Samsung's new handsets are all-metal for the first time with a glass body.

Samsung Unveils Glass and Metal Galaxy S6

Samsung  has taken the wraps off its new flagship smartphone at an Unpacked event held in Barcelona today (March 1).

The Galaxy S6  - which has been the subject of widespread speculation and rumors - is the first in the Galaxy S Line to move away from the traditional plastic design to metal materials and a glass body. Both devices use tough Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and are available in an array of colourful jewel tones, including White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz (Galaxy S6 only) and Green Emerald (Galaxy S6 Edge only).

Samsung confirmed that the new flagship will feature a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display, with a 2560x1440 resolution and 577ppi. The difference between the pair is that the latter has a Dual edge display, giving the device a bezel-free look Wireless charging is on board for the first time, which charges on any wireless pad available in the market that supports WPC and PMA standards.

Samsung has built its battery into the devices for the first time too, and claims they can charge 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5, providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging.

A 16-megapixel OIS (optical image stabilisation) camera is available on the rear of the phones, while a 5-megapixel snapper is found on the front. The company has also improved its camera and photo editing features for maximised creativity and photo quality. Inside the LTE devices are an octa-core Samsung Exynos processor with four 2.1GHz cores and four 1.5GHz cores is used, alongside 3GB of RAM and storage options of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

NFC will work with the company's new Samsung Pay mobile payment service - which will launch in the US first later this year - as well as fingerprint scanning.

Both devices will be available from April 10. Exact pricing is yet to be confirmed but the Edge will cost more.

Intel brings windows pc in a memory stick for a cost of 180 $

Intel's $180 Compute Stick Turns Your TV Into a Windows PC

Less than a week after the reveal $100 ASUS Chromebit , Google's computer on a stick, Intel is officially getting in the game, too.

The Intel Compute Stick is an HDMI-connected computer that runs a full version of Windows and features a quad-core 1.33 GHz Intel Atom processor with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of solid-state storage. In other words, it's a full computer that can plug right into your TV. Right now it's retailing for $180, though you can totally get a Linux version for $130. It's not as cheap as the Chromebit, but will allow you to do some things you can't with only the ChromeOS of the cheaper device.

This might be the higher-end way to turn your TV into a computer, or a great way to have a backup computer in case of disaster. Either way, it's a solid, cheaper alternative to a netbook, though you'd need a wireless keyboard and mouse to make use of your new giant computer display.

U.S. military develops self-guided ammunition (EXACTO)

You know the phrase "dodging a bullet"? Forget about it. Probably not going to happen anymore.The U.S. military said this week it has made great progress in its effort to develop a self-steering bullet.
In February, the "smart bullets" -- .50-caliber projectiles equipped with optical sensors -- passed their most successful round of live-fire tests to date, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.An experienced marksman "repeatedly hit moving and evading targets," a DARPA statement said.
"Additionally," the statement said, "a novice shooter using the system for the first time hit a moving target." In other words, now you don't even have to be a good shot to hit the mark.
U.S. military calls .50-caliber smart bullet a 'major breakthrough'
Bullets turn in midair to follow targets.
The system has been developed by DARPA's Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance program, known as EXACTO."True to DARPA's mission, EXACTO has demonstrated what was once thought impossible: the continuous guidance of a small-caliber bullet to target," said Jerome Dunn, DARPA program manager."This live-fire demonstration from a standard rifle showed that EXACTO is able to hit moving and evading targets with extreme accuracy at sniper ranges unachievable with traditional rounds. Fitting EXACTO's guidance capabilities into a small .50-caliber size is a major breakthrough and opens the door to what could be possible in future guided projectiles across all calibers," Dunn said.Videos supplied by DARPA show the bullets making sharp turns in midair as they pursue their targets.It all conjures up images of a cartoon character frantically fleeing a bullet that follows him wherever he goes. Only, these bullets are traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. And even the Road Runner can't run that fast.DARPA says the smart bullets will also help shooters who are trying, for example, to hit targets in high winds.The goals of the EXACTO program are giving shooters accuracy at greater distances, engaging targets sooner and enhancing the safety of American troops, DARPA said.

