Delta Pilots To Reportedly Get Surface 2 Tablets

Delta Pilots To Reportedly Get Surface 2 Tablets

Back in 2011 Delta Airlines ran an Electronic Flight Bag program from its pilots, the tablets used back then were iPads. In fact, the iPad is already in widespread use in the airline industry, both in cabins and cockpits. Microsoft might finally be getting a piece of the pie. WindowsITPro reports that Delta Airlines has informed its pilots that it will be equipping them with the recently announced Surface 2 Windows 8.1 RT tablets. The move is expected to take nearly two years, after which every Delta pilot will be touting Microsoft’s latest tablet, and they won’t have to carry heavy paper based flight bags.

Apparently the airline initially wanted to go for Nokia’s much rumored tablet. The problem is that Nokia hasn’t unveiled it as yet. So Delta has reportedly scrapped plans of going with the Finnish manufacturers tablet and has instead opted for Microsoft’s new tablet over the iPad. The Surface 2 tablets won’t be the first Windows powered device that the airline will provide its employees. Earlier this year, Delta equipped over 19,000 of its flight attendants with Windows Phone devices. The relationship between both Microsoft and Delta appears to be going well, its definitely a win for Redmond to get its tablet rolled out across one of the major airlines in the U.S.

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  • Delta Pilots To Reportedly Get Surface 2 Tablets original content from Ubergizmo.

        



    Apple hires Nike FuelBand designer Ben Shaffer; Cupertino’s wearable can’t be far behind

    A month after after poaching fitness expert and Nike FuelBand consultant Jay Blahnik, Apple has added another former Nike employee to its ranks. Cupertino has reportedly hired Ben Shaffer, who served the sneaker brand as Studio Director of the Innovation Kitchen. In this role, Shaffer helped develop the FuelBand and the Flyknit shoe, and it serves to reason that his position at Apple will involve wearables as well. It’s also not a stretch to assume that the company’s upcoming wearable will incorporate some of Nike’s fitness-tracking tech — here’s hoping we won’t be waiting too long to see the fruits of this partnership.

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    Source: 9 to 5 Mac

    Intel TV launch pushed to 2014 as partners sought

    Just yesterday we heard word that Intel was in talks with both Amazon and Samsung to bring web TV to the masses – today word is that this move has been pushed to 2014 as talks continue. Though it would seem that finalizing words between Amazon, Samsung, and Intel would be the final step before […]

    $50,000 strawberry-picking robot to go on sale in Japan

    Berry nice: The robot can harvest strawberries every 8 seconds and works while farmers sleep.

    (Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

    What could be more blissful than lying back on your picnic blanket while a robot picks perfectly ripe strawberries for you?

    Yes, we all share this arcadian dream. Sadly, it comes with a $50,000 price tag.

    That’s roughly how much a new strawberry-picking robot will cost when it goes on sale in Japan early next year, so start saving now.

    Developed in part by automation firm Shibuya Seiki, the bot was shown off in Tokyo this week at the Auto-ID & Communication Expo trade show.

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    The machine moves on rails in a greenhouse. It has a 3D stereo camera system to image the berries and judge which ones are ripe according to color.

    W… [Read more]

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    The 404 1,352: Where we kidnap our childhood (podcast)

    A new app that lets you schedule your own personal abduction.

    (Credit: kidnApp)

    Leaked from today’s 404 episode:

    – This app could get you kidnapped.

    – Here’s a commercial for Extreme Kidnapping, another personal abduction service based out of Las Vegas.

    – Real people are spending real money on one-word Twitter accounts.

    LAUSD halts home use of iPads for students after devices hacked.

    – Why is The Simpsons still unavailable to stream online?

    Ep. 1352: Where we kidnap our childhood

    Episode 1,352

    Listen Now: … [Read more]

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    Star Apps: Laura Marano

        



    Watch an Island Appear Out of Nowhere Off the Coast of Pakistan

    Watch an Island Appear Out of Nowhere Off the Coast of Pakistan

    NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured the birth of the new island off the coast of Gwadar, Pakistan after this week’s 7.8 earthquake. Read below for a longer look at this rocky, flammable gas-emitting landform that scientists are calling a "mud volcano" and why this little island might not last very long. As of today, the earthquake has claimed 515 lives, with attacks from insurgents hampering relief efforts.

