System D begins Kickstarter campaign for emergency water treatment system

Want to complete your emergency kits at home or just need a water purifying system while you’re out roughing it? System D Manufacturing is launching a Kickstarter campaign for its 12V O3 System Mini. Created by a 16-year-old Alaskan inventor, the O3 System works by just putting in five gallons of water and then the system sterilizes the water. You can check out the video above to see how it works. 

A projector in your pocket? TouchPico says its possible

TouchPico is a hot new Kickstarter project that hopes to create a pocket-sized pico projector that can create up to an 80-inch picture on any surface. A mini Android PC that's about the size of a Samsung Galaxy S4, the TouchPico will integrate the Android OS, a stylus that can be used to "write" on the wall. Check it out here.

Source: Mashable

Microsoft throws down gauntlet on personal assistants by pitting Cortana against Siri

While Apple put the mobile personal assistant in the mainstream four years ago with Siri, the competition is now gunning for the top spot. Microsoft, whose Cortana personal assistant is powered by Bing, ships with Windows Phone 8.1 and apparently has a wider breadth of contextual search features.

Microsoft's resorting to 'comparison' ads by showcasing features available to Cortana that Siri doesn't have or can't do. What's weird is that we have an entry level Lumia being pitted against a more expensive iPhone 5s. Should be interesting to see where all this is headed once iOS 8 is released and Siri's new functions are finally revealed.

iBeacon gaining ground with Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Monk, and Hilton rollouts

Apple's iBeacon proximity sensor and communication technology is picking up steam as various retails stores are starting to deploy the technology to reach out to users of iOS devices and push opt-in updates on sales, rebates and other store and product-related information. Lord & Taylor (sister company of Hudson's Bay) and German restaurant group Monk as well as the Hilton group of hotels are going to rollout the technology soon. 

The Hudson's Bay is working with iBeacon provider Swirl on a system that will deliver location-aware content to its outlets. The initial rollout will target a number of Lord & Taylor and Hudson's Bay locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the flagship Hudson's Bay store in Toronto.  

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