Amazon has a patent to sell used ebooks. When I first scanned the headline, I thought it must be some Onion-esque gag, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Used e-books? As in, rumpled up, dog-eared pdfs? Faded black-and-white kindle cover art, Calibri notes typed in the margins that you can’t erase?
Samsung has quietly discontinued its keyboard dock accessories for three of its more popular recent tablets, potentially frustrating would-be owners with a more cumbersome separate stand and keyboard combo. The keyboard dock for the Galaxy Note 10.1, the Galaxy Tab 10, and the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, has been axed, Samsung has confirmed with UK retailer Clove, with unspecified “supply issues” impairing deliveries from November 2012.
According to the retailer, Samsung’s intention is to replace the single keyboard dock – which has an integrated nook into which the Galaxy Tab slots – with an accessory double-act. A tablet stand, complete with dock connector for recharging the tablet, would form one half of that combo, while a Bluetooth keyboard – still yet to be fully detailed – would be used for text entry.
The audience for keyboards to go with tablets is arguably small, though various Kickstarter projects and third-party manufacturers have waded in to design the “perfect” accompaniment to a tablet (usually Apple’s iPad). Only last week, Logitech and Belkin each outed an $80 add-on ‘board for the iPad mini, for instance.
One argument for separate peripherals might be that it introduces ergonomic flexibility. By splitting the dock and the keyboard, it allows users to move the tablet further away and perhaps raise it closer to the eye-line.
Still, as Clove counters, two accessories make for less convenient mobile computing, though it’s worth noting that Samsung’s original keyboard dock lacked the snap-cover convenience of iPad counterparts from companies like Logitech. No pricing information for the new Samsung Bluetooth keyboard has been revealed, though Clove warns that the separate dock and ‘board combo will be “a higher cost” than the old-style add-on.
Samsung kills keyboard dock for Galaxy Tabs is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
US citizens pay more for internet access than those in many other countries—and also get worse connections for their cash. This video explains why. More »
Old King Midas thought being able to turn anything he touched in the gold was a good deal. However, it turned out having the Midas touch wasn’t such a winning proposition. A certain type of bacteria is able to turn gold ions into harmless gold nanoparticles that accumulate outside of its cells.
The process is a defense mechanism that the bacteria uses because gold ions are toxic. The bacteria is Delftia acidovorans and while science has known about the process, it has only recently been described by researchers. The scientists believe that by understanding and describing the process that it may be possible to one day develop methods to retrieve gold out of the water that carries it.
The process could be used to design sensors able to identify streams and rivers rich in gold. The chemical protein in the bacteria that uses for the Midas-like process is called delftibactin A by the scientists. The bacteria secrete the protein into its surroundings when it senses gold ions. The protein then chemically changes gold ions into particles of gold ranging between 25 and 50 nm across.
Those particles then accumulate near the bacteria creating patches of gold. However, rather than having namesake golden color, the particles of gold created by this bacterial process make flakes that are a deep purple color. The scientists believe that if the delftibactin A is selected for gold it could be useful for gold recovery or as a biosensor.
[via NewScientist]
Scientists describe how bacteria changes gold ions into gold is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oh, the wondrous experience that is Toy Fair. And that particular experience, as you may know, includes anything from NERF hoop games and foam fusillades, to boxing robots and itty-bitty, tinkering novelties. To make things even better, though, Hasbro was kind enough to invite us over to its 2013 showcase in NYC, where the prodigious toy maker was exhibiting some Furby amigos known as Party Rockers, Iron Man’s Sonic Blasting figurine and Arc Fx Mission life-sized mask, a Sesame Street play-and-learning system for toddlers, as well as a Transformers Rescue Bots Beam Box which enhances the experience by allowing the toys to mesh into a game that can be played on a TV set. There was also a little Star Wars and Star Trek action, of course — and the good news is you, too, can see it all, just head past the break to take a look at the vast gallery and a quick video showing off a few of Hasbro’s new toys.
Gallery: Hasbro’s Toy Fair 2013 booth tour
Filed under: Misc
Source: Hasbro
Problems affecting iPhones running iOS 6.1 have forced carriers and some enterprise experts to caution owners from upgrading too quickly, after handsets loaded with last month’s release demonstrated problems with internet, calls, texts, and Exchange access. Vodafone UK and 3 Austria are among the carriers to speak up, with Vodafone conceding that some iPhone 4S users running iOS 6.1 “may occasionally experience difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or to connect to the internet.”
According to the carrier, “Apple is working on a solution” and “these connection problems are intermittent.” 3 Austria, meanwhile, took to Facebook to confirm the fault, and which it suggested had only been reported by subscribers within roughly the past few week, despite iOS 6.1 being released on January 28.
