Kenco Millicano coffee vending machine shouts orders at passers-by

If you are a coffee lover, you know that your day will not start off on the right side of the proverbial bed if you have yet to enjoy your favorite cuppa. Those who are willing to go further for a free cup of coffee can always check out this particular vending machine that is placed in Soho Square, London, by U.K. coffee company Kenco Millicano, where it shouts out orders at passers-by, asking them to act all weird and placing them in potentially embarrassing situations. Some were ordered to scream, others to hug the machine, and even dance around in a silly manner, before the Kenco Millicano vending machine actually sends forth its hot cup of coffee.

This is the creation of ad agency Leo Burnett, and it does offer a rather humorous insight into how ordinary folks react to a machine that is extremely demanding. Majority of the folks do seem to enjoy and embrace the experience as you can see from the video above. Now, this machine is not equipped with a super smart processor inside, but rather, has a voice actor to speak through the machine for that human touch. Definitely not the weirdest vending machine we have seen to date, though.

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Samsung experiences large stock market slump on US sales ban concerns

So the verdict is out on the Apple and Samsung lawsuit, where the latter will need to fork out a whopping $1 billion in compensation to the company that laid claim to property of rounded corners and other seemingly frivolous claims. I am quite sure that there are supporters on both sides of the camp, but ultimately, we would like to see the consumer win, but it is rather difficult to say that will happen in the future with what has just happened. Having said that, this ruling which might also mean a sales ban of Samsung consumer electronics in the US was a major factor in sending Samsung Electronics’ stocks to plunge the most in almost four years, making the company more than $12 billion poorer on paper.

According to Seo Won Seok, a Seoul-based analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., “What’s concerning is whether any ban will be extended to flagship models and will have an impact on cases in other places. Perhaps Samsung has technology to avoid some infringements, but they also need to come up with ways to get around Apple’s patents within the Android operating system.” What do you think of the entire situation?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung sends memo to employees, to continue fighting Apple , Apple and Samsung receive partial product bans, fined in South Korea,

Prince Harry deletes Facebook account under the guise of Spike Wells

Facebook logoYou would have thought that the British royalty that tends to maintain a stiff upper lip stance would have said something about this bit of news, but as at press time, there was nothing from them to deny the deletion of Prince Harry’s Facebook account which was operating under the alter ego, Spike Wells. This was done after it was alleged that photos of Prince Harry’s nude “strip pool” antics in Las Vegas appeared, courtesy of some rather timely advice from his private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. Should this be true, it makes sense, as the Palace would no doubt be concerned that additional distasteful photos might eventually make their way online that depict the young prince’s escapade with his mates on Sir Richard Branson’s private Necker Island where they stayed prior to visiting Las Vegas.

Harry’s two best friends, Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip and Arthur Landon, were reported to have shut down their respective Facebook accounts as well. There is no confirmation as to whether the prince was actually photographed naked in a two-storey suite in Vegas, alongside a dozen “randomly recruited” girls, but that would be pretty tame by Vegas standards anyways. What do you think about the whole deal? Will Prince Harry eventually start another Facebook account?

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Star Wars 3D remakes of Episode II and Episode III confirmed

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was famous (or should I say, infamous) for the computer generated character known as Jar Jar Binks, although I found that sentiment on the ground tend to lean more on the negative side. Well, George Lucas is a true blue entrepreneur who is always on the lookout to earn more money (not that he needs it anyway), and hence decided to remaster Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D glory some time back. I guess it was more of a “testing the water” kind of thing, and it must have been financially successful enough for Lucasfilm to approve 3D remakes of Star Wars Episodes II and III, where they will be released back-to-back in fall next year.

We are looking at September 20 and October 11 release dates, respectively, which is a good thing for fans of the space opera franchise since they need not wait in between episodes, although does this mean the work on remastering both movies in 3D will be a rushed effort? Will you part with your hard earned money to watch both movies in the cinemas when they’re released, or would you prefer to dedicate your financial resources elsewhere?

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Curiosity’s first Mars track marks

Just like a doting parent, the folks over at NASA are fawning over the Curiosity Rover’s every single movement on the Red Planet after landing there earlier this month. Sure, we have seen its first panoramic photo, in addition to a high definition video of its rather pinpoint and accurate landing, so what other “firsts” are there to explore with the Curiosity? Here we are with a 360-degree panorama shot that shows off evidence of a successful first test drive, where Curiosity went forward for approximately 15 feet, rotating 120 degrees followed by reversing for around 8 feet, placing it about 20 feet from its landing site (which has since been named Bradbury Landing). So far, no Decepticons were detected just yet, so Curiosity is free to continue roaming without stumbling into any other intelligent lifeform.