NASA's 10-engine electric UAV now flies as well as it hovers

 NASA's ten-engine UAV, dubbed the Greased Lightning (GL-10), recently showed off a slick new trick in the skies over Hampton, Virginia. The drone, which is under development by a team at the Langley Research Center, had already passed its initial hovering tests last August; but that was the easy part. As the long and miserable development of the V-22 osprey shown, the real challenge is switching over from hover mode to conventional forward flight without the vehicle falling out of the sky. But on Thursday, NASA's battery-powered tilt-rotor aircraft successfully did just that .

"During the flight tests we successfully transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight like a conventional airplane then back to hover again. So far we have done this on five flights," aerospace engineer Bill Fredericks said in a statement . "We were ecstatic. Now we're working on our second goal -- to demonstrate that this concept is four times more aerodynamically efficient in cruise than a helicopter."

Should the GL-10 prove its aerodynamic ability, the Langley team hopes to spin the technology off into a number of commercial applications including small package delivery (put your hand down, Amazon ) or for industrial/agricultural surveillance. And as Fredericks continued, "a scaled up version--much larger than what we are testing now--would make also a great one to four person size personal air vehicle."

[Image credits: NASA Langley/David C.

Tesla to remove people off the grid

Tesla wants its Powerwall to save the grid and your bank account

Our lust for electricity is insatiable. At night we connect a hydra of wires to our phones, computers, smartwatches and tablets. They sip at the electrons being pumped into our homes, filling their batteries to be ready for another day without being tethered to a wall. Tesla wants your house to be ready. Ready for power outages and heat waves. The company says its Powerwall home battery system can untether your home from the power grid for a few hours, which might not sound like much, but could have huge implications for the way we power our lives.

Tesla Powerwall 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced the Powerwall at his company's design studio in Southern California. He said it's a "whole integrated system that just works and is connected to the internet." The battery packs are lithium-ion cells with a liquid thermal-control system. Powerwall -- which Tesla has been testing with select customers for a year -- connects to the internet so it can track power usage and share that information with utilities.

You can reserve a Powerwall right now on Tesla's site. The device will also be available via distributors, with the 10kWh version offered to installers for $3,500, while the 7kWh model will cost $3,000. This doesn't include the cost of a DC-to-AC inverter to work with your home. (Solar cell customers will already have that inverter.) Distributors can lease the Powerwall to customers and the device will come with a 10-year guaranteed life with warranty, and will start to ship in late summer.

SolarCity announced  that it will offer the Powerwall to its existing and new customers and that it will work with the company's DemandLogic energy-storage system for businesses and government institutions. Not really a surprise considering that Musk is the chairman of SolarCity's board of directors and the company has a close relationship with Tesla.

Tesla says the 10kWh version is more for those on the grid with the ability to run a home once the power goes out. The 7kWh version is geared toward solar cell users wanting to tap into the sun's power during the evening. Customers can stack multiple Powerwalls together.

The Powerwall is, at its core, a giant battery like the one found in your smartphone. Like your phone, when it's not connected to the grid, it still supplies energy. Currently any extra power that's produced by the utility companies is wasted; power stations ramp up supply as needed. For alternative energy sources, if the wind or sun is providing more power than what the grid requires, all that energy is similarly wasted. The state of California  wants public utilities to get start storing energy by 2024 to reduce that waste. Tesla's solution distributes that energy storage to individuals, giving them the opportunity to save some cash and be prepared in case of a power outage.

Tesla made the electric car more than a vehicle for environmentalists because it made it cool. It's going to be a bit tougher to make the idea of a home battery cool. But if the system manages to save you money and it means power outages can be shrugged off, then Tesla might have another hit.