Chevrolet plans to take aim at Ferrari and Porsche with the C7 Corvette

Chevrolet already has a Corvette which can rival the big European names in performance, and for the next generation of the car, they intend to narrow that gap.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Cadillac would be moving their brand upmarket to compete more directly with their German rivals, Chevrolet has now announced that the next generation of the Corvette will be a closer rival to cars from Ferrari and Porsche. The seventh generation of the Corvette is due to make its first public appearance in January at the Detroit Auto Show, ahead of going on sale for the 2014 model year. The new car’s chief designer, Tadge Juechter, told NBC “We set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and drive engagement that is second to none.”

The current Corvette, in top ZR1 trim, packs more horsepower than its main European rivals, while still maintaining a lower price. The ZR1 comes in at $105,000 and for that you get a supercharged 6.2-liter aluminum V8 which churns out 638 horsepower. When compared to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and its 530 horsepower for $161,000 or the Ferrari 458 Italia’s 562 horsepower for $230,000, it certainly seems that the Corvette is a steal. But the ‘Vette still lags behind in several key areas. To start with, it just isn’t nearly as sophisticated a machine. Though the C6 comes with more technology than ever, it’s nothing compared to the F1-dervived tech packed into every inch of the 458.

Then there is the question of the interior. Chevy has been hearing complaints about Corvette interiors for years, and about the seats in particular, and they have made some improvements. But the result is still something which no Ferrari owner would stand for, and if Chevy expects to steal any of their business, this will have to be greatly improved on the C7.

We do know that Chevy had a new engine, the LT1, for the Corvette. In the base Corvette, this will have 20 more horsepower and 26lb-ft more torque than the outgoing LS3, for a total of 450 for each number. Chevy also says that the base car will get to 60mph in under 4 seconds, and all of this suggests that the higher trim levels of the C7 will indeed rival the Europeans for performance. But performance is one area where the Corvette hasn’t really had a problem competing. The cars are close enough when it comes to performance that quite of lot of what makes one faster than the other is the skill of the driver. What the Corvette lacks is exoticism, the kind that comes with fancy new materials, launch control, top notch interiors and a high price tag. The trick will be in offering these kinds of things without alienating the nameplate’s loyal fan base, but we’ll see soon enough if it can be done.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

‘We can hear you having sex’: Messages to neighbors via Wi-Fi network names a growing trend, report says

An increasing number of computer users setting up Wi-Fi in their homes are reportedly sending out messages to annoying neighbors via their wireless network names.

The creation of the Internet has meant that the options are now vast for those people who’d rather not use their vocal cords to communicate with another person, preferring instead to engage in more indirect methods of communication – they can, for example, send an email, an instant message, an SMS, or a text. Communicating through the name of your wireless network can also be added to the list, a method which is a fast-growing trend, according to a BBC report on the subject.

When someone sets up a wireless network at home, they’re prompted to give it a name so it can be easily identified. That name will be seen by anyone within range who searches for a wireless network using a computer or mobile device.

In most cases, these names are nothing out of the ordinary, something like “Bob1” or “mycomputer123”. However, recently more and more people are using their network names to send out messages to neighbors.

According to the BBC, many of the names relate to noisy neighbor issues. “Stop wearing heels”, “Stop slamming the door” and simply “shut up” are listed as examples. Perhaps these are the work of desperate people for whom a polite face-to-face request failed, or maybe they simply tremble at the thought of direct confrontation with their noisy neighbor.

Sex, or noisy sex, is also the subject of some network names. “We can hear you having sex” is a common one, while “Stop having so much sex” is also listed.

Naming networks in this manner is the digital equivalent of sticking an anonymous note into the mailbox of whoever’s causing offense, except that this way the offender won’t necessarily know it’s him or her being targeted (unless the network name includes a house or apartment number – or even the person’s name). Also, the offender needs to be fiddling about with their wireless settings in order to see the list of nearby networks, something they most likely don’t often do.

