Hasta La Gadget!

The Latvian capital of Riga is no stranger to snow. But snow when it’s not cold out? Now that’s something different.

Latvian creative collective Kut decided to take matters into their owns hands by bringing the country to the city. Rather, they brought the fuzz from a whole lot of cattails (aka the plants that look like corn dogs) back to the city for a dose of joy.

So the fuzz isn’t really snow, but it sure looks like it.

Kut unleashed a whole sack of this fuzz into Riga, and the reaction that it gets from people is simply priceless. Why? Well, it was ‘to revive the grey concrete, to break the routine and give you a moment to reflect on what we are and where we are going.’

And as Kut says:

Sometimes surprises just happen and we have no influence over them but we do have influence over our perception. How ready are you to accept whatever life throws at you with a smile?

You can see the “snowfall” in action in the video clip below:

My favorite part is at 2:59. While her mom looked pretty annoyed at the whole thing, her daughter was hopping up and down and just loving every moment of it. They say people grow wiser as they age, but sometimes, it’s the younger ones who are wiser about life and happiness in their own right.

[via This Is Colossal]

If you’re a Linux user squarely in the Gnome desktop camp and sneer with disdain at the mention of Unity, there’s good news — your preferred flavor is coming, uncontaminated, to Ubuntu. Though “GNOMEBuntu” was originally floated as a name for the new environment, that idea was apparently kiboshed by the Gnome Foundation, leaving “GNOBuntu” and “Gnubuntu” as possible monikers, according to Mutkware. Neither Unity, nor cloud service Ubuntu One will be included in the distro, but you’ll find a library of apps pre-installed, including the Epiphany browser and Rhythmbox music player. Customized settings will let you further tweak the purity level to suit your zeal — so, if you’re thinking about grabbing the upcoming alpha, check the source for more info.

Filed under: Desktops, Software

Gnome-flavored Ubuntu desktop environment coming for purest purists originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A collection of hands-on photos have appeared with a next-generation Nokia smartphone with the Nokia Lumia 820, also known as the Nokia Arrow, running Windows Phone 8. This device has appeared before in code-name only while today’s leak includes several photos of the device itself – notably on the same morning of another leak of Nokia devices with PureView branding and Windows Phone 8 running as well. These Arrow photos show a rather thin device with a white back casing and large-lens-toting camera with single LED flash.

This device has been rumored to be working with a 4.3-inch display and a collection of mid-range specifications such as 480 x 800 pixel resolution. The device shown here is identified with 335MB of RAM with 512MB RAM likely in total. The casing of this device is rather similar to the first generation of Lumia devices and the phone will likely be released with a variety of color options for its back.

On the device’s home screen you can see Xbox software as well as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office and the tinier icons which identify this system as Apollo. Code-name Apollo is what Windows Phone 8 had been working under before it was formally identified as Windows Phone 8, and this system shows OS version 8.0.9735.0 running currently. This unit also shows a date of Tuesday the 26th, which means its either been taken in a different month than we’re in right now, or it was set incorrectly.

Have a peek in our Nokia timeline for Windows Phone 8 below to gain additional hints and tips on what we’re going to end up seeing on the 5th – next week! Be there early in the day as we head to New York to get the full lo-down on what Microsoft and Nokia are going to be presenting to the world – neatness on the way!

[via WMPowerUser]

Nokia Lumia 820 Arrow photos leak with WP8 aboard is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Renders, shmenders. According to Coolxap.com what you see above is a real-world prototype of the Nokia Lumia 820 — aka Nokia Arrow. As well as some tantalizing hardware shots, we get a sneaky glimpse at that all important “About phone” page. All we can see, though, is that it’s running Windows Phone 8 (shock) and has only 335MB of RAM? Though, being a prototype, that’s likely to change. Sadly little else of note, but it’s at least good to see that while the mock-ups were close, the real thing has a little more going for it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia Lumia 820 prototype breaks cover in photos, confirms little else originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPoweruser, WeLoveWP  |  Coolxap.com (Chinese)  | Email this | Comments

Apple has launched a program on their own website called Reuse and Recycling in which they’re more than willing to take your iPhone 4S for a gift certificate in their store. Of course the main reason a lot of people will be doing this is that once the iPhone 5 (or whatever it’ll be called) is on the market, the iPhone 4S might not look so fabulous anymore. To the early adopter “must have it” crowd, that is.

This program has the ability to take in not only your iPhone 4S, but a collection of other Apple devices as well as non-Apple gadgets too. The front page for this program shows an iMac, iPad, iPhone, two iPods, and a lovely old button-toting phone from the distant past. It also has the white MacBook, no longer sold by Apple brand new.

This is all part of Apple’s “Apple and the Environment” initiative of course as well, making it clear to users around the world that they are indeed Green. You’ll be assured in this Recycling initiative that your units will be either reused or recycled in environmentally friendly ways, and you’ll get more than just a warm feeling in your heart – you’ll get Apple money.

Apple won’t be tossing any cold hard cash in this program, but they will be giving you credit in their store. Gift Certificates are one of the reasons you’d send in your old gear, a no-cost-to-you offer to get rid of all your gadgets that otherwise would push us closer to a garbage-filled planet is another. If you send in your old iPod or mobile phone that’s not included in the main Gift Certificate part of the program, you’ll either just be able to send it in for recycling for free, (a great deal by itself), or you’ll be able to bring it in to an Apple Retail Store and get 10 percent off a new one.

NOTE: This 10 percent offer does not apply to the iPod shuffle – Apple says so!

And of course what’s rather important about this situation is that the iPhone 4S is included in it. There’s no other reason for Apple to want to include their newest hero phone in a program like this where you’ll get gift cards back for the unit except for the idea that an even newer model is right around the corner – except of course if you’ve got a damaged iPhone 4S and want a new one: they take damaged units, too.

iPhone 5 launch date imminent as 4S included in “recycling” program is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.