Hasta La Gadget!

What can you say about a phone that’s half a year old, already been reviewed and poised to launch virtually unchanged on T-Mobile’s LTE network? Not much, it turns out. But in the event you’ve been eyeing the Xperia Z as a suitable smartphone replacement, we’re here to help guide that purchase decision. Forget specs for a moment — the most important thing you need to know about this Xperia Z is that it’ll be available on T-Mobile July 17th for $99 with a two-year payment plan and it comes in purple (online-only). Otherwise, you’re stuck with the default black option, which is still mighty fine to hold and look at, but color is always a welcome differentiator. Variety, people. Spice!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sony, Google, T-Mobile

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American LG Optimus G Pro owners no longer have to look on with envy as their Korean friends take advantage of the Value Pack: the update is now available to AT&T subscribers over the air. As in other countries, the upgrade brings Smart Video to pause playback when looking away, a Dual Camera mode for photo shoots and Pause & Resume Recording for Vine-like video cuts. LG has also upgraded the Quick Remote for better Smart TV control, added emoticons to its messaging apps and opened up customization of the home button’s LED alerts. The Value Pack isn’t the same as getting a G2, but it will help the G Pro keep up with the Joneses.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T, LG

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Source: AT&T

(Credit: The Eberling Group)

The hot new thing, it seems, is mixing 3D printing with insects. First, MIT got a bunch of silkworms in on the action; now, to promote its new Dewar’s Highland Honey Scotch whisky, Bacardi is getting in on the buzz — with bees.

In what it called the “3B printing project,” The Ebeling Group marshaled 80,000 bees to create two sculptures from beeswax: a Dewar’s bottle and a bust of Dewar’s creator John Dewar.

Because bees build honeycomb inward, the team had to start with inverse scaffolding to give the insects a framework on which to build: a clear, plastic mold that let the bees start at the edges and work their way in, allowing for a sight rarely seen: bees creating honeycomb. To let the bees in and out of the unconventional hive, a rubber tube connected to the neck of the bottle provided a passageway.

(Credit: The Eberling Group)

To keep the queen bee from laying eggs in the honeycomb, she had to be separated from the rest of the bee colony, and several colonies had to be brought in for the six-week process, as bees only have a lifespan of four or five weeks.

Since the finished sculptures took so long to complete and ar… [Read more]

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Riot police watched as Istanbul protesters broke their fast together in a massive banquet that stretched far along Istiklal Avenue in a splendid show of unity, Reuters reports. Though the police used teargas and water cannons to clear them out of Gezi Park a mere two nights ago, on Tuesday they allowed the protesters to break their fast together before resuming efforts to force them to leave.

Gezi Park has become the symbol which people have rallied behind to protest Prime Minister Tayyip Ergogan’s government, which many consider authoritarian. Protesters celebrated the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, by breaking bread together in defiance of the police.

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WASHINGTON — President George H.W. Bush is returning to the White House for an event honoring the volunteer service award he created 24 years ago.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are hosting the event Monday in recognition of the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award.

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