Hasta La Gadget!

There’s a new heavyweight gorilla in the ad-supported music-streaming game, and it’s Microsoft. Microsoft’s third (or fourth?) attempt at building a music store is the first one with the Xbox brand in the title, and will be heavily integrated into Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The Verge is reporting that it will launch on October 26, and in addition to subscription options, there will be a free streaming service supported by ads (like Spotify.) Perhaps the coolest part of Xbox Music will be SkyDrive integration, which like Google and Apple’s song-matching services, will allow users to upload music to Microsoft’s servers and access it from anywhere with an Internet connection. Well, almost anywhere. Microsoft says that iOS and Android apps are forthcoming, but when the service launches it will be a Microsoft-only affair.

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Here’s a fun rumor coming out of Samsung in Germany: a smaller Galaxy S3 could be announced as soon as October 11th. While the Galaxy S3 is the current Android superphone of choice and certainly the specific Android model at the moment with the most mindshare, some bloggers think there’s a market for a smaller phone that doesn’t skimp on specs. A repackaged Galaxy S3 could be just that phone. (more…)

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This morning Bloomberg tweeted that Motorola’s claim against Apple in front of the US Federal Trade Commission has been dropped. Although Motorola reserves the right to refile a claim, Apple is still pursing a separate settlement based on smartphone-related patents. That trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 5. In addition, both Apple and Motorola are waiting for Dec. 21 to hear the ruling on whether Apple infringed a Motorola patent for a sensor to protect against accidental hangups.  (more…)

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This is a bit of a surprise! Apple typically takes a stone faced approach towards consumer anger at new products (you’re holding it wrong). But since no rubber bumper will magically improve Apple Maps, an open letter apology is the best CEO Tim Cook can do. Posted early this morning, the letter follows Apple’s official line so far: the decision was made in order to provide turn-by-turn and it will get better with more use. But the surprisingly contrite letter also throws in this goodie:

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Wow. Of course the internet’s going to be buzzing about how this is a move that a certain legendary CEO never would’ve done, but it’s really an eminently practical move. The mapping switch, while annoying for some, is not the end of the world. In fact, Apple’s got a great software ecosystem that provides for several alternatives. Now that Tim Cook has made clear that there’s no problem with using a third-party app for directions, we can stop complaining. And we can start using Bing.

Take a look at the whole open letter here.

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A recently declassified document from the Army’s National Ground Intelligence center details a series of proposals for non-lethal weapons ranging from a close-range laser to a device that would flood cellular networks. In particular, it contains descriptions of a weapon that would cause mass seizures. While it’s not surprising that the Pentagon would investigate non-lethal weapons, what is surprising is the inspiration for the seizure gun: a 1997 episode of Pokemon where a flashing Pikachu caused several simultaneous seizures in Japan. From the report:

The photic-induced seizure phenomenon was borne out demonstrably on December 16, 1997 on Japanese television when hundreds of viewers of a popular cartoon were treated, inadvertently, to photic seizure induction.

The Army basically wanted the ability to force combatants to drop and shake like kids having a grand mal seizure while watching cartoons. While it’s impossible at the moment to know what kind of actual weapons stemmed from the proposals in the released document, the Pokemon-based weapon well of inspiration is anything but dry: there are several super-effective techniques that can be learned from Nintendo’s monster-collecting game. Sure, the military has been investigating Psychic for a while, but have the considered the paramilitary effectiveness of skills like Hyper Beam or Razor Leaf?

If you want to take a closer look at the declassified document, it’s available courtesy of Wired here.

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