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Sandia National Laboratories’ four-channel, silicon photonic single-sideband modulator chip, measuring 8 millimeters on each side and marked with a green Sandia thunderbird logo, sits inside packaging that incorporates optical fibers, wire bonds, and ceramic pins. Credit: Craig Fritz, Sandia National Laboratories ==================================================================== A milestone in quantum sensing is drawing closer, promising exquisitely accurate, GPS-free navigation. Peel apart a smartphone, fitness tracker or virtual reality headset, and inside you’ll find a tiny motion sensor tracking its position and movement. Bigger, more expensive versions of the same technology, about the size of a grapefruit and a thousand times more accurate, help navigate...

Apple has long been obsessed with secrecy, but a new memo seems to take it to the next level. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports on a memo recently sent to all Apple employees stating that 29 Apple people were caught leaking secrets about planned products last year, and 12 of them were arrested. The memo describes in stark terms the implications for employees who leak and get caught: “These people not only lose their jobs, they can face extreme difficulty finding employment elsewhere,” according to the memo, which quotes product marketing executive Greg Joswiak. The memo lays out examples of times...

Tim Cook: Apple Will Oppose Bills Like Indiana's 'Religious Freedom' Law Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Sunday broadened his criticism of a new law in Indiana, which opponents say could be used to discriminate against gay people, to other states that he says have similar laws. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law Thursday, sparking an outcry from those, including Cook, who say it could be used to protect businesses that refuse to serve gay people. The law's supporters say it will prevent the government from forcing business owners from providing services that go...

Apple Watch will replace your car keys, says Tim Cook Exclusive interview: The Apple chief executive reveals to Allister Heath how the revolutionary features in the company's smartwatch could forever alter our daily lives. Like millions of people, Tim Cook stopped wearing a watch a while back. The Apple boss no longer needed one: his iPhone told the time just fine. There was just one problem, as he readily acknowledges in his interview with The Telegraph: glancing at one's wrist can be a very useful way to find out information. It is less rude and less intrusive. So Apple now...

The yet-to-be-released Apple Watch has been making news for quite some time now. Very recently, the smartwatch has made it to the coveted Time magazine's top 25 new inventions of 2014. Based on the Time magazine list, the Apple Watch completely channels the idea of running a computer on the wrist. This is achieved by utilising a novel interface with a combination of touchscreen and physical buttons. Moreover, the Apple Watch is considered to be a fashion accessory, in addition to representing the latest technology in wearable gadgets arena, according to Time Magazine via Phone Arena. The magazine has also...

There’s a decent rule of thumb when it comes to anything Apple: When it introduces something brand new, don’t buy version 1.o. Wait until the second or third version instead; you’ll be much better off. Does anybody remember OS 10.0? It was a disaster, and even people who installed it spent 90% of their time in OS 9 instead. The very first MacBook Air? An underpowered exercise in frustration. The original iPad? Heavy and clunky. The original iPod? Was not only heavy and clunky and expensive, it was also tied to the Macintosh and didn’t work either alone or with...

Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc will start mass production of Apple Inc's first smartwatch in July, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the tech giant tries to prove it can still innovate against rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The watch, which remains unnamed but which company followers have dubbed the iWatch, will be Apple's first foray into a niche product category that many remain skeptical about, especially as to whether it can drive profits amid cooling growth in tech gadgets. Apple will introduce a smartwatch with a display that likely measures 2.5 inches diagonally and is slightly rectangular,...

Apple will unveil and release its highly anticipated smartwatch, which many presume to be called iWatch, in October, according to a report from Re/code.Re/code has a stellar track record when it comes to Apple news, so we believe this report to be legitimate.According to the report, Apple says it is confident enough in its product that it will produce 3 to 5 million for the initial shipment.The New York Times was one of the first outlets to report on the iWatch, after a February 2013 report from Nick Bilton illuminated Apple's nascent smartwatch efforts, likening its possible "next big thing" to something...

The iWatch may cost $299 when it launches later this year, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a note to investors on Tuesday (via CNET), a price that’s exactly what Samsung initially charged for its first-generation Galaxy Gear and similar to the Pebble’s second smartwatch, the Pebble Steel. However, the iWatch is expected to be even more popular than its competitors’ offerings and it may indeed me the “next big thing” for Apple. “Our working assumption is that iWatch largely will be adopted as an accessory device and, therefore, sold into the existing customer base, like the iPad, rather...

Since the beta test launching of Google Glass along with rumors surrounding the secretive Apple iWatch, “wearable tech” is a term frequently popping up in the headlines. We only have conjecture as to what the full scope of Apple's iWatch might be, however, it is difficult to imagine that it will bring revolutionary functions beyond what is already provided by the iPhone and iPad line. It begs the question... (continued)

Samsung unveiled its highly anticipated digital wristwatch Wednesday, beating Apple to what could become this year's must-have holiday gift item. So-called smartwatches, which can perform tasks such as displaying email and Twitter messages on a device worn around the wrist, have been around for several years but have failed so far to inspire great interest among ordinary consumers. But with smartphone behemoths Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. joining the fray—and Google pushing its Google Glass gadget—experts see a chance of wearable computers breaking into the mainstream. That is, if consumers can get used to talking to their watch, secret...

Wearable tech, we're told, is the next big thing - and if anyone can make a truly desirable wearable device, it's Apple. Rumours are flying about an Apple Watch, the missing link between the iPhone and Flavor Flav's clock - but which rumours seem most likely? Let's find out what time it is. According to Bloomberg, Apple has a team of around 100 designers working on "a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad". That's based on conversations with "two people familiar with the company's plans". The team includes people from...

Apple's iWatch, which is reportedly coming this year, could kill three birds with one stone for Apple. 1. It gives Apple an experimental entry in the wearable computing market which is said to be the next big thing 2. If done well it would kill the Apple-can't-innovate-without-Steve Jobs meme 3. It could be super profitable. Let's tackle the third one. Bloomberg, citing a Citigroup report, says the global watch industry will do $60 billion in sales this year, with average gross margins of 60 percent. Apple's iWatch, should it be released, will probably not fit neatly into the watch industry,...

Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

DENVER – A store clerk's curiosity about why Najibullah Zazi was buying large quantities of beauty supply products indicated that something about the transaction wasn't quite right — and it's an example of the kind of citizen vigilance that can combat terror, a police commander said Saturday. Los Angeles police Cmdr. Joan McNamara cited this summer's incident as police chiefs meeting in Denver adopted a model for a nationwide community watch program that teaches people what behavior is truly suspicious and encourages them to report it to police. Federal authorities allege Zazi, 24, tried to make a homemade explosive using...