Hasta La Gadget!

A few days ago, the Swiss Federal Railway service (SBB) accused Apple of copying one of its iconic clock designs that shows up in the Clock app in iOS 6. Today, the two companies announced that they will be meeting with one another to settle the dispute, and apparently there’s no intention of suing for money.

The iconic Swiss clock, which was designed in 1944 by former SBB employee Hans Hilfiker, looks almost identical to Apple‘s version with the same black dashes and the big red dot at the end of the second hand. The design happens to be licensed to a Swiss watch company called Mondaine. So essentially, Apple could be easily found guilty of infringement.

However, Apple and the SBB have decided to settle this one like gentlemen. Representatives from both sides are expected to meet sometime within the next couple of weeks (or even months) to talk about the situation and hopefully come to a conclusion that both sides agree on. Plus, the SBB has stated that its proud that its clock had been chosen for iOS 6.

This comes right after Apple accused Samsung of copyright infringement and won in court to the tune of $1.05 billion. Apple saw themselves as the good guys, while Samsung (the bad guys) was wrongfully copying the designs of the iPhone and iPad. Now, Apple is the one being accused of copying something. Oh how the tables have turned.

[via CNET]

Apple to meet with Swiss railway over clock design dispute is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In this video by Etsy, Carolina Fontoura Alzaga shows how and why she transforms old junkyard bicycle parts into chandelier sculptures that look more like something from our apocalyptic future. Who knew bicycle chains and wheels could add up to be Terminator? More »

In an effort to accommodate video creators and viewers using YouTube from outside the United States, the Google-owned company today implemented a new set of caption translation tools. These new tools see the Google Translator Toolkit integrated with the YouTube Video Manager, and the process of getting translated captions on your videos seems to be pretty straightforward, if not a little labor-intensive.

While this new set of translation tools supports 300 languages, creators will have to roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work themselves. The first step in the process is getting a caption track for your video. Once you’ve done that, clicking on the “Request Translation” button that now appears in the YouTube Video Manager will prompt you to select the languages you want your video translated to. Select the languages you want, and YouTube will provide you with caption translation documents that are edited in the Google Translator Toolkit. From here, you can make the translations yourself or invite some friends to give you a helping hand.

To make things go as quickly as possible, YouTube will embed your video on your caption translation pages, so you can translate the dialog as you watch the video. YouTube will also show you a preview of translations in the video, so you can make sure everything matches up correctly. For the 64 languages that Google Translate supports, YouTube will provide a first draft of your translations, allowing you to get the job done even faster. This draft can of course be edited by you or anyone you’ve invited to apply edits, providing a good springboard for your translation project.

Once you’re done, simply click “Publish to YouTube” and your translated captions will be applied to your video. This update has officially gone live, so if you’ve got some videos you’d like translated, you can get to work as soon as you want. We have to say, this is a pretty nifty feature, especially considering that these days, the majority of YouTube’s audience lives outside of the United States. Check out our story timeline below for more posts on YouTube!

[via YouTube Creators Blog]

YouTube enhances caption translation for video creators is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When we’re on the go, we really can’t afford to carry around bulky equipment all the time; our pockets and bags can only hold so much. Sony agrees, which is why they’ve announced a new line of external batteries that are small and super thin. They’re the size of a regular smartphone and come in capacities from 3500 mAh to 7000 mAh.

The external batteries use Sony’s thin “laminate” technology, which involves laminating battery components together in order to cut down on weight and materials. It also results in super-thin batteries. The company’s 7000 mAh model will be just a half-inch thick, and will measure 2.8-inches by 5.1-inches, making it a perfect device to easily slip in and out of a pocket.

Sony is marketing these new external batteries as being roughly the same size as smartphones and tablets, making the two easier to store together. They’ll even have a smaller model that will hold 3500 mAh, as well as small cylinder-shaped 2000 mAh batteries. We’re not sure exactly what size the cylinder batteries will be, but you can be sure that they’ll be pretty small.

If you’re wondering how much juice these batteries will supply to your mobile devices, the iPhone 5 is said to have a 1440 mAh battery and Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has a 2100 mAh battery, so expect to get at least a full charge and then some out of the cheapest external battery models. Sony says the 3500 mAh version can be reused around 500 times and can charge a typical smartphone in about 130 minutes. The batteries can be recharged in 8 hours by USB and 4 hours by a wall outlet.

These external batteries will be available in Japan first starting October 13, with more models to arrive on November 14. Prices will range from 2,300 yen ($30) to 7,000 yen ($90) depending on the capacity. Sony will launch the batteries globally, but launch dates and prices have yet to be determined.

[via TechHive]

Sony announces new slim external batteries for mobile devices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The extremely popular and loved by many iOS and Mac email client Sparrow will be getting a much needed update soon. After being acquired by Google we later learned the popular app would get a feature freeze, and no further updates would be coming with what they called a ‘bug fix only’ status. Today however we learned of an upcoming update many Apple fans should be excited to hear about.

The popular app will be getting a much needed update that will allow for full iPhone 5 and iOS 6 support. Today the Sparrow founder Dominique Leca posted a quick tweet to his Twitter page that should ease the minds of all those who’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 5 and was worried that larger screen wouldn’t get the proper support.

He was rather brief sadly and only mentions that “iPhone 5 support is coming soon to Sparrow” but didn’t give any further details or dates. A recent update for Sparrow on Mac brought that lovely Retina and OSX Mountain Lion support, so this was expected in a way — even after the acquisition by Google.

The Sparrow team was originally acquired to help achieve a bigger vision and improve Gmail but it looks like they’ll still be doing a little here and there for Sparrow on the iPhone. While we probably shouldn’t expect new features from them, little updates like supporting the latest and greatest smartphone from Apple should be included — and we’re glad to see that coming. Do you still use Sparrow for your go to email client?

[via TheNextWeb]

Sparrow iPhone 5 support coming soon is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.