It’s not the only issue some iOS 6.1 users are experiencing. According to reports on Microsoft’s Technet, network administrators responsible for corporate Exchange installs have identified sudden spikes in server logging. At least one admin claimed to have seen more than 50GB of logs triggered by a single iPad running 6.1.
Further examination suggested that it was due to a bug in how calendar invites were handled, and while one workaround is to export the calendar for the affected user, delete it from the device, and then recreate/import it, others have claimed that the problem reoccured afterwards.
Apple is supposedly working on a fix, for the carrier issues at least, though it’s unclear when it may be implemented.
iPhones on iOS 6.1 prompt carrier warnings and enterprise headaches is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The highly anticipated launch of the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet went over well. How well? So well that inventory levels appear to be minimal just two days later. Shoppers flocked to Microsoft’s website at the stroke of midnight, February 9 to place orders but encountered frustration. 128GB units ($999) ended up selling out, leaving 64GB units at $899 as the available option. Other shoppers chose to visit Staples or Best Buy, only to find only a couple units on hand – which, of course, went quickly. Speculation is that total inventory levels were lower than anticipated. Could it be an effort to portray it as more popular? Was there supply chain issues? Or was that Microsoft’s intention? Who knows.
As we discussed in January, the Surface Pro is a Microsoft PC in a tablet’s body. Windows 8, Intel chip mean it performs like a computer. A touch screen mean it functions like a tablet. We will soon see what the market has to say about the latest Microsoft product and whether the PC performance in a tablet product will succeed. Keep in mind that Microsoft has had their share of successful product launches which are followed by less than average sales. But with the popularity of tablets perhaps long-term Surface Pro demand will live up to that experienced on launch day .
Thanks: Forbes
[ Surface Pro Woes copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Over the past three years, Wikipedia member West.andrew.g bas been analyzing the weird and wonderful data traffic on the English-language Wikipedia. In the the latest edition of Wikipedia’s community-managed newspaper, The Signpost, he’s revealed the biggest traffic spikes on the site within that time—in the process proving that we’re all morbid sports fan. More »
Australian buyers of all sorts of gadgets such as smartphones a computers have long been subjected to significantly higher prices than buyers in other countries. Last year, the Australian House of Representatives launched a probe to see if some products were more expensive in Australia than other parts of the world. Many Australians and consumer bodies have long complained that Australians were being overcharged by manufacturers compared to other countries.
Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe have now all been called before the Australian Parliament to answer questions on pricing. The three major companies are scheduled to appear before the committee on March 22 of this year. According to one Australian Parliament member named Ed Husic the price of some goods in Australia were 60% higher than the same items in the United States.
Previously the companies have made written submissions to the Australian committee and have declined to appear before the committee in person. Husic said that increased prices for hardware and software within Australia could have a major commercial and economic impact. Australians have long complained of price discrimination due to the significantly higher prices they are forced to pay than people in other countries.
Husic also said that getting the companies to decrease prices in Australia and to reduce price discrimination should be a big micro-economic priority within the country. It will be interesting to hear how these companies justify the increased prices in Australia. I suspect there is no real justification other than the market has supported the pricing over the years because they had no alternative.
[via BBC]
Australian Parliament summons Apple and Microsoft over pricing is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin has announced that it has completed the assembly of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft. Lockheed Martin reports that the orbiter is now undergoing environmental testing near Denver, Colorado in its Space Systems facilities.
During the environmental testing phase, Lockheed Martin will put the orbiter under a variety of rigorous tests designed to simulate extreme temperatures, vacuum, and vibration that MAVEN will be subjected to during its mission. Lockheed says that the spacecraft is currently in its Reverberant Acoustic Laboratory preparing to undergo acoustic testing designed to simulate the maximum sound and vibration levels the spacecraft will experience during launch.
After the acoustic testing is completed the spacecraft will be put through another battery of tests to simulate separation/deployment shock, sine vibration, electromagnetic interference, and magnetics testing. The testing phase will end with a thermal vacuum test that subjects the spacecraft and instruments to vacuum with extreme hot and extreme cold temperatures to simulate the space environment.
Lockheed Martin still plans to ship MAVEN to the NASA Kennedy Space Center in early August. Once the spacecraft is received by NASA it will begin final preparations for launch. The MAVEN spacecraft is currently scheduled for launch in November of 2013 on a mission to help determine how much atmosphere Mars has lost over time.
[via Lockheed Martin]
NASA MAVEN spacecraft assembly completed by Lockheed Martin is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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