So, no, it certainly won’t ever be the most effective form of communication, though for many it is, one assumes, a bit of fun and an additional way of trying to get their message across.

Seen any interesting network names in your neighborhood recently? Got a good one yourself?

[Image: Pavel Ignatov / Shutterstock]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Facebook wants you to snitch on friends that aren’t using real names

Specifically for data collection to analyze usage patterns, Facebook friends are being used against each other to identify fake names.

 

Designed to weed out anyone on Facebook that’s using a pseudonym over a real name, the social network rolled out a method of name verification several month ago using third parties. According to TPM, Facebook uses a pop-up window to survey users on the validity of their friend’s names. Hoping that friends will snitch on each other, Facebook is attempting to collect the data to gain a “better understanding of our ecosystem” according to a Facebook representative. However, it’s definitely possible that the data could eventually be used to identify specific accounts that are violating Facebook’s Name policy.

Within the pop-up survey, Facebook states “Please help us understand how people are using Facebook. Your response is anonymous and won’t affect your friend’s account. Is this your friend’s real name?” The window also displays the user’s profile picture, name and current location. The Facebook user can choose between four answers: “Yes, No, I don’t know this person and I don’t want to answer.”

According to Facebook’s official policy on names, users are required to use their real name as it would appear on a credit card or identification card. Nicknames are allowed, assuming the nickname applies to the first or middle name. Under account settings, a Facebook user can also add an alternate name which could be an extended nickname or a maiden name before a woman getting married. Professional additions to names should also be added to the alternate name section rather than changing the main account name.

When asked about the data, a Facebook representative told TPM that the data is completely anonymized. The representative stated “This isn’t so we can go and get that person in trouble. None of our surveys are used for any enforcement action. Basically, what this model does is help better inform us in how to classify different types of accounts. Just because we’re showing a question about a particular user doesn’t mean we suspect them of anything. The user is chosen by a system.”

Regarding the use of fake names, Facebook policy very plainly states “we remove fake accounts from the site as we find them.” Assuming the snitching data isn’t actually being used for enforcement, then Facebook is clearly ignoring the official policy despite finding users with fake names. According to Facebook’s internal estimates, approximately 8.7 percent of the 955 million user accounts are fake. Nearly 46 million are duplicate accounts, 23 million are classified incorrectly and about 14 million have been created by “undesirable” people like spammers.

Last year, Google had to quickly revise the company’s police on fake names in respect to Google+. Rather than asking a user to alter their nickname or pseudonym, Google simply deleted the accounts without notifying the user. Shortly after an uproar from influential Google+ users, Google+ vice president Bradley Horowitz said that the policy would be revised to include a warning process before actually suspending the account. In addition,  Google added a section in the Google+ profile for other names. Similar to Facebook’s alternate name section, Google+ users can use this section to display a nickname, maiden name or professional title.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Olympus refreshes the PEN lineup with the E-PL5, E-PM2, and introduces the XZ-2

Olympus joins its camera comrades and introduces some notable refreshes to its point-and-shoot and PEN families.

It’s Photokina time and you know what that means: All the hot names in digital photography are bringing out the big guns, refreshing their existing lineups and introducing all-new models into the mix. And Olympus is no exception, this morning officially unveiling the Stylus XZ-2 iHS, the PEN E-PL5, and the PEN E-PM2.

The XZ-2 (pictured at top) picks up where the XZ-1 left off, but will now fall under the Stylus umbrella (previously, it was in a family of its own, the X-series, but Olympus has decided it will be housed by its point-and-shoot lineup). If you remember, the XZ-1 was a fairly one-a-kind device introduced back 2010, a big-bodied point-and-shoot with DSLR tendencies – something we’re increasingly seeing in the market. Now, the XZ-2 offers a really nice update to the original but keeping, more or less, the same sleek, professional exterior.

