firing

DARPA drops the bass to extinguish fire

Citing a lack of innovation in fire-extinguishing methods over the last 50 years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) last week revealed an ear-buzzing new method for putting out fires: blast it with fine-tuned frequencies.

Officially referred to as "acoustic suppression of flame," this simple yet potentially revolutionary method simply relies on two speakers playing a specific low frequency toward the fire.

The resulting acoustics increase air velocity, making it easier to alter the origin of the fire's combustion, also known as the flame boundary layer. … Read more

Does an app store's size matter if content is the killer app?

Apple claims 500,000 apps in its App Store for the iPhone and over 700,000 when iPad apps are added in. Google Play claims 600,000 apps for Android. Windows Phone is estimated to have 100,000 apps in its marketplace.

But do the numbers really matter, especially when the "new apps" may be content like video, music, and books?

I'm not a big fan of numbers just for numbers' sake. I watched search engines play the numbers game for years, each trying to be "bigger" than their competitors by having more Web pages. … Read more

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ported to Kindle Fire

Hundreds of years ago, whoever controlled the ports of the world controlled the empire. In the Android world, ports rule once again -- in particular, a developer named Hashcode's port of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to the Amazon Kindle Fire totally rules.

You can find all the necessary files at the xdadevelopers forum, and Lilliputing also has a nice walk-through of the process.… Read more

Top movies not out on Blu-ray: 'Chariots of Fire' off the list

For the past few years, we've kept a running list of top titles not out on Blu-ray. It started out with 40 titles and has been whittled down to 15 in more recent months.

"Chariots of Fire," which won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1981 and hit stores yesterday (just in time for the Olympics), is the latest flick to be removed from the list, which is a good thing.

Warner Bros. has done an impressive job bringing the movie to Blu-ray, with an excellent video transfer (the audio's also quite good, but when … Read more

Google's Nexus 7 costs $152 to build, iSuppli says

The components that make up the Google's entry-level Nexus 7 cost roughly $152, according to a teardown study by IHS iSuppli.

The results, which were first reported by AllThingsD, suggest the possibility of a minor profit from the device, which will retail for $199 and come with 8 gigabytes of storage. It goes on sale this month.

A 16GB model, which sells for $249, costs $159.25, with the higher storage making the difference. iSuppli told AllThingsD that Google would most likely break even on the 8GB model and record a profit on the 16GB one.

The Nexus 7 … Read more

Google Glass spurs battle for eyeballs

Friday's news roundup will have you eyeing Google's competition:

We've sung this tune before: Amazon is tinkering with creating its own smartphone. A recent Bloomberg report has the media buzzing again about the possibility, but we first heard this last year from an analyst. If true, would Amazon knock Windows from the No. 3 spot? I think we're just hungry for more choice.

Google wasn't the first company to tinker with a computerized headset for augmented-reality vision. With all the buzz on Google Glass, Olympus felt confident about sharing news on its Glass-like prototype. And … Read more

Amazon, here's why you should stay away from smartphones

To: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Re: Those reports of your plans to build an Amazon smartphone

As alluring and potentially lucrative as the smartphone business may seem, it isn't worth the headache and distractions it will bring to Amazon.

Look, I get it. Amazon is riding high with profits that still impress Wall Street, a dominant presence online, and healthy gadget business with the Kindle e-reader and Kindle Fire tablet. You also don't want to get muscled out of the mobile world, a growing opportunity to sell your books, music, movies, and other products. So naturally, you'd … Read more

At least three Kindle Fire 2 tablets, one with 4G, on the way

The Kindle Fire 2 will see the Google's Nexus 7 tablet and then raise it, according to an analyst.

Amazon will bring out at least three new Kindle Fire models, according to Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.

Shim gets his information from sources in the "supply chain" -- a collection of companies that manufacture components and assemble products. … Read more

Amazon may join the map-app fray with reported NextUp buy

Amazon may have bought a 3D mapping company, which could signal the company's desire to jump on the mapping service bandwagon where Google and Apple have been slugging it out.

The company closed a deal to acquire UpNext, an up and coming 3D mapping startup, GigaOM reported today.

Neither Amazon or UpNext has not confirmed the deal yet, but we will update when we get more information.

UpNext's HD maps -- available for iPhone, iPad and Android -- boast a fast, seamless experience with 3D mapping, navigation and directory services for over 50 cities. The company has also … Read more

Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire or wait for something better?

The $200 tablet market is heating up as Google introduces its own Android Nexus 7 tablet. Is now the right time to buy one of these bargain tablets?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I try to help one reader determine which tablet is best for her. And I give her some advice about waiting to see what might be coming next down the mini-tablet line. I also offer some advice to another reader about whether to wait for the iPhone 5 or not.

Nexus 7, Kindle Fire or wait?

Dear Maggie, Our family has an iPad. But I've … Read more