Hasta La Gadget!

Folks, the rather dour line drawing that you can see in the image above is the very first glimpse of Google’s wearable computing project as it swings through the FCC’s underground facility. The Google Glass Explorer Edition hardware, promised to arrive this year, is carrying a Broadcom 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi radio that’s been paired with a Bluetooth 4.0 + LE module. We’ve seen a reference to an “integral vibrating element that provides audio to the user via contact with the user’s head,” which we presume relates to the bone conduction patent we saw earlier this month. The filing also reveals that the testing laboratory involved used the conduction technology to view video with audio. As the commission is now making the paperwork public, it can only mean that it’s judged the unit, with the product code “XEB,” to be safe for human consumption — which means customers 782 and 788 might be expecting something special in the mail very shortly.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Source: FCC

Just incase you didn’t remember from the first time we spoke about the fact that BlackBerry 10 supports rather easily repackaged Android apps back in November of 2011, the point is being made abundantly clear here at the launch of the mobile OS. Here inside the launch week for BlackBerry 10 the 70,000 apps at launch have been called 40% Android in origin by none other than BlackBerry UX designer Don Lindsay as he spoke with PC Mag about the collection. The high conversion rate comes from none other than the basic BlackBerry Android toolset that’s ready to rock for Android developers across the nation right this minute.

You’re able to create BlackBerry 10 apps using your basic Android app APK with a set of simple tools right out of the box. The resulting app will not be considered for the many awesome promotions BlackBerry is hosting for “best of” and massive prizes galore, but the process is simple – plug it in, start it up, and map your buttons to the gestures BlackBerry 10 presents. The resulting BAR file will work on a BlackBerry 10 device easy as pie.

The resulting files will be odd at first, with some controls being difficult to get used to if you’ve been working with Android for the past several years or have never worked with the BlackBerry 10 user interface before at all. Gestures are the hero here, with swipes from the center of the bottom of the display up and right or up and left doing to forward and backward movements instead of your standard Android “back” button. Have a peek at our upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS review for additional insight on that bit of a process as well.

Meanwhile you can head to the tool page inside BlackBerry’s developer portal to get everything from a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Simulator (soon to be replaced by a full-fledged BlackBerry 10 simulator with essentially the same details) to a set of command-line tools to make your process smooth as butter. You can work with the Online Packager or the BlackBerry Tablet simulator as well, with the Eclipse plug-in being the first and perhaps most important tool for you if that’s the place you’re used to creating your code – have at it!

BlackBerry 10′s app library tipped as 40% repackaged Android is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve seen an amigurumi of Old Snake before, but I like the young Solid Snake much better than that bitter – but heroic! – old fart. Which is why if I had this amigurumi I would hug it so tightly a ration would come out before I even dropped it.

But since he’s just 5.5″ tall, it’d be easier to squeeze him with one hand than give it a full CQC hug. But look at that awesomely stitched beard. And that mullet! Good thing he doesn’t have a crocheted cigarette or I would’ve given in and bought it, shipping be damned.

You can order the impressive Solid Snake amigurumi from Sam Wilding’s Etsy shop PixelBlock for $30 (USD).

[via Gamefreaks]

JOBS star Ashton Kutcher, who plays the lead role of Steve Jobs in the film, gave a talk this morning at Macworld/iWorld 2013 and discussed what it was like to play the role of the co-founder and former CEO of one of the biggest technology companies on Earth. When asked what he thought the most important things were that viewers should get out of the movie, he had a few things in mind.

Kutcher specifically mentioned three things that audience members should get from the movie: focus, compassion for customers, and dream the impossible. Kutcher noted that Jobs had the ability to say no to anything that wasn’t his greatest mission at the time, and says that “it’s not a detriment to your character if you say no to the things that won’t help other people.”

He also discussed the compassion for Apple customers that Jobs had. Kutcher said he learned that caring about the consumer experience is what makes Apple a great company, and as long as you focus on customers and give them priority, other things such as revenue and profit will just fall into place. Lastly, Kutcher mentioned that Jobs “believed that it was possible to do things that were impossible.” In fact, one of Kutcher’s favorite quotes from Jobs is, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people who are no smarter than you.”

Kutcher said that he ultimately hopes people walk away from the movie with the motivation to not just settle for things, and he notes that people should just “make life better and build something.” JOBS recently debuted last weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, and will see an official theatrical release on April 19.

[via Cult of Mac]

Kutcher talks focus, customers, and the impossible in JOBS is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday, we heard that Nintendo was revising its Wii U sales forecast, bringing the number of consoles it plans to sell in the year ending in March 2013 down to four million. Previously, Nintendo has expected to sell 5.5 million consoles, so this is suggesting to some that Nintendo is struggling on the Wii U sales front. Sorry to say, but if you were hoping for Nintendo to cut the price on the Wii U in a effort to boost sales, you’re not going to get your wish.

In a presentation to investors after Nintendo revised its sales forecast, president Saturo Iwata said that the company isn’t planning to drop the price on the Wii U any time soon. Some were expecting a price cut if Nintendo found itself in hot water with the Wii U, since it implemented a price cut when 3DS sales were lagging. Iwata said in his presentation that he “would like to make this point absolutely clear,” so it seems Nintendo is holding firm on the issue.

One of the reasons Nintendo doesn’t want to cut the price on the Wii U is because it’s already offering the console at a loss. Dropping the price below where it’s at now would definitely widen that loss, so it may not help that much. Instead of dropping the price, Nintendo says it will try to better communicate the value of the Wii U as we wait for the console’s software line up to improve.

Software will also be a major focus for Nintendo moving forward. During the most recent Nintendo Direct livestream, Iwata revealed a number of exciting Wii U games, announcing an HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and informing us all that the company will have new Mario and Mario Kart games for the Wii U on display at E3 2013. We’ll see how Nintendo addresses Wii U sales that are below expectations soon enough, but after today, a price drop just doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

[via Joystiq]

Wii U price cut isn’t happening, Nintendo says is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.