Nov 01
Slipping into a racy unicorn costume, Courtney Stodden was sure feeling frisky this Halloween season.
Nov 01
Got a MacBook? Well, Mac-centric design company Twelve South has just announced a new height-adjustable stand for MacBooks. HiRise for MacBook is a stylish, brushed metal stand that can elevate your MacBook a few inches off your desk. The stand does that by using its V-shaped arms that will securely grip the bottom of your MacBook to hold it in place. It also has a spring-loaded post that can easily adjust the height of the stand. But apart from its ingenious design, Twelve South is also proud of its ergonomic features.
The company also claims that V-shaped arms of the stand also allows maximum airflow, which helps keep the laptop cooler when used. “Of course your MacBook stand should be adjustable!” said Andrew Green, Creative Director of Twelve South. “It’s critical to be able to adjust the height of your MacBook to your perfect height. One size does not fit all. That’s why HiRise leaves all other stands standing still.” HiRise for MacBook, as it is called, is compatible with all MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models. It’s available at the Apple Store and Twelve South’s online store for $69.99.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nifty MiniDrive gives your MacBook additional storage without being unsightly, Chrome blamed for MacBook crashes, Google confirms issue,
Nov 01
Terry Harrington, Curtis McGhee, Wrongfully Convicted In John Schweer’s Murder, May Have Been Framed
Posted in: Today's ChiliDES MOINES, Iowa — Two black men who served 25 years in prison in the 1977 killing of a retired, white Iowa police captain are aiming to prove they were framed by detectives in the high-profile case.
Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee were convicted in 1978 in the slaying of John Schweer in Council Bluffs. They were freed in 2003 when the Iowa Supreme Court found that prosecutors had committed misconduct.
Nov 01
Amazon Game Studios has launched its first title for Kindle Fire users, Air Patriots, complete with GameCircle achievements and Whispersync for synchronizing progress to the cloud. The game – also available for iPhone, iPad, and Android users – is a simple tower defense style title, but what makes it distinct is that it’s the retailer’s debut mobile game, as Amazon attempts to strengthen its position against Apple and Google.
In Air Patriots, players can guide a squadron of planes through territory by sketching out a flight plan with their finger. Bombs can be dropped on enemy tanks, and the route of the squadron changed midway through by re-drawing it.
Although the game works on iOS and other Android hardware, Amazon’s real goal is to push its own cloud services. GameCircle, for instance, was announced back in July as a push back against Apple’s Game Center, and allows multiple Kindle Fire devices to synchronize highscore tables and allow gamers to pause and resume gameplay on different units with Whispersync.
Seven maps and various planes are included, plus unlockable levels. HD-compatible devices get an HD version of Air Patriots, and the game is free to download on all platforms. Amazon’s studio previously released Living Classics in August, built on Facebook’s browser-based gaming platform.
Amazon Air Patriots game released to push Kindle GameCircle is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Nov 01
UK Court Judge Gives Apple 24 Hours To Remove/Replace “Incorrect” Web Notice On Samsung Galaxy Tab Ruling
Posted in: Today's Chili
A UK Court of Appeal has ordered Apple to remove a statement on its website following a court ruling in which Apple lost an appeal against a ruling that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablets do not infringe the design of the iPad.
The court had ordered Apple to post an acknowledgment of the ruling on its website. Apple complied with this order by posting what amounted to a non-apology to Samsung. However it’s now in hot water for posting “incorrect” and “untrue” information, according to the Court of Appeal in London. Appeal Court judges today criticized Apple’s public statement, in which it inserted four paragraphs including details of ‘similar German lawsuits’ which the court says are not true.
“I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Bloomberg quotes Judge Robin Jacob saying. “That is a plain breach of the order.”
According to Bloomberg, the UK Court of Appeal has ordered Apple to remove the statement within 24 hours and post a new notice acknowledging inaccurate comments. Apple’s request for 14 days to make the change was rejected.
Bloomberg quotes Michael Beloff, a lawyer for Apple, telling the court that the comments posted by Apple were in line with the original order. The notice “is not designed to punish, it is not designed to make us grovel,” he is quoted as saying. “The only purpose is to dispel commercial uncertainty.”
The offending four paragraphs in Apple’s statement are highlighted in bold below
On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic(UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computer, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do notinfringe Apple’s registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the Highcourt is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.
In the ruling, the judge made several important points comparing the designs of the Apple and Samsung products:
“The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. Overall it has undecorated flat surfaces with a plate of glass on the front all the way out to a very thin rim and a blank back. There is a crisp edge around the rim and a combination of curves, both at the corners and the sides. The design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold. It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design.”
“The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following. From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back. They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool.”
That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the registered design in force anywhere in Europe.
However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully copied Apple’s far more popular iPad.
Nov 01
I’d wager most people out there who ordered the new iPad mini have yet to eveb get the tablet in their hands. I know several people who were due to have theirs delivered today, but a few folks already have theirs. The geeks over at iFixit have their hands on an early delivery iPad mini and they are naturally taking out the heat gun and tools to tear the thing apart as usual. Such a vivid gadget autopsy may make Apple fans a little sad.
The teardown isn’t quite complete, but there are plenty of pictures to show you what the iPad mini looks like on the inside. The gadget killers do report that the glass is much easier to remove on this device than previous Apple gadgets. The brains of the operations include an Apple A5 CPU, and various other custom Apple chips.
