We’ll never know whether this Siamese cat was attempting to set freefall records for its species or engaging in a dramatic feline suicide attempt when it jumped from the top of this Colombian communications tower. But we do know that firefighters were on hand to catch it in a net before it hit the ground. Well done, brave kitty. You’re a credit to your species in a way that Maru can only dream of. [Arbroath] More »
The popular new app switcher that we told you about a couple weeks ago is now available for iOS 5.1 devices and higher. Previously, it was only available for iOS 6 devices, but the developer has now released it for those who aren’t willing to upgrade to Apple’s latest operating system. The jailbreak is only available for iPhone at the moment.
The app switcher costs $1.99 in the Cydia store, which is actually a small price to pay for a huge upgrade to iOS’s default app switcher. Auxo provides webOS-esque cards in the app tray instead of just icons, and with a quick swipe downward, you can easily close out apps in an instant — a much quicker way than Apple’s built-in method.
The tweak also comes with an enhanced music player that gives you basic controls and even the ability to view album artwork. If you swipe further to the left, there are also toggles for various settings, like WiFi and Airplane Mode, as well as a slider to adjust brightness, which is a perfect setting for those not keen on the automatic adjustment.
We should clarify that the Auxo app switcher is for iOS 5.1 and up, not iOS 5.0.x. The tweak won’t work on iOS versions older than iOS 5.1. However, this shouldn’t be a huge problem for most users, since a lot you are probably running at least iOS 5.1 anyway, but it’s important we point that out before you end up paying two dollars for a tweak that won’t work for you.
Auxo app switcher for iOS 5.1 available now in Cydia is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Today marks the final day of the Xbox Live Countdown to 2013 sale, and the promotion seems to be going out with a bang. Microsoft and Bethesda have dropped prices on both Skyrim and Oblivion, along with some DLC for each. Skyrim has shaved 50% off its normal Games on Demand price, coming down to $29.99, while Oblivion has dropped down 33% to just $9.99.
If you already have those games and are just looking for some DLC action, there are plenty of deals to take advantage of. Dawnguard is currently 800MSP (50% off), and while Hearthfire was supposed to receive the same 50% off treatment and go down to 200MSP, that hasn’t happened yet. Major Nelson tells users to check back later if they aren’t seeing discounted prices, so it sounds like Hearthfire is still in for a discount at some point today.
Sadly, there aren’t any Dragonborn discounts to partake in today, probably given the fact that it’s brand spanking new. If you’re shopping for Oblivion DLC instead of Skyrim DLC, Microsoft and Bethesda have you covered. The game’s stellar Shivering Isles expansion is being offered for 600MSP (50% off), while Knights of the Nine is also half-off to come in 200MSP.
There you have it folks – the final day of the Countdown to 2013 sale on Xbox Live. These are some pretty excellent deals to wrap-up with, but the entire promotion has been great for players looking to save. Did you pick up anything during the Countdown to 2013 promotion?
UPDATE: Hearthfire’s 50% discount has gone into effect, meaning that you can nab it from Xbox Live for 200MSP right now. Go crazy and build your dream home, folks!
Xbox Live Countdown to 2013 sale wraps with deals on Skyrim, Oblivion [Update] is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Samsung’s latest phablet-style smartphone, the Galaxy Note II, has proven its worthiness over in the states, but what about in the company’s own home land of South Korea? It turns out that Samsung has sold one million Galaxy Note II units in the motherland alone, just over 90 days after launching back in September.
Samsung announced last month that they sold over five million Galaxy Note II units worldwide, and it’s very likely that number has grown since then, and will continue to grow for some time now. Sales of the Galaxy Note II were three times higher than its predecessor as far as early sales numbers are concerned.
The Galaxy Note reached 10 million-unit sales in 10 months after launch, but the Galaxy Note II is expected to reach that milestone in half the time given the current momentum that it has. Samsung says that a variety of new applications along with S-Pen functionality mostly contributed to the continued popularity of the device.
