Hasta La Gadget!

Bugs in software are usually annoying and they range from being small annoyances to possibly rendering the software unusable entirely, but we guess once in a while a bug does pop up that we can’t help but smile at. It seems there are several reports on the internet about an OS X bug that will basically transform your Launchpad into an abstract looking piece of art. Apparently the way the bug works is that instead of applying the blur effect when opening up Launchpad, it instead applies the crystallize effect which results in the screenshot above. It’s weird, it’s sort of beautiful and it goes away after a while. We’re not sure what exactly causes it but it does not seem to be a widespread problem. If you own a Mac computer and come across the bug, be sure to capture a screenshot and send it to us! Anyone else experience this bug for themselves yet?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Mac OS X 10.8.3 beta being prepared, OS X Mountain Lion Error 100 has solutions in sight,

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Are you reading this? Seriously, are you? Sure, we know you think you are, but what if you’re just a sub-feature of a complex computer program. A sprite, nothing more than the creation of software. The problem with this question is, how would you ever know? You wouldn’t, right? Well, not so fast there. Turns out, maybe there is a way to unravel the matrix (if there is one). It’ll come as no surprise, that this is one of the topics in this week’s collection of alternative stories. Think that’s all we got? Not even close. We’ll explore the truth behind cloning dinosaurs, as well a rare performance by singing mice — all before dinner. Or is it really dinner? This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice

Filed under: Science, Alt

Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all know about the central issue surrounding iOS 6. For the suits and ties among us, however, there’s a potentially more glaring problem with Exchange support. Some users quick to upgrade to Apple’s latest mobile OS report losing automatic push delivery of their email, requiring that they check for themselves to get any fresh messages. The issue isn’t carrier- or device-specific, and attempts to reboot, reconfigure or restore devices are at best temporary fixes: what flows smoothly at first runs dry several hours later. Apple technicians are aware that the flaw exists, but it’s tough to know if and when engineers will have a fix — the company typically waits until it has a solution in hand before it goes on the record. We’ve reached out to Apple for a possible comment all the same. In the meantime, let us know if your Exchange access (or push data as a whole) is going awry.

[Thanks, Daniel]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Mobile

Early iOS 6 adopters report problems getting Exchange push email: are you affected? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When I was growing up, one of my favorite memories was that of tiny fireflies buzzing about my backyard in the Summer evenings. But for many years of my adult life, I ended up living places where there were none of the luminescent insects. Only recently have I started seeing them again, but certainly not in the quantity I used to see them in my childhood. While I’m not likely to hang this lightning bug lighting fixture in my own bedroom, it looks like it would be a wonderful addition to any kid’s room.

This ceiling-mounted light is made up of green plastic leaves, with little LED illuminated fireflies hanging out on them. The illuminated bugs twinkle and shimmer as your kids look up to the ceiling and drift off to sleep. All told, it’s got 7 light-up bugs, and can be turned on and off with the included remote control.

As an added bonus, the whole thing runs on battery power, so you don’t need to worry about having electrical wiring done, and you could hang multiples all over your ceiling if you want. The Firefly lighting fixture sells for $34.99 (USD) over at ThinkGeek, and it’s the next best thing to seeing actual fireflies in your backyard.

When one of your main services throws up a pretty embarrassing bug, you’re going to want to squash that quick. Skype has stepped up and done just that, according to its blog. The hotfix will be rolling out for version 5.10 for Windows, 5.8 for Mac, 4.0 for Linux and 1.2 for Windows Phone. Skype was also quick to point out that not all clients (and therefore users) were affected. If you were on 5.9 for Windows, version 2.8 for Android or Skype 4.0 for iOS, then the firm assures you that you won’t be affected. The official line is that the fix should start arriving in the next couple of days, so still best to keep a lid on those office gossip chats for now. Let us know if you start getting the update in the comments below.

Filed under: Internet

Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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