Google teams up with London Zoo to test Wi-Fi tech, give you a look at cute animals

Google has partnered with the London Zoo to not just give you a live stream of meerkats, giant Galapagos tortoises, and Asian otters on YouTube but to test out Wi-Fi technology. Their aim is to test the use of white space (or the small gaps in radio spectrum that exist between television transmissions) for tracking endagered animals in the wild and protect them from poachers.

The London Zoo won a Google Global Impact Award grant last year worth US$800,000 to build a network of sensors and cameras to be placed in popular poaching areas in Kenya. Using white space, they hope it will be able to send data quicker and farther than what can be done with satellites. The technology can also be used to provide Internet access to rural areas, develop next-generation Wi-Fi technologies, and stream video wirelessly.

Source: Ofcom | Via: Fast Company

The Apple Beat: October 16 event wish list

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple has scheduled a special event in its Cupertino campus on Thursday October 16. While October events usually focus on iPads, and we’re expecting some new iPad Air and iPad mini models. There are a number of Mac products that have been waiting for a refresh and here is my personal wish list of what Apple will unveil next week.

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Google’s Nexus 6 rumoured to drop this month

If we are to believe the rumour mill, we will be seeing the next Nexus device soon enough. Codenamed Shamu, the Nexus 6 is tipped to be a phablet bearing a 5.9-inch QHD display. The new Nexus will also be reportedly made by Motorola and will run on 3GB of RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor.

From the looks of it, the Nexus 6 certainly has flagship specs written all over it. And with how Google prices its Nexus devices, this has what it takes to be a crowd-pleaser. Of course, these are all still rumours at the moment. But if it is true that the device is coming this month, then we can’t wait to see it.

Source: Wall Street Journal | Via: Android Headlines

Google brings Hangouts to desktop, adds polls to Google+

Google is rolling out new stuff to its users with new Hangouts desktop app for Windows and Chrome OS users as well as a new polling feature on Google+. Much like other messaging apps on the desktop, Hangouts works independent of a browser and it syncs your notifications and chats with your other devices. You can also make video and voice calls from your Hangouts app.

Google also added Polls to Google+ on Android as well as Google+ on the Web (the iOS version will be out soon). You can add up to five choices and use photos to make your polls more interesting.

Source: Mashable + Ubergizmo