Kazakhstan looks nothing like what Borat showed me! All jokes aside, the nature in the country looks amazing. Wanho Lim put together some timelapse footage for the Kazakhstan National Museum of his month in the country and came away with some stunning shots. That thunderstorm, especially.
Earlier this year, the title of the world’s thinnest smartphone went to a particular device that hails from Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Gionee, in the form of the Gionee Elife S5.5 – and as you can tell by its name alone, this particular handset would measure 5.5mm thin. Having said that, it has since been surpassed not too long ago by its successor, if you will, thanks to the presence of the Gionee Elife S5.1 which sheds off another 0.4mm from its chassis, instantly making it the new king of the throne and even having received recognition by the Guinness World Records as the world’s slimmest smartphone. Still, those handsets were said to be sold only in China – or is it?
You might be surprised (pleasantly too, I might add) to find that the Gionee Elife S5.5 can be purchased over here in the U.S., although it has been given a rebranding to be called the BLU Vivo IV. You know what they say – a rose by any other name, would smell just as sweet.
BLU hails from Florida, and they churn out highly affordable smartphones, but with the Vivo IV, this happens to be a rebranded Gionee Elife S5.5. It looks similar from the outside, and shares just about everything else underneath the hood including a 5” Super AMOLED display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution, an octa-core 1.7 GHz MediaTek processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean right out of the box. It is said to retail for $299.99 as an unlocked device. Do take note that there is no LTE connectivity supported here.
Gionee Elife S5.5 Is Actually Available In The U.S.
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Some time in July this year, there were whispers of a HP Slate 17 being in the pipeline – and it seems that those rumors have proven themselves to be spot on, no more, no less, as the HP Slate 17 shapes up to be an all-in-one Android desktop/tablet. This particular device happens to sit in no man’s land methinks, being 17” in size that makes it far too impractical to be used as your primary tablet device, making it come in handy only when you would want to have it function as a secondary monitor or an extension to your desktop computer.
Running underneath the hood would be an Intel Celeron N2807 Bay Trail processor, ensuring that this is not going to be a processing powerhouse right from the get go. It is touted that the HP Slate 17 will arrive with a Full HD touchscreen display, Beats Audio support, 2GB RAM, a 720p webcam, an HDMI port, a USB 2.0 port, and a memory card reader. Connectivity options include 802,11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Expect the HP Slate 17 to run on Android 4.4 KitKat.
The internal battery of this 5.4-pound device is said to allow it to run for up to 5 hours on a full charge, although I don’t think you would want to lug this around for such a long amount of time as that would mean ditching your gym membership. It is reported that the HP Slate 17 will arrive Stateside in a few weeks’ time for less than $500.
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Do you feel as though time flies by way too fast these days? It did not seem as though it was too long ago when QuakeCon 2014 happened, and here we are with word that dates for QuakeCon 2015 have been agreed upon, as next year’s edition will be the 20th anniversary celebration which will be happening in Dallas, Texas. The dates of QuakeCon 2015 would start from July 23rd and it will end on July 26th.
Now that you are well aware of the dates, perhaps it would be prudent for you to start making all the relevant travel plans and arrangements? After all, the early bird gets the proverbial worm, and you would not want to be stuck next year without a hotel room to stay at, would you?
Expect QuakeCon 2015 to happen at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, where you will be able to enjoy a special rate should you make a reference to QuakeCon 2015 during your booking. Admission to is free, as the event will be hosted by Bethesda and id Software, although there will be special packages introduced along the way as we draw nearer to the actual dates. Since this will be the 20th anniversary of QuakeCon, we do look forward to something special that will be announced then – anyone cares to venture a guess (or two)? [Press Release]
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Destiny, a game that has seen its first level 30 character just a couple of days ago, is one hot selling title that has certainly seen a fair number of gamers enjoy the game ever since it hit the market not too long back. Having said that, there were some rumblings as reported on reddit that Destiny servers happen to be dropping players, with some of them being kicked back all the way to the login screen. This can be quite a bummer especially when you have been looking forward to a session of Destiny after spending a long day at the office, and thankfully, Bungie has been alerted to the situation and they subsequently fixed it.
Yes sir, five hours ago, Bungie was investigating the cause of the issues, and happen to have advised Destiny players to continue to try to sign in, much to the chagrin of those who did without experiencing any different results. Four hours back, Bungie tweeted that all earlier sign in issues have been resolved, and folks are able to enjoy the game across all platforms.
I hope that holds true universally – if you’re a Destiny player, did you managed to sign in just as well after the latest Bungie tweet?
Destiny Servers Dropping Players [Fixed]
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It looks like things are not going on too well for Apple at the moment, but rest assured as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus gets released in another 22 countries later today, they will most probably perform extremely well in terms of sales. Having said that, the Apple Maps debacle that happened not too long ago might have something in common with issues faced with iOS 8.0.1 – with the common factor between the two being having the same Apple quality control manager in charge, or so this is what has been reported by Apple Insider.
It seems that this quality assurance manager who helmed Apple’s buggy iOS 8.0.1 update also headed the team that was accountable for the Maps app which arrived on iOS 6 a couple of years back that did not really function as it should have.
