Hirobo One-Man Helicopter Is Battery Powered

I don’t know about you, but if you were to stake my life by getting me on board a one-man helicopter that runs on just battery power alone, I would think more than just twice. After all, electric power for helicopters is still in its infancy, and is anything goes awry, it would mean I would have regretted not taking flying lessons from the birds that regularly stop by my backyard. Being in an electric car is a whole lot safer – if the car loses power, at least I remain grounded. Well, Hirobo of Japan has far more faith in their electric powered one-man helicopter than I do, where the counter-rotating flying vehicle is remote operated or flown by a pilot, where it is capable of hitting a maximum speed of 62mph for up to half an hour.

Being remote controlled would also allow you to fly it in an emergency to the location of distress, picking up the person in need and bringing them back to base safely. Not only that, since it runs on electric power and does not have an engine, it will work far more silently than traditional helicopters, helping locate a person hypothetically crying out for help. Known as the Hirobo HX-1, it has already received $125 million in investment and research, hoping that it will be ready for a commercial 2021 debut.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Gamera human-powered helicopter can hover for almost a minute, poised to win Sikorsky Prize, Dead pet cat turned into flying helicopter,

The Longest Word in English Takes 3.5 Hours to Pronounce

The longest word in English has 189,819 letters and would take you three and a half hours to pronounce correctly. Seriously. It’s the chemical name of Titin (or connectin), a giant protein “that functions as a molecular spring which is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscle.” You can listen to a guy pronounce the whole damn word. More »

Julia Roberts Resembles Her ‘Pretty Woman’ Character (PHOTO)

…for real.
Read More…
More on Julia Roberts


Google To Fix December Omission In Android 4.2

It was just a couple of days ago when we talked about how Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update did not allow the People app to enter dates by users for the entire month of December 2012, simply because the month itself was missing. Well, the folks over at Google are definitely more than aware of such a huge issue, and they have officially dropped a word on their Android Google+ account, giving us some breathing space by assuring that a fix is being worked on, and it should be well on its way in due time.

Too bad there is no exact release time window for us to fall back upon, but since December is just slightly more than a week away, it would make perfect sense that the programmers over at Google’s Android division would be working hard, sweating it out every day and night to address this particular issue so that an update will be released before December. We find it rather amusing for a company or organization as large as Google overlook such a detail that most folks would have taken for granted. How about you?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.2 silences Google Voice, Android apps now installable from Google+ Stream,

White Nexus 4 On Its Way?

If you are in the market for a new Google Nexus 4, you would know by now that it is rather difficult to get a ready unit over the store shelf, and there is a build up of back orders that Google is having difficulty trying to fulfill. Well, we do know that the Google Nexus 4 comes in black, but despite shortage of its stock, it has not stopped rumors from circulating around, touting that there is a new white colored Nexus 4 on its way. The rumors must have stemmed from a retailer who opened up up pre-orders for the white Nexus 4 – talk about bold!

Of course, the common factor holding the white Nexus 4 rumors together would be the UK factor – an earlier white Nexus 4 leak was circulated thanks to British retailer Carphone Warehouse, and this time around, TalkTalk in the UK claims to have a bundle deal in tow that comprises of the Google Nexus 7 tablet and a white Nexus 4 smartphone. TalkTalk claims to be on the receiving end of these devices by the time December 13th rolls around.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nexus 4 drop test is not for the faint of heart, Google’s Nexus 4 is eligible for free 50GB Box.net storage,

Is AT&T Letting You Use FaceTime Over Cellular?

AT&T recently allowed FaceTime over cellular for iPhone users on tiered data plans but reports are coming through that AT&T iPhone users on unlimited data plans are also getting unchained from FaceTime’s Wi-Fi only shackles. Is this happening to you too? More »

MetaWatch STRATA Arrives At The FCC

Just in case you were wondering what the MetaWatch STRATA is all about, this is a smartwatch which has been realized into our reality thanks to it hitting the kind of Kickstarter funds that it was looking for, which stood at $309,436. Having picked up FCC approval, this is a key milestone that will see the MetaWatch STRATA make its way to the US, although we will not be surprised to see it hit the market in other countries as well. Similar in some ways to the Pebble, the MetaWatch STRATA will hook up to your smartphone over a Bluetooth connection, where it will then deliver a range of data, where it ranges from call and text notifications to calendar alerts, weather information and stock ticker data.

Not only that, the MetaWatch STRATA will also allow you to control music playback, where among them include volume, play/pause and next track functions. It is said that the future will also see the STRATA Widget SDK being released, enabling developers to come up with their very own custom apps for the device.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MetaWatch’s Strata is a smartwatch you might want to take a look at, Archos 80 XS Hits The FCC,

Archos 80 XS Hits The FCC

Folks over at the FCC have gotten hold of the Archos 80 XS, where this particular tablet will come with a form factor that is slightly different from all of the 7” and 10” models out there – considering how it comes with an 8” display, in addition to a Rockchip RK3066 dual-core processor. The 8” display comes with a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution display, and you can place a pre-order for the device for approximately 250 Euros if you happen to live in Europe. So far, there has been no details on the US pricing and release date, but having seen it hit the FCC this week, it should be a pretty good indicator that it is on its way Stateside.

It is rather unfortunate that the FCC documents do not reveal more details and specifications concerning the Archos 80 XS tablet, but there are some of those out there who have the basis to see this tablet ship with a keyboard case known as a “coverboard”, which would make it walk in the footsteps of the larger Archos 101 XS tablet that rolled out in summer 2012.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MetaWatch STRATA Arrives At The FCC, Asus VivoBook U38N hits the FCC,

National Transportation Safety Board Drops BlackBerry Use For iPhones

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB for short), a government body that investigates plane crashes, is the latest in a growing line of federal agencies to stop using BlackBerry smartphones among their operational staff. To further rub salt into RIM’s wound, the NTSB has decided to rely on iPhones to get the job done instead. Other notable and larger national-security departments and agencies that have shifted to the iPhone cause while ditching BlackBerry include the Defense Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration.

According to the NTSB, this switch to the iPhone 5 is because BlackBerrys “have been failing both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate.” In addition, they mentioned that “the NTSB requires effective, reliable and stable communication capabilities to carry out its primary investigative mission and to ensure employee safety in remote locations.” Hopefully the employees using the iPhone 5 will not rely on Apple Maps to help get them to the place of emergency, otherwise they might end up on the wrong continent altogether.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Research suggests that Blackberry smartphones might contain allergens, Qantas swaps out Blackberry devices in favor of iPhones,

Facebook Introduces HTTPS Connection In US

When it comes to the Internet, security is a very big issue – after all, no one would like to have their personal details accessed all too easily, right? Facebook, the world’s most popular social network at this point in time, intends to offer a more secure Facebook experience for its US users, and this is done by introducing an additional layer of security by providing a more secure Internet connection. From this week onward, Facebook users who access its website will have to go through a HTTPS connection, which is an Internet protocol that banks as well as other security sensitive websites commonly use.

Due to the added layer of security that has been integrated, the experience will be slowed down as it is not as fast as HTTP. This is due to the HTTPS protocol encrypting your data, while verifying a site’s certificates without having to cache information on your computer. Before this compulsory “upgrade”, individual users were able to select for themselves whether to enable HTTPS connections for their Facebook account or not, but it seems to have ended up as a default setting now. Other Facebook users worldwide will also experience a HTTPS switch sometime down the road.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook And Yahoo To Link Up?, Facebook Gifts Lets You Play Santa,