The new Leica M is German camerasmith’s latest photo-slaying, digital full-frame camera in the tradition of its M-series rangefinders. It’s the long rumored follow-up/upgrade to the fabulous (and fabulously expensive) M9 from a few years ago. Behold the bonkers camera you’ll be drooling over for the next couple of years. More »
I’ve heard of cameras being rugged, but surviving a 12,500-foot drop is quite impressive. A skydiver apparently lost his GoPro camera on the way down and it managed to survive the fall, in fact, well enough to record its owner’s landing a few minutes later.
Lucas Damm was skydiving in Canada with some friends, and was using his GoPro camera to catch all of the action. It was mounted on his helmet in a protective case, but was knocked out when he clipped it on the plane’s door while leaving. It spun wildly and fell to the ground, but landed upright and into the right direction to catch the skydiver’s landing.
Lucas noticed that the camera was missing only after he had landed. However, one of his friends noticed a shiny object and they discovered the still-functioning GoPro. It may sound like a fake or a publicity stunt for GoPro, but Lucas swears that it’s legit.
[via DVice]
These woozy prints of the famous faces of Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin were created using a modified photo printing process invented by artist Zachary Copfer. Rather than use traditional light-sensitive photo emulsion to print photos, he instead used a special genetically altered E coli. It’s gross to think about, but oh so beautiful to look at. More »
What’s been shared today is a note sent to internal contacts and crew-members before an official announcement is made to the greater public, here noting that free wi-fi is about to be a reality on JetBlue flights. The most important piece of this puzzle for JetBlue appears to be the fact that customers choose airlines based on the fact that they do have wi-fi, and that basically every solution out there right now is undeniably slow compared to what they’ve got in store. The Free bit is also a big deal: even though they do mention that it might be limited to a timeframe before they’ve got 30 total planes running with the technology, free is always good.
The following note comes from a source providing The Verge with what appears to be a situation that’s rather positive for JetBlue’s future. This JetBlue representative mentions ground-to-air service Gogo and satellite-based services like Row 44 or Panasonic as competitors. Their contention is that no matter what services people are using at the moment out there in the field, they’re always slow – too slow, at least, to compete with the service JetBlue is about to offer.
NOTE: This deal was first spoken about in April of 2011 – looks like it’s the real deal!
JetBlue notes that they’ll be working with LiveTV partnering with ViaSat, and the results thus far – testing, that is – have been great. It’s noted that ViaSat staff members have been able to load 10 webpages through JetBlue’s new satellite service in 1 minute, 18 seconds. The competition, they say, took over 8 minutes to work out the same task. JetBlue also notes that they’ve got a lovley Ka-band satellite up in space right this minute, ready for action, ready to connect with flights at altitude.
I’m writing to you from London, where I’m about to reveal some of the details of our Wi-Fi product to the World Low Cost Airlines Conference. I want to make sure you hear it first, of course, so please read on!
Currently, Wi-Fi on board is a competitive advantage. Customers, especially those traveling for business, with everything else being equal, will choose the airline that offers connectivity, even if the service is spotty or expensive.
Understanding how important inflight connectivity is to Customers forces airlines that don’t have Wi-Fi to get in the game, quickly. Airlines can choose ground-to-air services, like Gogo, or satellite-based services like Row 44 or Panasonic. Although the technology is different, the Customer experience is very similar – s l o w.
According to a recent FlightView survey, only a small percentage of Customers are satisfied with the Wi-Fi service models currently offered in-flight and at airports.
The challenge for us was building a Wi-Fi product that broke this slow, frustrating and ultimately unsatisfactory mold. We wanted to find a way to deliver faster and less expensive service that would result in greater satisfaction. With LiveTV partnering with ViaSat, I think we found the sweet spot.
Our Wi-Fi will be lightning fast. In a series of tests, ViaSat’s staff was able to load 10 web pages through our satellite service in an average of 1 minute, 18 seconds! The second-fastest service, commonly deployed by our competitors, took as long as 8 minutes, 42 seconds! Customers are going to know that JetBlue’s Wi-Fi is faster – word will definitely get around.
But to make sure Customers appreciate the difference, we also decided to make the baseline connectivity free, at least until the first 30 aircraft are equipped with our service. If the speed doesn’t get them talking, the free part should!
The difference is in the technology. The Ka-band satellite we launched last October is the latest generation, with capacity equal to 100 last-generation Ku-band satellites. It’s smarter, newer, cheaper and better than anything on the market today for commercial aviation. This technology had only been available to government and private aviation, in fact. We plan to make JetBlue the very first commercial airline to offer this product on board, at altitude.