Sources that were familiar with Apple’s corporate structure claimed that it was the same Apple manager who took charge of quality assurance teams, and ultimately proved responsible for both of these missteps. This manager is allegedly in charge of a team around the world that numbers over 100 people who were required to uncover and fix iOS software before it is released to the masses. We do wonder whether Apple will change the way things are done in the future when it comes to testing new software, or will they change the person instead?
Same Apple Quality Control Manager Responsible For iOS 8.0.1 And Apple Maps
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When it comes to wearable technology, most of the time our minds would wander to the likes of a smartwatch, a pair of smart glasses, and heck, even a smart activity tracker. How about dresses that happen to light up, although it will not be in the same CGI-inspired manner as that of the Hunger Games as worn by Katniss? The technology right now does not afford such extravagance just yet, and here we are with Richard Nicoll and a lovely, illuminated garment that was spotted over down the runway at London Fashion Week.
Sure, this is far from being the first light up garment ever, and it surely is not going to be the last as we have seen our fair share of light up dresses and skirts in the past, but at least this one looks sensual and seductive, sporting what very well looks like Lumigram fiber optic fabric. The entire fluidity of the design is certainly jaw dropping, going to show how something, when used in the hands of a master craftsman and visionary, is able to yield extraordinary results.
One does wonder just what kind of care instructions would accompany such light up dresses in the future? Is there a dress that needs to be plugged into a power point to juice it up whenever the power reserves are depleted?
Illuminated Garment Spotted At London Fashion Week
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Just one day after a botched software update left some iPhone users without cellular service, Apple has released a new update to correct that and other bugs.
Users of iOS devices can now download and install iOS 8.0.2, either through iTunes or on the device itself.
“iOS 8.0.2 is now available for users, it fixes an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who downloaded iOS 8.0.1, and includes improvements and bug fixes originally in iOS 8.0.1,” the company said in a statement. “We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1.”
On Wednesday, customers who upgraded to iOS 8.0.1 reported losing cellphone service as well as having problems with Touch ID, the security feature that allows users to unlock the phone with a fingerprint.
The company pulled the update within hours and issued instructions on how to downgrade to iOS 8.
Along with fixing those bugs, iOS 8.0.2 is supposed to address issues with HealthKit, third-party keyboards, photo access, ringtones and more.
Apple is no doubt hoping the update reverses what has been an uncharacteristically bad week for the company, causing its stock prices to suffer. Along with the software problem, which some users have dubbed iOS8gate, a number of users have reported that the new iPhone 6 Plus can irreversibly bend when kept in a pocket — a problem some are calling Bendgate.
On Thursday, the tech giant said only 9 users had complained of bent iPhones.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media reported Thursday that 50 people, including 40 assailants, were killed in a series of explosions over the weekend in the far western region of Xinjiang, in what officials called a severe terror attack.
Regional authorities had earlier said that the explosions Sunday in Luntai county killed at least two people and injured many others. The news portal Tianshan Net said bombs exploded at two police stations, a produce market and a store. It said the attack killed two police officers, two police assistants and six bystanders, and that 54 others were injured. It said police took swift action and 40 assailants were either shot dead or died in explosions.
Police captured two attackers, and an investigation found that Maimaiti Tuerxun, a man who was fatally shot, was responsible for the attack, the news portal said. The official Xinhua News Agency spelled the man’s name as Mamat Tursun. Names for people from the Uighur and other ethnic groups in China are sometimes transcribed differently in English.
Regional authorities were not available for comment Thursday night.
Ethnic tensions in Xinjiang, home of the Muslim Uighur minority group, have killed more than 300 people in the past year and a half. Chinese authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-influenced terrorists seeking a separate state. Many Muslim Uighurs bristle under Beijing’s heavy-handed restrictions on their religious life and resent the influx of the Chinese Han majority into their homeland.
On Tuesday, a court gave a life sentence to a Uighur scholar who has criticized China’s ethnic policies and sought to reduce tensions between Uighurs and the Han majority. The court found Ilham Tohti guilty of separatism, saying he incited ethnic hatred and instigated violence.
Authorities have also launched a one-year crackdown on terrorism in Xinjiang, and Chinese state media applauded Ilham Tohti’s guilty verdict as a victory in that campaign.
Scholars and human rights advocates say the strike-hard campaign could further radicalize the Uighur people and result in more violence.
It can be hard for American youth to fully comprehend the health issues that plague women and children in the rest of the world. After all, we Americans tend to be vaccinated, medicated and well treated.
(In other words, we tend to be lucky.)
Thankfully, a new generation of youth leaders is shedding light on the plight of women and children everywhere – and providing a healthy dose of inspiration along the way.
On September 23rd, Johnson & Johnson teamed up with Women Deliver, Global Health Corps, and DoSomething.org to not only highlight the key issues facing girls, women and children right now, but focus on how the youth of today can have a seat at the table.
With speakers from around the world and the moderation of former First Daughter Barbara Bush, the panel showcased brave youth leaders who are stepping outside their comfort zone to confront these issues head-on.
Below are the champions of the movement: Youth making incredible strides towards making the world a safer place for women and children.
Do you have a youth leader that inspires you everyday? Let us know in the comments.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
