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Apple patent waterproof systems for their devices – waterproof iPhone incoming?
HBO Announces HBO Now; Will Be Exclusive to Apple At Launch
NASA To Create Wearable Glasses for Astronauts

Apple patent waterproof systems for their devices – waterproof iPhone incoming?

Posted: 17 Mar 2015 11:36 AM PDT

It recently came to light that Apple patented in march last year a waterproof protection system similar to what Samsung uses on their Galaxy S5. Could this be a feature for the next iPhone?

It was just made public that the United States’ Patent & Trademark Office received Apple’s documentation describing methods to protect electronic components from humidity last year. This is in opposition to impermeabilization, the most prominent method in the market in which the phone’s frame is completely closed off, as to prevent liquids from getting inside. Apple means to protect only the electronic components by using a hydrophobic coating with a chemical vapor deposition (PACVD). This compound would create a cape that provides protection enough to avoid malfunctions and damage to electrical components when exposed to liquid.

The advantage of this method is that this extra coating would be in between 1 and 10 microns thick, enabling Apple to continue their pursue of creating the thinest, smallest gadgets. This technology would make it perfect for the iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch, which are barely resistant to splashing as of now.

Via Apple Insider

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HBO Announces HBO Now; Will Be Exclusive to Apple At Launch

Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:00 AM PDT

HBO makes the surprise announcement that they will launch a streaming service called HBO Now and it will be exclusive to Apple devices at launch.

Video streaming services are big business, just ask Netflix. Also massively lucrative is HBO’s fantasy TV show Game of Thrones, with GoT being one of the most highly rated (and most watched) cable TV shows of all time. Mix streaming and GoT together and what do you get? You get HBO Now, a new video streaming service which will let users watch Game of Thrones and the rest of HBO’s currently and previously airing roster of television.

The cable TV network announced it at Apple’s recent event (where Apple also showed off the Apple Watch and a brand new MacBook). HBO revealed that HBO Now would will launch sometime in April, it will cost $14.99 a month although for the first month of its existence it will be free). While that price certainly seems expensive given that HBO Now only includes the TV offerings of one TV network (even if that does include hits like Girls and True Detective), what is good news is that now, anyone can sign up to to HBO Now whereas previously with HBO Go users had to have a cable subscription.

HBO also explained that HBO Now would be exclusive to Apple devices, including Apple TV, iPhones, iPads and iPods. HBO CEO Richard Plepler explained that:

“All you need to get HBO Now is a broadband connection and an Apple device. There will be a brand-new HBO Now channel on Apple TV so you can enjoy it on the big screen or you can watch HBO NOW on your iPhones and iPads."

The move is certainly a surprising one but Apple has brokered this deal as part of a new, forceful strategy to sell Apple TVs. There are already 25 million Apple TVs in homes but this, along with the recent decision to sell them at $69 instead of the previous price of $99, could see Apple seriously improve on that figure.

HBO Now launches next month so we’ll be able to see just much of a device seller it is then.

Source: TechCrunch

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NASA To Create Wearable Glasses for Astronauts

Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:00 AM PDT

To make it easier for their astronauts to follow directions when their hands are full, NASA is designing a pair of wearable glasses.

Being an astronaut is probably a pretty sweet deal. You get to fulfill your childhood dream of seeing space up close! You get to float in a rocket in zero gravity conditions! And most importantly, you get to eat freeze dried ice cream that never melts and is always delicious. The life of an astronaut becomes slightly more troublesome, however, when they have repair the ship or conduct an experiment; to find out what they’re meant to do they have to flip through index cards to find a solution.

As anybody who has tried to set up an Ikea product with a hammer and a nail in hand will tell you, trying to flip through physical instructions when your hands are full is more or less impossible. For astronauts that’s a serious thing seeing as a quick solution might be the difference between life or having their rocket crash back down to Earth. That’s especially the case as the current alternative to those paper guides is a phone call back to Earth, but if the astronauts go as far as Mars then it will take 20 minutes for their message to be received. That time only grows the further away from the planet the ship gets.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is hoping to solve this problem with a pair of wearable glasses. They’re teaming up with a San Francisco company called Osterhout Design Group to design the augmented reality tech and the hope is that they’ll be able to upload how-to guides to the glasses so that astronauts can access directions in a pinch.

Sean Carter, a strategic partnerships manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston explains that “It’s our goal to approach the programs shortly thereafter. I don’t know that the crew will let us wait that long” so we can probably expect some more developments on this soon.

Source: Bloomberg

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