Our first foray into connectivity, with BetaBlue in 2007, was a great learning experience and I don’t regret it for one minute. It wasn’t easy for anyone to endure the questions and demands for good Wi-Fi from our Customers, but it was the right decision. LiveTV will begin installing ViaSat on our aircraft in the first quarter of 2013 – so stay tuned for more information as it rolls out. I know it will be worth the wait.
The first launch of this wireless product will be pushed in the first quarter of 2013 and will be launching for free. This free launch will include baseline connectivity and will be good to go “at least until the first 30 aircraft are equipped.” Get in quick and download away up in the air! Have a peek at the email appearing this week (above), and stick around for the final real confirmation of this service soon.
JetBlue promises free wi-fi onboard soon is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The iPhone 5. It is taller, and has incremental improvements under the hood, and is shiny. (I’m staying away. Typing on glass is wrong.)
Of more import, the smartphone you carry is more than a communication device; it is potentially a government surveillance enabler. To whatever extent that is the case (depending on whose public pronouncements you believe), latent digital snooping was reinforced on the same day as the iPhone event. Two days after that, Google announced its intention to build a “Do Not Track” option into the Chrome browser, giving users some shielding from a different type of rampant surveillance — the type that creepily delivers knowingly targeted ads. The two issues differ in seriousness, but are related as privacy concerns. As our mobile and desktop devices get sexier, we become increasingly naked.
Continue reading Editorial: We, the digitally naked
Editorial: We, the digitally naked originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Did you know that YouTube adds over 64 new ‘Did You Know?’-type videos to its archives every minute? Ok, so that number may be completely made up, but the whole trend of cramming as many fun science facts into a couple of minutes worth of animated video is catching on. And compared to the rest of the crap that’s uploaded to YouTube, there’s nothing wrong with that. More »
There have been reports that iMessage isn’t so functional right now. Our limited experiments seem to support this theory. And if you’ll remember the last time this happened, the improved centralized syncing between iOS devices popped up shortly after. What about you iPhone owners out there? Is your iMessage working at all? More »
We all knew it was coming eventually, and today BioWare and Electronic Arts confirmed our suspicions by announcing the next Dragon Age game. Dragon Age III: Inquisition is its name, and even though we don’t know much about it at all, there are still a few talking points to get excited about. For starters, it’ll be landing sometime in late 2013, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this latest installment is being rushed out the door.
The game was announced in a BioWare Blog post penned by longtime employee Mark Darrah. He spends most of the blog post talking about past projects he’s been a part of, ranging from the very first Baldur’s Gate (along with Tales of the Sword Coast, BGII, and Throne of Bhaal) all the way up to the Dragon Age series, which has him in the role of executive producer. He’ll be playing a major role in the development of Dragon Age III as weels, and assures readers that the DAIII team consists of BioWare veterans and talented newcomers alike. Specifically, Darrah states that many of the people who worked on Dragon Age: Origins have returned to work on Dragon Age III.
As stated above, Darrah doesn’t get too specific when it comes to Dragon Age III details, but he does let a few interesting tidbits loose. He isn’t willing to talk about story at this early point, but he does say that series fans should be able to figure some stuff out from the title alone. Dragon Age III has been in development for the past two years, with production ramping up about 18 months ago. Even better is that BioWare will be using a new engine with Dragon Age III, with DICE’s impressive Frostbite 2 engine serving as the foundation.
That’s it as far as actual information goes, and it seems that this blog post is geared more toward reassuring fans that Dragon Age III will be worth their time than anything else. To some fans, BioWare has been slipping lately – many fans complained loudly about Dragon Age II‘s move away from the gameplay in Origins, and even more complained about the ending in Mass Effect 3, which many felt was ultimately a big letdown when held up against the rest of the series. With this blog post, BioWare is suggesting that its getting back to its roots with Dragon Age III, and if the studio is serious about that, then it should have no problem getting back into the good graces of longtime fans. Keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more information about Dragon Age III – we’re expecting new details soon, and we’ll share them when we have them!
Dragon Age III: Inquisition announced, built on new engine is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
I think we can all agree that technology is a great thing. The right application of technology can make just about anything you want to do easier and more effective. If you’re a gadget fiend looking to get into shape, Fitbit has a new device up for pre-order called the One.
It’s sort of like a high-tech pedometer that you wear day and night. During the day, the device records all sorts of information about your activity such as the number of steps you take, the amount of calories you burn, the distance you travel, and the number of stairs you climb. At night, it records the number of hours you sleep, and the quality of your sleep.
It will tell you how many times a night you wake up and how long and how well you snoozed. In the mornings, it can also wake you with a vibrating silent alarm. The device captures all this data and can automatically sync data with your computer or smartphone via Bluetooth, and you can earn badges and place yourself on leader boards online.
You can pre-order the Fitbit One right now for $99.95(USD).
We’re really excited to bring you the newest entry to the series of Dealz exclusive to Gizmodo and our readers. More »
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