    Read more…


        



    Mugenizer N11 Portable Battery Can Charge Devices Wirelessly

    There are plenty of external batteries on the market that have USB ports allowing you to keep your smartphone or tablet charged up on the go. The thing I never liked about those battery packs is that you have to carry your charging cable with you. I think we should be getting away from cables, not trying to carry more cables with us on the go.

    mugenizer battery pack 620x347magnify

    Mugen Power has announced a new portable power bank that sheds those wires, assuming your smartphone is compatible. The cool new feature is that the Mugenizer N11 supports Qi Wireless charging. That means if you have a smartphone that has integrated Qi charging technology or a phone with an accessory battery door (and a Qi battery pack), you need no cables.

    mugenizer n11 2a 620x291magnify

    All you need to is place your Qi enabled phone on the surface of the battery and the power will flow. The N11 has a 4800 mAh battery, so you should be able to get about two charges out of it with most smartphones. The device also has a conventional USB port so you can charge via cable if you need to. Of course you still need to plug in the battery to juice it up too.

    You can pick up the Mugenizer N11 battery pack right now for $69.99 (USD).

    Valve’s Second Hardware Announcement Is The Futuristic Tactile Steam Controller

    SteamController

    Nobody expected that, but Valve’s most exciting announcement of the week might be a game controller. The Steam controller is a futuristic touch-enabled gamepad with a small screen sitting right between your two thumbs. The company promises that the controller will work with any game as it is a very malleable device.

    Valve has taken a hint or two from the smartphone world and ported it to the gaming world. As smartphone interfaces allow developers to make all sorts of buttons, the company took the same approach. Thanks to a tiny high-resolution screen, players will be able to trigger a lot of different actions. It doesn’t seem to be a regular touch screen — Valve has chosen to build a clickable screen to prevent unwanted taps. But there are some familiar touch controls as well.

    For example, you can swipe through pages of actions to find the right one. The same screen will be reproduced on your bigger display so that you can keep an eye on the action while selecting an item. Even mouse-and-keyboard games, such as 4X and RTS games, should be playable with the Steam controller. The company illustrates the press release with a screenshot of Civilization V to prove its point.

    Below each thumb, users will find two rounded trackpads. They replace the traditional sticks that you can find on your Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Once again, those trackpads are clickable. This is crucial for the right thumb as many games use traditional buttons for the right side of the controller.

    The entire Steam catalog should be compatible with the Steam controller, but some games will run in ‘legacy mode’. You don’t need a Steam machine to use it, just a computer that runs Steam. But other computer games that you didn’t buy through Steam may not be compatible.

    Finally, the Steam controller can vibrate. Once again, Valve didn’t share any release date or price. But you can probably expect to see a Steam controller bundled with the Steam Box.

    Microsoft’s Cash For iPhone Promotion Goes Live

    Microsofts Cash For iPhone Promotion Goes Live

    Microsoft is already running a promotion in which it offering people who trade-in their iPads a gift card worth a minimum of $200. It was recently rumored that the company will kick off a similar promotion for the iPhone, giving people gift cards worth a couple of hundred bucks in exchange for their old iPhone. This promotion is now live and will run until November 3rd at Microsoft Stores across the U.S. An old iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 can be traded for a gift card worth a minimum of $200. The gift card can be put towards the purchase of a new Windows Phone at Microsoft Store, though there’s no compulsion. Customers can put the gift cards towards other purchases as well from the store.

    The $200 gift card is the bare minimum that Microsoft is willing to give for an old iPhone. If the device is in better condition, it will offer a gift card of greater value. Rumor has it that Microsoft can go as high as $350 for an old iPhone. The promotion runs close to the holiday season during which many customers tend to upgrade their phones. Microsoft’s definitely giving an incentive to the subset of people who’re looking to switch from an iPhone to a Windows Phone device. If you’re one of those people, then you should certainly check this deal out.

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  • Microsoft’s Cash For iPhone Promotion Goes Live original content from Ubergizmo.

        



    Ecosystem lock-in a key danger EC chief says as Samsung proposes deal

    Samsung is attempting to escape antitrust punishment in the EU, submitting a list of proposed commitments that, the European Commission VP responsible for competition says, will be market tested over the next few weeks. “After lengthy discussions, Samsung has sent us a set of commitments seeking to address our concerns” Joaquín Almunia, Vice President of […]