Technology

For the last couple of decades, the computer industry has promised, or threatened, that it is coming to take over the living room, and, along with it, the remainder of non-electronic life. Despite what the movies and science fiction promised us, there is undoubtedly a distinct lack of flying cars, cold fusion, consumer jet packs, or hoverboards on this planet; but it appears that a ubiquitous computing reality will arrive shortly.

Of course, this change was not heralded under the banner of ubiquitous data-gathering machines, it was called a much nicer name: An Internet of Things.

More than one high-profile vendor showed off a curved-screen TV during their press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show. But as soon as the show floor opened, it became clear that curved screens weren’t just the provenance of big names like Samsung and LG. Nearly every TV vendor from high to low had a curved screen to parade in its booth.

The reason for a curved screen has somewhat mystified us since last year when we first saw Samsung’s curved 4K TV. Now that these screens are everywhere, it bears sussing out what, exactly, is their purpose.

Intel officials reportedly will be showing off new wearable computing devices powered by the chip maker's Quark processing technology at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 this week.

Speaking to the Website Recode, CEO Brian Krzanich said the vendor at CES will announce its latest Quark chip and will demonstrate some wearable devices that Intel engineers have created. Krzanich didn't elaborate on what the devices will be, but is pushing the idea of the x86-based Quark technology being a driver of the burgeoning wearable computing trend.

New chips that blur the line between computer memory and storage are starting to move beyond niche applications and could change how we use PCs, an industry analyst said Sunday.

The chips would enable the same instant-on capability that's common on tablets, but at much higher performance, said Tom Coughlin, founder of Coughlin Associates.

Google Inc. (GOOG) is considering designing its own server processors using technology from ARM Holdings Plc (ARM), said a person with knowledge of the matter, a move that could threaten Intel Corp. (INTC)’s market dominance.

By using its own designs, Google could better manage the interactions between hardware and software, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Google, among the largest buyers of server processors, has made no decision and plans could change, said the person.

In the US, solar power remains one of the pricier options. Without tax breaks and renewable energy mandates, we'd probably see only a fraction of the installations that we currently do. And without much in the way of on-grid storage, solar is mostly useful for cutting into the peak demand that tends to hit mid-day.

The company E2V has developed a prototype device that uses a radio-frequency pulse to shut down a car’s engine at range, according to a report from the BBC. While the range of the device is fairly short, it worked on a handful of cars and motorbikes and could also potentially be used on boats.

A single bitcoin is now worth over $1,000, but the process of mining for the digital currency — in which people devote computing power to facilitate global Bitcoin transactions and secure the currency's network — is growing increasingly expensive. Serious miners have started to build dedicated facilities for the sole purpose of Bitcoin mining. Journalist Xiaogang Cao visited one such center in Hong Kong, the "secret mining facility" of ASICMINER, reportedly located in a Kwai Chung industrial building.

British artist Kyle Lambert spent quite a bit of time creating a digital painting and by the looks of it, it was time well spent. The drawing is an insanely realistic portrait of Morgan Freeman. The image you see above isn't a photo of Freeman photoshopped onto an iPad — that's Lambert's actual work of art.

Somewhere between the turkey and the eggnog, someone in your family is almost certainly going to mention their plans to pick up a cheap tablet or TV set. Or maybe someone will bring up the nearest mall electronics store’s “amazing” deals on HDMI cables.