Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re itching to park that AMD or Intel PC beside your TV as a dedicated home theater device, OpenELEC would like to offer up the first stable release of its Linux distro, version 2.0, for your consideration. The new build is now available for free (with the option to donate, of course), and the group behind it says that the installation takes less than five minutes and requires “zero Linux experience.” Once you’ve done that, it’ll be ready to serve your media needs in less than 10 seconds from a cold start, according to OpenELEC, with only a remote control needed to start surfing. The system updates automatically, including the XBMC V11 media core, and now includes PVR support, improved AMD functionality, CEC adapter compatibility, NFS, AFP, CIFS and SSH shares and Airplay / Airtunes support. If you’re already Mac- or Windows-centric, an OpenELEC system will play well with all your existing media, so if you’re ready to see how the Linux media crowd rolls, hit the source.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD

OpenELEC-2.0 Linux distro released, turns your PC into an ‘appliance-like’ home theater device originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember awhile back the UK courts ruled in Samsung’s favor? The courts then ordered Apple to place ads in the media that basically stated that Samsung did not copy the iPad’s design. Naturally this did not sit well with Apple and the Cupertino company appealed the court’s decision. Apple’s attorney argued that by doing so, it would basically be giving Samsung free advertisement. While we don’t necessarily believe that either company is right or wrong, that argument does make some sense. In any case it seems that the UK courts have decided to stick to their initial ruling, which means that the ads and notices that Apple had to run are still in effect.

For those who might have forgotten about the details, Apple was ordered to place a notice on its UK website  , as well as publish ads in British newspapers and magazines that Samsung did not copy the design of the iPad. The notice on their website is expected to run for a good six months, while the ads taken out in various print media was done as a consolation for any “damaging impression” that occurred as a result of the lawsuit.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG sues Samsung over use of OLED displays, alleging patent infringement, Samsung anticipates adding the iPhone 5 to their ongoing lawsuit with Apple,

Earlier this year when Apple unveiled the third-gen iPad, Epic Games also introduced the Infinity Blade spin-off, Infinity Blade: Dungeons which was basically a Diablo/Torchlight version of the game. It looked pretty good and seemed fun enough, but unfortunately the game has yet to see the light of day. Many had assumed that the game would be demonstrated and revealed at the same time when Apple announced the iPhone 5, but unfortunately that was not the case. After speaking to the folks at AllThingsD, Epic Games’ spokesman Wes Phillips revealed that the game would not be shipping this year. In fact gamers should not expect to see the game hit the App Store until 2013 at the earliest.

Unfortunately no specific date in 2013 was given, which means that there is basically a 12 month window in which gamers have to wait. According to Phillips, the reason behind the delay is because the developers of Infinity Blade: Dungeons, Impossible Studios, have many ideas for the game and keep adding on to them. There was also the issue of logistics and getting a new studio up and running, all of which contributed to the delay. Hopefully a release date will be given soon and hopefully gamers will still be interested then. I don’t know about you, but it looks like a game I wouldn’t mind getting even if I have to wait until next year.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Infinity Blade: Dungeons speculated for release today following discounts on Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade 2, Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay trailer revealed,

Toyota Motor Sales USA has announced that it has installed and activated a new and very large hydrogen fuel-cell generator on the campus at its Torrance, California headquarters. The new fuel cell was activated yesterday and can produce 1.1-megawatts of electricity using hydrogen as the fuel. The gigantic fuel cell will be able to produce approximately half the electricity for six headquarters buildings during peak demand.

Like all hydrogen fuel cells, the newly installed unit at the Toyota HQ produces zero emissions. The fuel cell was designed and built by Ballard Power Systems and uses the company’s Proton Exchange Membrane stationary fuel cell. The company says that this is the largest Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell of its kind.

Hydrogen is delivered to the massive fuel-cell via a pipeline that also supplies a hydrogen filling station adjacent to the Toyota campus that is used to fill Toyota and other manufacturer’s fuel-cell hybrid vehicle fleets. The 1.1-megawatts of electricity that the fuel-cell produces would be able to provide power for about 765 homes.

That amount of electricity is roughly twice the capacity of the existing solar panel systems on the campus. Toyota expects the giant fuel cell to reduce CO2 emissions by 3.3 million pounds during summer peak period operation hours. That CO2 savings is equivalent to taking 294 cars off the road for a year. Toyota will save about $130,000 a year in reduced energy purchased from local power companies.

Toyota installs massive 1.1-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell generator at its Torrance HQ is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia may have a new range of Windows Phone 8 devices headed to stores imminently, but the company still predicts the next quarter will be a seriously difficult one. “Nokia expects the fourth quarter 2012 to be a challenging quarter in Smart Devices,” the company said today, ”with a lower-than-normal benefit from seasonality in volumes, primarily due to product transitions and our ramp up plan for our new devices.” In fact, it expects operating margin to be down to -6%.

Nokia estimates that that number could vary by plus/minus 4-percent, but either way it will be a negative one. That could still be an improvement on Q3 2012, however, where non-IFRS operating margin was -7.4%, compared to 4.8% the year previous.

Nokia expects some good news from sales of the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 beginning, but warns that there will be a companion increase in operating expenses from those launches, which will only be partly offset by its ongoing cost reduction restructuring. The “competitive industry dynamics” – by which Nokia means strong sales of devices like iPhone and Android-based handsets – are also cited as a big issue.

CEO Stephen Elop admitted that giving consumers a glimpse of Windows Phone 8 didn’t do much to help sales of existing handsets. “As we expected, Q3 was a difficult quarter in our Devices & Services business” he said in a statement on today’s results. “In Q3, we continued to manage through a tough transitional quarter for our smart devices business as we shared the exciting innovation ahead with our new line of Lumia products.”

With the new Lumia devices only going on sale in November, however, Nokia won’t have a full quarter to redeem itself, and it seems the firm is paving the way for Q4 2012 being similarly dreary for investors.

Nokia: Q4 2012 is likely to be rough too is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.