The Galaxy Note II features a gigantic 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1280×720 resolution. On the inside, there’s Samsung’s own Exynos 4412 quad-core chip clocked at 1.6GHz paired with 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of internal storage. It also comes packing with a huge 3,100mAh battery for all day productivity.
[via MK News]
Samsung Galaxy Note II sales top 1 million in South Korea is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Intel is reportedly pushing for voice control as a standard feature of Shark Bay based ultrabooks in 2013, with a combination of hardware and software for speech recognition tipped to join the minimum spec list. The hands-free technology would join touchscreens as part of Intel’s premium feature-set for next-gen ultrabooks, Fudzilla reports, though exactly how such a system would be implemented is unclear at this stage.
Windows 8 already supports speech recognition, with spoken commands being used for dictation, for navigating around the UI, and for triggering features like cut/copy/paste and opening apps. The nature of Intel’s hardware/software mix – and which elements it would provide to OEMs, and which would be sourced from third-parties – is unstated, given Microsoft has the software side under control.
One possibility, however, is that Intel could specify a certain type of digital microphone array, with active noise cancellation for better performance. The chip company already has certain criteria which manufacturers must meet if they’re to use the ultrabook branding, such as around thickness and storage.
In that respect, the new focus on voice control could be more about marketing than new technology. Given Apple is expected to add Siri to OS 10.9 next year, bringing natural speech recognition across from iOS devices to the company’s mainstream Mac line-up, reminding ultrabook owners that their svelte laptops can do something similar (and making sure they have a reasonable experience using it) would be a useful tick on the product sheet.
Shark Bay – aka Haswell – will also include extended battery life, and Intel is supposedly pushing for Full HD display support, at least on ultrabooks priced at $800 or above. Always-connected WWAN and facial-recognition are also tipped to be key selling points for new models.
Intel reportedly prioritizing voice control for 2013 Haswell Ultrabooks is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google tried it and failed. Microsoft’s spent years putting pieces in place with Xbox, but it hasn’t gotten there yet. And if you believe the rumors, Apple’s been working on it in secret for years. But the living room revolution we’ve been waiting for won’t be coming from the big three, according to a report from TechCrunch. More »
Hackulous, the iOS piracy community behind the jailbreak app Installous, has suddenly shut down. Along with the community site, the Hackulous repository for the jailbreak store Cydia has also disappeared, rendering all of the community’s piracy tools dead. More »
Holding your pants up just got a whole lot geekier. Sure, you could always buy yourself a Super Mario Bros. belt buckle, but wouldn’t you rather have an entire level of your choice on a leather belt? Well, now you can, as long as you are willing to cough up a lot of gold coins.
Leather artist SalukiFeathers is offering just that. Each of these Super Mario belts is painstakingly hand-tooled and the process takes weeks. Now you know why they cost $395(USD).
I’m not sure which level I would choose. The one in the picture, where Mario finally rescues his Princess looks pretty good to me. I suppose it would be a lot cheaper to just get pants that fit. Or overalls, like Mario. However that wouldn’t be nearly as cool as this belt.
[via Obvious Winner]
Another incredibly creepy robot has turned up, this time from the University of Zürich’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. The creepy robot has a gigantic smooth head and exposed Terminator components. The bot is called Roboy and was built with help from both engineers and scientists.
The team hopes that Roboy might become a blueprint for service robots that are able to work with humans and provide services such as support for elderly people. The robot stands 1.2 m tall and is driven by a series of mechanical tendons giving it the ability to move around. The tendon functionality in the robot is said to closely mimic the function of human tendons allowing Roboy to move like a human does.
For now, the robot is still in the construction phase. Development has involved the completion of the torso, leg development, and computer-assisted drafting of the entire robot along with assembly and teaching the robot to move. The team announced in the middle of December that the robot was “getting a new face and can already moved his arms.”
While the robot has exposed components right now, it would eventually be covered with a soft skin to make the robot more comfortable for humans to touch. The design team is trying to raise money to help complete the construction of the robot by selling logo space on the robot body where names or company logos can be engraved. Check out the video below to see the robot in action.
[via Phys.org]
University of Zürich Artificial Intelligence Lab shows off Roboy robot is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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