Hasta La Gadget!

Ask any smartphone user how the popular devices have changed their lives since they first came out and you’re bound to hear some interesting stores. Smartphones have been developed to the point where for some it seems entirely impossible to get through the day without them. Users can already accomplish a lot of tasks through their handheld devices, and if international hotel chain Starwood Hotels’ new pilot program works out, soon travelers will be checking into the chain’s hotels without actually having to step in front of a check in desk.

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Smartphones To Be Used As Room Keys In Starwood Hotels’ New Pilot Program original content from Ubergizmo.

So you are a proud new owner of the Sony PS4, and would like to play an epic RPG on it? I suppose your quiet prayers whispered on the side have been answered with the official announcement of Final Fantasy XIV headed for the PS4 this coming April 14th. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will kick off its beta on February 22nd, with a full launch on the PS4 this coming April 14th as mentioned earlier. Apart from that, those who are flush with cash and want something which is a whole lot more memorable would be able to make do with the Collector’s Edition.

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Final Fantasy XIV For PS4 Arriving This April 14th original content from Ubergizmo.

Soon enough you’ll be able to walk into a hotel, straight past the front desk and have your door open automatically for you without any extra effort required, thanks to a new pilot project by Starwood Hotels (via WSJ). Two hotels are debuting keyless entry via smartphones that have a companion app installed and can communicate via Bluetooth 4.0, one in Harlem and one in Cupertino, with both set to go live before the end of the first quarter of this year.

Notably, the tech doesn’t use NFC, but rather opts for low-energy Bluetooth, which is available on Apple’s latest iPhone models as well as on most contemporary high-end Android smartphones. The implementation by Starwood would deploy virtual keys via their smartphone app to hotel guests, which would allow the guests to then open their hotel room door simply by tapping or gesturing with their device once they arrive.

Starwood is bullish on the potential of the tech: CEO Frits van Paasschen told the WSJ that it believes this will be the “new standard” for hotel access, once it gets past the novelty stage. Of course, it has some potential limitations, like how to easily provision multiple keys for guests and their kids, as well as making sure that the tech is secure enough that patrons are comfortable with it. Plus, unforeseen parts of the check-in experience like arriving hours early are things often dealt with on the fly by the people manning the desk, so there will probably be a learning curve during the pilot process where this stuff is worked out.

Fixing check-ins is a priority for hotels because the check-in process, especially during times when a hotel is busy, causes a bottleneck, and is responsible for unpleasant experiences for both employees and customers. Introducing self check-ins and virtual keys alleviates those bottlenecks, and in the short-term at least, won’t replace the traditional check-in methods altogether. There’s the possibility that the whole thing becomes automated down the road (I’d argue inevitably, too) but for now it would work in tandem with real human staff.

Starwood wants to roll the system out at all of its W and Aloft locations by the end of 2015, so it’ll be interesting to see how this pilot goes. If any hotel chain can make it work, it’s Starwood, with its trendy, tech-loving demographic appeal, but it’s still very early days for this kind of tech. Others like Nymi envision a time when this kind of automatic entry is also tied to your heart rate, but first we’ll see if people like the idea of their phones giving them instant access to a clean bed and warm room after a day of travel. As with most new tech undertakings, it’ll probably depend entirely on how frustration free the experience is from the start.

The Jade Rabbit as seen from the moon lander's camera.

(Credit: Xinhua)

Technical malfunctions are the bane of space missions, and China’s lunar rover is not immune to these mission-snagging bugaboos. Xinhua, China’s official press agency, reports that a current breakdown is a “mechanical control abnormality” caused by the “complicated lunar surface environment.”

The successful soft-landing of the Chang’e-3 lunar probe in the Bay of Rainbows on December 14 of last year was a celebratory event in the history of China’s space program. The rover, nicknamed “Jade Rabbit,” was scheduled to gather data and operate for three months, but the technical problems could put a premature end to the work.

Chinese scientists are investigating options for repairing the rover, but details are scarce. The problems could be caused by lunar dust or the extreme hot and cold temperatures the machines have to weather.

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• NASA probe takes off to solve moon dust mystery
• China aims to put astronauts on moon

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While U.S. military has had its fair share of bungled development programs—just look at the V-22 Osprey or the littoral combat ship—the ill-fated A-12 Avenger II is a strong candidate for the worst. It was so poorly managed that, if completed, the program could have sunk nearly all of the Navy’s budget.

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