While chatter between the US Air Force is spoken exclusively in English, communications between their aircrafts’ electronic systems is more akin to the United Nations cafeteria—a “dog’s breakfast of different datalinks,” according to Lt. Gen. William Lord. Since the numerous competing defense contractors tasked with building military aircraft often install contradicting and incompatible systems, the USAF employs a pair of legacy NASA fliers to act as battlefield interpreters. More »
Apple released iOS 6.1 on January 28 without seeing a gold master (GM) version to developers prior to its launch, which is very unlike Apple if you follow their iOS release schedule. Sure – iOS 6 was downloaded by an alleged record number of iOS users, but Apple’s haste may have worked against them this time as a major mobile carrier is advising its users against updating to iOS 6.1.
Vodafone, which is a U.K.-based mobile carrier, is warning its customers who have an iPhone 4S from upgrading their device to iOS 6.1 saying in a statement, “Some customers may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the Internet. Apple is working on a solution to their software issue. These connection problems are intermittent.”
U.S.-based carriers have yet to speak out against iOS 6.1, but a number of users have taken to the Apple’s forumsin order to sound off on the latest OS’ battery drain problem that seem to affect all version of the iPhone, not just the iPhone 4S as Vodafone warned.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple Will Release Budget iPhone June 2013, Says Analyst, Apple Rushing Release Of iOS 6.1.1 To Address iPhone Battery Issues [Update],
Because nothing quite says “hip brand rejuvenation” like associating your channel with an 80-year-old magazine, NBCUniversal today announced the rebranding and makeover of its G4 television channel into “The Esquire Channel” (as in Esquire magazine). G4 primarily aired video game-centric programming, as well as a vast array of re-runs — something NBC exec Bonnie Hammer doesn’t think was the best idea. “Realistically, guys who are into gaming are not necessarily watching television,” Hammer said, directly refuting the 2012 statistic that 49 percent of US households own a gaming console. “Let’s create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for.” The New York Times reports that The Esquire Channel will be pitched as “an upscale Bravo for men,” though it’s not exactly clear what that means — we’ll find out on April 22 when the network goes live in 62 million homes.
For now, NBC’s got demographics its targeting. Specifically, “a more educated, affluent, sophisticated male viewer,” says the NYT piece. One thing it won’t be? Reality shows with a noun and the word “wars” behind it. “Much of today’s programming targets men in a one-dimensional way … tattoos or pawn shops or storage lockers or axes or hillbillies,” Esquire Channel’s general manager Adam Stotsky said. It doesn’t look like the channel’s beyond reality programming altogether, with its first two shows being a cooking competition named Knife Fight and its other being a celebrity-based travel show named The Getaway. Nor is it beyond the aforementioned re-runs, announcing Parks & Recreation and Party Down as headed for syndication on the forthcoming channel.
[Photo credit: The New York Times]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: The New York Times
Why hide your toilet paper stock in a cabinet that guests will just have to hunt through when they run out? This stylish laquered steel tree can be mounted to the wall near your loo where it will store up to 14 extra rolls in plain sight, without looking like an eyesore. More »
First there was the HexBug. Then there was the HexBug Nano. Now there’s HexBug Nano V2. Those creepy-crawly little self-propelled robots are back, and they’re better than ever. The latest iteration of these little robo-insects now has the ability to wriggle around not just on your tabletop, but actually climb.
The new HexBug Nano V2 can be set into a hamster-like maze and then can scurry about both horizontally and vertically. Naturally, you’ll want to buy not just the critters, but some of the bug maze kits for your insects to take up residence in as well. It’s not clear if they’ll function on other smooth vertical surfaces, but they navigate these see-through pipes with ease.
Microsoft‘s series of Surface advertisements have been interesting to say the least, and their latest one is no exception. It’s the company’s first Surface Pro advertisement to air on television, and while we get to see the tablet being thrown around in a room full of break dancers, we’re not quite sure if Microsoft hit the mark on this one.
Essentially the advertisement is a lot similar to past Surface ads we’ve seen, where the users perform cool trucks with the tablets, and in this case, breakdance with the tablet in hand. In the ad, we see what the Surface Pro can do for only a few split seconds, like take notes with the stylus in business reports, and even create music by plugging in a microphone.
