the same price...

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Android KitKat unveiled in Google surprise move

Google is calling the next version of its mobile operating system Android KitKat. The news comes as a surprise as the firm had previously indicated version 4.4 of the OS would be Key Lime Pie. The decision to brand the software with the name of Nestle's chocolate bar is likely to be seen as a marketing coup for the Swiss food and beverage maker. However, Google told the BBC that it had come up with the idea and that neither...

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Essential networking tips for small business

So you’ve seen the light and turned your sluggish PC into a productivity powerhouse with better, faster gear. That’s a great first step. But putting together a state-of-the-art PC workstation without having a fast, reliable network to help it run at its best is like leaving your souped-up new ride on blocks in your garage. Check out the tips below for ways to upgrade your network and storage, and take your productivity to the next level. Embrace...

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Google Fiber spawns startup renaissance in Kansas City

Google's superfast Internet service launched a year ago in Kansas City. CNET's Marguerite Reardon takes a look at the impact it has on the local startup scene. by Marguerite Reardon June 19, 2013 8:41 AM PDT    Ben Barreth liquidated his retirement account to buy the Homes for Hackers house to encourage startups to move to Kansas City for Google Fiber. (Credit: CNET/Marguerite Reardon)    KANSAS...

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Mozilla Readies Major Firefox Redesign As It Ponders What The Browser Of The Future Should Look Like

“Maybe we shouldn’t even call it a browser anymore,” Mozilla’s VP of Firefox engineering Jonathan Nightingale told me a few days ago. “‘Browser’ is really an antiquated word. People don’t really browse all that much anymore.” Instead, he argues, we now mostly use our browsers to access sophisticated web apps, web-based productivity tools and social networks. For browser developers, this means they have to start to rethink what their browsers...

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Google Glass rooted and hacked to run Ubuntu live at Google I/O

Today at Google I/O the company held a session entitled "Voiding your Warranty" where employees demonstrated how to root Google Glass and install Ubuntu on it. What you're seeing above is a screenshot from a laptop running a terminal window on top and showing the screencast output from Glass on the bottom -- here running the standard Android launcher instead of the familiar cards interface. The steps involve...

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How Google updated Android without releasing version 4.3

Google I/O didn't give us the Android update we were expecting—or did it?? Andrew Cunningham Google covered a lot of ground in its three-and-a-half-hour opening keynote at Google I/O yesterday, but one thing it didn't announce was the oft-rumored next version of Android. However, persistent rumors insist that the elusive Android 4.3 is still coming next month—if that's true, why not announce it at I/O...

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Google Launches Version 1.1 Of Its Go Programming Language, Promises Noticeable Performance Boost

Google today launched version 1.1 of its open source Go programming language. It’s been more than a year since Google launched version 1.0 of Go. The language, which puts an emphasis on concurrency and speed, has seen three maintenance releases since then, but the team has been conservative with bumping up its version numbers. This new version, however, the Go team writes, introduces a number of significant performance-related improvements...

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Microsoft drops the Blue codename, confirms Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade available later this year

One of the worst kept secrets rattling around Microsoft's campus is Windows Blue, the forthcoming update to Windows 8 that addresses users' bugbears about the OS. Now, Microsoft is officially rechristening the platform, and with a more staid name: Windows 8.1. Tami Reller, the CMO and CFO of Microsoft's Windows Division made the big reveal during JP Morgan's Technology, Media & Telecom Conference....

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Government Lab Reveals It Has Operated Quantum Internet for Over Two Years

One of the dreams for security experts is the creation of a quantum internet that allows perfectly secure communication based on the powerful laws of quantum mechanics. The basic idea here is that the act of measuring a quantum object, such as a photon, always changes it. So any attempt to eavesdrop on a quantum message cannot fail to leave telltale signs of snooping...

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Microsoft Confirms Windows Blue Update Coming; Says Windows 8 Passes 100 Million Licenses Sold

After months of rumors, Microsoft on Monday confirmed that it is readying an update to Windows 8 for later this year. Code-named Windows Blue, the update will enable Windows to run on a wider range of devices (read: smaller-screen tablets). In a blog post, Microsoft said the update will also respond to some criticisms of Windows 8 and Windows RT, but the company didn’t go into specifics. “Windows Blue is a codename for an update that will...

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Who’s Winning, iOS or Android? All the Numbers, All in One Place

Bloomberg / Getty Images  Left, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller introduces the iPhone 5 on Sept. 12, 2012. Samsung CEO J.K. Shin brandishes two Galaxy S4 phones at the product launch on March 14, 2013 Who’s winning the mobile platform wars, Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android? It’s one of the blogosphere’s favorite tech topics. Every new nugget of competitive information is fodder for an avalanche of...

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Glass Explorer Edition gets unboxed, photographed (video)

  We already know what Page and Co. will be packing along with Glass, but now that participants of the Explorer program have begun picking up the wearable hardware, we're getting a second-hand unboxing experience. For those in need of a refresher, the glasses will be accompanied by a microUSB cable and charger, a pouch and an attachable shade and clear lens. Though there isn't much to glean from the stream of images, one of Mountain...

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Major Windows 8 built-in app updates due Tuesday, Google Calendar sync will be disabled

    2inShare Microsoft is preparing some major updates to its built-in Windows 8 applications on Tuesday. The company is refreshing its communication apps: mail, calendar, and people. In our review of Windows 8 we found that the new built-in apps were significantly lacking functionality, and the performance of them on the Surface RT tablet was poor. Microsoft is attempting to address both of these issues...

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