What you see above would include the rover’s first track marks, in addition to a rather tiny 3.5″ rock which could be spotted where the drive began, and engineers claimed it to be partially under one of the rear wheels. The wonders of interstellar travel, and hopefully this space tourist from Earth will be able to capture many more stunning images in the days and months to come.

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Final moments tweeted could help solve mystery of Baltimore coal train derailment

Twitter logoThe final words of any person tend to bear the highest importance, especially when that particular person is aware of his or her impending passing. The thing is, death is no respecter of age, religion, creed or preparedness – it can come swiftly and suddenly, as evident in the recent derailed coal train incident in Maryland. Two friends who sent tweets just moments before their tragic passing could possibly be used by investigators as they try to piece together the course of events in order to solve the mystery.

19-year old students Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr were actually drinking on top of a railroad bridge in Ellicott City, Maryland, late this Monday night before they returned to college for the new school year. Since then, their respective Twitter accounts have somewhat been deactivated or, perhaps being made private. One of Nass’ final public tweets read, “Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign with @r0se_petals” while Mayr posted a couple of photos from the vantage point of the bridge. Just minutes after that, the Baltimore-bound train derailed along with its load of coal, resulting in the two young women being buried beneath piles of coal.

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Wi-Fi used as emergency mesh networks could be a novel idea

Wi-Fi Alliance logoIn the event of a natural disaster like an earthquake or a flash flood, there has been cases of relief workers being stranded, excommunicated from the rest of the world in the process. Well, we all know that keeping a clear and open line of communications is ideal under such situations, but just in case the mobile phone networks fail, there is a backup idea that German researchers are willing to explore – through the harnessing of domestic Wi-Fi connections in order to create emergency mesh networks. Researchers from Darmstadt, Germany, intend to have crisis communication networks which are smart enough to ride “piggyback” on domestic wireless routers via Wi-Fi automatically, making it the ideal solution in densely populated urban areas.

Of course, all of it could amount to a huge nothing if there is no power supply to that particular area. Still, this is a fallback idea which is better than nothing, especially when one takes into cosnideration that Internet routers are so commonplace in many countries these days, that even emergency service personnel in medium sized towns such as Darmstadt with a population of just 142,000, are able to take advantage of wireless signals when the situation calls for it.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Curiosity’s first Mars track marks , Final moments tweeted could help solve mystery of Baltimore coal train derailment,

Drinkman – an old school Walkman inspired hip flask

You know the effects of beer goggles? Well, it is safe to assume that the 1980s audio icon from Sony, the Walkman, might have reached the end of the road for a fair number of years already, but that does not mean it no longer has any relevance in our society. No sir, in fact, fans of the Sony Walkman (which has since seen a mini resurgence in the form of a digital media player) will find the Drinkman a refreshing purchase, being a hip flask that was specially designed to resemble that of the old school Sony Walkman. Open up the cap and you will find the Drinkman is well capable of holding up to 150ml of your favorite poison.

Available from September onwards, there is no word on pricing, but we do not expect it to actually cost a bomb considering the nature of the electronically-inspired design and form factor. This is one “Walkman” that will definitely perk you up after knocking a few rounds around and about. Hey, with fake buttons at the side, it could have fooled anyone from a distance!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony announces thinnest Walkman to date, Sony Japan celebrates Walt Disney’s 110th birthday with new Walkman,

Canon hits 80 million EF lenses production

Canon logoJust how many EF lenses do you think a company like Canon has produced to date? Well, we are looking at a milestone figure of 80 million having rolled off their production lines as of August 3, 2012. Just to pull some other figures out from our history books, the production of EF lenses passed the 10 million mark in 1995, where it took half a dozen years to double the amount to 20 million units. After that, another five years later in 2006, Canon arrived at the 30 million unit milestone before the 40 million mark knocked on Canon’s door in 2008. (more…)

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Microsoft opens $14.99 Windows 8 upgrade offer registration

With Windows 8 coming out this fall, many recent PC customers were angry at first due to their buying a computer with Windows 7 when Windows 8 was coming out in a couple months. Microsoft then announced in the beginning of June that anyone who purchased a PC with Windows 7 between  June 2nd, 2012 and January 31st, 2013 would be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for a mere $14.99. Today, Microsoft opened the registration for the $14.99 upgrade promotion.

In order to take part in the promotion, you’ll need to head to the Windows Upgrade Offer site and enter your 25-digit Windows 7 product key. Promo codes will be sent out starting October 26th via email and can be applied in checkout within the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. You’ll have until February 28, 2013 to register for the offer. If you bought your Windows 7 PC before June 2nd 2012, you’ll be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro starting October 26th for $39.99. Let us know in the comments section below if you bought a Windows 7 PC before June 2nd, 2012 and if you plan on using the promotion to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 or if you have any difficulties in the process.

 

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