However, the ad doesn’t really get the point across of what the main differences between the original Surface tablet and this new Surface Pro. Sure, tech enthusiasts like you and me (aka geeks) know the differences between the two, but everyday users really only know that the “Pro” tacked on at the end must mean it’s better, without knowing the details.
Of course, the tablet is definitely an improvement over the original model, and it seems Microsoft is just going to leave it at that. The Surface Pro is available now in stores and online with prices starting at $899 for the 64GB version and going up to $999 for the 128GB variant.
Microsoft Surface Pro ad will make you want to breakdance is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This morning we’re looking toward the future with a rather enticing self-driving car timeline of five years – soon and very soon! There’s currently a Sustained Attack happening on the USA – did you know? It’s a hacking attack, mind you. Over at the FCC a Samsung Wireless Charging Pad has made clearance with a possible Galaxy S IV in its sights.
This week’s State of the Union Address in the USA will have a lovely fireside chat happening directly afterward – join in! Two new Samsung smart cameras have hit the shelves – these are the same units we saw at CES 2013, and they’re hot! It would appear that we’re low on Surface Pro tablets out there in the wild market. Check out the concept for the Apple Willow Glass “iWatch” to blow your mind.
The new HTC One has leaked with both a rendering of its front and a sample photo. It would appear that the non-planet Pluto has a series of moons that need naming. In the hunt for Christopher Dorner, several unmanned drones have been deployed – gotta catch em!
Don’t miss our HP EliteBook 2570p Review by Craig Lloyd – it’s solid!
The first primetime Google Nexus 4 advertisement has been released – after all this time! The Samsung Galaxy Tab Keyboard Dock has been killed here in 2013 – that’s it, that’s all, that’s all there is! Carriers here and there across the planet have been having iOS 6.1 issues both inside and outside of enterprise use. Watch out for the NASA MAVEN spacecraft soon as Lockheed Martin has completed assembly.
SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: February 11, 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Has it been over an hour since there’s been an Apple-related rumor? We’ll fix that right away with this latest rumor of the iPhone 5S.
Over the past few months, we’ve seen leaked photos of the alleged iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. Today, we’re seeing another photo possibly leaking the iPhone 5S’ sweet, sweet innards coming from Chinese website Zol.com.cn. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple Will Release Budget iPhone June 2013, Says Analyst, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 Rumored For 2013 Launch,
Dish didn’t quite make the January release target for the Hopper with Sling, but we’ll take a slight delay for such a tangible upgrade. As of today, subscribers across the US can pick up the remote streaming DVR if they’re willing to pay the $10 monthly whole-home DVR fee; new subscribers who pick at least the $50 Top 120 channel bundle won’t have to pay anything up front for the 2TB set-top box. Of course, the real savings theoretically come from skipping the need for a discrete Slingbox — instead, viewers only need the Dish Anywhere app to stream live and recorded shows, and they can travel with offline copies of their recordings through Hopper Transfers. If you’re the sort to see TV as a pay once and watch anywhere service, the Sling-equipped Hopper might justify the longer wait.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Dish
Today on the Mojang blog, the developer announced general availability of Minecraft: Pi Edition, a version of Minecraft designed specifically to run on the open source Raspberry Pi computer. The version is completely free and was originally announced late last year as an effort to get kids more interested in the kind of exploratory programming the Pi can offer.
Minecraft: Pi allows players to interact with it in the usual way, but it also supports a variety of programming languages so that players can get much more involved with editing the game’s code. That gives it more flexibility than you’ll find in the paid consumer shipping versions of Minecraft, in a package that’s completely free to run on $35 Raspberry Pi hardware.
The version missed its initial planned launch date, but that was because porting Minecraft to the Raspberry Pi proved more difficult than originally thought. Despite delays, the arrival of this software on the platform once again expands the possibilities for the platform created by Eben Upton and his team. A lot of the innovative uses we see involve hardware hacks, but this is a change that should give some kids their first crack at seeing what’s involved in game development from the ground up.
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