It also appears that Apple is very serious about screws when it comes to securing components inside the little tablet. Cupertino used 16 screws to hold down a plate underneath the display. Underneath that plate hide the juicy insides including the battery and other various bits of hardware.
Be sure to stop by iFixit today as they continue their disassembly and wrap up the teardown step-by-step.
Nov 01
Earlier this year, all the major US carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) huddled up with the FCC to create a stolen phone database so that they could block any renegade devices. That effort has now gone live, according to the CTIA, as the majors — along with Cellcom and Nex-Tech Wireless — have just deployed their bad-lists. These will allow the operators to identify poached devices through IMEI codes and stymie their activation on networks. AT&T and T-Mobile will also be adding cellphones reported stolen in the GSMA Global IMEI database to their new lists, which should bring US efforts up to snuff with a similar, successful UK program, albeit five long years later.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Stolen phone database alive, carriers can now block pilfered handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Nov 01
Are you an audiophile who cannot live without your speakers or pair of headphones? If you have answered in the affirmative, here is something that might just pique your interest – especially if you are on the lookout for a pair of active loudspeakers. Now, I am quite sure that you would have heard of the name Behringer before, and this time around, the audio company has announced that they have begun to ship their Eurolive B115D and B115MP3 active 2-way loudspeakers.
Specially designed to deliver instantly a superb sound quality for all kinds of musicians and artists in just about any live sound situation, both of these spanking new systems will boast of an integrated dual-channel mixer with 2-band EQ, a built-in sound processor and 1,000 Watts of Class-D bi-amplification. Sounds like a whole lot to handle, right? Well, it tips the scales at a mere 38.9lbs, which roughly translates to 17.7kg each.
Setting up this puppy is a snap, and it will not take too much of your time to do so. The special enclosure design allows both of them to be pole-mounted, stacked, or placed horizontally for floor monitor wedge applications. In addition, Behringer has ensured that a dedicated USB-style 3.0 input delivers seamless integration with Behringer’s new upcoming ULTRALINK Series wireless microphones, paving the way for two channels of supremely stable, natural-sounding wireless performance.
Both the B115D and B115MP3 boasts of custom-engineered 15” long-excursion LF driver which is said to deliver deep powerful bass. In addition, there is the state-of-the-art 1.35” aluminum-diaphragm compression driver which is touted to provide exceptional high-frequency reproduction. The B115MP3 does somewhat give the game away, where it boasts of an extra feature, coming in the form of a fully addressable embedded MP3 player. Sporting an 8-button user interface and high-contrast, multi-function LCD panel, you as the user can browse through the tracks in a jiffy, or just pick shuffle, repeat or single-play modes to suit your musical mood at that point in time. Regardless of which model you pick up, they are covered by Behringer’s 3-year limited warranty.
Press Release
[ Behringer ships Eurolive B115D and B115MP3 active loudspeakers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Nov 01
iPad mini teardown reveals stereo speakers and a display driver from Samsung
Posted in: Today's Chili
The iPad mini and its almost-perfect 7.9-inch body has been stripped off its clothes. And who else could do it better than the teardown masters at iFixit. So what did they find out? Apparently the iPad mini has two speaker grilles, and yes, it’s really the first Apple product to use stereo speakers. iFixit is also the first to spot the iPad mini’s model number, which is a A1432. In case you were wondering, the iPad 3′s model number is A1430. iFixit notes that the iPad mini is very hard to open, thanks to Apple’s repair-impeding practice of keeping iPads together with generous amounts of adhesive.
They also found out that an insulating tape is used to hold the display into the rear and that its LCD and front glass are two separate components. Under the hood, they found a Samsung W1235 S6TNMR1X01 Display Driver which means that Apple is still relying heavily on Samsung’s display technology. This, of course, opposes previously heard reports that Apple is moving away from Samsung following the patent lawsuits. Other interesting things that iFixit uncovered include a few Broadcom ICs that is also being used in the MacBook Air and a 3.78 V, 16.9 Whr, 4400 mAh battery. You can check out the step-by-step teardown of the iPad mini here.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Flipboard now ready to support the iPad mini’s 7.9-inch display, iPad mini has stereo speakers, confirms Apple executive,
Nov 01
Earlier this week, Hurricane Sandy ripped through the northeast with haughty vengeance, hitting one of the most populous cities in the entire country, New York City. If you were lucky enough to be missed by the storm, and are now wanting to help out those who were hit hard, the iTunes Store is accepting donations on behalf of the American Red Cross.
Through the iTunes Store on either your desktop computer or your iOS device, you can make a donation for as little as $5. Other denominations include $10, $25, $50, $100, and $200. And no, Apple won’t take a 30% cut — all 100% of your contribution goes straight to the American Red Cross. As long as you have a credit card set up, which you most likely do if you’ve been downloading and buying apps, donating is just like buying an app; quick and easy.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Apple has partnered up with the Red Cross and started accepting donations through its iTunes Store. They also hosted a fundraising campaign for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami back in March 2011, and in January 2010, they accepted donations following the earthquake in Haiti.
Apple currently boasts over 400 million iTunes Store accounts, so the company and its customers will no doubt make a difference raising money for those in the northeast who weren’t as lucky. The Hurricane ended up being so bad that all public transportation was shut down, and most stores closed their doors in preparation for the storm, turning the most-populous city in the country into an apocalyptic nightmare.
iTunes Store accepting donations for Hurricane Sandy relief is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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