Hasta La Gadget!

Rumors have continued to swirl about the intimate goings on at Dell as founder Michael Dell and a consortium of other companies attempt to take the computer maker private. A source has surfaced this week that claims billionaire Carl Icahn is set to enter the fray during the leveraged buyout attempt of Dell. According to sources, Icahn has recently acquired by a large quantity of Dell stock.

The sources claim that the billionaire has purchased approximately 100 million shares of Dell stock. If the sources are accurate, 100 million shares would give him approximately 6% ownership in Dell Computer. The sources claim that Icahn purchased many of the shares over the last two weeks while the stock prices hovered around $14.

So far, the billionaire has offered no official comment on the rumor only stating that he wouldn’t discuss Dell or his reasoning for the investment. CNBC reports that people close to the deal have said Icahn has met with advisers for Dell’s special committee and urged them to pursue a leveraged recap of the computer maker. The billionaire prefers that rather than accepting the $13.65 per share leveraged buyout offered by Michael Dell and Silverlake.

The sources also say that the advisors to the special committee have asked Icahn to sign a confidentiality agreement and join the go-shop process being conducted. However, Icahn has reportedly not signed that agreement at this time. CNBC reports that Icahn’s likely goal is to get Dell to pay shareholders a significant one-time dividend.

[via CNBC]

Sources claim Carl Icahn and could own up to 6% of Dell is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Raspberry Pi is a small computer on a developer board that can be used for all sorts of electronic projects and devices. The little board has been around now for one year officially, and to celebrate the first anniversary of the product launch, RS Components has announced a special limited-edition Raspberry Pi. The manufacturer has produced 1000 Raspberry Pi Model B Revision 2 boards in an exclusive blue color.

Each of the limited-edition blue boards is stamped with a serial number and comes supplied in a special presentation box. The limited-edition version also ships with a special crystal blue case and a certificate of authenticity. These limited-edition boards are not being offered for general sale and are being issued by the manufacturer through a variety of channels.

Most of these boards are being donated to charitable causes associated with young people and education around the world. However, between March and June of 2013 enthusiasts around the world will have the opportunity to enter competitions to win one of the special boards. To enter for a chance to win, simply send RSElectronics a tweet with the hashtag #bluePI.

When it comes to computer input devices, there are a huge number of mice and keyboards out there. The sheer variety of computer mice available is incredible and one mouse may not do everything a computer user wants it to. Some people need a mouse for the office, a mouse for on the go, a mouse to use from across the room, and a mouse to use on the couch.

A new mouse is on Kickstarter called the Ego! Smartmouse and it looks like a single mouse that can do just about anything you might want a mouse to accomplish. You can use this mouse on the surface of your desk like you would any other mouse for controlling your computer pointer. You can also pick the mouse up, walk across the room, plop down on the couch and use the Ego! Smartmouse in the air like a 3-D pointing device to control multiple computers and devices.

The little mouse can even be used as a portable game controller for gaming from across the room. The mouse runs the Linux operating system and has an internal 400 MHz ARM-9 microcontroller. The mouse also has up to 4 GB of integrated memory along with a number of sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and an optical mouse sensor.

Wireless connectivity for the mouse is handled by an integrated Bluetooth chip. Other hardware features for the mouse include a VGA resolution camera, touch surface, a vibration motor, and LEDs. The mouse uses a lithium polymer rechargeable battery that gets power via a micro-USB port. I told you this mouse could do just about everything. Check out the video below to get a better idea of everything you can accomplish with the Ego! Smartmouse. The Kickstarter project is seeking £20,000 and has so far raised £14,249 with 36 days to go.

[via Kickstarter]

Ego! Smartmouse works on the desk and in the air is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that the Steam-powered gaming console will be available rather soon for developers and hardware partners alike. News has come down from Valve‘s Game Newell himself as he spoke with the BBC about the future of the company immediately before the start of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Games Awards. There he was also being awarded a lovely Academy Fellowship as well.

The details surrounding the Valve-made Steam Box are still on the light side here in the first part of 2013, but the platform – that which ties the whole Valve universe together – is ready and willing to take on the gaming console masses. According to Newell, the point the company is at is inside talks with partners in the hardware market. His assurance that first iterations of a real physical product existing in the next few months were less than solid.

“We’re working with partners trying to nail down how fast we can make it. We’ll be giving out some prototypes to customers to gauge their reactions, I guess, in the next three to four months. There are noise issues and heat issues and being able to [deal with] that while still offering a powerful enough gaming experience is the challenge in building it.” – Newell

Newell was unsure of the price they’d be able to offer the end-product system at, citing possibilities in subsidies from software companies (or the lack therein) as well as the early stage they’re still in with production. Noting that the partners they’re working with now “will put forth an impressive machine” without a doubt, Newell made it clear that he expects the greater app ecosystem to be “unlikely to match other consoles” with their connections to video conferencing titles, Netflix, and “non-gaming aspects” galore.

Have a peek a the timeline below to gain greater insight on the Steam Box and what it’ll mean for the gaming universe in the near future – we’ll be on top of it here on SlashGear for the foreseeable future too!

Valve Steam Box prototypes pegged for Spring 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that Apple has been overtaken by Exxon Mobil once again, with their respective market capitalizations turning face again for the second time this year. It was all the way back in August of 2011 that Apple first overtook Exxon to become the world’s most valuable company, with Apple and Exxon’s values fighting neck-and-neck right around $350 billion USD. Those numbers have since skyrocketed (so to speak).

Back in February of 2012, Apple reached above $500 billion in market value, they being only the sixth US-based corporation to have done so in history. Later that August, Apple became the most valuable public company in history with a market capitalization value at $622.6 – surpassing Microsoft’s previous record of $618.9 billion in November of 1999.

This January (on the 5th to be exact), Apple reached down to a market cap of lower than $400 billion for the first time since it first reached over Exxon in 2011. The highest Apple has gone (thus far) was $705.07 billion USD, that peak being hit back on September 21st. That same day – you may remember – was the launch date for the iPhone 5. January also marked the first time that Exxon Mobil overtook Apple since 2011, having been re-taken by Apple one day later.

With Exxon taking Apple on the 22nd of February and retaining the lead straight through today, Apple has for the first time since it overtook the Oil beast back in 2011, become the second most valuable company on the planet for over a week. According to analysts speaking with Mercury News and MarketWatch, Apple is being projected to rebound to a price of $619.14 in the future – compared to the slightly larger than $420 the company is at today, such a rebound would likely catapult them above Exxon Mobil once more. We shall see!

Apple overtaken by Exxon as world’s most valuable company (again) is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.