Hasta La Gadget!

December is that time of the year when anticipation about latest the technology that will ring in the new year is at an all time high, that’s because the world’s biggest show for this very matter is held in the first week of January. We’re only a couple of weeks away from the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 in Las Vegas, and already there are a plethora of devices that people are looking forward to. ASUS today released a teaser for a dual-boot device which it will unveil at the event.

The teaser video doesn’t reveal any major details about this device, but from the subtle hints, it can be gathered that perhaps this device would be capable of running Android as well as Windows. It might possibly be a dual-boot tablet. ASUS already has a couple of similar products, the Transformer Book Trio and the Transformer AiO. We can expect to hear more about the device as CES 2014 approaches, if one can count on the rumor mill that is. Invitations that have already been sent to the press claim that Asus has “something incredible” it wants to show off at the event, lets see if this mysterious dual-boot device fits the bill, come the first week of January.

ASUS Teases Dual-Boot Device For CES 2014 original content from Ubergizmo.

Most major OEMs host their annual conferences which are attended by a wide variety of people, including developers, analysts, journalists and more. Apple hosts the Worldwide Developers Conference whereas Google hosts the I/O every year. BlackBerry, the once iconic Canadian smartphone manufacturer, has hosted its own annual event since 2012 under different monikers, most recently under the BlackBerry Live branding. The company has confirmed that it will not host BlackBerry Live 2014. Instead, BlackBerry says, it will continue to host smaller and targeted events in various regions around the world next year.

The decision to cancel BlackBerry Live 2014 certainly deals a blow to the company’s device plans. They have always served as the perfect platforms for building hype about an upcoming device. It goes without saying that the company has suffered monumental losses due to deteriorating performance of its hardware division. It also clears the air about the direction that BlackBerry is going to take under new CEO John Chen, which seems to be moving away from devices and focusing on its core strengths that lie in security and enterprise solutions. BlackBerry isn’t shutting down its hardware division immediately, it probably can’t afford to right now, but it has made some changes. Foxconn has been brought onboard as partner for developing low-end devices, whereas the folks back at Waterloo are going to focus exclusively on high-end devices that are favored by its loyal user base as well as enterprise customers.

BlackBerry Live 2014 Bites The Dust original content from Ubergizmo.

It hasn’t been long since Apple released its new iPhones this year. Traditionally the company releases new smartphones after a one year cycle, but if latest rumors are to be believed, perhaps we might get a new iPhone much sooner next year. Infamous Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes  claims to have heard from supply chain sources that Apple is gearing up to launch the iPhone 6 in May 2014. It will supposedly have a 20nm processor manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and a larger display, possibly around 5 inches.

There have already been a lot of rumors about Apple working on iPhones with larger displays, the company is expected to bump up the display size in 2014. However, it is widely believed that a new iPhones probably won’t be launched until fall 2014, May just doesn’t fit Apple’s traditional release cycles. Furthermore, the publication’s sources also believe that the 12.9 inch larger iPad is on its way next year as well, in October to be precise. According to the sources, this tablet is going to be geared towards educational markets in North America. Both of these products have been rumored in the past, and they’re supposed to be on track for a 2014 release, even if the timelines don’t add up right now. Apple CEO Tim Cook has already said that the company has “big plans” next year, wonder if they include setting away from years of tradition.

iPhone 6 Release Rumored For May 2014 original content from Ubergizmo.

Everybody pees and everybody poops. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, or how much money you have; when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. But how did the contraption that we all know as the toilet come to be? Who proposed that toilets should be shaped a certain way, and who decided how much water is needed for every flush?

World Toilet Day was celebrated last November 19th, so we’re a little late to the party. But let’s take a look at the past, present, and future of toilets as we face an ever-growing sanitation problem (2.5 billion people currently don’t have access to clean and safe toilets) and water shortage (think of how much water is flushed down the toilet worldwide, every second of every day.)

Past

Our ancestors didn’t fuss much when they had to go to the loo. In fact, there probably wasn’t even an actual bathroom because any place with tall grass or enough foliage could serve as a toilet of sorts. Pits on the ground were basically dug for people to poop in. Other people’s “toilets” were simply pots that they squatted over and took a dump in as the need arose. There are still places in the world where people still do this though, so it’s not that far back into the past as most people would think.

As sewers were built, toilets became more like the toilets of today: they were built with vertical chutes that directed the waste into cesspits, while others used flowing water to move the waste down the drain.

Present

Our current toilet, the flush toilet, was designed by Sir John Harrington in 1596. In 1775, the first patent for the flushing toilet was issued to Alexander Cummings. The designs were modified and further developed over the years, which eventually led to the toilets of today.

As people continued to innovate, accessories and add-ons were designed to make the pooping process more comfortable and hygienic. For example, the adjustable toilet seat allows people with big bottoms to take a dump without tipping over or losing their balance. Meanwhile, add-ons like the Bio Bidet BB 2000 Bliss offer fancy upgrades like wireless control, hybrid water heating system, water pulse, and even massage cleaning features to take personal hygiene to the next level.

The modern bathroom experience is further enhanced by products like the automatic toilet paper dispenser (which is perfect for germophobes) and the glowing toilet night light (since we all go for that midnight pee every once in a while.)

Future

At this point, you might be thinking: toilets are fine as they are. Is there really a need to tweak its design or change it, when there are so many things that could benefit from that attention and those efforts instead?

Well, you’ve probably already heard about Bill Gates and how he’s pushing people to come up with alternative designs to the current toilet through the Gates Foundation. Unfortunately, while most of them are green, multi-purpose, and energy efficient, the designs have been dubbed as too high-tech and too expensive.

There’s the Fluid Wall, a concept design that tacks on all bathroom fixtures onto a single wall to save space. And then there’s the Wellbeing Toilet, pictured above, which won an award at a toilet design competition in the UK. First of all, it integrates ergonomics and encourages people to be in the right position when they poop to lessen muscle strain. Second, it’s smart: it has a built-in system that analyzes pee for conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, or even pregnancy.

While none of these seem like viable and practical designs for mass production, someone is bound to come up with a good enough alternative as more people continue to toil over the toilet’s redesign.

[via Gizmodo, About, & Wikipedia]

We weren’t expecting to see the final Glyph prototype materialize until just before CES, but Avegant is ready to show off the latest consumer design in the flesh, presented above (and again after the break) for your viewing pleasure. The high-res …