The refresh houses the same F1.8-2.5 lens and 4x optical zoom as the XZ-1, but does its predecessor one better with a 12 megapixel, 1/1.7 inch high-sensitivity backlit CMOS sensor and the TruePic VI processor (same as in Olympus’s top of the line OM-D E-M5), which should help considerably its low-light performance (something the XZ-1 could handle, but not impressively well). You can push the camera’s ISO up to 12800, for the record.

Also new to the XZ-2 is its hybrid control ring, which you can customize to have the nice, hard click or a smoother feel – something that will come in handy when shooting video in manual. You can also choose what the ring controls; focus, zoom, exposure… it’s incredibly versatile. Also worth mentioning is the XZ-2’s 3-inch tilt-angle touchscreen, a feature Olympus’ is increasingly packaging with its new releases. In our quick hands-on with the camera in August, these two new additions in particular stood out. It’s a considerable upgrade to the XZ-1, a camera we loved, and the increased manual controls and the promise of better low-light performance are a tempting combination.

Olympus is taking a modest approach to Wi-Fi sharing with the XZ-2 as well, making it connection friendly with the help of a Toshiba FlashAir SDHC card. There’s also an upcoming app from Olympus that allows for easy upload to your smartphone. The XZ-2 will be available in November for $600.

Of course, Olympus is also updating its incredibly popular PEN lineup with the E-PL5 (above) and the E-PM2, plus updates to the E-PL3 and the E-PM1. As you can imagine, the E-PL5 and E-PM2 are upgrades of their respective predecessors, which were impressive cameras in their own rights. So suffice it to say that both have a handful of aesthetic and feature tweaks (like more filters) that are expected, and a few more notable big updates that are worth bringing your attention to.

For starters, both cameras have the 16 megapixel MOS sensor and TruePic VI processor as the OM-D E-M5 and can push ISO to 25600. They’ve also improved their AF systems, and shutter and release speed has also been increased – max frame rate is now boosted to 8 fps in single AF mode. The E-PL5 and E-PM2 also both have 3-inch LCD displays with anti-finger print coating and new tilting capabilities that let the screens flip up for easy self-portraits or video recording.

The various upgrades bring the more consumer-level cameras closer to the professional and feature-full E-M5 processors, one the biggest things separating these two being the 5-axis image stabilization system of the E-M5 (build being an obvious difference as well).

The E-PL5 will cost $700, and the E-PM2 $550 (both body only and available in October). 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Sony wants a future of interactive advertising, patents transformation of ads into games

Sony's new patent turns advertising into games and has users yelling out brand names or choosing commercial genres to continue watching.

Recent news about Sony may be revolving around its next generation of gaming consoles, specifically a sequel to the PS3, but it seems the electronics company is pursuing other avenues as well. If a recent patent granted to Sony is any indication, the company is planning to overhaul the traditional method of viewing television commercials by making the whole process a lot more interactive. It may not be the future we want to see (flying cars and all that), but modernizing advertising is a necessary evil.

The patent includes a set of photos showing off the various ways Sony dreamt up to make advertising more fun. The different processes make good use of Sony’s product line-up with some using the PlayStation Move, the PS Eye, and the DualShock controllers. One shows pizza being ordered directly from an ad by selecting a large “Buy” button with a PlayStation Move controller. Another has a viewer jumping up and yelling “McDonald’s!” at their television screen to continue watching whatever show had been playing previously, as you can see above. And yet another visualizes consumers choosing between an action-oriented or romantic commercial to pass the time between actual television. Anything can change between now and when the patent actually comes to fruition (if it makes it that far), but it will be interesting to see if Sony’s proposed changes to the formula make advertising less or more annoying than before.

In any case, now may be a good time to consider letting go of cable and turning to the internet for your television fix. Advertising may be a necessary evil for networks, but alternatives like Netflix or iTunes can take the pain out of commercial breaks. It’s an undeniably attractive solution as well, considering the alternative is vocalizing your knowledge of brands before you can get back to the content you really want to enjoy.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com