Hasta La Gadget!

BlackBerry has until the first week of November to try and find another buyer before Fairfax Financial Holdings comes back with its final offer. Both parties have currently signed a letter of intent, which puts the buyout bid at $4.7 billion. There have been rumors of a number of other companies looking at BlackBerry’s books, companies such as Lenovo, Intel, Google and more, but no other bids have been received as yet. The Wall Street Journal reports today that BlackBerry executives flew to California to meet with Facebook, in an effort to secure a potential bid from the world’s largest social network.

It is not entirely clear if Facebook is interested in buying out BlackBerry, spokesmen for both companies have declined to comment on this report. Facebook has long been rumored to be interested in making a “Facebook Phone,” it even reportedly tried to reach some sort of an arrangement with Samsung, but nothing of this sort has materialized as yet. Could Facebook finally jump into the hardware game by acquiring the ailing Canadian manufacturer? Its too soon to say right now, though it doesn’t come as a surprise to see BlackBerry try and find new potential suitors, as analysts fear Fairfax might come back with a reduced bid if it sees that its the only buyer BlackBerry has.

BlackBerry Reportedly Courting Facebook For A Buyout Bid original content from Ubergizmo.

Your favorite fictional serial killer is coming to a Netflix compatible device near you this Halloween. It was announced today that Netflix and CBS Corporation have signed a content licensing agreement which will bring all eight seasons of the hit TV show Dexter to Netflix subscribers in the U.S. The first four seasons of this show will be available to watch instantly this Halloween, that’s October 31st. The remaining four seasons will be available come January 1st, 2014. Dexter wrapped up its eighth and final season earlier this year, after a record breaking run on the network.

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix, says that they’re “thrilled” to have Dexter on board, that too so quickly after it has completed its run. Dexter is actually one of SHOWTIME’s highest rated TV shows, one that has a dedicated fan following not only in the U.S., but around the globe. This announcement is definitely going to please Dexter fans who’d like to binge watch the series once again, through Netflix. Dexter is going to be a welcome addition to Netflix’s lineup this holiday season, which includes hit original series such as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and the revived Ron Howard series, Arrested Development.

Dexter Comes To Netflix This Halloween original content from Ubergizmo.

We have heard about how Google plans to eventually allow everyone around the world to connect to the internet, and to kick things off, Google has launched Google WiFi Passport over in Jakarta, Indonesia. This WiFi service is a result of a partnership between Google and MOGPlay where the goal is to offer up WiFi hotspots that have been scattered around the city, allowing those without data plans to connect to the internet for free or for an extremely affordable rate. Given that sometimes carriers do charge a fair bit for data, offering up a cheap alternative could be an attractive option, although the downside would be that for now, those living outside the city might not be able to access it.

The WiFi will be accessible through the WiFi Passport app and vouchers will be offered and give users 10 days of free access, after which additional vouchers can be bought. For example a 20 day voucher will cost around $2, while a 50 day voucher will go for $5 which is admittedly extremely attractive in terms of pricing. As it stands Google WiFi Passport is available only in Jakarta but there is no word if Google plans to take this program to other markets. Thailand has a similar service where local carrier, True, allows their subscribers to connect to various hotspots located throughout the country, giving them the option to hop onto a WiFi hotspot or use their mobile internet, depending on preference and coverage.

Google WiFi Passport Launched, Provides Cheap Internet Access For Indonesians original content from Ubergizmo.

This article was written on August 10, 2007 by CyberNet.

The thought of boarding a rocket to whisk you off to outer-space for your next hotel stay seems like something you’d see in a movie, doesn’t it? It’s not though because expected in 2012, a hotel called “Galactic Suite” will be the first orbiting hotel. The $3 billion that it will cost to build the hotel has been paid for, mostly by a former aerospace engineer. Guests who travel to the hotel will wear “velcro suits to “crawl” around pod-like rooms so that they can stick themselves to the wall — Spiderman style.”

Any space trip isn’t cheap, and this is no exception. For $4 million dollars you’ll get a three-day stay in which you’ll see the sun rise each day 15 times. The director of the company, Xavier Claramunt says they know that there are at least 40,000 people in the world who could afford the $4 million price for the three-day stay. The hotel would consist of at least three pod-shaped rooms, and Claramunt says the biggest challenge thus far has been designing a bathroom. At this point they believe they have solved the shower problem by designing a “spa room” with floating bubbles of water.

I don’t know about you, but I simply can’t imagine planning my next vacation for a trip to space. The cost not only includes the trip into space and the stay at the hotel, it also covers “eight weeks of intensive training at a James Bond-style space camp on a tropical island.” Even if I had $4 million dollars that I didn’t know what to do with, I still don’t think I’d spend it on a hotel stay in space. Claramunt talked about the fear that many people would have of going into space, but not to worry, “That’s why the shuttle rocket will remain fixed to the space hotel for the duration of the guests’ stay, so they know they can get home again.”

Source: Reuters

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

In South Korea, there are two different kinds of electricity pricing tiers. The more affordable one between the two is meant for industrial use only, and that would mean manufacturing, mining, and other production equipment and facilities (factories included). Apart from that, there is also the standard priced electricity, which is meant for offices, R&D centers, and general purpose buildings among others. Well, this is certainly cause for temptation, as some companies have been discovered to have used the cheap ‘industrial’ electricity for ‘normal’ usage. Surprisingly, both Samsung and LG have been seen on a list of companies in South Korea who have done just that.

This means that both Samsung and LG have been forking out money for the cheaper electricity tariff, instead of purchasing the more expensive electricity tier that they were supposed to. In fact, it has been classified as ‘stealing electricity’ in South Korea, and this has been happening since 2004 – which is a long, long time already. Needless to say, when your hand is caught in the cookie jar, it is time to pay your dues, and the law of restitution would be to pay twice the price difference, so that means burning a hole in their pockets. Ouch! Do you think that this is a harsh enough lesson?

Samsung And LG Allegedly Caught In The Act Of Industrial Electricity Theft original content from Ubergizmo.