Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s Surface for Windows RT appears to be flying off the virtual shelves, however it seems some of the customers who’ve pre-ordered will be waiting about a week longer than they thought. We’ve received several tips from readers in Canada and the UK indicating they’ve received emails (as seen above, check after the break for similar reports from Twitter) explaining that their tablets will be shipping on November 2nd, instead of October 26th as originally scheduled when they put their requests in days ago. There’s no reason currently listed for the delay, however we have contacted Microsoft for further comment on the situation. Currently the Surface is listed as completely sold out on the UK and Canada Microsoft Store sites, and in the US all three variants are no longer promised for delivery on release date. It’s been reported that Microsoft is building up to five million of the devices for launch this fall, hopefully they can all find their way to good homes sooner rather than later.

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded, informing us that the emails sent out were incorrect, so “all customers should expect their devices by the original date given.” It will be following up with customers to let them know their shipping date has not changed, and you can read the full statement for yourself after the break.

[Thanks to Jack, everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Microsoft Surface pre-orders in Canada, UK are not delayed (Update)

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Microsoft Surface pre-orders in Canada, UK are not delayed (Update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 03:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Microsoft Store (UK), (Canada), Surface (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

A few hours ago, Sony announced that it planned to lay off approximately 2,000 workers by the end of the year. This reduction will include 20% of staff at Sony’s Tokyo headquarters, and 20% from its Home Entertainment and Sound Business Group. This is the latest implementation of Sony’s previously stated goal of reducing 6% of its overall workforce by March 2013.

In addition, Sony is closing a factory located in Minokamo, Japan, which will account for 840 of the 2,000 layoffs. This factory is currently responsible for creating DSLR interchangeable lenses, lens blocks, and phones. While part of the Minokamo factory’s production will be pushed to a different factory, Sony alludes to this move being partly performed as certain phone components are phased out.

According to TechSpots, the workforce reduction by Sony will lower its annual fixed costs by approximately 75 billion yen/$379 million for its upcoming fiscal year in April. The reduction isn’t expected to affect the company’s consolidated results forecast for the 2012 fiscal year. Sony hopes this move will help bring its profits back up.

This move comes after Sony’s worst financial lost in over 60 years, totaling 450 billion yen/$5.7 billion last year. This marked the company’s fourth annual profit loss in a row, and was followed by having its shares fall 42% in the last six months. Sony has decreased its earning outlook to 20 billion yen/$257 million for 2013.

[via TechSpot]

Sony to close factory and lay off 2,000 workers is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

By: TechNewsDaily Staff
Published: 10/19/2012 01:54 PM EDT on TechNewsDaily

Scientific maverick J. Craig Venter says he is confident there is life on Mars and this week announced plans to send a "biological teleporter" to the Red Planet to find Martian DNA and beam it back to Earth.

“There will be life forms there,” Venter, who is best known for helping to sequence the human genome, said at a Wired Health conference held in New York this week.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Venter said he plans to send a machine to Mars to seek out Martian life and sequence its DNA. The alien genome could then be beamed back to Earth, where it could be reassembled in a super-secure space lab.

"People are worried about the Andromeda strain," Venter said. "We can rebuild the Martians in a P-4 spacesuit lab instead of having them land in the ocean."

[Move Over, DNA, and Meet the More Durable XNA]

Venter isn’t the only one to consider such an audacious plan. According to a MIT Technology Review report, the idea is also being considered by Jonathan Rothberg, founder of the genome sequencing company Ion Torrent.

Rothberg said Ion Torrent is working with Harvard and MIT to modify the company’s personal genome machine for use on Mars as part of a NASA-funded project called SET-G, or "the search for extraterrestrial genomes."

via L.A. Times and Technology Review

Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily. We’re also on Facebook& Google+.

• Synthetic Biology: Great Promise and Potential Peril
• Are We All Really Martians? Q & A with Mars Life-Seeker Chris Carr
• 10 Sci-Fi Predictions That Came True

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaN

Read More…
More on Space

This is incredible. 18 months after an earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand and buried a just married couple’s camera, the camera pops up on their driveway containing all the wedding pictures they thought they would never see again. More »

Today, Tesla opened six Supercharger stations in launch of the Supercharger network. The stations seem to be located in such a way that EV owners can travel between LA, San Francisco, Vegas, and Lake Tahoe. Says the tweet from @TeslaMotors: “Charge for free in Model S on your next road trip btwn SF and LA, Tahoe & Vegas.”

The six Supercharger stations are located in Folsom, Harris Ranch, Gilroy, Barstow, Tejon Ranch, and Los Angeles. Tesla Motors plans to eventually have these stations scattered throughout the US in such a way that EV owners can travel anywhere without concerns about staying charged up. According to the official website, the network will expand to 100 stations in 2015.

So, how long does it take? With a name like Supercharger, one imagines a relatively fast speed, which seems to be an oxymoron when it comes to juicing up via electricity. According to TeslaMotors.com, a 30 minute charge will yield 150 miles of range. This is in comparison to 31 miles when charging via a high-power wall connector, and 16 minutes via a 240 outlet. Not as fast as pumping a tank of gas, but certainly cheaper.

How does it work? According to the Supercharger website, “it’s like an adrenaline shot for your battery.” The cable from a Supercharger connects to the plug in your car much the same way a gas hose is used to fill a tank. The charger delivers 4.5x more electricity than Twin Chargers. The Tesla Model S car starts at $49,900.

[via aolautos]

Tesla unveils six Supercharger stations in California is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.